Bio-based senior chemical engineering laboratory course

Abstract

In the senior chemical engineering laboratory course, chemical engineering principles are applied to the evaluation and reporting of the performance of bench scale and pilot scale process equipment. Over the past two years the experiments have been revamped to reflect the emphasis on biological engineering in the workplace of many of the recent chemical engineering graduates. Such emphasis is also reflected in current ABET guidelines. The new experiments are thematic based and use the protein processing techniques that are part of the authorspsila individual collagen research programs. This thematic approach is all within the context of the fluid, heat and mass transfer content of the coursework. The key experiments that are performed include: drying, calorimetry (DSC), milling, centrifugation, dispersion, blending, vacuum systems (ovens and lyophilizers), convective heat transfer (for heating and freezing), viscometry, particle settling, microscopy, protein kinetics (crosslinking, denaturing, and modification), controlled release diffusion studies, and gel extraction. Several of the experiments are grouped as a modular approach to the manufacture of a bio-based product. As an example, artificial tissue for direct application or as a coating is produced in a process that covers several weeks and requires many different unit operations. Experimental data as well as pedagogical data is presented from the initial two years of the offering of modification of this course.