Chapter 1

Introduction to Principles of Chemical

Engineering

Prepared By: Kiros B.

 Principle of Chemical Engineering
What Is Chemical Engineering?
o It is the branch of engineering concerned with the design,
construction, and operation of machines and plants that
perform chemical reactions to solve practical problems or
make useful products.
o Chemical Engineering is the application of science,
mathematics and economics to the process of converting
raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable
forms.
o Chemical Engineering largely involves the design and
maintenance of chemical processes for large-scale
manufacturing.
 Con…
Chemical Engineering is associated with:
 Efficient and economic control of chemical processes
 Design of chemical reactors and process plants
 Development of sustainable products
 Pollution control and treatment of industrial wastes
What Is a Chemical Engineer?
o Like all engineers, chemical engineers uses math, physics,
and economics to solve technical problems.
o The difference between chemical engineers and other types
of engineers is that chemical engineers apply knowledge of
chemistry in addition to other engineering disciplines.
o Chemical Engineers use the principles of engineering
analysis and knowledge of chemistry to design, build and
operate processes that provide society with items such as:
petroleum fuels, paint, plastic, insecticides, pharmaceuticals,
computer chips, etc.
o They are sometimes are called universal engineers because
their scientific and technical mastery is so broad.
 Con…
 The special role of chemical engineers is their ability to
analyze, design and operate processes where chemical (i.e.
reactions), physical (phase change) and biological (reactions
inside cells) transformations of matter occur.
 Chemical Engineers are aimed towards design of processes that
change materials from one form to another more useful (and so
more valuable) form, economically, safely and in an
environmentally acceptable way.
What Do Chemical Engineers Do?
 Make designs and invent new processes.
 Construct instruments and facilities.
 Develop atomic science, polymers, paper, dyes, drugs,
plastics, fertilizers, foods (such as sugar, soft drink, beer,
and other alcoholic beverages), petrochemicals, and
cement pretty much everything.
 They conceive ways to make products from raw materials
and ways to convert one material into another useful
form.
 Make processes more cost effective or more
environmentally friendly or more efficient.
 Where do Chemical Engineers work?
The majority of Chemical Engineers work in businesses
known collectively as the Chemical Process Industries
(CPIs) such as:
Chemicals
Oil and Gas (upstream and downstream)
Pulp and Paper
Rubber and Plastics
Food and Beverage
Textile
Metals, mineral processing
Agricultural Chemicals Industries
Cosmetics/ Pharmaceutical
Biotechnology/Biomedical
Environmental, technical, and business consulting
 Con…
• Many Chemical Engineers also work in supplier, consulting
and governmental agencies related to the CPI by engaging in
equipment manufacture, plant design, consulting, analytical
services and standards development.
• Chemical Engineers hold lead positions in industrial firms and
governmental agencies concerned with environmental
protection since environmental problems are usually complex
and require a thorough knowledge of Physics, Biology,
Mathematics and Chemistry for their resolution.
A chemical engineer can find a niche in any scientific or
engineering field. e.g.
• Petroleum
• Biotechnology
• Consulting
• Drugs and pharmaceuticals
• Fats and oils
• Fertilizer and agricultural chemical
• Foods and beverages.
 Con…
• Lime and cement
• Man-made fibers
• Metallurgical and metal products
• Paints, varnishes and pigments
• Pesticides and herbicides
• Plastic materials and synthetic resins
• And so on………
 The Chemical Engineering Manufacturing Processes
• Continuous process -Industrial process that continuously
receives raw materials and processes them through to
completed units (1T/h of X and 2T/h of Y)
• Continuous processes are designed to operate 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, throughout the year.
• Some down time will be allowed for maintenance and, for
some processes, catalyst regeneration.
• The plant attainment; that is, the percentage of the
available hours in a year that the plant operates, is usually
90 to 95%.
• Continuous processes are more economical for large scale
production.
 Con…
Examples of CPs
 Sulphuric acid production
 Sodium hydroxide production
 Ammonia production
 Chlorine production
 Methanol production
Advantages of CPs
 Good for large volumes (bulk chemicals)
 Fewer start up and shutdowns –UPTIME!!
 Potentially greater yields
 Con…

