Unit Operations Laboratories

This information is for faculty and staff that teach and manage a chemical engineering laboratory. The page contains  both pedagogical resources
as well as information about designing, installing and managing laboratory equipment. The Chemical Engineering Laboratory Virtual Community of Practice meets every other week throughout the year for one hour to discuss all things lab (drop-ins welcome). For more information, email Tracy Carter or Chris Barr.

• Teaching Resources
  • Syllabi, schedules, course notes
  • Common Textbooks and Reference Materials
  • Virtual Laboratories and Software
  • Communication
  • Team Dynamics and Assessment
  • Process Safety
• Physical Lab Resources
  • Chemical Engineering Educational Equipment
  • Used Scientific Laboratory Equipment
  • Laboratory Supplies
• Scholarly Publications about Teaching Lab

Teaching Resources

Syllabi, schedules, course notes

• Syllabus (Northeastern University)
• Syllabus (Washington University in St. Louis)
• Syllabi (University of Kentucky): ChE laboratory 1 and ChE laboratory 2
• Experimental handouts (University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, and Washington University in St. Louis):
                                          Detailed descriptions of more than 15 Unit Operations laboratory experiments

Common Textbooks and Reference Materials

• Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7th ed. by Warren McCabe, Julian Smith, Peter Harriott  
• Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 5th ed. by Christie John Geankoplis, Daniel H. Lepek, and Allen Hersel
• Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 9th ed. by Don W. Green and Marylee Z. Southard
• An Introduction to Error Analysis, The Study of Uncertainties in Physical Measurements, 3rd ed. by John R. Taylor
• Writing Style and Standards in Undergraduate Reports by Jeffrey Donnell,  Sheldon Jeter, Colin Macdougall, and Jacqueline Snedeker
• Designing Technical Reports: Writing for Audiences in Organizations by John C. Mathes and Dwight W. Stevenson
• Comics on Data Analysis and Uncertainty (Northeastern University)
• Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering Equipment (University of Michigan) Operation, uses, advantages, and limitations of common chemical-processing equipment.
• CACHE Safety page Additional resources on hazards and other process safety topic

Virtual Laboratories and Software

• Virtual Laboratories and Digital Experiments (University of Colorado Boulder): Three virtual laboratory experiments simulating a physical lab environment (catalytic laboratory,
  control of a single-stage distillation column, and vapor-liquid equilibrium), as well as 33 simpler, browser-based simulations (fluid mechanics, heat transfer, material and energy 
  balances, thermodynamics, separations)

• Virtual Bioreactor (Tufts University): Simulation of a bioreactor in a yeast byproducts production facility 

• ChemSep (Clarkson University): Column simulator for distillation, absorption, and extraction operations  
• Virtual labs (An MoE Govt of India Initiative): Simulated labs for fluid flow and reactors 

• Reactor Lab (University of California San Diego): Interactive simulations of chemical reactors for active learning 

• Online Virtual Lab for an Anaerobic Digestion Process (Universidad de Almeria): Simulation of waste biomass disposal and renewable energy production 

• PetroSkills Virtual Unit Operations: License required. Realistic simulations of heat exchangers, centrifugal pumps, pH control, and distillation with lab booklets and e-learning content.

The AIChE Education Division also hosts a resource page with links to virtual lab/simulation resources and at-home experiments. 

Communication

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue University) Resources providing assistance to improving writing
• Engineering Lab Writing Guides: Resources for both instructors and students on how to write engineering reports
• Communications and Report manual: (Washington University in St. Louis) Communications lectures, grading rubrics
• Workplace communication practices and perceptions of novice engineers (Texas Tech/University of Michigan): Dissertation of industry-academia alignment of communication skills

Team Dynamics and Assessment

• CATME (Purdue University): Software that assigns students to teams and allows peer evaluation
• ITP Metrics Team Assessment: Tools for team dynamics diagnostics, peer feedback, and behavioral assessments
• Teamwork (Northeastern University and Washington University in St. Louis) Sample team contract and project management assignments.

Process Safety

• AIChE SAChE modules: Process safety interactive learning modules (free for students)
• Safety handouts (Multiple universities) Checklists, lectures, and handouts on laboratory safety

Physical Lab Resources

Chemical Engineering Educational Equipment

• Pignat: Large range of laboratory equipment for chemical and biological engineering
• Armfield Engineering Teaching Equipment: Laboratory scale chemical engineering equipment
• TecQuipment: Fluid mechanics, control, materials, thermodynamics
• PA Hilton Engineering Teaching Equipment: Equipment for engineering education
• Turbine Technologies: Lab equipment for steam turbine and pumps
• Gunt: Equipment for engineering education
• Hampden Engineering Corporation: Chemical engineering laboratory equipment
• AGI North America: Reactors, separations

Used Scientific Laboratory Equipment

• Southeastern Lab Apparatus: Used bench scale equipment
• LabX: Used equipment

Laboratory Supplies

Chemicals, Glassware, and Consumables

• Ace Glass: Specialty glass products.
• Bio-Rad: Life science supplies
• Carolina Scientific: Lab supplies and biological including pre-made 
• Chem Glass: Bio and chemistry glassware
• Cole Palmer: Bench scale equipment
• Fisher Scientific: Chemicals, lab and life science supplies
• Grainger: Lab supplies
• McMaster Carr: Lab supplies
• MilliporeSigma: Specialty chemicals and life sciences supplies
• VWR Scientific: Lab supplies
• Zoro: 3D printing filament rolls, metal, plastics

Instrumentation and Data Acquisition Supplies

• Digilent: Data acquisition equipment
• National Instruments: LabVIEW and data acquisition equipment
• Omega: Temperature measurement equipment

Scholarly Publications about Teaching Lab

• ABET and Engineering Laboratory Learning Objectives (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
• The Role of the Laboratory in Undergraduate Engineering Education (State University of New York at Binghamton and University of Denver)
• Chemical Engineering Academia-Industry Alignment (AIChE): Expectations about New Graduates

This page is regularly updated. Please send feedback to Dr. Janie Brennan (Washington University in St. Louis), Dr. Christopher Barr (University of Michigan), or Dr. Tracy Carter (Northeastern University).

Updated and verified August 15, 2026