Example1

CN2125MiniProject
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We are embarking on a trip to Osaka, Japan in May. The temperature of Osaka at night is
predicted to be around 150C. Therefore we will need to wear slightly thicker clothing there.
Despite the thick clothing, our body will continuously lose heat when we are outdoors. Hence,
the objective of this mini project is to find out how long we can stay outdoors at night in
Osaka before we start to experience mild hypothermia, which occurs at approximately 35 0C.
This models an UNSTEADY STATE 2-Dimensional heat
transfer problem.
- We have fixed the geometry of the human body to be a cylinder
of 1.70m height and 0.22064 m in diameter
A
B
S 1.7m
- Prior to leaving for outdoors, we assume that initially, the human
body has uniform distribution of heat throughout its core and
extremitie. Hence, TA,o = TB,o = 37oC.
-Additionally, since the layer of clothing is very thin, we further
establish that the temperature gradient across the clothing is
negligible such that Ts,o = 37oC.
0.22064
- In order to determine the lower threshold time taken for the onset
5mm
5mm
of mild hypothermia, we have to assume body heat generation to be
zero since body heat generation only sets to prolong the onset time.
Hence qgeneration = 0, to find this limiting case.
Due to varying surface temperatures, we first approximate our film temperature, T using
initial conditions.
26

Properties of air at 299.15 K to be given as the following,

kair (W m-1K-1)

Pr

2.61733175 10-2

0.7082125

10

0.13488

Since
walls

1.34774

1.71

1.34774
37

15

1.48258

10
10

0.1003029628

, a vertical cylinder can be evaluated using correlations for vertical plane

RaL = GrLPr = 1.0500

For vertical plane walls,
0.387

0.825
1
256.10679

256.10679

0.492/
2.61733
1.71

10

3.9200

CN2125MiniProject
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For horizontal plates,

0.05766

Wetted parameter,

Grtop = Grbottom=

1.34774

10

0.05766

37

15

Ratop = Rabottom = Grtop Pr = 568398.2251 0.7082125 = 402546.728

Since 105 <Ratop< 2 107 , Nutop = 0.54 Ratop1/4 = 13.601845
13.601845

2.61733
0.23064

10

Since 3 105 <Rabottom< 1010 , Nubottom = 0.27 Rabottom1/4 = 6.8009

6.8009

2.61733
0.23064

10

Taking the weighted area average,

.
We further assume the human body to have the properties of water since water constitutes 70%
of the human body. At 310K, properties of water: k = 0.6276, =0.1515 X 10-6 m2/s
.

Bi =

Since 0.1<Bi<100, the Heislei charts are used (WWWR textbook Appendix F, Figure 7 & 8).

0.9566424,
0.99415

1.4530,
1,

1.1392

0.1960,

2.0724

10
10

t/s

XCL

mCL

nCL

YCL

Xa

ma

na

Ya

Y = YaYCL

10000
5000
2400

0.11392
0.05696
0.02734

1.4530
1.4530
1.4530

0.9566424
0.9566424
0.9566424

0.78
0.84
0.91

2.072E-3
1.036E-3
4.974E-4

0.1960
0.1960
0.1960

1
1
1

1
1
1

0.78
0.84
0.91

Therefore, the lower threshold time taken for the onset of mild hypothermia is
approximately 2400s (40 minutes).

Example 2
CN2125
Heat and Mass Transfer
Project Work Instant Noodles

AY 2010/2011 Semester 2

StateStudentNamesandMatriculationNumberHere

Introduction
In this project, we will find out if the 3 minutes cooking time as suggested by the instant
noodle manufacturer is valid.
Typical net weight of noodles in 1 packet of instant noodles = 85g (information obtained
from packaging of instant noodles)
Diameter of noodles 1mm
Initial temperature of uncooked noodles = 25C

Calculating the convective heat transfer coefficient of water at 100C:

Assumptions:
(i)
Temperature of boiling water is constant at 100C
(ii)
The composition of water remains unchanged, and hence the properties of water
remain unchanged
(iii)
Assume the 15cm by 15cm square base of the cooking pot is large such that it mimics
natural convection on a horizontal plate
(iv)
Base of the cooking pot is maintained at a constant temperature of 150C
(v)
Assume heating of water only occurs from the base of the pot and none from the sides.

150

100
2

125

At 125C, properties of liquid water:

193.1175

0.67775

10

1.525

Values taken from Appendix I of WWWR textbook

193.1175

10

3.2588

10

For a hot surface facing up,

0.14

150

100 0.15

1.525

0.14 4.96975 10
514.722 0.67775
0.15

4.96975

3.2588

10

10

514.722
2325.687 /

Calculating the time taken to cook instant noodles in boiling water:

Assumptions to simplify the calculation:
(vi)
Properties of noodles = properties of water at 100C since the water content in
noodles is high during cooking.
(vii) Noodles are infinitely long cylinder
(viii) Heat transfer into noodles is only by conduction
(ix)
Noodles do not expand during the course of cooking
(x)
Temperature of boiling water is constant at 100C
(xi)
Noodles are cooked once the temperature in the core reaches 90C (since its instant
noodles)

At 100C,
0.682 /

4211 /

958.4

Values taken from Appendix I of WWWR textbook

.
.

