TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

By EMILY RODRIGUEZ

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES WHY STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS? BACKGROUND POLLUTION SOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL SEPARATIONS HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION THE SULFUR PROBLEM: WHERE SEPARATIONS CAN HELP REMEMBER QUESTIONS SEPARATIONS AS UNIT OPERATIONS UNIT OPERATIONS SEPARATION MECHANISMS EQUILIBRIUM-BASED PROCESSES RATE-BASED PROCESSES COUNTERCURRENT OPERATION PRODUCTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY SEPARATING AGENTS REVERSIBLE CHEMICAL COMPLEXATION SELECTION OF A SEPARATION PROCESS A UNI?ED VIEW OF SEPARATIONS PROBLEMS SEPARATIONS ANALYSIS FUNDAMENTALS BASIC DESCRIPTION OF MASS BALANCES DEGREES OF FREEDOM ANALYSIS PHASE EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM-LIMITED ANALYSIS BINARY FEED MIXTURES MINIMUM NUMBER OF STAGES RATE-LIMITED PROCESSES DISTILLATION BATCH DISTILLATION CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION NOMENCLATURE EXTRACTION ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS DE?NITION OF EXTRACTION TERMS EXTRACTION EQUIPMENT LEACHING PROCESSES MINIMUM SOLVENT ?OWRATE COUNTERCURRENT EXTRACTION WITH FEED AT INTERMEDIATE STAGE MINIMUM AND TOTAL RE?UX IMMISCIBLE EXTRACTION: MCCABE–THIELE ANALYSIS MORE EXTRACTION-RELATED EXAMPLES ABSORPTION AND STRIPPING COLUMN DIAMETER MCCABE–THIELE ANALYSIS: ABSORPTION MCCABE–THIELE ANALYSIS: STRIPPING PACKED COLUMNS ADSORPTION ADSORPTION PRINCIPLES SORBENT SELECTION VARIOUS SORBENTS SORBENT REGENERATION TRANSPORT PROCESSES PROCESS DESIGN FACTORS EVALUATING THE ADSORPTION PROCESS DESIGN OF ?XED-BED ADSORPTION COLUMNS ION EXCHANGE ION-EXCHANGE MECHANISMS ION-EXCHANGE MEDIA EQUILIBRIA EQUIPMENT AND DESIGN PROCEDURES MEMBRANES MEMBRANE DE?NITION PLUSES AND MINUSES FOR MEMBRANE PROCESSES BASIC PARAMETERS AND SEPARATION MECHANISMS DENSE MEMBRANES POROUS MEMBRANES MEMBRANE CON?GURATIONS MEMBRANE PROCESSES FACTORS THAT REDUCE MEMBRANE PERFORMANCE EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION POLARIZATION ON MEMBRANE PERFORMANCE GEOMEMBRANES WHY STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS? THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL RELEASED A REPORT [1] THAT STATES: THE EXPANDING WORLD POPULATION IS HAVING A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON OUR ECOSYSTEM, SINCE THE ENVIRONMENT MUST ULTIMATELY ACCOMMODATE ALL HUMAN-DERIVED WASTE MATERIALS THE INDUSTRIES THAT PROVIDE US WITH FOOD, ENERGY AND SHELTER ALSO INTRODUCE POLLUTANTS INTO THE AIR, WATER, AND LAND THE POTENTIAL FOR AN INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WILL INEVITABLY RESULT IN SOCIETY’S SETTING EVEN LOWER ALLOWABLE LEVELS FOR POLLUTANTS