Archived-Announcements-2013

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

• 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.