0.8525

The Temperature-Time Charts are used.

0.682
1.689866 10
/
958.4 4211
100 90

0.1333
100 25

0
0
0.5
0.682
0.58649
2325.687 0.5/1000
from Fig.F5 of WWWR,

1.0

0.5
147.878
2.46
1.689866 10
100
The time taken to cook 1 packet of instant noodles in boiling water is approximately 2.46
min, and this value corresponds to the recommended cooking time for instant noodles of 2 to
3 minutes as stated at on the packaging material.
1.0

Error Analysis and Evaluation

(i)
The property of noodles was assumed to be equivalent to that of water, which is not a
very accurate assumption at the initial stage of cooking.
(ii)
The noodles actually expand and absorb water in the process, thus its property
changes and is also different from the assumed property of noodles.
(iii)
The proximity of the strands of noodles is close enough such that it affects the heat
transfer to noodles. This was not considered in our calculations.
(iv)
The boiling water means that there are bubbles that rise from the bottom of the pan to
the water surface. This affects the assumption that heat transfer to the noodles is by
conduction and convection from the liquid water.
(v)
For horizontal plate, the recommended Ra range for the equation of Nu is 2x10-7 to
3x10-10. But in this case, the Ra is out of this range. Hence extrapolation was used
Conclusion
We found that the time needed to cook the noodle is 2.46 minutes. This value falls within the
3 minutes suggestion, however it should be noted that the assumptions we made will add
uncertainty to our results. Hence our calculated value is only an estimation to verify if the
recommended cooking time is valid. Ultimately, the best way to find out if the noodles is
cooked to your preference (hard or soggy) or not is to try a noodle from the pot and decide if
you want to turn off the fire or continue to let it boil. Afterall, the recommended cooking time
is a range of 2 to 3 minutes, subjected to personal preference.
References:
WELTY J.R., WICKS C.E., WILSON R.E. & RORRER G.; Fundamentals of Momentum,
Heat, and Mass Transfer 5th Edition, 2007. John Wiley & Sons

CN2125

Mini Project

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Example3

Lollipop Size and Consumption Time

Introduction
Lollipop has been a very popular candy snack among kids and juveniles for decades. In this mini
project, the relation between lollipop size and time for lollipop consumption is explored and
suggested size of lollipop is given to with current product design size.
The mechanism for lollipop consumption is related to the diffusion of the components in saliva
and continuous removal of it by swallowing motion. The pseudo steady state at the surface of the
lollipop can be applied to calculate the disappearing rate of the candy sphere and ChiltonColburn analogy is used to calculate the mass convection rate of components into saliva. Major
ingredients of common lollipop are white sugar (sucrose), corn syrup (glucose) and other
additives. Sucrose and glucose are used in our model.
Data
Glucose (C6H12O6)
Saliva (H2O)
Sucrose (C12H22O11)
-6
2
-6
2
Diffusivity DS =4.310 cm /s Diffusivity Dg =6.710 cm /s Kinematic viscosity
=1.00410-2 cm2/s
Solubility(water) 200 g/100mL Solubility(water) 91 g/100mL
Secretion rate V=1.00 mL/min
Molar weight Ms=342.3 g/mol Molar weight Mg=180.16g/mol Molar weight Mw=18g/mol
Density of crystal s =1.588
Density of crystal g =1.380
Density of water w=1.000
3
3
g/cm
g/cm
g/cm3
Possible volume ratio of sugar and corn syrup is 1:1/3 to 1:.
Model calculation
Saliva flows through the surface of lollipop (spherical geometry) and the
average
flow
cross-section
area
is
calculated
as

2 2rdr

= R --- (1), where is the thickness of the layer on

2R
the surface of lollipop. The concentration of components in the
sugar
film is assumed 100% of maximum solubility in the saliva
(water).
S=

Using Chilton-Colburn Analogy

2
C f kc
jD =
Sc 3
=
2
v
vD v 2 R 2V
Re D =
=
=

V
=
S
2
Di
4
k ci =
( )3
R

(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

16
since the saliva flow
Re D
rate is considered to be laminar
Reynolds number where is the flow
velocity of saliva on the surface of
lollipop

where C f =

Mass convection factor where i= s, g.

It has no relation with saliva velocity or
flow rate.

Sugar

Pseudo steady state

N i 4R 2 = 4R 2

i dR

(6)

M i dt

N i = k ci (Cis Ci )
(7)
Calculation of average concentration in lollipop
g

CT = ( ) ave = s xs +
xg
(8)
M
Ms
Mg

sVs
xs =

sVs

Ms

Ms
gVg

x g = 1 xs

(9)

Mg

Concentration of sucrose and glucose in sugar layer

(from solubility)
Sucrose solubility
200 g
200 g
342.3g / mol
(10)
=
3
100mLwater 100cm 1g / cm 3
18 g / mol
n sucrose
= 0.095 ; y g = 0.083
ys =
n sucrose + n water
Substitute all values into the equation

