What is engineering?
Every day we hear the term of Engineering. So what actually
is engineering?
Word engineering is derived from” inginaire” means “to device”
Engineering is basically the systematic application of design approaches, manufacturing techniques, Mathematics, knowledge of fundamental sciences and economy to operate or construct the machines, processes or systems in order to produce or improve the desire results, all with the safety of life, machine and property
History and types of Engineering:
Engineering is the part of human life since the first invention of wheel and it has always played a major role in the development of nations and societies. In ancient times man used his knowledge to make useful tools
and create civil structures. Ancient temples and forts are perfect examples and
evidences of Engineering in ancient times. With the passage of time many new
branches of Engineering has evolved like Electrical Engineering started with
the invention of electricity. Here is
the list of few fundamental type of Engineering
History and types of Engineering:
Engineering is the part of human life since the first invention of wheel and it has always played a major role in the development of nations and societies. In ancient times man used his knowledge to make useful tools
and create civil structures. Ancient temples and forts are perfect examples and
evidences of Engineering in ancient times. With the passage of time many new
branches of Engineering has evolved like Electrical Engineering started with
the invention of electricity. Here is
the list of few fundamental type of Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- System Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Thermal Engineering
- Optical Engineering
- Energy Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biological Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Mechatronics Engineering
- Nano Engineering
- Nuclear Engineering
- Textile Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- System Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Thermal Engineering
- Optical Engineering
- Energy Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biological Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Mechatronics Engineering
- Nano Engineering
- Nuclear Engineering
- Textile Engineering
Introduction of Chemical Engineering:
After the brief Introduction of Engineering, now we will
discuss about the chemical Engineering introduction, history, major subjects
and applications.
Definition:
Chemical Engineering is the branch of Engineering which
utilizes the fundamental knowledge of chemistry (organic, inorganic,
biochemistry), physical sciences, mathematics and economic to design, operate
and maintain large industrial scale processes in order to convert raw material
in useful products. All this process is
carried out while keeping economic and environmental impacts in view.
History:
Commercial and large scale production of chemicals and other
useful products is the part of human life since ancient times. In recent
history, Sulfuric Acid was the one of
the first chemical which was produced on large scale but all this was performed
by chemists and mechanical Engineers. Cloth bleaching, soda ash production,
sopa and paper production are few examples of chemical industry in 19th
century. With the industrial revolution,
unit operations were developed which are the fundamental part of chemical
Engineering. Here is the brief history of chemical engineering Development
19th
century: George E Devis introduced unit operations first time.
1887: World’s
First course of chemical engineering was initiated at City and Guilds of London
Institute but failed to gain the attention of employers.
1888: first ever
chemical engineering course in United States was started at MIT
1905: Unit
operations was introduced in MIT
1908: American
institute of chemical engineers (AlChE) was developed, it played a very vital role to introduce chemical
engineering a separate branch of engineering
1940-1960s: It
was understood that unit operations alone are not sufficient so further subjects
of chemical engineering introduced such as unit processes, transport
phenomenon, biochemical engineering and control systems
1982: After few
serious incidents in chemical industry (i.e Bhopal disaster and Flixborough disaster) AlChE demanded safety as the part of degree to accredit with AlChE
Recently vast developments in field of computers has opened
new doors for chemical Engineering field especially process control field has
improved much. Advance computer programs now can solve complex plant design
problems. Use of latest automated control systems has made production processes
much safer and accurate.
Fundamental branches:
There are two fundamental branches of chemical engineering
- Unit Operations
- Unit Processes
Unit Operations:
Unit operations involve only physical changes (physical
conversion) in system and no chemical change takes place. Crushing, grinding of
solids, boiling, filtration, mixing, heat transfer, fluid flow and mass
transfer are few examples of unit operations. All these involve just change of
matters state or concentration but no chemical conversion of one element to
other takes place
Unit processes:
Unit processes involve chemical changes (chemical
conversion) in the system and physical changes may also take place. Simplest
example of unit processes is the combustion of fuel. Fuel such as coal burns in
the presence of oxygen and burning this chemical conversion of coal to CO2
ad H20 takes place. All chemical reactions are examples of unit
processes, like reaction of Hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2)
to produce ammonia (NH3) is the famous industrial unit process.
Chemisorption is an example of simultaneous unit process and unit operation.
Major areas of Chemical Engineering:
With the passage of
time many new area have included in chemical engineering and now it is one of
the most versatile engineering disciplines. Here is brief description of some
major areas.
