ChE Thoughts 02 (02) ISSN 2218-5216 (Print)chethoughts.com/content/uploads/2011/08/ChEThoughts_Vol-02_Issue...Lafarge Surma Cement, Ltd., Bangladesh Kazi Bayzid Kabir Monash University,

ChE Thoughts 02 (02) ISSN 2218-5216 (Print) ISSN 2220-3389 (Online) www.chethoughts.com

Welcome to the August 2011 (Vol-02, No-2) issue of ChE Thoughts.

We are still experiencing the ongoing unstable economic condition, prevailing in the world over. With the global recession and changed economic stipulation, the funding agencies are changing their approach towards scientific research; research funding is now more focused on product oriented research and on ‘green’ technology. However, this approach has its own advantages and limitations. On one hand, the new funding approach can limit fundamental research opportunities, while on the other it builds up awareness and demands for more commitments from the scientific community to continue working on environment friendly research and technology advancement.

It is encouraging to see that many developed nations are imposing or about to impose Carbon Tax. Carbon Tax is an environmental tax that aims to stabilize and reduce green house gas emissions from fossil fuels. There are many factors regarding Carbon Tax yet to be resolved. However, open discussions on that issue can help developing awareness both among fossil fuel industries and their consumers, and can encourage to reduce energy consumption and to use alternative energy sources, especially renewable energy.

This issue of ChE Thoughts features article on energy audit as a cost-effective solution for the industry. Besides other classic Chem Eng and Sci topics, the fundamentals of protein engineering are also featured in the Biotech and Biochem Eng section. Last but not the least, this issue features Engineer, Educator and Administrator Professor Ronald W Rousseau, whose immense experience and world class expertise is an inspiration to the new generation of chemical engineers and scientists.

Sincerely, Mohidus Samad Khan, PhD ([email protected]) Montreal, Canada

ChE Thoughts

Editorial

Volume 02, Issue 02 August 2011


PUBLISHED BY

ChemicalBUET Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected],

[email protected]

Volume 02, Issue 02 August 2011

Editor-in-Chief:

Mohidus Samad Khan McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Graphic & Web-Development: Masud Parves

Bangladesh Uni of Eng. & Tech. (BUET) Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Abid Hossain Rahimafrooz Accumulators Ltd.

Mehmud Arif Iqbal Chevron Bangladesh Ltd.

Ahmed Faruque Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Ltd.

Bangladesh

Printing/Distribution: Tanjeen Sultana

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Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Director:

Mohidus Samad Khan McGill University, Montreal, Canada

EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATION

Advertising Sales Coordinator: Abid Hossain

Rahimafrooz Accumulators Ltd. M. Mahfuzur Rahman

Chevron Bangladesh Ltd. Masud Parves

Bangladesh Uni of Eng. & Tech. (BUET)


Editorial Assistant:

Mohammad Mohiuddin Lafarge Surma Cement, Ltd., Bangladesh

Kazi Bayzid Kabir Monash University, Clayton, Victoria,

Australia, VIC 3800

Shoeb Ahmed North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Zohra Halim Bangladesh Uni of Eng. & Tech. (BUET)

Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Fauzia Sultana The Daily Star,


PRODUCTION

Cover Page Design: Masud Parves


Advisory Panel: Jasimuz Zaman

BUET Chemical Engineering Forum M.A.A. Shoukat Choudhury

Monir Ahammad Bangladesh Uni of Eng. & Tech. (BUET)


Kazi Mahmuda Tasneem Mimmi Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

ChE Thoughts


Assistant Managing Editor: K M Tanvir Ahmmed


Abid Hossain

Rahimafrooz Accumulators Ltd. Ahmed Faruque

Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Ltd. Bangladesh

M. Mahfuzur Rahman

Chevron Bangladesh Ltd.

Biotech and Biochem Engineering

Protein Engineering 101 6

Energy

Energy Audit: cost-effective solutions for the industry in

the era of energy crisis (part-1) 13

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and the Aftermath to

Encounter 19

Environmental Engineering

Understanding the Requirements for Stack Emission

Monitoring 21

Student Corner

Genetic Algorithm in MATLAB for Process Optimization

Multi-objective Approach for Optimization 25

BUET Corner

Dr. Naser Chair 30

Success Stories of BUET Chemical Engineers 32

Dr. Jameel Ibrahim: A Technologist at Heart 33

Engineering Enterprise

Industrial & Process Engineering Services (IPES) 36

Talk to the Expert

Engineering, Educator and Administrator: Ronald W.

Rousseau 39

Announcement: ICChE 2011 Conference 43

Call for Posters: ICChE 2011 Poster Competition 44

Talk to the Expert:

Ronald W. Rousseau – “As an educator probably the

memorable experiences are all the students that I have

interacted with and the successes they have had”:

pp 39

Biotech and Biochem Eng:

Protien engineering involves engineering the biochemical

and/or biophysical properties of a protein such

that the mutant protein attains a desired property:

pp 6

BUET Corner:

Dr. Naser Chair – It is because of Dr. Naser’s vision

for the future that the importance of Chemical

Engineering is now so well recognized in Bangladesh:

pp 30

Contents

Env Engineering: The air

around us contains a number of substances, which may

affect the human health to different degrees: pp 21

Student Corner:

Genetic Algorithm is based on the basic phenomena of

chromosome gene code interchange: pp 25

Energy: Energy Auditing

endeavours to balance the total energy inputs with their

use and indentify all the energy streams in a facility,

to quantify energy use according to its discrete

function...: pp 13

Page | 6

BIOTECH & BIOCHEM ENGINEERING

www.chethoughts.com August, 2011

Protein

Engineering

101

MAHMUD HUSSAIN

Scope

Chemical engineering in the 21st century is more versatile than ever before. Today’s chemical engineer has the ability to contribute in a wide range of fields of research including micro and nanotechnology, novel polymeric materials, energy, environment and biotechnology to name a few. Broadly speaking, protein engineering is a branch of biotechnology. The purpose of this article is to give a very brief overview of protein engineering and should not be considered complete or extensive.

Background

Every living being owes its structural integrity and functioning to all the biomolecules that make up life. DNA, RNA, proteins and numerous other small molecules are collectively known as biomolecules. Amongst all these molecules, proteins play the most critical role in mediating most biological processes that are essential in maintaining and propagating life. For instance, large protein molecules called antibodies (also known as immunoglobulin or Ig) help us fight infections by binding its cognate antigen. If we zoom further into this binding event, we will soon realize that the

binding that takes place between the antibody and its antigen is actually interaction between a protein and its binding partner. The protein is the binding sub-unit of the antibody while the binding partner can be a peptide derived from a pathogen. This non-covalent and specific interaction between a protein and another molecule is referred to as Molecular Recognition. Molecular recognition can be mediated by all possible combinations of van der Waals force, hydrogen bond, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. In addition to molecular recognition, properties of proteins like

thermal stability, folding and soluble expression can also be critical in determining the type of engineering problem to be addressed. Protein engineering involves engineering the biochemical and/or biophysical properties of a protein such that the mutant protein attains a desired property. The emergence of protein engineering was duly captured by Ulmer some 30 years ago (Ulmer 1983).

Protein Engineering

In its simplest definition, protein engineering refers to the design of de novo proteins with desired function by the substitution, addition and/or deletion of amino acids. The desired function can be better catalytic activity of an enzyme, improved affinity of a receptor for its ligand, better thermal stability and soluble expression to name a few (Gai and Wittrup 2007). Mainly, there are two approaches to protein engineering: one is rational design and the other is directed evolution. In the rational design approach, specific amino acid residue(s) of a protein is replaced by another residue and thus a mutant protein is created.

Mahmud Hussain is a PhD candidate in the department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University (NC State). He has earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from BUET in 2004 and his MS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2008 from NC State. His PhD research is in the field of protein engineering. He specializes in designing highly stable mutant proteins as affinity reagents for a broad spectrum of targets, starting from small molecules to large targets such as plant virus nanoparticles. He is expected to graduate with his PhD in Dec 2011 with a minor in Biotechnology.

Email address: [email protected]

“Today’s chemical engineer has the ability to contribute in

a wide range of fields of research including micro and

nanotechnology, novel polymeric materials, energy,

environment and biotechnology to name a few.”

“Protein engineering involves engineering the biochemical

and/or biophysical properties of a protein such that the mutant protein attains a

desired property.”

Page | 7


The product of such an approach is a point mutant because only one amino acid is substituted in the sequence of the naturally occurring or wild type protein. Protein function can be tremendously altered by substituting even a single amino acid (Songyang et al. 1995). Also, because there are 20 natural amino acids, substitution of an amino acid in a single position can give rise to 20 different variants. Given sufficient information about the protein to be mutagenized, more than one point mutation is typical (Serrano, Day, and Fersht 1993). However, to be able to decide which amino acid(s) needs to be replaced requires knowledge of the protein’s structure and the mechanism of its function. Thus, rational design is heavily dependent on the availability of a protein’s structure. Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a good source for finding the crystal structure of those proteins for which the structure has been determined.

Because of the vast number of proteins that are out there from all different species, it is highly unlikely to obtain crystal structure of all possible proteins. Even though deposits in PDB are increasing exponentially, only some 70,000 structures have been solved so far.

Contrary to rational design, directed evolution employs random mutagenesis and/or gene recombination (Arnold 2001) to create mutant libraries. Simplistically put, directed protein evolution can be thought of evolution in test tubes (Figure 1). The idea is to isolate the best pool of mutants that have the desired property which the other billions of mutants don’t have. Just the way natural selection favors certain phenotypes and rejects others, directed protein evolution also applies a selection pressure on the library of mutant proteins. If the goal of the engineering is to obtain higher affinity of a protein for a ligand,

then the selection pressure can be successive lower concentration of the ligand, slower dissociation rate and/or stringent wash condition of the protein-ligand complex. In random mutagenesis, any amino acid residue can be replaced by 19 other amino acids either at given positions or completely randomly at any position. Gene recombination by DNA shuffling is also an elegant way of creating molecular diversity (Stemmer 1994). A combinatorial library can also be created by mutagenizing only selected residues on a protein template instead of mutagenizing randomly. For instance, if 10 residues on a wild type protein are mutagenized, the theoretical diversity would be 2010 ~ 1x1013. Once the top 5/10 variants of the wild type are identified, then those are further characterized and the best clone is determined based on in vitro or in vivo analysis, whichever applies for a given problem. This final clone is

Figure 1: Outline of a directed protein evolution strategy

Page | 8


then again mutagenized randomly and goes through the same process of selection and isolation of the very best clone (Figure 1). Three to six rounds of such selection is usually employed. The number of rounds to be carried out is determined based on the round-to-round improvement of the mutant. A few examples of directed protein evolution can be found here: (Holler et al. 2000; May, Nguyen, and Arnold 2000; Varadarajan et al. 2005; Cho and Szostak 2006).

Protein Engineering Platforms

Point mutation is achieved by site-directed mutagenesis and

with the current techniques in molecular biology, the protocols for performing site-directed mutagenesis is relatively straightforward. Screening for the best mutant from a combinatorial library, however, is challenging. The challenge is to isolate the mutants with improved properties at each stage of selection. This challenge is overcome by ‘Display Technology’.

Display technology links the genotype to the phenotype (Figure 2), either using a cellular platform or in a completely cell-free environment. The first of its kind was phage display invented in the mid 80’s by George P.

Smith (Smith 1985). This method uses bacteriophage to express the foreign gene library as fusion protein on phage surface. Bratkovic discussed the progress in phage display techniques and its applications in his recent review (Bratkovic 2010). Next in line was Yeast Surface Display (YSD), developed by KD Wittrup that came into picture in the late 90’s (Boder and Wittrup 1997). YSD has been particularly useful because it uses eukaryotic protein processing machineries and thus enables expression of mammalian proteins with post-translational modifications better than phage display (Boder and Wittrup 1997). In YSD, the

Figure 2: Yeast surface display as a platform to link genotype to phenotype. The mutant protein is expressed on yeast cell surface as a fusion to Aga2p subunit of yeast Saccahromyces cerevisiae. Aga2p

is in turn linked to the Aga1p subunit of yeast mating protein a-agglutinin. Aga1p anchors the entire assembly on yeast such that the fusion protein can interact with other molecules in solution. (Boder

and Wittrup 1997)

Page | 9


gene library is expressed on the surface of the yeast as a fusion protein to Aga2p mating protein of the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Figure 2). Use of yeast surface display in protein engineering is reviewed by Gai et al (Gai and Wittrup 2007). Review on protein engineering using cell-surface display can be found elsewhere (Wittrup 2001). Another display technique, called messenger RNA display is different from the former two in that mRNA display is completely a cell-free, in vitro platform. Ribosome display is also a cell-free display technique. Lipovsek et al presented a review on the latter two display technologies (Lipovsek and Pluckthun 2004). Alternatively, proteins can be engineered in silico. Computational design of proteins to alter affinity, specificity or folding can aid the experimental procedures to solve complex problems. Lippow and Tidor discussed the recent progress in computational protein design (Lippow and Tidor 2007).

