Process design is a core component of chemical en-gineering education and either involves or is followed by an extensive design project in most schools. The design project is often considered a core activity in the educa-tion of future chemical engineers because it develops their skills in creative and critical thinking beyond the boundaries of their acquired knowledge, as well as training them in teamwork. Such skills are likely to be crucial to empower students to develop process technologies that respond to the relevant future challenges in process design. These future challenges include accommodating alternative raw materials and energy resources, addressing sustainability concerns, and arranging production schedules that are more flexible... (ABSTRACT ABBREVIATED)

Some educators place an emphasis on the commonalities between engineering mathematics with process control, among others and this helps students see the bigger picture of what is being taught. Traditionally, some of the concepts such as diffusion and heat transfer are taught with a mathematical point of view. Now-a-days, Machine Learning (ML) has emerged as topic of greater interest to both educators and learners and new and disparate modules are sometimes introduced to teach the same. With the emergence of these new topics, some students (falsely) believe that ML is a new field that is somehow different and not linked to engineering mathematics. In this work, we show the link between the different topics from engineering mathematics, that are traditionally taught in UG education, with ML. We hope that educators and learners will appreciate the treatise and think differently, and we further hope that this will further increase the interest to improve ML models.

Chemical engineering is a highly complex interconnected major. Just as chemical engineers have broken complex processes into unit operations, the chemical engineering curriculum has been broken up into courses. The organization of these courses vary among institutions and are based on years of prior teachings and research. Despite this, there have been calls to revaluate the curriculum from both industry and academia. We propose a graph-based representation of curricula in which topics are represented by nodes and topic dependencies are represented by directed edges forming a directed acyclic graph. This enables using graph theory measures and tools to provide formal ways of evaluating a curriculum. Additionally, the abstraction is readily understandable meaning conversations between instructors regarding the curriculum can occur within a department and even across institutions. This abstraction is explained with a simplified curriculum and applied to the undergraduate chemical enginee... [more]

Equation-Oriented (EO) modeling techniques have been gaining popularity as an alternative for simulating and optimizing process systems due to their flexibility and ability to leverage state-of-the-art solvers inaccessible to many procedural modeling approaches. Despite these advantages, adopting EO modeling tools remains challenging due to the significant learning curve and effort required to build and solve models. Many techniques are available to help diagnose problems with EO process models and reduce the effort required to create and use them. However, these techniques still need to be integrated into EO modeling environments, and many modelers are unaware of sophisticated EO diagnostic tools. To survey the availability of model diagnostic tools and common workflows, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) has conducted user experience interviews of users of the IDAES Integrated Platform (IDAES-IP) for process modeling. The inter... [more]

We present the implementation of combined junior course projects encompassing three core courses: reaction engineering, separations, and process simulation and design. The combined project aims to enhance the vertical integration of process design learning through all levels of the curriculum. We design the projects to utilize novel modular process technologies (e.g., membrane separation) and to emphasize new process design goals (e.g., sustainability, decarbonization). Two example projects, respectively on green methanol synthesis and ethylene oxide production, are showcased for project implementation. Feedback from junior and senior students is also presented to motivate the development of such joint project in CHE curriculum. We will also discuss the challenges we hope to address to maximize student learning from this unique project.

Chemical engineers are natural “systems-thinkers”; this is a skill that allows us to analyze highly complex processes that involve heterogeneous components, phenomena, and scales. Systems-thinking skills are fostered in the chemical engineering curriculum via integrative and project-based courses, such as process/product design and laboratories. However, existing curricula tends to focus scope to product/process boundaries, offering limited opportunities to capture connections to behavior occurring at small scales (e.g., atomistic and molecular) and at large scales (e.g., supply chains, policy, markets, and infrastructures). This limit in scope can hinder our ability to appreciate how products/processes that we develop impact society, markets, and the environment (e.g., the opioid addiction crisis, environmental impacts of forever chemicals and chemical fertilizers, and electricity markets). This limit in scope can also hinder our ability to appreciate how emerging tools from the molec... [more]

This visual presentation introduces the concept of exergy to a chemical process systems engineering audience, such as how to compute it for heat and for substances at various pressures and temperatures. The presentation also goes over seven examples of how exergy analysis can be used in process design education, such as in utility or capital cost estimation, heat integration, direct air capture, power production, carbon dioxide capture and compression, and pinch analysis.

