CHE 575 Advances in Pollution Prevention

Engineers, scientists and policymakers are key leaders in the quest to reduce the environmental footprint for a variety of products, energy and health-changing technologies for a global economy. This course focuses on the design of industrial processes and products that minimize (or eliminate) chemical wastes during production and utilization. Part one of the course describes environmental regulations, current pollution prevention efforts and green chemistry principles. It also highlights traditional treatment technologies as a baseline for process modification. The second portion of the course describes ground-breaking research and novel applications in green chemistry, sustainability and pollution prevention. The third portion of the course covers product life cycle analysis (LCA) and the application of LCA to the design of more efficient processes. Students will conduct interactive case studies to illustrate important aspects of nanotechnology, bio-systems, energy and industrial processing from a critical environmental perspective. Industrial, government and academic guest lecturers will address the impact of key engineering principles on sustainability in nanotechnology, biomedical systems and alternative energy. At the end of the course students will be able to critically evaluate design, modification and implementation of environmentally friendly processes. 3 credit hours  
   
   
Prerequisite
 

Undergraduate course in Applied Differential Equations and Physics for Engineers and Scientists.

 

Course Objectives  

Nanotechnology, biomedical systems and energy are critical processes requiring a smaller environmental footprint. This course focuses on the design of industrial processes which minimize or eliminate chemical wastes. The first part of the course will describe the regulations and the organization of current pollution prevention efforts. It will also highlight current treatment technologies as a baseline for changing processes. Case studies used to illustrate important aspects of these efforts will focus on nanotechnology, biomedical systems and industrial processing. The second portion of the course will describe current research efforts in the area of green chemistry/pollution prevention. The third portion of the course will cover product life cycle analysis and the application of these ideas to the design of more efficient processes. The emerging importance of energy and the environment is an important subject that will be covered in this class. The subsequent design of new processes and improvement of existing processes will be conducted using computer simulations. In addition, there will be academic, industrial and government speakers that will address the problems associated with sustainability in nanotechnology, biomedical systems and energy.

 

Course Outline  
  • Introduction to Waste Treatment and Regulations
  • Pollution Prevention (waste audit)
  • Process Modification; nanotechnology, biomedical systems, energy
  • Environmentally Conscious Processing- (e.g., CO2 Principles and Applications)
  • Life Cycle Analysis and Case Studies in nano-,bio- and energy systems.

 

Textbook
 

Allen, David T. and David R. Shonnard, Green Engineering – Environmentally Conscious Design of Chemical Processes, ISBN: 0130619086

Additional reference materials and a list will be given during the course.
Course notes and supplemental handouts will be available after class begins.


Course Requirements  

HOMEWORK: Homework will be assigned periodically throughout the course. The main form of analysis will be case studies developed to apply the course principles to actual systems.

EXAMINATIONS: There will be two exams on the material in the text and class lectures. There is not a final exam in the course.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: MATLAB™/MAPLE™

PROJECTS: There will be a final project – students will have to submit portions of the project periodically thorough the semester in preparation for the final submission/presentation.

 

Software Requirements  

MATLAB™ or MAPLE™ software may be needed for this class. The student versions may be ordered from the NCSU Bookstore or if you have a high speed internet connection you can access the software remotely. You will be told about requirements for specific software in the course syllabus.

 

Computer and Internet Requirements  

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers used for classes. Depending on your computer needs, we recommend your computer meet or exceed the following minimum specifications below.

PCs must have an Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min.) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system should be Windows XP Pro. Real One Player Basic (available free online) and high speed Internet connection such as cable, DSL, T1 or LAN will be required for EOL courses.

MAC users must have a G4 processor with firewire and USB factory built-in, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB with 1GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system must be MacOS 10.4 (minimum) along with the above RealOne and Internet specifications above.

For more detailed information on computer specifications and recommendations, please refer to our website at: http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/currentstudents/computeraccess.htm

 

Instructor  

Dr. Christine S. Grant, Professor
Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University
Engineering Building I, Box 7905
Raleigh, NC 27695-7905

Phone: (919) 515-2317
Fax: (919) 515-3465
E-Mail: grant@eos.ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://www.che.ncsu.edu/faculty_staff/csg.html