Chemical Engineering

Tom Spicer

Department Head

3202 Bell Engineering Center

479-575-4951

Rick Ulrich

Graduate Coordinator

3202 Bell Engineering Center

479-575-5645

E-mail: rulrich@uark.edu

Web: http://www.cheg.uark.edu/

• Distinguished Professor Havens
• University Professor Turpin
• Professors Babcock, Clausen, Penney, Spicer, Ulrich
• Associate Professors Ackerson, Beitle, Thoma
• Research Professors Cross, Silano
• Adjunct Professors King, Muralidhara, Murphy, Siebenmorgen
• Visiting Assistant Professor Teo
• Instructor Myers

Degrees Conferred:

M.S.Ch.E. (CHEG)

M.S.E., Ph.D. in Engineering (ENGR) (See Engineering)

The goal of the graduate program in the Department of Chemical Engineering is to prepare the student for advanced roles in the profession through a combination of planned course work, research activities, examinations for Ph.D. candidacy, and seminar participation. The graduate degree is not intended to be restrictive by forcing the student to specialize, but will broaden the graduate’s intellectual abilities and enhance opportunities in research, teaching, management, and general engineering practice. The student’s goals for pursuing an advanced degree, including preferences for a research topic, are given primary consideration in the preparation of the course of study. The student’s advisory committee will assist in the definition of a diversified program to ensure competence as a practicing engineer.

Primary Areas of Faculty Research: Biological systems and food science; Chemical Hazards Research Center; chemical process safety; fate of pollutants in the environment; Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium; material science for microelectronics; membrane separations; mixing in chemical processes; petroleum processing.

Admission to the Degree Program: The specific requirements for admission to the program and completion of an advanced degree in chemical engineering are determined by the Graduate School of the University of Arkansas and the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Chemical Engineering. A general summary of departmental requirements is given below and detailed information may be obtained from the CHEG Web site at <http://www.cheg.uark.edu/>.

An undergraduate degree in chemical engineering is preferred for admission, but students with a B.S. in another field of engineering or in a natural science may also enter the program, provided that certain chemical engineering undergraduate courses are included in their overall program of study. The applicant should first apply to the Graduate School for admission to the University’s graduate program. After acceptance by the Graduate School, the same application is automatically forwarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering for consideration for departmental admission. The requirements for admission to the department’s graduate program are:

•   A grade point average of 3.00 in chemical engineering, natural science, or another engineering program.

•   A minimum GRE score of 700 on the quantitative section of the exam and a minimum of 1200 combined score on the quantitative and verbal sections. The exam score counted for admission must have been taken within five years prior to application.

•   For students without a B.S. degree from a U.S. university, a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (for the paper exam) or 213 (for the computer exam). The test must have been taken within two years of the student’s starting date at the University.

•   To enter the Ph.D. program, a majority vote by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Chemical Engineering is required.

Financial aid may be available for the student’s stipend and/or tuition on a case-by-case basis. This is decided in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Research Program: An interactive, hands-on program is used to introduce the graduate student to the techniques, procedures, and philosophy necessary for successful research. The students will work closely with their supervising professor and committee to perform original research on a topic of importance to the profession. The student will participate in the planning, managerial, budgetary, experimental, and reporting aspects of his/her research projects. The normal result is a thesis (for the Master’s degree) or a dissertation (for the Ph.D.), both of which should result in at least one journal or conference publication for the student. Active research interests of our faculty are listed on the Web at http://www.cheg.uark.edu/.

Course Work: Specific requirements for course work are determined individually for students by their research adviser and research committee, depending on their goals and the needs of their research program. In general, the M.S. student must complete 24 hours including advanced topics in chemical engineering, mathematics, technical electives, and graduate seminars. The Ph.D. student must complete an additional 30 hours beyond the M.S. requirements.

Ph.D. Examinations: The Ph.D. student must pass qualifying examinations in various chemical engineering subject areas, mathematics, and plant design and must present a comprehensive research proposal.

CHEG4263 Environmental Experimental Methodology (IR)  Introduction to experimental design, environmental analytical method quality assurance of analytical measurements, sample collection and preservation. Laboratory work necessary to support a field scale tracer experiment will be required. Prerequisite: senior or graduate standing.

CHEG4813 Chemical Process Safety (FA)  Application of chemical engineering principles to the study of safety, health, and loss prevention. Fires and explosions, hygiene, toxicology, hazard identification, and risk assessment in the chemical process industries. Prerequisite: senior standing.

CHEG4813H Honors Chemical Process Safety (FA)  Application of chemical engineering principles to the study of safety, health, and loss prevention. Fires and explosions, hygiene, toxicology, hazard identification, and risk assessment in the chemical process industries. Prerequisite: senior standing.

CHEG5013 Membrane Separation and System Design (SP)  Theory and system design of cross flow membrane process—reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and microfiltration—and applications for pollution control, water treatment, food and pharmaceutical processing. Prerequisite: CHEG 3153.