Ni is the flux of component i

Cis is the surface concentration of
component i and Ci is the
concentration of component i outside
the film which is 0 in assumption.
CT is the concentration of lollipop, xs
and xg is the molar fraction of
sucrose and glucose on the lollipop
Vs and Vg is the volume fraction of
sucrose and glucose in lollipop

where ys is the maximum molar

fraction of sucrose in sugar layer and
yg is that of glucose

dR
M
dt
Water molar concentration:
Solve the equation, we have relation between time and R,

C w = w = 0.056mol / cm 3
( / M ) ave
R2
Mw

t=
D g 23
2
D s 23
C ss = C w y s and C sg = C w y g
4 ( ) C ss + 4 (
) C sg
k cs (C ss 0)4R 2 + k cg (C gs 0)4R 2 = 4R 2 (

) ave

Conclusion
Set Vs:Vg=1:1/2, tabulate the t for R from 1cm to 3.5cm
The radius of 1.2-1.3 cm of lollipop will give a consumption
R (cm)
T( min)
time of around 30 minutes. The real product size of lollipop
1
18.96022
is about 2.7 cm diameters for Chupa Chups brand lollipop
1.1
22.94187
which meets the requirement of their customers to have a 201.2
27.30272
minute consuming time (only licking and no crash of it). The
1.3
32.04277
best optimized time depends on peoples fulfillment and
1.4
37.16203
marginal pleasure changing with time which can be done by
1.5
42.6605
survey the targeting customers. The manufacturer can also
2
75.84088
increase diameter of the lollipop if they want the consumer to
2.5
118.5014
enjoy more time on individual lollipop.
3
170.642
3.5
232.2627

CN 2125 Project

Example4
StateStudentNamesandMatriculationNumberHere

[IRON MAN, STRANDED!! ]

Iron Man lies in the freezing tundra of Antarctica, battered and bruised from the recent battle.
You might have won the battle, but you havent won the war Stane, he groaned in a
metallic modulation, while heaving a sigh of relief that he survived the blast of the AR-130
missile.
His internal computer system groans to a restart and indicates to him that while his suit is
fully functional; his Arc Reactor battery has been damaged from the blast and requires
immediate replacement. Iron Man painstakingly reaches down to his legs and opens the
compartment containing various Arc Reactor battery replacements.
In the compartment storage unit, which stores the batteries safely at a temperature of 113K,
he finds 3 usable replacements:
1. Platinum Battery (Cube) Length = 7cm
2. Platinum Battery (Sphere) Diameter = 8cm
3. Platinum Battery (Cylinder) Length = 10cm, Diameter = 7cm
However, Iron Man is now faced with a dilemma. While these batteries are working, they
require a core temperature of 345K in order to power up his metallic suit and to keep his life
support unit going.
Iron Mans backup power unit activates, indicating that he only has 6mins left to live. What
he has to do now is to choose the battery with the geometry such that within 6mins of placing
this battery inside the suits heating unit (h=100 W/m2K), it will be heated to the minimum
operational core temperature of the battery of 345K. So which one does he choose? Will Iron
Man live?

Assumpttions
This is ann unsteady state
s
problem
m. The arc reactor
r
batteeries are assuumed to be of
o solid plattinum
with the stated geom
metries. The initial batteery temperatuure, To = 1113K. The unniform oven (suit
heating unit)
u
temperaature, T = 473K
4
Calculattions
Followinng parameterrs are established at the average
a
tempperature (293K) within Iron
I
Mans suit.
s
4
3
Density of
o platinium,
2.15 x 10 kg/m
Heat capacity of plattinium, cp
1.3400 x 102 J/kg.K
K
2
Convectiive Heat Traansfer coefficcient of meddium within the
t oven, h
100 W/m
W .K
metries usingg the equationn
First we calculate thee Biot Moduulus for each of the geom
Cubic Battery
B
V/A
0.011666m
Biot Moddulus
0.016633
Since thee values forr the Biot Modulus
M
for all
parameteer analysis fo
or our calcullations.
From lum
mped parameeter analysiss ;

Spherical Battery
Cylinndrical Batterry
0.01333m
0.012296m
0.018997
0.01849
geomettries are 0.1,
0 we willl use the lum
mped

Insertingg all known values

v
for t = 6mins = 3360seconds, the uniform
m temperaturre of the battteries
are tabulaated below.
Cubicc Battery
Spherical Battery
Cylinndrical Batterry
Central Temperature
T
,T
349.665K
335.700K
331.9976K
From ourr analysis, Irron Man willl survive, but
b only if hee choses thee cubic shapeed battery ass it is
the only geometry that
t
would be
b able to reach the reqquired operaational tempperature of 345K
3
within 6 minutes. Ho
owever, the exact time required
r
forr the cubic battery
b
to reaach 345K iss 5.79
minutes. This renders Iron Mann around 0.21 minutes or 12.6 secconds to maake his deciision.
Considerring the fact that Iron Maan (Mr Tonyy Stark) is a engineeringg genius, wee will assumee that
12 seconnds is adequaate for him too pick out thhe correct baattery. Mr Sttark would also
a be advissed to
completeely remove both
b
of the leess effectivee variants to prevent a reepeat of this dilemma inn case
of future mishaps.

