Chemical Engineering Students Research Articles

Challenges and Drivers of Industrialist Propensity Among Chemical Engineering Students in STEM Institution in Zimbabwe: Towards A Conceptual Framework

NUST in Zimbabwe grapples with a significant challenge. Despite enrolling many students in chemical engineering, the nation lacks operational industries. Consequently, graduates often encounter difficulties securing employment or attachment placements post-graduation. This underscores the critical need to foster student entrepreneurship, encouraging innovation and idea generation. The study employed a mixed-methods research design to address this issue, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The quantitative aspect utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design, while the qualitative component involved conducting focus group interviews with chemical engineering students in the experimental group. The findings from both approaches complemented each other, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing entrepreneurial propensity among NUST chemical engineering students. Data collection involved distributing research instruments and questionnaires to NUST students and individuals associated with the mining and pharmaceutical industries. The collected data were then entered into an Excel spreadsheet, allowing for the recording of respondents' numbers alongside their respective responses. The study applied descriptive statistics to evaluate responses and their alignment with research objectives, revealing barriers to entrepreneurial inclination among NUST chemical engineering students, such as limited resources, risk aversion, inadequate entrepreneurial education, and cultural norms. Students benefited from personal motivation, a supportive educational atmosphere, networking opportunities, and exposure to innovative ideas. These factors nurtured self-determination, social networking, and an entrepreneurial mindset. To foster entrepreneurial spirit among NUST chemical engineering students, the study suggests educational reforms, mentorship programs, and potential policy changes create an enabling environment, empowering students to pursue entrepreneurship and contribute to economic growth.

Psychological Health Assessment and Intervention System for Chemical Engineering Students Based on Emotional Computing Technology

Emotional computing technology is revolutionizing health assessment by integrating emotional and psychological factors into traditional diagnostic processes. This innovative approach utilizes advanced algorithms and sensor technologies to analyze individuals' emotional states and mental well-being, providing valuable insights into their overall health. By detecting subtle changes in facial expressions, voice patterns, and physiological signals, emotional computing technology can assess stress levels, mood fluctuations, and mental health conditions with greater accuracy and sensitivity. This paper presents a novel Psychological Health Assessment and Intervention System tailored for chemical engineering students, leveraging Emotional Computing Technology enhanced by Cartesian Feature Weighted Emotional Classification (CFWEC). The system aims to assess students' psychological well-being by analyzing emotional cues extracted from various sources such as facial expressions, voice patterns, and text interactions. Through simulated experiments and empirical validations, the efficacy of CFWEC-enhanced emotional computing technology is evaluated in predicting and intervening in psychological health issues among chemical engineering students. Results demonstrate significant improvements in accuracy and sensitivity compared to traditional assessment methods. For instance, the CFWEC model achieved an average accuracy rate of 85% in identifying students at risk of psychological distress, enabling timely interventions. Additionally, the system provides personalized recommendations and interventions based on individual emotional profiles, leading to improved mental health outcomes. These findings underscore the potential of Emotional Computing Technology with CFWEC in promoting psychological health and well-being among chemical engineering students.

Introduction to the modeling of complex chemical reaction equilibrium using gPROMS® and GAMS®

AbstractIn the present paper several aspects of the simulation of complex chemical equilibrium are discussed, using two research and educational software: gPROMS® and GAMS®. All computations are performed to boost the understanding of chemical engineering students, undergraduate, and graduate, of the complex concepts behind both thermo‐chemical processes and optimization techniques. Four case studies with varying levels of difficulty illustrate the proposed methodology and robustness of the modeling systems: Catalytic steam reforming of bio‐ethanol at high temperatures. Partial oxidation of naphthalene using either air or pure oxygen. Supercritical water gasification of Microalga Spirulina. Dry and mixed reforming of glucose.Our results indicate that the use of optimization tools offered bygPROMS® and GAMS®software are useful and efficient tools to calculate the chemical and phase equilibrium by minimizing the Gibbs energy, provided that adequate initial guesses are used. Furthermore, the computational time spent in the calculations was generally quite short. The obtained equilibrium compositions are benchmarked using the ubiquitous process simulators: ASPEN‐Plus® and/or ASPEN‐Hysys® as well as data available from the open literature. We obtained excellent agreement between our results and their counterpart obtained using ASPEN‐Plus®. In the last part of this manuscript, authors share their experience in supervising senior term projects on the subject. A questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative feedback from the nine students involved in the projects. Their responses to a questionnaire focused on the chemical engineering thermodynamics theory as well as software usage during their investigations. This questionnaire demonstrates that students can overcome mathematical complexity by either using mathematical software or equivalent modeling systems (e.g., Matlab®, Mathematica©, gPROMS®, and GAMS®).

