Progressive Freeze Concentration Research
Friday, July 23, 2010
Before the VIVA startsThe VIVA started at 9.30 am. We arrived at the examination room at 8.30 am to prepare and set up all that are necessary. The VIVA session ended at about 12.15 noon and she passed her Ph.D with minor correction.
In case you are wandering what is this research all about, here is the abstract of the study. Maybe some of you who are interested can collaborate with Dr. Mazura or become her student to further develop the PFC technology which is the first in Malaysia.
Abstract : DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL DESIGN FOR PROGRESSIVE FREEZE CONCENTRATION PROCESS
Industrial wastewater may well be treated by freeze concentration, a process which freezes or crystallises out water content as pure ice crystals and leaves behind a highly concentrated solution in a smaller volume. In conventional suspension freeze concentration (SFC) where ice crystals formed as a suspension in the mother liquor, separation of the solid-liquid mixture is difficult and costly. The size of ice crystals is still very limited and the seeding process requires usage of scraped surface heat exchangers (SSFE), which is significantly expensive and accounted for approximately 30% of the capital cost. Progressive freeze concentration (PFC) invented later is believed to provide cost saving and simplify the subsequent ice-liquid separation as ice crystals are formed as a layer or a block on the cooling surface. Quest for a design providing convenience and good efficiencies continues, and in this study a helical structured copper crystalliser was developed and fabricated named Multi-wind Crystalliser (MWC). Effects of several operating conditions on the performance of MWC in context of wastewater treatment were then investigated including circulation flowrate, initial solution concentration, coolant temperature and circulation time. The performance of the design was evaluated by three dependent variables including the effective partition constant, K, calculated from the volume and concentration of the solid and liquid phase. Two other parameters were ice purity and solution volume reduction. A process optimisation was also performed thereafter employing STATISTICA to produce optimum conditions in favour of the stated independent variables. As the crystalliser designed involves heat transfer, the overall heat transfer coefficient was also calculated through temperature profiling subsequently generating a prediction model for ice crystal mass. At the end of the research, a new crystalliser design for PFC is established and an observation of how the operating conditions affect the performance of the system was obtained. Optimum operating conditions was determined by process optimisation and an overall heat transfer coefficients were also generated. Adequacy and reliability of the ice crystal mass prediction model produced was proven by error analyses revealing relatively small errors.
Now...It's my turn to complete my Ph.D... :)
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posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 6:30 PM,
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Good Luck for your Chemical Engineering Ph.D VIVA
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The day has finally come...
After few years of tense research, agony to write and compile the papers/thesis draft and pain of waiting for the VIVA (Ph.D examination) date, finally the moment has come. My wife is currently making her final preparation before the battle begins tomorrow morning. She will be defending her Ph.D research/thesis in front of few renowned Professors in the field of separation technology. From what we know, nobody in this country is doing progressive freeze concentration research, a subject that falls under crystallization technology. She's the only one in this country doing it right now. She can be the crystallization expert.
I have accompanied her to the examination room just now and tested the computer and checked the presentation slide. This is just to ensure everything is smooth tomorrow. The room is just nice to fit the chairperson, 3 examiners and 2 of her supervisors.
I hope and pray that she will present her Ph.D research smoothly and awarded the prestigious doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering. Good luck to you... Mazura...
As for me, I'm still in my 3rd semester (just entered my 2nd year) of my Ph.D study. I hope everything will be smooth for me as well.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering, pH.D, phd, Research, Study
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 5:26 PM,
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Dubai Jobs - Tips and Strategies to Secure it
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Now the question is...
if so many people are looking for an engineering job in Dubai, how do you ensure that you secure your "Dream" Job in Dubai? The answer is quite logical. You need to have a multi-pronged strategy and work really hard if you wish to secure your Dream Engineering Dubai Jobs. A callous or laid-back attitude will not generate the results you desire. Similarly, just 1 or 2 approaches will not work. I will show you a systematic and guided approach. If you follow this method, then I guarantee you phenomenal results. Now, I'm not going to teach you magic. Like I said earlier, it's a logical method.
Some of the popular and in-demand Engineering jobs in Dubai are:
* Mechanical Engineering which includes: Aerospace, Automotive, Biomedical, Mechanical, Naval.
* Electrical Engineering which includes: Communications, Computer, Electrical, Electromechanical Systems, Electronic Systems, Software.
* Civil Engineering which includes: Building, Civil, Construction.
* Production Engineering which includes: Industrial Engineering, Integrated / Unified Engineering, Production Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Systems Engineering
* Chemical Engineering which includes: Agricultural, Biological and Biosystems, Chemical, Environmental, Food, Forestry, Materials, Plastics, Water Resource.
* Oil Engineering which includes: Gas, Geological, Geomatics, Metallurgical, Mineral, Mining, Oil, Petroleum.
