What Is Chemical Engineering?What Do Chemical Engineers Do?
Prof. Ganesh SriramAssociate Professor and
Associate Chair, UG Studies
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringUniversity of Maryland
Prof. Peter KofinasProfessor and Chair
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ChBE at Maryland
ChBE UG Program: Key People• Prof. Peter Kofinas,
Department Chair– [email protected]
• Prof. Ganesh Sriram, UG Director
• Ms. Kathy Gardinier, UG Asst. Director
• Ms. Amanda Alicea, UG Adviser– [email protected]
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE): Overview
• 17 tenured or tenure-track faculty• 2 lecturers• $6 M in research expenditure per year
• Enrollment– 273 undergraduate students– 72 graduate students
• Degrees– BS: 76– MS: 4– PhD: 8
Advanced Battery/Energy Technologies Polymers, Nanotechnology, Soft MatterCatalysis, Membranes and Separations
Protein and Peptide Engineering
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology
Aerosol Science and Engineering
Thermodynamics and Cell Membrane Biophysics
Fluid Mechanics and Mixing
Systems Modeling and Semiconductors
ChBE Faculty by Scholarly Expertise
Pedagogy
What is Ch(B)E?
What Is Chemical Engineering?Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
ChE began as the industrial version of chemistry
ChE draws heavily from chemistry, math, physics, and biology
Chemical engineers (ChEs) are solving some of the world’s most crucial problems
ChE is one of the highest-paying UG majors (currently 2nd-highest)
What Is Chemical Engineering?Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
ChE began as the industrial version of chemistry
ChE draws heavily from chemistry, math, physics, and biology
Chemical engineers (ChEs) are solving some of the world’s most crucial problems
ChE is one of the highest-paying UG majors (currently 2nd-highest)
Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
Chemical Product Design
Chemical Process Design
• Fuels – Gasoline, diesel, jet fuel– Thermal generation (coal ≫ power)
• Commodity chemicals– H2SO4, NaOH– Fertilizers and agrochemicals
• Fine chemicals– Semiconductor chips, thin films
• Polymers, plastics• Biologics and pharmaceuticals• Food and consumer products
– Soda, ketchup– Cosmetics– Detergents, cleaning supplies
What Is Chemical Engineering?
Major ChBE Employers
• ExxonMobil• DowDuPont• Baker Hughes• Proctor and Gamble• PepsiCo• Cristal Global• Unilever• W. L. Gore• Merck
What Is Chemical Engineering?Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
ChE began as the industrial version of chemistry
ChE draws heavily from chemistry, math, physics, and biology
Chemical engineers (ChEs) are solving some of the world’s most crucial problems
ChE is one of the highest-paying UG majors (currently 2nd-highest)
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Chemistry
PhysicsMath
Reaction Path
ReactorChoice
Transport
DesignClick slide to go here
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RSTOIC
FLASH1
SCRUBBERSTILL1
MIXER1
SPLIT1
STILL2
MIXER3
HX
MIXER2PUMP2
SPLIT2
FLASH2
PUMP1
FLASHLIQ
FRESHH2
REACEFFL
FLASHVAP
GAS
LIQUID
SOLVENT
MIXFEED
DISLIQ1
FRESHAA
BOTTOMS1
DISVAP1
AAPURGE
AARECYCL
DISLIQ2
BOTTOMS2
DISVAP2
ACALMIX PRODUCT
MIXSOL1
MIXSOL10
H2RECYCLH2PURGE
FLVAP2
FLLIQ2
FRAA10
reactor
recycle (acetic acid)
recycle loop (H2)
recycle (solvent)
scrubber distillation
distillation
heat exchangerpump
pump
flash drum
Many ChE Concepts Converge into a Process Design
acetic acid + H2 → acetaldehyde + H2O
Wastes? Safety?Cost? Startup?
How to separate product?
How far will the reaction
go?
How to measure
and control the
process?
Reactor type?
How to obtain
reactants?
How to move
compounds through the process?
Should we recycle?
How to transfer
heat to/from the
process?