Applications

Protein engineering has been employed in a variety of fields spanning from biocatalysis to biomedicine. Enzymes engineered with enhanced catalytic activity have tremendously benefited industries like textiles, leather, detergent, pulp and paper, personal care, food and beverage (Cherry and Fidantsef 2003; Johannes and Zhao 2006). Cellulases have been engineered

for use in many of the above mentioned industries (Cherry and Fidantsef 2003). More recently, Frances Arnold and co-workers have created a family of cellulases for conversion of biomass into biofuel (Heinzelman et al. 2009). Recent advances in protein engineering in the field of biofuels have been reviewed by Wen et al (Wen, Nair, and Zhao 2009).

Enzymes and single chain antibody fragments have been engineered for use in biosensors for a wide variety of targets such as glucose (Sode et al. 2000) and virus (Torrance et al. 2006) respectively. These studies have implications in blood-sugar monitoring and pathogen detection. Application of protein engineering in biosensor development has been extensively reviewed by Lambrianou et al (Lambrianou, Demin, and Hall 2008).

Enzyme engineering has also been particularly useful in bioremediation for removing recalcitrant pollutants. For instance, directed evolution of aniline dioxygenase has proven very useful in biodegradation of some aromatic amines (Ang, Obbard, and Zhao 2009, 2007). Ang et al have reviewed the application of protein engineering in bioremediation (Ang, Zhao, and Obbard 2005).

Protein engineering has transformed biomedicine in many different ways. Protein therapeutics has been revolutionized ever since the recombinant human insulin was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in 1982 for treating diabetes mellitus (Leader, Baca, and Golan 2008). However, a single amino acid substitution

from the wild type insulin became necessary to mimic the recombinant insulin’s ability to retain its biological activity (Brange et al. 1988). A summary of all the protein therapeutics in the market is furnished in a review by Leader et al (Leader, Baca,

and Golan 2008). Engineered proteins have also been very useful in the diagnosis of several types of cancers [table 10 by Leader et al (Leader, Baca, and Golan 2008) and references therein]. While many of the proteins listed in the review by Leader et al are wild type proteins, a number of enzymes, hormones and monoclonal antibodies are engineered, de novo proteins.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been widely engineered as protein therapeutics. A list of current monoclonal antibodies in the market can be found in a review by Li et al (Li and Zhu 2010). Maynard et al have an excellent review on antibody engineering (Maynard and Georgiou 2000). Some of the USFDA approved novel mAbs and antibody-based therapeutics are used for treatments in several types of cancer, autoimmune disease, respiratory

“Protein engineering has been employed in a variety of fields spanning from

biocatalysis to biomedicine. Enzymes engineered with enhanced catalytic activity

have tremendously benefited industries like textiles, leather, detergent, pulp and

paper, personal care, food and beverage.”

Page | 10


disease, kidney transplant rejection, asthma, cardiac disease like ischemia, osteoporosis, etc. (Li and Zhu 2010). Even though antibodies have been extensively engineered to meet therapeutic needs, some of the features of antibodies are not desirable. For instance, antibodies have large multi domain structure secured by disulfide bonds, which makes facile expression of antibodies difficult in common bacterial expression system. In addition, the process of generation and production of antibodies is time consuming and costly. These issues have prompted the use of antibody-alternatives as template-proteins for engineering. For instance, protein therapeutics called AdnectinsTM has been engineered to bind biologically relevant targets (Lipovsek 2010). AdnectinsTM are engineered variants of 10th domain of fibronectin type III. DARPins (Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins) (Stumpp, Binz, and Amstutz 2008), Affibody® (Wikman et al. 2004) and Avimer (Silverman et al. 2005) are some of the other engineered proteins that hold promise as new generation proteins for wide applicability in biotechnology and medicine (Skerra 2007). In an effort to engineer highly stable proteins, hyperthermophilic proteins have very recently appeared as a promising alternative to antibodies (Gera et al. 2011).

Concluding remarks

Since the invention of recombinant DNA technology, biotechnology and medicine have taken unprecedented turns (Cohen et al. 1973). Completion of the Human Genome Project and exponential increase of protein structure deposits in PDB have opened up new horizons in the field of biotechnology and medicine. Our understanding of protein structure-function relationship is also allowing us to approach biological problems in the molecular and systems level that was previously not possible. Protein engineering has been in the forefront of addressing biotechnological challenges by designing novel proteins. Fueled by the on-going research and development in protein engineering, this powerful discipline will continue to be a leading field of biology.

Glossary

Amino acid: Building blocks of proteins. A protein can be composed of as many as thousands of amino acids.

Antigen: Any substance that draws an immune response in the body i.e. triggers the production of antibodies specific to that substance.

Bacteriophage: Commonly abbreviated as phage, bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria.

Bioremediation: Use of

microorganisms to eliminate pollutants.

Expression: Production/synthesis of proteins in cells.

Gene: DNA sequence that codes for a protein.

Genome: The entire hereditary information of an organism and is coded in the DNA of all living organisms. For certain viruses, the genome is coded in RNA.

Genotype: DNA sequence that codes for a phenotype.

In vitro: Outside the native environment. For instance, something performed in test tubes without the use of any cells.

In vivo: Opposite of in vitro. Something inside the cell/ in the body/ in the natural environment.

In silico: Performed in computer.

Ligand: Any molecule that can trigger many biochemical processes upon binding to another protein such as another receptor.

Mutant: Variant of a protein produced (naturally or artificially) by substitution/addition/deletion of amino acid residue(s).

Mutagenize/Mutagenesis: The process of producing mutant proteins by altering the DNA sequence.

Pathogen: Disease causing agent such as virus/bacteria/fungus/protozoa.

“Protein engineering has been in the forefront of addressing biotechnological challenges by designing novel proteins. Fueled by the on-going research and development in protein engineering, this powerful

discipline will continue to be a leading field of biology.”

Page | 11


Phenotype: Visible trait/characteristic of an organism. In regards to protein engineering, it refers to the protein in question.

Post-translational modification (PTM): Chemical modification of proteins that take place after the ‘translation’ or the synthesis of proteins inside the cell, such as glycosylation, acetylation etc. PTM’s are essential for regulating numerous cellular processes.

Receptor: Trans-membrane proteins that mediate many cellular processes such as the T-cell receptors present on T-lymphocytes (cells present in the immune system).

Recombinant DNA technology: The process of cloning a foreign gene in a host organism and produce the corresponding protein in bacteria, yeast or a mammalian cell line.

References

Ang, E. L., J. P. Obbard, and H. Zhao. 2007. Probing the molecular determinants of aniline dioxygenase substrate specificity by saturation mutagenesis. FEBS J 274 (4):928-939.

Ang, E. L., J. P. Obbard, and H. Zhao. 2009. Directed evolution of aniline dioxygenase for enhanced bioremediation of aromatic amines. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 81 (6):1063-1070.

Ang, E.L., H. Zhao, and J. P. Obbard. 2005. Recent advances in the bioremediation of persistent organic pollutants via biomolecular engineering.

Enzyme Microb Technol 37 (5):487-496.

Arnold, F. H. 2001. Combinatorial and computational challenges for biocatalyst design. Nature 409 (6817):253-257.

Boder, E. T., and K. D. Wittrup. 1997. Yeast surface display for screening combinatorial polypeptide libraries. Nat Biotechnol 15 (6):553-557.

Brange, J., U. Ribel, J. F. Hansen, G. Dodson, M. T. Hansen, S. Havelund, S. G. Melberg, F. Norris, K. Norris, L. Snel, and et al. 1988. Monomeric insulins obtained by protein engineering and their medical implications. Nature 333 (6174):679-682.

Bratkovic, T. 2010. Progress in phage display: evolution of the technique and its application. Cell Mol Life Sci 67 (5):749-767.

Cherry, J. R., and A. L. Fidantsef. 2003. Directed evolution of industrial enzymes: an update. Curr Opin Biotechnol 14 (4):438-443.

Cho, G. S., and J. W. Szostak. 2006. Directed evolution of ATP binding proteins from a zinc finger domain by using mRNA display. Chem Biol 13 (2):139-147.

Cohen, S. N., A. C. Chang, H. W. Boyer, and R. B. Helling. 1973. Construction of biologically functional bacterial plasmids in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 70 (11):3240-3244.

Gai, S. A., and K. D. Wittrup. 2007. Yeast surface display for protein engineering and characterization. Curr Opin Struct Biol 17 (4):467-473.

Gera, N., M. Hussain, R. C. Wright, and B. M. Rao. 2011. Highly Stable Binding Proteins Derived from the Hyperthermophilic Sso7d Scaffold. J Mol Biol.

Heinzelman, P., C. D. Snow, I. Wu, C. Nguyen, A. Villalobos, S. Govindarajan, J. Minshull, and F. H. Arnold. 2009. A family of thermostable fungal cellulases created by structure-guided recombination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106 (14):5610-5615.

Holler, P. D., P. O. Holman, E. V. Shusta, S. O'Herrin, K. D. Wittrup, and D. M. Kranz. 2000. In vitro evolution of a T cell receptor with high affinity for peptide/MHC. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97 (10):5387-5392.

Johannes, T. W., and H. Zhao. 2006. Directed evolution of enzymes and biosynthetic pathways. Curr Opin Microbiol 9 (3):261-267.

Lambrianou, A., S. Demin, and E. A. Hall. 2008. Protein engineering and electrochemical biosensors. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol 109:65-96.

Leader, B., Q. J. Baca, and D. E. Golan. 2008. Protein therapeutics: a summary and pharmacological classification. Nat Rev Drug Discov 7 (1):21-39.

Li, J., and Z. Zhu. 2010. Research and development of next generation of antibody-based therapeutics. Acta Pharmacol Sin 31 (9):1198-1207.

Lipovsek, D. 2010. Adnectins: engineered target-binding protein therapeutics. Protein Eng Des Sel 24 (1-2):3-9.

Page | 12


Lipovsek, D., and A. Pluckthun. 2004. In-vitro protein evolution by ribosome display and mRNA display. J Immunol Methods 290 (1-2):51-67.

Lippow, S. M., and B. Tidor. 2007. Progress in computational protein design. Curr Opin Biotechnol 18 (4):305-311.

May, O., P. T. Nguyen, and F. H. Arnold. 2000. Inverting enantioselectivity by directed evolution of hydantoinase for improved production of L-methionine. Nat Biotechnol 18 (3):317-320.

Maynard, J., and G. Georgiou. 2000. Antibody engineering. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2:339-376.

Serrano, L., A. G. Day, and A. R. Fersht. 1993. Step-wise mutation of barnase to binase. A procedure for engineering increased stability of proteins and an experimental analysis of the evolution of protein stability. J Mol Biol 233 (2):305-312.

Silverman, J., Q. Liu, A. Bakker, W. To, A. Duguay, B. M. Alba, R. Smith, A. Rivas, P. Li, H. Le, E. Whitehorn, K. W. Moore, C. Swimmer, V. Perlroth, M. Vogt, J. Kolkman, and W. P. Stemmer. 2005. Multivalent avimer proteins evolved by exon shuffling of a family of human receptor domains. Nat Biotechnol 23 (12):1556-1561.

Skerra, A. 2007. Alternative non-antibody scaffolds for molecular recognition. Curr Opin Biotechnol 18 (4):295-304.

Smith, G. P. 1985. Filamentous fusion phage: novel expression vectors that display cloned antigens on the virion surface. Science 228 (4705):1315-1317.

Sode, K., T. Ootera, M. Shirahane, A. B. Witarto, S. Igarashi, and H. Yoshida. 2000. Increasing the thermal stability of the water-soluble pyrroloquinoline quinone glucose dehydrogenase by single amino acid replacement. Enzyme Microb Technol 26 (7):491-496.

Songyang, Z., G. Gish, G. Mbamalu, T. Pawson, and L. C. Cantley. 1995. A single point mutation switches the specificity of group III Src homology (SH) 2 domains to that of group I SH2 domains. J Biol Chem 270 (44):26029-26032.

