Chemical Engineering

In this course, students learn and apply core principles and concepts in heterogeneous catalysis. Students learn the most important catalytic materials and how to describe their functions, including important applications of heterogeneous catalysts in sustainable energy conversion. Course topics include the scope of future energy supply and its significance for industry and society as well as the environment and various synthetic methods for the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts using various solid-state, solution-and molecular-based approaches. Students learn how to define crystalline and amorphous materials and thin-film technology and gain a basic understanding of the characterization techniques and systematic evaluation of catalysts/thin films using diffraction, microscopic, and analytics. The course covers fundamentals of electrochemistry and how to correlate and explain activity parameters to differentiate catalyst's performances in catalytic oxidation and reduction processes in the rapidly growing fields of water electrolysis, fuel cells, CO2 activation, biomass reforming, and paired electrolysis. Course readings include relevant scientific literature and key publications of leading female and male scientists of the field.

In this course, students learn to explain the behavior and properties of fluids (static and dynamic), solve problems involving incompressible flows, and apply these basic principles in flow measurements and other flow (e.g. pipe) related problems, and (ii) to develop a basic understanding of conductive, diffusion and convective heat and mass transport, emphasizing first principles analysis, and apply it to a broad range of contexts.

Students apply knowledge of core chemical engineering to the design and evaluation of solutions for industrially relevant problems in an authentic context.  The course enables students to confidently undertake open-ended research in later courses. Students also explore business ethics on 3 levels (the Corporate, the social, and the theoretical) in order to develop an understanding of the moral structure of competing obligations and responsibilities inherent in various situations and issues.

In this course, students develop the skills required to identify hazards, to estimate the magnitude of the consequences (typically fires, explosions and toxic releases) and the probability of such an event occurring. Additionally, a fundamental approach for the systematic assessment and reduction of risk is established. Such an approach is essential to minimize harm, the resulting loss of money and reputation, and to meet national regulatory requirements.