Advanced Topics in Chemical Engineering (CHEN90035)

This subject is modular in nature where students must complete two of the three modules, Chemical Product Development (1), Biochemical Engineering (2) and The Literature and Culture of Australia (3). The subject will be undertaken concurrently with students from the University of Delaware through a Study Abroad program as an intensive subject in January 2017. Note: module 3 does not count towards any completion requirements for UoM students, thud module 3 is only recommended for the study abroad students from the University of Delaware.

AIMS

Chemical Product Development (1)
Internationally, approximately fifty precent of chemical engineers are employed in positions related to chemical product development and design. The aim of this module is to introduce students to the concepts behind chemical product design. This includes an introduction to the chemical product design method as well as the concept of management or decision gates in the process. This will include both educational and real world examples of how chemical product development takes advantage of fundamental aspects of chemical engineering including transport diffusion, chemical kinetics, interfacial phenomena and microstructure and flow.

Biochemical Engineering (2)
Biochemical and bioprocess engineering have developed in concert with the industralization of wine, beer, and cheese production, and biochemical engineering approaches are essential in producing biotechnology products such as antibiotics, enzymes, vitamins, and steroidal hormones. The goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the experimental and mathematical frameworks underlying the growth, death, and metabolism of biological organisms and the production of both macromolecular and small molecule products using these organisms. The course will also introduce basic bioreactor design and scale-up concepts, evaluate different methods to produce biological molecules, select appropriate purification processes for biological molecules, and understand and apply protein and nucleic acid formulation criterion.

The Literature and Culture of Australia (3)
The study of Australia’s multicultural history and literature will begin with the continent’s aboriginal origins and trace its development through the colonial and postcolonial eras to the present day. Study and discussion of texts will be augmented by academic excursions to major cultural sites in Melbourne and Sydney—including museums and galleries that feature aboriginal works of art as well as those belonging to the Western tradition.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

Chemical Product Development (1)
Chemical product design approach and the four key aspects, different class of chemical products. Estimation of chemical product design specifications based on diffusion, reaction and transport phenomena. The role of surfaces in processing and materials manufacture. How to use a basic knowledge of interfacial phenomena to control the microstructure of a chemical product. At an introductory level, how inter-particle forces affect coagulation, dispersion and stability criterion as well as parameters that influence flow and gelation properties. The role of molecular additives in controlling dispersion and emulsion and stability in an applied framework, such as using HLB index.

Biochemical Engineering (2)
Kinetics of cell growth, death, and metabolism, Cell growth stoichiometry, Cell growth and product formation models, Batch and fed-batch fermenters and processing, Continuous processing, Substrate limitations, aeration, and scale-up Biochemical separations and formulation and laboratory on a bench-scale analysis of cellular growth kinetics

The Literature and Culture of Australia (3)
Origins and Beginnings, Australian history and culture based on Hughes (The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding) and Jose (The Literature of Australia: An Anthology) set of topics related to the works by Carey (True History of the Kelly Gang: A Novel), Conway (The Road from Coorain), and Pilkington (Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence)