IDENTIFYING DATA

2012_13

Subject (*)

CATALYSIS AND ENGINEERING OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

Code

20685107

Study programme

Chemical Engineering (2011)

Cycle

2nd

Descriptors

Credits

Type

Year

Period

Compulsory

First

Only annual

Language

Anglès

Department

Enginyeria Química

Coordinator

MONTANÉ CALAF, DANIEL

E-mail

daniel.montane@urv.cat

Lecturers

MONTANÉ CALAF, DANIEL

Web

General description and relevant information

The course deals with the fundamental aspects of chemical reactor engineering in multiphase systems involving multiple simultaneous reactions. The course is structured around a case study based on an industrial petrochemical process.

Competences

Type A	Code	Competences Specific
		Professional
	AP1	A1.1 Effectively apply knowledge of basic, scientific and technological materials pertaining to engineering.
	AP4	A1.4 Know how to establish and develop mathematical models by using the appropriate software in order to provide the scientific and technological basis for the design of new products, processes, systems and services and for the optimization of existing ones. (G5)
	AP6	A2.2 Conceive, project, calculate and design processes, equipment, industrial installations and services in the field of chemical engineering and related industrial sectors in terms of quality, safety, economics, the rational and efficient use of natural resources and the conservation of the environment. (G2)
	AP8	A3.1 Apply knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and other natural sciences by means of study, experience, practice and critical reasoning in order to establish economically viable solutions for technical problems (I1).
	AP9	A3.2 Design and optimize products, processes, systems and services for the chemical industry on the basis of various areas of chemical engineering, including processes, transport, separation operations, and chemical, nuclear, elctrochemical and biochemical reactions engineering (I2).
Type B	Code	Competences Transversal
		Professional
	BP1	B1.1 Communicate and discuss proposals and conclusions in a clear and unambiguous manner in specialized and non-specialized multilingual forums (G9).
Type C	Code	Competences Nuclear
		Common
	CC1	Have an intermediate mastery of a foreign language, preferably English
	CC2	Be advanced users of the information and communication technologies

Learning aims

Objectives	Competences
To know the fundamentals of heterogeneous catalysis and of the kinetics of chemical reactions catalyzed by solid catalysts.	AP1
To develop a mathematical model to describe a multi-phasic reacting system and to solve it with adequate numerical calculation tools	AP4
To design a reactor for a specific application, both in homogeneous and heterogeneous reacting systems.	AP6 AP9
To discriminate among several feasible solutions for a reactor design, and to recommend the most suitable solution for a given situation.	AP8
To plan communication effectively: generate and organize ideas, find the required information, schematize the information coherently, assess the characteristics of the audience and establish the objectives that have to be achieved during the interaction with the audience.		BP1
To write documents using adequate format, contents, structure, language and grammar, and to use the formatting conventions coherently (graph sizes, symbols, captions, titles, etc.		BP1
To write reports and documents in English, which is the language that will be used during the course, and to develop public presentations of the tasks and homework of the course in the same language.		BP1	CC1 CC2

Contents

Topic	Sub-topic
Review of some fundamental concepts	Kinetics of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. Electrochemical reactions. Mass and energy balances for reacting systems. Models for basic reactors. Isothermic and non-isothermic ideal reactors.
Influence of the external transport on the reaction rate in multi-phasyc systems	Influence of external mass and energy transport for a catalyst particle. Internal transport inside a catalyst pellet: simultaneous diffusion and reaction. Internal effectiveness factor and global effectiveness factor.
Design of biphasic catalytic reactors (S-G and S-L)	Fixed bed catalytic reactor Fluidized bed reactor Monolith and catalytic-wall reactors
Design of multi-phasic catalytic reactors (S-G-L)	Slurry reactors Trickle-bed reactors

Planning

Methodologies :: Tests

Competences

(*) Class hours

Hours outside the classroom

(**) Total hours

Introductory activities

0.5

Lecture

Practicums/Case studies

Problem solving, exercises

Personal tuition

0.5

Extended-answer tests

(*) On e-learning, hours of virtual attendance of the teacher.
(**) The information in the planning table is for guidance only and does not take into account the heterogeneity of the students.

Methodologies

Methodologies

	Description
Introductory activities	Presentation of the course: description of the contents and the objectives a student should achieve. Work methodology, course planning and grading criteria.
Lecture	Sessions that will present the fundamental concepts and key questions of the course. They are going to be organized around examples and case studies, using material that will be provided beforehand through the Moodle workspace of the course.
Practicums/Case studies	A "real-life" case study (open-ended design problems) based on an existing industrial process is going to be developed to illustrate the main contents of the course. The work related to the case study will be developed in group. Each group will submit a written report.
Problem solving, exercises	A collection of short, closed-ended problems will be provided for each unit of the course, and the students will be asked to present an individual report with the solution of at least one of the exercises of each unit.
Personal tuition

Personalized attention

Personal tuition

Description

The instructor will be available during office hours to provide further help and guidance to the students individually. Students should take advantage of these meetings to solve questions and doubts they may have with specific parts of the course material. The specific hours in which those meetings may be scheduled will be posted in the Moodle workspace before the course starts. Dr. Daniel Montané Department of Chemical Engineering Office 312 daniel.montane@urv.cat 977 559 652

Assessment

	Description	Weight
Practicums/Case studies	Evaluation of the written report of the case study each group will develop along the course. The individual effort and attitude of the students during class hours will be also accounted for in the evaluation.	45
Problem solving, exercises	Evaluation of the written answers to the short, closed-ended problems provided for each unit of the course, with will be solved individually.	15
Extended-answer tests	Individual written test, mostly focused on the practical application of the main concepts introduced along the course.	40

Other comments and second exam session

Sources of information

Basic	H. Scott Fogler, Elementos de ingeniería de las reacciones químicas, 4th, México, D.F.

Complementary
	A few papers from scientific journals will be used as reference material. These papers will be provided by the instructor beforehand through the Moodle workspace of the course.

Recommendations


Other comments
Numerical solutions of the equations describing the reactor system will be needed in many cases along the course. We will use MATLAB as the preferred tool to tackle these situations effectively. Consequently, it is strongly recommended that a minimum working knowledge of MATLAB is acquired before taking this course. Other programming/calculation tools may be acceptable, provided they offer similar calculation power. In any case, spreadsheets (EXCEL and the likes) ARE NOT acceptable tools for this course.

(*)The teaching guide is the document in which the URV publishes the information about all its courses. It is a public document and cannot be modified. Only in exceptional cases can it be revised by the competent agent or duly revised so that it is in line with current legislation.