ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES PART A
This course requires well-established knowledge of basic elements of inorganic and organic chemistry, mathematical analysis and physics.
The course aims to provide the basic elements for the definition of safe and productive operating conditions (temperatures, pressures, flow rates, etc ...) for chemical processes of industrial interest characterized by the following features: medium-high exothermicity and high reaction rates. Particular attention will be paid to chemical reactors and all the aspects that influence the rate of production of the compounds under analysis (macro and micro kinetics, thermochemical stability, etc ...). Specific attention will also be devoted to the analysis and reconstruction of accidents that have occurred over the past 10-15 years and that involved these types of processes.
In summary, the contents of the course (divided into modules) will be as follows:
Module 1: Reactors and kinetics.
Duration: 16 hours - Lectures
Illustration of the structure of a chemical company at risk of a major accident with a focus on the risk factors present in the production area; background of kinetics: micro and macrokinetics (kinetic schemes: simple or complex; illustration of the peculiar characteristics of multiphase reacting systems: eg. liquid / liquid reactions and gas / liquid); types of reactors: ideal reactors operating in non-steady state (basics on modeling and control of batch and semibatch reactors, CSTR and PFR reactors in both start-up and shut-down conditions).
Module 2: Calorimetry applied to the study of industrial reacting systems
Duration: 16 hours - Lectures
Thermal stability of reacting systems (thermal runaway).
Illustration of the main calorimetric methods aimed to characterize the thermochemical stability of substances or reacting systems (Differential Scanning Calorimetry, DSC; Accelerating Rate Calorimetry, ARC; C80; PHI-TEC II; RC1) in various conditions typical of an industrial plant operation ("routine", not standard and emergency); use of different calorimetric tests for the definition of the kinetics of a reacting system (even complex). Practical examples of process scale-up.
Module 3: Drawing and critical reconstruction of real accidents (module with tutorials)
Duration: 16 hours - Lectures
Illustration (also by watching videos) of the dynamics of accidents occurred recently in chemical companies. Detailed reconstruction of the causes of the incidental event making use of the methodology outlined in the previous modules.
Lessons: slides and handouts are provided in the classroom by the professor (in pdf or paper format) - available on the educational portal in pdf format.
Movies: files provided in the classroom by the teacher or reachable through links listed directly on the slides and handouts provided to the students in pdf format.