Separations Processes

Full course description

The course integrates insights from with the mathematical courses, Chemical Engineering, Basic Programming Skills and Heat and Mass Transfer and introduces you to various separation techniques used in the field of chemical engineering. You learn when and how to use these techniques by studying key concepts and by performing design calculations. One example is the evaporative separation in distillation towers. These towers are designed to separate liquid mixtures based on a difference of volatility and with the McCabe-Thiele method you can calculate the size of the column to separate the liquids. Similar approaches studied are absorption techniques, liquid-liquid extractions, crystallization or precipitation and filtration. Lastly, you are required to analyse strengths and weaknesses of the separation techniques and convert this knowledge to criteria such as economics, feasibility, product stability, reliability and sustainability and circularity and use these for the selection of separation methods in sustainable chemical processes.