Scale-up of Chemical Processes

Online | Face-to-face | In-company

Overview

Successful chemical process scale-up can be a formidable challenge due to a combination of several factors that only become clear at a change of process scale. This course explores the fundamentals of chemical process scale-up and provides a practical guide to predicting and avoiding common issues, to help you minimise the risk of unforeseen problems.

The course begins by identifying the main challenges in scale-up and reviewing the key chemical engineering tools required for addressing them. It then looks at how to apply these tools to approach scale-up problems which involve fluid mixing, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical reactors and particulate processes. Finally, it addresses the practical issues relating to scale-up. The course draws on examples from a wide range of process and unit operations, and process safety is a continuous theme. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you should:

• be aware of the challenges and risks involved in process scale-up
• be familiar with the essential chemical engineering tools for addressing scale-up challenges
• appreciate how to tackle scale-up of operations involving fluid flow and mixing
• appreciate how to tackle scale-up of operations involving heat transfer
• appreciate how to tackle scale-up of operations involving mass transfer
• appreciate how to tackle scale-up of chemical reactors
• appreciate how to tackle scale-up of operations involving particulates
• understand the benefit of semi-batch reactor operation
• be aware of the potential issues created by increased batch processing time
• be aware of materials of construction constraints
• be aware of the impact of changes in rheology
• be aware of foaming, fouling and deposition problems.

Who will benefit

Anyone with a technical background who is involved in process development and process scale-up.

What delegates say

"It's given me a much better understanding of what's in the toolbox and where to start with scale-up. Definitely useful for my awareness. I thought it was good how Jamie brought in the process safety side – if it's not done right, what the impacts can be."
P Foran, Johnson-Matthey, UK

"I now have a much greater appreciation of the physical and engineering effects at play when scaling processes up."
E Playfoot, Stepan, UK

"It reintroduced concepts I haven't looked at in a long time and gave tools which I wouldn't have got from my own research."
F Smith, Otto Simon, UK

Course outline

• The challenges of process scale-up
• Chemical engineering tools (mass and energy balances, transport mechanics, dimensional analytics)
• Fluid mixing issues
• Heat transfer issues
• Mass transfer issues
• Chemical reaction issues
• Particle processing issues
• Semi-batch operations
• Increased batch processing time
• Materials of construction
• Changes in rheology
• Foaming, fouling and deposition

Upcoming courses

Online

Online courses consist of three live and interactive modules with the trainer. There will also be some work to complete independently before the course and between the live sessions. More details will be provided after you have registered.

From 16 January 2025

• Module 1–16 January 2025, 10:00–13:00 GMT
• Module 2–23 January 2025, 10:00–13:00 GMT
• Module 3–30 January 2025, 10:00–13:00 GMT

From 27 March 2025

• Module 1–27 March 2025, 14:00–17:00 GMT
• Module 2–3 April 2025, 14:00–17:00 BST
• Module 3–10 April 2025, 14:00–17:00 BST

From 3 July 2025

• Module 1–3 July 2025, 13:00–16:00 AWST / MYT, 15:00–18:00 AEST, 17:00–20:00 NZST
• Module 2–10 July 2025, 13:00–16:00 AWST / MYT, 15:00–18:00 AEST, 17:00–20:00 NZST
• Module 3–17 July 2025, 13:00–16:00 AWST / MYT, 15:00–18:00 AEST, 17:00–20:00 NZST

Live sessions are delivered via Microsoft Teams. If you don't already have this installed, you can join as a guest in order to access the training. 

Face-to-face

• 3–5 June 2025, Manchester, UK
• 18–20 November 2025, Rugby, UK

Not available then?

Register your interest in alternative dates.

Fees – book early and save 20%

Book any live online or face-to-face training course before 31 January 2025 and SAVE 20%! Simply use discount code EARLY20 at checkout. 

• IChemE member – £1,680 + VAT / AU$3,280 + GST 
• Non-member – £2,100 + VAT / AU$4,100 + GST

Terms and conditions: offer applies to live online or face-to-face course bookings made between 2 December 2024 and 31 January 2025. Applies to both member and non-member prices but cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer eg multi-place discounts. Registration must be confirmed and paid by 31 January 2025

How to register

Select your preferred course from the list of upcoming start dates and go to the 'Book course' button at the bottom of the page.

More than one person to train?

Multi-place discounts

Discounts are available to companies booking more than one place. Bookings must be made at the same time to receive the discount.

• 2 places – 10% discount
• 3 places –15% discount
• 4 or more places – 20% discount

In-company training

This course can be delivered to corporate teams, either on-site or online. This could be a cost-effective option if you have several people requiring the training. Content can be tailored to your specific requirements. Request a quotation.

Attendance certificate & CPD hours

An e-certificate will be issued at the end of the course to confirm attendance and CPD hours logged. Please note that you must attend the whole course to receive the certificate. 

In the case of online courses, CPD hours should be used as an approximate guide and will vary depending on the preferred approach of the delegate and to what extent additional learning is completed.