Lab at home: 3D printed and low-cost experiments for thermal engineering and separation processes in COVID-19 time

• Published in: Education for chemical engineers Vol. 36; pp. 24 - 38
• Main Authors: Larriba, Marcos, Rodríguez-Llorente, Diego, Cañada-Barcala, Andrés, Sanz-Santos, Eva, Gutiérrez-Sánchez, Pablo, Pascual-Muñoz, Gonzalo, Álvarez-Torrellas, Silvia, Águeda, V. Ismael, Delgado, José A., García, Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2021; Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V
• Subjects: 3D design and printing; COVID-19; Distance teaching; Experimental laboratory; Separation processes; Thermal engineering; COVID-19; Experimental laboratory; 3D design and printing; Separation processes; Distance teaching; Thermal engineering
• ISSN: 1749-7728; 1749-7728
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ece.2021.02.001

•Laboratory experiments to be done at home by students in confinement were designed.•3D printed installations were designed to be used in thermal engineering.•Low-cost experiments were proposed for separation processes subject.•The removal of a dye was performed by liquid-liquid extraction and adsorption.•Undergraduate and PhD students actively participated in the design of experiments. The SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic has meant that face-to-face teaching activities have had to be replaced by distance learning. Experimental laboratories have been replaced, in most cases, by the utilization of experimental data or by simulations. In this work, we have designed four laboratory experiments to be conducted by students of thermal engineering and separation processes during confinement by COVID-19 at home, to maintain competence acquisition and learning outcomes. A mixed methodology of the educational models of autonomous learning and cooperative learning has been used in obtaining the experimental data and writing the laboratory report. Installations for thermal engineering have been 3D designed and printed and are aimed at studying the heat transmission by conduction and convection in heat exchangers. This work describes in detail the activities carried out and shares the files used in the 3D printing of the installations. The laboratory experiments of separation processes are focused on the removal of a dye (rhodamine B) from an aqueous solution by liquid-liquid extraction and adsorption. A survey made to the undergraduate students has confirmed that the methodology and installations designed have been satisfactory for their expectations on the acquisition of knowledge and skills in both subjects.