Aims

The aim of this module is to give the participants an understanding of separation process technology currently used in the modern chemical industry.

This module gives an overview of the technology and design methods for five industrially important separation techniques; crystallisation, solids separation, advanced distillation, membrane separation processes and adsorption based processes.

Outline Of Syllabus

Crystallisation
i.       Nucleation processes
ii.       Crystal growth
iii.       Heat effects
iv.       Design of crystallisers

Solids Handling
i.       Filtration
ii.       Centrifuges
iii.       Sedimenters
iv.       Cyclones and hydro-cyclones.
v.       Fluidisation and fluidised bed design parameters

Advanced Distillation
i.       Azeotropic distillation
ii.       Multi-component distillation
iii.       Batch distillation

Membranes
i.       Membrane fluxes and membrane characteristics. Asymmetric membranes.
ii.       Reverse osmosis.
iii.       Ultrafiltration.
iv.       Microfiltration.
v.       Gas permeation

Adsorption
i.       Adsorption Isotherms
ii.       Chromatography
iii.       Gas adsorption
iv.       Ion Exchange

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures explain key concepts and outline illustrative examples. Tutorial and assessed problems will develop the student’s understanding of the subject area.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The compulsory questions in section A of the exam will be used to assess the understanding of the basic principles of the separation processes studied in this module. The questions in Section B of the exam will assess the understanding of the design methods used for the separation processes studied in this module.

The assignment is split into two parts.

1. Design of an azeotropic distillation system (8 hours). It is often the case that azeotropes occur when recycling mixed solvent systems. This prevents the use of simple distillation for solvent recovery. This assignment will assess the students' understanding of the methods used to conceptually design distillation systems to separate such systems.

2. Application of Adsorption/Membrane systems (8 hours). Many separation processes, for example the desalination of sea water, can be achieved by several separation methods including adsorption, ion-exchange and membrane separation. Students will be asked to design a separation system to solve a given separation problem. They will have to compare different separation technologies on the basis of safety, sustainability and overall cost.