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As mentioned previously, thermodynamics is the branch of science that deals with the interconversion of energy and work. Engineers, at a very basic level, are individuals who deal with engines—machinery and processes—to obtain useful work for the benefit of the society. This work is obtained at the expense of energy, and engineers need to have fundamental understanding of…

Piping is the most ubiquitous feature of a chemical plant. Chemical processes typically involve large material flows, and it is essential for a student to understand the physical phenomena occurring in fluid systems. The Fluid Mechanics course teaches the students the application of conservation of mass and energy principles to fluid systems. The two components of Fluid Mechanics…

The second (sophomore) year of the curriculum also features the engineering science courses that are common to nearly all engineering disciplines. Principles and concepts learned in these courses serve as prerequisites for higher-level engineering courses. A chemical engineering student also gains an exposure to other engineering disciplines and is in a position to interface with…

A course in engineering thermodynamics is required of students in all engineering disciplines. In addition, chemical engineering students take, generally in the first semester of the third (junior) year, a specialized thermodynamics course called Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is the engineering science that deals with the interconversion between work and energy. The concept of equilibrium…

Scheduled in the second year of the program, this course is possibly the most important course in the chemical engineering curriculum. The title of course is generally Material and Energy Balance, but it may sometimes be called Chemical Engineering Principles, Introduction to Chemical Processes, or a variation thereof. Simply put, the course is aimed at teaching the students…

The foundation for the advanced chemical engineering courses is laid in the second and third (sophomore and junior) years of the program through two fundamental chemical engineering courses: Material and Energy Balance and Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics. Both these courses are described in the following sections.

As mentioned earlier, a capstone design project in the final year of the program completes the formal education of a chemical engineer. This is accomplished at the University of Idaho through a two-semester sequence of courses called Process Analysis and Design I and II. Typically, a student is assigned a comprehensive project that requires him/her to apply the concepts…

Apart from the essential courses, a chemical engineering student will typically have anywhere from three to five technical courses in chemical engineering and related areas as electives. The course offerings vary among institutions depending on the faculty expertise and interests. Materials related courses, such as courses in corrosion, polymer engineering, and ceramic materials, are common…

Most process plants operate in continuous, steady-state mode. Maintaining the plant conditions at the specified design values is essential for meeting the product specifications. At the same time, no processing step is immune from experiencing disturbances due to variations in the quality of raw material streams, malfunctioning of units (pump failure, loss of electrical power,…

Almost all chemical engineering curricula feature a sequence of two (if on a semester system) or three (if on a quarter system) courses involving the term transport in the course name. These courses are typically offered in the junior (or third) year of the program and are termed Transport and Rate Processes at the University of Idaho. Transport Phenomena is a…