AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course will provide the basic knowledge necessary for understanding the operation of the main separation (humidification, absorption, drying, distillation, etc.) and reaction equipment (reactors for conducting homogeneous, catalytic - homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions) .

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Basic knowledge  for the analysis of systems through the formulation of conservation equations of matter and energy. Basic knowledge for the design of the main equipment (continuous and discontinuous contact) used in physical separations (absorption, distillation, humidification, drying, concentration by evaporation). Fundamental principles of the separation operation for liquid-liquid extraction. Elements of kinetics of chemical reactions; basic notions for the general design of full mixing (CSTR) and piston flow (PFR) reactors.
At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the knowledge to design (in genera terms) the main equipment of the chemical industry. In particular, the student will be able to:
a) know the principles of mass transport phenomena between heterogeneous fluid phases
b) know the operating principles of the main unit operations of the chemical process industry (absorption, distillation, humidification, drying ...)
c) apply the knowledge acquired to: a) design the most important equipment, b) perform troubleshouting analysis

TEACHING METHODS

The course corresponds to 5 CFU (university credits), equivalent to 125 hours of actual student commitment, distributed as follows: 40 hours of lectures (frontal teaching) and 85 hours of personal study (self-learning). During the year, some numerical exercises will be conducted in class and homework assignments will be given to be completed at home, which will help students acquire the concepts covered in the lectures.

The teaching materials distributed by the instructor will be made available on AulaWeb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Tools and methodologies for process analysis. Basic knowledge on material transport phenomena, highlighting their key role in the behavior of the most common unit operations. Basic concepts for understanding and describing the phenomena that regulate the main unit operations for physical separation (absorption, humidification, distillation). Introduction to the operations of separation by concentration (by evaporation). The most important process variables will be introduced for each unit operation, highlighting their role in affectingthe performance of the equipment.

Basic concepts for understanding the phenomena that regulate the behavior of ideal reactors. Elements of chemical kinetics applied to reactors: micro and macrocinetic conditions, series and parallel reactions, autocatalytic reactions. Types of ideal isothermal reactors: discontinuous, full mixing (CSTR) and piston flow (PFR). Performance comparison and guidelines for choosing the optimal reactor.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Notes provided by the instructor and used for the lectures.

Textbooks:

W.L. McCabe, J.C. Smith, and P. Harriot, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill (2005). Alternatively: Treybal, R.E., "Mass-Transfer Operations", 3-rd edition, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1980 (International Edition, softcover)

H.S. Fogler, Elements of Chemical reaction Engineering, 4th edition, Prentice Hall (2006).

Reference books

R.B. Bird, W.E. Stewart, and E.N. Lightfoot, Transport Phenomena, 2nd edition, John Wiley (2007)

H.S. Fogler, Elements of Chemical reaction Engineering, 4th edition, Prentice Hall (2006).

P.C. Wankat, Rate-Controlled Separations, Elsevier Applied Science (1990).

Additional materials for working students or students with specific learning disabilities is available upon request.

Note: the copies of the lecture slides are not sufficient for a good preparation for the exam; it is strongly recommended to use the textbooks and reference books.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The lectures for Module 1 will take place on the first semester. Lesson starting is managed according to the Manifesto (avaialble at https://corsi.unige.it/corsi/8757). A specific communication will be sent to registered students.

The class schedule is available at https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/

Class schedule

FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENT (MOD.1)

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam only. Admission to the oral exam is conditional upon the submission of:

1. the project assigned during the year (for Module 1);
2. the reports on the practical laboratory exercises conducted as part of Module 2.

The exam will involve the two instructors responsible for the two Modules; each of them will ask at least two questions on the topics of their respective Modules, with the exam lasting at least 30 minutes.

For Module 1, in addition to questions on the topics covered in the lectures, the student will also have to discuss the assigned project.

Registration must be done online and by sending an email to the course instructors within 7 days before the exam date. Online registration for the exam can be done from the webpage: https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione.

For students with disabilities or with SLD, the assessment method corresponds to the UNIGE rules summarized at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa.

Only in urgent cases can the exam be conducted online, in accordance with the regulations issued by the University.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The Examination Committee is composed of at least two members, both of whom are the instructors responsible for the course. With these arrangements, the Committee is able to verify the achievement of the learning objectives of Modules 1 and 2. Specifically, for Module 1, the student must demonstrate that he has acquired knowledge on:

• the formulation of macroscopic material and energy balances;
• the main models for describing ideal liquid-vapor phase equilibria;
• the basics of mass transport phenomena;
• the operating principles of the most important physical separation processes (absorption, distillation, humidification, liquid-liquid extraction);
• the operating principles of the most important ideal reactors (PFR, CSTR, batch reactor with complete mixing).

For Module 1, the assessment also considers the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to solve industrially relevant problems, particularly the project assigned during the year.

If the learning objectives are not achieved, the student is encouraged to deepen their study, requesting additional explanations from the responsible instructors if necessary.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sergio Di Domizio (sergio.didomizio@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.