Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Who is an engineer?

• “Engineers can do for 1p what a scientist can do for £1”

Unknown

• “Engineering is the art of directing the great sources of power in

nature for the use and convenience of man” Thomas Tredgold, 1828

• “Part Einstein, part bulldog. Somebody who makes the difficult

routine and the impossible probable” Unknown Engineers find and implement solutions for the needs of society that are economically, environmentally and morally sound.

Where did chemical engineering come from?

• Prehistory:

1. Mechanical engineers + chemists designed, built and ran processes.
2. Concerned with getting the job done.
3. Little standardization.
4. Gross inefficiencies and large environmental impact.

• Founding of discipline:

1. George E. Davis and the IChemE – 1880 onwards.
2. First departments - MIT in the US (1887), UMIST (1900s).
3. Unit operations and the AIChE in 1915.
4. Many countries did without them until more recently (Germany)

What is chemical engineering by definition?

• Definition found in a standard dictionary:

“A branch of engineering which involves the design and operation of large scale chemical plants, petrochemical refineries, and the like.” Hmmm …

• Another definition (from the WWW):

“Concerned with processes that cause substances to undergo required changes in their chemical or physical composition, structure, energy content or physical state.”
Chemical engineers are everywhere?

• Oil industry
• Chemical and allied products
• Process plant manufacture and construction
• Pharmaceutical (aspirin, hormones, …, drug delivery)
• Personal care (cosmetics, moisturizers, …)
• Household products (washing powder, …)
• Food and drink
• Materials (silicon chips, porous media, catalysts, …)
• Consultants
• Academia