Design in Chemical Engineering: What Are the Perspectives?
Viviane Yargeau
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
viviane.yargeau@mcgill.ca
Abstract
Design in chemical engineering should aim at
reaching a balance between theory and practice in
engineering education in order to have students better
prepared for their future endeavors. As students
progress through the curriculum they learn more
fundamental engineering science, more design
components are introduced into courses and the
complexity of the design problems increases. Elements
of design are introduced in many courses and
culminate in a capstone design course. Current
practices in Chemical Engineering at McGill
University are described here and general perspectives
are discussed.
1. Introduction
In chemical engineering, design usually refers to
design of equipment or design of all or the major part
of a chemical processing plant considering safety and
economic aspects. But what are the perspectives of
design in chemical engineering?
It differs from design in most engineering disciplines
in that the design cannot possibly be built by students
and tested for correctness. It is difficult to give
students hands-on experience through their design
experience. Chemical engineers rely on sciences,
engineering methods, experience and ingenuity to
develop processes and equipment required for
economical production of useful products. Chemical
engineers have contributed to the development of
various materials such as chemicals and petroleum
products, plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers,
foodstuffs, rocket propellants, etc. They have
influenced the development of many fields, some of
which are fuel cells, automatic controls, water
desalination plants, and artificial kidneys. The types of
design projects are virtually unlimited and their
foundations are engineering sciences with emphasis on
chemistry and biology.
Recently, green chemistry has been recognized as an
important component of the chemical engineering
curriculum. Green design has emerged as a result of a
general philosophic shift from waste management to
pollution prevention [1]. As a consequence, design of
processes should be done while minimizing generation
of pollution at the source and risk to human health and
environment. Environmental considerations such as
resource conservation and waste minimization should
be used at all phases of the product and process life
cycle to guide selection of design alternatives.
Teaching design is then an essential part of the
chemical engineering curriculum. While the format of
design components varies significantly among
different chemical engineering programs [2], the goal
of converting students from scientists to engineers is
achieved by introducing design to undergraduates.
This usually includes the following:
o Integration of sciences and theories into a design
o Development of student’s creativity
o Use of a design methodology and consideration of
alternative solutions
o Introduction of practical tools and software used
in an engineering design office
o Exposure to the art of dealing with uncertainties
o Completion of a whole process study
Through this exposure students develop and improve
technical skills as well as soft skills required to be a
professional engineer. After such training, they are
better suited to meet the needs of industry.
2. Design Throughout the Chemical
Engineering Curriculum
Analysis of approaches used to teach design in North
American universities reveals four main categories:
freshmen engineering, integrated learning, specialty
courses and capstone design courses. A chemical
engineering curriculum generally involves one or a
combination of these approaches to give design
experience to undergraduates. The following
paragraphs give a brief description of these
approaches.
Freshmen design engineering
The main objective of freshmen design engineering
courses is to provide first-year students with a realistic,
rewarding, and successful introduction to engineering.
Burton identified eight different methods to teach
design to freshmen: reverse engineering, creating
something useful, full scale project, small scale
project, case studies, competitions, non-profit project,
and redesign of a local project [3]. These methods are
not mutually exclusive and are often combined to
enhance student experience.
In 2004 the department of chemical engineering at
McGill decided to introduce design components to first
year students. This decision was supported by the
professor, namely I, who teaches Introduction to
Chemical Engineering to first year students as well as
Design Project, the capstone design course given to
last year students. The introductory material and
energy balances are effectively covered using simple
design projects introducing basic design components.
It also familiarizes undergraduates with basic
terminology and concepts of green chemistry. We
believe that introducing design concepts early in a
student’s education will motivate and excite them, and
promote team work. We aim at reaching the five goals
of early exposure to design identified by Sauer [4]:
1. Expand student’s knowledge of various areas
of endeavor available to chemical engineers
2. Develop student’s understanding of how basic
science and mathematics interface with
engineering
3. Increase student’s awareness of the chemical
engineering curriculum and core
competencies
4. Develop, extend, and improve the written and
oral communication and teaming skills of the
students
5. Present the students with a realistic view of
practicing chemical engineering
The integration of design in the first year of
engineering requires a significant investment of
resources (computer, software, and faculty) and the
role of the instructor changes from lecturer to coach
and mentor when working on the design aspect of the
course. Design courses are typically more demanding
than lecture courses for both faculty and students but
the impact on student experience is certainly worth the
extra effort.
Integrated Learning
As students progress through the curriculum they learn
more fundamental engineering science, and more
design components must be introduced into the
courses. Complexity of the design problems should