Example5

National University of Singapore

Faculty of Engineering
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department

CN2125 Heat and Mass Transfer Mini Project

Rib-eye Steak Cooking Time

StateStudentNamesandMatriculationNumberHere

Jason, a guy who is keen to be a chef, decided to come out with a recipe of
making rib-eye beef steak. Time for different degree of cooking was calculated by
him after a thorough research on beef compositions, core temperature for different
degree of cooking and other related information.
Core temperature for different degree of cooking is summarized below:
Degree of Cooking

Raw

Medium Raw

Medium

Medium Well

Well Done

Core Temperature

125oC

130 oC

140 oC

150 oC

160 oC

Table 1. Degree of cooking and the corresponding core temperature

To simplify the model, calculations are based on the following assumptions:

1. The shape of rib-eye steak is a cylinder. Usually dimension of the steak is 0.1m in
diameter tabulated as D and 0.03m in thickness tabulated as H.
2. The steak will not shrink during cooking;
3. The cooking process is an one-dimensional heat transfer;
4. The convective heat transfer coefficient, h is obtained from literature as 15W/m K
(INCROPERA F.P. & DEWITT D.P., 2007).
5. The steak is flipped so frequently during cooking that there is no heat loss and
property change on the uncooked side when the other side is in contact with the
pan surface.
6. During calculation, we assume symmetric and simultaneous heating from both
sides. The actual time needed is twice the time calculated. The heat is transferred
only in the axial dimension of the cylindrical steak.
7. Initial temperature for beef is set to be T0= 10 ; pan temperature, Tpan= 300 ;
8. The specific heat capacity of the steak above freezing, cp=2.81kJ/kgK
9. The conductivity of the steak is calculated using model proposed by R.G.M. van
der Sman, from Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University based
on its composition.
Weight Percent
Density(kg/m3)
Conductivity(W/mK)

Fat
12%
0.9
0.222

Protein
26%
1.35
0.410

Water
62%
1
0.633

Total
100%
1.057
0.669

Table 2: Composition of a rib-eye steak and its conductivity

The conductivity of the steak is given by (R.G.M. van der Sman, 2007):
1
/
/
1 2Q

k
k
1
/
1 2Q

Where,
, is volume fraction of the continuous phase. Assuming beep is of one continuous
is 1 in this case.
phase,
,
are volume fraction of unfrozen solution, water, in this case, and
insoluble , fat and protein, in this case, respectively.
In meat emulsion, Q

. The effective conductivity of the insoluble (fat and

protein), kcondis =(pkp+ fkf)/ condis = 0.742 (where, condis =f +p = 34.46%)

0.1725 (where

And,

Conductivity is calculated as 0.669.

Cooking the steak is actually an unsteady conduction process of a cylinder. To
find out the time it will take to achieve a certain core temperature (ie. the temperature
at the symmetry center), Heissler Charts can be used.
Take cooking raw steak, core temperature after cooking, T = 125 , as an
example.
Calculation of the three dimensionless ratios:
Unaccomplished temperature change, Y =
=

Relative position, n =
Relative resistance, m =

T
T

= 0.603;

= 0; (x1=H/2=0.015m)
.
.

= 2.9733

Read from Appendix F in the textbook, the relative time, X =

The thermal diffusivity of the steak, =
Thus, t=

.
.

= 2.25

= 2.15.
10

m /s

= 2150s = 35.83min

The cooking time for raw cooked steak, time = 2t = 71.6 min
Similar calculation can apply on medium raw, medium, medium well and well
done cooked steak. The results are tabulated as below:
Y
n
m
X
Time (min)
Raw
0.603
0
2.973
2.15
71.6
Medium Raw 0.586
0
2.973
2.35
78.2
Medium
0.552
0
2.973
2.60
86.6
Medium Well 0.517
0
2.973
2.75
91.6
Well Done
0.483
0
2.973
2.90
96.6
Table 3. results for five degrees of cooking streak

Thus in conclusion, to cook a normal size rib-eye beef steak, cooking time ranges
from 71.6 minutes to 96.6 minutes in order to achieve different degrees of cooking.
Using the methods tabulated above, the cooking time for different sizes of rib-eye
steak and different types of beef steaks can all be calculated. The theoretically
calculated time is a good reference for new learners to control the degree of cooking
for the beef steaks.
Reference
INCROPERA F.P. & DEWITT D.P. (2007). Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer,
6th Edition. Publisher John Wiley & Son, New York. P284
R.G.M. van der Sman. (2007). Prediction of enthalpy and thermal conductivity of
frozen meat and fish products from composition data. Elsevier, 13 (3), 16.

CN2125
MiniProjject

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Example6

Problem
m Statement:
In 2007, there weree about 8000 dengue caases and 200 dengue faatalities in Singapore.
S
A
Aedes
mosquitooes are the root
r
cause of
o spreadingg dengue, thuus to prevennt the spreaad of denguee, the
National Environmeent Agency (NEA) advvocates the prevention of the breeeding of Aedes
A
mosquitooes. One of the methodss NEA recom
mmends to eradicate
e
thee breeding grounds
g
of Aedes
A
mosquitooes, is to intrroduce presccribed amouunt of granullar insecticidde into placees where staggnant
water (pootential breeding groundd of mosquitooes) is unavooidable or diifficult to rem
move.
The grannular insecticcides, as recoommended
by NEA
A, have 1%
% Temephoss as their
active inngredients. NEA
N
recomm
mends that
the inseccticides to bee added oncce a month
Figgure1: StructuralFormulaofTe
emephos
as its efffectiveness against
a
mosqquitoes can
last for 1 month (30
0 days). In this
t
report,
we wantt to determ
mine the sizze of the granular
g
thaat can mainntain the desired
d
morrtality
effectivenness for 1 month.
m
x1

