DeepDivers

Today, Chemical Engineering is known to be a discipline of engineering that combines the principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, and economics to design, optimise, and operate processes that convert raw materials to products [1]. This field of engineering contributes to a variety of industries across the global world and plays a big factor in keeping the world moving forward.

Chemical engineering has also been known to be broad, allowing many different forms of engineering pathways that exist today in the modern world [3][4], and they are (but not limited to);

• Process Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Pharmaceutical Engineering
• Food Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Petroleum and Petrochemicals Engineering
• Biochemical Engineering
• Mining and Minerals Engineering
• Energy Engineering
• Renewable Engineering

Even though, chemical engineers in the current world are continuously improving processes, creating new ideas through research, and teaching the current principles of practice to future generations [2]. The history of this discipline requires in-depth research to understand who, what, why, where, when, and how it all started and evolved through the passage of time and events.

As such, this article will only serve as an introduction to the subsequent chapters that will be created to explore the entire history of chemical engineering from its precursor in Pre-History, Ancient History [1], the Middle Ages, and Modern History [1].

All eras in history will be explored to understand the early signs, development, and maturity of what is known today as the concept and principles of chemical engineering.

Author’s Note: This is a personal project that I have always wanted to do. My goal is to have a thorough understanding of everything related to chemical engineering and science. I would like to share my journey in this endeavour and would be happy to receive any form of feedback to improve and include in future articles. Stay Tuned!

References

[1] C. Hanson, “Chemical engineering,” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2019. Available: https://www.britannica.com/technology/chemical-engineering
[2] Stanford University, “What is Chemical Engineering? | Chemical Engineering,” cheme.stanford.edu, 2024. Available: https://cheme.stanford.edu/node/1206
[3] Engineers Australia, “Chemical Engineering Area of Practice / Area of Engineering,” Engineering House, 11 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600. Available: https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/chemical_engineering_aop_aoe_-_final.pdf. [Accessed: Aug. 11, 2024]
[4]The University of Melbourne, “CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CAREER PATHWAYS,” Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne, Aug. 2017. Available: https://eng.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2942713/eng-chemical-careers.pdf. [Accessed: Aug. 11, 2024]