Cross-curricular project-based laboratory learning enables hands-on interdisciplinary education for chemical engineering students

To enhance students’ interdisciplinary awareness and understanding of (i) high-pressure reactors, (ii) zeolites as catalysts and (iii) analysis of complex reactor effluents with unknown compounds, the laboratory exercises of two courses are coupled into a cross-curricular Project-Based laboratory Learning trajectory. The alkylation of anisole with 1-hexene proves to be an excellent case study for students to learn new objectives and strengthen the skills acquired in prior courses, emulating the work of expert engineers and analytical chemists. The time-efficient cross-curricular project proves effective in fostering teamwork and addressing complex engineering and analytical challenges. Student testimonials highlight the integrated project's success in providing new insights and cultivating advanced decision-making skills during experimentation. This approach also encourages future interdisciplinary collaborations between chemical engineering and analytical practice classes.

Experience implementing curricular activities in physics to familiarize students with SDGs 5 and 7

This paper presents an experience of implementing curricular activities that aim to familiarise students with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus promoting sustainability and the critical contextualisation of knowledge and highlighting the scientific contributions of women. The pedagogical experience was carried out in the Physics subject of the Chemical Engineering degree at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). First, a questionnaire was administered to assess students’ prior knowledge of these goals, especially SDG 5: «Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls» and SDG 7: «Affordable and clean energy», in the first-year Physics subjects of the Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology degrees of the USC to determine the influence of the degree. The results showed that students in both degrees knew the SDGs but had difficulties identifying SDG 7. Similarly, male students of Chemical Engineering had more difficulty in identifying SDG 5. Subsequently, the classes, academic content and activities of the Physics subject of the Chemical Engineering degree were planned to raise awareness among students about the current climate, energy and social emergency in which we find ourselves, as well as the gender inequalities that persist in society. In this way, the aim was for students to acquire critical thinking skills to avoid gender blindness and to face a future with fewer and fewer mineral and energy resources. The experience was satisfactory for the students, demonstrating the importance of teaching this content in scientific subjects because they enabled reflection and critical capacity, which are essential for understanding and dealing with reality.

Research on the “Project-based” Master’s Degree Model for Graduate Students in Materials and Chemical Engineering

Research on the “Project-based” Master’s Degree Model for Graduate Students in Materials and Chemical Engineering

Physical chemistry students’ learning profiles and their relation to study-related burnout and perceptions of peer and self-assessment

We explored chemical engineering students’ approaches to learning, study-related burnout, and perceptions of peer and self-assessment in a challenging physical chemistry thermodynamics course. Cluster analysis revealed three learning profiles based on students’ approaches to learning: students who scored high in both organised studying and the deep approach to learning, students who scored high in the unreflective approach to learning, and students who scored high in all three approaches. According to our findings, students who employed deep learning strategies and managed their time carefully experience the least study-related burnout. These students also felt more efficacious when participating in assessment and had fever negative experiences of both peer and self-assessment. Consequently, physical chemistry educators should adopt practices that facilitate a deeper approach to learning, including paying careful attention to course workload and utilising teaching methodologies that can foster the deep approach like peer and self-assessment.

Teaching Food Processing to Chemical Engineering Students with Native American Food

Teaching Food Processing to Chemical Engineering Students with Native American Food

Analisis Keterampilan Proses Sains dalam Praktikum Kimia Fisika

Physical chemistry practicum is a crucial element in higher education curriculum to develop students' science process skills. The study aims to analyze the skills of science processes in physics chemistry practices in the university environment. Emphasis is given on the ability to make careful observations, plan appropriate experiments, make accurate measurements, analyze data critically, and connect theory with practice in the laboratory. The research method used in this study is qualitative research involving data collection from physical chemistry practicum conducted by students in university laboratories. The research targets were chemical engineering students who received physical chemistry practicum courses at the faculty of industrial technology, Nahdlatul Ulama Al Ghazali University, Cilacap. Research data were collected through practicum observations, interviews, and analysis of student practicum report results. The data were analyzed to evaluate the science process skills developed during practicum, as well as its impact on the understanding of physical chemistry concepts. The results of the analysis show that physics chemistry practicums provide students with practical experience in conducting practicum activities. Students demonstrated the ability of their scientific processes to perform careful observations such as accurate and accurate measurements. Critically analyze data from the results of experiments or experiments such as making the correct table or graph. These skills are intellectual process skills that are very important in studying chemistry.

