Introduction to Chemical Engineering Profession

  
                      Introduction to Chemical Engineering Profession

              What are Chemical Engineers? “Chemical engineers” use math, physical sciences (physics, chemistry), life sciences (biology, microbiology and biochemistry), and economics to solve practical problems. The difference between chemical engineers and other types of engineers is that they apply a knowledge of chemistry in addition to other engineering disciplines. Chemical engineers may be called “universal engineers” because their scientific and technical mastery is so extensive.

                                                   History of Chemical Engineering 

                Before 18th Century: Industrial chemicals were mainly produced through batch processing. Industrial Revolution (1700-1800): Industrial production shifted from batch to continuous processing.
                   1805 - John Dalton published Atomic Weights, allowing chemical equations to be balanced and the basis for chemical engineering mass balances. 
            1824 - Sadi Carnot was the first to study the thermodynamics of combustion reactions. 1850 - Rudolf Clausius applied the principles developed by Carnot to chemical systems at the atomic to molecular scale. 

                                                    Chemical Engineering Principles

            1873 to 1876 - Josiah Willard Gibbs developed a mathematical-based, graphical methodology, for the study of chemical systems using the thermodynamics of Clausius. 1882 - Hermann von Helmholtz showed that measure of chemical affinity is determined by the measure of the free energy of the reaction process. 
             1883 - Osborne Reynolds defines the dimensionless group for fluid flow, leading to practical scale-up and understanding of flow, heat and mass transfer

                          Chemical Engineering Education

                 1882 – a course in "Chemical Technology" is offered at University College London. 
            
           1885 –a course in "chemical engineering" is offered at Central College (later Imperial College), London. 
            
            1888 –a new curriculum at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started: Course X, Chemical Engineering.

            Course X at MIT: "to meet the needs of students who desire a general training in mechanical engineering, and at the same time to devote a portion of their time to the study of the applications of chemistry to the arts, especially to those engineering problems which relate to the use and manufacture of chemical products."

                                                    Chemical Engineering Institues

             1908 – the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is founded. 
             1922 – the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is founded. 
             1996 – the Thailand Institute of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry (TiChE) is founded.