Unit Operations Lab Courses

Undergraduates are required to complete two Unit Operations Lab courses, including active participation in lab experiments. Unit Operations Labs are designed to be as safe as possible. Every student who enrolls in the Unit Operations Labs will be given the proper safety training before being allowed to participate in active lab operations.

This training includes:

• Use of proper personal protective devices such as bump caps, safety glasses, etc.
• Safety videos and demonstrations pertinent to lab operations
• Safe operating practices for each experiment
• Location and use of emergency equipment
• Numerous safety rules are posted and enforced

One side is devoted to the junior lab, CHE 3070, in which teams of three or four students conduct four single-lab period experiments over the semester. Several different pilot-scale devices are available for pumps, fluid flow, and heat transfer experiments. Mass and energy balances are also a routine part of these experiments.

The other side of the UO lab is devoted to the senior lab, CHE 4070, which focuses on separation processes and reactions. Each student team of three or four students conducts three or four multi-day experiments. Most of the pilot-scale equipment in this section is set up for continuous operation.

Primary Educational Objectives

The primary educational objectives in the laboratory are for the students to learn to work as a team, plan and implement sound experimental programs, verify theoretical concepts and evaluate empirical models that describe how unit operations work and communicate their findings. An integral part of each Unit Operations Laboratory experiment conducted by students is an analysis of safety precautions, which includes the development of safe procedures for the particular apparatus and evaluation of the equipment for safe operation.