Disadvantages of CPs
 Requires periodic shutdown of whole plant for inspection
and maintenance
 May rely on critical pieces of equipment which have the
potential to stop production on whole plant
 Higher initial costs
 Employees knowledge of the process is limited
 Con….
• Batch process - A process that is not in continuous or mass
production; operations are carried out with discrete quantities
of material or a limited number of items (1T of X and 2T of Y)
• Batch processes are designed to operate intermittently. Some
or all of the process units being frequently shut down and
started up.
Examples of BPs:
 Pharmaceuticals (substances with medicinal properties)
 Agrochemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides)
 Dyestuffs (food dyes, clothing dyes, industrial dyes)
 Food additives (preservatives, enhancers)
 Perfumes
 Vitamins
 Pigments
 Con….
Advantages of BPs
 Good for small amounts of specialty chemicals
 Make a range of products using same equipment
 Can schedule maintenance & inspections to equipment in between
batches
 Good for developing new products
 Easier to scale up from lab scale
 Generally cheaper set up costs
Employees understand the process well
Disadvantages of BPs
 Frequent start up and shutdown of equipment – DOWNTIME!!
 Cleaning time between batches
 batch to batch variability can occur
 Not good for bulk chemical production
 Evolution of Chemical Engineering
o Before 18th Century:
Industrial chemicals were mainly produced through
batch processing.
o Industrial Revolution (1700-1800):
Industrial production shifted from batch to
continuous processing.
o 1805 - John Dalton published Atomic Weights, allowing
chemical equations to be balanced and the basis for
chemical engineering mass balances.
o 1824 - Sadi Carnot was the first to study the
thermodynamics of combustion reactions.
o 1850 - Rudolf Clausius applied the principles developed
by Carnot to chemical systems at the atomic to molecular
scale.
o 1873 to 1876 - Josiah Willard Gibbs developed a
mathematical-based, graphical methodology, for the study
of chemical systems using the thermodynamics of
Clausius.
o 1882 - Hermann von Helmholtz showed that measure of
chemical affinity is determined by the measure of the free
energy of the reaction process.
o 1883 - Osborne Reynolds defines the dimensionless group
for fluid flow, leading to practical scale-up and
understanding of flow, heat and mass transfer
o 1882 – a course in "Chemical Technology" is offered at
University College London.
o 1885 –a course in "chemical engineering" is offered at
Central College (later Imperial College), London.
o 1888 –a new curriculum at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) started
ChE Institutes
o 1908 – the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
(AIChE) is founded.
o 1922 – the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers
(IChemE) is founded.
o 1996 – the Thailand Institute of Chemical Engineering
and Applied Chemistry (TiChE) is founded.
 Some Chemical Engineering Contributions to Society
FUELING THE WORLD’S ECONOMIES
o The world's economy needs energy to keep it moving.
o Chemical engineers stretch fossil fuels into various energy
supplies, e.g. gasoline, diesel, jet oil, etc.
CREATING CLEANER ENERGY
o Chemical engineers are creating a new generation of clean
energy technologies.
 Nuclear power plant
 NiMH battery (nickel-metal hydride battery)
 Alternative energies such as wind, water, solar, etc.
 Con…
PRODUCTS FOR GROWING POPULATIONS
o Water purification
o Water desalination
o GMO foods
o Green productions
REMOVING HARMFUL SULFUR FROM FUELS
o Catalytic converter for car’s exhausted gas
o Unleaded gasoline gasohol
o Air pollution control
 Con….
BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY
o Chemical engineers have made plastics possible.
STRETCHING NATURAL RESOURCES
o Chemical engineers make innovative materials.
- Synthetic rubbers
- Bio-plastics
- Kevlar
LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
o Even if a product was created by a scientist, there is a good
chance it was perfected and made practical by chemical
engineers.
 Con…
CONVENIENT & ABUNDANT FOOD
o When popping your favorite ready-to-eat meal in the
microwave, thank chemical engineers!
- Processed food, canned food
- Powder coffee, Powder milk
- Sterilized food
HEALING DISEASES & EXTENDING LIFE
o Chemical engineering has advanced medical science, improving
the quality of life and saving millions of lives.
 Con….
POWERING THE PERSONAL COMPUTER
o The tools chemical engineers use to improve computers
may have long-winded names, but their advances make our
gadgets all the more powerful.
o Germanium-based silicon chips that help your laptop
perform faster.
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has
identified the 9 most outstanding achievements of chemical
engineering as being
1. Production of synthetic ammonia
2. Production of petrochemicals
3. Production of chemical fertilizers
4. Commercial-scale production of antibiotics
5. Establishment of the plastics industry
6. Establishment of the synthetic fibers industry
7. Establishment of the synthetic rubber industry
8. Development of high-octane gasoline
9. Electrolytic production of aluminum.
 Core Issues of Chemical Engineering
o Chemical engineering applies the core scientific disciplines
of chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics to
transform raw materials or chemicals into more useful or
valuable forms, invariably in processes that involve
chemical change.
o All Engineers employ mathematics, physics, and
engineering art to overcome technical problems in a safe
and economical fashion.
o The chemical engineer provides the critical level of
expertise needed to solve problems in which chemical
specificity and change have particular relevance.
 Con…..
o They are not only creating new, more effective ways to
manufacture chemicals, they also work collaboratively
with chemists to pioneer the development of high-tech
materials for specialized applications.
Thank You!