School of Chemical Engineering

Introduction to Process Engineering

COURSE: Introduction to Process Engineering

COURSE CODE: CHEM ENG 1007
SEMESTER: 1
UNITS: 3
ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE: SACE Stage 2 Mathematics; SACE Stage 2 Chemistry
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides students with an introduction to key aspects of Process
Engineering, including in particular material and energy balances of processes, which fundamentally underpin the
analysis of processes. After introducing the basics of processes, the fundamentals of material and energy balances
are presented and demonstrated through simple examples. This introduction underpins detailed consideration of
three real-life process: production of Aspirin, purification of natural gas from the Moomba Gas Fields, and
production of biofuel from renewable sources.
The key topics covered in this course include units and dimensions, process fundamentals and material & energy
balances. Other topics that will be touched on include fluid mechanics, heat transfer, reaction engineering and
thermodynamics. At the completion of this course, students will be able to undertake relatively simple material and
energy balances of processes and will have an appreciation of other theoretical and practical aspects relevant to
process analysis and design.
This course is presented using a mix of lectures, tutorials, online resources and self-directed learning. Students will
be given the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the course material in weekly tutorial sessions,
online quizzes, in-class group quizzes, and a final examination.
COURSE COORDINATOR: Prof. Mark Biggs
EMAIL: mark.biggs@adelaide.edu.au
OFFICE: N119
PHONE: (08) 8313-6317
CONSULTATION TIMES: 0900-1000 every Monday and Friday unless otherwise advertised.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. explain what Process Engineering is;
2. explain at a basic level how processes are defined and described;
3. explain at a basic level how processes are implemented physically;
4. interpret basic diagrammatic representations of processes;
5. sketch basic diagrammatic representations of processes based on their description;
6. work with and present quantities of relevance to process engineering;
7. undertake simple material and energy balance analysis in the process engineering context; and
8. undertake simple analysis of a number of unit operations such as filtration, reactors and turbines.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Textbook:
Skogestad, S 2009, Chemical & Energy Process Engineering, CRC Press.
Reference books:
1. Felder, RM & Rousseau, RW 2005, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 3rd Edition, Edition with
Integrated Media and Study Tools, Wiley.
2. Himmelblau DM, Riggs, JB 2004, Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering, 7th Edition,
Prentice-Hall.
3. Murphy RM 2007, Introduction to Chemical Processes: Principles, Analysis, Synthesis, McGraw-Hill.
4. Doran PM 1995, Bioprocess Engineering Principles, Elsevier.
Other:
A range of online resources will be provided via MyUni.
School of Chemical Engineering
Introduction to Process Engineering

WORKLOAD
Activity Contact hours Workload hours
Lectures 35 40
Tutorials 12 24
Online quizzes (5 of) 0 10
Assignment 0 4
Mid-semester test 1 4
Examination 0 8
TOTAL 60 90

LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

Topic 1: Introduction to Process Engineering

What is process engineering; the history of process engineering; the role process engineering plays in industry and
society; the different types of process engineers and what they do; the future of process engineering.

Topic 2: Units and dimensions

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of units; conversion between sets of units (cgs, SI, British,
American Engineering) using dimensional equations; use of the gravitational conversion factor; the importance of
dimensional consistency in engineering equations; the importance of dimensionless numbers in chemical
engineering; accuracy and the importance of understanding and correctly using significant figures.

Topic 3: Processes, unit operations and their representation

What is a process, including the concept of the unit operation; basic types of processes. Major types of unit
operations. Diagrammatic representation of processes, including block diagrams, process flow diagrams, and
piping & instrumentation diagrams.

Topic 4: State, properties and basic process variables

State & properties; system & surroundings; open and closed systems; states, processes and cycles on state
diagrams; various key process engineering quantities.

Topic 5: Introduction to material balances

Principle of conservation of mass; mass balances and why they are important; mechanics of doing a material
balance; application of these material balance concepts to simple processes.

Topic 6: Introduction to energy balances

Principle of conservation of energy; common characteristic energy forms; transfer of energy as heat and work;
mechanics of an energy balance; application of these energy balance concepts to process analysis.

Topic 7: Natural gas purification

The need for gas purification: natural gas composition at-source vs. as-supplied. Natural gas purification via
absorption: basics of absorption and its implementation. Description of Moomba natural gas purification plant and
application of material balances and basic thermodynamics to its analysis, including the adsorption and stripping
processes and turbines, pumps and compressors.

Topic 8: Aspirin production.

An integrated chemical process for Aspirin production with chemical synthesis, reaction control and separation.
Application of material balance and basic heat transfer and fluid mechanics to its analysis, including reaction and
temperature control, separation process such as filtration and crystallization.

Topic 9: Bioethanol production from renewable sources

Bioethanol-based fuel vs. fuel from crude oil: economic and environmental aspects. An integrated bioprocess for
large scale production of bioethanol including fermentation, distillation and dehydration. Comparison of different
types of fermenters including stirred tank, airlift and fluid bed. Material balance for different process strategies,
including batch, fed-batch and chemostat fermenters. Material and energy balance for a bioethanol distillation
column.
School of Chemical Engineering
Introduction to Process Engineering

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
Summative or Learning objective
Assessment activity Weighting (%) Due date
Formative addressed
Assignment 10 Formative As prescribed 1-3
Online quizzes (5 of) 20 Formative As prescribed 4, 6-8
In-class test 10 Formative As prescribed 4-8
Examination 60 Summative Exam period 4-8

Please note that, as per School Policy, there is a so-called ‘hurdle requirement’ for this course, which
requires you to achieve at least 50% in the assessment outside the final examination.