Master of Engineering (MEng)

MEng Chemical Engineering

A chemical engineering master's degree from Manchester opens up a world of opportunity.

  • Duration: 4 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: H801 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Study abroad
  • Scholarships available
  • Accredited course

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £36,000 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

At The University of Manchester we're committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances.

For information about scholarships and bursaries please see our undergraduate fees pages and check the Department's funding pages .

Course unit details:
Process Design

Course unit fact file
Unit code CHEN30122
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

Process design is the most important skill in the education of chemical engineers. This unit provides a link between the taught units in the first 3 years of the course to provide the core skills required to perform the design of a chemical process.
Lecture 1: Energy Targeting and Design for Maximum Energy Recovery
Lecture 2: Putting Process Integration into Practice
Lecture 3: Hot Utilities
Lecture 4: Cold Utilities
Lecture 5: Reliability, Maintainability and Availability Concepts
Lecture 6: Reliability, Maintainability and Availability of Systems
Lecture 7: Process Control – Concepts
Lecture 8: Process Control - Flowrate and Inventory Control
Lecture 9: Process Control – Degrees of Freedom
Lecture 10: Process Control - Control of Process Operations
Lecture 11: Process Control  - Overall Process Control
Lecture 12: Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams – Piping and Pressure Relief
Lecture 13: Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams - Process Operations
Lecture 14: Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams - Construction

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Process Synthesis CHEN30031 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Process Control CHEN30091 Pre-Requisite Compulsory

Aims

The unit aims to:

Develop the necessary skills to create maximum heat recovery schemes in practice in a process design.

Develop the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to select heating and cooling utilities required to service a process design.

Develop knowledge of process control to be able to synthesise the control system for an overall chemical process.

Develop the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to analyse the reliability, maintainability and availability aspects of a process design.

Develop the background knowledge necessary to be able to create a piping and instrumentation diagram for a chemical process.

Learning outcomes

Students will be able to: 

ILO1. Synthesise a maximum heat recovery system for a process.

ILO2. Select heating and cooling utilities required to service a process design.

ILO3. Synthesise the control systems for individual process operations and overall chemical processes.

ILO4. Analyse the reliability, maintainability and availability aspects of a process design.

ILO5. Create a piping and instrumentation diagram for a chemical process

Teaching and learning methods

Fundamental aspects supporting the critical learning of the module will be delivered as pre-recorded asynchronous short videos via our virtual learning environment. These will be supported by synchronous sessions (three one-day workshops) with master lecture content, Q&A, and problem-solving. Attendance is compulsory for workshops and non-attendance will be penalised.

Students are expected to expand the concepts presented in the session and online by additional reading (suggested in the Online Reading List) in order to consolidate their learning process and further stimulate their interest to the module.

Assessment methods

Continuous assessment

Feedback methods

Feedback on problems and examples, feedback on coursework and exams, and support will also be provided through the virtual learning environment. A discussion board provides an opportunity to discuss topics related to the material presented in the module.

Recommended reading

Reading lists are accessible through the Blackboard system linked to the library catalogue.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Assessment written exam 32
Lectures 24
Independent study hours
Independent study 44

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Robin Smith Unit coordinator
Nan Zhang Unit coordinator

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