increase as they progress through the curriculum. The
basic elements of equipment design can be found in
many courses starting with basic design problems,
experiencing design exercises, and then tackling actual
design projects in capstone design.
In the department of chemical engineering at McGill,
courses such as: Introduction to Chemical
Engineering, Reaction Engineering, Separation
Processes, and Project Laboratory teach students
some rules of thumb on the design of equipment and
processes. In Process Control they learn the basic
principles of designing process control strategies.
Some guidelines and design procedures are then
effectively covered in an integrated learning stream as
they learn engineering science.
Course on design process
Before students start working on a design project,
more emphasis must be put on design process to be
certain that students apply a rigorous approach to
design. As mentioned by Culver [5], capstone courses
should be preceded by courses that help to prepare
students for design. This is the main goal of courses on
design methodology, also called design process.
In chemical engineering at McGill, the design
sequence starts with a four credit one-semester course,
in which the students learn the fundamentals of
conceptual design and are familiarized with a state-of-
the-art process simulator. The teaching methodology is
based on a design logic sequence and evaluation is
based on assignments (35%) and examinations (65%).
Students work in groups for the assignments and each
topic is reviewed during tutorials. The course covers
topics such as:
o Role of the process engineer
o Types of documents and drawings of interest to
process engineers
o Selection and sizing of tanks, pipes and valves,
pumps, blowers, heat exchangers, boilers, etc.
o Mass and Energy balances
o Unit operation types and categories
o Control philosophy
o Materials of construction
o Safety and Environmental issues
o Layouts
o Economic analysis of plant
Capstone design course
The design sequence usually culminates in a capstone
design course. This part of the design sequence is
usually a wide scope design project which typically
involves students working in groups to design the
major part of a chemical processing plant if not all of
it, considering safety and economics. Projects are
usually based on the design of production plants.
According to Duston [6], to be selected, a design
project should:
o Be challenging
o Have good chances for successful completion
o Have literature available
o Emphasize the application of theory
o Involve engineering design work
o Meet specific standards and safety criteria
o Not involve proprietary information if industry is
involved.
Time required for completing the project must also fit
into the time allotted for the design course.
To support team work, communication among the
members of the groups should be facilitated.
Infrastructure should also be adequate for the projects
conducted. For example, a computer room equipped
with specialty software should be available. If
experiments must be conducted, appropriate lab space
must be available.
In the department of chemical engineering at McGill,
the design project plays a very important role in
providing students with design experience. It is further
described in the following section.
3. Capstone design course in Chemical
Engineering at McGill
In Chemical Engineering at McGill, the design project
has a weight of six credits and spans two semesters.
The students are divided into groups of even abilities,
consisting of three or four students. To mimic
industrial situations, the groups are formed by course
coordinator. However, to minimize the risk of having a
non functional team and maximize the learning
experience of each student, strong dislikes are
respected as much as possible when forming the
groups. Each group is assigned to a specific design
project. Professors act as master designer and the
students as apprentices. Communication among team
members and the professor is supported by WebCT. A
design room equipped with computers and specialty
software is dedicated to students working on design
project.
Chemical engineering professors do many things
brilliantly, but plant design is something few of us
have any experience in. At McGill University, in the
Department of Chemical Engineering we have long
used the advantage of having several world-class
consulting companies and major chemical process
industries within a few minutes distance, to provide a
different kind of design sequence. It forms part of our
‘Reverse Internship’ program where, rather than
sending students to industry, we bring industry to our
students via Adjunct Professors. A professor from the
department then acts as a course coordinator and works
with adjunct professors and students during the design
projects. Working with engineers from the industry has
many advantages:
o They have done it!
o Knowledge of engineering tools & methods
o Understanding of interaction between disciplines
o Emphasis on the right parameters
o Practical approach to problem solving
o Short-cut methods and rules of thumb
o Sees the global picture, not just the process
o Good feel for order of magnitude values
o Conveys enthusiasm of complete project
The role of the course coordinator and the client is to
mentor the students by being involved in the project
from the sidelines. As mentioned by Marin [7],
learning to lead a group should be part of student’s
capstone design experience. Students must feel the
ownership of their project.
The following paragraphs detail the work done during
the two semesters of capstone design course.
First semester – Preliminary work
Work in the first semester involves one credit and is
judged pass-fail. Students meet regularly with their
leader and prepare a preliminary report outlining the
scope of the design and identifying possible
alternatives. This first part of the design course focuses
on project analysis, preliminary evaluation
(economical and technical), data and literature
collection, and preliminary design (including
identification of alternatives). This phase also includes
preliminary risk analysis, environmental concerns, and
operation considerations. The final examination is an