Flow chemical laboratory practice for undergraduate students: synthesis of paracetamol

AbstractGenerally, chemical engineering students get well acquainted with the batch synthesis of various active pharmaceutical ingredients, however, only tiny focus is provided to undergraduates on the topic of flow chemistry. In this paper, we report that students participating in the chemical engineering BSc course at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics were encouraged to perform the flow synthesis of paracetamol, a common pain painkiller. Two different synthetic routes for the continuous production of paracetamol were investigated and compared the batch and flow methods. Thus, these experiments allowed the students to discover flow chemistry for themselves under supervision: how to set up a flow system, how to carry out a reaction continuously, and to experience the advantages of flow chemistry over batch synthesis. In addition, students also got familiar with in-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as one of the reactions was monitored in real-time. Graphical Abstract

Integrated Mass and Energy Balance Course Project using Spreadsheet for a Chemical Engineering Degree Program

In this innovation, team projects from two courses offered in different semesters are integrated. On top of that, students are trained to use a spreadsheet-based tool to solve the problem in the project. Those two courses are Mass Balance (SETK 1123) and Energy Balance (SETK 2133) offered to Chemical Engineering students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at their second and third semester. The main objective of the innovation is to scaffold the students’ understanding of the problems given to them in the projects. At the end of the project, they should be able to clearly see the overall processes in a typical chemical industry, starting from raw materials to the targeted products, by-products, and wastes produced. In addition to that, the projects also foster digital skills by enhancing the students’ skills to use the spreadsheet tools to solve Chemical Engineering problems. This is inline with their study as the students learnt about computer programming and spreadsheet tools in their first semester. From the students’ reflections, it can be concluded that this innovation are able to increase the comprehension of the students on the two courses, increase the skills in using spreadsheet tools for solving problems and also inculcate critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Investigating chemical engineering students’ perceptions of feedback: A glimpse into current problems and a platform for improvement

Effective and quality academic feedback is essential for student success in engineering education. However, chemical engineering students consistently report lower satisfaction with the feedback they receive based on the results of the UK National Student Survey (NSS) published in recent years. Despite this, there is limited research on students' perceptions of feedback in chemical engineering education. This study investigates the views of chemical engineering students on four key dimensions: knowledge and understanding of feedback, perceptions of effective and quality feedback, preferences for the modes and format of feedback, and experience with the feedback received. To draw meaningful and useful conclusions, this investigation was conducted on a small scale targeting 37 participants from undergraduate (UG) students in years one to four of the Chemical Engineering programmes at the University of Sheffield. The findings confirm that most of the UG students who participated in the study demanded to receive targeted and personalised feedback. Students considered that feedback on how to improve skills, identify mistakes and give specific examples to solve problems were more effective than a simply stated grade. The focused approach in this study allowed for an in-depth analysis of the perceptions of feedback among targeted UG students, leading to an improved definition of feedback for engineering education. It is proposed that feedback can be characterised as the process of communicating the learner's current and expected accomplishments, pointing out areas for improvement, and suggesting possible steps to address them while also requiring the learner to engage with and reflect on the provided comments.

Solving boundary value problems in heterogeneous catalysis with orthogonal collocation and arc‐length continuation

AbstractAn important part of the education of chemical engineers involves the design and assessment of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. They pose fundamental phenomena and constitute invaluable industrial processes. Progressing in this field, especially in graduate‐level courses, entails solving nonlinear differential equations systems, which can only be achieved by using efficient and reliable numerical techniques. In this work, we solve nonisothermal one‐dimensional reaction‐diffusion BVP considering convection in the boundary conditions, by applying orthogonal collocation and arc‐length continuation. Particularly, we predict the effectiveness factor as a function of the Thiele modulus for the main three particle geometries: plane slab, cylinder, and sphere. For chemical engineering students, such problems are at the zenith of the discipline, and the results of such calculations can elucidate basic and advanced concepts of mass and heat transfer as well as chemical reaction engineering. Both Chebyshev and shifted Legendre polynomials were used to transform the boundary value problem into a set of algebraic nonlinear equations. In addition, we also compare our findings against the available analytic solutions whenever possible. Codes in Scilab, Matlab®, and Mathematica© were developed for the solution of such problems and are available in the Supporting Information. There are two possible approaches to compute effectiveness factors: (a) integration as per definition versus (b) differentiation and nonlinear system. It is demonstrable that software performance is dependent on the approach, and that the differentiation approach yields better results.

