2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Career opportunities and current topics of interest in the Chemical Engineering profession.
Stoichiometric and composition relationships, behavior of gases, vapor pressures, solubility, mass balances, recycling operations, energy balances, first law of thermodynamics, thermophysics, thermochemistry, fuels and combustion, application to chemical operations.
First and Second Laws, properties of fluids, properties of homogeneous mixtures; phase equilibria, chemical-reaction equilibria. Grade of C- or better required in prerequisite CHE 2114.
3015: Common process measurements; applications to theory and practice of automatic control of chemical processes; 3016: Design and laboratory practice underlying the automatic computer control of chemical processes.
One and two dimensional conduction, convection, and diffusion of thermal energy; heat transfer rates, steady state and unsteady state conduction, convection; design of heat exchangers; forced and free convection boiling and condensation.
Fluid statics, surface tension, fluid dynamics, Newtons Law of viscosity, momentum transport, laminar and turbulent flow, velocity profiles, flow in pipes, flow around objects, non-Newtonian fluids, design of piping systems, pumps and mixing.
Development of strategies to pose and numerically solve sets of algebraic and differential equations that describe chemical engineering systems and processes. Iterative root finding and optimization approaches to solving non-linear equations, analyze data, and determine best-fit model parameters. Numerical strategies to integrate and differentiate models and data. Approaches to solve ordinary and partial differential equations that describe reaction kinetics, process control, and transport of momentum, heat and mass. Algorithm development, coding, and graphical representation of solutions. (3H,3C)
Binary separations and multicomponent separations, distillation, batch distillation, extraction, absorption, McCabe-Thiele and Ponchon Savaret methods, short cut methods, design of plate columns, plate and column efficiencies.
Multidimensional molecular diffusion and convection of single and multi-component systems; mass transfer rates; steady state, quasi-steady state and transient mass transfer; effect of reactions on mass transfer; convective mass transfer coefficients; design of stage and continuous gas/liquid contractors, membrane, liquid-liquid and liquid-solid separation processes, artificial kidney and drug delivery systems.
Principles of conduction, convection, and radiation of thermal energy through one or more phases; analytical and numerical methods for modeling multi-dimensional and unsteady-state conduction; analysis of forced and free convection in conduits and around submerged bodies; design of heat exchangers; radiative heat transfer; boiling and condensation.
Introduction to mathematical frameworks for analysis and modeling of chemical reactions within different reactor configurations. 3185: Reaction equilibria, power-law rate expressions, Arrhenius law, rate constants, analysis of kinetic data, design of single and multiple isothermal reactors. 3186: Reaction mechanisms, multiple reactions, selectivity, non-isothermal reactors, catalytic reactions and design of catalytic reactors.
Introduction to mathematical frameworks for analysis and modeling of chemical reactions within different reactor configurations. 3185: Reaction equilibria, power-law rate expressions, Arrhenius law, rate constants, analysis of kinetic data, design of single and multiple isothermal reactors. 3186: Reaction mechanisms, multiple reactions, selectivity, non-isothermal reactors, catalytic reactions and design of catalytic reactors.
Practical experience in the planning of experimentation, gathering of experimental data, interpretation of data, and the preparation of written and oral reports. Use of small-scale processing equipment, automatic control, and data acquisition. Emphasis on teamwork, safety, engineering judgment, and professional behavior. Applications include fluid flow, mixing, filtration, and distillation, process control, heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reaction kinetics. Consideration of ethical choices in engineering practice and societal impacts of engineering solutions. In-major GPA of 2.0 or better.
Practical experience in the planning of experimentation, gathering of experimental data, interpretation of data, and the preparation of written and oral reports. Use of small-scale processing equipment, automatic control, and data acquisition. Emphasis on teamwork, safety, engineering judgment, and professional behavior. 4015: Applications include fluid flow, mixing, filtration, distillation, and chemical reaction kinetics. Consideration of ethical choices in engineering practice. 4016: Applications in process control, heat transfer, mass transfer, and catalysis. Consideration of the societal impacts of engineering solutions. In-major GPA of 2.0 or better.
