DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY
Reading edition
Professor V. T. Stewart
Assoc. Prof. J. A. Bradley
Assoc. Prof. P. M. Giesy
Asst. Prof. J. Joffe
Asst. Prof. A. S. Kohler
Mr. F. W. Bauder
Mr. S. J. Baum
Mr. M. Frederick
Mr. G. C. Keeffe
Mr. L. Z. Pollara
Mr. S. N. Sadoff
Mr. T. J. Tully
Dr. A. S. Williams
The four year course in Industrial Chemistry is broad in scope and is designed to give the student a thorough background in the fundamental sciences, engineering subjects, and the necessary cultural subjects. It forms an adequate basis for advanced courses of a professional nature in science and engineering and, by further training, in the methods of scientific research.
The earlier part of the course provides the essential foundations of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Later comes thorough drill in the assimilation, acquirement of facility of application, and blending of the more theoretical instruction of the earlier years.
To give the student a sound grasp of the subject matter, problems of various types form an important part of the curriculum. The laboratory work is almost exclusively quantitative. The student is required to record observations and to express experimental data in an orderly and precise manner.
Incidental to the formal instruction are such matters as the use of library, methods of finding all that is known of a particular product or process, and the writing of reports.
Courses of a cultural nature constitute an important part of the curriculum. Their purpose is to develop in the young technical worker an intelligent approach to contacts with his fellow workers and to responsibilities of a broader social nature. Like all technical men, the chemist may become a business executive, in which event some breadth of vision may be of the utmost importance to him.
The Chemistry Laboratories
These laboratories are located on the top floor of the Laboratory Building, the laboratories being two in number. The large laboratory is devoted to courses in General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis, and the smaller one to more advanced work in analysis and to organic chemistry. There is also a balance room and a stock room, both easily accessible to the two laboratories.
The department possesses the material equipment necessary for work in inorganic, organic, analytical and industrial chemistry. Fume closets are installed in both laboratories for the proper handling of processes involving harmful fumes. A continuous supply of distilled water is furnished by an enclosed still. A parsons generator supplies hydrogen sulfide for the work in qualitative analysis.
Among the various special pieces of apparatus are the following: A Parr calorimeter, a centrifuge, conductivity apparatus, mechanical grinder, pumps for the production of compressed air and suction, various special pieces of apparatus for distillation and filtration and for the handling of gases.
The Chemical Engineering Laboratory
The Chemical Engineering Laboratory is arranged for the study of unit operations by the students of the chemical course. The apparatus is commercial equipment of modern design, which has been equipped with numerous meters, gauges and measuring devices for accurately testing the machines. The students make quantitative studies of factory operations and of the problems involved in the design of equipment. The unit operations studied include heat transfer, fluid flow, distillation, evaporation, drying, etc.
A copper, forced-convection, vacuum evaporator, having a capacity of one thousand pounds of water per hour is available. This machine is so equipped that accurate heat and material balances may be obtained and operation costs calculated as in commercial practice.
A very flexible apparatus is the copper experimental distillation unit, which is 23 feet high. This consists of a 50-gallon kettle, a 19-plate rectifying column, condensers, cooler and an automatic decanter and feed control. Five of the sections of the column are of Pyrex glass, so the actual operation can be carefully studied. It can be operated on several modifications of batch, steam or continuous distillation.
The batch drier, equipped with automatic temperature and humidity control, is arranged for the study of the drying process as it is carried out in commercial practice.
A rotary suction drum filter, Sweetland, plate and frame, and stoneware suction filter are used in experiments on filtration.
Experiments on grinding include a study of a Ball Mill, Jaw Crusher, Micro pulverizer, and an Attrition Mill.
The laboratory is also equipped with a centrifuge, sulfonator, vacuum crystallizer, autoclave and other pieces of equipment, such as pyrometers, necessary for experimental runs on the various units.