Analysis of Chemical Engineering Students’ Needs on Instructional Reading Strategies

Reading is an important macro skill besides speaking, writing and listening. Reading is a receptive skill, yet it is still essential for success in both academic and in everyday life. Therefore, the study aims at analyzing chemical engineering students’ needs for instructional reading strategies to help them comprehend the text. A qualitative research design was used for this study with quantitative data collection. Data were collected through questionnaires from 60 chemical engineering students and analyzed using descriptive statistics (the interpretations of percentages). The results show that there are seven important reading instructions selected by chemical engineering students (above 90%) that is drawing conclusion, making prediction, identifying cause and effect, distinguishing between facts and opinions, comparing and contrast, identifying the main ideas and identifying supporting details. Chemical engineering students also had favorable attitudes on three other instructional reading strategies that were considered important with the percentage of below 89 percent they are recognizing and interpreting writer’s view, summarizing and drawing conclusions. Based on the analysis of students’ needs, majority of chemical engineering students believe the seven most important instructional reading strategies should be incorporated into the reading materials as reading comprehension activities.

Virtual undergraduate chemical engineering labs based on density functional theory calculations

Abstract Offering virtual laboratories to chemical engineering students is likely to extend beyond the COVID-19 era. Thus, there is a need to develop more simulation-based tasks in a wide blend of subjects, spanning thermodynamics, chemical reactions, and unit operations. Molecular and material modeling based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations provides limitless opportunities to train students on how to obtain thermokinetic values that are typically measured experimentally. Through a series of illustrative cases, this contribution provides detailed procedures pertinent to calculating reaction rate constants, standard enthalpies of reactions, redox potentials, equilibrium reaction constants, and surface-assisted mechanisms. We hope that DFT-operated virtual labs will assist students in attaining learning outcomes and promote their self-learning in the above-mentioned subjects. From a broader prospective, the presented case studies are expected to encourage students to appreciate the practical applications of DFT, not only in the academic but also in the industrial domains.

Chemical engineering students’ perceptions of peer and self-assessment

ABSTRACT This study explores Finnish chemical engineering students’ peer and self-assessment perceptions. It is divided into two substudies. In Study I, we investigate students’ perceptions of peer and self-assessment based on their responses to open questions and Likert-items adopted from existing literature. We identify six perception dimensions from these open responses: Learning and reflection, Motivation and participation, Self-efficacy, Exhaustion and workload, Cynicism, and Self-criticism. In Study II, we develop a new questionnaire for engineering students’ peer and self-assessment perceptions, as pre-existing questionnaires fail to adequately capture these dimensions. Exploratory factor analysis is used to investigate how student perceptions form larger factors, and how they relate to theoretically connected pedagogical measures like study-related burnout, self-efficacy, and learning approaches. We find that negative perceptions correlate with study-related burnout and an unreflective approach to learning. Meanwhile, positive perceptions of self-efficacy and learning in peer and self-assessment are associated with the deep approach, underlining the importance of facilitating positive assessment experiences in students.

Utilising forensic tools to assist in chemical engineering capstone assessment grading

The grading of assessments that consists of large calculations represents an odious task for educators, as they must verify the correct procedures and algorithms were used as well as ensure that the calculations have been done correctly. For engineering capstone design project assessments, these calculations represent spreadsheets, coding and ancillary calculations that can run to over a hundred pages. There is no meaningful way an educator can properly assess such material in the timeframe given for grading. As such, quantitative tools are needed that enable educators to rapidly evaluate calculation-based assessments. Forensic auditing tools were used here to evaluate calculation-based assessments associated with chemical engineering capstone design projects. These tools analyse how data within sets are presented, the structure of spreadsheets and tables, as well as statistical principles around numbers and their distribution within large data sets. This enables the rapid identification of features within students’ assessments that warrant further investigation to establish if the data has been manipulated or calculation errors exist. The analysis demonstrated that chemical engineering students’ reports can be analysed by forensic auditing tools. Furthermore, these tools identified student errors and misconduct, based on abnormal results highlighted by the analysis, which were not discovered during the standard grading procedure. Applying forensic auditing tools enable a rapid approach to verify engineering students reports submitted for grading. This approach will reduce the time burden on educators, enabling them to focus on ensuring the correct design equations and procedures have been applied.

