Ever wondered how materials like nylon and polyester are made? How it’s possible to make food stay fresh for longer? Or what happens inside a water treatment plant? Maybe you know all that, but are curious about how bionic plants, fog harvesting and carbon nanotubes can be used to improve the world around you. These are just some examples of topics you might cover as part of a chemical engineering degree – essentially the study of how to turn raw materials into useful, everyday (or perhaps more specialized) products.
So, what is chemical engineering? Chemical engineering is a multi-disciplinary branch of engineering that combines natural and experimental sciences (such as chemistry and physics), along with life sciences (such as biology, microbiology and biochemistry) plus mathematics and economics to design, develop, produce, transform, transport, operate and manage the industrial processes that turn raw materials into valuable products.
Many of the processes within chemical engineering involve chemical reactions, and the field takes cues from chemists who are looking for new ways to create products and to investigate the mechanisms within chemical reactions. Chemical engineers then translate this chemical information to formulate designs. As such, there are two broad subgroups that better answer the question “What is chemical engineering?” – more precisely:
- Designing, manufacturing and operating plants and machinery for carrying out large-scale industrial chemical, biological or related processes
- Developing new or adapted substances for a wide range of products
Chemical engineers may be specialized in one or the other subgroup, but work from both side will be required in order to create a final product. They will need to consider economic viability, management of resources, health and safety, sustainability and environmental impact.
Areas of Research in Chemical Engineering
Prior to the 1970s, a large number of chemical engineers secured work in the booming petroleum industry and became involved in continuous processes. In more recent times, chemical engineers have entered many diverse fields—in particular, the pharmaceutical industry—working on the batch process level.
Chemical engineers have also found employment with specialty chemical companies, as well as within the consumer and electronics industries.
Chemical engineers are actively involved in developing improved polymer processing and devices relevant to biomedical engineering. Another important research area is the physical and biological treatment of hazardous wastes. Computational methods are now used extensively in modeling studies, and computer simulation is routinely employed in plant design.
A further key area of interest involves, separation techniques and technologies for solving separation problems in the chemical, environmental, food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological industries.
Other exciting frontier areas of research in chemical engineering include molecular and nanoscale engineering, molecular simulation, surface modification, protein separation processes, supercritical fluid extraction, fluid particle systems, catalysis and reaction engineering, biochemical engineering, and computer-aided design.
