Chemical Engineering BEng

Core modules:

Chemical Engineering Principles

In this module you will master the process synthesis method, and apply it to real-world chemical process challenges. A cornerstone of chemical engineering, material balances will then be explored in depth, providing you with a fundamental tool for industrial applications.

The module expands your design toolkit to include the crucial development of energy balances. You'll apply these concepts across a wide spectrum of essential chemical processes, including chemical reactors, heaters/coolers, mixers, distillation columns, evaporators, cooling towers, crystallisation, and boilers - crucial unit components in both established and emerging chemical industries.

Sustainability is woven throughout the module, with a particular focus on minimizing energy requirements in separation processes like distillation to ensure environmentally conscious designs. You'll also gain foundational techniques for evaluating vapour-liquid and gas-liquid equilibria, with an introduction to distillation as a key unit operation.

Supported by embedded laboratory sessions, this module will immerse you in the challenges of professional responsibility, safety, sustainability, and ethics. You'll hone your problem-solving skills, confidently applying mass and energy conservation to diverse chemical processes, and practicing essential teamwork and communication abilities.

20 credits

Fundamental Science and Skills

This module will help equip you with the essential knowledge and skills for a thriving career in chemical engineering. You'll master key scientific principles, including chemical stoichiometry, physical chemistry, equilibria, kinetics, and organic chemistry. This theoretical understanding is powerfully reinforced through immersive embedded laboratory sessions, and an extended process project  where you'll apply concepts directly to real-world chemical industries. Beyond core science, this module cultivates crucial employability skills. You'll be introduced to conventional data analysis techniques and industrially relevant chemical engineering modelling software, preparing you for the demands of the professional world. Another highlight of this module is our innovative, week-long, cross-faculty interdisciplinary design activity, which provides an invaluable opportunity to tackle complex, real-life engineering projects, honing your teamwork, design, problem-solving, and communication skills. With a strong focus on sustainability and inclusivity, you'll develop a professional approach and learn to articulate complex chemical engineering topics to diverse audiences. This module is a gateway to becoming a highly capable and sought-after chemical engineer.

20 credits

Engineering with Living Systems

This dynamic module provides a comprehensive exploration of biomanufacturing, focusing on the innovative production of essential products using living systems. You will gain a foundational understanding of the burgeoning biotechnology industry, learning about the diverse range of products across its various sectors, showcasing how living systems are harnessed to produce a diverse array of products.

You will explore the intricate workings of host cell systems, such as yeast and E. coli, which are the very backbone of industrial bio-manufacturing. You will gain a deep understanding of microbiology as you explore cell growth kinetics in both batch and continuous systems, linking these principles to the production of vital outputs like protein biopharmaceuticals and fatty acid fuels, learn about the crucial process of fermentation and discover innovative strategies like metabolic engineering and synthetic biology used to enhance cellular productivity.

Through engaging case studies and practical laboratory sessions, you'll see how genetic and metabolic engineering revolutionize product creation. By the end of this module, you will be equipped with a robust understanding of biological engineering, microbial processes, novel bioproducts, enzymatic catalysis, and the transformative potential of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.

20 credits

Thermo and Fluid Dynamics

Unlock the core principles of Chemical Engineering with this essential module, exploring thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, particle mechanics, and heat transfer. This module provides the foundational knowledge crucial for designing and operating sustainable chemical processes.

You'll delve into thermodynamics, understanding energy utilization, efficiency, and the vital role of thermodynamic equilibrium. We'll explore the first and second laws of thermodynamics, analysing power and refrigeration cycles.

Discover the critical importance of fluid dynamics in chemical plants, from precise flow rates in pipes to how fluid movement impacts heat and mass transfer. You'll master concepts like laminar and turbulent flow, pipe flow, and dimensional analysis.

The unit also covers particle mechanics, examining how particles interact with fluids and each other. Finally, gain a sound understanding of heat transfer, including conduction, convection, and radiation, preparing you to design efficient heat transfer equipment. Practical problems and embedded labs will solidify your grasp of these fundamental concepts.

40 credits

Mathematics (Chemical)

This module aims to reinforce students' previous knowledge and to develop new basic mathematical techniques needed to support the engineering subjects taken at levels 1 and 2. It also provides a foundation for the level 2 mathematics courses in the appropriate engineering department. The module is delivered via online lectures, reinforced with weekly interactive problem classes.

20 credits

Core modules:

Process Control

Process control is the study of regulating the conditions of a process in order to obtain a stable process and to generate high quality products efficiently, economically and safely. This module covers modelling and analysing various control system behaviours, including first order and higher order systems, with closed and open loops. The application of control systems to various chemical processes and units will be included. The principles will then be applied in the context of heat exchanger design. How to select suitable heat exchange systems and units and evaluate different types of heat exchangers will be covered.

20 credits

Reaction Engineering 1

Reaction engineering deals with the holistic design of reactions and appropriate reactors, using the concepts of materials and energy balances, kinetics and chemical thermodynamics. These concepts apply across all sectors of chemical engineering, from petrochemicals to food; from pollution control to biotechnology. This module will cover reactor design including reactor volume, reaction or residence time and operating temperature; and in particular how to optimise both reactor design and reactor type alongside operating conditions for different chemical processes. Application of this knowledge to open ended problems and tools to model any idealised reaction system will be covered.