Remember, that the whole process that I have described below takes some time. Securing good Engineering jobs in Dubai that fit your criteria perfectly is a time consuming and lengthy procedure, but I have compiled a few resources here for you to make it easier.
So, follow this procedure in the order given below and...
...all the best to you in your new engineer jobs in Dubai:
Engineer a good Resume:
A resume that impresses, one that gets the interview call. It's said that the first impression is the last impression. Couldn't be more true for a resume.
Some Resume Tips, specifically for Engineering Jobs in Dubai:
* Put the most important information first
* Highlight your positive points and strengths
* Highlight your accomplishments/achievements/accolades
* Point out that you will dress modestly
* Put a line that you are very tolerant with other people's religion and beliefs
* Make sure to use the right keywords, (for online searches) power keywords that will bring your resume in front of others
* Use bullet points
* One or two pages long, maximum
* No hobbies please
Online Job Portals: are Very widely used by job seekers and recruiters.
You can submit your completed resume to these online job portals. They are extremely popular in Dubai, and are used by the HR executives of the biggest and best Engineering companies to search for good resumes.
Offline Recruitment Agencies: are also very useful. Some are General while there are some that Specialise in Engineering Jobs in Dubai. The Big general recruitment agencies have dedicated recruiters and teams for various career fields. It's a good idea to approach a mix of both types. These recruitment agencies have contracts with companies, and are very prolific in finding the right candidate for the right job. They get paid for every successful placement, by the hiring company.
Engineering Companies: You can directly approach the biggest and the best companies in the engineering sector. The creme de la creme of engineering comapnies always have job positions open due to the size and leadership in the market. You can send them your Resume and Cover Letter to the Human Resources Department'S Email ID.
Classified Ads: Circulate your ad on the Internet.
You can place your "job wanted" classified in one of the Online Dubai Classified Advertisement Websites "Engineering Jobs in Dubai" section. These are reputed sites, however, since your email address is listed here, please be ready to find spam in your inbox too. A safe bet is to use a different email ID. These classified sites rank very high (in the first or second search results page) and so your chances of getting found directly by hiring companies is very high too.
Classifieds Search: Search the Wanted Ads.
There is a "jobs available" section in some online classifieds sites. You can browse these to locate engineering jobs in Dubai that fit in with what you are hunting for. However, many of the ads could be of scam recruiters, asking you to deposit money upfront. Simply ignore these.
Social Media Networking:
Network with the HR's.The HR's of Companies as well as Recruitment Agencies use Social Networking to post current jobs online and informally connect with potential candidates. This is an absolute must-do.
Preparing for an Interview:
* Go prepared.
* When you receive an interview call, remember to take along all your original certificates, experience letters and other important documents in original and photocopies.
* Brush up on the technical aspects related to the work you do.
* Show them that you are an authority on your subject and the right candidate for that post.
Tips, Do's and Dont's:
* Keep in mind the things that made you search for engineering jobs in Dubai, in the first place.
* If the job description and it's package and perks offered, fit in with what you've got in mind, then and only then apply for the job.
* Negotiating salary is not recommended in Dubai.
* You may find yourself working overtime without overtime pay.
* South Asians, need to work a minimum of 1 year, before they can change jobs, whereas this rule does not apply to Europeans, Australians and US Nationals.
Visa to visit Dubai:
You can come to Dubai on a visit visa and then go job hunting for quality engineering jobs in Dubai, as many people do, which increases your chance of landing good construction jobs in Dubai.
Physical presence in Dubai does make a difference. You can go for the interview as soon as you get a call. Read the important tips about Dubai Visas and remember that a visit visa is for a duration of 2 months, and you can extend it by a month.
This post is contributed by Shabbir Kagalwala from www.dubai-forever.com. He provides valuable step-by-step guide to apply, search and secure Jobs in Dubai. Information loved by visitors, searching for their dream job in UAE. It will be useful for chemical engineers seeking for new job, new experience, new adventure.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering, Jobs, Oil and Fats, Oil and Gas
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 6:51 PM,
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Green Jobs That Pay Well
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Are you looking for a good job that pays well? How about about a green job? There are a lot of green jobs available with high paying salaries. Here is is list of 10 green jobs that I recommend:
1. Environmental Consultant
You ensure that your clients are compliant with certain environmental regulations so that they do not face legal action, misguided transactions or fines. There are many areas of work but the two main areas are Industrial and Environmental. Environmental Consultants usually have a B.A. in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Management or Environmental Science.
2. Ecological surveyor
This person performs Environmental Impact Studies for property developers. Ecological surveyors analyze the potential impacts that developing a certain area may have on the flora and fauna of that specific place. They also assist developers in planning to avoid unnecessary cost, delays and disruption of projects.
