(349d) Chemical Engineering Laboratory at the University of Delaware

A comprehensive laboratory course is an important component for adequately preparing engineering students for future careers in industry.  The University of Delaware (UD) Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) has recognized the importance of such a course and has committed significant resources and effort towards continuous improvement.  Chemical Engineering Laboratory I, more commonly known as Junior lab or J-lab is offered to students in the Spring semester of their Junior year, and seeks to reinforce ChE fundamentals, technical writing, oral presentation, teamwork, leadership skills and safety practices.  Five experiments focused on chemical kinetics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer and engineering instrumentation provide the connection with the theory taught in the core ChE courses.  The Junior lab provides the first opportunity for undergraduate students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from coursework to actual chemical engineering experiments.  Senior lab is offered to students in the Fall semester and includes additional elements on design and cost analysis. Senior lab consists of three experiments focused on the distillation of a methanol-water mixture, fermentation and protein purification, and production of biodiesel from vegetable oil.  The lab also exposes students to pilot plant scale equipment and reinforces theories taught in the advanced core CBE courses. 

The undergraduate lab provides a comprehensive and well-developed program which can lead to significant academic growth for the students.  The UD CBE department dedicates significant resources for the Junior and Senior labs.  A team of four professors, four graduate teaching assistants (TAs), and two laboratory technicians operate, maintain and work to continuously improve the labs.  In total the Junior and Senior lab consists of nine different experiments: fundamentals of measurement (FOM), heat exchange (HEX), vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE), fluid mechanics (FLO), chemical kinetics (KIN), distillation (DIST), biodiesel (BIOD), fermentation (FERM) and fuel cell (FUEL). 

This presentation will provide an overview of the Junior and Senior labs taught at UD and a detailed analysis of the recently introduced chemical kinetics experiment.