Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Explore how the introduction to chemical engineering blends chemistry, calculus, physics, and economics to solve real-world problems, from food processing to fertilizers, in an accessible course.

Learn unit concepts and conversions using the stepladder method, comparing cgs, British, and si systems, and convert cm to m and cm^3 to m^3 by cubing the conversion factor.

Explore units across the cgf and british systems, including pound-force and pound-mass, gravitational constant, psi, pascals, calories, btus, horsepower, viscosity, and heat capacity.

Explains how gravity converts mass to weight in si units and demonstrates converting a 70 kg mass to pounds in British units, yielding pound-mass and pound-force equivalents.

Explains dimensional consistency by equating left and right units in an equation and adding only like units. Uses the Reynolds number as a unitless example where units cancel.

Explain molecular mass with hydrogen, define mass fraction and mole fraction using a two-gas cylinder, and state the convention: gases use mole fraction, solids and liquids use mass fraction.

Calculate the average molecular mass of a gas mixture in a cylinder using mole fractions of components A and B, summing each component's mole fraction times its molecular mass.

Density measures mass per volume, denoted by rho. It compares objects with the same volume but different masses and is commonly expressed in grams per cubic meter.

Calculate the SG by dividing the material density by the density of water at 4 degrees, yielding about 1.3 (1300 kg/m^3). Note that the bulk density is 0.9 kg/L.

Examine concentration measures such as ppm, molarity, molality, and normality. Define each by its basis: solute per liter for molarity and normality, or per kilogram of solvent for molality.

Relate temperature scales by teaching how changes in Celsius equal changes in Kelvin, and how Fahrenheit changes are 1.8 times the Celsius changes, with practical conversions and reference points.

Convert 50 degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit using the 1.8 factor above the freezing point. It yields 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Analyze how gauge pressure and absolute pressure arise from liquid height, density, and gravity, including atmospheric references and vacuum scenarios.

Calculate hydrostatic pressure in a two-tank system using a gauge reading, liquid density, and vertical heights to determine P2 and P3 relative to atmosphere.

Explain normality through gram equivalents in neutralization, where one gram equivalent neutralizes one gram of base and one gram mole can equal one to four gram equivalents for compounds.

Explore buoyancy through a wood block example, showing how objects displace a mass of water equal to their weight, and how density—when a block is less dense than water—affects displacement.

Use buoyancy: a 1 m^3 cube of 400 kg displaces 0.4 m^3 of water, so the submerged height on a 1 m^2 area is 0.4 m.

Explore the empirical formula, treating constants A, B, and C with defined units, and apply dimensional consistency to determine unit relationships for X and convert units accordingly.

convert the empirical formula a = 1.537 x / y^0.71 from pounds per cubic foot and foot-hour degree fahrenheit to the ice system, deriving units and final expression.

Multiply the given value by conversion factors to convert units, handling exponents, and derive the empirical formula A = 0.4703 * X / Y^2 in SI units.

Measure flow rate through a pipe. Use inner diameter to compute cross-sectional area A = πr^2, then determine linear velocity v = volumetric flow rate / A.

Explain material balances at steady state with no reactions, showing mass and mole conservation across input streams a and b and output c. Illustrate saturated solutions and factors affecting solubility.

Apply material balances to a three-component oil–water–solid stream, use a separator to remove oil, compute feed and outlet rates, and convert the water outlet to barrels per hour.

Learn to estimate a y value by linear interpolation between two known points, then apply the same method to extrapolation beyond the given range.

Explore percentage yield and selectivity, and apply the in plus generated minus consumed equals out principle with a table method to solve material balances in chemical reactions.

In the third reactor, burn a carbon compound with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water, balance the reaction, and apply 40% excess to obtain 840 kmol of oxygen.

Define conversion in the reactor and the process using system boundaries and mole-based formulas, with streams, feeds, outputs, and recycle.

Use the ideal gas law PV=nRT to calculate moles, apply mass balances, and relate gas densities via specific gravity to a reference gas like air, using partial pressures.

Apply the ideal gas law to a simple gas system with no reaction to compute the outgoing pressure from inlet conditions, flow rates, and temperatures, yielding 222.2 pascals.

Explore material balances with recycle bypass and purge streams, using a reactor–separator system diagram to relate feed, recycle and purge masses, compositions, and conversions via simultaneous equations.

Analyze a recycle, purge, bypass reactor-separator system with a feed of gas, water, methanol, and butanol, using 20 percent conversion to predict CO and H2 outputs.

Determine the mole fraction of methanol in stream c as 0.2272 by dividing the methanol amount by the total in stream c, which includes methanol and water.

Explain how to compute methanol flow rates in a recycle purge bypass setup by relating fractions in streams A, f, and P and the upstream-to-total stream ratio.

Explore coal composition and the proximate and ultimate analyses. Learn how moisture, free water, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash, and key elements (C, H, S, N) are reported as percentages.

Analyze coal using proximate and ultimate analyses to determine fixed carbon, moisture, ash, hydrogen balance, sulfur, and nitrogen, and compute carbon in the volatile matter and its composition.

Explore combustion calculations, including percentage excess oxygen and oxygen required for combustion. Learn how hydrogen burns completely while carbon progresses from carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, emphasizing 100 percent completion.

We burn a carbon compound with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water, balance the equation, and compute the required oxygen with 40 percent excess from given flow rates.

Analyze exhaust gas composition using Orsat data, determine nitrogen by difference, and apply dry and sulfur-free or water-free bases with imaginary separators to perform mass balances.