CE 300 Sustainable Process Design
The 21st century inherits grand challenges for human society: environmental degradation, global warming and shrinking fossil resources. It is of paramount importance to make more from less, while reducing our impact on nature and society by the order of magnitudes. This challenge is particularly demanding for chemical engineers working in various industrial segments. This discipline is on the one hand responsible for providing most of the products of daily consumption. The next generation of chemical engineers will have to be equipped with the right tools to explore new ways in order to stay ahead of these challenges. The course will cover some of the aspects of the changes that process engineering are facing in the 21st century as it will widen its raw material base to include more renewable resources and simultaneously reduce its environmental impact. The main focus will be on learning how to improve existing processes to achieve higher purity and yield, while reducing raw material consumption. As a result of process intensification, the structure of process industry is transforming dramatically. Existing design principles and methods will be discussed, challenged and adapted to the new challenges of sustainable development. All these new skills must be taught to students today to make them fit for their carrier in the 21st century.