Chemical Laboratories

A student working on a computer in the chemical engineering labs

We have two fuel cell laboratories including a gas safe lab for 24/7 unattended running of fuel cells. They are equipped with state-of-the-art technology

These include wet chemistry labs capable of:

  • corrosion measurement
  • low current detection
  • electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

which we have combined with Quartz Crystal Microbalance and a liquid-liquid extraction cell.

Our other facilities include:

  • Scanning electron microscopes
  • Energy dispersive X-ray analysis
  • UV-visible spectroscopy
  • Raman spectroscopy
  • X-ray fluorescence

Materials fabrication facilities include a sputter coater for thin layer deposition and photoinduced electroless deposition rigs.

The active laboratory includes a glove box and can handle open sources of ionising radiation. You can discuss this further with the Departmental Radiation Officer.

Our Equipment

Basic Process Module

Basic Process Module

  • Armfield PCT40
  • A multi-function process control teaching system, capable of demonstrating level, flow, pressure and temperature control loops
Chemical Batch Reactor

Chemical Batch Reactor

  • Armfield CEXC Chemical Batch Reactor Unit – CEB
  • A small-scale batch reactor for use with the Chemical Reactors Service Unit designed to demonstrate both adiabatic and isothermal operation. The demonstration of temperature on reaction kinetics, rate equation, activation energy and temperature effects on exothermic reactions.
Chemical Tubular Reactor

Chemical Tubular Reactor

  • Armfield CEXC Chemical Tubular Reactor Unit CET
  • The 20m long reactor coil is mounted in a clear acrylic vessel through which heating or cooling medium is circulated. Volume of reactor coil is 0.4l. Two heat exchanger coils bring the reactants up to the reaction temperature separately before they are mixed to start the reaction, measurements of temperature, conductivity, reaction rate and residence time can be investigated.
Distillation Column

Distillation Column

  • Armfield UOP3
  • Investigation of pressure drop across a column, column efficiency, and temperature monitoring within the system.
  • Samples are taken to measure different components such as refractive index.
Filtration Unit

Filtration Unit

  • Armfield UOP12 Filtration Unit
  • The unit demonstrates the principles of batch filtration using a fully functional plate and frame filter system extremely important in the chemical, food and water industries. Flow and pressure rates are monitored relating to economical experimentation.
Gas/Liquid Absorption Column

Gas/Liquid Absorption Column

  • Armfield UOP7 MKII
  • Study of basic principles of the absorption of a gas into a liquid using a packed column including the determination of loading and flooding points, mass transfer coefficient and chemical and physical absorption.
  • Also, investigation of the effectiveness of CO2 absorption in pure water and in an aqueous.
Heat Exchanger Service Unit

Heat Exchanger Service Unit

  • Armfield HT30XC
  • Plate and Tubular interchangeable units designed to illustrate the principles and techniques of indirect heat transfer between fluid streams.
Liquid/Liquid Extraction Unit

Liquid/Liquid Extraction Unit

  • Armfield UOP5 MKII
  • Liquid /Liquid extraction is an important operation in chemical engineering where the separation of one or more of the components from a liquid mixture is required.
  • Investigation into the interaction of aqueous and organic flow phases and calculation of the mass transfer coefficient for the system.
Mastersizer Hydro

Mastersizer Hydro

  • Malvern Mastersizer Hydro MV
  • The laser diffraction particle size analyser delivers rapid, accurate particle size distributions for both wet and dry dispersions with the minimum of effort. Measuring over the nanometre to millimetre particle size ranges, it packs exceptional performance into the smallest of footprints.
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)

Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)

  • NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter
  • The simultaneous thermal analyser NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter® allows the measurement of mass changes and thermal effects between -150°C and 2400°C
UV-Visible Spectrophotometer

UV-Visible Spectrophotometer

  • Thermo Scientific UV-Visible Spectrophotometer Evolution 220
  • Analysis of samples via absorption or transmittance in the ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy region used for quantitate analysis of different analytes within a solution.
Water Cooling Tower

Water Cooling Tower

  • Armfield UOP6- MKII Water Cooling Tower
  • The Computer Controlled Water Cooling Tower comprises a cooling tower mounted on top of a heated water reservoir. As the water descends through the packing material it is fan-cooled, blowing air upwards through the tower. Energy and mass balances are obtained where the air flow, water flow, temperature, packing density, and operation can be investigated.