Stemmer, W. P. 1994. DNA shuffling by random fragmentation and reassembly: in vitro recombination for molecular evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 91 (22):10747-10751.

Stumpp, M. T., H. K. Binz, and P. Amstutz. 2008. DARPins: a new generation of protein therapeutics. Drug Discov Today 13 (15-16):695-701.

Torrance, L., A. Ziegler, H. Pittman, M. Paterson, R. Toth, and I. Eggleston. 2006. Oriented immobilisation of engineered single-chain antibodies to develop biosensors for virus detection. J Virol Methods 134 (1-2):164-170.

Ulmer, K. M. 1983. Protein engineering. Science 219 (4585):666-671.

Varadarajan, N., J. Gam, M. J. Olsen, G. Georgiou, and B. L. Iverson. 2005. Engineering of protease variants exhibiting high catalytic activity and exquisite substrate selectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102 (19):6855-6860.

Wen, F., N. U. Nair, and H. Zhao. 2009. Protein engineering in designing tailored enzymes and microorganisms for biofuels production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20 (4):412-419.

Wikman, M., A. C. Steffen, E. Gunneriusson, V. Tolmachev, G. P. Adams, J. Carlsson, and S. Stahl. 2004. Selection and characterization of HER2/neu-binding affibody ligands. Protein Eng Des Sel 17 (5):455-462.

Wittrup, K. D. 2001. Protein engineering by cell-surface display. Curr Opin Biotechnol 12 (4):395-399.

Page | 13

ENERGY


Energy Audit:

cost-effective

solutions for the

industry in the

era of energy

crisis (part-1)

M. MASUM JUJULY NUVAN

Energy Auditing is a methodical approach for decision-making in the area of energy management. It endeavors to balance the total energy inputs with their use and identify all the energy streams in a facility, to quantify use of energy according to its discrete functions that identify means and measures to reduce the use of energy. Energy management is using energy audits as an efficient tool in defining and

pursuing a comprehensive energy management program within a business. The role of an energy auditor is to provide professional advice in energy efficiency to the industrial unit

management in terms of cost saving to make it an attractive package to the Industry owners and managers. An energy auditor assists the management by proposing projects that are economically attractive and environmentally favorable. In this part of the article, the basic concept and methodology of the energy audit will be discussed and the detailed calculation procedure will be focused in the second part of this article.

Figure 1: Major primary and secondary energy sources.

M. Masum Jujuly Nuvan completed his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from BUET (2008) and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Process Systems Design and Control Lab at Yeungnam University (2010), South Korea. His research topics are based on IMC-PID controller design and optimization, constrained optimal control, VOC minimization of crude oil. Currently he is working as an Energy Auditor and Chemical & Environmental Engineer Consultant in Reed Consulting (BD) Ltd. Email address: [email protected]

“Energy Auditing endeavors to balance the total energy inputs with their use and

identify all the energy streams in a facility, to quantify use of

energy according to its discrete functions that

identify means and measures to reduce the use of energy.”

Page | 14

ENERGY


An energy auditor must concentrate upon the conversion of energy i.e. whether it is efficient or not. Regarding the conversion, we can categorize energy in major two parts: primary energy and secondary energy. Energy can also be classified as commercial/non-commercial and renewable/non-renewable energy. Primary energy sources are naturally found or stored in Earth. Most common primary energy sources are fossil fuels like coal, oil, natural gas, and biomass. Other primary energy sources include nuclear energy from radioactive isotopes or some renewable sources like, geo-thermal energy from the Earth’s interior, potential energy due to the Earth’s gravity (hydro-electricity), solar intensity or wind velocity. The major sources of primary and secondary energies are shown in Figure 1.

In industrial utilities, primary energy sources are mostly

transformed into secondary energy sources, for example coal, oil, or natural gas converted into steam and electricity. These conversions introduce energy losses that should be considered in the calculations. Primary energy can also be used directly. Some energy sources have other uses, for instance, natural gas can be used as a raw material in fertilizer plants.

Energy sources that exist on the market for a price are known as commercial energy. By far, the most important forms of commercial energy are electricity, natural gas, and refined-petroleum products. Commercial energy forms the basis of industrial, agricultural, transport, and commercial development in the modern era.

Non-commercial energy sources include fuels, such as kindling, cattle manure, waste, etc., which are traditionally gathered and not bought at a set price especially in rural households. These are also called traditional fuels or biomass. Non-commercial energy is often ignored in energy accounting.

Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that are replacing themselves; they are essentially inexhaustible. Examples of renewable resources include wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, tidal power, and hydroelectric power (Figure 2). The most important feature of renewable energy is that it can be harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants; therefore it is also known as the green energy. Non-renewable energy includes conventional fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, which are likely to be depleted over time.

Figure 2: Renewable and non-renewable energy.

“Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that are replacing themselves; they are

essentially inexhaustible.”

Page | 15


Global primary energy reserve of coal is an estimate of 984.453 billion tons, 1.147 trillion barrels of oil and 176 trillion cubic meters of natural gas by the end of 2003. However, the global

primary energy consumption at the end of 2003 was equivalent to 9,741 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe)[world energy review 2004]. Figure 3 shows fossil fuels are still the

predominating energy sources and that’s a warning message for all. Before the industrial revolution, human activities discharged very few gases into the atmosphere and all climate

(a)

Figure 3: World Primary and renewable energy consumption excluding solar and geo-thermal sources [9]

(b)

Page | 16


changes happened naturally. After the industrial revolution, through fossil fuel combustion, and deforestation, the natural composition of gases in the

atmosphere began to be affected increasingly and climate and environment began to alter significantly. The less usage of energy will ensure less

environmental impact, reduce production cost and confirm profit maximization of the company entrepreneurs. [2]

In any industry, the three top operating costs are often found to be Energy (electrical or thermal), Workforce and Raw materials. In most assessments of the expenditure or potential cost savings in each of the above components, energy would invariably emerge as the top ranker, and thus energy management function constitutes a strategic area for cost reduction. The primary objective of the energy audit is to determine ways to reduce energy consumption per unit of product output or to lower operating costs. In order of executions, energy audits can be classified into the following three types:

a. Walk-through audit

b. Standard audit

c. Detailed audit

The Walk-through audit usually takes a day. The purpose is to meet the management and engineering team, and get a general idea of the state of housekeeping, maintenance, and the support from the staff for further auditing work. Besides some general recommendations

in the report, its main purpose is to prepare for a Detailed Audit.

The Standard audit report gives an overview of all energy consumptions and supplies (as example Figure 4). The report usually ends with a preliminary list of potential energy saving options (energy conservation opportunities, ECOs) and recommendations for areas where detailed study is required.

The Detailed Audit is based on the data from the Walk-through or Standard audit plus the detailed data that have been gathered during the DEA (detailed energy audit) study. It contains the full report, including detailed description of the proposed projects (ECOs), with cost estimates and time schedule for

Figure 4: Sankey diagram of the energy loss in IC engine. [1]

“Before the industrial revolution, human activities discharged very few gases into the atmosphere and all climate changes happened naturally. After the industrial

revolution, through fossil fuel combustion, and deforestation, the natural composition

of gases in the atmosphere began to be affected increasingly and climate and

environment began to alter significantly”

Page | 17


implementation. However, the factory management may not be interested in kWatts and MJoules, therefore, it’s expected to translate efficiency into monetary units as soon as the audit is performed. Many a times, the price of fuels is not proportional to its energy content, but the monetary value may decide that some fuel substitutions are beneficial; as example, replacing electricity with gas for heating purposes. [3,4]

During the walk-through energy audit, the major concern of an energy auditor is to identify Energy Conservation Opportunities (ECO). Several key ECOs are: [1]

Fuel substitution: Identifying alternative fuels for efficient energy conversion.

Energy generation: Identifying efficiency opportunities in energy conversion equipment/utilities such as captive (own) power generation, steam generation in boilers, water heating, optimal loading of diesel generator sets, minimum excess air combustion with boilers/water heating, optimizing existing efficiencies, efficient energy conversion equipment, etc.

Energy distribution: Identifying efficiency opportunities networks such as transformers, cables, switchgears, and power factor improvement in electrical systems and chilled water, cooling water, hot water, compressed air, etc.

Energy usage by processes: This is one of the major opportunities for improvement and most remain hidden. Process analysis is a useful tool for process integration measures that can greatly improve energy efficiency.

The preliminary recommendations of the walk-through visit should include the results of the evaluation step, which can be used to identify three types of conservation opportunities: [7,8]

a. Housekeeping measures, (Operation and maintenance)

b. Small-medium investments and quick measures

c. Capital-intensive measures.

Each energy conservation opportunity recommended will have i) a brief statement of the existing situation, ii) short description of the technical or operational requirements of the proposed energy conservation measure, iii) estimation of the anticipated energy and cost saving by implementing the proposal, and lastly, iv) an estimate of the cost of implementation. At last a financial analysis showing the simple payback period is necessary for the decision making of the management.

A well performed energy audit will always help managers to

understand more about the ways energy and fuel are used in their industry. This will also help to identify areas where waste occurs and where scopes for improvement exist. An energy audit gives a positive orientation to the energy cost reduction, preventive maintenance, and quality control programs which are vital for production and utility activities. The variation in the energy costs, availability, and reliability of supply of energy will be scrutinized from this package. Moreover, energy audit helps deciding on the appropriate energy mix, identify energy conservation technologies, retrofit for energy conservation equipment, etc. In Asia, Japan leads the energy audit program

since 1955, India in 1963, Pakistan in 1984 [6]. What remains as an anticipation is to see Bangladesh perform active energy efficiency like the other Asian countries.

References:

1. Danish Energy Management Report: Energy Auditor Training to Build Capacity of Service Providers (SPs) in Bangladesh and Nepal, February-April, 2011.

2. IFC Sustainable Energy Finance Report: A Combined Advisory and Investment Services Approach to Help Reduce GHG Emissions, November 2009.

3. A Guidebook for Performing Walk-through Energy Audits of Industrial Facilities, Milan,C.B., Energy Efficiency Dept., Bonneville Power

“A well performed energy audit will always help managers to understand more about the ways energy and fuel are used in their

industry. This will also help to identify areas where waste occurs and where

scopes for improvement exist.”

Page | 18


Administration, Portland, Oregon.

4. Working Manual on Energy Auditing in Industries, Asian Productivity Organization, 2008. ISBN: 92-833-7069-4

5. An Energy Audit Manual and Tool, Canadian Industry

Program for Energy Conservation.

6. Cleaner Production – Energy Efficiency Manual for GERIAP, UNEP, Bangkok, National Productivity Council.

7. Energy management handbook, Wayne C. Turner,

Steve,D., John Wiley and Sons, 7th Edition.

8. Washington State University Energy Program Energy Audit Workbook, May 2003, WSU, USA.

9. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2003 and 2007.

Page | 19

ENERGY


The Fukushima

Nuclear

Disaster and the

Aftermath to

Encounter

MEHNAZ MURSALAT

March 11, 2011, a day inscribed in the calendar as one of the gloomiest days of this new decade so far. The entire world witnessed the wrath of nature falling heavy on mankind as an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 sparked a tremendous tsunami, which devoured thousands of lives and caused extensive infrastructural damage to the east coast of Japan, overseeing the Pacific Ocean. This very quake and the destructive waves (38.9 m high) also triggered a massive explosion in the Fukushima Dai-chi Nuclear Power Plant with a generation capacity of 4696 MW [1] located in the Futuba district of Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Being operated for 40 years, the plant encountered this unpredicted disaster when a severe blast occurred in three of its reactors due to the formation of Hydrogen gas. As we all know, reactions taking place in the nuclear plants are mostly highly exothermic. In order to reduce the severity of excessive heat release, cooling water is used in the reactors. Owing to the tremor, a leakage in one of the

reactor was found, which caused the level of cooling water (used for cooling the reactors’ fuel rods) drop to such an extent that left half of

the length of the reactor-rods exposed to the air. As a result, the plant experienced an abrupt rise in the temperature which was reported to have reached tens of mega-kelvins [2]. This uncontrolled rise in temperature ignited nuclear fission in the rods with the release of many harmful radio-active elements. Such a phenomenon is referred to as ‘Meltdown’. Due to this nuclear fission a huge amount of energy was released which contributed to the splitting of water molecules into Hydrogen and Oxygen gases. Having reached to an incompressible state, the Hydrogen gas exploded out of

the reactor while some of the undecomposed water molecules turned into steam which combined with a stream of radio-active elements emitting

form the reactors. The stream making its way to the atmosphere was reported to have Iodine-131(half life of 8 days), Caesium-134 isotopes (half life of 2 years) in greater ratio

while a small extent of Caesium-137 isotopes (half life of 30 years) were found in the atmosphere along with little Plutonium isotopes (half life ranging from 88 years to 24000 years), which the experts suspect was formed due to the transformation of Uranium during the fission.

