ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 1 Expository Class: 37 Interactive Classroom: 15 Total: 53
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Chemistry Engineering
Areas: Chemical Engineering
Center Higher Technical Engineering School
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
Knowledge
Understand the principles underlying the production and industrial use of energy.
Understand the principles behind the operation of basic equipment in the energy system of an industrial plant.
Understand the global energy framework through national and international organizations in the field of energy.
Comprehension
Provide examples of thermodynamic calculations and energy and material balances in the industrial energy system.
Interpret the concept of sustainability in its technical, ethical, equity, and social justice aspects, from the perspective of energy engineering.
Application
To solve numerical problems.
Use spreadsheets proficiently to solve engineering problems.
Use simulation software.
Utilize available bibliography and data sources.
Practice self-learning.
Practice information and communication skills in the international energy field.
Analysis
Examine and discuss calculations and case studies.
Compare and contrast results with critical judgment.
Evaluation
Draw conclusions from results.
Recommend reformulations of problems and case studies.
Creativity
Identify opportunities in the energy sector.
Highlight innovative solutions in the energy field.
Identify non-technical implications of energy strategies.
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DESCRIPTORS
1. Primary energy sources. Renewable energies.
2. Energy carriers and carbon-neutral fuels.
3. Green fuels: Production and use, circular energy models.
4. Thermal power plants and combined cycles: Rankine and Brayton cycles.
5. Turbomachinery: turbines and compressors.
6. Low-temperature heat recovery.
7. Heat pumps.
8. Refrigeration and liquefaction systems.
Technical visit
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BLOCK I. Energy flow in plants and thermodynamic analysis
Lectures
Lesson 1: Energy flow diagram in an industrial plant. System components. Connections. Integration of renewable and non-renewable sources. Steam and power balances. Profiles. Industrial energy efficiency.
Lesson 2: Gas power cycles. Brayton cycle. Work ratio. Air/fuel ratio. Efficiencies. Regenerative cycle. Intercooling and reheating. Other cycles. Introduction to gas cogeneration.
Lesson 3: Steam power cycles. Rankine cycle. Regenerative cycle. Reheating. Combined cycle. Introduction to steam cogeneration.
Lesson 4: Refrigeration cycles. Compression cycle. Cascade and multistage cycles. Gas refrigeration cycle. Heat pump. Absorption refrigeration. Principles of liquefaction.
Seminars (5):
Problem-solving and discussion of calculation exercises.
Case study.
Activity:
Computer lab: Hysys.
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BLOCK II. Equipment: Conventional and specific to energy transition**
Lectures:
Lesson 5: Steam turbines. Classification. Brief technical description. Fundamental equations. Stages and staging. Losses and efficiency. Regulation.
Lesson 6: Gas turbines. Classification. Brief technical description. Fundamental equations. Stages and staging. Losses and efficiency. Regulation. Emission control systems.
Lesson 7: Compressors. Centrifugal compressors. Reciprocating compressors. Operating principles. Regulation. Efficiencies.
Lesson 8: Other equipment. Other turbines. Engines. Boilers with and without regeneration. Biomass boilers. General aspects.
Lesson 9: Equipment of current interest in energy transition. Fuel cells. Electrolyzers. General aspects.
Seminars (5):
Problem-solving and discussion of calculation exercises.
Preparation for technical visit.
Activities:
Computer lab: Hysys.
Technical visit.
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BLOCK III. Renewable energy, energy carriers, and low-temperature heat recovery
Lectures
Lesson 10: Renewable energy. Concepts: carbon neutrality, "Net-Zero", vector, carrier, variability, inertia synchrony. Primary and secondary sources. Transformation. Energy mix distribution. Industrial energy communities and eco-industrial parks: “Total Site” concept in industrial renewable systems.
Lesson 11: Fuels. Carbon neutrality, green category and other categories based on production. Energy vectors and carriers. Value chains. Efficiencies. Energy circularity.
Lesson 12: Waste heat recovery and energy transition. Low-temperature energy generation. Utilization. Storage. Contribution to decarbonization. Emerging technologies.
Technical Seminars (2):
Problem-solving and discussion of calculation exercises.
Case study discussion based on resources from national and international energy organizations.
Cross-Cutting Seminar (1):
Ethics, equity, and social justice in the energy transition. Responsibility from the perspective of energy engineering.
Activity:
Group mentoring.
Evaluation of the technical visit. Sharing of cross-cutting activities such as conferences, events, etc., related to the subject.
Basic books:
Winterbone, D. E. and Ali Turan. 2019. Advanced Thermodynamics for Engineers. Butterworth-Heinemann.Oxford(England).
ISBN: 978-0-444-63373-6. https://iacobus.usc.gal/permalink/34CISUG_USC/tmlevo/alma99101339468520…
Kanoglou, M., Yunus A. Ç. and John M. Cimbala. 2023. Fundamentals and Applications of Renewable Energy. McGraw Hill. New York. https://www-accessengineeringlibrary-com.ezbusc.usc.gal/content/book/97…
Complementary books:
Çengel, Y. A. y Michael. A. Boles.2015. Termodinámica. McGraw-Hill.Madrid. ISBN: 978-607-15-1281-9.
