KARACHI, July 26: The newly commissioned state-of-the-art liquid separation and extraction equipment of Dawood College of Engineering and Technology can be used by senior students and research fellows from other educational and research institutions as well, said Principal Prof Hyder Ali Khan.

He said that the equipment, which had been imported from Germany with the funds provided by the Higher Education Commission, were first of their kind in the country. Some noted organisations have already approached the college for utilising the fully developed laboratories of the chemical department of the college for research and training purposes and we hope that some interaction would surely be taking place in the near future, he added.

An official of the college said that the equipment was set ready for practical purposes by a couple of experts from German in the newly established Unit Operation Laboratory of the chemical engineering department on Tuesday.

Giving details of the equipment, the official said that one of the equipment, a bubble cap distillation column, would be used for the separation of liquid mixture at atmosphere pressure as well a under vacuum pressure in continuous operation.

A liquid-liquid extraction unit has also been designed to demonstrate the basic principles of liquid-liquid process. The extraction column made of borosilicate 3.3 glass is used when distillation is ineffective or very difficult.

The equipment in question have been introduced for the first time in educational institute in the country, which enabled the DCET to now possess a fully developed laboratory to conduct practical, carryout research with the help of senior students and also interact with other institutes for joint research and training programmes, viewed senior faculty members of the college.