The project that optimizes the acrylonitrile plant and wins the Award
A URV team has won the LyondellBasell Award for a project that optimizes the acrylonitrile plant. The reward? A real working day at the company's plant and the opportunity to face the job market with more resources.
The award ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Higher Technical School of Chemical Engineering (ETSEQ) in Tarragona, with the presence of representatives from the company and the university.
Winning design and awarded team
Technical project and evaluation criteria
The project that generated the most consensus among the evaluation committee is a design to optimize an acrylonitrile plant. The group of students stood out for their technical rigor and teamwork ability. Additionally, their oratory skills and clear defense of their ideas during the presentation were valued.
Team members
The team is made up of Gemma Marca Bergadà, Anna García Bel, Mario Aragonès Espínola, Daniel Arrabal Agramunt, Luis Contreras Cáceres, Biel García Munné, Clàudia Jacob Font, Alejandro Marín Garnica, Gabriel Palau i Aparicio, and Adriana Roldán Carro. All of them are in their third year at ETSEQ and are part of the CDIO program, which combines theory and practice.
Day at LyondellBasell and educational collaboration
Visit to the plant and the award
The prize allows the winners to visit LyondellBasell's facilities, see the plant in operation, and share experiences with active professionals in the sector. They will also receive a book on leadership and managing cultural differences, key tools for future engineers.
Commitment between university and company
ETSEQ and LyondellBasell maintain a teaching alliance that supports the practical training of students. This collaboration facilitates direct contact with the industrial sector, a necessity to prepare professionals aligned with the reality of the job market.
Award ceremony and institutional presence
Members of the presidential table
The event featured the presence of the URV rector, Josep Pallarès; Víctor Alfaro, representative of LyondellBasell; the director of ETSEQ, Ioannis Katakis; and professors Dieter-Thomas Boer and Joan Herrero, academic leaders who provided the university perspective.
Joint evaluation and assessment
The jury was composed of representatives from the company and ETSEQ, who valued everything from the technical quality to the students’ oral expression. The excellence of the winning project reflects the ability to adapt theory to real situations in the chemical sector.
The project has put Tarragona and URV on the map of chemical innovation, with an award that not only recognizes talent but also opens doors to the professional world.
Source of the article: Rovira i Virgili University