Modelin
ng the Diffussion of Tem
mephos in Water
W
Mediu
um

The trannsient diffussion of Tem

mephos in water
w
mediuum occurs at
constant temperaturre and presssure of 2998.15K andd 101325 Pa
P
respectivvely. The graanular inseccticides, assuumed to be spherical, has
h
initial Teemephos con
ncentration of 1ppm, arre placed in 1L of larvaae- Figure2:SSphericalGranuular
infested water.
w
Considering a lim
miting case where
w
the reesistance of the film maass transfer of
o the
Temephoos through the
t liquid boundary layyer surroundding the grannular is neggligible, so kc=0.
Also, it is
i assumed that
t
the Tem
mephos is im
mmediately carried
c
awayy and consuumed to eraddicate
the mosqquitoes oncee it reaches the bulk meedium, so CAS=0ppm. It
I is desiredd to have at least
0.012ppm
m (Carvalho
o 2004) of Temephos in the centtre of the granular
g
to achieve an 98%
effective mosquito mortality.
m
Solution
n:
First, it is necessary
y to calculatte the diffussivity of Teemephos (sppecie A) in a water meedium
B Temphoss is an orgaanic insecticcide and a non-electroly
n
yte moleculee in water so the
(specie B).
Wilke-Chhang correlaation is a suittable equatioon to calculaate DAB.
Temphoss has a moleecular formuula of C16H20O6P2S3 . At
A normal boiling
b
pointt, the molecculare
volume of
o Temphos can be evaluuated below::
VC = 14..8cm3/mol

VH = 3.77cm3/mol

VO = 7.4cm3/mol

VP = 17.00cm3/mol

VS = 15..5cm3/mol

Correction (2 benzeene rings) = 30.0cm3/mool

H
Hence,
VA = (16)(14.8)+2
(
20(3.7)+(6)(7.4)+(2)(17..0)+(3)(15.5)-30 = 405.77cm3/mol
3
VA is foound to be 405.7cm
4
/mool. Moleculaar weight of
o water, MB is 18.0g/m
mol. Viscosiity of
water, B is 1.45cp. The associiation param
meter of watter, B is 2.26. The tem
mperature of
o the
solution, T is 298.15K. Substittuting the abbove valuess into the Wilke-Chang
W
g correlationn, we
obtained:

.
.

B MB

Page1

CN2125
MiniProject

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For the transient diffusion of Temephos in water medium, the Hesslers Chart may be employed.
The boundary conditions are:
CA = CA0 =1 ppm

at t=0

for 0 rR

CA = CAS = 0 mg/mg

at r=0

for t 0

CA = CAS = 0 mg/mg

at r=R

for t 0

Dimensionless ratio,

Relative time,

Relative position,

Relative resistance,

CAS CA

0.012

CAS CA

2.64 x10 6 cm2 s 1 30days 24hr 60min 60s

DAB

0
DAB

0,convectiveresistanceisnegligible

From Appendix F, Figure F.3, the corresponding value of X is 0.55.

X

DAB

2.64 x10 6 cm2 s 1 30days 24hr 60min 60s

radius of granular

0.55

Discussion of Results:
It has been found that the minimum radius should be 3.53cm. However, most commercially
available granular insecticides is less than 1cm diameter, thus they will not last for 1 month. This
discrepancy can be due to that we have taken the mosquito mortality effectiveness to be 98%,
while the commercially accepted effectiveness may be less than 98%. We have also assumed that
all there is CAS = 0 and convective resistance is negligible, however in reality, there may be
residual Temephos present in the bulk medium and there is significant surface resistance.
Conclusion:
Thus, in order to allow the insecticide to last for 1 month, it can be suggested that the granular
insecticides be packed into spherical sachet of 3.53cm in radius, assuming that mass transfer only
occurs at the exterior surface of the satchet. In fact, a similar approach has already been adopted
by the Singapore Arm Forces (SAF) in the military camps, and it was reported that this helped to
save SAF an estimated of $178000 annually (Mindef).
Reference:
Carvalho.M.S,C.D.(2004).SusceptibilityofAedesaegyptilarvaetotheinsecticidetemephosinthe
FederalDistrict.Brazil:RevSaudePublica
NationalEnvironmentAgency.(2010).Campaignagainstdengue.RetrievedApril1,2010,fromNational
EnvironmentAgency:http://www.dengue.gov.sg/
Welty.J.R.,Wicks.C.E.,Rorrer.G.L.,Wilson.R.E.(2007).Fundamentalsofmomentum,heat,andmass
transfer.UnitedStatesofAmerica:JohnWiley&Sons.
Mindef(2008).UseofSandGranularSachetforDenguePrevention.RetrievedApril1,2010,from
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/prideday/awards/Sand_Granular_sachet_f
or_dengue_prevention.html

Page2

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

DESIGN PROJECT STATEMENT:

