(54bc) Highlights of Particle Technology Teaching in Singapore

Our approach to education in particle technology is to incorporate elements of our research in this field, relevant industrial case studies and apply a Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach for implementing pedagogical interventions to enhance the learning experiences of students.

For supercritical CO₂ processing, case studies in extraction and drying are used to teach different chapters in the curriculum such as:

• Particle characterization
  • The bulk density, size, shape of real industry samples are given to students for analysis using software such as ImageJ
• Flow through packed bed
  • The pressure drop and scale-up of packed bed design for supercritical CO₂ flow through packed bed are used as a worked example and assignment problem to help students appreciate the role of density and viscosity in the pressure drop in a packed bed
• Drying
  • Supercritical CO₂ as an alternative drying media as compared to hot air or superheated steam. Case studies and examples provided

For gasification and chemical looping combustion applications, case studies in the treatment of wastes and carbon capture are similarly used as part of the syllabus:

• Particle characterization
  • The effect of polydispersity on various fluidization characteristics (entrainment, transport dis-engaging height, clusters, segregation, etc)
  • The effect of agglomeration
• Reliability of correlations and simulations
  • Correlations in literature give predictions orders-of-magnitude apart
• Scale-up
  • Rule-of-thumbs in scaling up the various regimes

A design software has been developed within the paradigm of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) to facilitate learning via a repeated practice approach. The software generates detailed solution steps to typical engineering design problems encountered within this module. Students can compare the complete solutions generated with their own hand calculations, and thereby apply a repeated practice approach towards their learning of engineering design calculations. The software has been successful in enhancing the performance of students in the final examination.