The Chemical Engineering Capstone class is held in Spring Term only. The following Design Problem was worked for Spring 2015:
Alternate Technology for Sour Water Stripping: Natural Gas as a Substitute for Air
The objective of this year’s AIChE Design Problem is to design an alternative process for the removal of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in sour water. This unconventional strategy will then be compared to the traditional technologies that use air stripping. The range of flow and composition of NH3 and H2S is given; a sensitivity analysis for the both designs is required. A final design should consider these two options and choose accordingly.
The students are required to design a conceptual block flow diagram accompanied by a process description. The economic analysis must consider the penalty associated with violating an air permit, the tradeoff between natural gas as a treatment option vs. selling the fuel, and a decision to treat the water.
