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Chemical Engineering
Chemieingenieurwissenschaften
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:07:47
Abstract
Chemical Engineering provides an introduction to production and process design. Beyond different types and operation of chemical or bio-reactors, issues of scaling, new synthesis methods and problems of industrial production are addressed. An introduction in heterogeneous catalysis and transport of impulse, mass and energy connect the new concepts to the basic education in chemistry and biology.
Objective
Intended for chemists, chemical engineers, biochemists and biologists, the course Chemical and Bioengineering 4th semester addresses the basics of production and process design. Starting with different reactors, process steps and unit operations in production, the industrial scale usage of chemicals and reagents are discussed and further illustrated by examples. Material and energy balances and the concept of selectivity are used to broaden the students view on the complexity of production and show how modern engineering can contribute to an environmentally sustainable production. In the second part of the lecture, reactors, single cells or living matter are discussed in terms of transport properties. Beyond metabolism or chemical processes, transport of impulse, mass and energy heavily influence chemical and biological processes. They are introduced simultaneously and provide a basis for the understanding of flow, diffusion and heat transport. Dimensionless numbers are used to implement transport properties in unit operations and process design. An introduction to heterogeneous catalysis connects the acquired concepts to chemistry and biology and shows how powerful new processes arise from combining molecular understanding and transport.
Content
Elements of chemical transformations: preparation of reactants, reaction process, product work-up and recycling, product purification; continuous, semibatch and batch processes; material balances: chemical reactors and separation processes, multiple systems and multistage systems; energy balances: chemical reactors and separation processes, enthalpy changes, coupled material and energy balances; multiple reactions: optimisation of reactor performance, yield and selectivity; mass transport and chemical reaction: mixing effects in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems, diffusion and reaction in porous materials; heat exchange and chemical reaction: adiabatic reactors, optimum operating conditions for exothermic and endothermic equilibrium reactions, thermal runaway, reactor size and scale up.
Resources
Lecture Notes
Supporting material to the course is available on the homepagewww.fml.ethz.ch
Literature
Literature and text books are announced at the beginning of the course.
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- BSC , MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- written 90 minutes
- Aids
- Alle Unterlagen aus der Vorlesung, Levenspiel, andere Lehrbücher, Taschenrechner, eigene Notizen zur Vorlesung. Keine Computer oder multimediale Kommunikationsmittel.
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
Chemieingenieurwissenschaften
Vorlesung: Fr 10-12
Übungen: Di 10-11
|
|
3 h weekly |