Programmes of study

• International Master in Chemical Engineering (2 years)
• Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (sivilingeniør/master’s programme 5-year)
• Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (sivilingeniør/master’s programme 2-year)
• Nanotechnology (sivilingeniører / masters program 5 years)

The department's objective is to graduate candidates (masters in technology) who are highly qualified for management, research and development positions within the chemical industry. The programme of study aims to provide a general introduction to industrial process chemistry and technical implementation. An overview of the courses provided by the Department of Chemical Engineering for the 5-year Master program is shown below.

Catalysis and petrol chemistry: Catalyst are the key to energy efficient and enviormentally friendly chemical processes. The activity focuses towards catalytic processes in chemistyry and petrol chemistry industry, at gas conversion, oil refining and in connection with energy and enviornmental technology. Particular importance lies in hetrogeneous catalysis. An area of strength at NTNU AND SINTEF.

Contact person: Professor Anders Holmen, Telephone no: 73594151, e-mail: Anders.Holmen@chemeng.ntnu.no

Colloid and polymer chemistry: Colloids are a system which exsist of many small particles. Typical examples are small polymer particles,margarine, toothpaste and cigar smoke. As it is on the surface of the particles this is where it happens, that are near connection between colloid chemistry and surface chemistry. Activities in this field are concentrated towards understanding these connections and utilise them in practice. There is an extensive cooperation with norwegian and international process industry in areas which concern oil and gas,wood processing / paper chemistry, polymer (plastic) chemistry, enviornmental friendly specialist chemicals and nano chemistry. The group has a strong experimental character, and hasestablished Ugelstad laboritories with in wide/extensive, modern insturementation. The group has good cooperation with SINTEF, PFI Statoil research center and also in the nordic countries, Europe and the USA. Area of strength within NTNU and SINTEF.

Contact person: Professor Johan Sjöblom. Telephone no: 73595505, e-mail: Johan.Sjoblom@chemeng.ntnu.no

Process system technology: Chemistry is not the only component necessary to create a process. In addition, we must have a suitable raw material, we must separate the products, we must recycle energy and materials, protect the environment and not least, the plant must be profitable. Process system technology focuses on the system as a whole. We work in close collaboration with Norwegian industry, on optimising the use of resources and energy.
The research is focused on advanced regulation, modelling, simulation and ultimately optimal design of chemical processes, in particular the improvement of gas and oil refinement processes. We work in close collaboration with the Department of Engineering Cybernetics.This is an area of strength within NTNU and SINTEF.

Contact person: Professor Sigurd Skogestad, Telephone no: 73594154, e-mail: Sigurd.Skogestad@chemeng.ntnu.no

Reactor technology: The chemical reactor is the heart of most processes involving chemical conversion. Transport of masses and energy to and from the reactor zone is one the most important design criteria for chemical reactors. New reactors are currently being developed, for example, membrane reactors for the production of hydrogen, bubble columns for converting natural gas to petrol, microreactors for continuous fabrication of drugs and membrane modules for elimination of CO2. The research and development is particularly focused on the study and understanding of the interactions between reaction kinetics, molecular transport processes and flow properties of the processes. We collaborate with other groups within the department along with groups in biotechnology, machine technology and fluid mechanics.

Contact person: Professor Hallvard F. Svendsen, Telephone no: 73594100, e-mail: Hallvard.Svendsen@chemeng.ntnu.no

Separation technology: In most processing plants the bulk of the equipment is related to separation. Before one can recommend a reasonable separation process (unit operation), one must have a good knowledge of fundamental chemistry, physical chemistry, flux, surface chemistry and materials technology combined. Within this field of research, the focus is to design more environmentally friendly plants and prevent spillage/emissions in to the air and water. The research is focused on important unit operations relevant to gases, liquids and solid materials, such as absorption, crystallisation and membrane processes (with material technology).

Crystallisation of solid material from liquid is an effective separation process utilised in the production of paracetamol and x-ray contrast ink. The future's need for new and nanostructured materials will rely on a basic understanding of the structure of materials formed through crystallisation.
Some examples of membranes applications include the conversion of sea water to fresh water, energy production by osmosis, separation of CO2 from other gases and the recycling of hydrogen recovered from gas flows. The group collaborates extensively with other groups both internationally and within NTNU, such as materials technology and the Gas centre at NTNU / SINTEF.

Contact person: Professor May-Britt Hägg, Telephone no: 73594033, e-mail: May-Britt.Hagg@chemeng.ntnu.no

Bioenergy and Fibre technology: From an economical and social point of view, paper is the most important of all materials that is based on renewable raw materials. There is a continuous development of processes and paper properties in order to meet the competition from synthetic materials.
The wood processing industry has become advanced and has a continuous need for new candidates. The group’s research is carried out in close co-operation with the Paper and Fiber Insitutue (PFI) and is aimed at understanding the complicated sub processes involved when manufacturing paper.

Contact person: Professor Øyvind Gregersen, Telephone no: 735994029, e-mail: Oyvind.Gregersen@chemeng.ntnu.no

Candidates from the Chemical Engineering field usually do not have much difficulty in securing relevant work after they graduate. Since the education is useful in all types of chemical industry and consultancy, the job opportunities will not be so influenced by fluctuations in certain sectors.

Industry wishes to increase / expand interest in processing subjects within today’s young people. It has therefore established a collaboration work forum (samarbeidsforum (SF)), which has put much energy in to recruitment of new candidates, in order supply a sufficient number of qualified workers in the future.