Even though scientists have ruled out a possible threat of any undesired climatic change in Japan and its neighboring regions, tests have proven that the soil, water and plants adjacent to the plant contained a considerable amount of I-131, Cs-134, Cs-137 [3]. According to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plutonium isotopes were found in five locations near the plant [4]. However, another pool of scientists have shown great anxiety regarding the

Mehnaz Mursalat is a second year

(Level-2, Term-2) student of the

Department of Chemical Engineering.

She writes for souvenirs and magazines;

she is also involved in different

departmental programs.


“This very quake and the destructive waves (38.9 m high) also triggered a massive explosion

in the Fukushima Dai-chi Nuclear Power Plant with a generation capacity of 4696 MW [1] located in the Futuba district of Fukushima

prefecture, Japan.”

“Due to this nuclear fission a huge amount of energy was released

which contributed to the splitting of water molecules into Hydrogen

and Oxygen gases.”

Page | 20


wester-wind blowing with these radio-nuclides towards the ‘West Coast’ of the United States which may lead to possible acid rain and contamination in many Pacific islands.

The explosion in Fukushima has been constantly brought into comparison with the Chernobyl nuclear blast in Russia in 1986. Scientists have shaded light on the radioactive Iodine and Caesium isotope contents in the air of Fukushima almost nearing that of the Chernobyl disaster. According to Keith Baverstock, radiation scientist and Professor of Environmental Science in the University of Koupio, Finland, human body readily absorbs Iodine and Caesium isotopes. Iodine isotopes are rapidly absorbed by the thyroid which may develop subsequent thyroid cancer while Caesium is absorbed by the muscles where it remains for a longer period causing further decay owing to its half life of 30 years. Besides Iodine and Caesium , the isotopes of Plutonium even though found in a very negligible range, must be treated with equal precaution as it radiates α-particles and at times may prove lethal to human health since it damages the DNA when taken in through inhalation [5].

It is impossible to permanently stop the harmful emission of the radioactive elements. Yet measures can be taken to

control it and save the world from further contamination. With the reverse osmosis method, I-131 can be removed to some degree by using thinner pores (0.0001microns) [6]. However the best possible way to remove Cs-137 is by applying the ion-exchange method where the contaminants are exchanged with Sodium ions (Na+) and get absorbed in resins specially designed to absorb Cs [7].

Even though the degree of severity of the Fukushima explosion is considered less than that of Chernobyl’s, we cannot rule out the aftermath associated with it. We might not come across immediate consequences but the gradual decay of the radio-active elements leaves our survival on the brink of a major threat. It is evident that the implementation of nuclear energy may prove alarming at times and incidents as such leave us with a question unanswered-- ‘Whether the use of nuclear energy is paving our way towards a newer and better life or simply dragging the world toward its doom?’

References:

[1] “Doc’s Green Blog: The Cost of Fukushima”; Retrieved 10 June 2011 from docsgreen.blogspot.com/2011/03/cost-of-fukushima.html

[2] “Nuclear Explosion”, World News. Retrieved 11 June 2011 from wn.com/nuclear_explosion?orderby=relevance&upload_time

[3] “Status of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant”, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India (2011). Retrieved 12 June 2011 from www.dae.gov.in/daiichi/japan030511.pdf

[4] “Plutonium leaks from nuke plant”, ABC News. Retrieved 10 June from www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/28/3176037.htm

[5] Sinclair, P., “New Scientist: Comparing Fukushima to Chernobyl”, Climate Denial Crock of the Week (2011). Retrieved 14 June 2011 from climatecrocks.com/.../new-scientist-comparing-fukushima-to-chernobyl/

[6] “Radioactive contaminants removal with Reverse Osmosis water purification device”, Crobal Water. Retrieved 14 June 2011 from www.crobalwater.com/radioactivityremoval.html

[7] “Crisis in Japan”, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2011). Retrieved 16 June 2011 from www.nuc.berkeley.edu/Japan-crisis

“It is evident that the implementation of nuclear energy may prove alarming at times and incidents as such leave us with a question unanswered-- ‘Whether the use of nuclear energy is paving our way

towards a newer and better life or simply dragging the world toward its doom?’”

Page | 21

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING


Understanding

the

Requirements

for Stack

Emission

Monitoring

MOHAMMAD MOHIUDDIN

The principle of particulate matters (PMs) monitoring, as one of many determinants of stack emission, is very simple. A known volume of stack gas is made to pass through a weighed filter paper, where the particulate matter gets deposited. The final weight of the paper is measured. The concentration of the particulate is simply computed by dividing the weight of particulates deposited by the volume of the gas that is allowed to pass through the filter.

But in practice, the job is not as simple. It is complicated with the mix of iso-kinetic sampling condition, the proper location point in the stack, appropriate numbers of traverse points, oxygen correction of the final result, and so on.

Air quality issues are perceived as an increasing priority for industry today. The air around us contains a number of substances, which may impair the health of humans, animals as well as plants; and the various air pollutants adversely affect the human health to different

degrees. The major man made sources of the pollutants are often identified with stationary sources like, smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities, waste incinerators etc. Any pollution control program can be effective only if emission of the pollutants

is controlled at the source itself, which in turn makes it imperative to have a very accurate, highly reliable and easily usable monitoring system. Stack emission monitoring is a fairly routine event at US and European process plants (where stack emission monitoring is applicable). Sampling and testing for many determinants of stack emission can be carried out, including:

Particulate Matter

Oxides of Nitrogen

Sulphur Dioxide

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Dioxide

Dioxins and Furans

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Total Hydrocarbons

Particulate and Vapor Phase Metals

Halides and Halogens

Industries that imply to stack emission monitoring compliance (not limited to):

Pulp & Paper Industry

Chemical Manufacturing Plants

Steel Plants

Non-Ferrous Smelters

Cement Plants

Thermal Power Stations

Mining

Waste Incinerators

Printing Shops

Waste Management

Painting Facilities

Petroleum Refining

Petrochemical Industry A stack testing program can last a few days or even weeks, depending on the needs. Typically, stack testing is performed by external contractors. Sample analyses are either done at the plant using in-house facilities or via a contract laboratory (for extractive samples). Many industries are having continuous monitoring instruments along with the spot testing facilities. Usually spot and continuous monitoring are conducted on the parameters as below:

Mohammad Mohiuddin completed his BSc in Chemical Engineering from BUET (2002) and MS in Environmental Science from State University of Bangladesh (2008). After graduating from BUET he built-up his career as an Environment Engineer; currently he is working in BD industrial sector. Email address: [email protected]

“Air quality issues are perceived as an increasing priority for industry today. The air around us contains a number of substances, which may impair the health of humans, animals as well as plants; and the various air pollutants adversely affect the human health to

different degrees.”

Page | 22


Spot test: Dust, SO2, NOx, NH3, Hg, Heavy metals (usually As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, TI and V), Dioxins and Furans (D&F), PCB, PAH, HCl, HF etc

Continuous test: Dust, SO2, NOx, O2, CO, CO2, Hg, VOC etc.

The best practice of stack monitoring includes a step-by-step procedure for selecting an approved contractor, selecting the proper testing method, preparing a testing protocol,

conducting the testing, analyzing the results, and preparing appropriate reports. Process stream parameters and recommended data are to be monitored during the testing period.

Environmental Monitoring Standards and Methods - Selection of Standards for Emission Monitoring

Standard reference methods are essential for the effective measurement and control of air pollution. Such standards

are developed at National, European and world-wide level. USEPA, ISO, CEN, VDI, JIS are some world recognized organizations that prescribe test methods. Following is a chart showing common methods of stack emission monitoring:

Testing Determinants Method

Concentration and Mass Emissions of Particulates

US EPA Method 5 & 17

BS EN 13284-1: 2002

BS ISO 9096:2003

Flue Gas Velocity & Temperature Survey BS EN 13284-1: 2002

BS EN 14385:2005

Metals, Mercury US EPA Method 29

BS EN 13211: 2001

Dioxins and Furans BS EN 1948 parts1-3: 2006

US EPA Method 23

VOCs (Total and speciated)

BS EN 12619:1999

BS EN 13256:2001

BS EN 13649:2002

NOx BS EN 14792:2005

ISO 10849:1996

SOx BS EN 14791:2005

BS ISO 6069 pt4.4:1993

O2, CO, CO2 BS EN 14789:2005

ISO 12039:2001

H2O

BS EN 14790:2005

US EPA Method 4

Online FTIR

HCl, HF and NH3

BS EN 1911 parts 1-3: 1998

BS ISO 15713:2006

US EPA Method 26-26A

Online FTIR

Particle size distribution measurement US EPA Method 201a

Trace micro pollutants such as PAHs and PCBs BS ISO 11338-1:2003

BS EN 1948 parts1-3: 2006

Iso-kinetic condition

The objective of PM sampling from stack is to collect a sample

as representative as possible of what is present in the stack gas. This becomes difficult as the velocity of gas is not uniform

throughout the stack. It is the maximum in the center and almost zero at walls. This velocity distribution causes

“The best practice of stack monitoring includes a step-by-step procedure for

selecting an approved contractor, selecting the proper testing method,

preparing a testing protocol, conducting the testing, analyzing the results, and

preparing appropriate reports.”

Page | 23


particle size distribution in the stack, i.e. smaller particles try to move towards the center of the stack and the larger particles move towards walls. Therefore, it becomes very important to collect samples of stack gas at various points across the diameter of the stack. This is known as traversing the diameter of stack and the points

of sample collection are known as traverse points. Samples are collected at each traverse point maintaining flow rate at collecting nozzle same as the velocity at that traverse point. This phenomenon is known as iso-kinetic condition.

The typical equipments used for iso-kinetic samplings are –

Apex Instrument

ES (Environment Supply Co.)

TCR Tecora

SHC 500

Westech(M9096), etc.

Few common brand instruments for Gas analyzer –

Horiba (PG 500) Testo (Testo 350) Kane May (KM 9106)

The importance of good sampling locations and measurement ports

The importance of the location of equipment and sampling facilities is paramount in stack emission monitoring. Stack emission measurement requires defined and stable flow conditions at the sample location. This allows the velocity and concentration of the measured component in

the stack emission to be determined. If suitable sampling facilities are not available it will mean that sampling of pollutants cannot be done in compliance with the required sampling methods. This also implies that the uncertainty associated with the results is greatly increased. Under this circumstance,

meaningful results from stack emissions monitoring cannot be achieved.

The location requirements for measuring gas concentrations are less demanding than for particulate matters, as variations in velocity profiles tend not to affect the homogeneity of the gas concentration. In practice, meeting the requirements for particulate matters will satisfy the requirements for gases.

Sampling should be carried out from four

sample holes on these large stacks

Minimum width of platform

at any point is 2m

Figure not to scale

Platform

Stack

2m

2m

Photo: a typical cement kiln stack arrangement.

“The objective of PM sampling from stack is to collect a sample as representative as possible of what

is present in the stack gas.”

Page | 24


It is essential that designers of new plants remember to take account of stack emission monitoring at the plant’s design stage. Once a plant is built it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to retrofit appropriate sampling facilities. It is extremely frustrating for everyone concerned, if the sampling location does not comply with the sampling requirements when it is either located in the wrong place or the sampling platforms are too small and do not allow access to the stack. Summarizing, the sampling point:

Should be within a straight duct / stack section. It should meet 5D downstream and 2D upstream for a duct or 5D downstream and 5D upstream for a stack (D = stack/ duct diameter).

Must be large enough for the insertion and removal of the equipment used. It is recommended that access ports have a minimum diameter of 125mm; Length of sampling port is 100 mm. For small stacks a smaller port may be appropriate.

Must be installed at a suitable height to the platform, so that the equipment can be maneuvered. A working height of approximately 1.2m to 1.5m is recommended.

Must be able to bear at least 400 kg point load. Must have handrails with 1m height for safety purpose.

The platform surface area should not be less than 6m2: length of 3m in front of the sampling port and width of 2m.

