Process Technology

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Overview

At Bellingham Technical College, the Process Technology Program will prepare you for a position as a process technician or operator for employers in power generation, refining, manufacturing, and many other industries. Process technicians work to ensure the safety standards of production and assembly lines, and oversee quality for an employer’s processes. Currently, our primary employers in Washington State are the four refineries in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Graduates have also gone to work in other water treatment, power generation, and manufacturing facilities in our region, across Washington State, and beyond.

Program Outcomes

After successfully completing the AAS degree, students will be able to:

• Appraise the typical hazards found in process plants, basic PPE, and know the requirements of regulating bodies regarding safety, health, and environmental issues (OSHA, DPT, EPA)
• Combine mathematics, chemistry, and physics theory to apply to process applications such as fluid flow, the nature of heat, chemical reaction, boiling points, vapor pressure, and electrical currents
• Recognize typical organizational structures, economics, and quality control systems of the process technology industry
• Appraise fundamentals of refining and power generation processes; identify core functions and principles of operation of typical process equipment such as pumps, compressors, filters and dryers, lubrication systems, valves, piping systems, and draw from memory process flow diagrams
• Integrate the principles of process automatic control and data control systems (DSC) to manage simulated DCS scenarios

After successfully completing the Process Technology certificate, students will be able to:

• Appraise the typical hazards found in process plants, basic PPE, and know the requirements of regulating bodies regarding safety, health, and environmental issues (OSHA, DPT, EPA)
• Combine mathematics, chemistry, and physics theory to apply to process applications such as fluid flow, the nature of heat, chemical reaction, boiling points, vapor pressure, and electrical currents
• Appraise fundamentals of refining and power generation processes; identify core functions and principles of operation of typical process equipment such as pumps, compressors, filters and dryers, lubrication systems, valves, piping systems, and draw from memory process flow diagram

After successfully completing the Water and Wastewater Treatment certificate, students will be able to:

• Appraise the typical hazards found in water and wastewater treatment plants, basic PPE, and know the requirements of regulating bodies regarding safety, health, and environmental issues (OSHA, DOT, EPA).
• Apprise fundamentals of water and wastewater treatment processes; know core functions and principles of operation of typical process equipment such as pumps, compressors, filters and dryers, lubrication systems, valves, piping systems, and draw from memory Process Flow Diagrams.
• Integrate the principles of process automatic control and Data Control Systems (DCS) to manage simulated DCS scenarios.
• Graduates will have the ability to compare actual water and wastewater plant experience versus preconceived notions.

Placement Requirements

Admissions application and assessment in Reading, Math, and Writing is required. Your placement will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.

Degree and Certificate Requirements

Process Technology AAS Degree and Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher and minimum grade of C/2.0 for AMATH 111  course. Process Technology AAS-T Degree completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher and minimum grade of C/2.0 for all General Education courses.

Programs

• Process Technology, AAS

• Process Technology, AAS-T

• Process Technology Certificate
• Water and Wastewater Treatment, Certificate

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