CHBE101CHBE444/6
CHBE440
CHBE422
CHBE301CHBE302
CHBE442CHBE424
CHBE301CHBE302CHBE426
CHBE444/6 CHBE444/6 CHBE444/6 CHBE444/6
Considerations for Process Design
Freshman Year: Fall Semester Freshman Year: Spring Semester
Course Cr Course Cr
ENES 100 Engineering Design 3 ENGL 101 Introduction to Writing 3
MATH 140 Calculus I 4 MATH 141 Calculus II 4
CHEM
135 General Chemistry for Engineers
(CHEM 134 is an alternative for some students)
3 PHYS 161 Physics I: Mechanics 3
CHEM
136 General Chemistry for Engineers Lab
1 BIOE 120 Biology for Engineers 3
GENED 3 CHBE 101 Introduction to ChBE 3
Total 14 Total 16
Sophomore Year: Fall Semester Sophomore Year: Spring Semester
Course Cr Course Cr
MATH 241 Calculus III 4 MATH 246 Differential Equations2.1 3
PHYS 260 General Physics II: EM Waves 3 PHYS 270 General Physics III: Modern Physics
3
PHYS 261 General Physics II: EM Waves Lab
1 PHYS 271 General Physics III: Modern Physics Lab
1
CHEM
231 Organic Chemistry I 3 CHEM
241 Organic Chemistry II 3
CHEM
232 Organic Chemistry Lab I 1 CHEM
242 Organic Chemistry Lab II 1
CHBE 250 Numerical Methods 3 CHBE 302 Thermodynamics II 3
CHBE 301 Thermodynamics I 3 Oral Communication 3
Total 18 Total 17
Junior Year: Fall Semester Junior Year: Spring Semester
Course Cr Course Cr
CHEM 272 General Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory
2 BCHM
BCHM
BCHM
461AND462------ORtakeonly------463
Biochemistry I
Biochemistry II
Biochemistry of Physiology
3
3
3
ENGL 393 Technical Writing 3 ENMA
CHBE
300or457
Materials
Polymeric Biomaterials
3
CHBE 410 Statistics 3 CHBE 424 Transport Phenomena II: Heat and Mass
3
CHBE 422 Transport Phenomena I: Fluids
3 CHBE 426 Separations 3
CHBE 440 Kinetics & Reactor Design 3 CHBE 333 ChE Communication Skills
1
GENED 3 GENED 3
Total 17 Total 16 (19)
Senior Year: Fall Semester Senior Year: Spring Semester
Course Cr Course Cr
CHBE 437 Unit Operations Lab 3 CHBE 446 Design II 3
CHBE 442 Process Control 3 Technical Elective 3
CHBE 444 Design I 3 Technical Elective 3
Technical Elective 3 GENED 3
GENED 3
Total 15 Total 12
CHBE Electives Apply Fundamentals in New Contexts
Examples of Recent ChBE electives:
Course Number Course TitleCHBE472 Control of Air Pollution SourcesCHBE473 Electrochemical Energy EngineeringCHBE474 Biopharmaceutical Process Development & ManufacturingCHBE477 Mesoscopic and Nanoscale ThermodynamicsCHBE480 Bionanotechnology: Physical PrinciplesCHBE486 Heterogeneous Catalysis for Energy ApplicationsCHBE490 Polymer ScienceCHBE492 Multi-scale and Multiphase FlowsCHBE495 Nanoparticle Aerosol Dynamics and Particle TechnologyCHBE497 Protein Engineering
Ch(B)E Draws from Chemistry, Math, Physics, (and Biology)
ChemistryStoichiometry determines choice of reaction pathKinetics, amongst other factors, determines reactor choice
Math and PhysicsTransport equations enable calculation and simulation of flowMath underlies the control and automation of processesThermodynamics, fluid flow, heat transfer are crucial to designing processes and process equipment
Biology?
What Is Biomolecular Engineering?Biology and biochemistry play an increasingly important role in the
activities of chemical engineers
Many (chemical) processes are catalyzed by living organismsBeer brewing (yeast)Antibiotics, e.g. penicillin (fungi, e.g. Penicillium) Insulin (genetically engineered bacterium Escherichia coli)Butanol, a future fuel (genetically engineered bacterium Escherichia coli)
ChEs are employing their skills is developing such processes
ChEs can also work in biomedicine, developing artificial organs, vaccines, etc.
What Is Chemical Engineering?Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
ChE began as the industrial version of chemistry
ChE draws heavily from chemistry, math, physics, and biology
Chemical engineers (ChEs) are solving some of the world’s most crucial problems: water, food, energy, climate, sustainability
ChE is one of the highest-paying UG majors (currently 2nd-highest)
What Is Chemical Engineering?Chemical engineering (ChE) involves chemical process design and product design
ChE began as the industrial version of chemistry
ChE draws heavily from chemistry, math, physics, and biology
Chemical engineers (ChEs) are solving some of the world’s most crucial problems: water, food, energy, climate, sustainability
ChE is one of the highest-paying UG majors (currently 2nd-highest)
Chemical Engineer SalariesI asked [a practicing chemical engineer] why he thought chemical engineers were paid one of the highest salaries out of all undergraduate majors. He replied simply that not only did chemical engineers study a number of topics that intimidated most people, but they also studied such a wide range of topics in the STEM field that they were able to demonstrate a significant degree of competence in fields outside of chemical engineering as well, recalling that upon the completion of his chemical engineering degree, he was just a few classes away from the completion of several other majors.