Humankind has an urgent need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Such a challenge requires deep transformation of the current energy system in our society. Achieving this goal has given an unprecedented role to decarbonized energy vectors. Electricity is the most consolidated of such vectors, and a molecular vector is in the agenda to contribute in the future to those end uses that are difficult to electrify. Additionally, energy storage is a critical issue for both energy vectors. In this communication, discussion on the status, hopes and perspectives of the hydrogen contribution to decarbonization are presented, emphasizing bottlenecks in key aspects, such as education, reskilling and storage capacity, and some concerns about the development of a flexible portfolio of technologies that could affect the contribution and impact of the whole hydrogen value chain in society. This communication would serve to the debate and boost discussion about the topic.

A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experimental test-bench is suggested for a rotodynamic pump in this paper. The HIL simulator is composed of two separate modules and two variable-speed drive (VSD) systems that are connected with the help of a programmable logical controller (PLC) and a process field bus unit. One of the fundamental components of the suggested simulation approach is the mathematical representation of a rotodynamic pump system embedded into HIL. A number of tests were conducted in order to study the suggested simulation approach. The experiments demonstrated the developed system’s adaptability and precision in replicating the behavior of the rotodynamic pump in various operation modes. A special user interface for the HIL simulation allows for changing the types of preloaded pump characteristics, reading the output data, and controlling operational parameters. The obtained simulation results showed that the proposed approach can be suitable for research purposes.

This paper explores current approaches and future directions for energy efficiency education and training in the tertiary sector. Energy efficiency is a significant element in many jobs across the economy, with potential for substantial growth. It crosses disciplinary boundaries, as the range of skills and knowledge required by practitioners is broad, reflecting the diversity and expanding range of work roles that require energy efficiency skills and knowledge. Limitations of education and training contribute to a situation where business and consumer decision-making often involves little or no consideration of energy, so outcomes are often sub-optimal. This increases costs, environmental and social impacts and undermines productivity improvement. As the significance of energy efficiency skills and knowledge in workplaces increases, more flexible and varied education and training models are needed to allow workers to upskill, gain new skills and integrate energy efficiency into busines... [more]

One of the key challenges for climate policies is the identification of strategies that will effectively support the implementation of environmental goals. Environmental policies are connected with other development policies carried out by governments. In order to comprehensively shape environmental policy, it is important to understand the interactions between sustainable development goals (SDGs) as well as their impact on environmental goals. Employing econometric modeling based on the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) method and full-factorial analysis, the authors identify a number of statistically significant relationships between the implementation of sustainable development goals and the environmental variable represented by greenhouse gas emissions. Analysis reveals that implementation of particular sustainable development goals, namely SDG4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities) and SDG17 (Strengthen... [more]

This study examines the dynamic connection between green energy, employment, fossil fuel energy, and human development index including additional variables such as education, life expectancy, and poverty in panel data of 30 developing countries from 1990−2017. Previous studies analyzed the total energy consumption on the human development index, whereas the differential effect of green and fossil fuel energy with employment and human development index has not been examined. The empirical exercise is based on the panel co-integration test, panel fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and vector error correction estimation approaches. The results reveal that all variables are co-integrated. The results of regression analysis indicate that green energy, education, life expectancy, and employment increase the human development index, but fossil fuel energy and poverty decrease the human development index by −0.016 and 0.023%. In addition, the vector error co... [more]

