Chemical Focus
Innovation pushes chemical engineering profession into a new ‘golden age’
T
he chemical engineering profession has entered a new golden age, according to Professor
Phillip Westmoreland of North Carolina State University, and 2014 past president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In his plenary lecture during CHISA, the 21st International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, Westmoreland noted that several of the factors that enabled previous Golden Ages of the profession are currently evident. A burst of demand and innovation is happening. Factors that contribute to Westmoreland’s logic of the new golden age include new resources for fuel and chemicals, such as hydrofracking and biomass.
Applied chemical biology has led to new medicines, medical tools and practices, and biocompatible and biomimetic
materials. Dramatic advances in computers, networks, and mobile devices have transformed computing into a powerful cyber-infrastructure of data, design and communications. Industry, generally, has moved towards process-based, high-productivity manufacturing which chemical engineers have pioneered, now including 3D printing and computer-chip manufacturing. Finally, the systems approach central to chemical engineering finds increasing importance in industry, economics and public policy. There are two previous golden ages of chemical engineering – the first is generally accepted to be in the period 1915 – 1929, which saw a geographical broadening in the chemical industry, a growing demand for petroleum-based fuels and emergence of the modern profession through the unit- operations concept. In the 15 years after World War II, a
second golden age occurred, again partly due to the high demand for petroleum products. New factors included widespread development of synthetic polymers, drugs, and other products. The profession also moved ahead because of intellectual advances within education which saw a growth in applied mathematics, physics, and reactor engineering.
Ahead of his plenary lecture titled Making
Bio-oils: A Microcosm of the Opportunities and Challenges for a Golden Age of Chemical Engineering, Westmoreland, said: “My research on bio-fuel production illustrates both the exciting present as well as the challenges facing chemical engineering. “Using biomass is a great advance toward sustainability and mitigating climate change if done right. If not, it could be a serious additional source of pollutants and could consume excessive water, land and energy.” n
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