Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology

Chemical Engineering

Experiential learning is paramount for chemical engineering students as it bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. Through hands-on experiences such as laboratory experiments, internships, and industrial placements, students gain a deeper understanding of core concepts while honing essential skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork. Engaging directly with equipment, processes, and real-world challenges not only reinforces theoretical learning but also fosters creativity and innovation. Furthermore, experiential learning cultivates a strong sense of professionalism and adaptability, preparing students for the dynamic and evolving nature of the chemical engineering field. By actively participating in projects and experiencing the complexities of chemical processes firsthand, students develop the confidence and competence necessary to excel in their future careers as chemical engineers.

EL Coordinators:Dr. Avinash Chandra

Semester 1: Home Energy Audit

As per the Indian Energy Conservation Act of 2001 (BEE 2008), an energy audit is defined as: "The verification, monitoring, and analysis of the use of energy and submission of technical reportcontaining recommendations for improving energy efficiency with cost-benefit analysis and an actionplan to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints”.
A home energy audit is a process that helps you to identify where a home is losing energy and what steps you can take to improve energy efficiency. A home energy audit is something that every home owner should be doing every two to three years to ensure maximum efficiency and spending.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. Avinash Chandra

The basic outline of the activity is:

It is an Open-ended problem, so students can choose any house, building, warehouse, workshop, shopping mall, etc. Additionally, they can choose/select and approximate the parameters for their investigation based on data availability. Other remaining parameters can logically be assumed for gross estimates.
Student need to perform a home energy audit of a selected house (maybe your home) and need to find away to save energy and money and help to reduce your carbon footprints. Apart from this, it alsorequired to assess health and safety issues that might exist in your home. You’ll also be setting astandard for your family and helping yourself better understand exactly how you use energy everyday, and what types of methods you can take in the future to prevent it from happening in excess.
The following Challenges are involved in this study.

In the collection and recording of data based upon the selected parameters.
Use of Excel for data processing.

The above work can be extended for the energy audit of an industry/ office or a business.

Semester 1/2: To design experimental set-ups to study the P-V-T behaviour of air

The objective of the above activity is to expose the students to design, assemble and study the P-V-T behaviour of air under isobaric (1 atm.), isothermal (room temperature) & a diabatic conditions.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. H. Bhunia
Dr. S. K. Singh

The basic outline of the activity is:

This EL activity is focused to design & assemble three different test rigs to study the thermodynamic behaviour (P-V-T behaviour) of a gas (air) under three different constraints:

(i) Isobaric constraint (Pressure to be held constant during the entire process)

(ii) Isothermal constraint (Temperature to be held constant during the entire process)

(iii) Adiabatic constraint (No heat transfer permitted during the entire process)

Semester 2: Design of a mineral oil storage tank system of capacity 100 kl and output of 40 kg/s.

It is an open-ended problem wherein students will design the storage tank system in small groups. They can choose/select the shape and dimensions of the tank, length and diameter of pipe, and type of valve and oil filter, and the material of construction. Other remaining parameters canlogically be assumed for an engineering solution or obtained iteratively. They need to find out the level and dimensions of the tank system for achieving the required capacity and discharge rate from a valve at the base. They are also required to find out the time required for emptying the tank system. Further, they will study the effect of these results when instead of a valve at the exit there is a short pipe between the orifice and the tank, and find out the dimensions of the pipe as per ANSI/ASME B36.10M and API 5L.

Faculty Facilitators

Dr. Sanjeev Ahuja
Dr. Rajeev Mehta

The basic outline of the activity is:

The following challenges are involved in this study:

A.With a simple valve at the base of the tank

Identifying constraints and assumptions and applying fluid energy conservation principlesto design the tank system.
Since all the different parameters of the tank system are interrelated, choosing oneand calculating others wouldprobably make them exceed the constraints. So, thedesign would be a challenge.
Finding out the dimensions to meet the given requirements either by trial and erroror developing an iterative code.
Choosing the valve and the oil filter.

B.With a pipe attached between the valve and the base of the tank

Analysis of the flow regime i.e. flow is laminar or turbulent in nature, for the chosenvalues.
Selecting appropriate equations for computing major and minor losses – especially thepipe entrance loss.
Finding the dimensions of the pipe as per the standards.
Reducing the energy losses in this system.