There is an urgent need for educational institutions to produce graduates with appropriate skills to meet the growing global demand for professionals in the sustainable energy industry. For universities to stay at the forefront of meeting this global demand from industry, universities need to ensure their curricula and pedagogies stay relevant. The use of benchmarking is a key means of achieving this and ensuring any gap between university curricula and the practical needs of industry is minimized. The aim of this paper is to present an approach to benchmarking a sustainable energy engineering undergraduate degree with respect to curriculum frameworks recommended by industry and pedagogy standards required and recommended by academia and education research. The method uses the Murdoch University renewable energy engineering degree major as a case study. The results show that the learning outcomes of the renewable energy engineering units, in general, align well with the recommended lea... [more]

Areas of experience allow for the acquisition and consolidation of both existing knowledge and skills. These are significant factors in the training of staff members for companies in the Industry 4.0 area. One of the currently available modern tools used in the teaching process is virtual reality (VR) technology. This technology, due to its high level of immersion and involvement of the different senses, and the need to focus on the performed activities, allows one to develop skills in solving various tasks and problems. The extended VR environment enables the creation of diverse teaching scenarios adapted to the needs of industry. This paper presents the possibility of building training scenarios in the field of digital techniques. The software solution, developed and presented by the authors, uses elements of computer game mechanics and is designed to familiarize students with the idea of digital circuits, their construction, logical implementation and application. This paper also pr... [more]

The presented article aims to design an educational test bench setup for smart grids and renewable energies with multiple features and techniques used in a microgrid. The test bench is designed for students, laboratory engineers, and researchers, which enables electrical microgrid system studies and testing of new, advanced control algorithms to optimize the energy efficiency. The idea behind this work is to design hybrid energy sources, such as wind power, solar photovoltaic power, hydroelectric power, hydrogen energy, and different types of energy storage systems such as batteries, pumped storage, and flywheel, integrating different electrical loads. The user can visualize the state of the components of each emulated scenario through an open-source software that interacts and communicates using OPC Unified Architecture protocol. The researchers can test and validate new solutions to manage the energy behavior in the grid using machine learning and optimization algorithms integrated i... [more]

A customized passive battery management system (BMS), which offers a selection of different operating configurations regarding the connection of external sources and loads, has been developed. The device supports balance, charge, de-balance, discharge and permanent storage battery processes. The control unit is run by its own written algorithm (code). Suggestions for potential hardware and software changes that can be made to expand the capabilities of the device are listed. The device is tested in five different operating configurations and the output data (battery-cell voltages and balancing currents) are plotted in characteristic diagrams. The output data is analyzed and the unique capabilities of the device are explained. The detailed PCB design, code, and output measurement data files are included within the paper.

This study aims to examine the environmental dynamics in the Union for Mediterranean (UFM) countries by considering education, urbanization, green innovation, and other key factors for the period 2001−2016. The data are divided based on the income level of UFM countries and analyzed with panel quantile regression, panel unit root tests, panel co-integration test, ordinary least squares method, and fixed effects model to evaluate the nexus between variables. A generalized method of moments (GMM) is employed to deal with the endogeneity issue in the panel data. The results of the study confirm that the urban population has an inverted U-shaped association with environmental degradation in the lower-middle and high-middle income countries. It further comes out that increased education levels decrease environmental degradation in the high-income countries. Hence, green innovation reduces environmental degradation in the upper-middle-income and high-middle-income countries. The study valida... [more]

The main focus of this research has been on examining the renewable energy sources (RESs) consumption with respect to green consumer values (GCVs). These GCVs have primarily been examined with regard to different products and services. The most significant strategy for strengthening everyone is social education. While GCVs are assumed to be nurtured through education, specific understanding about the long-term benefits of renewable energy for a sustainable life is measured with the belief that the greater the training and development the better shaped the society can be, which boosts morale and increases their energy reliance with RES, assessed by the respondents of Uttar Pradesh (UP), as the outcome of the research. The implications for the stakeholders are the long-term advantages of renewable energy for a sustainable existence, since a society may be better formed and its reliance on RESs for energy rises the more training and development it receives. The advantages are visible, tho... [more]

