(598c) Bridging Theory and Practice: Student Training with Pilot-Scale Distillation at the University of Kansas

Experiential learning with industrial equipment remains a cornerstone in the education of future chemical engineers. This was underscored in the 2022 report “New Directions for Chemical Engineering” by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Interviews with chemical engineers from both industry and academia reaffirmed the critical role of hands-on experiences in preparing competent professionals. While industrial internships offer valuable exposure, the number of available positions is significantly lower than the number of students seeking them. For many, Unit Operations Laboratory courses provide the most accessible and impactful opportunity to engage with industrial-scale processes. Integrating pilot-scale equipment into these courses ensures that all students gain meaningful, industry-relevant experience as part of their academic training.

At the University of Kansas, the Unit Operations Laboratory is purposefully designed to emulate an industrial environment. The facility includes a two-level high-bay area specifically built to support pilot-scale experiments. A dedicated control room adjacent to the ground floor is separated by a glass window, allowing direct observation of the equipment. A live camera feed from the second level enables remote monitoring of operations in real time. Each pilot unit is equipped with a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and a computer workstation with dual 27-inch monitors. Handheld tablets are wirelessly connected to the PLCs and workstations, enabling flexible monitoring and control from within the high-bay space.

This paper presents the student learning experience associated with operating a pilot-scale distillation column, introduced into the Unit Operations Laboratory course in Spring 2024. Since its installation, two cohorts of chemical engineering students have operated the column. Designed and manufactured by Koch-Glitsch—a leader in commercial separation technologies—the column consists of 20 conventional sieve trays (16.1 cm diameter, 23.4 cm tray spacing). The unit includes an 18-inch steam kettle reboiler designed in-house and a shell-and-tube condenser manufactured by Koch Heat Transfer. Process and utility streams are controlled via automated valves and variable-speed pumps, all operated from the control room. Key process variables—including temperature, flow rate, tank level, and pressure—are monitored using electronic instrumentation displayed on the workstation screens.

As part of their learning objectives, students perform key distillation operations including start-up, total reflux, steady-state continuous operation, and shut down. All operations are conducted remotely from the control room, allowing students to develop proficiency with industrial-style instrumentation and control systems. The core assignment requires students to solve a design problem: determining optimal operating conditions for a specified separation target using a combined approach involving both hands-on experimentation and Aspen Plus simulation. Students collect data to evaluate the effects of reflux ratio, feed tray location, steam flow rate, and cooling water flow. They then build and validate a simulation model in Aspen Plus, calculate mass and energy balances, compare performance to ideal behavior, and estimate tray efficiency.

This presentation will describe the student design problem, the experimental and simulation methods used, and the results obtained. It will also detail the structure of the experiment and summarize student feedback through post-lab surveys, offering insights into the educational impact of integrating pilot-scale distillation into the curriculum.