Proposal 67-21

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The University Senate of Michigan Technological University
Proposal 67-21

Establishment of a New Graduate Certificate in Profit-Increasing Strategies in Chemical Processing

Submitted by: Department of Chemical Engineering

1. Proposal Date: October 12, 2020

2. Proposing Contacts and Department:
Dr. Jeana Collins, Department of Chemical Engineering, jeanac@mtu.edu Dr. Tony Rogers, Department of Chemical Engineering, tnrogers@mtu.edu Dr. Kurt Rickard, Department of Chemical Engineering, karickar@mtu.edu

3. Sponsor Department Approvals: Approved on October 7, 2020

4. General Description and Characteristics:

4.1 General Description of Certificate
The Graduate Certificate in Profit-Increasing Strategies in Chemical Processing would prepare students to design new processes, retrofit existing processes for capacity expansion and more flexible operations, and implement process (chemistry) modifications. The certificate would cover all three aspects essential to the design of chemical processes: process simulation or mathematical modeling, process economics, and process automation and control.

The certificate would consist of three courses (total 9 credit hours) and is intended to provide advanced skills in all aspects of process design. The primary intended audience is chemical engineers practicing in the chemical manufacturing and/or petrochemical industry who are engaged in the process design function. It can also serve practicing engineers who have transitioned into the process design role after working in different functions for several years. Finally, entry-level process engineers would benefit from an awareness of the operational flexibility and economic benefits afforded by modular automation principles.

4.2 Catalog Description
Intended for chemical engineers, this certificate provides advanced skills in chemical process design for the chemical manufacturing and/or petrochemical industry. The first two courses provide advanced process simulation and economic analysis skills, which are used in a systems approach to optimize the entire operation. The third course builds on the skills acquired in the first two courses. This course focuses on developing dynamic models of processes, advanced control configuration and methods, and stability and performance analysis of controlled processes.

5. Rationale for Certificate:
The commercial viability of a chemical process rests on three pillars – (i) economics, (ii) a quantitative description relating operating parameters to product characteristics, and (iii) process automation to control and run the plant at desired operating conditions. Simulation of chemical processes provides a quantitative description of both the steady- state and the transient behavior, which is critical in designing a suitable control and automation strategy. Modern modular control strategies permit maximum utilization of capital equipment, reuse of software automation code for similar applications, and standardization of equipment purchases. This certificate would provide in-depth training on integrating these three pillars of a chemical process into a systems approach.

The intended audience of this certificate includes (i) graduate students, (ii) industrial practitioners engaged in process engineering, design, and/or control, and (iii) chemical engineering seniors.

6. Related Programs:
To the best of our knowledge, there are no certificates such as that described here that are targeted towards training engineers practicing in the chemical process industry.

7. Projected Enrollments:
It is anticipated that ~ 5 students from our non-thesis MS program would enroll in this certificate. Michigan Tech has a tradition of offering a strong set of two design courses as part of the capstone design sequence. Non-thesis MS students would greatly benefit from participating in this certificate, since they have had very little exposure to such an extensive process simulation, design, and economics analysis.

Engineers practicing in the chemical process industry (including the petrochemical industry) would be ideal candidates for this certificate. Most U.S. universities do not provide in-depth training in these topics. MTU alumni would be helpful in spreading the word.

8. Scheduling Plans:
No change in the regular scheduling of the existing courses is anticipated. The three courses will be offered through remote instruction (available either synchronously or asynchronously depending on a person’s work schedule, both options available), beginning fall 2021, as described below.

9. Curriculum Design:
Required Coursework: 9 credits

Course One: CM 4855 Chemical Process Analysis and Design I (3)
Course Two: CM 5860 Capital Investment Projects in the Chemical Industry (3)
Course Three: CM 5XXX Chemical Process Dynamics and Automation (3)

Course Descriptions:

CM 4855 - Chemical Process Analysis and Design I
Capstone technical and economical evaluations of processes and unit operations. Applications of cost estimation, energy efficiency, and economic evaluation techniques. Students model a facility, address safety and environmental concerns, identify process improvements, reduce energy/utility consumption, estimate manufacturing profit, and recommend a course of action.

CM 5860 – Capital Investment Projects in the Chemical Industry
Process and project design principles applied to realistic problems, including project evaluation and management. Problems include safety, environmental, and operability constraints. Emphasizes the profit motive in industry and the role of the chemical engineer.

CM 5XXX – Chemical Process Dynamics and Automation
This course provides theoretical and practical knowledge needed to design, select, evaluate, and manage today’s complex control systems and advanced control strategies. On-line plant simulation software is used with actual data acquisition systems to collect and analyze data for the design of control systems.

10. Model Schedule Demonstrating Completion Time
The certificate is designed to be completed in three semesters. CM5XXX may also be taken as the first course in the sequence.

Fall Semester
CM 4855 (3 credits) – course one

Spring Semester
CM 5860 (3 credits) – course two. This course has CM4855 as a prerequisite.

Summer Semester (Track A + B)
CM 5XXX (3 credits) – course three. The rationale for offering this course in summer is that the course instructor will need extra time to develop the course; offering it for the first time in summer will provide that extra preparation time. In the future, it is possible this course could be offered in fall or spring, with logistics issues carefully resolved, but the first several offerings are intended for summer.

11. Library and other Learning Resources
No library or other learning resources are required at this time.

12. Faculty Resumes
The following faculty will be supporting the program.

Dr. Jeana Collins, Department of Chemical Engineering https://www.mtu.edu/chemical/department/faculty/collins/

Dr. Tony Rogers, Department of Chemical Engineering https://www.mtu.edu/chemical/department/faculty/rogers/

Dr. Kurt A Rickard, Department of Chemical Engineering https://www.mtu.edu/chemical/department/faculty/rickard/

13. Equipment
No additional equipment will be required.

14. Program Costs
Initially, offering the Certificate will not incur additional costs to Michigan Tech, but as enrollment grows additional instructional resources in the form of GTAs and a UniSim network license will be needed. Michigan Tech full-time faculty may or may not receive extra remuneration to teach a summer course such as CM5XXX, based on their fall and spring workload assignments.

15. Space
There are no new space requirements.

16. Policies, Regulations, and Rules: Not applicable

17. Accreditation Requirements
The proposed certificate will meet HLC criteria 3 and 4. The proposed certificate will not seek additional accreditation.

18. Planned Implementation Date
Fall 2021

19. Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to do the following:

• Define the scope of realistic industrial problems and perform process simulation, economic evaluation, and process optimization using computational tools
• Design advanced process control strategies to optimize performance of dynamic unit operations

Approval Process
Departmental Graduate Committee: August 2020
Department: October 7, 2020
College of Engineering: November, 2020
Graduate School
Provost’s Office and Deans’ Council
Approved by the Senate: 4/21/21
Approved by the President: 4/26/21

*MTU Course add proposal sheet in PDF linked at the top