Assignment for not attending Week in Industry

Role of a chemical engineer Throughout this essay the role of a chemical engineer in providing solutions to some of the worlds major challenges will be analysed. This will be done by initially discussing the basic duties and responsibilities that a chemical engineer poses to society and the skills in which they should possess in order to fulfill these requirements to the best of their ability. The work that is currently being done by chemical engineers around the globe will also be investigated, as they continue to provide solutions to some of the worlds most prevalent issues such as food and water supply, the diminishing availability of non-renewable resources such as fuels and minerals and bettering other means like nuclear energy. After this has been established, the kinds of things that chemical engineers might look at implementing in the future will be explored with such ever-growing technologies in the areas of biomedicine and renewable energy sources, as well as many other areas that together outline the great importance of this role, and the heavy reliance that society has on chemical engineers.

As the years go by, the role that a chemical engineer plays in todays ever-growing society and environment is a very important one, and this view is very much shared around the world. Put simply, a chemical engineer is an individual responsible for manufacturing chemicals and developing processes for doing so, in addition to designing the equipment for the plant as well. Chemical engineers are most notably involved in developing products such as rubber, plastic, gasoline, cement, paper and more. Along with the design of processes and machinery, one of the key responsibilities of a chemical engineer is to conduct a lot of primary research before embarking on any manufacturing or processing of any kind, in order to determine the best possible way of producing certain products. Chemical engineers also usually undertake a number of tests and consultations with numerous individuals along the way to ensure the desired outcome is reached in accordance with the Triple Bottom Line (Economy, Society, and Environment). Along with research, the design of various items such as measurement and control systems is also a major duty of a chemical engineer and one that must be carried out with a high level of precision. Together with this, ongoing analysis of the plants processes, test data and research findings is very important, as the outcome of the task at hand could very well depend on how in-depth the analysis is. Many attributes are seen as central in best accomplishing these responsibilities and duties most notably chemical engineers should possess a keen scientific mind, as chemistry, physics and engineering are all part of the daily job role of a chemical engineer. As there can be many documents, processes, diagrams, tables and equations which a chemical engineer must also analyse on a day to day basis, analytical skills are also deemed to be a very important attribute to a chemical engineer. These skills combined with good research skills and a precise nature illustrates the basic attributes a chemical engineer should possess if they are to fulfill the requirements that their role entails. It is significant to recognise that the better and more adept to these skills, the better the chemical engineer and the more responsibility they will be given, and the more increasingly imperative tasks will be handed down to them to improve some of the worlds major significant issues.*1]

There are quite a number of issues of significance affecting the globe in this present day which include greenhouse gas emissions, food supply, growing scarcity of potable water, diminishing availability of non-renewable resources, and purification/sanitation of foods and beverages. At the moment, chemical engineers are working on a vast array of developing technologies to try and hinder some of these particular issues effect on society and the environment as a whole. In terms of energy consumption and CO2 emissions, chemical engineers have been able to limit this, through the development of such ideas as carbon sequestration and storage, as well as turning solar energy into electricity by harnessing the suns energy. Chemical engineers are seen as most pivotal to solar energy use as their experience in both material science and heat transfer sets them up perfectly for designing the most efficient system for collecting solar energy and converting it to electricity. Capturing wind energy is also being widely used around the world nowadays due to its inherently environmentally friendly nature. The actual design of the windmill used to capture the winds energy is mainly the job of a mechanical engineer, whereas the chemical engineer devotes their time and energy into producing the materials, and sensor and control systems that go into the windmill structure. It is relevant to establish that nuclear energy is also something that, while frowned upon by some politicians and environmentalists, is said to play an expanding role in overall energy consumption in the years to come, as nuclear energy produces much less greenhouse gases than do fossil fuels. The role of a chemical engineer with regards to this instance is to constantly work in cohesion with nuclear engineers and further improving existing nuclear power plants by improving safety measures, increasing power output, as well as extending operating life.[2] Genetic modification is something that has been developed from a combination of chemical engineering technology and biotechnology that is currently being implemented in the food/crop supply industry. It allows for the manipulation of the characteristics of a plant to produce more desirable traits, including raising its nutritional content, enhancing its resistance to herbicide and pesticide damage, increasing its resistance to disease, reducing allergenicity and more. An example of this food modification technology is the production of longer-lasting tomatoes, which was introduced in the 1990s, whereby the tomatoes were modified to produce less of the enzyme that causes tomatoes to ripen and soften. There is no doubt this technology has the ability to assist immensely with food supply in possible time periods of extreme climate change, war and other such hardships that could be likely to occur in the future, and it can be therefore distinguished that chemical engineers can prove crucial to the survival of civilization in some respects.[3] As most food ingredients and processed foods, as well as water systems contain unwanted contaminants, it is critically important that we are able to remove these contaminants for health reasons particularly. Membrane-based separation was invented by chemical engineers and is a popular technique utilised to remove such unwanted contaminants like suspended solids, dissolved salts, bacteria, fungi, metals and other pathogens from food and food ingredients. This method of purification may also be useful in relation to water supply, as depending on how good purification processes are, the water san sometimes be treated to drinking water standards. It remains influential for sanitation and purification purposes, and as chemical engineers do, they are consistently looking at improving the systems involved in membrane based separation to make it more efficient, effective, and cost-effective.[3] Desalination is a method for water purification that is growing largely in popularity, and one that was first established through the knowledge and minds of chemical engineers who thought it would be most beneficial in areas where demand for potable water is higher than the sustainable supply, where water courses are fragile and where climate

change is making previously reliable resources unreliable. Basically, a chemical engineers task in producing a desalination plant revolves around separating saline water into two streams: a fresh water stream and a brine stream. It also utilizes the process of reverse osmosis, which is largely used in purification systems and is a well-known method to chemical engineers. Desalination plants also can have a substantial impact on the environment with high energy consumption, and high greenhouse gas emissions the major issues that need solving. In outlining this, it is clearly evident that the role of chemical engineers is very important when it comes to a desalination plant, as while the plant achieves its main purpose of increasing the amount of drinking water available to cities and communities, chemical engineers must work to compromise and balance this with its impact on the environment, which can prove to be tough, and in certain circumstances a never ending predicament, but one that is always dealt with whilst keeping in mind the need for sustainability and future needs and concerns.[4]

