This online course is about the chemical process industry (CPI) and is split into three modules:

Module One Learning Objectives

Understand the difference between basic raw materials, commodity building blocks, intermediates and finished chemical products

Give examples of the value chain, i.e., the family tree of chemical products

Be able to name the world’s top ten chemical commodities and explain how they are made

Briefly summarize the refining of crude oil and the relationship of this allied industry to the chemical process industry.

Module 2 Learning Objectives

After completing this module, participants will be able to:

Define chemical engineering science and talk about what chemical engineers do in the chemical process industry

Read a Process Flow Diagram or Process Instrument Diagram and explain it to others. 

Explain how material and energy balances are used by the CPI

Define “unit operation”, give examples of unit operations in the CPI and explain the various measures of performance

Explain the importance of automation and control in the CPI

Talk about how unit operations are combined to make a complete process and the ramifications of multiple unit operations in series 

Define and discuss the concept of “process optimization”

Outline the basic steps in the design and construction of a chemical process plant

List and discuss some common characteristics of chemical plant operations and talk about the types of people needed by the CPI

Describe how manpower is organized in a chemical manufacturing operations and describe the basic responsibilities of CPI plant management

Discuss the basic components of a chemical product’s cost of manufacture

Talk knowledgably about elementary organic compounds, reactions and reaction products and their place in the world economy

Discuss the importance of water to the chemical process industry

Give examples of how some foods and other edible materials are used as chemical feedstocks

Use the basic vocabulary of the chemical process industry in a conversation about raw materials, products and companies

Take the molecular structure of a chemical product and speculate on the probable basic raw materials and commodity building blocks that are required to make it

Module 3 Learning Objectives

After completing this module participants will be able to:

Cite and discuss about ten general issues surrounding the CPI

Summarize reasons why the level of merger and acquisition is so high in the chemical process industry

View chemical products in a new way – price, outlook, technology and producers

List and discuss at least ten fundamental characteristics of the chemical business and provide examples

Find examples in the press concerning government intervention in chemical markets

Make arguments both for and against environmental protection legislation

Understand the importance of research and development within some sectors of the CPI

Talk knowledgably about many of the chemical product categories and provide specific examples of products in each category

Explain the fundamental tenets of Good Manufacturing Practice and its importance to some CPI producers

Describe how some consumer products are made and/or what the various ingredients do in the product