Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering

What exactly is a chemical engineer? Many would say that it is simply a "chemist who builds things" or an "engineer who makes chemicals. However, neither of these statements is completely true. The term "chemical engineer" is not meant to actually describe what it is a chemical engineer does, but to describe what sets it apart from the other branches of engineering: civil, mechanical, and electrical. On average, chemical engineers are numerically the smallest but also the highest paid. It is not a profession the must dwell on the past for comfort and support, for its greatest accomplishments are still yet to come.

Chemical engineering, a prominent and growing career, requires a detailed understanding of the how and why chemical processes work and also how they can be further improved. To develop new improvised methods for these processes to function more useful and economical, a chemical engineer uses theories and laws of chemistry. They are, however, often referred to as the "universal engineer" because they must not only have a broad knowledge of chemistry and physics but also of mechanical and electrical engineering.

The Industrial Revolution sparked a new curiosity and need for chemical engineering. In order for certain industries to sustain growth, the production of chemicals became of great importance, especially sulfuric acid. In attempts to improve the process of making this chemical, much time, money and effort was put into it. By this, the slightest savings led to large profits because of the vast quantities of sulfuric acid consumed by industries (Pafko, "Setting Stage").

To create the much needed sulfuric acid, a long used and little understood method was used, the lead-chamber method. During this process, one of the main ingredients, nitrate, was often mostly lost into the environment. Because nitrate must be imported, and the process used so much of it, it became very costly. Improvement was needed in order for sulfuric acid to be made at a much lower cost, since it was so widely used (Pafko, "Setting Stage").

In the late 1800's, Americans became fascinated with news that was coming over from across the Atlantic. Though it was not the advancements in the chemical engineering field that so interested them, it was the news of a serial killer "Jack the Ripper". It seamed as though the surfacing of chemical engineering would just slip by unnoticed.