Lieberman, Norman P. and Elizabeth T. Lieberman. 2022. A Working Guide to Process Equipment. McGraw Hill. New York.
ISBN: 978-1-260-46166-4. https://www.accessengineeringlibrary.com/content/book/9781260461664
Paul Breeze.2019. Power Generation Technologies. Newnes. ISBN 9780081026311.
Tabatabaian, M. & R. K. Rajput. 2017. Advanced thermodynamics: Fundamentals, mathematics, applications. Mercury Learning & Information. ISBN: 978-1-936420-27-8. https://iacobus.usc.gal/permalink/34CISUG_USC/tmlevo/alma99101351820020…
On-line references:
IEA – International Energy Agency. https://www.iea.org/
IRENA – International Renewable Energy Agency. https://www.irena.org/
IEA Bioenergy. https://www.ieabioenergy.com/
ETIP Bioenergy.https://www.etipbioenergy.eu/
Hydrogen Europe. https://hydrogeneurope.eu/
Knowledge or Content
Con05: Basic knowledge and principles of applied thermodynamics or heat transfer and their application to solving engineering problems.
Con17: Knowledge of material and energy balances, or biotechnology, or mass transfer, separation processes, or chemical reaction engineering, or reactor design, or the valorization and transformation of raw materials and energy resources.
Skills or Abilities
H/D04: Critical thinking and ethical commitment.
H/D05: Ability to apply knowledge in practice.
H/D07: Autonomous learning.
Competencies
Comp08: Ability to solve problems with initiative, decision-making, creativity, critical thinking, and to communicate and convey knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field of Industrial Engineering.
Face to face lectures. In-person activity.
General framework:
- The essential theoretical-practical information will be provided in a structured, updated, and industrially contextualized manner, prepared from various textbooks and technological and scientific documentation.
- Concepts will be presented in relation to the real-world environment.
- The content will be presented clearly and concisely, avoiding overly detailed development and adding an interactive component to maintain student engagement.
- Theoretical concepts will be alternated with solved calculation examples.
- A final summary highlighting the key points will be provided.
- A general schedule of one lesson per week will be followed where possible, though flexibility will be maintained, considering that not all lessons are equal in length and difficulty, and considering the uniqueness of each student group.
Available resources:
-A presentation program will be the basic format used.
- Students will be provided with copies of relevant slides to build the lesson outline. Class notes will not be provided; students must take their own notes and supplement them with the recommended bibliography and other resources.
- Multimedia resources will be used to clarify the message.
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Interactive Seminar Class: In-person activity.
General framework:
Seminars will involve four types of activities:
Organizing knowledge from lecture-based classes through question-and-discussion,
Solving and discussing problems applying theoretical knowledge,
Case studies, and
When feasible, preparing for a technical visit; if not feasible, an alternative equivalent activity will be proposed.
Available resources:
* Multimedia resources will be used to visualize equipment and its operation.
* Spreadsheets will be used as a calculation support tool.
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Interactive Computer Lab Class. In-person activity.
General framework:
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Simulations using software. Work will be done individually, and simulation files will be submitted at the end of each session via the Learning Management System.
Resources
Hysys simulator.
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Group Tutoring Sessions. In-person activities.
General framework:
Complementary training activities will be carried out, including evaluation of the technical visit and participation in conferences, forums, workshops, or equivalent activities, followed by discussion in in-person sessions to encourage interest in innovative opportunities and solutions in the energy sector.
Resources
School of Engineering programming, academic agreements between companies and USC, professional association activities.
Dependent on needs and availability each academic year.
Support via Personalized Tutoring on Request (Individual or study group). In-person and virtual (via MS Teams), at the request of students for better time management.
Cases of Fraudulent Completion of Exercises or Exams
The regulations on academic performance evaluation and grade review of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) will apply.
USC’s plagiarism policy will also be enforced.
For class attendance, as well as for the intentional manipulation or tampering with attendance control systems, the official USC attendance policy for Bachelor's and Master's degrees will apply. Justified absences: only those explicitly listed in the regulations will be accepted. No leisure-related or strictly private causes outside that list will be considered valid.
Mandatory assessment activities — exams, seminars (all), computer lab sessions — will be conducted according to the official schedule published by USC and the group divisions established by the School or course/degree coordination, made available to students at the beginning of the semester. In case of schedule changes due to unforeseen events, the applicable regulations or USC directives will prevail.
Activities not included in the official calendar (such as technical visits, conferences, events, etc.) will be announced in advance via the Virtual Campus.
Any student who does not complete a mandatory activity (exam and continuous assessment) will be marked as NOT PRESENTED.