The platform should be wide enough to prevent sampling equipment extending beyond the platform.

Where necessary, hoist or lift should be provided to transport sampling equipment.

The use of the sampling equipment should not be impeded by guard fences or other structures.

Drop zone shall be marked below the elevated position, and be kept free.

When designing a plant that requires continuous emission monitors (CEMs) to be installed, access and facilities are required to enable calibration by periodic monitoring, routine maintenance and functional checks.

Monitoring report

The stack emission monitoring report should include the following:

A narrative description of the process tested. The specific source identification should be clearly stated in the report.

An explanation of test objectives.

A summary of the source testing results.

Description of sampling and analytical procedures, with explanation of any deviation from standard reference methods.

Documentation of calculation procedures.

An appendix including all laboratory reports.

An appendix including all of the contractors’ field notes/data.

An appendix of equipment calibration data.

An appendix summarizing all of the process monitoring data.

Conclusion

To expect preciseness in results, strict compliance to requirements for stack emission monitoring along with following up appropriate measuring procedures is a must, as the values of stack emission parameters are expressed in mg, ppm or even more tiny units like µg, nanogram. A third party organization rendering services of stack emission monitoring should be accredited, like to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 for MCERTS (Monitoring Certification Scheme).

Useful References

1) The National Physical Laboratory Website (www.npl.co.uk)

2) Website of MCERTS (www.mcerts.net

“The importance of the location of equipment and sampling facilities

is paramount in stack emission monitoring. Stack emission

measurement requires defined and stable flow conditions at the

sample location.”

http://www.npl.co.uk/

http://www.mcerts.net/

Page | 25

STUDENT CORNER


Genetic

Algorithm in

MATLAB for

Process

Optimization

Multi-objective

Approach for

Optimization

SHOUNAK DATTA

It is inconvenient to waste words for explaining how important MATLAB has become in the section of chemical engineering in last decade. Various technical problems are now solved by process analysis using MATLAB. This piece of writing, however, is concerned with a process of optimization called Genetic Algorithm.

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is based on the basic phenomena of chromosome gene code interchange. A process fully based on random selection of data and modification. In case of engineering use, we do enter some constants required by the

process to test the fitness of our result. The basic steps followed by Genetic Algorithm are simple to understand. At first, an initial population is created from the supplied data. This means data for population is selected in a random manner. The next step is to evaluate the data and to check if the stopping criteria are met. The positive response shall stop iteration and present the result. The negative response shall give rise to the chance of parent selection. After a random selection of parents, crossover is performed based on crossover probability. To make things clear, the points of crossover and the selection of parents, both of these are done randomly. After this step, the mutation will be

performed. In this case, the number of points of mutation depends on the probability of mutation, generally a user input. Now the data are evaluated using the equations. The data that give us best results, for example, best cost choice, or best operational time choice, or any other criteria, is chosen to be the best fitted data. Then a step called Roulette Wheel is used to replace the worst fitted data. The general process is to replace the worst fitted value by the best fitted value. Sometimes mean fitness value is used and data with fitness values below 50% of the mean fitness value are replaced by the best fitted data. If the best fitted value of the table of values achieved by this process is closer to the criteria given by the user, then the older table is replaced by this new table. This process is schematically shown in figure 1.

Let us consider the following example to ease the understanding of genetic algorithm. The following samples can be taken representing two populations

Sample 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

Sample 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

Shounak Datta is an undergraduate student (Level-4; Term-1) of Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).


“Genetic Algorithm (GA) is based on the basic phenomena

of chromosome gene code interchange.”

Page | 26


The value in each box is taken randomly. The first job of the algorithm is to generate a crossover. A point is randomly selected for crossover. Let that point be column 3. After crossover, the table will be as

Sample 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0

Sample 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

After this, mutation comes in play if required. Where crossover interchanges data among rows, mutation selects one or more points within the rows and alters them. In this case, 0 becomes 1 and 1 becomes 0. For instance,

Sample 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0

Sample 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 1

Start GA

Create initial

population

Evaluate data

Stopping

criteria

met?

Yes

Stop

No

Parents Selection

(Roulette wheel)

Cross over (single point)

Mutation

G=G+ 1

Figure 1: Steps of a Simple Genetic Algorithm Process

Page | 27


After this, the data are tested for fitness and most fit data is accepted as optimum.

Now let us have a look on an experimental problem. The aim of this problem is to find a set of activities of different processes essential for a project. The possible choices for every activity, which are more than 1, are supplied using text files.

Gen

eration

(G)

Po

pu

lation

Nu

mb

er (n)

Chromosome Time Cost f(n) f(n)/f’ Actually

chromosome

selected by

Roulette Wheel

0 1 17 23 30 18 25 19 11 83 271850 0.47 .91 1

2 20 25 30 17 23 18 15 88 278735 0.38 .74 1

3 19 20 33 16 28 14 15 95 291322 0.24 .47 0

4 15 18 15 12 22 14 9 64 261345 0.78 1.51 2

5 14 15 15 12 22 14 9 60 323874 0.71 1.38 1

The red colored line is the best fitted population for this process. Now, let the Roulette Wheel replace the worst by the best. So we get,

Population Number (n) Chromosomes

1 17 23 30 18 25 19 11

2 20 25 30 17 23 18 15

3 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

4 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

5 14 15 15 12 22 14 9

After that, cross over plays its part. It selects sets of parents and at a random point cross over of values occur. For the given data set


1 17 23 30 18 25 19 11

2 20 25 30 17 23 18 15

3 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

4 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

5 14 15 15 12 22 14 9

Chromosome 1 will cross with Chromosome 5 at the point 4 and Chromosome 2 will cross with Chromosome 4 at the point 2. After crossover, we get


1 17 23 30 18 22 14 9

2 20 25 15 12 22 14 9

3 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

4 15 18 30 17 23 18 15

5 14 15 15 12 25 19 11

Page | 28


The last part is mutation. It is not an obvious step to execute, but some like to use it for creating a better randomness of the system. For example, 2 bits are selected by randomly and bit value will be changed randomly within the time range of activity respectively

Population

Number (n)

Chromosomes

1 17 23 30 18 22 14 9

2 20 25 15 12 22 14 9

3 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

4 15 18 30 17 23 18 15

5 14 15 15 12 25 19 11

After mutation

Population

Number (n)

Chromosomes

1 17 23 30 18 22 14 9

2 20 19 15 12 22 14 9

3 15 18 15 12 22 14 9

4 15 18 30 17 29 18 15

5 14 15 15 12 25 19 11

These data are then again analyzed to find out the best fitted data. If the previous best fitted data is better than the best fitted data we will get from this new data set, then the new table is discarded. Otherwise, the older table is replaced by new table.

The example provided here shows various steps of genetic algorithm. This is the most basic type of this process. Depending on the user or requirements, some steps may be modified or neglected.

We introduce iteration to this process to save the best fitted data every time for various random selections and then accept the best fit among the best fits. This algorithm is famous for its flexibility according to the need of process.

While only best data can be saved, one can use the best data to replace the worst fitted data and iterate the new table and so on. The modification of coding may vary from process to process but the basic actions remain same.

It is highly useful in case of design where we have to deal with various choices. Choices may make life difficult, but genetic algorithm tries its best to simplify our job for designing an optimum system. For example, let us consider a project to optimize water

desalination using reverse osmosis. In market, various companies have membranes of various capacities, price and sizes. Some requires highly maintained pretreatment; some requires expensive post treatment, some have low area, some need very high pressure, some requires nano filtration, and so on. So, what to choose? We definitely have cost limitations. Manually, this job will take at least half a month, considering you are working 24 hours a day. But, collect all related data, enter them in a tabular form, use coding that best suits your project, et voila, within 5 hours you are ready with all the best suited choices for your project.

A question may be raised, why to use MATLAB while same thing

“We introduce iteration to this process to save the best fitted

data every time for various random selections and then

accept the best fit among the best fits.”

Page | 29


can be done using C++? Well, this is because of better optimization and comparatively less coding. Even no coding can be required if SIMULINK is used, but in some cases it restricts flexibility. It is shown that, for a specific project of optimization, C++ required around 540 lines where MATLAB coding, being

more efficient and producing better results, required only 235 lines of commands.

At the end, what to use for optimization, entirely depends on user’s comfort. MATLAB gives a platform that is easy to use and quick to understand. This quality of MATLAB, merged with genetic algorithm, revolutionizes

optimization and process solutions.

For further reading:

Goldberg, D.E. (1989), “Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and Machine Learning”, Pearson Education, Inc.

“What to use for optimization, entirely depends on user’s comfort. MATLAB gives a platform that is easy to use and quick to understand.”

Page | 30

BUET CORNER/ NEWS & EVENTS


Dr. Naser Chair

SYEDA ZOHRA HALIM

“We are doing this for the great

teacher he was and the great

personality he possessed. Above

all, this is for the great human

being that he was.” This is how

Dr. M. Serajul Islam explained

the inception of the Dr. Naser

Chair. The person whose name

encircles this chair was one of

the pioneers who contributed to

the establishment, development

and expansion of Chemical

Engineering

education in Bangladesh. He

spent a lifetime dedicated to his

work and it is because of his

vision for the future that the

importance of Chemical

Engineering is now so well

recognized in Bangladesh. And

the person who set up the pillars

of the Department of Chemical

Engineering in BUET was

Professor Emeritus Dr.

Mohammad Abu Naser.

Born on April 2, 1921 in Damla of

Srinagaar Upzila in greater Dhaka

district, Professor Naser passed

the Matriculation examination

with distinction and obtained B.Sc.

(honors) in Chemistry in 1942 and

M.Sc. in Chemistry in 1943 from

Dhaka University. In 1946, he

went to the John Hopkins

University, USA and obtained

M.S.E. in Chemical Engineering in

1948. He was a Nuffield Fellow at

the University College London for

the years 1955-56. He obtained

PhD from Texas A&M University,

USA in 1966.

Dr. Naser was appointed the

Dean of Engineering at the then

Ahsanullah Engineering College

(now known as Bangladesh

University of Engineering and

Technology, BUET) in 1967. He

was the Head of the Chemical

Engineering Department and the

Dr. Mohammad Abu Naser

“We are doing this for the great teacher he was and the great personality he possessed.” - Dr. M. Serajul Islam

Syeda Zohra Halim received her B.Sc. in

Chemical Engineering from the Department of

Chemical Engineering at Bangladesh University

of Engineering and Technology in 2006. She

completed her M. Sc. in Chemical Engineering

from the same institute in 2011. She is

currently working as faculty member in BUET.


Page | 31

August, 2011

www.chethoughts.com

Second Vice Chancellor of BUET

during the challenging years

1970 to 1975. He then joined

the University Grants

Commission (UGC) and retired

as the Chairman of the

Commission in 1981. He

returned as a Professor Emeritus

to the department he had built

and remained dedicated to

teaching till his death on May 12,

2004. Professor Naser was

awarded Bangladesh National

Award “Ekushey Padak” for his

contribution to education.

Dr. Naser left a lasting legacy in

the minds of his students with

his well prepared class lectures,

step by step presentation,

neatness and clarity, beautiful

handwriting, grace and

personality. He never neglected

any student and endeared

learning with them. He behaved

well with his colleagues and

always took the initiative to

discuss about the future of

chemical and allied industries in

the country and the professional

development of the chemical

engineering graduates.

In recognition of the

contribution Dr. Naser made to

the chemical engineering

education in Bangladesh, the

Chemical Engineering Alumni

Association (ChEAA) of BUET

proposed to establish on May

24, 2004 the Dr. Naser Chair

in the Chemical Engineering

Department.

The vision of Dr. Naser Chair

is to enhance excellence in

Chemical Engineering teaching

and to promote greater

interaction between the

university and industry. It is to

be an active and teaching

oriented chair. This would be

realized by appointing suitable

experts having experience in

academia and industry. The

appointees shall offer courses in

the department to strengthen

the department’s academic

programs. Short-term

appointees are expected to offer

professional development

courses or advance courses in

the emerging areas to enable the

university and industry to

interact. The appointee will have

the freedom to guide research or

demonstrate practical

applications by building

experimental rigs or to expand

laboratory facilities. The position

of the appointees will be outside

the regular positions of the

university and will be funded

from an annual income

generated from the Dr. Naser

Chair Trust Fund, established

with the contributions from

Alumni, Corporations and

Enterprises. Each appointment

will be of short or medium term

duration varying from three to

twelve months depending on the

availability of the candidates. It is

expected that responses from

alumni at both home and abroad

will be forthcoming. For

appointees from abroad, this will

provide an opportunity to

establish links between BUET

and overseas universities.

