Chemical Engineering Design Principles Practice...
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials into useful products. Chemical engineering uses principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, and economics to efficiently use, produce, design, transport and transform energy and materials. The work of chemical engineers can range from the utilization of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the laboratory to large-scale industrial processes that convert chemicals, raw materials, living cells, microorganisms, and energy into useful forms and products. Chemical engineers are involved in many aspects of plant design and operation, including safety and hazard assessments, process design and analysis, modeling, control engineering, chemical reaction engineering, nuclear engineering, biological engineering, construction specification, and operating instructions.
Chemical Engineering Design Principles Practice...
Chemical engineers typically hold a degree in Chemical Engineering or Process Engineering. Practicing engineers may have professional certification and be accredited members of a professional body. Such bodies include the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) or the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In India the equivalent body is the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE) which also conducts collaborative events with AIChE and ICheE.A degree in chemical engineering is directly linked with all of the other engineering disciplines, to various extents.
A 1996 article cites James F. Donnelly for mentioning an 1839 reference to chemical engineering in relation to the production of sulfuric acid.[1] In the same paper, however, George E. Davis, an English consultant, was credited with having coined the term.[2] Davis also tried to found a Society of Chemical Engineering, but instead, it was named the Society of Chemical Industry (1881), with Davis as its first secretary.[3][4] The History of Science in United States: An Encyclopedia puts the use of the term around 1890.[5] "Chemical engineering", describing the use of mechanical equipment in the chemical industry, became common vocabulary in England after 1850.[6] By 1910, the profession, "chemical engineer," was already in common use in Britain and the United States.[7]
In the 1940s, it became clear that unit operations alone were insufficient in developing chemical reactors. While the predominance of unit operations in chemical engineering courses in Britain and the United States continued until the 1960s, transport phenomena started to receive greater focus.[8] Along with other novel concepts, such as process systems engineering (PSE), a "second paradigm" was defined.[9][10] Transport phenomena gave an analytical approach to chemical engineering[11] while PSE focused on its synthetic elements, such as those of a control system and process design.[12] Developments in chemical engineering before and after World War II were mainly incited by the petrochemical industry;[13] however, advances in other fields were made as well. Advancements in biochemical engineering in the 1940s, for example, found application in the pharmaceutical industry, and allowed for the mass production of various antibiotics, including penicillin and streptomycin.[14] Meanwhile, progress in polymer science in the 1950s paved way for the "age of plastics".[15]
Advancements in computer science found applications for designing and managing plants, simplifying calculations and drawings that previously had to be done manually. The completion of the Human Genome Project is also seen as a major development, not only advancing chemical engineering but genetic engineering and genomics as well.[20] Chemical engineering principles were used to produce DNA sequences in large quantities.[21]
Chemical engineering design concerns the creation of plans, specifications, and economic analyses for pilot plants, new plants, or plant modifications. Design engineers often work in a consulting role, designing plants to meet clients' needs. Design is limited by several factors, including funding, government regulations, and safety standards. These constraints dictate a plant's choice of process, materials, and equipment.[22]
Plant construction is coordinated by project engineers and project managers,[23] depending on the size of the investment. A chemical engineer may do the job of project engineer full-time or part of the time, which requires additional training and job skills or act as a consultant to the project group. In the USA the education of chemical engineering graduates from the Baccalaureate programs accredited by ABET do not usually stress project engineering education, which can be obtained by specialized training, as electives, or from graduate programs. Project engineering jobs are some of the largest employers for chemical engineers.[24]
A unit operation is a physical step in an individual chemical engineering process. Unit operations (such as crystallization, filtration, drying and evaporation) are used to prepare reactants, purifying and separating its products, recycling unspent reactants, and controlling energy transfer in reactors.[25] On the other hand, a unit process is the chemical equivalent of a unit operation. Along with unit operations, unit processes constitute a process operation. Unit processes (such as nitration, hydrogenation, and oxidation involve the conversion of materials by biochemical, thermochemical and other means. Chemical engineers responsible for these are called process engineers.[26]
Process design requires the definition of equipment types and sizes as well as how they are connected and the materials of construction. Details are often printed on a Process Flow Diagram which is used to control the capacity and reliability of a new or existing chemical factory.
Education for chemical engineers in the first college degree 3 or 4 years of study stresses the principles and practices of process design. The same skills are used in existing chemical plants to evaluate the efficiency and make recommendations for improvements.
Chemical engineers "develop economic ways of using materials and energy".[29] Chemical engineers use chemistry and engineering to turn raw materials into usable products, such as medicine, petrochemicals, and plastics on a large-scale, industrial setting. They are also involved in waste management and research.[30][31] Both applied and research facets could make extensive use of computers.[28]
Chemical engineers may be involved in industry or university research where they are tasked with designing and performing experiments, by scaling up theoretical chemical reactions, to create better and safer methods for production, pollution control, and resource conservation. They may be involved in designing and constructing plants as a project engineer. Chemical engineers serving as project engineers use their knowledge in selecting optimal production methods and plant equipment to minimize costs and maximize safety and profitability. After plant construction, chemical engineering project managers may be involved in equipment upgrades, troubleshooting, and daily operations in either full-time or consulting roles. [32]
Process conceptualization and design using chemical process simulators. A major team design project with progress reports, oral presentation, and a technical report with process drawings and economics.
Chemical engineering is one of the most broadly-based engineering disciplines. Its field of practice covers the development, design, and control of processes and products that involve molecular change, both chemical and biological, and the operation of such processes. Because many of the products that sustain and improve life are produced by carefully designed and controlled molecular changes, the chemical engineer serves in a wide variety of industries. These industries range from chemical and energy companies to producers of all types of consumer and specialty products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, polymers, advanced materials, and solid-state and biomedical devices.
The chemical engineering degree program prepares students for professional practice in chemically related careers after the bachelor's degree or an advanced degree. Chemical engineering graduates are expected to attain the following capabilities at or within a few years of graduation: apply the fundamentals of science and engineering to solve important chemical engineering problems in industry, government or academic settings; communicate effectively and demonstrate the interpersonal skills required to lead and/or participate in multidisciplinary projects; apply life-long learning to meet professional and personal goals of their chosen profession, including graduate study; articulate and practice professional, ethical, environmental and societal responsibilities, and value different global and cultural perspectives. To meet the program objective, the faculty has designed a rigorous, demanding, and state-of-the-art curriculum that integrates lectures and laboratory experience in basic science, mathematics, engineering science, engineering design, and the liberal arts.
Chemical engineering students who are in the Engineering Honors Program and maintain a grade point average of at least 3.50 may take the honors research course, Chemical Engineering 679H. In this course the student performs research over two consecutive semesters under the supervision of a faculty member, makes two oral presentations, and writes a thesis. Chemical Engineering 679H may be used to fulfill either the approved area electives requirement or the approved area electives in chemical engineering requirement.
Because of the broad training in natural sciences and engineering received by the chemical engineer, opportunities are provided for students also to develop particular talents and interests in one or two areas of emphasis. Each student must complete 12 semester hours in one of the following areas or six semester hours in each of two areas. These courses must include at least two engineering courses, of which one must be in Chemical Engineering. If two technical option areas are selected, then two courses from each technical option area should be completed. The technical area courses should be discussed with a faculty advisor during faculty advising for the next registration period. The courses listed in each area do not constitute a complete list of technical option area courses but illustrate the types of courses that are generally suitable for a given area. A list of suggested complementary biology, physics, mathematics, and chemistry electives for each of the technical option areas is available from the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Office and published on the departmental Web page. 041b061a72