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REQUIREMENTS AND PREREQUISITES
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Class attendance will be taken into account as follows:
1. Lecture classes: Attendance monitored via sign-in sheets and in-class counting.
a. Does not contribute to the continuous assessment.
b. Mandatory to be eligible for the final exam. This requirement will be fulfilled with at least 60% attendance of total lecture hours.
2. Seminar classes: Attendance monitored via sign-in sheets and in-class counting. Absences must be justified to count toward continuous assessment.
a. Contributes to the continuous assessment according to the percentages detailed below. 100% of seminar hours are subject to assessment (all seminars are assessed in person).
b. Mandatory to be eligible for the final exam. Requirement is fulfilled with at least 80% attendance of total seminar hours.
3. Requirements 1b and 2b are independent and both must be met.
4. Computer lab classes: Mandatory. Attendance monitored via sign-in sheets and in-class counting.
5. Group tutoring sessions: Mandatory. Attendance monitored via sign-in sheets and in-class counting.
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SCORING DISTRIBUTION
(See 10-point scale summary at the end)
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First Exam Session (First Call)
o Exam on lecture and seminar content: Mandatory. Worth 70% of the final grade. 30% theory questions. 40% calculation exercises. Covers: Con05, Con17, H/D05. A minimum score of 45% is required in this section (theory + exercises) to pass the course and add the continuous assessment score. If this minimum is not met, only the exam score will appear on the final transcript.
2. Continuous assessment: Mandatory. Non-recoverable in the second session. Covers: H/D04, H/D07, Comp08.
a. Seminar attendance: 15% of the final grade (5% attendance, 10% participation).
Minimum required participation: 7 interventions per semester, accounting for 5% of this component. Participation may include up to 3 related events or conferences (max). In case of justified absence, a make-up task will be assigned during the seminar period.
b. Computer lab: 5% of the final grade. A file must be submitted at the end of the in-person session.In case of absence, it is not recoverable, unless justified. If justified, students may submit the task after completing it via self-learning and individual tutoring.
c. Group tutoring / Instructor report: 10% of the final grade. May include content summaries from conferences, events, or technical visits. In case of justified absence, a make-up task must be submitted before the first exam session.
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Second Exam Session (Second Call)
1. The continuous assessment score will be retained.
2. The exam has the same format and weight as in the first session. Mandatory.
3. No grades will be carried over from one academic year to another.
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Extraordinary Calls
The exam, covering lecture and seminar content, will account for 100% of the final grade.
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Exemptions and Adapted Evaluation
Necessary adaptations will be made for students with approved exemptions, covering attendance, methodology, and assessment.
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Score Summary (out of 10 points)
o EXAM: Max 7 points. Calculation exercises: 4 points. Theory questions: 3 points. Minimum to pass and add continuous assessment: 3.2 points total (exercises + theory combined)
• CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT: Total 2 points
o Seminars: 1.5 points
Attendance: max 0.5
Participation (in class + events): max 1.0. Class: 7 participations = 0.5. Events: max 3 per semester
o Computer lab: 0.5 points
o Group tutoring / Instructor report: 1.0 point
Visit evaluation: max 0.25
Event/activity presentation: max 0.5
Instructor report: max 0.25
TYPE OF GROUP and HOURS
• Theoretical teaching: 37 hours
• Interactive teaching (seminar/technical visit): 13 hours
• Interactive teaching (laboratory/computer lab): 2 hours
• Small-group tutoring: 1 hour
• Exam and review: 4 hours
• Independent student work: 93 hours
• Keep up with the course regularly. Attend classes. Use the recommended bibliography for support.
• It is advisable to have passed the core Chemical Engineering subjects from previous semesters.
• In the first class session of the semester, the course will be introduced, including the applicable USC regulations on class attendance, evaluation, plagiarism, and the provision of false information to instructors.
• The Learning Management System (Moodle) and the e-notebook of the institutional account will be used as a repository and for managing submissions.
• Communication with students will be conducted through the messaging service of the Moodle, to ensure it is recorded. Email will not be accepted as a standard means of communication.
• It is the student's responsibility to diligently follow the university's communication channels.
• No evaluable materials will be accepted via email.
• The technical visit will be governed by the academic agreements signed by the School and by the health and safety regulations required by the USC and the participating company.
• A MS Teams classroom will be set up exclusively for tutoring support, for students who request this option.
LANGUAGE: Galician/Spanish
Maria Isabel Vidal Tato
Coordinador/a- Department
- Chemistry Engineering
- Area
- Chemical Engineering
- Phone
- 881816798
- isabel.vidal.tato [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Tuesday | |||
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| 17:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Spanish | Classroom A1 |
| Wednesday | |||
| 17:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLIS_02 | Spanish | Classroom A1 |
| Thursday | |||
| 17:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom A1 |
| Friday | |||
| 17:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS07 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIS_02 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIL_03 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS03 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS06 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIL_02 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS02 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS05 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIL_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS01 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.28.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS04 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIL_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS01 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS04 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS07 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIL_03 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS03 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS06 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIL_02 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS02 | Classroom A1 |
| 07.06.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /TI-ECTS05 | Classroom A1 |