Separations Processes is, in industrial terms, most of what a chemical plant does. The statewide description: principles of equilibrium and transport-controlled separations; analysis and design of stagewise and continuous separation processes including distillation, absorption, extraction, filtration and membrane separations.
⚠ Distillation alone is one of the largest single consumers of industrial energy in the world, which is why this course spends so long on it and why improving a separation is one of the highest-value things a process engineer does.
Carried by two Florida public institutions.
Named on the Chemical Engineer career path. Separations is where a large share of process engineering jobs actually sit, and in Florida it carries directly into water treatment and desalination, pharmaceutical purification, phosphate and specialty chemicals processing, and food and beverage production.
| Number | Title | Carrier |
|---|---|---|
ECH3418 | Separations Processes | FAMU, Florida State (one joint college) |
ECH4418 | Separation Process | University of South Florida |
ECH4403 | Separation and Mass Transfer Operations | University of Florida |
⚠⚠ Every Florida chemical engineering programme teaches this and no two agree on the number. Note also the LEVEL: FAMU and Florida State number it at 3000 and the other two at 4000. Both are upper division, so nothing is lost in transfer — but a degree audit matching identifiers will not find it, and a student searching a catalogue for “ECH3418” at UF or USF will conclude, wrongly, that the course does not exist there.
This course assumes it. UF and USF teach it as ECH4123; FAMU and Florida State do not carry that number and distribute the material through this course and the design sequence. If you are transferring in, confirm you have had fugacity, activity coefficients and VLE before you arrive — the course will not stop to supply them.
Chemical engineering is awarded by four Florida public institutions in three cities: the University of Florida (110 bachelor’s degrees a year), the University of South Florida (73), Florida State (27) and Florida A&M (4). Florida State and Florida A&M share the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, a single joint college in Tallahassee, which is why their records for this prefix are identical down to the title.
⚠⚠ So a carrier count in this prefix overstates how many independent programmes exist. A course carried by “FAMU and FSU” is one programme’s course, not two institutions agreeing. Read the hedging on this page accordingly, and treat anything stated about content as a description of a small number of specific curricula rather than a Florida-wide norm.
⚠ Neither UCF nor FIU awards a chemical engineering degree — the two largest universities in the state by enrolment. See the Chemical Engineer career path for what that means if you live in Orlando or Miami.
All four Florida programmes are accredited by ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission, which is what employers screen on and what carries the four-year route to Professional Engineer licensure under s. 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes. ⚠ Accreditation attaches to a named programme at a named institution, not to a course list — verify the specific programme in ABET’s own search.
Most chemical engineers never license: process plants fall under the industrial exemption. ⚠ The Florida exceptions are environmental and water engineering consulting, where work is sealed for public clients. Sit the FE examination in your final year regardless — the chemical FE is written for the curriculum you have just finished and will never be easier.
Generated September 18, 2026 · Updated September 18, 2026