unit operations

unit operations [′yü·nət ‚äp·ə′rā·shənz]

(chemical engineering)

The basic physical operations of chemical engineering in a chemical process plant, that is, distillation, fluid transport, heat and mass transfer, evaporation, extraction, drying, crystallization, filtration, mixing, size separation, crushing and grinding, and conveying.

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Unit operations

A structure of logic used for synthesizing and analyzing processing schemes in the chemical and allied industries, in which the basic underlying concept is that all processing schemes can be composed from and decomposed into a series of individual, or unit, steps. If a step involves a chemical change, it is called a unit process; if physical change, a unit operation. These unit operations cut across widely different processing applications, including the manufacture of chemicals, fuels, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, processed foods, and primary metals. The unit operations approach serves as a very powerful form of morphological analysis, which systematizes process design, and greatly reduces both the number of concepts that must be taught and the number of possibilities that should be considered in synthesizing a particular process.

Most unit operations are based mechanistically upon the fundamental transport processes of mass transfer, heat transfer, and fluid flow (momentum transfer). Unit operations based on fluid mechanics include fluid transport (such as pumping), mixing/ agitation, filtration, clarification, thickening or sedimentation, classification, and centrifugation. Operations based on heat transfer include heat exchange, condensation, evaporation, furnaces or kilns, drying, cooling towers, and freezing or thawing. Operations that are based on mass transfer include distillation, solvent extraction, leaching, absorption or desorption, adsorption, ion exchange, humidification or dehumidification, gaseous diffusion, crystallization, and thermal diffusion. Operations that are based on mechanical principles include screening, solids handling, size reduction, flotation, magnetic separation, and electrostatic precipitation. The study of transport phenomena provides a unifying and powerful basis for an understanding of the different unit operations. See Absorption, Centrifugation, Chemical engineering, Clarification, Cooling tower, Crystallization, Dehumidifier, Drying, Filtration, Flotation, Heat exchanger, Humidification, Kiln, Leaching, Magnetic separation methods, Mechanical separation techniques, Mixing, Pump, Pumping machinery, Sedimentation (industry), Solids pump, Solvent extraction, Unit processes