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Overview

Course Prescription

Specification, planning and executing a specific process design project. The detailed considerations in the project to include environmental impact, safety and occupational health issues, material selection, process energy demand and efficiency, costing and economics, process start-up and operation.

Course Overview

This is a capstone process design course.  In this course, a student, working both individually and within a group, will apply the process of design by walking from the initial concept, the fundamental heat and material balances, PFD, P&ID, early feasibility based on economics and sustainability. This course will focus on large scale multicomponent systems.  Business cases will be reviewed in more detail.  Modern safety case analysis will be discussed. 
The timeline below provides a suggested timeline for project activities and key deadlines. These are generic tasks; students must prepare a detailed workplan specific for their project and assign specific activities to each group member. The detailed workplan must be presented in the form of a Gantt Chart as an appendix in all written reports. The workplan will be updated or modified as the year progresses.
750A / Semester 1 Week: Activity / Task Prior to Start of Semester Form groups; explore project ideas Week 1: Project allocation; contact project supervisor Week 2: Kick-off meeting with supervisor; prepare action plan for the term; establish project management structure; initiate literature review; explore design options Week 3: Continue literature review; rank design alternatives; select most promising option(s) Week 4:  Perform basic evaluation of chosen design alternative: simple material balances, property estimations, market survey Week 5: Complete basic evaluation of selected design; prepare interim progress report including process diagrams, product specifications, or sketches as applicable Week 6: Midterm progress report due; Midterm group presentations Midsemester breakWeek 7: Design review period: consult with industry mentors, supervisors, and/or teaching assistants, on ways to improve or modify design as neededWeek 8: Design review period: consult with industry mentors, supervisors, and/or teaching assistants, on ways to improve or modify design as needed Week 9: Develop detailed evaluation of design, e.g., complete base case simulation or detailed property estimations Week 10: Continue detailed evaluation of design; document your work and agree on final report structure with your group and supervisor Week 11: Evaluate social, environmental, safety, and health impacts of your design; finalize major design tasks Week 12: Complete financial evaluation of proposed design; perform sensitivity analysis; compile report and proof read it; Design Basis Memorandum (DBM) report due   750B / Semester 2 Week: Activity / Task Week 1: Review meeting with supervisor: go over DBM comments and prepare plan of action for the winter term Week 2: DBM review: modify DBM and proposed design based on your supervisor’s feedback Week 3: Continue DBM review. Submit updated Project Plan and Contract. Week 4: Explore design modifications: attempt to optimize one or more performance metrics; document all design changes Week 5: Perform detailed evaluation of your improved design Week 6: Midterm progress report is due; Midterm group presentations Midsemester breakWeek 7: Explore detailed or advanced elements in your designWeek 8: Continue exploring detailed or advanced elements in your design Week 9: Establish final report structure and start filling gaps in it Week 10 Continue putting the finishing touches in your report. Week 11 Complete design testing and evaluation Week 12 Compile final report and proofread it; Final report is due After Lectures Finish: Final Presentations

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 4 hours of class discussion, 1 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Prerequisite
Restriction

Additional Advice on Prerequisites

To complete this course students must enrol in CHEMMAT 750 A and B

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including in class tutorials.
Lectures will be available as recordings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Teaching and Learning Methods

A handful of lectures and workshops, weekly meetings with project mentors and/or course coordinator, peer to peer learning through collaboration within the design team on the capstone project

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

The following reference texts are recommended: 1) Sinnott's and Towler's Chemical Engineering Design 2) Perry's and Green's Chemical Engineers' Handbook

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Health and Safety

There are no laboratories. However, the course includes significant HSE learnings. Further, students must ensure they are familiar with their Health and Safety responsibilities, as described in the university's Health and Safety policy.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Additional Information on Assessment

A more detailed breakdown of the assessments is as follows:
750A/Semester 1 Assessment Type, Percentage, Learning Outcomes Participation 5.0% 10 1st Mid-term report 10.0% 1-3, 5, 6, 10 1st Mid-term oral 10.0% 1, 2, 6, 10 Project D.B.M. 25.0% 1-6, 10
750B/Semester 2 Assessment Type Percentage Learning Outcomes Participation 5.0% 10 2nd Mid-term report 7.5% 2, 4, 5-10 2nd Mid-term oral 7.5% 7-10 Final Project report 20.0% 1-10 Final presentation 10.0% 2, 4, 5-10
Please note that all assessments are compulsory, and in-line with the University’s assessment policy, 40% of the marks will be awarded on an individual basis, and peer assessment marks will be included.

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12345678910

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

Verbal feedback from most students in 2024 was positive.  Only a few written responses and comments were received in the 2024 SET reviews, however they were less positive.  The major critical comment was the JIT lectures would have been better delivered at a more detailed level, than the high level that they were, and better delivered by in house lecturers than external presenters.  We take those suggestions on board for 2025.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.