20 credits

Data Driven Engineering

Much of engineering involves designing, undertaking and analysing the results from experimental studies. This module gives students a chance to do so using the Diamond Pilot Plant and other unit operation experiments as the test bed. Core to good experimental design and analysis is a sound grounding in applied statistics which will be covered as part of this module. Student teams will be given open ended laboratory investigations. Students will be introduced to how large datasets can be used to implement machine learning. They will design experiments and visit the lab on several occasions to collect data for analysis. Results will be presented as written technical reports

20 credits

Process and Product Design

The module covers the selection and design of process equipment found on a chemical plant, including scale-up methods and short cut design procedures. Students are introduced to product design including various techniques necessary for the selection of ideas and screening of alternatives, as well as the details of manufacturing and economic considerations. The module also provides an introduction to process safety and loss prevention from industrial processes and will enable students, with further experience in industry, to carry out activities involved in the safety review of proposed and existing plants.

20 credits

- Maths, Design & Digital Skills (20 credits)

This module consolidates and develops mathematical knowledge relevant to chemical engineering, such as Partial Differentiation, Calculus, Partial Differential Equations and Probability Distributions. These mathematical skills developed will be deployed in an engineering context alongside computer programming and modelling skills to solve real world chemical engineering problems. This will culminate in a week-long design project drawing on skills from across the entire programme. Students will also participate in an interdisciplinary group project week to develop teamwork, communication and design skills.

- Mass Transfer and Separation Processes (20 credits)

The course introduces the fundamental principles of equilibrium and mass transfer kinetics in multicomponent systems and applies these principles to analysis and design of separation processes. This includes molecular diffusion in gases, liquids and solids, and the transport of momentum, heat and mass. Thermodynamic concepts from Year 1 are extended to non-ideal, multicomponent mixtures and applied to phase equilibria. These equilibria are then used to design and rate staged separation processes.

Core modules:

Systems for Sustainability

This module introduces sustainability relevant to the environmental impact of chemical processes and industry. The module covers the concepts of systems analysis by introducing systems-level thinking. Tools to examine process sustainability will be included such as life cycle analysis and circular economy.

20 credits

Process Design Project

The module aims to prepare students for professional practice in industrial development of chemical engineering processes. Students will learn to analyse an open problem, research the issues and synthesize a possible technical solution, taking account of the context and broader issues such as economics, environment and safety. Students will need to work effectively as a small team by work organisation and mutual support.

Students work as a group under the guidance of a member of staff to develop an overall study of a substantial industrial process, taking account of geographical, social and economic factors and produce a group report and make a presentation outlining a possible scheme to satisfy the requirements. Students then take responsibility for parts of the solution and produce individual reports each including a detailed design of a piece of equipment and a more detailed consideration of a broader aspect of the proposed process. This makes use of most of the degree content and also requires self-directed learning.

40 credits

Reaction Engineering 2

This module provides in depth analysis of complex reactions and design of realistic reactors including fluid-solid reactions. It covers complex reaction kinetics and concepts such as residence time distributions and non-ideal flow models, and provides an understanding of catalytic and autocatalytic processes, including both chemical and enzymatic catalysis, and microbial bioreactors. Computer simulation of reactor dynamics are deployed to optimise reactor design and reaction conditions.

20 credits

Transport Phenomena

This module will explore the rates by which heat, momentum and mass are transported between a system and its surroundings. It builds upon CMB115, CMB116 and CMB217 by extending the use of shell balances to set up and solve the governing differential equations for heat and mass transfer. The appropriate constitutive equations are manipulated for different geometries and to solve problems with resistances in series. Different boundary and initial conditions are explored for steady-state and transient problems, Mathematical tools are re-introduced in the context of solving specific problems. Combined convection­-diffusion problems for heat and mass are solved in terms of dimensionless numbers; another set of dimensionless numbers is introduced for molecular transport problems spanning a solid interface. Dimensionless parameters are used to estimate solutions for problems with multiple forms of transport. Advanced separation and heat transfer problems are also addressed.

20 credits

Optional modules:

Energy Engineering

The module covers topics including the sources, history, classifications and units of energy, an introduction to coal, oil and natural gas. It then goes on to cover energy conversions such as combustion processes to generate power for electrical systems. Other energy carriers are also considered such as nuclear as well as the use of energy for transport and energy futures.

20 credits

Environmental Engineering

The course will have three main focus areas: air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution. The module will prepare students to tackle pollution problems, both in terms of methods to prevent pollution from occurring and methods for remediation of polluted sites.

20 credits

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

This module introduces pharmaceutical manufacturing  (including biopharmaceuticals, biotherapeutics and vaccines) using real world examples.  It will provide a solid foundation for a successful career in this growing manufacturing sector at the forefront of combating infectious diseases, cancers, (auto)immune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetic disorders and much more. The teaching team consists of leading researchers and experts from both academia and industry.

Understanding of the key unit operations used in pharmaceutical manufacturing will be developed, including therapeutic proteins, cell/gene therapies, conventional vaccines, mRNA vaccines and mRNA therapeutics. The design, mathematical modeling and unit operations involved in these biomanufacturing processes (e.g. bioreactors and purification unit operations) will be studied.  Key topics covered include process engineering, continuous manufacturing, analytical technologies, automation, techno-economic assessment, quality by design, intellectual property and regulatory affairs.  There will be a particular focus on the latest industrial trends through a review of the current and future challenges in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

20 credits