The fund has been set up with a

target of raising Taka 80 million.

So far, fund raised for the Dr.

Naser Chair Fund has amounted

to Taka 60 million. Through the

Dr. Naser Chair Fund, it is hoped

that the vision for Chemical

Engineering education that Dr.

Naser worked to establish will be

continued long after him.

Through this Chair, both

university and industry in

Bangladesh will be benefited and

Dr. Naser’s name will be

imprinted in everyone’s mind for

the good person that he always

was.

Anyone interested to contribute to Dr. Naser Chair Fund can send contributions by crossed cheque/bank draft/wire transfer in favor of “Dr. Naser Chair Fund”, A/C 12721080002150, Prime Bank Ltd., Sat Masjid Road Branch, Dhaka. Contributions in the form of bank cheque or bank draft can also be sent to the Head, Chemical Engineering Department, BUET, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.

“Dr. Naser spent a lifetime dedicated to his work and it is because of his vision for the

future that the importance of Chemical Engineering is now so well recognized in Bangladesh.”

“The vision of Dr. Naser Chair is to enhance excellence in Chemical

Engineering teaching and to promote greater interaction between the

university and industry.”

Page | 32

BUET CORNER/ SUCCESS STORIES


Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET has been creating world class engineers and researchers who are recognized for the

contribution in their area of expertise, around the globe. In this article Syeda Sabrina has featured few recent success stories of BUET ChE Alumni.

Dr. M.A.A.

Shoukat

Choudhury

receives UGC

Award

Dr. M. A. A. Shoukat Choudhury, Associate Professor of Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET, has been honored with the University Grants Commission (UGC) Award 2008. He received the award in the Engineering and Technology Section for his pioneering work in the area of control valve stiction detection and quantification. The award was presented to him at the 5th UGC Award giving ceremony held on 27th April, 2011 at the UGC auditorium in presence of the finance minister, Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and eminent educationist Dr. Anisuzzaman. Every year, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh confers 12 awards to full time

university teachers for their fundamental and innovative research publications (journal/books) in different categories. Dr. M. A. A. Shoukat Choudhury is the 2nd chemical engineer in Bangladesh to be honored with this award. Before him, Dr. Dil Afroza Begum, current head of Chemical Engineering Department received the UGC award as a chemical engineer.

Dr. Choudhury received the UGC Award for his article on “Stiction:

Definition, Modeling, Detection and Quantification”. The paper briefly presents the definition and modeling of stiction and demonstrates a new method to detect and quantify the actual amount of valve stiction using routine operating data. “I always had the zeal to solve industry oriented problems which motivated me to work on valve stiction”, says Dr. Choudhury. Currently, Dr. Choudhury is working on control loop interaction and quantification for

MIMO (multiple input multiple output) process, improvement of PID controllers’ performance in a large time delay process, troubleshooting of plant wide oscillations and many more. His research interests include detection and diagnosis of poor control loop performance using higher order statistics with a special emphasis on detection and diagnosis of control valve stiction and data compression as well.

Syeda Sabrina is an undergraduate student (Level-4; Term-1) of Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET. She is an active member of BCEF and a freelance writer and dynamic organizer of different programs in BUET. Email: [email protected]

Dr. M.A.A. Shoukat Choudhury

Page | 33 www.chethoughts.com August, 2011

Dr. Waqi Alam:

SPE

Distinguished

Lecturer

Dr. Waqi Alam, the president of Tetrahedron, Inc., USA, has been honored as a Distinguished Lecturer of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) 2011-12. The primary task of an SPE Distinguished Lecturer (DL) is to provide engaging presentations on the technological advances of the oil and natural gas industries to the far corners of the world. Dr. Alam will present a series of lectures on “Cost Effective Industrial Solutions for the Petroleum Industry” starting from October, 2011 over a period of one year in different parts of the world. His presentation will explain a simple and inexpensive solution for petroleum contaminated soil and water

bodies, by treating hydrocarbon wastes using activated indigenous microbes. “I was glad when SPE selected me as one of their Distinguished Lecturers, since this is a very prestigious position where only a handful of experts are selected from around the world to lecture on certain topics relevant to the petroleum industry. I hope my lectures will help the petroleum industries to think outside the

box and come up with innovative solutions to the environmental challenges to continue to meet the energy demand of the world safely and cost effectively”, says

Dr. Alam. He will present a lecture in Bangladesh in November, 2011.

Dr. Alam has been involved in the development of several environmental remediation technologies and is considered an expert in Environmental Management System (ISO 14001). His research interest includes developing methods to enhance petroleum recovery

using microbes, radioactive contaminated soil treatment, drinking water, wastewater and storm-water management and many more. Dr. Alam says, “The prime motivation of my work was to do something out of the main stream and which will also help develop business for my company. Besides, working in the field of environment gives me the satisfaction of doing something that is more than simply

earning a livelihood. It gives me a sense of doing the right thing for protecting the nature”.

Dr. Waqi Alam

Page | 34


Dr. Mohidus

Samad Khan:

Excellence in

Doctoral

Research

Dr. Mohidus Samad Khan has been awarded the Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal 2010 from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Australia for his PhD research project entitled “Bioactive Papers: Printing, Activity and Stability”. The Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal is an award given by the Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS), based on PhD thesis quality, student’s publication record and other research excellence. The goal of Dr. Khan’s research work on “Bioactive Papers” was to investigate the fundamental and applied issues to develop stable and functional bioactive papers

and paper fluidic devices for health and environmental diagnostics. For the same work he has also won the Kenneth Hunt Medal 2010 from the Monash Engineering Faculty, an award that is given to the graduating PhD student whose thesis is judged to be the best submitted in the calendar year preceding the award. “Both Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal and Kenneth Hunt Medal are highly prestigious awards to

recognize research excellence in PhD. These awards inspire and encourage me to think more creatively, work even harder, and continue performing cutting edge research”, says Dr. Khan. Besides, he is also the State Winner of 2009 AusBiotech-GSK Student Excellence Awards from Victoria State, Australia for his research work on “Bioactive

Papers”. This Australian national award is given to those PhD students working on biotechnology, based on their research quality, potential commercial application, writing and presentation skills. “I was thrilled to win this competitive award over highly talented research students working on exciting projects in different disciplines like medicine, dentistry, biochemistry, etc”, shares Dr. Khan.

Dr. Khan is currently working as a Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Canada as a part of the Canadian (NSERC-CRSNG’s) Bioactive Paper Network. His current research project includes developing

bioactive filter paper and paper sensors to detect and deactivate pathogens and development of 3D molecular modeling of antigen-antibody interaction. Dr. Khan believes that, through their innovation and strong social conscience chemical engineers can contribute significantly to the society.

Dr. Mohidus Samad Khan

Page | 33

BUET CORNER/ ALUMNI CORNER


Dr. Jameel

Ibrahim: A

Technologist at

Heart

FAUZIA SULTANA

Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET has produced many world class Engineers, Researchers and Academics, and Dr. Jameel Ibrahim is one of BUET’s proud engineers. Industrious, dexterous are probably few of the many words that describe Dr. Ibrahim. Accomplished? Undoubtedly. A creative and effective engineer and manager, with over twenty years of experience in process and chemical engineering, Dr. Ibrahim has encompassed different aspects of technology management. His areas of expertise include product and process development, project management and practical implementation. He has developed the first commercially viable fluidized process for producing polysilicon. He has a proven track record of successfully developing and implementing new technology and has ten patents in total.

Dr. Ibrahim began his journey of engineering from the Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET, graduating B.Sc. Eng in the year 1967. After the successful completion of his B.Sc. Eng he joined Titas Gas Company, Dhaka as a utilization engineer (1968-69). There he

worked with IMEG Consultants (U.K.) to convert the first twenty industries in Bangladesh to natural gas firing. He then pursued his PhD study and

completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Castel upon Tyne, England, UK in 1972 and afterwards did post-doctoral

Fauzia Sultana completed her BSc in Chemcial

Engineering from Bangladesh University of

Engineering and Technology in 2011. Currently,

she is working at The Daily Star (Bangladesh) as

a Reporter. She is also a freelance writer and a

regular contributor to scientific magazines and

newspapers.


Dr. Jameel Ibrahim

“Dr. Jameel Ibrahim is one of BUET’s proud engineers. A creative and effective engineer

and manager, with over twenty years of experience in process and chemical

engineering, Dr. Ibrahim has encompassed different aspects of technology management.”

Page | 34


research for one year. Dr. Ibrahim joined HGS Division Humphreys-Glasgow, UK, as a Design Engineer (1974-1977). With his knowledge of chemical engineering and working experience incorporated, he served as an Assistant Professor at the Tri-State University, Angola (1977-1981). After several years of teaching he changed his career track and joined ETHYL CORPORATION, LA, one of the leading fuel manufacturing companies in the US. During the ten long years spent in ETHYL CORPORATION, LA, Dr. Ibrahim served at different positions: Senior Process Development Engineering, Project Leader, Process Development Advisor and Process Development Manager. During this period he led a team that successfully developed the first commercially viable fluidized bed granular polysilicon process. The effort and contribution of Dr. Ibrahim’s resulted in significant developments in the company that continue till date. As Process Development Advisor, Dr. Ibrahim made substantial improvements in the commercial plant design of the company and was the key member of the start-up of the commercial fluidized bed operation. He also directed the process development of the Polysilicon Dehydrogenation Process to commercial scale and was also in charge of the development and production of commercial quantities of Boron and Phosphorus dopants for the CCZ crystal growth industry.

In 1990, Dr. Ibrahim joined

ALBEMARLE CORPORATION, Pasadena, TX, US as a Process Technology Manager. There he strategized a new control technology to reduce particulate emission in the polysilicon plant. He was awarded the Apex Albemarle Employee Award, for managing the introduction of a catalyst recovery technology that produced yearly savings of greater than one million dollars in the PAO process.

From the year 1997 - 2008, Dr. Ibrahim worked in MEMC Pasadena Inc, Texas, as Director of Technology, R & D Director and MEMC Fellow. He advised MEMC’s top management on polysilicon business opportunities and expansion options, managing the technology transfer and other design and implementation aspects of several plant expansion projects, totaling more than 200 millon dollars which led to several fold capacity increase. Salient contributions to the company made by this able engineer include doubling the company’s capacity between 1996 and 1998, a three- fold increase in volume since 1999 and improvement of product quality in carbon, boron and

phosphorous by ~125%. In recognition of his contributions, he was made an MEMC Fellow.

After his retirement from MEMC in 2008, Dr. Ibrahim formed a consulting company,

ICP Consultants, which concentrates on projects concerning solar energy. As the President of ICP Consultants, Dr. Ibrahim has worked as technical expert on a variety of global projects, consulted with a major TCS based polysilicon manufacturer in China and provided expert advice to investment companies on polysilicon industry.

In true sense, the versatile personality of Dr. Ibrahim is an inspiration to all the chemical engineers and chemical engineering students out there! ‘ChE Thoughts’ takes the opportunity to have an interview of Dr. Ibrahim on his colorful career, engineering vision and professional experiences. The interview is conducted by Fauzia Sultana and composed by Mohidus Samad Khan.

It is our pleasure to have you with us for the interview. You are a successful engineer and engineer administrator, and have had many accomplishments in your career. Would you like to share with the ChE Thoughts readers what inspired you to choose Chemical

Engineering as a profession?

At my time, I saw Chemical Engineering as the best practical combination of mathematics, physics and

“Dr. Ibrahim was awarded the Apex Albemarle Employee Award, for

managing the introduction of a catalyst recovery technology that produced yearly savings of greater than one

million dollars in the PAO process.”

“in 2008, Dr. Ibrahim formed a consulting company, ICP Consultants,

which concentrates on projects concerning solar energy.”

Page | 35


chemistry. The potential applications of chemical engineering created a sense of excitement in me. The thought that there could be an opportunity to develop or improve processes to produce useful materials inspired me the most to become a Chemical Engineer.

Any memorable experience in your BUET life?

The two most significant experiences that I would like to mention are: the process design course at BUET, and the industrial training at Karnaphuly Paper Mill.

What have been your most fulfilling accomplishment and experience in your professional career?

There are many. But, if I have to mention one, I must mention my experience of developing the fluidized bed polysilicon process from bench scale, through several generations of pilot plants and culminating in the design, installation and viable operation of that process; it was

the first commercially viable fluidized process for producing polysilicon. And this I consider as a notable accomplishment in my career.

