Chemical engineers are universal engineers

What’s in a name: chemical – process – biochemical – biopharmaceutical?

Chemical engineering emerged as a separate discipline in the late 1800’s, combining mechanical engineering and chemistry for the developing chemical industry.  All engineers study mathematics and physics, but applying chemistry is limited outside of our discipline.  The term “chemical engineering” was coined to indicate a broadening, rather than a narrowing of the knowledge base.  In Germany, the discipline evolved in a different route, with prominence given to “Verfahrenstechnik” – “process engineering”, hence the later adoption of “process” to describe chemical engineers.  As a branch of engineering, we have constantly extended to address the challenges of technology and society.  In the last 40 years, biology has become more important, with the application of “chemical engineering” to topics such as fermentation (alcohols), waste water treatment (anaerobic digestion, activated sludge processing) and conversion of biomass (bio-refining); “biochemical” has been added to the name.  Finally, all the sciences and maths are applied in the production of pharmaceuticals, so the term “biopharmaceutical” engineering has emerged!  Of all the engineering branches, none is concerned with physics, chemistry and biology in the way “chemical” engineering is.