A multi-layered view of chemical and biochemical engineering

Rafiqul Gani (1) , Jerzy Bałdyga (2) , Béatrice Biscans (3) , Elisabetta Brunazzi (4) , Jean-Claude Charpentier (5) , Enrico Drioli (6) , Hermann Feise (7) , Andrew Furlong (8) , Kevin M. van Geem (9) , Jean-Charles de Hemptinne (10) , Antoon J.B. ten Kate (11) , Georgios M. Kontogeorgis (12) , Flavio Manenti (13) , Guy B Marin (9) , Seyed Soheil Mansouri (12) , Patrick Piccione (14) , Ana Povoa (15) , Manuel A. Rodrigo (16) , Bent Sarup (17) , Eva Sorensen (18) , Isuru A. Udugama (12) , John Woodley (12)

1 SPEED Company
2 Warsaw University of Technology [Warsaw]
3 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
4 University of Pisa - Università di Pisa
5 LRGP - Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés
6 CNR-ITM - Institute of Membrane Technology
7 European Federation of Chemical Engineering
8 Cogent Content Ltd
9 UGENT - Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium]
10 IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles
11 Nouryon RD&I
12 DTU - Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark
13 POLIMI - Politecnico di Milano [Milan]
14 F. Hoffmann-La Roche A.G.
15 IST - Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
16 UCLM - Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha = University of Castilla-La Mancha
17 Alfa Laval
18 UCL - University College of London [London]

The contents of this article are based on the results of discussions the corresponding author has had since 2015 with the co-authors, who are members of academia and industry in Europe, on the scope and significance of chemical and biochemical engineering as a discipline. The result is a multi-layered view of chemical and biochemical engineering where the inner-layer deals with the fundamental principles and their application; the middle-layer deals with consolidation and expansion of the principles through a combination of science and engineering, leading to the development of sustainable technologies; and the outer-layer deals with integration of knowledge and collaboration with other disciplines to achieve a more sustainable society. Through this multi-layered view several important issues with respect to education, research and practice are highlighted together with current and future challenges and opportunities.

Keywords: Chemical and biochemical engineering; Research; Education; Practice; Multi-layered view

Domains: Chemical Sciences; Environmental Sciences

Rafiqul Gani, Jerzy Bałdyga, Béatrice Biscans, Elisabetta Brunazzi, Jean-Claude Charpentier, et al.. A multi-layered view of chemical and biochemical engineering. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2020, 155, pp.A133-A145. ⟨10.1016/j.cherd.2020.01.008⟩. ⟨hal-02502429⟩