Semester 3: To design experimental set-ups to study the P-V-T behaviour of air

This study focuses on exploring the adsorption operations employed in effluent treatment plants within the textile industry. It seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of agri-residue materials in removing textile dye through adsorption, considering varying concentrations. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the influence of relevant parameters such as pH, temperature, and adsorbent dosage on the adsorption process. Through this research, participants will gain insights into the crucial role of adsorption in mitigating environmental pollution in textile industries, understand the underlying mechanisms of adsorption, analyze parameter variations, and appreciate the importance of safe disposal practices for exhausted adsorbents.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. S. Barman
Dr. N. Singh

The basic outline of the activity is:

Exposure of adsorption operation used in effluent treatment plants of textile industries.
Evaluation of adsorptive performance (percentage uptake and capacity) of agri-residue material for removal of textile dye of different concentrations.
Study the effect of different relevant parameters in adsorption process.

Semester 3: Home made waste water treatment

It is an Open-ended problem, so students can choose any type of adsorbent mixture such as gravel, pebbles, sand, activated charcoal, algae, coffee filters in-order to filter the waste water. And also waste water can be made of any type of material such as soap, oil, sand, fertilizer, coffee grounds, beads.

The following Challenges are involved in this study.
1. Purchase of the basic raw material for synthesis of Adsorbent bed and synthetic waste water withte sting kit for determination of pH and Turbidity.
2. To develop and build filtering systems for wastewater.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. Surbhi Sharma
Dr Rajesh Khanna

The basic outline of the activity is:

The students will design and build the filtering systems, redesigning for improvement, and then measuring and comparing results: reclaimed quantities, water quality tests, costs, experiences and best practices.
The following activity will be given to the students to create small-size models of working filter systems.

The following materials such as gravel, pebbles, sand, activated charcoal, algae, coffee filters, cloth will be supplied to them
They will create filter systems within 2-liter plastic bottles to clean the simulated waste water (soap, oil, sand, fertilizer, coffee grounds, beads).
The aim is to remove the water contaminants while reclaiming the waste material as valuable resources.

Semester 4:

1.Extraction of edible oil from peanut seeds

2. Hydro-distillation of rose pellets to obtain essential oil (Flavour and Fragrances)

The objective of the activities are

To expose the students to the essential oil/ edible oil extraction process and make them understand the underlying principles and concepts.
To impart the basic concepts of distillation, condensation, boiling etc. to the students.
To show the importance of boiling, temperature of the inlet feed, extraction of products,type of feed, etc. to the students.
To induce self-learning in the students and the exposure of the engineering process.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. Avinash Chandra

The basic outline of the activity is:

Extraction of Edible Oil from Peanut Seeds:

The process of extracting edible oil from peanut seeds involves several steps. Initially, the peanuts are cleaned to remove any impurities and then dried to a suitable moisture content. Following this, the peanuts are shelled to obtain the kernels. These kernels are then subjected to pressing or solvent extraction methods to extract the oil. In pressing, the kernels are mechanically crushed to release the oil, which is then separated from the solid residue. Solvent extraction involves using a solvent such as hexane to dissolve the oil from the kernels. The solvent is then removed, leaving behind the extracted oil. The extracted oil is then refined through processes such as degumming, neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization to obtain a high-quality, edible oil suitable for consumption.

Hydro-Distillation of Rose Petals to Obtain Essential Oil (Flavors and Fragrances):

Hydro-distillation is a traditional method used to extract essential oils from botanical materials such as rose petals. In this process, the rose petals are placed in a still with water, and the mixture is heated. As the water heats up, steam is produced, which passes through the rose petals, carrying the essential oil molecules with it. The steam and essential oil mixture is then condensed back into a liquid form in a separate container. Since essential oils are immiscible with water, they float on the surface and can be easily separated. The collected essential oil undergoes further processing, such as filtration or additional distillation steps, to remove any impurities and obtain a pure, concentrated essential oil with desired flavors and fragrances. This essential oil is then used in various applications, including perfumery, aromatherapy, and flavoring agents in food and beverages..

Semester 4: Wastewater treatment plant design

Every life requires water to sustain on the planet. Water is essential for all the important activities like food production, industries like energy, production and manufacturing. Therefore, huge amount of water is consumed and consequently high volume of wastewater is generated due to various industrial activities. This generated wastewater, if discharged untreated, causes environmental pollution. Wastewater adversely affects the soil quality, soil structure and surface water quality. Some part of wastewater can also leach to underlying groundwater and affect its quality. Therefore, there is a need to treat wastewater with a suitable treatment method before discharge. Further, from the conservation and sustainable use of water point of view, the treated wastewater can also be reused in order to save water.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. R. K. Gupta

The basic outline of the activity is:

For a given wastewater characteristic:

