History of chemical engineering facts for kids

Chemical engineering is a special type of engineering. It helps us make useful products from different chemicals. Chemical engineers design and improve processes that turn raw materials into everyday items. Think about things like plastics, medicines, fuels, and even food!

Long ago, before the Industrial Revolution (which started in the 1700s), people made chemicals and products like soap in small batches. This was called batch processing. It meant mixing ingredients in a container, heating or cooling them, and then waiting. This way of making things took a lot of time and effort.

Today, chemical engineers use smart methods to make huge amounts of chemicals. They often use continuous processes. This is like an assembly line where things are made non-stop. This change from batch to continuous making started during the Industrial Revolution. Now, big-volume chemicals like those used in fuels are made continuously. But some special products, like medicines or perfumes, are still made in smaller batches.

The Start of Chemical Engineering

The Industrial Revolution made people want many more chemicals, and they wanted them to be better quality. This meant factories needed to make much larger amounts of products. They also needed to find faster and more efficient ways to do it. This led to new ideas like continuous production.

The First Chemical Engineer

In the 1800s, people were already working with industrial chemistry. Universities in Britain started teaching about it. A very important book called Chemical Technology was published in 1848.

By the 1880s, people realized that controlling chemical processes needed special engineering skills. This became a unique job. The first chemical engineering course was taught in 1887 at the University of Manchester in the UK. George E. Davis gave these twelve lectures. Because of his work, George E. Davis is known as the world's first chemical engineer.

Today, chemical engineering is a respected job. Experienced chemical engineers can become licensed professionals. They can join groups like the Institution of Chemical Engineers in the UK.

Groups for Chemical Engineers

In 1880, people tried to create a group for chemical engineers in London. This led to the Society of Chemical Industry being formed in 1881. Later, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) started in 1908 in the US. The UK's Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) began in 1922.

These groups now have members from all over the world. Many other countries also have their own chemical engineering groups. But the AIChE and IChemE are still the biggest and most international. They welcome students and professionals from anywhere.

What Chemical Engineering Means

Other types of engineering are easy to understand. Mechanical Engineering is about machines. Electrical Engineering is about circuits. Civil Engineering is about buildings and bridges. Chemical engineering is all about making chemicals and products.

Unit Operations: Breaking Down Processes

Arthur Dehon Little came up with a smart way for chemical engineers to think. Instead of focusing on just one product, they focus on the process itself. He developed the idea of unit operations. This means that many different chemical processes actually use the same basic steps.

For example, imagine separating alcohol from water. Or separating gasoline from diesel fuel. These might seem different. But if the way you separate them is by turning part of the liquid into a vapor, the basic idea is the same. So, processes like this can be studied together as one unit operation, called distillation.

Unit Processes: Chemical Reactions

In the early 1900s, there was a similar idea called Unit Processes. This was used to group chemical reactions. So, reactions like oxidation (adding oxygen) or alkylation (adding an alkyl group) were studied as separate unit processes. This made sense because chemical engineering was closely linked to industrial chemistry back then.

However, a new field called chemical reaction engineering has mostly taken over. This field looks at all chemical reactions in a broader way. It doesn't just focus on the specific chemicals involved. Instead, it looks at things like how fast a reaction happens (rate behaviour) or how much energy it needs (thermodynamics). This new way of thinking helped chemical engineering become its own unique field, separate from just industrial chemistry.

See also

• George E. Davis
• Chemical Industry
• Chemical plant
• commodity chemicals
• speciality chemicals
• fine chemicals
• Institution of Chemical Engineers