Archived-Announcements-2013

Previous announcements for 4M3 (in reverse time order, or check out the Twitter feed: Follow @4m3separations

• 24 Dec: All grades are posted on Avenue today. Please read the column Final grade for transcript to calculate your grade letter. That column accounts for any adjustments (MSAF, etc), which Avenue's grading system does not handle.
• 24 Dec: Please note, as mentioned in class, the midterm is either dropped or used in calculating the final grade, and we used whichever grade is higher.
• 05 Dec: as mentioned in class, a great way to learn is by creating problems for yourself/your friends. If you do that, feel free to email them to me, and with your permission, I'd like to use them for future Quests.
• 04 Dec: this will be of interest for those that wrote their project on fracking; instead of one type of separator, why not combine two? Membranes and distillation to treat frack water.
• 03 Dec: the final Quest has been emailed to your @mcmaster.ca address. It is due by 21:00 on Friday evening. It contains some questions on Drying.
• 03 Dec: all grades for assignments 1, 2, 3, 4 and the midterm are on Avenue. Quest grades will be posted soon as well are posted now: sign into Quest to see them. Project grades are unlikely to be available before the final, as I'm still midway through reading them.
• 03 Dec: the solutions to assignment 5 are posted now.
• 03 Dec: if you've not done so yet, please take a few minutes to complete a course evaluation. I seriously read every comment, and use it to improve the course for next year. Thank you.
• 02 Dec: the notes for the final class are posted.
• 29 Nov: the last class is Tuesday, 03 December. I will return all assignments, and uncollected midterms. We will review the entire course as well. Come with questions.
• 29 Nov: I have posted some comments regarding the final exam so you can start preparing.
• 29 Nov: the latest version of all slides are now posted on the right side of this page, containing solutions where available.
• 25 Nov: the next, and final, assignment 5 is posted. It is due on 03 December. No late handins and no MSAFs for it. Solutions will be posted immediately so you can study for the final exam.
• 21 Nov: if you need another explanation of the material from packed bed adsorbers, please read the first posted article in the Adsorption section.
• 20 Nov: if you are free from 10:30 to 11:20 on Thursday, I highly recommend you attend this Chemical Engineering seminar, in JHE-326H. It is on membranes, particularly on how the researcher has modified the membrane surface to reduce fouling. His talk also combines the topics of chromatography, adsorption and desorption.
• 12 Nov: the projects are due by the end of the day on Thursday (for non-challenge projects).
• 11 Nov: So the time that works best for everyone to see the membrane rig is 10:30 on Tuesday (tomorrow). Please meet outside the door of JHE room B124. The room is in the basement level; take the stairs down one level from the JHE lobby, and it is room B124. Dr. David Latulippe and Tina will show you the rig and explain its operation.
• 07 Nov: I've shifted the due dates for the projects and assignments around a bit, based on demand. I know this a busy time of term, so I'm happy to help in any way you need.
• 06 Nov: Sign up to see a membrane system in action, in the basement of JHE, separating an oil-water mixture. http://doodle.com/64mtfrhwbh36qv86
• 06 Nov: The midterms are completed. They will be returned in class on Thursday. The grades have been added to Avenue. Solutions to the midterm are posted.
• 04 Nov: the slides for the next liquid-liquid extraction section are posted.
• 29 Oct: Project due date is currently 12 November. If you are doing the challenge project, then your due date is 19 November, since there is a greater level of technical sophistication expected for this project.
• 29 Oct: we will complete the membrane section today and start a new section next week, after the break.
• 24 Oct: revised notes for membranes have been posted for Friday's class. However, I may use most of the lecture to review the midterm.
• 22 Oct: information for the midterm
  • All paper assignments (for 1, 2 and 3) will be returned in class on Tuesday. Solutions for assignment 3 were posted last week.
  • Class on Thursday will be an informal question/answer session (no teaching) for you to ask any last minute questions.
  • The midterm will cover all material up to and including Friday, 18 October. i.e. all the material up to membrane separations, including the introduction to reverse osmosis.
• 15 Oct: students that have a conflict with MECH 3C03 can write the MECH 3C03 midterm on Monday, October 28th at 16:30, but you have to let Dr. Ng know, otherwise he is expecting you to write his midterm at the regular time. The 4M3 midterm is not being changed.
• 14 Oct: Notes for Tuesday are ready. We'll study examples of ultrafiltration and we'll have an actual membrane to look at.
• 09 Oct: a required reading for the membrane section has been posted. This article was written in April 2013, and is an easy-to-read overview of membranes. Read it sooner rather than later.
• 08 Oct: please note, question 4 on the assignment had some information omitted. This has been added now.

Question 5 has been removed because it was poorly specified in the textbook that I took it from. If you have done it, feel free to submit it for extra grades.

I have posted a question (and answer) similar to question 5 that is better. See the practice questions.

• 04 Oct: a required reading for assignment 3, due in class on 11 October.
• 30 Sep: thanks for the anonymous corrections to the lecture notes. Any corrections are always appreciated.
• 30 Sep: solutions for assignment 1 are posted.
• 26 Sep: a spreadsheet with the cyclone example has been added for you to confirm the numeric values from today's exercise. Also, a class member pointed out a way to solve the problem without guess and check. I've added that to the spreadsheet. Thank you.
• 25 Sep: The second assignment is now posted. Due by 01 October 2013, in class. Please note that the units in question 3 have been corrected (they didn't make sense in the original question). Question 3 was also improved to make sure it is about a centrifuge, and not a sedimentation vessel.
• 11 Sep: The midterm date is confirmed: 24 October at 18:30, in MDCL 1309. See the practice questions, and use some of the references that are recommended for this course for additional problems.
• 10 Sep: The first assignment is posted. Due by 17 September. There was some confusion about the due date; hand in by 08:30AM on 18 Sept is acceptable.
• 09 Sep: Slides for the next class, 02A, are posted.
• 05 Sep: The next class, Friday, 06 September, will introduce general principles that hold for all separations. The notes are posted.
• 03 Sep: See you at the first class on 05 September 2013 at 11:30. We will review the course outline, and you will select topics you wish to cover in this elective.