Design of wastewater collection tank for treatment plant.
Identify and design a suitable suspended solids (SS) removal technology
Identify and design a suitable treatment technique for BOD removal
Suggest overall treatment process by combining the suggested techniques for the SS and BOD removal

Semester 5: Plate Heat Exchanger

The objective of the activity are

To expose the students to understand the basics of the heat exchanger design, concepts, heat transfer materials, temperature and flow measurement techniques, etc.
To induce self learning in the students about CAD design, importance of flow, channel dimensions, sealing mechanism & material, channel fabrication and assembly of heat exchanger.
To induce the culture of engineering through a design challenge to meet a social need.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. Avinash Chandra

Dr. D. Gangacharulu

The basic outline of the activity is:

Semester 5: Development of algorithm & programming code/spreadsheet forthermodynamic properties of multi-component mixture

The objective of this activity to expose the students for the development of algorithm and programming code/spreadsheet for (i) Bubble pressure calculation and vapour composition, (ii) Dew pressure calculation & liquid composition and (iii) Flash calculation, using suitable equation of states (EoS) for a non-ideal multi component hydrocarbon mixture frequently encountered in petroleum industry.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. S. K. Singh

The basic outline of the activity is:

Students will be divided in different groups (6 groups with 4 students in each group) and each group will perform the sub-activity (i), (ii) & (iii) and shall verify their approach/algorithms with respect to specific real/industrial problems as defined below for each sub-activity. Each group will be given 2 weeks time for each sub activity (i.e., total 6 weeks time to complete all three sub-activities). 7th week shall be given for report preparation and the 8th week for final presentation/seminar/webinar.

Sub-activity (i): Bubble pressure calculation and vapour composition estimation Description: In a hydrocarbon fractionation column of a petroleum refining industry the liquid phase composition (mole fraction) of pentane, hexane and heptane are known ( say, 0.2, 0.3 & 0.5 respectively) at the given temperature (say 315K) as depicted in the following figure. Develope an algorithm/excel spreadsheet to estimate bubble pressure and vapour phase composition. Use data table/book (Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics books given in the reference) for other required data.

Sub-activity (ii): Dew pressure calculation and liquid phase composition estimation Description: In the sub-activty-1, if the vapour phase composition or mole fraction of pentane, hexane and heptanes are known from an industry (say, 0.56, 0.28 & 0.16) at the given temperature (say 315K) then develop an algorithm to estimate dew pressure and liquid phase composition. Use data table/book (Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics books given in the reference) for other required data.

Sub-activity (iii): Determine the composition of liquid and vapour streams of a hydro carbon mixture leaving the flash unit and the fraction of feed condensed Description: In a petroleum industry the composition (mole fraction) of a multi component hydrocarbon feed stream (pentane, hexane and heptane) are known (say, 0.3, 0.3 & 0.4 respectively) and the flash unit (shown in the figure) is maintained at a given pressure & temperature (say, 200 k.Pa and 90 0C). Develope an algorithm/spreadsheet to estimate the composition of liquid and vapour streams leaving the flash unit and fraction of feed condensed. Use data table/book (Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics books given in thereference) for other required data

Semester 6: PACKED BED COLUMN DESIGN

Packed column design involves the selection and arrangement of packing material within a column to facilitate efficient mass transfer between two phases, typically a liquid and a gas. The packing material increases the surface area available for contact between the phases, promoting the transfer of components from one phase to another.

Faculty Facilitator

Dr. Neetu Singh
Dr. J.P. Kushwaha

The basic outline of the activity is:

Packing Material Selection: Choosing the appropriate packing material is crucial for achieving desired separation or reaction outcomes. Factors to consider include surface area, void fraction, chemical compatibility, pressure drop, and heat transfer properties.

Packing Configuration: Determining the arrangement of packing within the column influences factors such as pressure drop, mass transfer efficiency, and column performance. Common configurations include random packing and structured packing, each with its own advantages and limitations.

Column Diameter and Height: Determining the column diameter and height is essential for achieving the desired separation efficiency and throughput while considering factors such as pressure drop, residence time, and capital cost.

Fluid Flow Distribution: Proper distribution of fluids entering the column ensures uniform contact between the phases and maximizes mass transfer efficiency. This may involve the use of distributor plates or other flow distribution devices.

Mass Transfer Efficiency: Designing the column to optimize mass transfer efficiency involves balancing factors such as packing density, gas and liquid flow rates, and residence time to achieve the desired separation or reaction performance.

Pressure Drop Considerations: Managing pressure drop across the column is important to ensure adequate fluid flow while minimizing energy consumption and operating costs. This may involve optimizing packing density, selecting appropriate packing materials, and designing efficient fluid distribution systems.