The department for Chemical Engineering has always had a very close and good cooperation with the chemical industry and many research institutions. It is this cooperation which allows us to offer our students excursions, summer jobs and not least, interesting dissertation projects within industry.

Examples of places to work are:

Most of the big companies are international and can offer exciting jobs outside Norway.

Process system engineering

Industrial chemical plants consist of large numbers of process units such as reactors, distillation columns, compressors, heat exchangers etc. In order to utilize raw materials and energy in an efficient way, parts of the product stream from one process unit is often recycled in another and heat is exchanged between the different units.

This integration means one cannot consider individual units alone when calculating (simulating), modelling and operating the process plant in most efficient way. The work within this field is therefore focused on studying the entire process plant system and the complicated interactions between the individual parts.

The subject includes the study of synthesis (systematic design), optimization, modelling, simulation, dynamics and regulation of chemical process plants. The department is an international leader within several fields of this subject, and have access to excellent resources when it comes to IT equipment.

The most important areas of research are:

• process regulation
• modelling and simulation
• process design and optimisation

The subject is chosen to be an area of strength at NTNU / SINTEF (PROST).
Within PROST there is a close collaboration with the Department of Applied Cybernetics.

Reactor technology

The chemical reactor is the central unit in most industrial processes. Calculations revealing which chemical transitions occur in the reactor and which products originating from a raw material at specific reaction parameters lay the foundation for a lot of the further work in industrial processes and are, to a large extent decisive for economy, safety, influence on the environment etc. The reactor calculations are built on knowledge of reaction kinetics, catalysis, fluid mechanics and mass and heat transfer. The research at the department, within this field involves both, experimental activity and theoretical studies /calculations.

The most important areas of research are:

• Mathematical modelling of chemical reactors
• Experimental analysis of heat flux and transfer in chemical reactors
• Experimental testing of theoretical methods and models
• Environmental technology (CO2 cleansing and transport of pollution in the atmosphere)

Most student projects and dissertations are related to the current research at the group.

Separation technology

Do you want to be a part of the development of:

• Smart membrane materials - important for difficult gas separations
• Salt power - new renewable energy from sea and fresh water using membrane technology
• Pharmaceutical products and colourings

We offer knowledge and competence that will make you capable of this.

Separation is a part of all chemical and chemistry related industry: Minerals must be extracted, well flux must be separated into gas, oil and water, compounds that have not reacted must be recycled in the reactor, drains must be cleansed and bi products must be separated from the main products.
Almost all process equipment in chemical industry is related to separation of some kind.

Separation technology is built on, among others, knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of single components and compounds, mass and heat transfer, along with techniques and equipment for carrying out the separation in practice. Insight into the interactions between molecules and the consequences of these, "nano scale" basic processes have become increasingly important. This information maybe used for, the development of materials and membranes with special properties for gas separation, for studies of osmosis processes for "salt power" and for the manufacturing of materials based on nanoparticles.

The society of the future will demand a conscious attitude towards the environment. Waste that damages the environment will not be tolerated, and as a consequence of this, process plants will have to be completely secluded and energy consumption will have to be as low as possible. Separation technology in all it's shapes is central to this development. Important tools for us are therefore process simulation and optimisation in order to find the best process design.

The department are carrying out research and development within a series of fields related to separation, the most important are:

• gas purification
• extraction and ion exchange
• membrane technology for separation in both gas and liquid phases
• material development for gas separation membranes
• drying and evaporation
• crystallisation and deposition
• phase equilibrium

Bioenergy and fibre technology

The wood processing industry is responsible for 15% of the net export value of Norway's land based process industry. It refines a renewable raw material, expands forest resources.
The industry is modern from a technical point of view and exports about 75% of it's product. It requires workers that are technically competent.

The sector has three main areas, which is reflected in the research within the subject. One is the decomposition of wood to fibres, the second is the production of paper based on the newly separated fibres, and the third is production of chemicals and bioenergy based on wood raw materials. The department has for a long time had an internationally acknowledged activity within fibre characterisation and manufacturing of "mechanical" paper pulp. This activity is now strengthened by a close collaboration with PFI.

We work on new and more environmentally friendly processes such as new ways of bleaching, increased yield on the mass manufacturing process and paper production with reduced energy and water consumption.

Reducing the amount of water used results in process and product disturbance, and avoiding changes like this can be very challenging with relation to water chemistry. We have a close collaboration with industry, and promising process modifications can therefore be quickly tested on an industrial scale.

Problems associated with the recycling of paper are also being investigated in collaboration with industry. Paper is from an economical point of view the country’s most important finalized product. An increased national initiative in the area of material technology include this material.

The study of paper structure, surface characterisation and improvement of these is an important field of study. Paper for printing is dominating among the paper products, and the surface of this paper is critical for the quality.

Generally the unit processes in the paper and paper pulp industry are closely related to the ones that are contained in general chemical engineering; for example reactors for boiling and bleaching; flux of two-phase fluids (fibres in water); filtering; pressing and drying.

The wood processing was in 1998 co-localised with the paper industry's research institute (new name from 1.02.04: Papir- og fiberinstituttet AS) which moved to a new building just next to the chemistry buildings. Here is also space for students taking wood processing subjects. The co-localisation has to a large extent increased the access to advanced equipment and expert collaboration.