oral presentation by students to peers, the group
leaders, and other professors in the department. At the
end of the first semester or at the beginning of the
second semester, students usually visit a plant to
observe relevant facilities or equipment.
To support students through their design experience
some workshops will be developed and offered to
students. These will be non technical workshops on
information literacy, design report writing and team
work. For example, students should be introduced to
the four stages of team dynamics and be provided with
sample meeting agendas and minutes, along with tips
on building consensus.
Second semester – Design work
During the second semester, students prepare a
conceptual design of a process or a large part of a
process. This involves mass and energy balances, flow
sheeting, equipment sizing, costing and financial
analysis as well as detailed design of at least one piece
of equipment. In some cases, students also choose a
site and prepare a plant layout. More details on design
tasks are given in section 4. Students are free to use
any computer tools that best fit the specific problem.
They produce a final design report of approximately 50
pages with another 50 pages of drawings, spreadsheets
and background information. The course concludes
with a formal oral presentation.
Design Projects
As mentioned earlier, the number of types of design
projects is virtually unlimited. In the past 35 years at
McGill numerous projects have been conducted in
various areas with different levels of environmental
emphasis, in various locations and in collaboration
with different organizations as described here.
Areas of projects
As shown in Figure 1, Petrochemical and Pulp & Paper
areas represent most of the projects conducted from
1999 to 2003, with 25% and 24% respectively. Food
and Chemical follow with 18% and Metallurgical
represents 15% of projects [8]. These areas are
representative of our collaborators expertise. Note that
environmental projects were classified in the area in
which these were implemented. For example, a
treatment plant for a Pulp & Paper industry was
considered as a Pulp & Paper project. However,
considering the growing number of projects having a
main focus on environmental processes, an
environmental category will be added. For example, in
2004, one of the projects could not be classified
without an additional environmental category. The
project was the design of an efficient, safe to operate,
environmental protection facility to treat 20,000
tons/year of wastes by incineration and 28,000
tons/year of petroleum sludge by thermal desorption.
Metallurgical
15% Petrochemical
Food
25%
18%
Chemical Pulp&Paper
18% 24%
Figure 1 Areas of projects conducted from
1999 to 2003
Here are other examples of projects representing the
various areas:
o Design of a plant to produce 15 million lbs/year of
detergent using ethylene oxide and lauryl alcohol
(Chemical)
o Design of a water treatment facility to provide a
pulp and paper plant with 20,000 m3/h of water
using a nearby river as a source (Pulp & Paper)
o Redesign of an oil refinery to significantly reduce
green house gas emissions and economic analysis
based on potential C/H and CO2 taxes that could
be implemented following the Kyoto protocol
(Petrochemical)
o Design of a Caribbean coffee production plant and
Upgrade of a beer plant (Food)
Some projects with broader focus’ are designed to be
done through group interaction, sharing information
and results. Groups can be dependent or independent.
Here are some examples of these projects:
o Design of an industrial fumed silica production
plant with nominal capacity of 2,000 tons/year:
Comparison of two technologies - Flame
Hydrolysis and Thermal Plasma (Metallurgical)
o Design of a hydrochloric acid regeneration plant
implemented in a metal leaching plant to
regenerate pure acid at a rate of 160,000
tons/year: Comparison of two processes -
Pyrohydrolysis and gypsum precipitation
(Metallurgical)
o Design of a newsprint manufacturing complex:
47% of pulp produced at the Thermo-Mechanical
Pulping (TMP) department is combined to 57% of
pulp coming from the new De-ink Plant (DIP)
department to produce 320,000 machine dry
tons/year at the new Paper Machine department
(Pulp & Paper)
o Design of a magnesium production plant with
nominal capacity of 60,000 tons/year: Comparison
of three technologies - Mintek, UTI/VAMI and
Alcan processes (Metallurgical)
In recent years, there has been growing concern on
whether the emerging field of chemical product design
should be emphasized in the chemical engineering
program and through the design project. Chemical
engineers design processes but also share
responsibility for identifying the product and for its
design and manufacture [9]. The main difference
between process design and product design is the
addition of steps prior to the design of the process.
These steps are related to the identification of customer
need, generation of ideas to meet the need and
selection among the ideas, which require
entrepreneurial skills. But what are the products to be
designed? Cussler and Moggridge [10] define a
chemical product as either: new specialty chemicals,
products whose microstructure rather than molecular
structure creates value; devices causing chemicals
change; virtual chemical products and Shaeiwitz et al
[9] added to that list technology that uses chemical
engineering principles. Courses and theoretical
projects on product design now exist in some European
designing, not at the end of the project when
everything is done! Green chemistry principles should
be familiar to and used by all engineers. The need to
introduce these concepts to undergraduates has become
increasingly important and can be effectively
introduced in design sequence.
Location of projects
To emphasize relations between engineering projects
and society, some design projects are conducted as if
the implementation of the design is to be done in
various regions of the world. Students then have to
consider non technical considerations in their design
such as availability of workforce, climate, accessibility
of sites, etc. As shown in Figure 3, most projects are
conducted in Canada and about 43% are considered to
have been carried out elsewhere [8].
60%