The paper presents a case study describing the process of creating and validating the benefits of two Innovative Learning Tools (ILTs) aimed at more effective knowledge acquisition in the interdisciplinary field of earth resource extraction with links to the status of renewable energy. The philosophy behind the original designs and the design of the two tools, the way they are used, and the results of their application in the educational process are presented in a framework. The opinions and attitudes of both students and educators towards the tools were surveyed, and some research questions related to this form of knowledge acquisition were validated. The presented results show the students’ interest in the educational form as well as the attractive content that goes beyond conventional educational subjects, with its connections.

These Aspen Plus v12 simulations are the solution or demonstration files for the book Learn Aspen Plus in 24 Hours, 2nd Edition, by Thomas A. Adams II. They are given as-is with no warranty or guarantee of accuracy or correctness. They are for educational purposes only.

The files list contains a large .zip of all files, or otherwise you can download them independently.

Files correspond to these tutorials:

Tutorial 2 Physical Property Modelling - Selecting physical properties. Understanding the database.
Tutorial 3 Problem Solving Tools - Design Specs and Sensitivity Analyses
Tutorial 4 Heat Exchangers - HEATER, HEATX
Tutorial 5 Equilibrium-based Distillation Models - RadFrac (in equilibrium mode)
Tutorial 6 Advanced Problem Solving Tools - Utilities, GHG Emissions, Optimization
Tutorial 7 Chemical Reactor Models - RSTOIC, REQUIL, RYIELD, RGIBBS, RCSTR, RPFR
Tutorial 8 Rate-based Distillation Models - RadFrac (in rate-based mode)
Tutorial 9 Custom Models and External Con... [more]

Presentation of Prof. Alexander Dowling's experience integrating Jupyter notebooks and computing into classes at the University of Notre Dame. Presented to ND faculty.

I will share ongoing efforts to retool CBE 20258 Numerical and Statistical Analysis (required) to provide a scaffolding for all chemical engineering undergraduates to develop core competencies in computing, applied statistics, and mathematical modeling. Key aspects of the course redesign include i) modernizing content including the adoption of the Python programming language and Jupyter notebooks, ii) moving initial exposure to outside of the classroom, and iii) incorporating active learning in all class sessions. I will share how classroom technologies Vocareum and Gradescope have been critical to the success of the redesign by reducing grading time, giving students fast feedback, and enabling regular accountability.

This poster was presented by me at the CACHE 50th Anniversary meeting on the Future of Cyber Assisted Chemical Engineering Education: http://cache50th.org/?page=youngfaculty

It summarizes my experiences with rennovating the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Chemical Engineering Curriculum through an Infusion of Computation and Multiphysics Modeling. It also proposes the use of COMSOL Multiphysics Apps as a teaching visual aide.

This presentation discusses the development and use of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) as cyber-assisted educational tools for instructing and engaging undergraduate chemical engineering students, training graduate students for computational research in science and engineering, and introducing lay audiences to chemical engineering concepts in informal learning environments outside of the classroom. A GUI encapsulates computational software within a visual environment where users can provide interactive input through brief text or point-and-click controls and display query or simulation results through an automated process without needing to learn a programming language or specific commands. MATLAB and Python are two popular software environments for science and engineering used in many university chemical engineering programs worldwide. Both provide excellent user support for rapid development of professional-quality GUIs by engineering educators, academic researchers, and science and... [more]

In this talk, I give an overview of the chemical engineering curriculum at McMaster University as it relates to the 1.5 year process design sequence. The courses outside the design sequence were recently restructured and redesigned to create an environment with more modelling and algorithmic thinking/algorithmic problem solving. This includes a statistics course and a big data / machine learning course. The end result is that the design sequence is able to focus on state of the art tools and methods for process design because students receive many fundamental principles before the design sequence begins.