Harnessing student agency for easier transition and success: The role of life coaching

The use of life coaching as an intervention to support students in higher education has been explored in other contexts in the global north and evidence points to its possible benefits in improving student success and well-being. Although there is new emerging research on the use of life coaching in the South African higher education context, there is a lack of empirical evidence pointing to its benefits. We report some results from a longitudinal study that investigated the use of small group life coaching intervention to support students. The objective of the intervention was to harness first-year chemical engineering students’ agency by proactively equipping them with knowledge and skills that improve their studies and lives. Four years after the intervention, using Archer’s social realist concepts of structure and agency, we evaluated how the life coaching intervention influenced students’ agency during their studies. Data was gathered through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with ten students who had participated in the intervention during their first year and were currently in the fourth year of their studies. The results indicate that the life coaching intervention enabled students to mediate academic and non-academic constraints. Concerning academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students manage the transition from high school, including adjusting to a new workload, time management, learning to collaborate with their peers and dealing with experiences of failure. Concerning non-academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students clarify their goals, increased their self-awareness, deal with negative emotions, boosted their self-confidence, and become more resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. We recommend more empirical research to be carried out in different contexts across higher education institutions in South Africa to explore further the possible role that life coaching may play in empowering students with life-long skills, reducing dropout rates and improving chances of success.

Content Validity Analysis of Chemical Engineering Students’ Needs Questionnaires for English reading material based on critical thinking skills

This study aimed to evaluate the content validity of English reading material needs questionnaires for chemical engineering students based on critical thinking abilities. The ADDIE model was modified for the Research and Development (R & D) plan that includes this investigation. In the analysis phase, questionnaires are created to define the issue and pinpoint its origin. The questionnaires are divided into three sections. The purpose of the first section is to learn more about the individual identities of the respondents. The second part of the survey tries to find out respondents' levels of proficiency in reading English-language literature as well as their motivations for learning the language. The final section consists of six questions, including how crucial it is to engage in critical thinking activities in order to comprehend English texts, the importance of reading strategies, learning strategies, text types, and the teacher's role. Two experts validate the content of the research tools used for the requirements analysis tests. Gregory's formula is used to assess the expert judgments' data. The results of the study showed that both raters agree with the aspects of personal background, purpose of learning English, students' ability level, Critical thinking activities in understanding English texts, reading techniques, and learning techniques. Both raters also agree on the aspect of 'text types' and 'lecturer's role'. All of the items of the aspects of chemical engineering students' needs questionnaires for English reading materials development are valid and can be distributed without any significant revisions.

Perceptions of Chemical Engineering Students on Decolonizing the Curriculum by Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge Practices

The #FeesMustFall movement, which rocked institutions of higher learning in South Africa in 2015/2016, inspired robust engagement around the decolonization of knowledge. Students argued that the epistemological context of higher education in South Africa does not reflect the African context. Activists argued that if the curricula did not speak to local issues, the challenges facing higher education would remain. Incorporating indigenous knowledge practices into mainstream education could signify a shift away from Western dominance in the local episteme. Engineering is not immune to decolonization. This paper attempts to extract the views and observations of 38 chemical engineering students, from second year until PhD level, at the University of Johannesburg on decolonizing the curriculum by incorporating indigenous knowledge practices. The data was generated through an open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire required that participants briefly describe indigenous practices with the potential for elucidating chemical engineering principles. Participants identified umfuso, which is the process of drying vegetables in the sun, sieving with leselo, which is made up of reeds and is used to separate light materials from heavy ones, drinking cow urine as a remedy to cure various diseases, making traditional mageu, brewing traditional beer (umqombothi) and milling and grinding maize meal, as practices which they believe had potential to reshape the curriculum. The findings of the study show that students concurred with the call for decolonization and transformation of the chemical engineering curriculum, but that there was a lack of consensus on whether incorporating indigenous knowledge practices could help achieve it, as the system of acquiring education itself needs decolonization.