CHEG5033 Technical Administration (FA)  Means and methods of planning, conducting, supervising, coordinating, and financing research, development, and engineering activities. Prerequisite: senior or graduate standing.

CHEG5113 Transport Processes I (SP)  Fundamental concepts and laws governing the transfer of momentum, mass, and heat. Prerequisite: CHEG 2313 (or equivalent) and MATH 3404.

CHEG5133 Advanced Reactor Design (FA)  Applied reaction kinetics with emphasis on the design of heterogeneous reacting systems including solid surface catalysis, enzyme catalysis, and transport phenomena effects. Various types of industrial reactors, such as packed bed, fluidized beds, and other non-ideal flow systems are considered. Prerequisite: MATH 3404 and CHEG 3333.

CHEG5213 Advanced Chemical Engineering Calculations (SP)  Developments of and solution of equations and mathematical models of chemical processes and mechanisms. Prerequisite: CHEG 3333 and CHEG 3253.

CHEG5223 Petroleum Processing (IR)  Introduction to petroleum production, field processing, and transportation. Prerequisite: CHEG 4413.

CHEG5273 Corrosion Control (SP)  Qualitative and quantitative introduction to corrosion and its control. Application of the fundamentals of corrosion control in the process industries is emphasized. Prerequisite: CHEG 2313.

CHEG5313 Advanced Thermodynamics (FA)  Methods of statistical thermodynamics, the correlation of classical and statistical thermodynamics, and the theory of thermodynamics of continuous systems (non-equilibrium thermodynamics). Prerequisite: CHEG 3323.

CHEG5353 Advanced Separations (SP)  Phase equilibrium in non-ideal and multicomponent systems, digital and other methods of computation are included to cover the fundamentals of distillation, absorption, and extraction. Prerequisite: CHEG 4163.

CHEG5403 Organic Technology (IR)  Major unit processes in the organic chemical field with emphasis on industrial applications including the thermodynamic, kinetic, and economic problems associated with the manufacturing and utilization of synthetic organic chemicals. Prerequisite: CHEM 3603 or CHEM 3613.

CHEG5513 Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals (SP)  An introduction to bioprocessing with an emphasis on modern biochemical engineering techniques and biotechnology. Topics include: basic metabolism (procaryote and eucaryote), biochemical pathways, enzyme kinetics (including immobilized processes), separation processes (e.g. chromatography) and recombinant DNA methods. Material is covered within the context of mathematical descriptions (calculus, linear algebra) of biochemical phenomenon. Prerequisite: CHEG 3143.

CHEG5523 Bioprocessing (FA)  An introduction to the design, development, and scale-up of bioprocesses for the production of chemicals by fermentation. Major topics include fermentation kinetics, reactor design, process scale-up, and product recovery. Prerequisite: CHEG 3333.

CHEG5613 Microelectronics Fabrication and Materials  (FA, Odd years)  Overview of microelectronics and semiconductors with emphasis placed on the manufacturing process rather than device physics. Topics include the various types of devices, the manufacturing flow, and criteria for materials selection. No prior knowledge of electronics is required. Prerequisite: ELEG 3903.

CHEG5723 Heat Transfer (SP)  Mechanics of heat transfer, followed by a detailed mathematical treatment of heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation, singly and in combination, and the application of heat transfer to design problems. Prerequisite: CHEG 3143 and senior or graduate standing.

CHEG5733 Polymer Theory and Practice (FA)  Theories and methods for converting monomers into polymers are presented. Topics include principles of polymer science, commercial processes, rheology, and fabrication. Prerequisite: CHEM 3603 or CHEM 3613.

CHEG5753 Air Pollution (IR)  Fundamentals of air pollution causes, effects, and measurements, as well as control methods with application to current industrial problems. (Same as CVEG 5753) Prerequisite: graduate standing.

CHEG5801 Graduate Seminar (FA, SP)  Oral presentation are given by master’s candidates on a variety of chemical engineering subjects with special emphasis on new developments. Prerequisite: graduate standing.

CHEG588V Special Problems (1-6) (FA, SP, SU)  Opportunity for individual study of an advanced chemical engineering problem not sufficiently comprehensive to be a thesis. Prerequisite: graduate standing.

CHEG600V Master’s Thesis (1-6) (FA, SP, SU)  Prerequisite: graduate standing.

CHEG6123 Transport Processes II (FA)  Continuation of CHEG 5113.

CHEG6203 Preparation of Research Proposals (FA, SP, SU)  Prerequisite: doctoral students only.

CHEG6801 Graduate Seminar (FA, SP)  Oral presentations are given by doctoral students on a variety of chemical engineering subjects with special emphasis on new developments. Prerequisite: graduate standing.

CHEG688V Special Topics in Chemical Engineering (1-3) (FA, SP, SU)  Advanced study of current Chemical Engineering topics not covered in other course. Prerequisite: doctoral students only.

CHEG700V Doctoral Dissertation (1-18) (FA, SP, SU)  Prerequisite: candidacy.