Graduate Courses | Chemical Engineering

First order differential equation. Partial differential equations. Laplace transforms. Fourier transform. Separation of variables. Similarity solution. Pertubation analysis. Polynomial approximation. Non-linear regression. Multiple regression. Introduction to neural networks.

This objective of this course is to give students a good grounding in fluidization technology, which is widely employed in the petrochemical and other industry sectors. Topics to be covered include: basics of fluidization; types of fluidized bed (e.g. dense-phase, fast-fluidized beds, three-phase beds, etc.); industrial applications; gas distributors - their importance and design; gas cleaning equipment, e.g. cyclones, bag filters, etc., bubble mechanics; heat and mass transfer; modelling and design.

Background to the food industry, food-processing operations; brief descriptions of relevant food chemistry and microbiology; heat-treatment operations; sterilization and pasteurization (retorting); UHT processing; refrigeration; and a description of food processing sectors relevant to Kuwait (e.g. milling and baking).

Review of first second and third laws of thermodynamics. Applications of the first and second laws. Fundamental equations and thermodynamic relations. Gibbs-Duhem equation. Partial molar quantities. Equations of state and fugacity calculations. Thermodynamic departure quantities. Intermolecular forces and property estimations. Phase equilibrium calculations. Chemical reaction equilibrium and effects of temperature and pressure on reaction conversions. Statistical thermodynamics and partition functions. Use of statistical thermodynamics in estimating thermodynamic properties.

Effect of temperature, pressure and mixing patterns on conversion and product distribution in complex homogeneous reactions. Theoretical models for non-ideal flow and fluid mixing.

History of artificial intelligence. Expert system knowledge, computing and manipulation of knowledge. Proces applications of expert systems such as the co-operate intelligence network, production management and supervision including setpoint optimization, process sequencing and production recipes. Process control applications in intelligent operator interface, predictive control and fuzzy control. Applications in safety systems and alarm management.

Different patterns of flow: in an annulus, two immescible fluids, creeping. Equation of continuity, of motion and of change. Velocity distribution in turbulent flow. Time smoothed equations, eddy viscosity and friction factors for different flows. Fluidized bed hydrodynamics. Turbulance theory and applications to mixing.

Correlations of heat transfer coefficient. Unsteady and two dimensional conduction: analytical solution compared to numerical techniques and where each method fits. Thermal boundary-layers flow and temperature distribution in turbulent flows. Application of different numerical techniques in fluid flow-heat transfer problems. Introduction to some topics in radiation. Two phase heat transfer case study for design.

Models for diffusion and dispersion. Mass transfer with chemical reactions. Simultaneous heat and mass transfer. Modelling of absorption, extraction and adsorption systems. Energy requirements for operations. Synthesis of separation sequences.

Principles of molecular diffusion and measurement and characteristics of diffusion coefficient. Flow field induced by mass transfer. Heat and mass transfer in absence of a flow field. Flow field induced by body forces or external forces, finite difference solution of transport problems. Moving boundary problems.

Dispersion models of pollutants in the atmosphere. Particulate matter and design of control equipment. Gaseous pollutants and design of control equipment. Atmospheric photochemical reactions. Instrumentation, measurement and emission testing equipment. Air pollution packages. Application.

Concept of clean technologies with minimal emissions. Concept of waste minimization and its applications in process design. Waste reduction technologies such as in-plant modifications, recycle, recovery and re-use and waste exchange. Case studies will include examples from petroleum refining, petrochemical and chemical industries.

Introduction to Computer Aided Design (CAD). Chemical Engineering Simulation Systems (CHESS). Flow sheet synthesis. Distillation column simulators (Distill). Absorption, extraction and distillation simulators (ABDIS). Workshop problems.

Mathematical principles of process dynamics and control. Derivation and solution of differential equations describing the behaviour of typical chemical engineering process units. Mathematical analysis and design of control systems. Digital and sampled data control systems.

Application of chemical engineering principles to selected operations encountered in industrial waste water treatment. The course highlights the removal of suspended solids biological treatment, and chemical treatment methods.

Development of desalination technology. Basic principles of desalination. Theory and practice of the following desalination plants: Multistage flash distillation, multiple effect boiling, Reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, solar distillation, freezing. Dual-purpose desalination plants. Main problems in desalination (e.g. scale formations and corrosion). Cost considerations, comparative studies of some desalination plants.

