Chemical Engineering Innovations
The chemical process industries (CPI) and the chemical engineering profession are not always viewed by the general public as being very innovative fields. This perception may have some validity if we compare the CPI with the so-called technology sector. Ongoing developments in electronics and computers tend to bring about changes at a rapid pace, and as such, the related businesses and commercialized products transform themselves both quickly and constantly. The chemical engineering contributions — such as scaleup, plant design, plant operation, and distribution — that are required to move those promising new developments toward commercial-scale production are often invisible. For example, for smartphones, the development and mass production of better materials for the screen and body, improved electronic materials, and longer-lasting batteries require many chemical engineering innovations. At a minimum, a four-year bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, with coursework in chemistry, physics, math (through differential equations), and computers is required. Some universities offer a five-year program that leads to both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Most chemical engineers have a master’s degree and/or a Ph.D. Chemical engineering is a discipline influencing numerous areas of technology. In broad terms, chemical engineers conceive and design processes to produce, transform and transport materials — beginning with experimentation in the laboratory followed by implementation of the technology in full-scale production
Last Updated on: Nov 23, 2024