The production of chemical products as well as the valorization of waste from various sources (e.g., food) require specific sequences of unit operations performed in specialized equipment. The aim of the course is to illustrate the most common types of equipment used in chemical processing plants and to explain how these are selected and designed, as a function of the necessary process conditions required for a specific application. Practical and numerical examples will be provided during the course to integrate the theory.

At the end of the course students will gain the basic knowledge and practical criteria for the selection of the best equipment type for a specific unit operation (e.g., heat transfer). Additionally, they will be able to: (1) perform the calculations needed for the correct design of different types of equipment, (2) specify the technical features that such equipment requires for specific applications (e.g., material, specific design to minimize mechanical stress).

Energy and mass balance. Heat and mass transfer. Basic knowledge of the main unit operations for chemical engineering (e.g., heat transfer, chemical reactions).

The course will cover: 1) Chemical plant utilities (steam, water) and their generation. 2) Heat transfer: types of heat exchangers, refrigeration cycles. 3) Separation: equipment for evaporation, crystallization, distillation, solvent extraction, adsorption. 4) Multiphase reactors: fixed and fluidized bed reactors. 5) Biochemical reactors.

Theoretical lectures explaining the basic principles of different unit operations, illustrating the most suitable equipment for different operating conditions and showing examples of sequences of unit operations for the production of goods or for treatment/valorization of waste. Numerical exercises (e.g., mass and energy balance) and design of chemical equipment basics.

D.W. Green, R.H. Perry, “Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Book”, McGraw-Hill W.L. McCabe, J.C. Smith, P. Harriott, “ Unit Operation of Chemical Engineering”, McGraw-Hill A.S. Foust, L.A. Wenzel, C.W. Clump, L. Maus, L.B. Anderson, "Principles of Unit Operation," Wiley "Chemical Engineering Design: Chemical Engineering Volume 6"

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Prova orale obbligatoria;

Exam: Written test; Compulsory oral exam;

... Two questions to check learning outcomes have been achieved by the students. Questions will be on the topics covered during lectures and will include: description and operating principles of equipment for specific unit operations, drawings and schemes, heat and mass balances for specific processes.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.