Unit Operations 2 - Fluid Technology

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Integrate knowledge of health, safety and sustainability into the design of industrial separations;

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Apply methods to characterise the performance of separations and mixing processes;
• Critically evaluate different separation processes and select the most appropriate for different types of separations;

Cognitive Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Apply concepts of fluids dynamics, heat and mass transfer in separation processes;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Describe methods used for the processing of fluids, including the thermodynamic and transport properties and mass and energy balances;

Disciplinary Specific Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Apply the principles of the different unit operations in the design of separation units for industrial processes,

Thermodynamics and phase equilibria. Ternary diagrams and tie-lines.

Distillation operations: description of the distillation process; methods of distillation including batch, continuous, and flash distillation; methods for design of distillation systems including the McCabe-Thiele and Ponchon-Savarit methods; Efficiency and limiting conditions of binary distillation; multicomponent distillation and the Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland method; azetropic and extractive distillation.

Leaching and extraction: general and working principles of leaching and extraction; leaching equipment including Bollman and Hildebrandt extractors; extraction equipment including mixer-settlers, spray and packed extraction towers, and agitated tower extractors; determination of solvent rates and number of theoretical stages for continuous countercurrent and multistage extraction operations.

Absorption: description of absorption and the associated mass and energy balances; solvent selection, equilibrium stages, limiting cases.

Gas-liquid equipment: columns, packing, mass transfer and transfer to a stagnant layer (concentrated and dilute), two-film theory, equimolar counterdiffusion, number of transfer units and height of a transfer unit.

Green Chemistry and Separations: Principles of Green Chemistry; energy and material flow analysis; Material and Energy Conservation; Waste Minimisation; Green solvents.

Teaching will be done with a combination of formal lectures, paper-based problem-solving sessions and laboratory sessions. There will be a emphasis on active learning techniques, including workshops and tutorial sessions that focus on exercises and problems

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.