Unit 10: What is chemical engineering? Department of Chemical Engineering

 Four questions: I. What is Chemical Engineering? II. What are the differences between Chemical Engineering and Chemical technology? III. Can you list some core courses of chemical engineering? VI. What are the future trends in chemical engineering?

Raw MaterialsProcesses Products

Definition of Chemical Engineering In its simplest form, chemical engineering is the design, development and management of a wide and varied spectrum of industrial processes. IChemE definition, 2005

Definition from our textbook  Thus, chemical engineering is that branch of engineering which is concerned with the study of the design, manufacture, and operation of plant and machinery in industrial chemical processes.  How to make a definition?

Main subjects of chemical technology  material and pre-trement  routine of production  equipment and accessory  catalyst  effect of other material on the process  operating condition  process flow  separation and by-product  use of energy  evolution of technical economy

Job opportunities and Industries(1) Chemical engineering are employed across a huge variety of sector including: u Chemical and allied products u Pharmaceuticals u Energy u Water u Food & drink u Oil & gas u Process plants & equipment u Biotechnology u Business and management u Consultancy

Job opportunities and Industries(2) u Chemical engineers are, on average, the highest paid of the "Big Four". Additionally, many chemical engineers have found their way into upper management.

Jobs in foreign countries A chemical engineer is either currently, or has previously, occupied the CEO position for: 3M, Du Pont, General Electric, Union Carbide, Dow Chemical, Exxon, BASF, Gulf Oil, Texaco, and B.F. Goodrich. Even a former director of the CIA, John M. Deutch, was a chemical engineer by training.

Jobs in China u Chemicals, electronics, petroleum refining, paper, and related industries u Professional, scientific, or technical services/firms/university that design chemical plants or perform R&D for chemical companies.

Core curriculum u More typically, chemical engineers concern themselves with the chemical processes that turn raw materials into valuable products. The necessary skills encompass all aspects of design, testing, scale-up, operation, control, and optimization, and require a detailed understanding of the various " unit operations ", such as distillation, mixing, and biological processes, which make these conversions possible.

u Chemical engineering science utilizes mass, momentum, and energy transfer along with thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to analyze and improve on these "unit operations."

Chemical Engineering Today & Tomorrow The "Big Four" engineering fields consist of civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineers. Of these, chemical engineers are numerically the smallest group. However, this relatively small group holds a very prominent position in many industries.

Future of Chemical Engineering u In the past, chemical engineering has focused on large scale, low value chemical processes e.g. minerals, oil and gas, chemicals. u Increasingly, high value molecular engineering is giving sophisticated products spawning a new “molecular” engineering industry.

Biotechnology u Molecular design of bio- products, tissue engineering etc. u Research at the interface between health, biotechnology and engineering. u Constructing a pilot-scale facility for the production of biomolecules.

Nanotechnology  Creating products “bottom-up” using nano-assembly methods.  Synthesis of novel nanoporous carbon materials for membranes and catalysts.  Self assembly of colloidal nanomaterials.  Synthesis of nanostructured carbons for hydrogen storage.  Fluidisation and reaction kinetics in beds of nanoparticles.

Nanotechnology-example  Carbon nano-tubes: extremely strong, lightweight. – Diameter: nm – 10,000 times stronger than steel  Applications: – Strengthen structures – Electronic/optical – Hydrogen storage – Space elevator?

Environment u Increasing environmental awareness is creating new opportunities in the energy and sustainability industries.

Future of Chemical Engineering - Examples u Hydrogen fuel 500 km on 4kg of H 2 Only product of combustion is water u Methanol Fuel Cells Mobile phone battery will last 6 months 2 weeks power for a laptop!

Note:  Chemical engineering is not a profession that has to dwell on the achievements of the past for comfort, for its greatest accomplishments are yet to come.

That is to say, you are the future of chemical engineering.

So if you want to be successful you must study hard!