(97f) Integrating Simulation of Chemical Engineering Operations into Process Safety Education

    As part of continued efforts to include the Safety in Chemical Engineering (SAChE) recommendations in the curriculum, a new course, CHEN E4501 Chemical engineering Process Safety was planned, developed, and executed in the Spring 2015 semester at Columbia University Department of Chemical Engineering.  While case studies, computer aided design using ASPEN, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) SAChE Modules were part of the course as a means to cover the objectives, attention was also placed on the education and training of operators using simulation in order to increase chemical engineering student awareness on operations in a chemical plant.  During a lesson sequence on operator training sponsored by Simulation Solutions Inc., the student performance and student feedback was recorded and is reported on here.  Based on student feedback, the emphasis placed on chemical engineering safety through use of simulation was welcomed and reinforced the importance of chemical engineering process safety in designing processes.  With a high percentage of accidents caused by operator error, emphasis on plant operations in the college curriculum could result in increased awareness of safety integration in the design and supervision of chemical engineering processes.