School: Engineering

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Unit Operations and Process Design Fundamentals
  • Unit Code

    ENS3115
  • Year

    2021
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Gordon LUCAS

Description

Unit operations in chemical engineering relate to the change of substances (gases, liquids, solids) by means of physical, chemical and biological processes for industrial purposes. Any chemical process, on whatever scale conducted, may be resolved into a coordinated series of operations such as pulverising, mixing, heating, roasting, absorbing, condensing, lixiviating and electrolysing. The design of such chemical processes is a major part of the chemical engineering profession, starting with feasibility studies and technology selection. In this unit, students will learn about the Unit Operations concept, which shows that this process of abstraction can be carried out by analysing unit operations in terms of fundamental principles such as mass and energy balances, phase equilibria, and transport of momentum, energy and mass. Additionally, students will learn some of the fundamentals of process design to be prepared for the design of a real process plant.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 unit from ENS2116

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Apply appropriate methods to the design and development of an overall process and assess it in terms of mass and energy flows.
  2. Carry out a chemical engineering feasibility study on a given process.
  3. Use modelling techniques to predict system performance and evaluate scale-up.
  4. Specify the most effective problem solving and trouble-shooting methods for a specific process design, including the selection of hardware best suited to its various problems and objectives.
  5. Apply unit operations theory to real-world situations and problems.

Unit Content

  1. Particle flow in fluids such as centrifugation, sedimentation and thickening.
  2. Feasibility studies including technology selection and process conceptualisation.
  3. Plant description and documentation.
  4. Design of solids transportation equipment and slurry pumping systems
  5. Basic phenomena of fluid flow in packed columns and granular beds, including filtration.
  6. Liquid-liquid extraction and staged operations.
  7. Application of unit operations to the design and performance of equipment.
  8. Fluidisation: gas-solid and liquid-solid systems.
  9. Mixing and design of mixer systems.
  10. Gas-solid and liquid-solid separations including cyclones.
  11. Distillation and absorption.
  12. Evaporation and drying principles.
  13. Crystallisation phenomena: batch and continuous operations.
  14. Process unit development and design.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECUs LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 113 x 2 hour labNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 113 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 113 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Additional Learning Experience Information

In addition to standard lectures, tutorials and laboratory work to deliver the core content of this unit, in the second half of the unit students will work in groups to develop a feasibility study and preliminary process design for an authentic industry based process design project supported, where possible, by feedback from practising engineers in industry.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
Laboratory Work ^Laboratory reports20%
ProjectFeasibility Study & Technology Selection30%
Examination ^End of semester examination50%

^ Mandatory to Pass


Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

ENS3115|1|1

School: Engineering

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Unit Operations and Process Design Fundamentals
  • Unit Code

    ENS3115
  • Year

    2021
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Gordon LUCAS

Description

Unit operations in chemical engineering relate to the change of substances (gases, liquids, solids) by means of physical, chemical and biological processes for industrial purposes. Any chemical process, on whatever scale conducted, may be resolved into a coordinated series of operations such as pulverising, mixing, heating, roasting, absorbing, condensing, lixiviating and electrolysing. The design of such chemical processes is a major part of the chemical engineering profession, starting with feasibility studies and technology selection. In this unit, students will learn about the Unit Operations concept, which shows that this process of abstraction can be carried out by analysing unit operations in terms of fundamental principles such as mass and energy balances, phase equilibria, and transport of momentum, energy and mass. Additionally, students will learn some of the fundamentals of process design to be prepared for the design of a real process plant.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 unit from ENS2116

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Apply appropriate methods to the design and development of an overall process and assess it in terms of mass and energy flows.
  2. Carry out a chemical engineering feasibility study on a given process.
  3. Use modelling techniques to predict system performance and evaluate scale-up.
  4. Specify the most effective problem solving and trouble-shooting methods for a specific process design, including the selection of hardware best suited to its various problems and objectives.
  5. Apply unit operations theory to real-world situations and problems.

Unit Content

  1. Particle flow in fluids such as centrifugation, sedimentation and thickening.
  2. Feasibility studies including technology selection and process conceptualisation.
  3. Plant description and documentation.
  4. Design of solids transportation equipment and slurry pumping systems
  5. Basic phenomena of fluid flow in packed columns and granular beds, including filtration.
  6. Liquid-liquid extraction and staged operations.
  7. Application of unit operations to the design and performance of equipment.
  8. Fluidisation: gas-solid and liquid-solid systems.
  9. Mixing and design of mixer systems.
  10. Gas-solid and liquid-solid separations including cyclones.
  11. Distillation and absorption.
  12. Evaporation and drying principles.
  13. Crystallisation phenomena: batch and continuous operations.
  14. Process unit development and design.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECUs LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 113 x 2 hour labNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 113 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 113 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Additional Learning Experience Information

In addition to standard lectures, tutorials and laboratory work to deliver the core content of this unit, in the second half of the unit students will work in groups to develop a feasibility study and preliminary process design for an authentic industry based process design project supported, where possible, by feedback from practising engineers in industry.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
Laboratory Work ^Laboratory reports20%
ProjectFeasibility Study & Technology Selection30%
Examination ^End of semester examination50%

^ Mandatory to Pass


Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

ENS3115|1|2