Particle technology;
It involves of the production, handling and processing of
particulate solids. Major particle technology operations involves particulate
size reduction, segregation, crushing, handling, mixing and sizing. Handling
and size reduction of raw salt in soda ash plant is an example of particle
technology
Stoichiometry:
Stoichiometry mainly involves the calculations of material
of the system. It includes mass balance,
energy balance calculations, yield calculations and chemical reaction
balancing. It is deeply connected with plant and equipment designing and
sizing.
Thermodynamics:
It is basically a branch of physics but knowledge of
thermodynamics is very important for chemical engineers due to its numerous
applications in industry and design processes. It involves the study of
temperature and energy of systems and their relationship with work. Major
applications of thermodynamics are in refrigeration and power generation
engines.
Fluid mechanics:
Fluid mechanics includes study of fluids (liquids, gases and
plasma) types, characteristics and transportation. Fluid static deals with the
static fluids and fluid dynamics deals with the flowing fluids and their flow
properties. It is basic block of industrial equipment and process design
Heat transfer:
It involves the study of energy exchange between systems and
inside a specific system. Three modes of heat transfer (conduction, convention
and radiation) are basics of heat transfer. Heat exchangers are main equipment
of chemical industry. Understanding of heat transfer phenomenon and designing
of heat transfer equipment is very essential for a chemical engineer. Boiling,
condensation of fluids and melting of solids are few examples of heat transfer
operations
Mass transfer:
It includes the study of transfer of mass (solid, liquid or
gas) from one phase/system/fraction to other. Main mass transfer operations
include distillation, adsorption, absorption and stripping. Distillation of
crude oil to produce gasoline, diesel and other useful products is most widely
used mass transfer operation
Chemical Reaction Engineering:
It involves the study of chemical reaction, their mechanics
and study of different rectors to conduct these reactions industrially. It is
purely a branch of unit processes and requires the knowledge of chemistry to
fully understand the reactions and their mechanisms
Simultaneous heat and mass transfer:
Some unit operations include both mass and heat transfer.
Such operation are studied under the branch of simultaneous heat and mass
transfer. Examples include humidification, diffusion and drying operations
Transport phenomenon:
Transport phenomenon is basically the study of correlation
of fluid mechanics, heat transfer and mass transfer. In transport phenomenon,
transfer of momentum, heat and mass are studied and their relation with each
other is explained.
Chemical process industry:
It is the study of the industrial production processes of
the various chemicals and products. It includes the study of processes diagrams
and various established industrial practices and processes. Fertilizer,
pesticide, petrochemical and food industries are mainly point of interest.
These are
just few core areas of chemical engineering. Along these, many other subjects
and specialized
Areas are part of the field. some
of these are applied chemistry, Engineering drawings, applied mechanics, Engineering materials,
mechanical separation, Energy engineering, gas engineering, chemical reactor
design, biochemical engineering, environmental engineering, micro fluids, oil
refining, oil exploration, water technology, polymer engineering, food
engineering and corrosion engineering
Applications of chemical Engineering:
As we have discussed the major areas of chemical
engineering, now it is easy for you to understand the applications of chemical
engineering in industry. Chemical
industry has become largest industrial sector in last century. From gasoline to
our packed food everything is produced on chemical plants. Here we are going to
express few applications of chemical engineering to show you its versatility
and importance
- Oil exploration and refining to produce gasoline, diesel oil and other fractions
- Production of fertilizers like Urea, Di ammonium phosphate
- Production of pesticides and insecticides
- Water purification and disinfection
- Production of household chemicals like bleach, soaps, detergents, pastes and germicides
- Production of household food products like baking soda and ketchup
- Milk processing and dairy product production
- Food processing and packaging
- Natural gas exploration and purification
- Petrochemical industrial products like waxes, lubricants and greases
- Make up products manufacturing
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Biofuel production
- Production and separation of industrial gases like oxygen, nitrogen
- Beverages production
- Power generation
- Paper production
- Sugar manufacturing
Future of Chemical Engineering:
- Oil exploration and refining to produce gasoline, diesel oil and other fractions
- Production of fertilizers like Urea, Di ammonium phosphate
- Production of pesticides and insecticides
- Water purification and disinfection
- Production of household chemicals like bleach, soaps, detergents, pastes and germicides
- Production of household food products like baking soda and ketchup
- Milk processing and dairy product production
- Food processing and packaging
- Natural gas exploration and purification
- Petrochemical industrial products like waxes, lubricants and greases
- Make up products manufacturing
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Biofuel production
- Production and separation of industrial gases like oxygen, nitrogen
- Beverages production
- Power generation
- Paper production
- Sugar manufacturing
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