3. Civil/Structural Engineer
Oversees the construction on buildings and other structures and ensures that they are structurally-sound; able to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and other disasters.
4. Marine Surveyor
A Marine Surveyor is responsible for the sustainable development of coastal areas. They carry out studies and try to minimize impact on the marine life of the area that has been chosen for development.
5. Eco Homes Adviser
Provides advice on energy efficiency, water conservation, design and building materials for homes. They also diet and fitness tips for their client to complement their Eco home with a green lifestyle.
6. Energy Assessor
Energy efficiency is very important for a sustainable lifestyle and a well-paid job as an energy assessor can help in the conservation of our planet. Energy assessors ensure the efficient use of energy in domestic properties, government buildings, privately owned properties or businesses, etc.
7. Bio-Mass Development Officer
They are responsible for the development of project involving the use of biomass. These mainly projects involves the generation of energy from organic waste. A Biomass Development Officer usually performs task such as:
o Identify new sites for Biomass Projects
o Manage biomass plants
o Work with public authorities overseeing proper planning the issuing of licenses.
o Evaluate biomass projects
o Carry out related scientific research with other scientists.
o Ensure a constant supply of raw materials from suppliers
8. Air Quality Specialist
The Air Quality Specialist is responsible for assuring air quality and control; studies, emission inventories, permit applications, dispersion modeling and regulation compliance. may also work in projects relating to petroleum, mining, utility, chemicals, etc. A B.S. degree in Engineering or other Science degree in a similar field is ideal for this job.
9. Project Engineer
Projects Engineers make sure projects as completed in the time specified in the contract and they assure high quality of the finished worked. In order to carry out the tasks of a Project Manager a certain level of training and expertise is needed. They are able to make accurate financial forecasts, manage efficiently project teams and resources and they are responsible for the completion of the project according to initial plans.
10. Heritage Officers
Heritage Officers work in a wide variety of places that are usually tourist attractions: museums, historic buildings, archaeological sites, national parks or with an environmental Conservation Organization. Heritage officer may also do work as interpreters. Tasks performed usually include:
o Nature and city trails
o First person Interpretation
o Audio-visual programs
o Publications
o Organize Exhibitions, public presentations and concerts.
Excellent communication skills, knowledge in ecology and historical knowledge is required for this job.
This article was contributed by ecolifetrendy.com.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 2:07 PM,
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Plate Heat Exchanger Software
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
When I was working as a process engineer, my favourite equipment was the heat exchanger. To be specific, it was the plate heat exchanger (PHE) that I am fond off. Until now, I still appreciate and liked the plate heat exchanger. The only thing is the plate heat exchanger in our unit operation lab is a little bit tiny.
All this while I thought I know a lot about plate heat exchanger. But I am wrong. I still don't know much about it. I faced some difficulty designing a plate heat exchanger for one of my project. That's when I started asking friends, heat exchanger suppliers, participated in forums and searched the net. I found and learned many softwares that are used to design plate heat exchanger. In fact, I've got myself one of the software which is called PHex. That's fine as long as I can try designing a plate heat exchanger the modern way. It was really interesting to use the software.
PHex is an easy to use tool which domonstrates the thermal calculations of Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers, The plate dimensions and materials can be entered, this includes the size of plate heat exchanger and chevron angle (25 to 65 degrees).
List of main features:
1- User friendly and easy to use with ability to save/load data.
2- Estimate the Physical properties of more than 1450 components; the database has the ability to estimate Thermal Conductivity, Density, Heat Capacity and Viscosity. The database also included critical properties, boiling and melting points.
3- Estimate mixture properties.
4- Create you own database of Plates and Components. You can add your fluid physical properties and load the data to your project with a click of a button and more…
5- Chose between S.I. or English U.S. units of measurements.
6- Temperature and Flow rate estimation in the event of insufficient data.
7- Heat load required (clean or fouled) calculations.
8- Duty clean / dirty calculations.
9- Total effective area calculation.
10- Surface area calculation.
11- Number of plates calculations.
12- Overall Coefficient (clean / dirty) calculations.
13- Pressure drop Channel/Port/Total for Hot side and Cold side Calculations.
14- Plate heat exchanger dimension calculations.
15- Velocity through ports, Mass velocity through channel/ports calculations.
16- Reynolds and Nusselt numbers calculations.
17- Heat transfer coefficient calculations.
18- Summary of results with image to help in understanding.
