The population balance equation (PBE) is a useful tool to predict particle size distributions in granulation processes. When PBE is taught to advanced chemical engineering students, the internal coordinates (particle properties) are particularly hard to understand. In this paper, the flow of particles along different coordinates is carefully…

Do people realize that chemistry plays a key role in helping solve some of the most serious problems facing the world today? Chemists want to find the building blocks of the chemical universe--the molecules that form materials, living cells and whole organisms. Many chemists are medical explorers looking for new ways to maintain and improve…

In this lab experiment, screen-printed electrode strips are used to illustrate the essential concepts of electrochemistry, giving students an opportunity to explore metal electrodeposition processes. In the past, metal electrodeposition experiments were seldom included in general chemistry labs because of the difficulty of maintaining separate…

This paper focuses on the use of scaling aspects for understanding transport processes with reaction in catalytic pores and pellets. The idea is to identify a systematic up-scaling approach in the learning process to help students with several concepts related to the transport-reaction process and the mathematical description associated with them.…

Advances in biology are prompting new discoveries in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical technology, and chemical industries. This paper presents a detailed description of an anion exchange chromatography experiment using a pair of colorful proteins and summarizes the effect of operating parameters on protein separation. This experiment…

A realistic applied chemical engineering experimental design and statistical analysis project is documented in this article. This project has been implemented as part of the professional development and applied statistics courses at Villanova University over the past five years. The novel aspects of this project are that the students are given a…

Students frequently confuse and incorrectly apply the several "deltas" that are used in chemical engineering. The deltas come in three different flavors: "out minus in", "big minus little" and "now versus then." The first applies to a change in a stream property as the stream flows through a process. For example, the "[delta]H" in an energy…

Solid-liquid and liquid-liquid mixing experiments have been developed to provide students with a practical experience on suspension and emulsification processes. The laboratory focuses on the characterization of the process efficiency, specifically the influence of the main operating parameters and the effect of the impeller type. (Contains 2…

Examples of conceptests and suggestions for preparing them for use in an undergraduate, chemical engineering thermodynamics course are presented. Conceptests, combined with hand-held transmitters (clickers), is an effective method to engage students in class. This method motivates students, improves their functional understanding of…

Ask a graduating chemical engineering student the following question: What makes one reactor different from the next? The answers received will often be unsatisfactory and will vary widely in scope. Some may cite the difference between the basic design equations, others may point out a PFR is "longer," and still others may state that it…

A particle technology design problem incorporating population balance modeling was developed and assigned to senior and first-year graduate students in a Particle Science and Technology course. The problem focused on particle collection, with a pipeline agglomerator, Cyclone, and baghouse comprising the collection system. The problem was developed…

Advances in the biological sciences necessitate the training of chemical engineers to translate these fundamental discoveries into applications that will benefit society. Accordingly, Tulane University revised its core chemical engineering curriculum in 2005 to include a new introductory course in bioengineering and biotechnology for sophomores.…

This laboratory experiment was designed to demonstrate the application of immobilized galactosidase in food industry to hydrolyze raffinose family oligosaccharides in soymilk. This laboratory experiment was conducted for postgraduate students of biochemistry and developed for graduate and undergraduate students of biochemistry, biotechnology,…

At Florida Tech, we have incorporated DataFit from Oakdale Engineering throughout the entire curriculum, beginning with ChE 1102, an eight-week, one-day-per-week, two-hour, one-credit-hour, second-semester Introduction to Chemical Engineering course in a hands-on computer classroom. Our experience is that students retain data analysis concepts…

An exercise to compute LLE data is presented to illustrate the problems that can arise when the isoactivity equilibrium condition is used in the LLE calculations. A much more efficient condition is obtained when isoactivity is combined with the common tangent line criterion, avoiding false solutions that correspond with very low values of the…