Module Catalogue 2026/27

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

The aim of this module is to translate a business, safety or environmental need for the year-long student placement into a design solution.

Detailed design within the chemical and material processing industries, requires a combination of many of the core skills acquired during the first years of a degree programme. It represents a unique exercise in which students can apply and test their knowledge of process selection, conceptual design, equipment design, process safety and sustainability and economic analysis as part of a team, whilst working in industry. This is applied to a problem as defined by the company they are working for.

Outline Of Syllabus

Design of a process, or part of, whilst on placement.

The design should include the preliminary mass and energy balance of the process under consideration, with detailed chemical engineering design of at least one major unit operation from any area of the process industry and a preliminary mechanical engineering design.

The safety, operability, sustainability and economic viability of the process should also be considered.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should

Understand the importance of identifying the objectives and context of the design in terms of: the business requirements; the technical requirements; sustainable development; safety, health and environmental issues; appreciation of public perception and concerns; (EngC LO C5, IChemE A4.2)

Understand that design is an open-ended process, lacking a pre-determined solution, which requires: synthesis, innovation and creativity; choices on the basis of incomplete and contradictory information; decision making; working with constraints and multiple objectives; justification of the choices and decisions taken; (EngC LO C3, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to deploy chemical engineering knowledge using rigorous calculation and results analysis to develop a design and with appropriate checks on feasibility and practicality; (EngC LO C1, C2, C3 IChemE A4.2)

Be able to identify the principal hazard sources in chemical and related processes (including biological hazards); (EngC LO C1, C5, C7, IChemE A2.6)

Understand the principles of safety and loss prevention, and their application to inherently safe design; (EngC LO C7, C9, IChemE A2.6)

Understand the principles of risk assessment and of safety management, and be able to apply techniques for the assessment and abatement of process and product hazards; (EngC LO C7, C9, IChemE A2.6)

Be aware of specialist aspects of safety and environmental issues, such as noise, hazardous area classification, relief and blowdown, fault tree analysis; (EngC LO C1, C2, C7, C9, IChemE A2.6)

Have knowledge of the local legislative framework and how it is applied to the management of safety, health and
environment in practice and in the workplace, from the perspectives of all involved, including operators, designers, contractors, researchers, visitors and the public. (EngC LO C5, IChemE A2.6)

Intended Skill Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should

Have a comprehensive understanding of design processes and methodologies and an ability to apply and adapt them in unfamiliar situations; (EngC LO M1, M2, M3, M5, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to take a systems approach to design appreciating: complexity; interaction; integration; (EngC LO C6, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their design, including its immediate and life cycle environmental impacts; (EngC LO C5, C16, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to apply systematic methods for identifying process hazards (eg HAZOP), and for assessing the range of consequences (eg impact on people, environmental reputation, financial, security); (EngC LO C1, C2, C5, C7, C9 IChemE A2.6)

Be able to work in a team and understand and manage the processes of: peer challenge; planning, prioritising and organising team activity; the discipline of mutual dependency; (EngC LO C16, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to communicate effectively to: acquire input information; present the outcomes of the design clearly, concisely and with the appropriate amount of detail, including flowsheets and stream data; explain and defend chosen design options and decisions taken. (EngC LO C17, IChemE A4.2)

Be able to work with information that may be incomplete or uncertain, quantify the effect of this on the design and, where appropriate, use theory or experimental research to mitigate deficiencies; (EngC LO M2, M3, M5, IChemE A4.2)

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The large independent study elements in this module reflect the fact that the development of a design comes from many hours spent investigating design options either privately in an office or out on plant. The scheduled learning and teaching activities are time spent with design supervisors either in a one-to-one meeting or via e-mail/online consultations, or receiving answers to specific questions and feedback on reports that have been submitted.

Student will be enrolled onto CME3034 to access structured learning material regarding the design for process safety to help their independent study, but will not participate in the assessments of CME3034.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The milestone reports assess the technical competence of the student, and are aligned to the intended learning outcomes required by IChemE under “Chemical Engineering Design” and “process safety” (C1-3, C5-7, C9, C16-17, M1-3, M5).

The oral presentation assesses the communication skills of the student (C17).

General Notes

N/A