Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Q: So what is chemical engineering anyway?
Chemical engineering is an integrative engineering discipline that ranges from the typical oil refinery industry to the recently rising pharmaceutical research, not to mention the food design industry as well! Contrary to the common belief, chemical engineers not only focus on the chemical aspect of production, but they also apply extensive math and physics into process/reactor designs.

Q: What real world applications does chemical engineering have?

Chemical engineering is well known for its flexibility. High demands for chemical engineers have ramified to many areas of marketing and production such as pharmaceuticals, high performance materials in the aerospace and automotive industries, semiconductors in the electronics industry, paints and plastics, petroleum refining, synthetic fibers, artificial organs, bio-compatible implants and prosthetics. Nowadays, chemical engineers are marching into the newly developing chemical sensors targeted for drug delivery, exciting environmental technologies, and the puzzling yet intriguing area of nanomaterials.

Q: What sort of classes do you take while studying chemical engineering?

The typical chemical engineering curriculum consists of heavy loads of advanced math and physics. Courses like fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, etc make up the gist of chemical engineering applications.

Q: What are typical career path taken after graduating with a degree in chemical engineering?

Although more than half of the chemical engineering graduates go on working for engineering firms, their options are not limited to pure engineering. In fact, the break down for rest can usually be categorized into graduate school, professional schools (include med and business schools), and other non-engineering related fields such as finance and marketing.
Despite where chemical engineering students might end up, the incredible skills that they have developed from the four years of rigorous training will enable them to outshine the others in any place, any discipline. Who knows, you might even end up working for Nabisco, coming up with their next hit cookie!

Grasshoppers

Plants develop chemical defenses to survive attackes by insects such as these grasshoppers. Those chemicals sometimes can be developed into medicines to combat human diseases.

Are Non-Stick Chemicals And Aging Dads More Dangerous To Babies Than Cocaine?

Last week the New York Times printed good news about a worrisome issue in childhood development. As it turns out, children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy have only slightly lower IQ scores than children whose mothers didn't use. The difference between the children's scores was so low it was deemed "scientifically insignificant." In fact, the effect of alcohol on the fetus is more detrimental than cocaine's, while tobacco's is about the same.
But potential parents have some other science to consider this week. In the latest issue of Human Reproduction scientists found that women with higher levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs, or the chemicals that make products "non-stick") in their blood had more trouble getting pregnant. Women with higher levels of the two main chemicals—PFOA and PFOS—were up to 154 percent more likely to be infertile. Exposure is a particular problem for developed countries like the US, where eight percent of women of childbearing age have consulted a doctor about infertility. And, like we've said before, Teflon is forever.

AA Battery

R6 size AA battery (3d render) R6 size AA battery (3d render) R6 size AA battery (3d render)

R6 size AA battery (3d render) .

Buzz Energy Candy

What it took: I bought this ridiculous energy candy at the convenience store entirely because the little tin amused me. Come on, it's got a picture of a beaver and it's "dam good" -- how could I pass it up? And the little maple leaves on the candy? That's attention to detail. A friend rightly pointed out that it tastes like "a combination of pop rocks and Mr. Clean" but I still think I got my $2 worth just for the packaging. :)
I wanted something that looked like a product shot to show off the excellent attention to detail on the packaging. So I arranged everything on a piece of black velvet with natural light from the window on the right. I was trying to get the energy candy to "glow" a little bit while still showing the maple leaves... not sure if I should have toned it down some. Used a long exposure with a wide aperture so that the product was fully in focus. The slight weirdness around the letters is due to the printing not being entirely lined up with the embossing.This is as-shot, only converted to jpg from raw.

Chemical Energy

Energy is conserved in chemical reactions. If there are stronger bonds formed in the product than there are broken in the reactants, heat is released, and the reaction is exothermic.

If there are weaker bonds formed in the product than there are broken in the reactants, heat is absorbed, and the reaction is endothermic.

In chemical reactions, energy is either released or absorbed in the form of heat.

Green Chemistry Grows From Grass Roots

Green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry as it is sometimes known, is defining the way in which the chemical and allied industries develop new products and processes. In general, it means the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances.