For Academic Year 2012-13
OVERVIEW
Engineering design is an art that involves a creative and sound application of fundamental
principles of science and engineering to produce a safe, practical, and cost-effective
solution useful to the society. Holistic design experience is an essential part of any
engineering education including Chemical Engineering.
The final year design project aims to impart such a holistic experience in the Chemical
Engineering curriculum, where the students get an opportunity to carry out the major steps
involved in the design and evaluation of a new chemical manufacturing process or product.
They develop and evaluate alternatives, perform rigorous simulation, size and optimize
various processing units, analyse hazards and safety, develop schemes for control,
estimate capital and operating costs, and finally assess project profitability. In other words,
the design project serves as the capstone design course where students finally apply all
their acquired knowledge and skills from previous years in an integrated fashion on a
realistic, open-ended problem related to chemical manufacturing process or new product.
To facilitate the above described final goal, you are receiving the following statement on
the design project that you will eventually execute in your final year. The project is
designed to serve as a central theme around which the learning outcomes of various
modules can revolve. Lecturers of core modules will give you small, well-focused tasks
such as tutorial problems, assignments, reviews and/or mini-projects related to the design
problem given below. Students can also self-study at their own pace to learn more on the
design problem. Such an integrated learning experience over several years highlights the
importance and relation of core modules to the design project as well as motivates
students. Further, we hope that the students will be better prepared for the design project
and also learn how to solve open-ended problems by making critical design decisions with
sound scientific justification and giving due consideration to cost and safety.
DESIGN BRIEF
Design a plant to produce drying oil (DO) and crude vinyl acetate from Acetylated Castor
Oil (ACO). The process involves the use of Acetylated Castor Oil to produce Drying Oil,
whose byproduct is Acetic Acid. This Acetic Acid is then reacted with ethylene and oxygen
in the gas phase to produce Vinyl Acetate. Assume that the plant is to be located in
Singapore and the operation time is 8000 h/yr. The raw material specifications are as
follows.
Acetylated Castor Oil: 298 K and 110 kPa.
Ethylene: 99.9 mol% pure (0.1 mol% Ethane) 298 K, 1000 kPa.
Oxygen: 100% pure, 298 K, 1000 kPa.
The values given above are representative, and may vary in the design project that you will
do in the final year (Semester 2 of the academic year 2012-13).

PROCESS
ACO at an elevated temperature produces DO and acetic acid via the following reactions.
C15H31COOH(l) CH3COOH(g) + C14H28(l)
C15H31COOH(l) C28H56(s)
Gum (C28H56) is removed, DO is separated from acetic acid via distillation, and unreacted
ACO is recycled (Turton et al.1). The production of VA involves the following exothermic
reaction on a solid bed catalyst.
C2H4 + CH3COOH + 1/2O2 CH3COOCHCH2 + H2O
C2H4 + 3O2 2CO2 + 2H2O
The reactions are irreversible and the reaction rates have an Arrhenius-type dependence
on temperature. The reactor effluent is cooled and vapour and liquid streams are separated.
The liquid stream from the separator becomes a part of the feed to the distillation column.
The gas enters the bottom of an absorber, where the remaining vinyl acetate is recovered.
Liquid acetic acid that has been cooled is fed into the top of the absorber to provide the
final scrubbing. The liquid bottoms product from the absorber combines with the liquid from
the separator as the feed stream to the distillation column (Luyben et al.2).
REFERENCES
1.
Turton R., Bailie R.C., Whiting W.B. and Shaeiwitz J.A., Analysis, Synthesis, and
Design of Chemical Processes, Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition, 2009 (CL RBR TP155.7 Ana
2009).
2.
Luyben, M.L., Tyreus, B.J. An industrial design/control study for the vinyl acetate
monomer process. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 1998, 22, 867- 877.
3.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing, editor: Sunggyu Lee. New York : Taylor &
Francis, 2006. (TP9 Ency 2006).
4.
Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry, executive editors: Ullmann F,
Gerhartz W, Yamamoto Y.S., Campbell F.T., Pfefferkorn R, et al. Weinheim, Federal
Republic of Germany ; Deerfield Beach, FL, USA: VCH, 1985 (TP9 Ull).
5.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design, executive editor: John J.
McKetta. New York : Marcel Dekker, Inc, c1976-<c1999> (TP9 Enc).
6.
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, executive editor: Kroschwitz JI
New York : Wiley, 2004 (TP9 Kir 2004).
7.
P A Schweitzer Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers,
McGraw Hill, 1997.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

DESIGN PROJECT STATEMENT:

