Universidad Politécnica Metropolitana De Puebla

UNIT OPERATIONS
UNIT OPERATIONS IN THE INDUSTRY

STUDENT: PAOLA GUADALUPE CISNEROS BRAVO

6° “B” BIOTECHNOLOGY
TEACHER: GIBRÁN HERNÁNDEZ MORENO DELIVERY: 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2020
 UNIT OPERATIONS IN THE INDUSTRY

Unit operations gives idea about science related to specific physical operation
different equipment-its design, material of construction and operation and
calculation of various physical parameters.

DISTILLATION
Distillation is a purification method for liquids and
can separate components of a mixture. In a distillation,
a liquid is boiled in the distilling flask then the vapors
travel to another section of the apparatus where
they come into contact with a cool surface.

Driving force: concentration and pressure gradient.

ABSORPTION
It is transfer of one or more species from the gas phase to the
liquid solvent. It is a physical or chemical phenomenon. It is process
in which atoms, molecules or ions enter some bulk phase that is
liquid or solid material. The species transferred to the liquid phase
are known as solutes or absorbate. Absorption involves no change
in the chemical species present in the system. Absorbers are
normally used with strippers to permit regeneration and recycling of the
absorbent.
Driving force: concentration gradient and temperature difference.
EVAPORATION

Evaporation can be defined as the

process where liquid is transformed into
a gaseous state. Evaporation can
occur only when water is available.
Evaporation requires that the humidity
of the atmosphere is less than the
evaporating surface. Kinetic energy is the collective motion of water molecules

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in the water. The kinetic energy of the molecules measures the water temperature.
Molecules have the highest kinetic energy.

Driving force: concentration gradient.

FILTRATION

Filtration plays an important role in the natural treatment

of groundwater as it percolates through the soil and
also treatment of water. It is the major part of most water
treatment. Water filtration is a mechanical or physical
process of separating suspended and colloidal particles from fluids by
interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass.

Driving force: Momentum gradient.

DRYING

Drying is an important unit operation in the variety of

chemical process industries (CPI) sectors. Food,
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics, timber, paper and
other industries use drying equipment to eliminate moisture
during product processing. Most dryers are classified as
direct dryers, where hot air is used to supply the heat to
evaporate water or other solvents from the product.

Driving force: concentration gradient.

FREEZE DRYING CRYODEHYDRATION

Food preservation method in which different

processes converge. The result is a dry
product, but with all the organoleptic
characteristics of its original state (aroma,
taste or flavor). This process facilitates its
conservation and helps stop the growth of
pathogens, since the result is a food of less weight. In the food industry, freeze drying

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consists of removing water from a food from freezing, instead of applying heat. This
explains why it is reserved for products with substances that are sensitive to high
temperatures, such as proteins or enzymes.

Driving force:

AGITATION

Agitation refers to the induced movement of a material in a

specific way, usually in a circulatory pattern within some type of
container. Mixing is a random distribution, within and through one
another, of two or more initially separated phases. A simple
homogeneous material, such as a tank filled with cold water, can
be stirred, but cannot be mixed while some other material (such
as a quantity of hot water or a powdered solid) adheres to it.

Driving force: concentration gradient and momentum gradient.

HUMIDIFICATION

Humidification is an operation that consists of

increasing the amount of vapor present in a
gaseous stream; the vapor can increase by
passing the gas through a liquid that
evaporates into the gas. This transfer into the
interior of the gaseous stream takes place by
diffusion and at the interface there is, simultaneously, heat and matter transfer.

Driving force: concentration gradient and temperature difference.

CRYSTALLIZATION

It is a unit operation of matter and energy transfer

in which the formation of a solid (crystal or
precipitate) occurs from a homogeneous phase
(solute in solution or in a melt). Crystallization
consists of dissolving an impure solid in as little hot

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solvent as possible. Under these conditions, a saturated solution is generated which,
upon cooling, becomes supersaturated, producing crystallization. The crystallization
process is a dynamic process, so that the molecules that are in solution are in
equilibrium with those that are part of the crystal lattice.

Driving force: temperature difference.

SEDIMENTATION

Sedimentation is a unit operation

consisting of the separation by the action
of gravity of the solid and liquid phases
of a dilute suspension to obtain a
concentrated suspension and a clear
liquid.

Two types of sedimentation can be distinguished, taking into account the movement
of the particles that settle:

• Free sedimentation: it occurs in suspensions of low concentration of solids.

The interaction between particles can be considered negligible, so they settle
at their free fall speed in the fluid.
• Sedimentation by zones: it is observed in the sedimentation of concentrated
suspensions. The interactions between the particles are important, reaching
lower sedimentation rates than in free sedimentation. Sedimentation is
delayed or impeded. Several zones develop within the settler, characterized
by different concentration of solids and, therefore, different settling speed.

Driving force: some external mechanical force.

ADSORPTION

It is the process by which a chemical species (adsorbate) present, later in a fluid

phase (liquid or gas), is concentrated at the interface that separates it from another

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of equal or higher degree of ordering (adsorbent), and
eventually passes to the other phase. The second
phase can be solid or liquid.

Driving force: concentration gradient.

SIEVING

It is a particle separation method that is based solely on the

difference in size. In industrial sieving, solids are poured onto a
perforated surface or sieve, which allows small particles, or
"fines" to pass through, and retains those of larger sizes, or
"rejects". A sieve can only effect a separation into two fractions.
These fractions are called unspecified size fractions, because
although the upper or lower limit of the size of the particles it contains is known, its
actual size is unknown.

To apply the unit operation of sieving it is necessary that the phases are in the solid
state.

Driving force: some external mechanical force.

ION EXCHANGE

It is a unitary operation that consists of the

substitution of one or more ions in a solution for
others that initially form part of the structure of a
solid, which is the ion exchange resin.

The resins can be cationic or anionic, depending

on whether they exchange cations or anions.

It is applied to all types of water conditioning processes at an industrial (boiler water)

or domestic (dishwasher) level.

Driving force: concentration gradient.

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REFERENCES

1. Rathoure, Ram, B. & Goyal S. (2019), Unit Operations in Chemical Industries.

2. Carlos A., (2015), Tema 4: Tipos de Operaciones Unitarias,

https://www.studocu.com/es-mx/document/instituto-tecnologico-de-los-
mochis/brand/resumenes/tema-4-tipos-de-operaciones-unitarias-op/1318408/view

3. Iglesias J., (s.f), Operaciones y Procesos,

https://ocw.unican.es/pluginfile.php/1313/course/section/1616/BLOQUE2-OyP.pdf

4. Chemical Processing, (s.f), Unit Operation & Unit Process, SD Senthil,

https://sites.google.com/a/sdsenthil.com/chemical-technology/chemical-
processing-unit-operation

5. Análisis de Procesos Operaciones unitarias, (2010),

https://miguelgutierrez184.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/operacionesunitarias.pdf

6. German F., (26 noviembre 2014), Operación Unitaria de Intercambio iónico,

Industria e ingeniería Química, http://www.industriaquimica.net/intercambio-
ionico.html

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