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CHE
472
Petroleum Refining Engineering
Refinery organization, refinery feed stocks and products, crude distillation, cracking and reforming, hydrotreating, alkylation, lubricating oils production, petroleum gases, hydro processing, product blending, environmental constraints on refinery products, term project using actual refinery data to be utilized for typical design calculation on the above operations.
Prerequisites:
0420269,0640440
0640472
(3-0-3)

Prerequisites by Topic:

  • Organic Chemistry, hydrocarbons, reaction mechanism.
  • Materials and energy balances.
  • Thermodynamics properties, chemical reaction equilibrium.
  • Kinetics, reaction rate, catalytic reactors, effect of temperature and pressure.

Textbook(s):

Petroleum Refining: Technology and Economics. Gary and Handwork, 5th edition, Markcel Dekker Inc., 2007.

Reference(s):

Topics Covered:

  • Refinery products and feedstocks (3 hours)
  • Estimation of physical and thermodynamics properties (3 hours)
  • Process description and material balances of refinery units. Each student is assigned a different crude oil and is asked to perform a material balance on the following units:
  • Distillation
  • Delayed cracking
  • Catalytic reforming
  • Catalytic cracking
  • Hydrotreating
  • Catalytic hydrocracking
  • Alkylation
  • Product blending (3 hours)
  • Environmental constraints on refinery products (2 hours)

At the end of the course, the student should have a complete material balance for an integrated refinery gas processing (26 hours)

Each two students are assigned a project in petroleum refining to be presented orally and in writing (5 hours)

Assessment Criteria:

  1. Homework and computer assignments
  2. Quizzes
  3. Midterm Exams
  4. Final Exam
  5. Term Project

Course Objectives:

Review current petroleum refining technologies and learn elements of petroleum refining processes [1, 2]

Learn how to apply fundamentals of engineering sciences and to use modern computer tools to design and evaluate performance of petroleum refining processes [1, 2]

Understand importance of the petroleum refining industry to Kuwait and the Gulf countries and its impact on the society, other industrial processes, environment, and natural resources [3].

Performance Criteria:

Objective 1:

  1. Know the history and classification of petroleum refining processes (4)
  2. Learn the current energy market and future outlook (4)

Objective 2:

  1. Model and design of petroleum refining processes (1, 2)
  2. Prepare and present a term project on petroleum refining (1, 2, 3, 5, 7)

Objective 3:

  1. Review petroleum and natural gas resources and understand the role of petroleum resources on the economies of Kuwait and the Gulf countries (4, 7).
  2. Study impact of petroleum refining on the society, industry, and environment (4,7)

ABET Category Content:

Engineering Science: 1.5 Credits or 50%

Engineering Design: 1.5 Credits or 50%

Course Classification

Student Outcomes Level (L, M, H) Relevant Activities
1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics. M The students are assigned homework that require utilizing the principles of mass and energy balance to predict the production as well as the economics of certain petroleum refinery processes individually and the petroleum refinery overall.
2. An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
3. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. M The students are assigned a term project that require searching for and acquiring new knowledge related to the field of petroleum refining, write a report, and present the findings orally in a professional manner.
4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts. L A video case study on a refinery safety disaster is presented and discussed in class with emphasis on ethical and professional responsibilities in such situations and making informed judgments, that must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
5. An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives. M Term project, report, and presentation is assigned to teams of 4-5 students each. Homework are assigned to teams of 3-4 students each.
6. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions. L The students are given published crude oil data and taught to perform material and energy balance and use engineering judgment to interpret the results.
7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies. L The students are assigned a term project that require searching for and acquiring new knowledge related to the field of petroleum refining, write and report, and present the findings orally in a professional manner.