What is Chemical Engineering?

Summary

This video explains the diverse and practical fields within chemical engineering, emphasizing its broad applications from biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to environmental engineering, semiconductors, and alternative energy. It highlights the role of chemical engineers in scaling up chemical reactions from laboratory settings to large-scale industrial production, such as beer manufacturing. The video compares chemical engineering with chemistry, outlining key differences in focus, including the importance of engineering principles in design, safety, and efficiency. It concludes by offering guidance on whether chemical engineering is the right major for those interested in chemistry and large-scale production, with insights on career prospects and salaries.

Takeaways

• 😀 Chemical engineering is an engineering discipline that focuses on designing processes for transporting, transforming, and producing materials.
• 😀 Chemical engineers apply knowledge from physics, chemistry, biology, and math to design processes across various industries.
• 😀 Chemical engineers can work in diverse fields like biotechnology, environmental engineering, semiconductors, industrial chemicals, and food production.
• 😀 In biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemical engineers design facilities using enzymes and microorganisms to create new drugs.
• 😀 Environmental engineering involves designing processes that minimize pollutants, like catalytic converters in cars.
• 😀 Chemical engineers play a key role in semiconductor manufacturing, working with large silicon crystals to produce microchips for companies like IBM and Intel.
• 😀 Chemical engineers are involved in the production of industrial chemicals, detergents, cosmetics, and other everyday products.
• 😀 Chemical engineers are essential in the petroleum industry, designing processes that convert crude oil into usable products like gasoline and diesel.
• 😀 Chemical engineers contribute to the development of alternative energy, such as fuel cells and solar cells, that rely on chemical processes.
• 😀 The main role of chemical engineers is scaling up chemical reactions from a lab scale to a large production scale, ensuring safety and efficiency in design.
• 😀 Chemical engineering requires extensive math, including calculus, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, along with chemistry concepts like kinetics.
• 😀 While chemists focus on understanding chemical reactions at a small scale, chemical engineers scale up those processes for mass production in safe and efficient ways.

Q & A

What is chemical engineering?

Chemical engineering is an engineering discipline that involves designing processes to transport, transform, and produce materials. Chemical engineers utilize knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics to design these processes effectively.

What are some career options for chemical engineers?

Chemical engineers can pursue careers in various fields including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, environmental engineering, semiconductor manufacturing, food production, petroleum engineering, alternative energy, and industrial chemicals.

How do chemical engineers contribute to the pharmaceutical industry?

In the pharmaceutical industry, chemical engineers design facilities that use enzymes and microorganisms to create new drugs. Companies like Pfizer and Merck are examples of employers who hire chemical engineers for these roles.

How do chemical engineers work in environmental applications?

Chemical engineers in environmental engineering focus on reducing pollutants entering the air, waterways, and soil. For example, they design catalytic converters for cars to minimize the release of harmful substances.

What role do chemical engineers play in the semiconductor industry?

Chemical engineers in the semiconductor industry work on manufacturing microchips. They are responsible for designing the processes that transform large silicon crystals into wafers, and ensuring that the chemical reactions needed for microchip production are safely scaled up.

What is the difference between a chemical engineer and a chemist?

A chemist focuses on the chemical reactions at a small scale and deeply understands the underlying chemistry, while a chemical engineer focuses on scaling up these processes to industrial levels. Chemical engineers also deal with designing equipment, reactors, and systems to optimize large-scale production.

What does the term 'scaling up' mean in chemical engineering?

'Scaling up' refers to taking a small chemical reaction, typically done in a lab, and adapting it to a larger scale. This process involves designing reactors and equipment to produce large quantities of a material, such as soap or beer, safely and efficiently.

How do chemical engineers ensure the safe operation of reactors?

Chemical engineers design various safety components for reactors, including temperature sensors, flow sensors, control systems, and pressure release valves. These systems ensure that the reactor operates under optimal conditions, preventing accidents or inefficient production.

How much math is involved in chemical engineering?

Chemical engineering is math-intensive, requiring knowledge of calculus, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat flow. These subjects are applied in designing processes and equipment, such as determining the flow rate of liquids in reactors or the heat transfer in cooling jackets.

What types of chemistry courses do chemical engineers take?

Chemical engineers take courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. These courses cover fundamental topics like chemical equations, atomic structure, carbon-containing compounds, and the physics behind chemical reactions.