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December 2016
As nonrenewable fuel supplies dwindle and pollution becomes a greater challenge, the search is on for viable, renewable sources of energy. Some of the more promising areas of research and development include the use of hydrogen, solar and wind power, and even nuclear energy. Chemical engineers have a unique grounding in chemistry, physics, and math. By virtue of this diverse training they are particularly well suited to the task of discovering and exploiting the many opportunities available in this array of alternative energy sources. Hydrogen fuel Today use of hydrogen as a fuel has inherent...
Countless chemical engineers have made significant contributions to the advancement and modernization of petroleum refining over the last 100 years. Three among the many are profiled below. Vladimir Haensel In 1947 Vladimir Haensel, working at Universal Oil Products, developed platforming, a process that uses platinum as a catalyst to produce a clean, less expensive gasoline with greater energy content. Prior to platforming the preferred way to increase octane was to add lead, that is, tetraethyl lead, to the gasoline. Platforming ultimately prepared the way for the development of unleaded...
Because of their multifaceted expertise, chemical engineers have been at the forefront of innovation in the generation of energy. They have devised methods for use of renewable as well as nonrenewable feedstocks. A vast array of chemical-engineering principles is used to generate electricity and to produce different types of fuel for transportation, industrial, and residential purposes. Traditional refining Crude oil, or petroleum, is of little use in its raw state. Its value to society lies in the broad slate of products that can be created from it. Refineries use complex chemical separation...