Active learning in class helps students develop deeper understanding of chemical engineering principles. While the use of multiple-choice ConcepTests is clearly effective, we advocate for including student writing in learning activities as well. In this article, we demonstrate that word clouds can provide a quick analytical technique to assess…

The historical development of the classical postulates of the second law of Thermodynamics can be traced back to the book by Sadi Carnot, "Reflections on the motive power of fire." While unique in its own right and in some sense revolutionary, the book starts with an analogy between heat engines and waterwheels. Waterwheels were common engines of…

The design course is an integral part of chemical engineering education. A novel approach to the design course was recently introduced at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The course aimed to introduce students to systematic tools and techniques for setting and evaluating performance targets for processes, as well as…

This study examines the use of inquiry-based instruction to promote the understanding of critical concepts in thermodynamics and heat transfer. Significant research shows that students frequently enter our courses with tightly held misconceptions about the physical world that are not effectively addressed through traditional instruction. Students'…

Laboratory experiments and computer models for studying the mass transfer process of removing CO2 from air using water or dilute NaOH solution as absorbent are presented. Models tie experiment to theory and give a visual representation of concentration profiles and also illustrate the two-film theory and the relative importance of various…

The topics of solution thermodynamics, activity coefficients, and complex formation are introduced through computational exercises and sample applications. The presentation is designed to be accessible to freshmen in a chemical engineering computations course. The MOSCED model is simplified to explain complex formation in terms of hydrogen…

Chemical engineering students begin their studies of mechanics in a department of physics where they are introduced to the mechanics of Newton. The approach presented by physicists differs in both perspective and substance from that encountered in chemical engineering courses where Euler's laws provide the foundation for studies of fluid and solid…

A novel approach to the Chemical Engineering curriculum sequence of courses at West Point enabled our students to experience a much more realistic design process, which more closely replicated a real world scenario. Students conduct the synthesis in the organic chemistry lab, then conduct computer modeling of the reaction with ChemCad and…

This article explains a simple way to demonstrate natural convection, such as from a lit candle, in the classroom using an overhead projector. The demonstration is based on the principle of schlieren imaging, commonly used to visualize variations in density for gas flows.

A reaction kinetics experiment for the chemical engineering undergraduate laboratory course was developed in which in-situ Fourier Transfer Infrared spectroscopy was used to measure reactant and product concentrations. The kinetics of the hydrolysis of acetic anhydride was determined by experiments carried out in a batch reactor. The results…

A long experience in undergraduate vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) process design projects is shared in this paper. The VCM process design is shown to be fully compliant with ABET 2000 criteria by virtue of its abundance in chemical engineering principles, integration of interpersonal and interdisciplinary skills in design, safety, economics, and…

Undergraduates from chemical engineering, applied chemistry, and environmental science courses, together with first-year postgraduate research students in electrochemical technology, are provided with an experiment that demonstrates the reduction of dissolved oxygen in aerated seawater at 25°C. Oxygen reduction is examined using linear sweep…