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Facilities

CCPP Process Systems Engineering Laboratory 

The CCPP Process Systems Engineering Laboratory has well-established equipment in areas of industrial wastewater treatment and re-use, distillation, crystallization, chromatography, as well as other essential instrument for the generation, purification and characterization of materials. 

They include:

• Custom-designed setups for studying solid-liquid and liquid-liquid phase equilibria of organic, inorganic and macromolecular compounds

• An automated laboratory reactor for reaction and crystallization studies

• An FBRM instrument for in-situ chord length distribution measurement of particle

• A laser diffraction particle analyzer for size distribution measurement of powder, crystal and granule

• FTIR and Raman spectroscopic systems for in-situ reaction and crystallization monitoring 

• An inverted optical microscope for examination of material morphology

• HPLC systems for performing compositional analysis and separation 

• GC systems for performing compositional analysis

• A phase equilibrium analyzer for observing phase behaviors of materials under high pressure conditions

• A supercritical fluid extraction and crystallization system for developing new applications in process engineering from phytochemical extraction to drug delivery

• A semi-preparative supercritical fluid chromatograph for purifying chiral compounds 

• A multifunctional granulator, dryer and coater for research and development of granules in making pharmaceutical tablets and capsules

• A high pressure homogenizer for preparing micro and nano emulsions

• A diffusion test apparatus for development of transdermal formulations and patches

• A vapor-liquid equilibrium apparatus for determination of vapor-liquid phase equilibria and separation efficiency

• A spinning band distillation system for creating a higher number of theoretical plates for separation

• Custom-designed setups for kinetics measurement of coagulation, adsorption and Fenton reaction, and for cultivation of microbial strains

• Different (e.g. BOD, COD, DO) measurement meters for monitoring water quality

Laboratories in Department of Chemical Engineering

There are specific facilities for different research areas. For example, the Analytical Laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art analytical instruments, including high performance liquid chromatograph, gas chromatograph, inductively coupled plasma spectrometer, total organic carbon analyzer and ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer. The Advanced Materials Laboratories are equipped with various materials preparation and characterization equipment, including extruder, blender, plasma deposition and etching system, rheometrics mechanical spectrometer, differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analyzer and universal testing machine. The Bioprocess and Environmental Engineering Laboratories have a wide range of pilot plant equipment, including various types of reactors and membrane separation pilot units. 

Advanced Engineering Materials Facility (Central Lab. Facility)

The Advanced Engineering Materials Facility is a multi-disciplinary central research facility. The facility's research areas include processing, micro-structural design and new materials development, non-destructive testing and failure analysis, applied mechanics and testing methodology. State-of-the-art analytical, processing and testing equipment is available.

Equipment includes:

• Instrumentation for surface and interfacial analysis

• Experimental mechanics

• Metal, polymer and composite fabrication and characterization

• Apparatus for characterization of chemical, thermal and physical properties of advanced engineering materials.

Its central mission is to provide state-of-the-art research equipment and technical expertise for HKUST as well as Hong Kong industries to develop the technology of advanced engineering materials and its applications.

Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility (Central Lab. Facility)

The Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility is a user facility for the synthesis, study and testing of new and advanced materials. The Facility houses a wide range of state-of-the-art multi disciplinary instrumentation. Major items of equipment include X-ray diffraction systems, transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, thin film sputtering and evaporation systems, multi-technique surface analysis (XPS, ESCA, Auger, SIMS, ISS, depth profiling, etc.), time of flight SIMS (TOF-SIMS), thin film measurement systems, mechanical testing equipment, optical and atomic absorption spectrometers, etc. These systems are supported by an extensive range of cutting, polishing, coating, measurement, testing and other ancillary equipment.

Its central mission is to serve the academics in all the Science and Engineering Departments at HKUST and other Hong Kong tertiary institutions as well as the clients from government departments, industry and commerce.