B.S. Salary: National Labor StatisticsMean: $105,420Top 10%: $158,800 (#2)
Why is ChE Different, Difficult, Rewarding?
How ChE courses are different from the prerequisite STEM courses: He expressed how in prerequisite courses (calculus, differential equations, and basics physics) every problem is in a perfect environment, however this changes once you take a chemical engineering course. The imperfections of the environment are what create challenges, however he found it very captivating how the problems in chemical engineering course are applicable to the real world. He also mentioned how the abstractness of the problems can be difficult as well as being able to integrate key mathematic tools from previous courses into others.
Why is ChE coursework so difficult? [A] small mistake in the workplace could affect lots of people. Not only could it lead to contamination of the product, but disaster could strike in the form of a plant explosion. This could injure or even kill many workers, and the chemical engineers would be responsible for the deadly mistake. The seriousness of the work being done after graduation garners the level of difficulty and the intensity of the workload expressed in the classes.
Academics and More
New Initiative: Learning Communities
• ChBE homework is difficult!• Learning communities are spaces where students can transparently
and collaboratively learn concepts• Instructor and TA availability for getting questions answered
Modern Classroom Spaces
New Initiative: CHBE100• Optional first-year seminar course
• Course content– What is chemical engineering– Career options in chemical engineering– Resources and strategies to succeed – Opportunities for research, internships, study abroad, clubs, competitions
• Featured course elements– Guest and student speakers– Peer mentoring program– Development of resumes and applications– Development of academic roadmap
• Student feedback emphasizes usefulness of this course
Undergraduate Research
• Most ChBE faculty work on the forefront of their research areas
• About a third of ChBE undergraduates engage in research in a faculty member’s research group– Batteries– Polymers and nanomaterials– Metabolic and protein engineering– Simulation … and many more topics
• Formal research mechanisms– via fellowships, e.g. UMD ASPIRE, Howard Hughes Medical
Institute, Maryland Undergraduate Researchers, Goldwater– for credit via CHBE468
Honors Program
• New ChE Honors Program expected to begin in Fall 2020
• Will enable students to perform research toward an honors thesis
• Rigorous, 1-year research, culminating in a thesis defense
Internships and Co-Ops• ~75-80% of our undergraduates have reported summer internship
experience in the last 2 years• May 2016 Internship Placements:
– FDA, NGC, MedImmune/AstraZeneca, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo-Frito-Lay, FlexEl, NIST, WL Gore, LafargeHolcim, Caloris Engineering, SESYNC-UMD, BASF, Center for Biologics, ExxonMobil, Materials Modification Inc., TIC Gums, Hexcel, National Cancer Institute, Baltimore Aircoil Company, Redox Power Systems, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, DuPont, Investec USA, NASA Goddard
• Co-Ops are 6- or 12-month long experiences. The Junior Year Fall is ideal for a Co-Op because of the course sequence
Lauren van Exter
2 Co-Ops, 2 Study Abroad
Job Offers from Johnson and Johnson, ExxonMobil
Gerry Ma
Research ≫ Internship ≫ Co-Op
Job Offer with ExxonMobil
Study Abroad• One semester of study
abroad is feasible – Ideally sophomore Spring or
junior Fall semester– Technical electives,
international business– Chemistry, biochemistry – Humanities: language, culture
• More options
• Global Engineering Leadership Minor
• Engineers Without Borders
Solar Decathlon
AIChE, ΩΧE
ChemECar
Calisthenics
Other Activities
Application of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Industry and Everyday Life
Manufacturing Urea from Natural Resources
Urea (N2H4CO) is a crucial fertilizer that facilitates plant (crop) growth
Suppose we want to make urea from natural resources
Which natural resources do we use?
– We need reactants that contain the elements N, H, C and O– These compounds should be relatively cheap (no economical
benefit if the reactants are costlier than products!)– How about CH4, CO, H2O (free), N2 (free)?
Let us design a process to make urea with these raw materials
The following chemical reactions can generate urea from the reactants we selected:
Let us use reactions like LEGO bricks or electrical circuit componentsand combine them into a process. But there are multiple possibilities!