For Academic Year 2013-14
OVERVIEW
Engineering design is an art that involves a creative and sound application of fundamental
principles of science and engineering to produce a safe, practical, and cost-effective
solution useful to the society. Holistic design experience is an essential part of any
engineering education including Chemical Engineering.
The final year design project aims to impart such a holistic experience in the Chemical
Engineering curriculum, where the students get an opportunity to carry out the major steps
involved in the design and evaluation of a new chemical manufacturing process or product.
They develop and evaluate alternatives, perform rigorous simulation, size and optimize
various processing units, analyse hazards and safety, develop schemes for control,
estimate capital and operating costs, and finally assess project profitability. In other words,
the design project serves as the capstone design course where students finally apply all
their acquired knowledge and skills from previous years in an integrated fashion on a
realistic, open-ended problem related to chemical manufacturing process or new product.
To facilitate the above described final goal, you are receiving the following statement on
the design project that you will eventually execute in your final year. The project is
designed to serve as a central theme around which the learning outcomes of various
modules can revolve. Lecturers of core modules will give you small, well-focused tasks
such as tutorial problems, assignments, reviews and/or mini-projects related to the design
problem given below. Students can also self-study at their own pace to learn more on the
design problem. Such an integrated learning experience over several years highlights the
importance and relation of core modules to the design project as well as motivates
students. Further, we hope that the students will be better prepared for the design project
and also learn how to solve open-ended problems by making critical design decisions with
sound scientific justification and giving due consideration to cost and safety.

DESIGN BRIEF
Design a plant to produce 99.9 mol% phenol starting from cumene, and explore its uses.
The process involves the oxidation of cumene to form cumene hydroperoxide, and
subsequent cleavage of hydroperoxide to phenol and acetone. Assume that the operation
time is 8000 h/yr. The raw material specifications are as follows.
Cumene: 298 K and 110 kPa
Oxygen: 100% pure, 298 K, 1000 kPa
The values given above are representative, and can vary in the design project which you
do in the final year (i.e., in the Semester 2 of the academic year 2013-14).

PROCESS
The cumene-phenol process is based on the formation of cumene hydroperoxide and its
cleavage to phenol and acetone. Two reaction steps form the basis of the production of
phenol from cumene [4]:
1. Oxidation of cumene with oxygen to cumene hydroperoxide
2. Cleavage of cumene hydroperoxide in an acidic medium to phenol and acetone.
Phenol, acetone, unconverted cumene, and by-products are then separated in a series of
distillation towers to recover high purity acetone and phenol, and recycle cumene.
Phenol production processes based on the oxidation of cumene comprise the following
sections [3]:
1. Cumene oxidation to hydroperoxide
2. Cumene hydroperoxide concentration
3. Cumene hydroperoxide cleavage
4. Cleavage effluent neutralization
5. Product fractionation and purification
More details of phenol production can be found in Ullmanns Encyclopedia [4].
REFERENCES
1.
Turton R., Bailie R.C., Whiting W.B. and Shaeiwitz J.A., Analysis, Synthesis, and
Design of Chemical Processes, Prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 2003 (CL RBR TP155.7 Ana
2003).
2.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing, editor: Sunggyu Lee. New York : Taylor &
Francis, 2006. (TP9 Ency 2006).
3.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design, executive editor: John J.
McKetta. New York : Marcel Dekker, Inc, c1976-<c1999> (TP9 Enc).
4.
Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry, executive editors: Ullmann F,
Gerhartz W, Yamamoto Y.S., Campbell F.T., Pfefferkorn R, et al. Weinheim, Federal
Republic of Germany ; Deerfield Beach, FL, USA: VCH, 1985 (TP9 Ull).
5.
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, executive editor: Kroschwitz JI
New York : Wiley, 2004 (TP9 Kir 2004).
6.
P A Schweitzer Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers,
McGraw Hill, 1997.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

DESIGN PROJECT STATEMENT:

For Academic Year 2014-15
OVERVIEW
Engineering design is an art that involves a creative and sound application of fundamental
principles of science and engineering to produce a safe, practical, and cost-effective
solution useful to the society. Holistic design experience is an essential part of any
engineering education including Chemical Engineering.
The final year design project aims to impart such a holistic experience in the Chemical
Engineering curriculum, where the students get an opportunity to carry out the major steps
involved in the design and evaluation of a new chemical manufacturing process or product.
They develop and evaluate alternatives, perform rigorous simulation, size and optimize
various processing units, analyse hazards and safety, develop schemes for control,
estimate capital and operating costs, and finally assess project profitability. In other words,
the design project serves as the capstone design course where students finally apply all
their acquired knowledge and skills from previous years in an integrated fashion on a
realistic, open-ended problem related to chemical manufacturing process or new product.
To facilitate the above described final goal, you are receiving the following statement on
the design project that you will eventually execute in your final year. The project is
designed to serve as a central theme around which the learning outcomes of various
modules can revolve. Lecturers of core modules will give you small, well-focused tasks
such as tutorial problems, assignments, reviews and/or mini-projects related to the design
problem given below. Students can also self-study at their own pace to learn more on the
design problem. Such an integrated learning experience over several years highlights the
importance and relation of core modules to the design project as well as motivates
students. Further, we hope that the students will be better prepared for the design project
and also learn how to solve open-ended problems by making critical design decisions with
sound scientific justification and giving due consideration to cost and safety.

DESIGN BRIEF
Design a plant to produce 150,000 metric tons of bio-butanol per year, starting from corn.
Bio-butanol is produced from fermentation that co-produces acetone, butanol, and ethanol
(ABE). The process consists of three main parts: 1) Grain Pre-treatment (receiving,
liquefaction, and saccharification) 2) Fermentation 3) Downstream Processing. Assume
that the operation time of the plant is 8000 h/yr.
The values given above are representative, and can vary in the design project which you
do in the final year (i.e., in the Semester 2 of the academic year 2014-15).