Percentage of projects
and North American universities. 50%

40%

Level of environmental emphasis 30%

20%

All projects conducted include environmental
considerations. However, the level of emphasis varies
significantly from one project to another. The level of
environmental emphasis of projects can be classified
as normal (minimal environmental considerations), to
essential (important aspect considered during the
design process), to high (part of design criteria or
objective of the project). As shown in Figure 2, 67% of
projects conducted from 1999 to 2003 have a normal
level of environmental emphasis while 11% of them
have a main focus on environment [8].
Normal
67%
Essential
22%
High
11%
10%
0%
Anywhere Canada Carribean China Mid-East
Figure 3 Location of projects conducted from
1999 to 2003
Supporting Organizations
As shown in Figure 4, consulting companies provided
more than 50% of the projects conducted from 1999 to
2003 [8]. Other projects were provided by both large
companies and small businesses. Students are
generally highly motivated and have a greater sense of
responsibility when design projects are provided by
engineering companies. We could not provide a
realistic design experience without the support of
managers and engineers in these organizations and we
are very grateful for that support.

Other
Figure 2 Level of environmental emphasis of projects SNC Lavalin
Domtar
conducted from 1999 to 2003
Companies

Hatch Associates
TESSAG KSH Ltd
Noranda
Considering growing environmental concerns such as David J. McKeagan & Associates
H.A. Simons
climate change and greenhouse gas emission, a greater Alcan
portion of future projects will probably have a higher 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

