(577a) Integrating Sustainability into Chemical Engineering Education: Experiences from Imperial College London

Chemical engineers are uniquely positioned to help address many of the sustainability challenges faced today. Many core chemical engineering topics such as separation processes and process control and optimization are highly relevant to ensuring the technical success of a sustainability related endeavor. Chemical engineers also are expected to understand process economics and financials which are crucial for the commercial viability of any project. This has resulted in many chemical engineers being at the forefront of many sustainability projects in many fields. Considering the importance of sustainability and that the job market for green jobs is growing rapidly, it is imperative that educators provide suitable opportunities to help graduates develop the right skillsets and attitudes to succeed in a green career and incorporate sustainability into their professional practice regardless of field. We outline how sustainability is conceptualized and integrated into the chemical engineering curriculum at Imperial College London as part of a periodic curriculum review process conducted at the college. We hope to share best practices and foster a conversation about how sustainability can be incorporated into the chemical engineer’s educational journey.

Conceptualizing Sustainability in Chemical Engineering

Sustainability in the context of chemical engineering education has multiple dimensions to be considered. From a content perspective, chemical engineers have a role to play in many areas such as such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), renewable energy and energy storage, recycling and upcycling, water management, and policy planning [1]. These areas of research and practice draw upon both core topics and emerging research themes in chemical engineering. Within a given field, the type of work which can range from basic research to process design and techno-economic analysis needs to be accounted for. Educators also have to consider the broader sustainability paradigm and incorporate learning activities to help students develop the right attitudes and soft skills such as holistic thinking (both vertically e.g., from a global to individual perspective [2] and laterally e.g., across disciplines and domains [3]) and experience working in diverse multidisciplinary teams.

Leveraging Our Strengths

Sustainability has historically been and remains an area of key focus for the department. Many of the faculty and staff are world leaders in research areas aligned with sustainability such as energy storage and management, CCUS, green chemistry, process systems engineering, and techno-economic analysis. Some of the faculty are also affiliated with other sustainability efforts across the college such as the Grantham Institute and the Energy Futures Lab. Various collaborations spearheaded by the department such as the Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering and Institute of Molecular Science and Engineering The deep expertise within the faculty and staff in the department has provided a robust foundation upon which many modules, projects, and learning activities are built on.

Considerations for Incorporating Sustainability

Exploring the integration of sustainability into the chemical engineering program requires considering the requirements and limitations of various stakeholders. The type and level of learning activity developed for students must be commensurate with their educational experience and academic / professional interests. While some content will be deemed core and needs to be introduced to students early on, other content maybe too advanced or specialized and better suited as material for electives or advanced projects. The scope, structure, and scaffolding provided to students for a given learning activity will need to be planned for accordingly. Educators also need to be mindful that contact time with students is limited. This point is also related to the mechanism by which sustainability is integrated. This typically takes place in a few well-established modes: 1. Embedding sustainability concepts into a regular course, 2. Developing a new course, 3. Providing a sustainability specialization pathway within the degree, and 4. Developing an active learning activity [4].

Ensuring alignment with accreditation requirements presents another dimension to consider. While various accreditation boards have incorporated sustainability in one form or another into the expected student outcomes, multiple issues can arise including balancing an increased focus on sustainability with other technical requirements [4]. On a related note, alignment between the curriculum and industry is important, but can be challenging to achieve.

Incorporating Sustainability at ICL

We breakdown how sustainability is integrated into the chemical engineering curriculum from the 1^st to 4^th academic years. In the 1^st year when students are typically covering chemical engineering fundamentals, sustainability is often introduced into core classes as a context for application of the material covered. An example is the coursework for an introductory physical chemistry course where students explore the properties of CO₂ and how it is a greenhouse gas. As students progress academically, a variety of learning activities with a greater focus on sustainability can be introduced. This includes experiential learning projects such as comprehensive lab projects where students explore sustainability concepts like operating a water purification process or process intensification. A highlight in the undergraduate curriculum is the Pilot Plant project where 2^nd year students operate and optimize a state-of-the-art carbon capture pilot plant built in collaboration with ABB [5]. A range of courses, either incorporating sustainability concepts into the course or having sustainability as the main focus, are available for students. In the 3^rd and 4^th years, students can take multiple electives on sustainability which include courses on carbon capture and green fossil fuels, sustainable energy technologies, and the techno-economics of climate change solutions. Students are also required to take a course on environmental engineering which explores a range of topics such as geochemical cycles, pollutant transport and meteorology, and emissions control. Coursework components of other courses can also become increasingly sophisticated, incorporating techniques from current areas of research such as employing molecular design techniques to identify environmentally-friendly refrigerants in an optimization course.

Conclusions

IIntegrating sustainability into the chemical engineering curriculum is vital to prepare students to engage with intricate environmental problems and address global sustainability challenges. The involvement of stakeholders not only ensures the implementation of sustainable and realistic engineering practices but also affirms the authentically and holistically incorporation of these practices across the department. Several dimensions, such as the learner’s academic maturity, module context, and the desired learning outcomes, must be considered to design the course elements and adequately outline the intended learning outcomes. By undertaking these strategies, the existing resources and expertise within the department and across the college can be leveraged to help create an impactful educational experience for students that incorporates state-of-the-art material and techniques.

References

[1] H. Arastoopour, “The critical contribution of chemical engineering to a pathway to sustainability,” Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 203, pp. 247–258, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.069.

[2] R. J. Batterham, “Sustainability—The next chapter,” Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 61, no. 13, pp. 4188–4193, Jul. 2006, doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2005.10.016.

[3] A. Argoti, A. Orjuela, and P. C. Narváez, “Challenges and opportunities in assessing sustainability during chemical process design,” Curr. Opin. Chem. Eng., vol. 26, pp. 96–103, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.coche.2019.09.003.

[4] M. Thürer, I. Tomašević, M. Stevenson, T. Qu, and D. Huisingh, “A systematic review of the literature on integrating sustainability into engineering curricula,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 181, pp. 608–617, Apr. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.130.

[5] ABB, “Imperial College carbon capture pilot plant: Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s world,” Cambridgeshire, 2012.