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Abstract

We describe here easily configured process control and data acquisition software and hardware that significantly enhance experimental evaluation of unit processes and that permit fully automated parametric studies. The process control software is a LabVIEW executable and incorporates sensors, states, rules, an external microprocessor for controls, the ability to link to external LabVIEW code to add new features, and data logging. The composite system is flexible and user friendly. First year undergraduates have used the software to control a bench top drinking water treatment plant and both undergraduate and graduate students have used the software to conduct parametric studies of methane generation, the activated sludge process, flocculation, and porous media filtration. The system offers the user the ability to program an entire series of experimental runs including variation of a parameter over a series of values and inclusion of replicate tests to confirm repeatability of the results. The automated parametric testing has greatly increased our ability to study the response of complex systems. Evaluation of colloidal particle flocculation and porous media filtration in bench-scale experiments are presented here as example applications of the process control software.