Teaching Laboratories

Students in Lafayette ChBE receive laboratory experiences ranging from bench to pilot-plant scale operations.

Analytical Laboratory

The Analytical Lab (CHE 131B) is used across multiple courses in the ChBE curriculum for characterization and quantifaction of collected samples in lab. In Experimental Design (CHE 322) and Integrated Chemical Engineering (CHE 412), students are able to identify distillation efficiency and VLE properties using gas chromatographic and reflectometry techniques.

Highlighted Equipment/Processes
  • Scion Instruments 436 GC system
  • Shimadzu Organic Analyzer TOC-L
  • Agilent 7890A GC system
  • Pro Team LC System 210 (prep chromatography)
  • Fisher 300 Isotemp oven
  • Isotemp refrigerator

Experimental Design I Laboratory

In the Experimental Design I Laboratory (AEC 131D), students are exposed to fundamental concepts of momentum transport phenomena and thermodynamics in the first of our experimental laboratory courses, CHE 312.

Highlighted Equipment/Processes
  • Brookfield viscometry
  • Cannon-Fenske viscometry
  • UV-Visible light spectrophotometry
  • Bomb calorimetry

Unit Operations Laboratory

The Unit Operations Laboratory (AEC 131/233) houses experiments for our program’s junior-level Experimental Design II course and senior-level Integrated Chemical Engineering course. Students have the opportunity to develop their skills in mass/heat transfer, separations, and process control via a variety of plant-scale experiences.

12056563566_723be69a2c_hHighlighted Equipment/Processes (AEC 131)
  • Reverse osmosis membrane setup (including pump, piping and holding tank)
  • Pipe rack setup
  • Heat exchanger setup (including heat exchanger, Pick heater and piping)
  • Othmer still setup (including heaters and condensers)
  • Bioreactor setup (including impeller and pH probe)
  • CSTR setup (including UV-Vis spectrophotometer, two impellers and three pumps)
  • Twin column distillation column setup (including various pumps, condensers, piping, kettle heater, heaters and digital control system)
  • Packed bed column setup (including heat exchanger, piping compressor, blower and muffler)
  • Emerson vacuum pump
  • Riehle Charpy Impact Tester (stored for ES 231 teaching)
  • Millipore Elix 10 Water deionization system
Highlighted Equipment/Processes (AEC 233)
  • ChemGlass Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor
  • Fluidized Beds experimental setups (4)
  • Plas Labs Controlled Atmosphere Chamber