Practical experience in the planning of experimentation, gathering of experimental data, interpretation of data, and the preparation of written and oral reports. Use of small-scale processing equipment, automatic control, and data acquisition. Emphasis on teamwork, safety, engineering judgment, and professional behavior. 4015: Applications include fluid flow, mixing, filtration, distillation, and chemical reaction kinetics. Consideration of ethical choices in engineering practice. 4016: Applications in process control, heat transfer, mass transfer, and catalysis. Consideration of the societal impacts of engineering solutions. In-major GPA of 2.0 or better.
Research of a chemical process unit, design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of experimental data, and scale-up of the unit to meet specific objectives. Teamwork, oral communication, and appropriate use of published information. Consideration of safety, and the societal and environmental impacts of an engineering design. Pre: In-major GPA of 2.0 or better is required.
Basics of materials science as it relates to the interest of the chemical engineer. The course emphasizes the three fundamental areas of material science being polymer materials, metallics, and ceramic/inorganic glasses. The general molecular structure property - application behavior of each area will be presented but with a focus when possible on topics related to the field of chemical engineering.
Fundamentals of energy production technologies, alternative and renewable energy sources, electrochemical energy storage, direct carbon capture technologies, negative emissions technologies, and chemical process that use CO2 as a feedstock. Fundamentals of water purification technologies, the water cycle, and the impact of climate change on water resources and demands. Discussion of carbon and water economics, and how geographical, societal, and environmental factors affect energy and water management policies. Techno-economic analysis of solutions based on chemical technologies, and the communication of those solutions in the context of policy development.
Business strategies and industrial marketing concepts, and their application in the chemical, pharmaceutical and related process industries. The course is designed for engineers and other students planning a career in the process industries. Junior standing required.
Chemical process synthesis and plant design, economic analysis of alternative processes, process equipment design and specifications, computer-aided process design and simulation, design case studies, application of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical design problems. Grade of C- or better in all CHE prefix courses and in-major GPA of 2.0 or better is required.
Chemical process synthesis and plant design, economic analysis of alternative processes, process equipment design and specifications, computer-aided process design and simulation, design case studies, application of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical design problems. Grade of C- or better in all CHE prefix courses and in major GPA of 2.0 or better is required.
Basics of polymeric materials including description and categorization of macromolecules; characterization; mechanical properties; rubbery, glassy, crystalline, and viscous flow behavior.
Basic principles of momentum and heat transfer applied to the analysis of polymer processing operations. Introduction to polymer rheology.
Engineering analysis and predictive modeling of heat and mass transport in biological systems (e.g., tissues, organs, organisms, and biomedical devices). Examination of processes that involve conduction, convection, diffusion, generation/ consumption. Application of analytical and computational methods to solve differential equations that describe unsteady and/or multi-dimensional transport. Topics include oxygen transport, pharmacokinetic analysis, kidney function, blood perfusion, burns, and cryopreservation.
Properties and behavior of colloidal systems, primarily in liquid environments. Size characterization and description, Brownian motion, interparticle forces, dispersion stability, and experimental techniques for characterizing these systems.
Development and application of data-driven computational models. Focus on applications in chemical sciences and engineering (e.g., materials discovery, property prediction, anomaly detection, process optimization). Preprocessing, data management and visualization, clustering, classification, and regression algorithms, and common pitfalls and practices in training and evaluation of data-driven models. Pre: 3124
Concepts, principles and applications of various unit operations used in protein separations. Properties of biological materials, such as cells and proteins, and their influences on process design. Design of processes for protein purification based on the impurities to be eliminated. Concepts and principles of scale-up of unit operations. Case studies in practical protein recovery and purification issues, with a focus on enhanced protein purification by genetic engineering. Protein purification process simulation and optimization using process simulation software.
Honors course
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