In addition, it includes the 'cradle to cradle' concept whereby the life-cycle of a product can be tracked from the production of the basic materials to the manufacture, use and subsequent disposal, all of which should not have a negative impact on the environment. But as well as the positive environmental impact, green chemistry can also lead to significantly reduced plant operating costs, benefiting business.

Established chemical production processes have seen changes which have led to reduced energy and water consumption, minimised by-products and even noise reduction. A well-documented example is Shell Chemical's styrene production process.
Changes since 1980, when the company first commercially produced styrene monomer, mean that Shell's newest plants use 35% less energy for every tonne of material produced, while emissions to air have been cut by 90%.

The heart of sustainability

Along with the ongoing process changes, chemical producers are committing to putting sustainability at the heart of their future business development. During 2005, Dow Chemical announced its 2015 Sustainability Goals, which included commitments to continue R&D efforts in green chemistry and improve resource management.
An implementation of this is Dow's recent move to piping methane, generated as a by-product from its landfill sites, to its latex production facility in Georgia, US.
Dow Chemical's chief sustainability officer David Kepler says that when sustainability practices are put into place, and scaled up, their outcomes can be wide-reaching. "Sustainable chemistry begins by assuring our own footprint is light but it only reaches its full potential when it delivers solutions to the problems faced by society," he says.
Kepler's opinion is endorsed and taken further by the UK's Institute of Chemical Engineers chief executive Dr David Brown. "Sustainable chemistry will play an important role in addressing some of the key social issues we face in terms of the impact of climate change, the availability of fossil fuels, the security of energy supply, safe water, affordable healthcare and more effective material resources," he says.
The incremental changes that continue to be made by businesses in the chemical sector are just the beginning. As industry responds to consumer concern, and with the possibility of falling supplies of traditional base materials such as ethylene, it becomes not just the chemical industry that must be sustainable but the feedstock too.

Magical chemical reactions set audience ‘on fire’

M&Ms that spontaneously combust, metal that melts itself and elephant toothpaste—these are just some of the magical displays that faculty and students from the Carleton University department of chemistry performed to packed houses on February 23, 2008. Here, Professor Jeffrey Manthorpe demonstrates how surface area can affect the rate of a reaction. Blowing a powder such as lycopodium into a flame, as Manthorpe is doing, causes the substance to burn. However, when a match is held to a handful of the powder, nothing happens.

Undergraduate Frequently Asked Questions

About the Field
What is Chemical Engineering?
Chemical Engineering combines math, physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering to solve a wide range of industrial problems in a safe and economical fashion.

How long does it take to become a Chemical Engineer?
The B.S. program in Chemical Engineering takes five years to complete. During these five years, students receive 36 months (12 terms) of resident instruction and three 6 month periods of practical engineering experience (Co-op) dispersed throughout the sophomore, pre-junior and junior years. By graduation, B.S. students have obtained a degree as well as practical work experience.

What career options do Chemical Engineers have?
Chemical engineers have career opportunities in chemical process industries (CPI), biotechnology, advanced materials, design and construction, electronics, environmental, safety, and health industries, the food and beverages industries, and many other industries.

Chemical Engineering

Students in Chemical Engineering graduate programs experience high-quality, challenging, and exciting interdisciplinary research in a dynamic and cohesive environment.
Graduate students have access to leading facilities within the department and the university, as well as to research groups with strong links to international researchers and industry (e.g. DuPont, Xerox, SAS, BP Chemicals France, Praxair). Finally, the program has a dynamic group of award-winning researchers that are strongly committed to research, graduate supervision and teaching at a nationally and internationally recognized research university.

Armyworms

from the field by hand or net during the day and fed to
chickens and ducks. Mix the caterpillars with other
food or the fowl will refuse to eat armyworms after a
while.
• Chemical control: Insecticides should be the last
resort for armyworm control. The choice of insecticide
depends on factors such as the application
equipment available, the cost of the insecticide, the
presence of fish, or a need to preserve natural
enemies. Like all pesticides, the benefits of using an
insecticide must be weighed against the risks to
health and the environment. Indiscriminate
insecticide use can disrupt existing biological control,
resulting in pest resurgence or outbreaks. Before
using a pesticide contact a crop protection specialist
for suggestions, guidance, and warnings specific to
your situation. Always read pesticide labels carefully.

