Teaching Labs

Unit Operations Lab

The world-class Unit Operations Lab offers a 6,500-square-foot, multistory learning area, making it one of the largest pilot-scale educational facilities dedicated to chemical processing. The facility includes two pilot-scale experiments: a three-story distillation column and a two-story batch reactor. Students work in the lab as part of the chemical engineering capstone experience, gaining exposure to the primary unit operations and the instrumentation, control, and process management technologies common to the multifaceted chemical process industries. In addition to performing traditional experiments on heat exchange, drying, filtration, separations, and fluid flow, students also study reaction kinetics, biochemical processes, membranes, and polymer processing.

Location: Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building Basement; Control Room, 107
Contact: Jeana Collins


Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory

Provides an integrated biological-process laboratory experience, including fermentation with downstream bioseparation, for the production of a purified product of significant commercial interest.

Location: ChemSci 205
Contact: David Shonnard


Chemical Engineering Fundamentals Laboratory

The Chemical Engineering Fundamentals junior-level course, which is required for all chemical engineering majors, is taught in this space. This lab introduces students to basic laboratory methods and instrumentation used in the measurement of fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer. Lab activities include methods of statistical data analysis, experimental design, principles of measurement and instrumentation, and presentation of data.

Location: ChemSci 103
Contact: Find course instructors in Schedule of Classes.


Process Control Laboratory

In this lab, students create a feedback process control loop. First they learn to convert low-level voltage signals from process instrumentation into a measured value in engineering units. The instrument signal is then filtered and passed on to a feedback controller. The feedback controller is programmed to control a regulatory valve position that maintains the physical process at a desired state or level.

Location: ChemSci 103
Contact: Find course instructors in Schedule of Classes.