You have a long engineering career. What significant changes have you seen in your field during your profession?

I have witnessed many changes over the years. But to me, the most significant one is the narrowing of opportunities, perhaps due to economic conditions.

What do you think are the most pressing needs to be met with, in engineering and science in the coming years?

In the coming years I expect a better combination of skill sets in engineers—a good grasp of fundamentals with an appreciation of practicalities and viabilities.

We would like to ask you about your personal life: do you have anyone in your family inspired by you professionally and practicing engineering or chemical engineering?

Yes! I have two children, one is a chemical engineer and the other is studying to be a lawyer.

We will conclude the interview with your opinion on interdisciplinary collaboration. How important do you think interdisciplinary collaboration will be for solving some of the challenges that lie ahead in your field?

Things are becoming integrated in today’s world and the engineering or scientific world is an instance of that. To me the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration is very high to solve the engineering and scientific challenges in the coming years.

And with that the interview ends. We thank Dr. Ibrahim for his valuable time and sharing his views with ChE Thoughts. We are proud of his career success and versatility. We hope that his highly productive professional experience will inspire new generation chemical engineers and students of Bangladesh.

“Things are becoming integrated in today’s world and the engineering or scientific world is an instance of that. To me the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration is very high to solve the engineering and

scientific challenges in the coming years.”

Page | 36

Engineering Enterprise


Industrial &

Process

Engineering

Services (IPES)

SADIA AFREEN

Industrial & Process Engineering Services (IPES) is a new engineering company in Bangladesh with high hope and professional commitment to provide engineering services and solutions to the local industries. It is a venture of the alumni of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). IPES has started its journey on March 28, 2011 with a view to help entrepreneurs and companies setting up new industrial facilities for products and processes with protection of the environment and sustainability of the resources. It also offers services to the industries to revamp existing facilities and work with efficiency and profitability.

STRENGTH BEHIND IPES

The goal of IPES is to commercially promote the local developed companies and bring new or developed technology wherever possible. To meet this goal, IPES has framed itself with professionals having outstanding knowledge and experience in industry, business and academia. It is led by a team of directors with impeccable professional competence and integrity. It has a pool of engineers having experience in oil and gas, fertilizer and petrochemicals, pulp and paper, industrial ceramics, pharmaceuticals, power plant engineering, glass and ceramics, water treatment and pollution control, innovative engineering fabrication, and power system design. IPES’ experts have direct experience in Feasibility studies, Bid preparation, Bid evaluation, contracts development, Process design, Construction and fabrication, Plant operation and maintenance, Technical audit and balancing and modernization of process industry and utility sector- in particular, ammonia plants, urea plants, refineries, gas transmission and distribution

pipelines, large power plants, glass and ceramic industries, small and medium chemical industries, and water, waste water and effluent treatment facilities. The work quality, to be based on ISO 9001, is most important to the company.

COLLABORATION

IPES is promised to keep its lineage with excellence and integrity, highest standards of ethics, pioneering spirit, and leadership in multiple business, end to end solution, and world class quality. To maintain these properties it will work with experts available in the universities and organization in the country. It will also link with reputed companies regionally and internationally. IPES has the further advantages of seeking expertise of Non Resident Bangladeshis in USA and other countries.

Sadia Afreen has completed her BSc in Chemical Engineer from BUET in 2008. She has work experiences on manufacturing household chemicals, especially detergents. She is a freelance writer in scientific magazines. She is also involved organizing different cultural and community activities.


“It’s a dream, and you have to dream a dream to make it

happen.” – Dr. Eng. Jasimuz Zaman,

Chairman of IPES, Industrial & Process Engineering Services

“The goal of IPES is to commercially promote the local developed companies and bring new or developed technology

wherever possible.”

Page | 37


THE ESSENCE OF DREAM

IPES has started its journey with a dream and enthusiasm to build up a challenging environment in Bangladesh, especially in the field of chemical engineering. The chemical industries in Bangladesh are mostly dependent on the foreign technology and know-how. Most of the industries are established here on turnkey basis. The company has started its mission with a vision to be country’s industrial leader in Engineering and industrial services by developing and implementing innovative and quality assured solutions to clients to enable them remain in the competitive edge of business. IPES believes that enthusiasm must be supported by commitment. The company is committed to offer Quick response, Quality work, and Client satisfaction. The key formula to reach the dream is to work hard and work smart that lead the way to success. To flourish this dream and make it into reality IPES invites engineers, alumni and related personnel for their help in the following ways:

Enrolment as a resource person in specific areas of interest

Creating link for IPES with established engineering companies

Finding projects for IPES

Finding outsourcing jobs for IPES

Providing link with alumni of other disciplines

Providing link with companies you are familiar with

Providing marketing and promotional ideas

IPES WORK SCOPES

Engineering Solutions: Engineering Design, Planning, Review, Improved Material uses, Corrosion Mitigation, Problem Diagnostics, Plant Inspection, Reliability, Safety, Risk & Environmental Analysis, Energy Analysis and Conservation, Control and Instrumentation.

Work Management Consulting: Contract Evaluation, Third Party Supervision, Business Re-engineering, Managing Outsourcing and Developing Quality Management and Technical Audit.

Technology & Research: Developing New Technology, Selection of Technology and its application to the specific requirement, Carrying out Industry Specific Research and its application.

Skilled Manpower Development: Engineer, Operator and Technician Training, Skill Development and Design of suitable Training Courses.

Energy Improvement: Evaluation and Selection of efficient energy process with renewable energy options, Energy Audits.

Design and Electrical Installation: Designing of electrical installation and substation of industries, commercial complexes and tall buildings.

Project Construction: Project Planning, Procurement, Inspection and Quality Control, Supervision of Project Implementation.

Equipment Design: Pressure vessels, columns and towers, heat exchangers, steam generators, waste heat recovery boilers and economizers, tanks and gas holders, air cooled condensers and gas coolers, pumps and condensers, preparation of engineering specification systems, scrubbers, cyclones, piping and instrumentations.

Piping Engineering: Preparation of P & I diagram, Pipe size and pressure drop calculations, Preparation of schedule for piping valves, Instrument and insulation, Sizing and selection of pumps, control, Valves, safety valves, steam traps, expansion bellows, etc, Preparation of plot plant, Preparation of equipment lay out plant and elevation.

“The company is committed to offer Quick response, Quality

work, and Client satisfaction. The key formula to reach the dream is to work hard and work smart that

lead the way to success.”

“IPES has started its journey with a dream and enthusiasm to build up a challenging environment in

Bangladesh, especially in the field of chemical engineering.”

Page | 38


Electrical Engineering for Power Plants & Process Plants: Detailed electrical schematic diagrams for LV/HV/EHV systems, Substation, switchyard design and engineering, earthing system design and layout drawing, lightening protection design, Design of power factor improvement systems and harmonic studies, Area classification, EL cable selection, design and routing in trays/trenches, Protection system analysis and design,

Control philosophy and interface with DCS/PLC system, Specifications for procurement items, Cable schedule and interconnection charts, Relay coordination calculation and reports, Lighting system design & layouts, Emergency/stand by supply system.

Manufacturing and Production Facility Design: Improving productivity, reducing waste, innovating in cost reduction, Quality improvement and delivery methods, better space

utilization, establishing the right manufacturing processes.

IPES ADDRESS Industrial & Process Engineering Services Limited (IPES Ltd.) 223/B, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh Telephone: (88) 02-988 0592; (88) 02-882 8924; (88) 02-881 2304 Website: http://www.ipesbd.com Email: [email protected]

http://www.ipesbd.com/

mailto:[email protected]

Page | 39

TALK TO THE EXPERT

www.chethoughts.com February, 2011

Engineer,

Educator and

Administrator:

Ronald W.

Rousseau

MOHAMMAD ZAHID HOSSAIN

Textbooks play an indispensable role in a student’s life. When freshmen start university, it is quite stereotypical to find them having a sketchy idea about the discipline they will be in for the next few years, especially one like chemical engineering, which has a wide range of applications, from material balance to medicine, from petrochemical to process control. Undoubtedly, every book included in the curriculum is vital to learning, but there are some books that bear hallmarks of the ability to build the very foundation of the discipline itself. One such book, amongst the many others, that is used internationally and by more than 80% of the chemical engineering programs in the United States is, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, the co-author of which is none other than Ronald W. Rousseau.

Dr. Ronald W. Rousseau holds the Cecil J. “Pete” Silas Endowed Chair at the Georgia Institute of Technology and is chair of the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. He also has served two terms as interim director of the Institute of Paper Science & Technology

at Georgia Tech. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University and was elected to the LSU Engineering Hall of Distinction. He also served as a faculty member at North Carolina State University, and was a visiting professor at Princeton University.

Dr. Rousseau’s leadership of the School of Chemical and

Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech has guided it into new domains such as microelectronics, biomolecular engineering, and nanotechnology. Much of his recent effort focuses on challenges associated with growing global energy demands and the associated impact on the environment and natural resources. He considers it a challenge for the people in

Mohammad Zahid Hossain is a PhD student in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He has successfully completed his MS in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University in 2010 and BSc in Chemical Engineering from BUET in 2004. He has good engineering experience in Fertilizer industries. His research interests are: thermodynamics, polymer, computational works and membrane technology.

Email Address: [email protected]

Dr. Ronald W. Rousseau holds the Cecil J. “Pete” Silas Endowed Chair at the Georgia Institute of Technology and is chair of the

School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.

Page | 40


today’s society to meet the energy demands without causing environmental damage.

Dr. Rousseau’s research has explored numerous areas. His diverse research works resulted in more than 190 journal articles, book chapters, and monographs and more than 250 presentations at technical meetings and seminars for industry and universities.

For his contributions to chemical engineering education, Dr. Rousseau received the Warren K. Lewis Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He also received the

Clarence G. Gerhold Award from the Separations Division of the AIChE and the Forest Products Award given by the Forest Products Division of AIChE. He is a fellow of both AIChE and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was selected for the LSU Engineering Hall of Distinction. On the occasion of the AIChE Centennial, he was cited by AIChE as one of 30 authors of groundbreaking chemical engineering books. In January 2010, he was awarded a Docteur Honoris Causa by L’Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse.

Not only is he an academic and researcher, but Dr. Rousseau plays editorial roles too. He is editor of the Handbook of Separation Process Technology, an executive editor of Chemical Engineering Science and topic editor for Crystal Growth and Design. He has been a member of the advisory board of the Wiley Series in Chemical Engineering and of Separations Technology, a consulting editor for the AIChE Journal, an associate editor of the Journal of Crystal Growth, and a member of the publications board of Chemical Engineering Education.

Dr. Ronald W. Rousseau with Mohammad Zahid Hossain

Page | 41


Through several leadership positions, Dr. Rousseau has made important contributions to AIChE, most notably as a member of the board of directors; as chair of the publications committee; as chair of a local section and of the Forest Products Division; as a founding member and director of the Separations Division Dr. Rousseau has also served as chair of the Council for Chemical Research, an organization that at the time of his leadership consisted of top research officers of more than 35 major chemical companies and 8 federal laboratories and the heads of nearly all PhD-granting chemical engineering and chemistry departments in the US.

The achievements, publications and research works of Ronald W. Rousseau are sheer reflections of the academic, researcher and leader that he is. ChE Thoughts gets an upfront interview of Dr. Rousseau, conducted by Mohammad Zahid Hossain and composed by Fauzia Sultana.

Thank you for giving us time from your busy schedule. You are a world leader in chemical engineering and education. What influenced you to be a Chemical Engineer?

There are so many facts that influenced my decision and it is very difficult to pinpoint one. The reasonable answer is that, my father worked for a chemical company. I was eager to know what is going on in that company and some of the challenges and what could be done using chemistry to create exciting

new products. Since I grew up in a place where the chemical companies were all refineries, chemical engineering was the natural choice for me.

What do you think are the most pressing needs to be met with in engineering and science in the coming years?

The biggest challenges facing society from the technical point of view is meeting global energy needs while being cognisant of environmental and other constraints that exist. It will also be challenging to figure out, how to meet the global energy needs without doing undue damage to the environment and utilizing the resources that are associated with energy.

What significant changes have you seen in your field during your career?

In the field itself, probably the emergence of biology as enabling science in engineering in general and for chemical engineering specifically.

How important do you think interdisciplinary collaboration will be for solving some of the challenges that lie ahead in your field (or science)?