Recycled Polymeric Materials

The commitment to creativity and belief in new technological possibilities by Diversified Chemical Technologies, Inc. has given life to Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM).

RPM produces polyurethane components that contain 25% recycled rubber mesh from used tires. Via a patent-pending ambient temperature reaction injection molding process, this system combines the newest in Polyurethane chemistry with post-consumer waste material, producing components of virtually any geometry which can be used as direct replacements for vulcanized EPDM parts.
Our products can currently be found on over 17,000,000 Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan, DaimlerChrysler and BMW vehicles around the world, sealing areas most critical to OEMs.
Environmental Benefits
How often do you have the opportunity to protect the environment, improve your product, and improve your financials? Recycled Polymeric Materials products allow our automotive customers to achieve all of these goals.

Our commitment to both the environment and technological improvements, have led to the development of Foamed Rubber Parts made out of 30% recycled tire rubber. This line of products have proven to be lighter in weight, require less energy to manufacture, show an increase in durability, and assist in the elimination of 60,000 used tires every year.
Research & Development
The unique nature of RPM technology is that the scope is not confined to the automotive industry. On-going and future projects include rubberized concrete for reduced construction costs and increased durability. In addition, RPM is pursuing the use of ASR (automotive shredder residue) as a quality replacement for wood in multiple areas, which may also reduce construction costs. Future applications are being contemplated regarding the expansion of this technology, and RPM will be there.

Adhesive Systems, Inc.

If you are looking for adhesives, we have just about any kind that will satisfy your packaging and bottling needs.

Product Line:

Barrier Coatings
Hot Melt Adhesives
Low Application Temperature Adhesives
Radiation Curable Adhesives
Specialty Adhesives
Water-Base Adhesives
Pre-Applied Adhesives

Teflon Chemicals Found in Humans

Chemicals used in Teflon and Scotchguard are showing up in the bloodstream of humans throughout the world, with higher levels in the United States and other highly developed nations, according to a new study.

The chemicals -- perfluoronated compounds -- have been used for decades with very little government oversight. Scientists say they are surprised at the chemicals' pervasiveness in the environment, which they said raises concerns about their potential impact on public health.

Perfluoronated compounds have been found in the blood of virtually every person tested for them in the United States, including children as young as 2. The compounds have been linked to cancer, developmental problems, liver damage and other ailments in animals, though there is no general agreement about their effects on humans.

Liquid chlorine

Specification: IS: 646-1986 (reaffirmed in 1996).

Description: The chemical is a clear yellow liquid and, when evaporated over a clean white tile, leaves no residue.

Composition: When tested to the method prescribed in appendix 'A' IS: 646-1986, the vapourised liquid contains not less than 99.8 per cent by volume of chlorine gas.

Properties and storage: Liquid chlorine is a clear amber-coloured mobile fluid and is about one-and-one-half times the weight of water. It evaporates extremely rapidly when spilled, one volume of liquid forming 460 volumes of gas. Thus, a liquid chlorine leak may be extremely hazardous, as the quantity of chlorine given out is many times greater than that from a gaseous leak.

Chlorine is slightly soluble in water; the maximum solubility being approximately 1 per cent at 10° C. Chlorine cylinders and containers should be stored in a dried ventilated place, protected from excessive heat and direct sunlight. It is preferable that the storage room be fire-proof. Storage near gangways or in sub-surface locations should be avoided.

Uses: Chlorine is used mainly as a bleaching agent and a disinfectant. It is also used in metallurgy and in the manufacture of organic and inorganic chlorinated products.

Safety precautions:
1. Even a minor leak must be attended to immediately. If the leak occurs in the containers in which the chlorine is being used, the container valve should be closed immediately.
2. Certified gas masks should be used whenever chlorine is present in significant quantities. The gas mask should be inspected frequently.
3. Follow routine first-aid procedures during a minor incident of gassing, but in an emergency call a physician immediately.
4. Water should not be spread on a chlorine leak.
5. Leak at valve steams can often be stopped by tightening the valve packing nuts and/or closing the valve.