A major component of being a chemical engineer is that they must constantly be thinking towards the future by analyzing things such as climate change and making calculated estimations as to what kinds of issues they could be dealing with in the not too distant future. It has been determined that we are about to embark on an era of unprecedented investment in clean energy supplies, and in infrastructure, which will allow more efficient use of energy in general. Chemical engineers are looking at making advancements in the current main source of energy being hydrocarbons, and as was established previously, nuclear energy is also something that will be expanding over the years to come with chemical engineers routinely working to design, develop, monitor, and operate nuclear power plants in safest and most efficient manner possible. Hydrogen fuel cells is seen as a much cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, and has been seen as a potential breakthrough in sustainable energy technologies, however the role of a chemical engineer remains particularly crucial in the long run, as while it may be more environmentally friendly and sustainable than fossil fuels in theory, hydrogen is difficult to store and distribute, and at the moment, no current method exists for delivering hydrogen to households, and no infrastructure in place to allow fuel cell-powered automobiles to refuel at local gas stations. It is job of chemical engineer to come up with a possible solution to this issue.[2][5] Professor Peter Lillford CBE, Chairman of the Working Party (publisher of a report of food and water supply by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institution of Chemical Engineers) exclaims that it is no longer morally or economically acceptable (to waste food). There is no way out of this unless we make changes.*6] In saying this, he is calling out to chemical engineers to implement change, and transform new and existing technologies and aim to eradicate this issue. In recent years, genetic modification has been introduced to complement this issue, and is very promising as it has potential to increase total global food production, reduce crop losses, and increase nutritional content, but more work needs to be done, and the report by Prof. Lillford also recommends a stronger focus on developing and improving chemical engineering technologies to conserve and reuse water. It has been anticipated that by 2050, as many as 60 countries will experience water scarcity according to research by the United Nations, so there is no doubt that improvements need to be made in the future by chemical engineers to build stronger methods at implementing conservation and reusable water methods, treatment of contaminated water, recycling of water, as

well as desalination, which was discussed beforehand, and is growing popular in many major cities and communities.[2][6] Another rather interesting development that is strongly being considered for future use is the creation of polymeric dendrimers and fullferenes, which are being developed as targeted drugdelivery vehicles that have the ability to assist in the destruction of tumours in situ, whilst reducing unrelated cell damage and other side effects caused by traditional methods of chemotherapy.[7] These nanoscaled products are a major breakthrough in biomedicine illustrating the diverse array of issues that chemical engineers cover and are involved with. These feats can be made possible by a combination of skills and attributes from fields of chemical engineering, as well as biotechnology, which also play a role in pesticide and genetic modification technology. In conclusion, it is quite evident that the skills and attributes that are obtained by chemical engineers are able to help provide many alternative solutions to a lot of the worlds problems such as food supply, whereby genetic modification and purification techniques such as membrane separation that are developed by engineers provide relief of these issues. Chemical engineers are able to also provide substitutes to usual energy resources such as fossil fuels, by harnessing solar power, and capturing wind energy to limit energy consumption and help protect the earths atmosphere with the introduction of hydrogen fuel cells being possibly being introduced in a more public sense in the years to come as well, and the feasible expansion of nuclear energy will also prevent further greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Drinking water supply has also been established as being a major issue with chemical engineers reacting with the construction of many desalination plants, and the advancements in biomedicine have also seen to include chemical engineers as part of the revamp with nanoscaled structures being targeted for drug-delivery purposes generating excitement amongst the medical community. While the role of a chemical engineer has been recognized as being evident in past and recent years, the job at hand heading into the future for the individuals undertaking this profession has never been more crucial to the environment and society, as they seek to eliminate these issues and improve worlds stance, in regards to the triple bottom line.

References
[1] Exforsys Inc 2010, The Duties and Responsibilities of a Chemical Engineer, viewed on 10 Sepetmber 2010 <http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/career-tracks/the-duties-and-responsibilities-of-achemical-engineer.html>.

[2] - Chemical engineers in action 2009,Frontiers in Energy Generation, Copyright 2009, viewed on 11 September 2010 <http://www.chemicalengineering.org/energy/index.html>.

[3] Chemical engineers in action 2009,Frontiers of Food Processing, Copyright 2009, viewed on 11 September 2010 <http://www.chemicalengineering.org/food/frontier.html>

[4] Western Australia Water Corporation 2006, 'Desalination, viewed 13 September 2010 <http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2006/publications/emerging/desal/index.html>.

[5] Montreal 2009 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Major Themes, viewed 13 September 2010 <http://www.wcce8.org/prog_majorthemes.html>.

[6] IChemE, World food crisis will be survival of the fittest, published 21 January 2009, Concept CMS 2010, viewed 13 September 2010 <http://cms.icheme.org/mainwebsite/generalbarafc3d75d.aspx?map=bb5dda6fcd88d5202dabb200387809ea>

[7] Chemical engineers in action 2009,Nanoscale structues, Copyright 2009, viewed on 13 September 2010 <http://www.chemicalengineering.org/biomed/nano.html>.