2024
Molecules and Technology
Name: Molecules and Technology
Code: QUI13525M
6 ECTS
Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours
Scientific Area:
Chemistry
Teaching languages: Portuguese
Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese
Sustainable Development Goals
Learning Goals
The main goal of the UC is to give a global perspective about the relevance of the thermodynamic properties of the substances on their capacity to contribute to technological problem solving. Highlighting the relationship between molecular structure of the matter and the attainment of the desirable properties for a given application is a goal. It is intended to stimulate the intuition capacity of the students so that they can devise trends of dependence of some properties on process variables and on molecular/structural characteristics of system components. To discuss the role played by some families of substances and systems in solving up to date technological problems is also an objective.
Students should be able to:
- perceive qualitative trends on property variations as a function of the experimental conditions and the chemical nature of substances;
- recognize the importance of the knowledge of properties in order to add innovation and competiveness to the industrial processes.
Students should be able to:
- perceive qualitative trends on property variations as a function of the experimental conditions and the chemical nature of substances;
- recognize the importance of the knowledge of properties in order to add innovation and competiveness to the industrial processes.
Contents
Molecular technology. Fluorocarbons. Oxygen carrying. Density: measurement and estimation. Compressibility. Solubility of gases in liquids. Carbon capture. Gas permeation. Inhalation anaesthetics. Anaesthetic-cell membrane interaction. Vapour pressure: measurement and estimation. Ionic liquids: microstructure. Viscosity: measurement and estimation. Ionogels. Liquid crystals. Eutectic solvents and Green Chemistry. Liquid-liquid extraction of pollutants. Hydrogels. Rheology principles. Supercritical fluids. Supercritical extraction, reaction media and micronization. Critical constants: measurement and estimation. Drugs: processing. Co-crystalization and co-solvency. Drug delivery. Environmental fate and removal. Diffusion coefficient: measurement and estimation. Classical and alternative refrigerants. Latent heat of vaporization: measurement and estimation. Refrigerants as pollutants. Nanofluids: examples, principles and applications. Thermal conductivity: measurement and estimation.
Teaching Methods
The course is composed only by theoretical-practical sessions. These classes are based on information transmission, but comprise also data analyses, a discussion forum where the fundamental concepts are applied to real situations, laboratorial demonstrations and problem solving. In some cases, the analyses and discussion sessions will carried out based on scientific papers and students can be encouraged to use specific software to predict and/or estimate thermodynamic properties.
The assessment method has two components: a final exam (with option for frequency tests in a continuous evaluation regime) and an essay about one of the general subjects of the course unit and its oral presentation where, besides the technical aspects, the skills revealed by students on oral presentation will contribute to the final appreciation. The relative weight of the two components, either on a continuous or final assessment basis, is 50 % each.
The assessment method has two components: a final exam (with option for frequency tests in a continuous evaluation regime) and an essay about one of the general subjects of the course unit and its oral presentation where, besides the technical aspects, the skills revealed by students on oral presentation will contribute to the final appreciation. The relative weight of the two components, either on a continuous or final assessment basis, is 50 % each.
