(299a) Separation Processes Course: A Vehicle for Introducing Basic Principles of Particle Science and Technology and Needs of Various Value-Added Product Industries

A great majority of the chemicals and value-added products is multi-phase in nature containing two or more phases. Usually, there exist a continuous phase and dispersed phase in the form of powders, granules, droplets, aerosols, suspensions, etc. Interestingly, most undergraduate engineering curricula including chemical engineering focus on single-phase, single or multi-component systems, largely ignoring the multi-phase systems that are of interest to a multitude of industries such as pharmaceuticals, inks, paints, detergents, and ceramics. Most chemical engineering students graduate with little to no knowledge of such systems. Such basic dispersed-phase concepts as particle size distribution, morphology, porosity, bulk density, surface area, etc. must be learned in industry through on-the-job or external training programs. Particle change mechanisms such as nucleation, growth/shrinkage, breakage and agglomeration are commonly observed in almost all industrial particulate processes; yet, such mechanistic understanding is largely lacking in industry due to the fact that chemical engineers have usually not been exposed to these types of rate processes in their formal education and training.

Incorporation of fundamental concepts of Particle Science and Technology can be introduced either as a stand-alone, elective undergraduate course or in the scope of a core chemical engineering course. In this paper, we illustrate our efforts to incorporate basic concepts of Particle Science and Technology into the undergraduate core course titled “Separation Processes II”. Specific examples will be given in the context of several unit operations such as drying and crystallization as applied to Pharmaceutical Industry, where concepts of dispersed phase properties and particle change mechanisms are introduced. The presentation will also discuss some pedagogical tools such as conceptual questions in assessment, active learning, and lab visits that enhance the student learning process.