level of environmental emphasis. Students must be Percentage of projects

familiarized with the environmental impact of

technologies and learn to consider them while Figure 4 Affiliation of adjunct professors who
supervised projects from 1999 to 2003
4. Typical Design Tasks
During their design project students are instructed to:
o Analyze background information about the process,
its implementation (situation of the company, the
market, etc.), safety issues, and social impact
o Produce, using a computer drawing tool, a complete
process flow diagram of the process
o Carry out complete mass and energy balances on the
process using the appropriate software
o Carry out a detailed design of the main equipment of
the process stating and justifying any assumptions
made and referring to appropriate standards (might
include sizing of pump and pipes)
o Establish a process control philosophy
o Carry out an economical analysis of the project
o For some projects, produce a complete P&ID, select
a site and prepare a plant layout
o Write a complete design report
A key part of design process is the detailed design of
equipment. This involves selection, specification, and
design of each unit operation of the process so that the
equipment will perform the required function. For
some equipment, chemical engineers are not usually
responsible for the design and thus rely on specialist
companies for detailed design. In such cases,
undergraduates must learn how to select and size the
equipment and consult with vendors to ensure
suitability [11]. Level of design complexity, economic
evaluation and process instrumentation control can
also be adjusted according to the complexity of the
process design.
5. Concluding Thoughts
Through their design experiences students must
develop technical skills and improve and develop their
soft skills. The design experiences at various points in
the curriculum with different approaches are an
effective support to the development of these skills.
However, before students start working on a “real”
design project, they must be prepared through courses
or workshops on the design process, design report
writing, team work, information literacy, etc. Then
under the guidance of experienced senior industrial
designers who are keen to pass on enthusiasm and
experience to our students, students learn many of the
soft skills important to practicing engineers. Their
design experience in traditional plant design project or
emerging chemical product design project should leave
them with a sense of accomplishment and pride,
having completed a “real” project.
6. Acknowledgement
Adjunct professors Tony Addona, Michael M.
Avedesian, Lamond Cameron, Richard Campeau,
Earle Chin, Norman E. Cooke, Peter Csakany, Mario
Davidovsky, Andrea DeMori, Denis Dionne, Philip
Dougall, Mat Fokas, Bruce Kerr, David J. McKeagan,
Josef Mikhlin, Raman Nayar, Norman Peters, Alfred
Rudzinski, Jana Simandl, Paul Stuart, Khoa Tran,
Roger Urquhart, Hans Volstad and others, are
acknowledged for the dedication and energy with
which they have guided our students through their
design projects. Former course coordinators are also
thanked for developing and maintaining a successful
design sequence in the chemical engineering program.
7. References
[1] C.S Slate and R.P. Hesketh, “Incorporating Green
Chemistry into a Material and Energy Balance Course”,
Ch. Eng. Ed., ChE Division of ASEE, Winter 2004, pp.
48-53.
[2] R.H. Todd, S.P. Magleby, C.D. Sorensen, B.R. Swan and
D.K. Anthony, “A Survey of Capstone Engineering
Courses in North America”, J. Eng. Ed., ASEE, April
1995, pp. 165-174.
[3] J.D. Burton and D.M. White, “Selecting a Model for
Freshmen Engineering Design”, J. Eng. Ed., ASEE,
July 1999, pp. 327-332.
[4] S.G. Sauer, “Freshman Design in Chemical Engineering,
Ch. Eng. Ed., ChE Division of ASEE, Summer 2004,
pp. 222-227.
[5] R.S. Culver, D. Woods and P. Fitch, “Gaining
Professional Expertise Through Design Activities”,
Eng. Ed., July/August 1990, pp. 533-536.
[6] A.J. Dutson, R.H. Todd, S.P. Magleby and C.D.
Sorensen, “A Review of Literature on Teaching
Engineering Design Through Project-Oriented Capstone
Courses, J. Eng. Ed., ASEE, January 1997, pp. 17-28.
[7] J.A. Marin, J.E. Armstrong and J.L. Kays, “Elements of
an Optimal Capstone Design Experience”, J. Eng. Ed.,
ASEE, January 1999, pp. 19-22.
[8] R.J. Munz, N. Peters, M.R. Kamal, and J. Simandl,
“Process Design in the Department of Chemical
Engineering, McGill University”, Abstract book,
CSME-ICFEE, Montreal, 2003.
[9] J.A. Shaeiwitz and R. Turton, “Educating Chemical
Engineers in Product Design”, Int. J. Eng. Ed., Tempus
Publications, 2003, pp. 153-157.
[10] E.L. Cussler and G.D. Moggridge, “Chemical Product
Design”, Cambridge, New York, 2001.
[11] J.J. Cilliers,‘Decision Analysis for Equipment”, Ch. Eng.
Ed., ChE Division of ASEE, Spring 2005, pp.100-3.