Each of the above pathways to make urea has a different advantage:– 1st pathway makes the co-product hydrogen, which sells for profit– 2nd and 4th pathways make no waste– 4th pathway makes the most moles of urea per mole of
methane, but uses an expensive co-reactant (CO)
Market prices determine most profitable pathway
CH4 + H2O → CO + 3 H2CO + H2O → CO2 + H2N2 + 3 H2 → 2 NH3
NH3 + ½ CO2 → ½ N2H4CO + ½ H2O
1 1 1 2 CH4 + H2O + N2 → N2H4CO + H2 1 1 4/3 8/3 CH4 + 2/3 H2O + 1/3 CO2 + 4/3 N2 → 4/3 N2H4CO 1 1 4/3 2 CH4 + H2O + 4/3 N2 → N2H4CO + 2/3 NH3 1 3/2 3/2 3 CH4 + H2O + ½ CO + 3/2 N2 → 3/2 N2H4CO
Process Design Example: ChE Is the Industrial Version of Chemistry
Traditionally, ChEs have scaled up lab-scale processes developed by chemists to an industrial level
Suppose a chemist comes up with a novel reaction to produce a chemical C from reactants A and B:
A + B → C
Reactants are cheap; product is expensive; potential for profitOther examples of products: plastics, fuels, paints, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, silicon chips
A team of chemical engineers works on scaling the process to an industrial scale
Which Reactor Configuration?
fluid in
fluid in
fluid out
fluid out
A+ B → CA+ B → C
Which Reactor Configuration?A+ B → C
A
Bfluid in
fluid out
Reactants are in two different phases; reaction occurs at the interface between the phases
Which Reactor Configuration?A+ B → Ccat fluid in
fluid out
Reaction needs a solid catalyst and occurs at the surface of the catalyst
Fluid MechanicsFluid transport equations enable calculation and simulation of fluid flow
2 2 2
2 2 2 2
1 1 2( )r r r r r rr z r r
v v v v v vpv v rv gt r r z r r r r r z
v v vr r
q q qr m rq qq
æ öæ ö¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶¶ ¶ ¶ ÷ç ÷ç ÷+ + + - + + + -ç ÷ç ÷÷ç ç ÷÷ ÷¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ç ¶ ¶
æ ö÷ç ÷= - +ç ÷ç ÷÷çè ø è øè ø
http://www.reactor-physics.com Seider et al., Product and Process Design …, Wiley, 2016
Fluid, Heat and Mass TransportTransport equations enable simultaneous simulation of fluid, heat and mass transport in a chemical process
Ranganathan and Savithri, Bioresource Technology 2018, 258, 151
fluid velocity temperature concentrations of compounds A, B, C
ChE in Daily Life: Warm CoffeeCoffee in a paper cup stays warm considerably longer when we cover it with a lid? How does the lid keep the coffee warm?
– A major mechanism of heat loss is due to evaporation of water from the coffee. This can be calculated and measured. How can you measure this?
– Air can hold a limited amount of water vapor at a given temperature. With a lid on, this limit is reached fast after which no more evaporation is possible. Without the lid, the humid air will escape and be replaced by dry air. Why will humid air escape?
coffee (liquid)
dry air (gas)
coffee (liquid)
air (gas) + water (vapor)humid air/wet air
ChE in Daily Life: Aircraft Contrails
Airplanes, especially high-flying ones, display spectacular “contrails” (condensation trails). How do they form?
– The contrails are clearly emerging from the airplane’s engines– Combustion of fuel in the engines produces exhaust gases containing water, which is a vapor
at the high engine temperature– As the exhaust leaves the engine, it mixes with the cold air outside and cools down– Once it has reached a certain distance from the engine, it cools below a certain temperature,
condensing the water vapor into tiny water or ice droplets that appear as contrails
Image from Flickr; https://hiveminer.com/Tags/contrails%2Cqantas
ChE in Daily Life: Cooling Hot Food
We have a natural tendency to cool hot food items by blowing air on them. How does this work?
– Humid air at body temperature (37 °C) heats up upon contacting the spring roll and reaches a high temperature (85 °C)
– It can now hold much more water vapor than it did at 37 °C– The liquid water in the spring roll quickly evaporates into the air– Evaporation requires significant energy, the only source of which is the spring roll– Thus, as the water evaporates, it cools the roll.
hot spring roll 100 g
CP = 5.0 J g-1 (°C)-1
initial temperature: 100 °C final temperature: 85 °C
one puff of airT = 37 °Chr = 60%Vi = 1.0 L
nA (mol) airni (mol) water(V)
airT = 85 °Csaturated
nA (mol) airnf (mol) water(V)