Gas-liquid systems, solid-liquid systems, homogeneous slurries, heterogeneous slurries, long distance transportation in pipelines, gas-solid pneumatic transportation. Complex flow systems. Modelling and computational aid in multiphase flow.

Layout of local petroleum industry, phase equilibria concepts, water-hydrocarbon systems, hydrate formation, amine treatment, carbonate treatment, liquifaction, liquids recovery.

Advanced treatment of corrosion engineering with emphasis on industrial local problems. Atmospheric and seawater corrosion. Cathodic and anodic protection. Corrosion: Protection and inhibition.

This course focuses on the design and modeling of various types of catalytic reactors used in Petroleum Refining Industry. Emphasis will be focused on the following refining operations: Catalytic cracking, catalytic hydrocracking, catalytic hydrotreating, catalytic reforming, catalytic isomerization, catalytic alkylation, and catalytic polymerization.

Types of membrane separation processes. Gas permeation in a membrane. Dialysis. Reverse osmosis. Ultrafiltration membrane process. Gel permeation chromatography. Membrane manufacture. Membrane physical and chemical properties.

An upper division of graduate technical elective treating topics in Engineering mostly not covered in other courses, chosen at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee.

Introduction to statistical mechanical theories. Borownian motion. Dynamics of flexible polymers in ideal solutions. Multichain systems. Visoelasticity theories. Dynamic of a Polymer in a fixed network. Ridged rodlike polymers in ideal solutions. Ridged rodlike polymers in semidilute solutions. Ridged rodlike polymers in concentrated solutions.

Thermodynamics and energy conservation, energy and separation processes, optimization of heat exchanger systems, thermally coupled distillation systems, heat pumps, hybrid desalination systems, economic analysis of technical solution to energy conservation problems, term paper.

Refinery configurations. Characterizations of crude oils and products. Coking. Catalytic cracking. Catalytic hydrocracking. Hydroprocessing and Hydrotreating. Reforming. Product blending. Computer simulation of refinery processes.

Estimation procedures for properties of gases and liquids. Critical properties PVT, heat capacities. Thermodynamic properties, vapor pressure, surface tension, viscosities, thermal conductivities and diffusion coefficients. Application to industrial problems.

Essence of the problem. Thermodynamics of phase equilibrium. Fugacity calculation of thermodynamic properties of fluids using equation of state. Intermolecular forces and theory of corresponding states. Property changes on mixing phase rule. Gibbs Duhem equation. Fundamental equations of, calculation of vapor liquid, liquid- liquid-solubility stability. Application and impact of data precision on design.

An upper division of graduate technical elective treating topics in mostly not covered in other courses, chosen at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee.

Selected topics in Petrochemical Engineering. Production of alcohols, ethers, aromatics, ethylene, propylene and glycols. Computer simulation of one of the above topics.

The project cycle. Financial statements and ration analysis. Discounted cash flow analysis. Decision rules for single and multiple alternatives. Inflation and currency issues. Rate of return and leverage. Cost/benefit analysis. Cost estimation. Sensitivity analysis and risk management. Monte Carlo simulation and decision tree analysis. Market assessment and forecasting. Supply and demand analysis. Project and case studies.

This course surveys basic computational tools and theory for solving linear and nonlinear optimization problems. The value of these tools will be illustrated on applications including chemical plant design, process operations and scheduling, and parameter estimation. A main goal of the course is to introduce students to the philosophy underlying optimization and the tools necessary to implement this philosophy. A large variety of examples show the wide applicability of optimization methodology.

R&D environment. R&D communication and virtual teams. Integration of R&D into corporate strategy. Developing corporate competence area. Managing competence. Technology acquisition and transfer. Approaches to developing new business areas and management of change. Internal development, licensing, joint ventures, alliances, venture capital and acquisitions.

The concept of technical analysis. Dow theory and behavioral finance. Cycle theory and applications. The long wave and technological issues. Business and market cycles. Elliot wave theory. Fibonacci numbers and applications. Pattern recognition and time series identification. Input/output models and multivariable modelling. Neural networks and applications. Detrending techniques. Oscillators and market timing. Statistical analysis applied to investment management.

An upper division of graduate technical elective treating topics in Engineering mostly not covered in other courses, chosen at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee.

An upper division of graduate technical elective treating topics in Engineering mostly not covered in other courses, chosen at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee.

Project course for non-thesis students.

An upper division of graduate technical elective treating topics in Engineering mostly not covered in other courses, chosen at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee.