CHEG 2103 Process Units (Units 1-3)

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Pump

A process unit that transfers liquid or solid materials, typically increasing pressure or velocity in doing so

Centrifugal Pump

A type of pump that uses rotating, fan-like impellers to move material; works best with thin liquids and suspensions of solids; creates high-pressure flows when in series and large volumetric flow rates in parallel

Positive-Displacement Pump

A type of pump that forces material into a chamber and out a discharge pipe using rotating or oscillating pieces (such as plungers or pistons); best for thick materials like viscous oils and concentrated solids

Gear Pump

A type of positive-displacement pump that forces material through rotating, metal-to-metal gear teeth

Rotary Lobe Pump

A type of positive-displacement pump that gently conveys fluids through rotating rotors that don’t touch; works for solids, slurries, and pastes

Diaphragm Pump

A type of positive-displacement pump that operates by moving a membrane back and forth, using air pressure to shove material forward and create a flow

Gas Pump

A pump that delivers gasoline from underground tanks to a vehicle's gas tank

Sump Pump

A pump that removes groundwater from a home’s basement

Fuel Pump

A pump that transfers fuel from a gas tank to an engine

Peristaltic Pump

A positive-displacement pump that transports liquids by squeezing a flexible tube in a circular casing; can be used to circulate blood during surgery

Cavitation

The formation of small bubbles in centrifugal pumps due to low-pressure areas on the suction side; can punch holes into the pump

Distillation Column

A process unit used to separate components by exploiting differences in their boiling points; contains many trays heated at different temperatures

Vacuum Distillation Column

A type of distillation column that operates below atmospheric pressure and produces lower boiling points, allowing for faster separations and lower energy usage; more expensive than atmospheric pumps

Mixer

A process unit that combines multiple streams or components; can involve more than one phase of matter

Extruder

A type of mixer that pushes material through a die of a desired cross-section; used to mix solid-liquid systems, including polymers in the process of plastic-making

Static Mixer

A type of mixer that divides and reorients flow (typically liquid) by redirecting it through nonmoving parts; often placed inside pipes, and thus vulnerable to pressure drops or blockage; also referred to as in-line mixer

Mechanical Mixer

A large type of mixer that uses rotating internal parts to blend liquid and/or solid materials together

Sparge Mixer

A type of mixer that boils nonreactive gases through liquids to create mixing; vulnerable to foaming and asphyxiation

Filter

A process unit that removes unwanted components (typically solids) from feed streams (typically liquids, sometimes gases)

Plate and Frame Filter

A type of filter that uses many horizontally stacked plates in series, allowing filter cake to accumulate; lasts many cycles, but is difficult to clean; typically involves high-temperature streams, and can pinch clothing when assembled

Carbon Filter

A type of filter that uses porous solid plates of activated carbon to adsorb unwanted gaseous materials out of a gas stream (or chlorine, from drinking water); vulnerable to dust particle release during cleaning

Inline Bag Filter

A type of filter that traps solid particles inside of a filter sock, removing them typically from liquid streams; can be vulnerable to piping overpressurization + ruptures

Evaporator

A process unit that separates components at the surface of a liquid or liquid-solid mixture by heating them into the gas phase; lighter components with lower boiling points exit through the top, and heavier components with higher boiling points exit through the bottom

Condenser

A process unit that cools a gas stream until some or all of the streams becomes a liquid

Total Condenser

A condenser that condenses all of the gaseous feed stream into liquid; often used to condense the light product of a distillation column, recycling some of the effluent stream back into the column via a reflux stream

Partial Condenser

A condenser that condenses only some of the gaseous feed stream into liquid

Reboiler

A process unit that boils the heavy product of a distillation column, recycling some of the effluent stream back into the column via a boilup stream

Reactor

A process unit dedicated towards performing chemical reactions

Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor

A type of reactor that exists in a tank surrounded by a jacket to provide temperature control and a mixer to stir; operates at steady state, with continuously flowing streams; materials stay in a for a fixed amount of time, called a residence time

Valve

A process unit that controls the flow of a material through a process

Ball Valve

A type of valve that contains a hollow, pivoting ball that opens and closes by quickly turning a handle one quarter-turn; material inside the valve in closed position can expand and cause cracks

Gate Valve

A type of valve that controls flow in pipes by lifting and lowering a gate via the slow rotation of a circular stern; when open, the stem protrudes and can be snapped off