MME505

Unit Description and General Aims

This core subject provides the students sufficient depth of understanding of processing engineering in the context of industrial automation and mechanical engineering. The principles of unit operations, unit processes, fluid transport, and control provide the student with an understanding of how to apply these principles to control and instrumentation systems. Students will be able to perform complex process calculations to enable them to apply control principles in later subjects. Cases studies and / or mini projects form an integral part of this subject and provide a practical understanding to the subject matter.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this Unit, students are expected to be able to:

1. Have a deep understanding of unit operations, unit processes and transport principles in the context of industrial automation.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
2. Acquire knowledge and become aware of recent advances in instrumentation, measurement and control underpinning plant operations.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
3. Acquire an awareness of latest engineering materials and technologies to support process operations.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
4. Understand the methodology of heat and mass balances (and utility balances) and be able to apply principles to generate heat and mass balances for process operations.
   • Bloom’s Level 5
5. Synthesize and analyze property data, process information and requirements to create complex process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams.
   • Bloom’s Level 6
6. Synthesize and analyze property data, process information and requirements to perform complex process calculations.
   • Bloom’s Level 6

Student assessment

Prescribed and Recommended readings

Required Textbook

C. J. Geankoplis, Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 5th edition, Prentice Hall, UK, 2018

J. M. Smith and H.C. Van Ness, Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics , Ninth Edition, Mc Graw-Hills, 2021

Reference Materials

Number of peer-reviewed journals and websites (advised during lectures). Some examples are listed below.

• N. P. Chopey, Handbook of Chemical Engineering Calculations, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill, 2004
• R. K. Sinott, Coulson and Richardson’s Chemical Engineering volume 6 – Design, Pergamon Press, 1995
• Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook, 8th edition, McGraw Hill
• Number of peer-reviewed journals and websites (advised during lectures) [some examples below]
  a. Chemical Engineering Journal
  b. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data
  c. Oil and Gas Journal
  d. Chemical Engineering
  e. EIT notes

Unit Content

One topic is delivered per contact week, with the exception of part-time 24-week units, where one topic is delivered every two weeks.

Topic 1

Introduction to Process Engineering

1. Definition of a process, process modelling and design
2. Process operations commonly encountered
3. Concept of process integration
4. Walk-through typical processes
5. Process measurement and control – instrumentation, measurement, control and material of construction.

Topic 2

Principles of Mechanical Engineering Mass and Energy

1. Conservation of mass and energy
2. Entropy, Enthalpy and Exergy

Topic 3

Principles of Mechanical Engineering Thermodynamics-I

1. Thermodynamics properties of ideal and real gases
2. Multicomponent mixtures
3. Phase equilibrium in mixtures

Topic 4

Principles of Mechanical Engineering Thermodynamics-II

1. Equilibrium for reacting systems
2. Analysis of power and refrigeration cycles.
3. Thermodynamics calculations

Topic 5  

Flow Phenomena and momentum transfer-I

1. Statics and hydraulic
2. Types of Flow and fluid
3. Flow through a pipe

Topic 6

Modelling of Industrial Process (ANSYS CFX/FLUENT)

1. Mixing of two Fluid
2. Gas-Liquid Separation
3. Multi-phase flow in a pipe
4. Flow in a micro-channel (CCUS)

Topic 7 

Flow Phenomena and momentum transfer-II

1. Laminar and turbulent flow. Flow around objects.
2. Flow through Packed Beds and Fluidized Beds
3. Particle flow
4. Multiphase flow
5. Momentum transfer
6. Flow equipment and measurement

Topic 8 

Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer-I

1. Concepts of heat and mass transfer
2. Mass transfer coefficients
3. Mass transfer operations – Distillation-Extraction-Absorption-adsorption-evaporation-leaching

Topic 9

Application of Industrial Processes-I (Hydrogen)

1. Production of green, blue and grey hydrogen (Electrolysis and Steam Reforming)
2. Application of hydrogen (EV, Chemical Industries, Power generation and storage, Liquefaction, and export)
3. Transport of hydrogen through existing natural gas pipelines

Topic 10 

Application of Industrial Processes-II (Long Term Energy Storage)

1. Underground hydrogen storage process (pros and cons)
2. Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) process (Broken Hill Project, NSW)
3. Carbon capture utilization and storage process (CCUS)

Topic 11 

Application of Industrial Processes-III (Short Term Energy Storage)

1. Different types of batteries and applications in EV
2. Li-ion battery manufacturing process
3. Recycling of batteries for sustainable circular economy
4. CO₂ reduction toward net-zero emissions

Topic 12

Application of Industrial Process-IV (NiSO₄ Production)

1. Fundamentals
2. Plant layout fundamentals
3. Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
4. Process and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
5. Equipment used in process plants
6. Mass and Energy balance

Engineers Australia

The Australian Engineering Stage 1 Competency Standards for the Professional Engineer, approved as of 2013. This table is referenced in the mapping of graduate attributes to learning outcomes and via the learning outcomes to student assessment.

 Software/Hardware Used

Software

• Software: ANSYS CFX/FLUENT

• Version: N/A

• Instructions: Use Remote Lab to access this software.

• Additional resources or files: N/A

Hardware

• Hardware: N/A

Unit Changes Based on Student Feedback