Chemical Plants/chemical Plants Laboratory

The students address the basic issues related to the main plant technologies, both from a theoretical and experimental point of view. In particular, they will learn: 1) the classification of unit operations; 2) the basic principles for their sizing; 3) the criteria for the choice of reactors and unit operations; 4) the management of chemical plants in laboratory scale and their interpretation also using process simulation tools.

At the end of the course, the student must be able to carry out quantitative calculations for the sizing of individual unit operations, material and energy balances, make a rational choice on the type of equipment necessary in a chemical plant to perform various functions. In particular: - Define correctly the different unit operations of a chemical plant - Describe the operation of a unit operation with the correct technical terms - Calculate mass and energy balances related to different parts of the plant - Correctly size the different unit operations based on the available data (with particular reference to distillation/rectification, absorption, extraction, fluidization, filtration, compression, and pumping) - Correctly select the different unit operations based on plant requirements - Interpret a technical document (Process Flow Diagram) of the plant and be able to describe it - Draw a technical document (Process Flow Diagram) of the plant - Interpret an instrumental technical document (Piping and Instrumentation Diagram) of the plant and be able to describe it - Describe the experimental equipment used in the laboratory - Describe the experimental procedures used in the laboratory - Describe the calculations for interpreting the data collected in the laboratory - Illustrate the principles on which process simulation is based - Use process simulation software to calculate vapor pressures, fluid phase equilibria, and to represent distillation and absorption columns - Describe the structure and units present in the virtual Crude Distillation Unit plant - Describe the working procedures to be used in the virtual Crude Distillation Unit plant