Lectures

The course covers the chemical engineering unit operations absorption, chromatography, drying and membrane processes. For an in-depth understanding of the relevant processes 1^st and 2^nd Ficks law as well as the Stefan-Maxwell approach for mass transfer are presented and discussed. Finally the combination for reaction and component separation as hybrid or reactive separation processes are covered. Especially reactive absorption, reactive adsorption and reactive extraction are presented. In all cases the engineering approach and applied methods for the design and operation of new processes and its transfer to an appropriate equipment and plant design as well as the assessment of existing processes and equipment are covered.

The lecture ‚Advanced thermal separation processes‘ presents the topics of crystallization including cooling, evaporation and precipitation crystallization, rectification in applying the McCabe-Thiele method, absorption, drying as well as membrane processes such as reverse osmosis, microfiltration, nanofiltration and pervaporation.

The models and calculation approaches presented in the lecture are applied on examples in the exercise ‚Advanced thermal separation processes‘. This includes topics as crystallization (determination of value product yield), rectification (minimum reflux ratio, number of theoretical stages, number of practical plates), absorption (minimum demand of scrubbing agent, process balancing) and drying (once-through drying vs. drying air recirculation).

In the lecture, the main aspects for the realization of reaction steps in chemical processes as well as the integration of reaction and separation are presented:

• Fundamentals of chemical reactions
• Modeling of chemical reactions
• Flow and mixing in ideal systems
• Makro mixing behavior of real systems
• Superposition of reaction and mass transport
• Reactor design

Based on the theory for thermal separation processes as presented in Thermische Verfahrenstechnik I the typical workflow for process design and optimization is demonstrated. Commercial software products are employed for modelling and simulation of the following tasks:

• Physical properties and phase equilibria: Data retrieval, regression of experimental data, parameter estimation
• Two phase flash: Single stage separations, integral vs. differential operation mode
• Rigorous modelling of a rectification column: Binary mixture, multicomponent mixture, design specifications
• Flow sheet simulation for multistage separation: Feed forward, recycles
• Equipment design: Selection and sizing for distillation columns, heat exchangers, reboilers, condensers
• Costing, process optimization

The lecture is presented in English language.

The lecture covers the following topics:

- Terminology, definitions and thematic classifications of digitalisation in general and in the context of Industry 4.0 with a focus on process engineering applications

- Drivers, potentials, initiatives in the chemical process industry in the context of digital transformation

- Sensors and control, as well as requirements for the sensors and systems of tomorrow

- Machine learning methods (supervised, unsupervised learning)

- Procedure for data analysis (CRISP-DM, data understanding and preparation, data visualisation, ...)

- Modelling, feature selection, clustering, regression, basics of neural networks

- Presentation of practical examples from industry and research

The lecture is accompanied by a computer exercise in which examples in Python are illustrated using elaborated Jupyter notebooks and serve as a basis for learning. Two exercises are used to apply and consolidate what has been learnt through independent work.

Against the background of a holistic sustainability strategy that includes ecological, economic and social aspects, the lecture illustrates at which point of a typical product life cycle engineers can influence the sustainability of products or their respective production processes. The integration of sustainability considerations into the workflow of a process design, the requirements towards sustainable process development, the methods for an ecological assessment as well as tools for life cycle assessment are discussed in detail in the lecture. In an accompanying exercise basic knowledge is presented in regards to dealing with the material flow modeling software umberto® as well as new methods for creating material flow models and for ecological assessment of industrial processes.

Core lecture contents

• definition and quantification of sustainability
• examples of sustainable products
• historic development, present initiatives and future orientation
• environmental management systems in companies
• Integration of life cycle assessment into the workflow for process design and development
• approach for the ecological assessment of processes
• sustainability considerations in the workflow of process development (data acquisition, assessment of uncertainties, allocation of ecological impacts
• challenges in research and development
• tools for LCA (software, databases, approaches)
• exercise and group work with the material flow net modelling software Umberto®
• design of sustainable processes and plants

In a preparatory meeting prior to the start class dates are fixed. Timing will be published at the ICTV website. For further questions please contact the responsible assistant.

Besides single-phase flows, two-phase and three-phase flows are of great importance for process engineering. These types of flows occur during mass transfer between equipment for thermal separation and even define the apparatus design, e.g. for fluidized-bed and stirred reactors. Further areas of application of multiphase flows are pneumatic and hydraulic conveyance as well as the corresponding feed and separating devices, e.g. injectors and cyclones. Chemical reaction technology and biotechnology are only two examples in the field of process engineering where three-phase flows of gas, solid and liquid are applied, e.g. in three-phase fluidized-bed reactors.

Subsequently to a presentation of the fluidic basics (tube flow, principle of similarity, particle flow, formation of bubbles and droplets), an overview of the most important methods and equipment regarding multiphase flows (e.g. bubble columns, flows through orifices, exchange plates and packed columns) will be given.

Ionic liquids ("IL") are a group of substances that have been of great interest in research since about 2000. Due to their special properties and their diversity, they have numerous possible applications in process engineering, but also in other engineering applications.

In this lecture the properties and the production of ionic liquids are presented. Furthermore the most important possible fields of application and uses are presented. These examples come from the fields of catalysis, thermal separation processes, biocatalysis and pharmaceutical applications. Furthermore, theperspectives of ionic liquids as so-called engineering fluids, for example as sealing or lubricating fluids, are explained. In addition to their use as bulk fluids, the increasingly important field of technology of thin IL films and layers on solid surfaces will be discussed. Finally, the lecture will introduce the possibilities of recycling and cleaning of ionic liquids and will discuss general environmental aspects.

The lecture is divided into 2 main parts. The first part covers the basics, such as typical features of membrane processes, structures (materials, production) and mass transfer processes. Aspects of the development of organic and inorganic membranes as well as the modification of membranes to achieve improved separation properties are also considered. In the second part, application-oriented topics are examined, with a special focus on the pharmaceutical industry and the current state of research.

After the course students will be able to assess the risks in the chemical and process industries, through the application of basic concepts about: classification of hazardous substances, hazard identification, probabilistic assessment of top events and consequence assessment.

Course contents

• Introduction to loss prevention and risk analysis
• Hazardous properties of substances
• Hazard identification
• Frequency evaluation and reliability engineering
• Consequence and damage assessment
• Prevention of fires and explosions

In the class Unit Operations of Fluid Separation Processes the basic principles of fluid separation processes are explained and discussed. These are:

• Physical properties and phase equilibrium
• Heat transfer, Evaporation and Condensation
• Crystallization
• Rectification
• Adsorption
• Extraction

Beside a theoretical description of the unit operations, the design of the respective apparatuses is covered in the lecture.

Main contents of the lecture:

- Definition of the term ‘sustainability’

- Relevance of sustainable corporate management and production

- Interests of various stakeholders in the environment of the chemical and pharmaceutical process industry and the resulting design of production processes and products

- Interactions between the technosphere and ecosphere

- Paradigm shift in environmental protection towards sustainability

- Value chains and different frameworks for analysing products and processes

- Structure of a life cycle assessment

- Introduction to life cycle costing and social LCA (life cycle assessment)

- Evaluation of production processes in material-converting industries

- Balancing and modelling of production processes in the  material-converting industry

- Input- and output-oriented reference values and the associated influence of the level of detail in process modelling

- Sustainability assessment of processes

- Examples from industry (including the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries)

- Exercises and group work

The course covers fundamentals of thermal separation processes with special reference to biotechnological as well as pharmaceutical engineering applications. Building on the description of physical properties of pure components as well as multi-component, multi-phase mixtures the most relevant thermal separation operations are covered. These are:
- Physical properties and phase equilibria
- Heat transfer, evaporation, condensation
- Extraction
- Adsorption
- Chromatography

The transfer of thermal, mechanical and chemical unit operations to micro-scale and their integration in process plants are displayed. The knowledge necessary for scaling and miniaturization of physical effects and their impact on fluid- and thermodynamic in micro-scaled systems are developed and discussed. Industrial importance is shown by means of advantages and disadvantages of micro process engineering and present as well as future areas of application of micro devices are presented. In the laboratory course accompanying the lecture Students will autonomously conduct and evaluate miniaturized process engineering unit operations of a complete production process. Presentation of micro process engineering devices and their application in industry and research; scaling laws; theories of momentum, heat and mass transfer in micro dimensions; advantages and disadvantages of micro process engineering, scientific and economic potentials of micro process engineering; strategies for the application of process engineering unit operations in micro dimensions and their integration in an overall process with associated peripheral equipment and measurement technology.