When you discuss something about ‘interdisciplinary’, by definition you are talking about two or more disciplines coming together to address a specific problem. Often people forget that ‘interdisciplinary’ means exactly that and you have strong disciplines. It is not a matter whether I come from the chemical, mechanical or electrical engineering discipline. What matters is that, I have skill sets that I bring to a particular problem and people from other disciplines bring different skill sets to that same problem with the goal to solve the problem. So, I am keenly supportive of interdisciplinary approaches in our problem solving; but that doesn’t mean that I am any less supportive of having a strong discipline from which people should work.

What is your opinion about ethics and the changes in ethical conduct within your field?

I think it is hard to say if I have encountered any changes in ethics within the field, but I have seen a change in perspective regarding ethics. On the one hand, to some simply ignoring the copyright, whether on music, books, or other copyrighted items may be considered ethically standard, although to me it is illegal and unethical. I was disappointed with some students and they just don’t seem to understand. On the other hand, we are paying more attention to the subject matter of ethics than was paid a number of years ago, for instance, our own symposium in ethics and

“The achievements, publications and research works of Ronald W. Rousseau are sheer reflections of

the academic, researcher and leader that he is.”

“It will be challenging to figure out, how to meet the global energy

needs without doing undue damage to the environment and utilizing the resources that are associated with

energy.”

Page | 42


leaderships and the inclusion of ethics in our safety courses.

Would you like to share any memorable experience from your academic career and professional life?

In my academic career, I was really impressed by a number of professors that I have had, who gave me a broad perspective about the possibility of chemical engineering as a profession.

There are a lot of memorable experiences in my professional life though. Among them, the publication of my first text book was the most memorable event and then beginning to see it being widely adopted.

What has been your most fulfilling accomplishment in your colourful career and why?

It is difficult to describe an accomplishment as an engineer, since the most significant part of my career has been spent both as educator and administrator.

So, as an educator probably the memorable experiences are all the students that I have interacted with and the successes they have had. As an administrator, the memorable thing is seeing that our chemical engineering program elevated itself to being among what I think is the best in the world.

How do you see the ‘Past’, ‘Present’ and ‘Future’ of Chemical Engineering Education?

Past: I come from the generation that was educated in chemical engineering in the sixties and I think during that time there was a transition going on between macroscopic to microscopic

view. That is classically represented by unit operation to transport phenomena.

Present: At present what we are seeing is a transition from microscopic to the molecular level and this means that we are looking more at molecular characteristics and trying to predict what is going to be happening at multiple scales.

Future: In the future we are probably going to recognize that all of these are equally important.

And on that note the interview ends. It is a wonderful experience talking to Dr. Rousseau. We hope his immense experience, world class expertise and highly successful multi faceted career will inspire the new generation of chemical engineers and scientists. We thank Dr. Rousseau for his time and wish him all the best.

“I am keenly supportive of interdisciplinary approaches in our problem solving; but that

doesn’t mean that I am any less supportive of having a strong discipline from which people

should work.”

“As an educator probably the memorable experiences are all the students that I have interacted with and the successes they have had. As an administrator, the memorable thing is seeing that our chemical

engineering program elevated itself to being among what I think is the best in the world.”

ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS

ICChE 2011 29-30 DECEMBER, 2011, BUET, DHAKA, BANGLADESH

THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Engineering and technology play important roles in the evolution of the modern world. Continuous research and innovation by chemical engineers have made life more comfortable and less expensive. Chemical Engineering Department of BUET is the only department in Bangladesh where chemical engineering degrees are imparted both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The conference will provide a platform for exchanging ideas, experiences and research findings in different areas of chemical engineering.

OBJECTIVES

� Exposure to recent advances in ChE science and practices � Facilitate idea exchange on solution approaches � Opportunity for researchers to interact with local entrepreneurs � Focus on chemical engineering education in the new millennium

SCOPE

Real world applications are encouraged in the following topics: � Chemical Engineering Education � Process Design and Simulation � Process Engineering and Practices � Project Management � Safety and Industrial Hazards � Process Control � Thermodynamics and Reaction Engineering � Bioengineering and Biomaterials � Nanostructures and Nanotechnology � Emerging Separation Processes and Practices � Polymers and Synthetic Fibers � Food and Agro Processing � Energy, Water and Environment � Clean Energy (including Renewables) and Energy Efficiency � Pharmaceuticals, Basic and Fine Chemicals � Allied Areas (Textile Dyeing, Leather, Glass & Ceramics, etc.)

DEADLINES

15 August, 2011 : Submission of extended abstract 31 August, 2011 : Provisional acceptance 30 September, 2011 : Submission of full paper 31 October, 2011 : Final acceptance 30 November, 2011 : Submission of revised paper

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACT

The extended abstract of about 500 words must contain enough information for fair assessment and shall include: � Full title of the paper; Keywords � Name(s) of author(s), affiliation and full address with telephone

number, fax number and email address � Objectives, results and conclusion After provisional acceptance of an abstract, the full paper will be peer-reviewed before its final acceptance. The guidelines for preparing final paper will be sent with the provisional acceptance letter.

CONFERENCE WEBSITE:

INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Prof. Sirish L. Shah University of Alberta, Canada Prof. Nazmul Karim Texas Tech University, USA Prof. Rashid Hasan University of Minnesota, USA Prof. Rafiqul Gani Technical University of Denmark Prof. Shamsuddin Ilias North Carolina A&T State Univ., USA Prof. M. Sam Mannan Texas A&M University, USA Prof. Saad A. Khan North Carolina State University, USA Prof. Shamsuzzaman Farooq National University of Singapore Prof. Iqbal Mujtaba University of Bradford, UK Prof. Mohd Shafiur Rahman Sultan Qaboos University, Oman Dr. Tariq Mahmud University of Leeds, UK Dr. Renzo Di Felice University of Genoa, Italy Dr. Khaliq Ahmed Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd., Australia Dr. Syed Faiyaz Hossainy Abbott Vascular, USA

Speakers who have given commitments:

1. Prof. Nazmul Karim 2. Prof. Rafiqul Gani 3. Prof. Shamsuddin Ilias 4. Prof. M. Sam Mannan 5. Prof. Iqbal Mujtaba 6. Prof. Mohd Shafiur Rahman

REGISTRATION FEE

Local delegates : Taka 2500 SAARC delegates : US$ 100 Other foreign delegates : US$ 250 Accompanying person : Taka 2000

A/C Payee Cheque, Pay Order or Bank Draft payable to: Head, Chemical Engineering Department, BUET

SOCIAL PROGRAM

Sightseeing tours to historical/cultural sites and visits to industrial plants will be arranged for delegates and accompanying persons

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE

Dr. M.A.A. Shoukat Choudhury Organizing Secretary, ICChE-2011 Chemical Engineering Department BUET, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9665609, Fax: 880-2-9665609, 880-2-8613046 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE COVENERS

Chairman ICChE-2011: Prof. A.K.M. Abdul Quader International Advisory Committee Convener: Prof. Jasimuz Zaman Technical Sub-committee Convener: Prof. Dil Afroza Begum

Supported by:

Chemical Engineering Alumni Association

BUET, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

www.buet.ac.bd/che/ICCHE/index.html

Organized by:

Chemical Engineering Department

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)

ICCHE 2011 POSTER COMPETITION Third International Conference on Chemical Engineering

29-30 December, 2011, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh

http://www.buet.ac.bd/che/icche2011.html

CALL FOR POSTERS & SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Registration Guidelines:

Groups:

* The Subject must be relevant to the Chemical Engineering and Science

Registration form is available online – ChE Thoughts Magazine (www.chethoughts.com) Dept of Chem Eng, BUET website (www.buet.ac.bd.che/)

Fill-up and send the Registration Form to [email protected] by 15

th Nov, 2011

Provisional Acceptance will be sent to your email. Further information and marking scheme will be attached with Provisional Acceptance Letter.

Oral presentation will be held in BUET; no TA/DA will be offered to the participants.

** The participant(s) can submit more than one poster (individual registration is needed for multiple submission)

Groups No. of Group Members

Preferable topic for Poster Preparation

Group A:

BSc. Eng./BSc.: Level-1 and Level-2; Year-1 and Year-2

2 – 5 a) Any Scientific or Engineering

Theory/Phenomena covered in Academic Classes/Sessionals

Group B: BSc. Eng./BSc.: Level-3 and Level-4; Year-3 and Year-4

2 – 5

a) Any Scientific or Engineering Theory/Phenomena covered in Academic Classes/Sessionals

b) 4th Year Thesis/Design Project

Group C: Graduate Students (current and fresh

graduates) 1 – 4 a) MSc Thesis/Design Project

Registration Last Date: 15

th Nov, 2011

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AAwwaarrddss wwiillll bbee ggiivveenn iinn tthhee IICCCChhEE AAnnnnuuaall CCoonnffeerreennccee 22001111

http://www.chethoughts.com/

http://www.buet.ac.bd.che/


ICCHE 2011 POSTER COMPETITION Third International Conference on Chemical Engineering

29-30 December, 2011, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh

http://www.buet.ac.bd/che/icche2011.html

Poster Submission Guidelines: 1. Poster Format: Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation (*ppt) 2. Preferable Poster Size (Portrait/Landscape):

i. A0 – 84.1cm × 118.9cm; ii. A1 – 59.4cm × 84.1cm (Open Microsoft Powerpoint: File>page setup> slides sized for: custom>width>height)

3. Add Figures, Diagrams and Images to text boxes 4. Check the Font Sizes, Spelling and Grammar 5. Send the electronic poster file (*.ppt) to [email protected] by

15th

Nov, 2011 6. Confirmation of Receipt of Poster will be sent to your email. 7. The selection committee will confirm the poster entry into the exhibition to

the successful participants.

*** Participation information will be emailed to the successful participants

Marking Scheme: 1. Number will be given on the following items:

Overall appearance; Poster Contents and Structure; Poster Presentation

Useful Tips 1. Poster templates are available at: www.chethoughts.com. In the templates, text, image

boxes and colour are included as guideline. Participants can change the layout according to

their preferences. 2. Participants can work on the A4 size layout (the template page setup: File>page

setup>slides sized for: on-screen show) and margin up to preferable poster size before

printing. 3. Use Relevant References in following format: Books, Journal, Lab-Handout, Conference

Proceedings, etc.

4. Clearly mention the corresponding email/mobile/fax in poster. 5. For any query contact: [email protected], [email protected]

Submission Due Date: 15

th Nov, 2011


http://www.chethoughts.com/



ChE Thoughts: Call for Articles

1. You are welcome to submit Scientific and

Technological Articles, Reviews, Short

Communication, News, News Feature, etc. on

Chemical Engineering and Science related issues:

a. Process Engineering b. Energy (Petroleum, Renewable Energy, etc.) c. Biochemical Engineering d. Biomedical Engineering e. Polymer Engineering f. Particle Technology g. Process Control h. Pharmaceutical i. Environmental Engineering j. Climate Change k. Engineering Education, etc.

2. Articles are also accepting on the following

sections:

a. Featured Patent(s) b. Featured Product/Industry c. Back to the Basic: Featuring any of the

Undergrad concept d. Woman in ChE e. Alumni Corner f. Student Corner g. Conference News h. ChE Events i. Featured ChE Book(s) j. Job Information k. Study Abroad: Featured University

Guidelines: ●Word Limit:

○Featured articles on any engineering and scientific issue: 500 – 1500 (1-3 pages), ○ Featured article on university, admission, scholarship, job information, product description, featured book, etc.: 250 – 500 (1/2 to 1 page)

However, it is a scientific/technological magazine, therefore, an author will have freedom and flexibility; the contents and flow of the story are rather important than the length. ● Peer Reviewed Articles: no word limits; article content has to be high quality, original and unpublished; article will be reviewed by experts on the relevant field(s). ● For article submission and other enquiry please contact: [email protected] ● Your suggestions/comments will be highly appreciated; they will help us to improve. ●‘ChE Thoguhts’ is a quarterly magazine; if your article is late for any issue, it will be automatically processed for the next issue. So, keep posting your writings for ‘ChE Thoughts’.



ISSN 2218-5216 (Print); ISSN 2220-3389 (Online)

www.chethoughts.com

ChE Thoughts 02 (02)

Documents

ChE Thoughts 02 (02) ISSN 2218-5216 (Print)chethoughts.com/content/uploads/2011/08/ChEThoughts_Vol-02_Issue...Lafarge Surma Cement, Ltd., Bangladesh Kazi Bayzid Kabir Monash University,