This is without doubt a must have software for heat exchanger designers. This superb software cost only $69.99 per computer (1 license). You can also add on additional license with some extra cost if you are interested. For more information, click the following link:
>>> Get PHex Gasketed Plate Heat Exchanger Design Software
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering, Environmental, Equipments, Heat Exchanger
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 11:22 PM,
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Open Source Chemical Engineering Related Softwares
Monday, July 05, 2010
As a chemical engineer, after knowing the basic and fundamentals of a subject, we may use certain softwares to speed up calculation, analysis and even decision making. Without doubt chemical engineering related software are gaining importance and hence it is imperative to share them here so that all of us can use and apply them. I found a forum that shares a magnitude of great chemical engineering software (I got to know about this great collection from vinithbejugamchemicalengineering.blogspot.com who runs an informative chemical engineering blog).
The forum shares open source chemical engineering softwares such as:Cantera - Cantera is an open-source, object-oriented software package for problems involving chemically-reacting flows.
InnoSim - InnoSim is a free suite for physical properties estimation and process equipment design and rating. It is intended for use by students, scientists and engineers interested in chemical engineering and the related industries.
Calflur - Caflur is a tool for analyzing chemical reactors. It can generate a HTML file with tables and graphics of Residence Time Distributions. It can calculate conversions for both linear and non-linear systems, with and without flow model; and the parameters for some non-ideal flow models (tanks in series, axial dispersion and combined models).
MesoRD - MesoRD is a tool for stochastic simulation of reactions and diffusion. In particular, it is an implementation of the Next Subvolume Method, which is an exact method to simulate the Markov process corresponding to the reaction-diffusion master equation.
Well those are just 4 of them. There are lots more of open source chemical engineering software. Visit the forum and learn more:
http://opensource.cheme.info/index.php?topic=4.0
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering, Software, Technology, Training
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 10:44 PM,
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Chemical Engineering Economics should use ChemEng Economics Calculator
Friday, July 02, 2010
ChemEng Economics Calculator was mainly made to do the basic method of estimating the Net Present Value of a process plant. This easy to use software also include few small calculators, below is a list of the main features:
Net Present Value - the software goes through a series of calculations to do the estimate. Starting from
1. Fixed Capital Investment: the ability to chose from "Purchased Cost" of plant items, hence the estimation of FIXED & TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT (Direct and Indirect Costs), OR "Installed Costs" of plant items where the software will use a FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT multiplyer to take into accout the additional cost associated with building the plant.
2. Operating Labour: through a basic series of "Auxiliary Facilities" and "Process Equipment" lists the software will estimate the TOTAL NUMBER OF OPERATOR NEEDED & ANNUAL COST OF OPERATING LABOUR. You simply enter the "Expected Annual Salary of Operators in The Plant" and "The Number of Units", the software will then calculate the "THE NUMBER OF OPERATORS NEEDED PER SHIFT".
3. Utilities: To calculate the "TOTAL UTILITY COSTS/YEAR".
4. Raw Materials & Profits: Calculates the ANNUAL cost of Raw Materials and ANNUAL Products Profits.
5. Production Costs: Calculate the ANNUAL Production Costs (customised calculations).
6. Assumptions: The software uses assumptions to estimate the NET PRESENT VALUE.You can customise the assumptions to suit your needs, "Plant Construction Period up to 5 Years", "Depreciation Period from 3 to 20 Years", "Plant Operation Period up to 20 Years", you can also set the "Tax Rate %", "Discounted Cash Flow Rate %" and "Salvage Value %", You can also SET INFLATION RATE.
This is without doubt a must have software for chemical engineers working on the economic aspects and who maybe responsible in advising his or her company on making certain decision making. Amazingly, this software cost only $29.99 per computer (1 license).
To learn more about this fantastic software, please refer:
>>> ChemEng Economic Calculator Detail
>>> Download the presentation slide explaining more about ChemEng Economic Calculator + software demo.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering, Conference, Software, Study, Technology
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 11:54 PM,
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Officers needed for Chemical Engineering Rocks Facebook Group
The Chemical Engineering Rocks Facebook Group that I created last year has received great response and feedback. More and more engineers and students joined the group and I really appreciate that very much. As all of you know, Facebook has gained such a huge achievements in uniting people together and enhancing positive interaction among us. That is indeed the situation in Chemical Engineering Rocks group.
More and more interested chemical engineers and students interact in the "Wall" and that is very good. However, handling the group alone would not be fun. It's going to be more exciting and fun when there are more "Officers" that can help to response and provide feedback to more and more wall postings.
Hence, if any of you are interested in becoming an "Officer" in the Chemical Engineering Rocks Facebook Group, please email/contact me. I'll wait for you.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
Labels: Chemical Engineer, Chemical Engineering
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 5:41 PM,
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The Author
I’m Zaki. I used to be a project, process and chemical engineer. Few years ago I successfully became a Chartered Engineer (IChemE) and Professional Engineer (BEM). I'm now employed as a chemical engineering educator/researcher/consultant. Hope you like reading my blog. I welcome any feedback from you. My email: zaki.yz[alias]gmail.com. TQ!