PROCESS
The fuel butanol can be produced via acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation from
renewable resources, i.e. biomass. Corn is fed into a conventional corn dry mill for
conversion to glucose through liquefaction and saccharification. The glucose is fermented
to ABE compounds, which are removed by means of in-situ gas stripping. ABE products
are then separated via distillation and adsorption.
The following biochemical reactions can describe the ABE fermentation:
C6H12O6 C4H10O (butanol) + CO2 + H2O
C6H12O6 + H2O C3H6O (acetone) + CO2 + H2
C6H12O6 C2H5O (ethanol) + CO2 + H2
C6H12O6 C4H8O2 (butyric acid) + CO2 + 2H2
C6H12O6 C2H4O2 (acetic acid)
REFERENCES
1.
Kharkwal S., Karimi I.A., Chang M.W., and Lee, D.Y., 2009. Strain Improvement and
Process Development for Biobutanol Production. Recent Patents on Biotechnology 3, 202
210.
2.
Liu J., Wu M., and Wang M., 2009. Simulation of the Process for Producing Butanol
from Corn Fermentation. Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research 48: 55515557
3.
Qureshi N., Blaschek H.P., 2001a. ABE production from corn: A recent economic
evaluation. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology 27: 292 297.
4.
Qureshi N., Blaschek H.P., 2001b. Evaluation of recent advances in butanol
fermentation, upstream, and downstream processing. Bioprocess and Biosystems
Engineering 24: 219 226.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

DESIGN PROJECT STATEMENT:

For Academic Year 2015-16

OVERVIEW
Engineering design is an art that involves a creative and sound application of fundamental
principles of science and engineering to produce a safe, practical, and cost-effective
solution useful to the society. Holistic design experience is an essential part of any
engineering education including Chemical Engineering.
The final year design project aims to impart such a holistic experience in the Chemical
Engineering curriculum, where the students get an opportunity to carry out the major steps
involved in the design and evaluation of a new chemical manufacturing process or product.
They develop and evaluate alternatives, perform rigorous simulation, size and optimize
various processing units, analyse hazards and safety, develop schemes for control,
estimate capital and operating costs, and finally assess project profitability. In other words,
the design project serves as the capstone design course where students finally apply all
their acquired knowledge and skills from previous years in an integrated fashion on a
realistic, open-ended problem related to chemical manufacturing process or new product.
To facilitate the above described final goal, you are receiving the following statement on
the design project that you will eventually execute in your final year. The project is
designed to serve as a central theme around which the learning outcomes of various
modules can revolve. Lecturers of core modules will give you small, well-focused tasks
such as tutorial problems, assignments, reviews and/or mini-projects related to the design
problem given below. Students can also self-study at their own pace to learn more on the
design problem. Such an integrated learning experience over several years highlights the
importance and relation of core modules to the design project as well as motivates
students. Further, we hope that students will be better prepared for the design project and
also learn how to solve open-ended problems by making critical design decisions with
sound scientific justification and giving due consideration to cost and safety.

DESIGN BRIEF
Design a plant to produce 100,000 metric tons of Vinyl Acetate (of 99.9 mol% purity) per
year, starting from ethylene. Currently, 80% of world production of vinyl acetate uses the
ethylene gas-phase process. This process is based on the acetoxylation of ethylene in gas
phase in the presence of palladium-based solid catalyst. The process consists of three
main parts: 1) Reaction, 2) Gas Separation, and 3) Liquid Separation.
Assume that the operation time of the plant is 8000 h/yr.
The values given above are representative, and can vary in the design project which you
do in the final year (i.e., in the Semester 2 of the academic year 2015-16).

PROCESS
Three raw materials: ethylene, oxygen and acetic acid are converted into the vinyl acetate
product. Water and carbon dioxide are by-products. Inert component, ethane, enters with
the fresh ethylene feed stream. The following two reactions occur in the reactor:
C2H4 + CH3COOH + 0.5O2 CH2 = CHOCOCH3 (vinyl acetate) + H2O
C2H4 + 3O2 2CO2 + 2H2O
Typical operating conditions are 1501600C and 810 bar. As both the above reactions are
highly exothermic, precautions have to be taken to ensure that the temperature in any part
of the catalyst must not exceed 1800C.
Reactor effluents are separated by absorption and distillation operations, into vinyl acetate,
ethylene, carbon dioxide, water and acetic acid. Acetic acid and ethylene are recycled back
to the reactor section.
REFERENCES
1. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, executive editor, Kroschwitz, J.I.
New York : Wiley, 2007 (TP9 Kir).
2. Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, executive editors, Ullmann F.
Gerhartz W., Yamamoto Y.S., Campbell F.T., Pfefferkorn R., et al. 7th Edition, Weinheim,
Federal Republic of Germany ; Deerfield Beach, FL, USA: VCH, 2012 (TP9 Ull).
3. Luyben, Michael L., and Tyreus, B. D., An industrial design/control study for the vinyl
acetate monomer process, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 22, 867 877, 1998.
4. Turton R., Bailie R.C., Whiting W.B. and Shaeiwitz J.A., Bhattacharyya D., Analysis,
Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, Prentice Hall, 4th Edition, 2013 (TP155.7).