Packing: 900-kg and 1,000-kg cylinders.

Liquid bromine

Specification: IS: 2142-1992 (reaffirmed in 1997).

Description: A dark reddish-brown fuming liquid with a highly irritating odour.

Properties and storage: Liquid bromine is a dark, reddish-brown, fuming, volatile liquid with a suffocating odour. Bromine attacks all metals and organic tissues. It vaporises at room temperature.

One litre of bromine weighs about 3.1 kg. One ml of bromine dissolves in about 30 ml of water. It is freely soluble in alcohol, chloroform, ether, carbon disulphide, carbon tetrachloride and concentrated hydrochloric acid. Liquid bromine should be stored in well-stoppered containers.

Normally, bromine is stored in amber-coloured glass containers or glass-lined steel tanks, but dry bromine can be stored in well-designed lead-lined or monel drums.

Uses: Bromine is used primarily in the manufacture of organic and inorganic bromides. It is an important reagent in the preparation of organic compounds involving a bromination step. It is also used in water treatment, shrink-proofing wool, as an intermediate for fumigants, as fire-extinguisher fluid and military poison gas.

Safety precautions: While handling bromine, always keep ammonia water within reach.

Packing: 3- and 3.5-kg glass bottles.

Hydrobromic acid

Specification: T C specification.

Description: A clear liquid, colourless to pale yellow when packed and may turn yellow to brown with time.

Properties and storage: Hydrobromic acid is a concentrated solution of hydrogen bromide gas in water. Solution with strengths higher than about 48 per cent fume freely when exposed to the atmosphere.

These fumes are extremely corrosive and an irritant to the mucous membrane. A solution of less than 48 per cent is usually easier to handle and store. Hydrobromic acid is sensitive to light, which slowly decomposes it and imparts to it a reddish-brown colour.

Uses: Concentrated hydrobromic acid is used principally in the preparation of certain organic chemicals and vitamin A.

Packing: 40- to 55-kg HDPE container.

Sodium bromide (photographic grade)

Specification: IS: 5380-1976 (reaffirmed in 1997).

Description: The material is in the form of small white crystals or crystalline powder, free from extraneous impurities. It absorbs moisture from the air but it is not deliquescent.

Appearance of solution: A freshly-prepared solution of 20g of the material in 100 ml of distilled water is clear, colourless and free from sediments.

Properties and storage: Sodium bromide absorbs moisture when exposed to the atmosphere. It should, therefore, be stored in a well-closed container in a cool, dry place.

Uses: The PQ grade is specially made for its use in photography.

Packing: 50-kg HM / HDPE drums with polythene liner.

Helping farmers reap bumper crops

Urea is an important nitrogenous fertiliser and Tata Chemicals is a major manufacturer of the product in India

Tata Chemicals makes urea at its fertiliser complex in Babrala. The complex has an installed capacity of 8,64,000 tonnes per year, which constitutes nearly 12 per cent of the total urea produced by India's private sector.

The Babrala facility, among the best of its kind in India and comparable to the best in the world, has set new standards in technology, energy conservation, productivity and safety. It is the only fertiliser plant in the country to use dual feedstock: natural gas or naphtha, or a combination of both.

The nature of the soil in many Indian regions is such that nitrogenous fertilisers are an important input for most crops. It is, thus, important that farmers have access to good urea at low cost.

Government aid

To make fertilisers available to farmers at affordable prices and to encourage balanced use, the Indian government regulates the sale price of fertilisers and provides a subsidy on urea and concessions on decontrolled phosphatic and potassic fertilisers. The government provides subsidy for the production and use of fertilisers under the retention price-cum-subsidy scheme (RPS), which was introduced in 1977.

The main objective of the scheme is to insulate farmers from fluctuations in fertiliser costs. It is also intended to ensure that fertiliser consumption does not suffer, as its growth was an essential ingredient of the Indian green revolution.

The RPS scheme is aimed at assuring a reasonable return on investment to indigenous manufacturers and to attract further investment in the fertiliser sector. The scheme has proved its worth in terms of stimulating higher production and use of fertilisers, thereby contributing to increased agricultural production in the country.