Multi-Functional Membrane Separation Educational Pilot Plant for Unit Operations Lab

Introduction

The Multi-functional Membrane Separation Educational Unit Operations Pilot Plant is an integrated, bench-scale laboratory system designed for undergraduate engineering education. It combines three essential membrane separation technologies—Ultrafiltration (UF), Nanofiltration (NF), and Reverse Osmosis (RO)—into a single, compact unit. This equipment enables students to gain hands-on experience in observing fluid behavior, operating industrial-grade membrane modules, and performing quantitative analyses on parameters such as membrane flux and solute rejection rates.

To ensure this equipment aligns precisely with your specific laboratory curriculum and space constraints, we offer comprehensive customization options. Both the hardware layout and the accompanying software control interfaces can be modified to meet the unique pedagogical objectives of your department.

Key Pedagogical Functions and Advantages

• Comprehensive Technology Integration: Houses ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis modules on a single platform, allowing for direct comparative studies of separation efficiencies across different molecular weights and pore sizes.
• Quantitative Engineering Analysis: Enables students to calculate critical process variables, including membrane permeation flux, membrane resistance, concentration polarization effects, and solute rejection rates.
• Visualized Flow Channels: Constructed with high-transparency piping and clear components, allowing instructors and students to visually trace fluid paths and monitor hydrodynamic changes during operation.
• Durable and Mobile Design: Mounted on a robust, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy frame equipped with industrial-grade casters, ensuring both longevity in a busy lab environment and ease of storage.
• Dual Operation Modes: Supports manual control via traditional valves and instrumentation, alongside digital data acquisition and monitoring on an integrated touchscreen panel to familiarize students with modern industrial control systems.

Detail & Parts

Technical Specifications and Curriculum Mapping

The table below outlines the physical specifications of the pilot plant, the target experimental modules, and how they correspond to the fundamental principles taught in core engineering courses.

Academic Integration with Classic Engineering Curricula

This educational pilot plant is developed to serve as a physical counterpart to standard theoretical engineering textbooks. By performing experiments on this unit, students can directly observe and validate the concepts they read about in lectures, bridging the gap between mathematical models and practical engineering.

• Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering: The system provides concrete demonstrations of mass transfer across semi-permeable barriers. Students can measure how feed concentration and operating pressure influence membrane flux, directly testing the theories of concentration polarization and membrane fouling discussed in standard unit operations curricula.
• Transport Processes and Unit Operations: The pilot plant serves as an ideal platform for examining transport phenomena. Instructors can design labs around fluid flow through porous media, pressure-driven transport of liquid solvents through membranes, and the thermodynamics of osmotic pressure during reverse osmosis.
• Chemical Engineering Design: For senior-level students, the pilot plant offers a realistic model for studying system scaling, process flow diagramming (PFDs), mass balances, and the optimization of multi-stage separation systems.

To accommodate different teaching styles, course schedules, and laboratory manuals, both the software interface and the hardware layout of this pilot plant can be customized to support your department's specific syllabus requirements.

About LABPARK

LABPARK has been dedicated to serving the global higher education sector for more than 20 years, focusing on delivering high-quality, practical laboratory solutions. We specialize in six core academic fields: chemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology, food engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, and environmental engineering. Our continuous drive for innovation is supported by 209 technical patents and a state-of-the-art production and R&D facility spanning 49,000 square meters.

We have established successful partnerships with over 289 universities and colleges worldwide. By focusing on safety, pedagogical clarity, and robust engineering standards, LABPARK remains committed to helping academic institutions train the next generation of engineers through hands-on, practical learning.

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