BEng Chemical Engineering

Students, working in design teams, undertake an open-ended project to design a process to produce a specified product. Teams are supervised by academic ‘project managers’ who assist in definition of the task(s) to be carried out.

Part 1 (CHEN30132) of the design project is performed by all members of the team, who work together to undertake a detailed design appraisal (including preliminary economic evaluation) and produce mass and energy balances for their preferred process. 

Part 2 (CHEN30142) is then carried out by team members individually, to establish the detailed design of agreed plant items, co-ordinated by the team as a whole. 

Part 3 (CHEN30152) is the final activity, where the team puts together the complete design and considers plant-wide process aspects such as safety, health and environment, as well as plant layout, overall process integration, economics and sustainability.

The unit aims to:

Provide knowledge of the design of a process from concept to detailed design.

Apply chemical engineering skills acquired from other courses. 

Encourage a creative approach to design. 

Provide experience of working in a team. 

Provide experience of the presentation of technical material in extended written reports. 

Meet the IChemE requirements for accreditation at B-standard

The Design Project is a major piece of group work, carried out under minimal supervision, which enables students to demonstrate the skills and knowledge gained elsewhere in the degree programme. As such, the main learning process is activity based and associated with the undertaking of an open-ended, minimally defined project.