Talk:Unit operation

Thermodynamics vs heat transfer
Isn't thermodynamic processes redundant with heat transfer right there? -- 68.17.251.126, 2 November 2005

No. Thermodynamics and heat transfer are different. Heat transfer has to do with transfering thermal energy from one stream (or material) to another. Thermodynamics has to do with equilibrium, multiple phases, transfer of material from one phase to another. Thermodynamics pulls information from mass transfer, heat transfer, kinetics, etc. --BeastRHIT 14:06, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Mechanics versus mass transfer
Doesn't mechanical processes include mass transfer processes like solids transportation? --130.240.132.161 12:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Definition
The definition is completely wrong. The unit operation textbook, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, defines it succinctly: "The unit operations are largely used to conduct the primarily physical steps of preparing the reactants, separating and purifying the products, recycling unconverted reactants and controlling the energy transfer into or out of the chemical reactor". By no means are unit operations limited to separation processes as mentioned by someone. Also, the difference between a unit process and unit operation is that of chemical change. The whole of unit process is based on chemical change: Chemical kinetics, reactor design, thermodynamics of reactions etc. Whereas there is no chemical change in a unit operation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brotha01 (talk • contribs) 09:39, 4 March 2011 (UTC) The definition of unit operation is rather vague in the article. See for example this. A unit operation is a physical transport process, not a step in a sequence. For example, the processing step of pasteurization isn't technically a unit process but a chemical reaction where bacteria are killed. Heat transfer is the unit process there, effecting the chemical reaction. Baking of bread, pasteurization, and even thermal cracking all include the unit process of heat transfer, but they aren't unit processes themselves, because also a chemical reaction occurs. Distillation, in contrast, is an unit process, whereas reactive distillation isn't. The distinction is significant because chemical reaction models have to be more "custom-made" than unit process models. --Vuo (talk) 15:47, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
 * And to add, the term unit operation is superseded by the term separation process according to Geankoplis (Transport Processes And Separation Process Principles). --Vuo (talk) 09:50, 26 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I searched "unit operation" on google and was led to this page, which came out in the first place. Other pages indeed made it clear unit operation is primarily physical. Should someone in the area modify this or give the source.Gamebm (talk) 14:39, 5 December 2021 (UTC)