This year you'll put your knowledge and skills into practice. Laboratory exercises are open-ended, using large-scale and industrial equipment. Project management, business and finance are covered and there is input from industry.
MEng students wishing to take a year in industry, usually do so between their third and fourth year.
Biochemical Engineering
This module aims to introduce to students and build fundamental knowledge and skills in the utilisation of biological systems in bio-manufacturing and bioconversion. Students will learn basic biological science applied to the exploitation of living systems and their components. Fundamentals of bioprocess safety will be developed. You'll spend three hours in practical sessions each week studying for this module.
Industrial Process Analysis
This module aims to provide you with a thorough understanding of how process, hygiene and material characteristics influence the total transformation design of chemical process plants via the reverse / forensic engineering based analysis of examplar plant designs. You'll learn how to:
- assess the physical-chemical basis for safe process design, including handling of extremely hazardous materials, appropriate safety and control measures and the effect that such considerations have upon influence of scale-up
- evaluate the basis for selection of construction material based on the characteristics of the materials being processed, conditions required to achieve the transformation, etc.
- critically evaluate physical-chemical basis for application of novel/alternative processes and plant designs (e.g. green chemistry/process intensification/process integration)
- explain the physical-chemical and practical factors which influence process economics, for example achievable yields, economies of scale of process, work-up and purification, sue stages
- demonstrate what influence whole system thinking, total life-cycle and critical analysis have upon the physical-chemical basis of process designs
- explain control choices with respect to the material, physical and chemical properties of the process relating them to product specifications and legislation requirements etc.
- evaluate interactive risk within a complex system
- understand the potential influence of that environmental impact and societal opinion has upon process design
Every week you'll have two hours of lectures and a one hour tutorial.
Reactor Design
This section is made up of eight topics, which are detailed below. Each topic covers a fundamental principle in reactor design, also how students can combine those principles to derive/optimise the reactor design equations. The textbook Fogler, H. Scott "Elements of chemical reaction engineering", 4th ed., Prentice Hall, 2005 is closely followed. The main topics are:
- mole balances
- conversion and reactor sizing
- rate laws and stoichiometry
- collection and analysis of rate data
- isothermal reactor design
- multiple reactions
- steady-state non-isothermal reactor design
- catalysis and catalytic reactors
Design Project
This is a group design project involving the preparation of heat and mass balances and flow sheets for a particular process scheme and the detailed design of certain important plant items. A study of the control, operational, safety, environmental and economic aspects will be included. You'll spend one hour in a tutorial and make use of self-study sessions each week studying for this module.
Process Engineering Laboratory
In this module you'll be given a laboratory-based problem and you'll need to plan experiments to collect the data required to solve the problem. You'll work in groups but write individual reports covering process assessment, experimental procedure and the description and discussion of the experimental results.
By solving a laboratory-based problem, you should gain the confidence in making decisions in a technical/scientific environment and adopt a rational, efficient approach to problem solving. You'll also become more familiar with the operation of commonly-encountered chemical engineering equipment and improve your skills in collecting, analysing and interpreting experimental data.
Process Simulation 1
This module is an introduction to steady-state process simulation by computer. Students will use a commercial package in a design environment and will develop an understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of such tools. You'll spend one hour in lectures and around three hours in practical sessions per week.
Multicomponent Separations
In this module you’ll look in detail at the process of mass transfer in multi-component separation equipment and multicomponent separation processes. You’ll learn principles of design for distillation and absorption columns and use computer applications. You’ll spend two hours in lectures and one hour in workshops per week studying for this module.
Advanced Transport Phenomena
This module aims to provide an in depth knowledge of heat, mass and momentum transport that is necessary in assessing, analysing and developing chemical, biochemical and environmental processes.
Furthermore, this module fills the gap between first year transport phenomena and the fourth year CFD module while introducing the multi-physics aspect of the discipline. You’ll spend three hours in lectures and three hours in practicals each week studying for this module.
The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules may change or be updated over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the
module catalogue for the latest information on available modules.