Chemical engineering began evolving in the 12th-14th centuries with the movement of soap making and distillation from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. It grew with the scientific revolution in the 17th-18th centuries and focused on using raw materials and chemical reactions to produce products efficiently. George E. Davis is considered the father of chemical engineering for defining the field, establishing institutions, and stressing the need for both chemistry and engineering knowledge. His work in the late 19th century helped grow chemical engineering into the important profession it is today.

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Samson Solomon
SID: 861116031
November 20, 2013
Section: #26
Chemical Engineering
Engineering is a combination of math’s and sciences used to solve real world problems.
Engineering has been an application of every day life and has no initial beginning. Nevertheless,
chemical engineering is a field of engineering “evolved from a mixture of craft, mysticism,
wrong theories and empirical guesses”1
that began when soap making and distillation moved
from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe in the 12th
-14th
Centuries. However, it hadn’t any
major improvements until the scientific revolution of the 17th
and 18th
centuries. Chemical
engineering is focused on making products and solving problems by using raw materials to
perform chemical reactions in the most economical way. As a result, chemical engineers use
mass production to make products and labor more cost-effective and efficient. As a chemical
engineering major I don’t want a plain old pharmaceutical job or a teaching position, but
specifically a researched based career. Through learning about the history of engineering, the
prominent figures involved in the making of it, the education, and the benefits of a career in
chemical engineering I hope to validate that being an engineer is not a job for me, but a way of
life.
Even though engineering consists of solving problems on a daily basis, the scientific
application of it wasn’t evident until the spark of the scientific revolution. The scientific
revolution, which began around the 16th century, resulted from the excitement of the
renaissance era, the antiauthoritarian regimes of the reformation age. The use of clocks,
telescopes, and thermometers allowed scientific theories to be proven more accurate and
precise. For example, Galileo first experimented with the period of pendulums in 1581, and as
a result he created the pendulum clock that proved to be more accurate. People like English
philosopher Francis Bacon signified the importance of experimentation and observation, and
that knowledge gave man control over nature. Bacon stressed comparing old theories with
current theories and having them criticized. As a result of the newly invented printing press
these scientific theories became more public and less private. The new experiments proved
superior to and surpassed the old theories. For example, Aristotle’s physics stated bodies only
move if they are pushed was proven wrong. As a result of this new confidence in scientific
theories, science was given the credibility previously inexistent.
As a chemical engineering major the chemistry aspect of engineering isn’t as important
as the mathematical applications but knowing the evolution of chemistry is helpful in
understanding the modern atomic theory. In the late 17th
century chemistry wasn’t as developed
as physics even with the huge amount of knowledge alchemists’ obtained. Robert Boyle in his
1661 publication of The Skeptical Chymist addresses the issue by blaming alchemists for “rather
mystical theories of matter that were so vague and ambiguous as to cover all sorts of
1 Davies, John, T. History of Chemical Engineering. Washington D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1980.
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phenomena discovered.”2
Boyle used his idea that understanding chemistry is not based on
immediate statements, but on systematic experiments. With this approach he analyzed many
substances and denied the 4 elements as being earth, air, fire, and water. Boyle stated only
substances when decomposed that remained the same would be classified as elements. In 1772,
Lavoisier also experimented with many combustible substances, and 16 years later contributed
to Boyle’s observations by adding metals, solids, and nonmetals as elements. However, even
with this progress chemistry wasn’t quantitatively viewed until John Dalton came along with his
Atomic Theory of 1803-1808. Dalton viewed atoms of the same element as having the same
weight and chemical makeup, but atoms of different elements had different weights and
different chemical makeup. From this he predicted chemical changes of substances only
occurred in simple weight ratios, which he later validated experimentally.
Chemical Engineering also ignited the industrial revolution as a result of chemical
processing and distillation. The increase in agriculture production at home and the access to
cheap imported foods from America allowed an increasing amount of people to move from
the country to towns. This huge concentration of labor and wealth set off the industrial
revolution, which meant craft processes could be practiced on a grander scale. For
example, in 1785 971-soap makers each made on average 16 tons each year, but in 1830
309-soap makers could each produce 170 tons each year. From this data, production didn’t
seem like a problem. However, soap makers heavily relied on alkali and by the end of the
18th century the supply of alkali seemed insufficient and too expensive, because Lord
Macdonald burned the plants used to gather alkali in his own desire to gain sodium
carbonate. In France it was even worse, dealing with political and financial problems while
trying to maintain a continuous importation of alkali. Consequently, France decided to
offer a prize for a new commercial process. Le Blanc succeeded in producing alkali from
common salt by recognizing their similar properties. He was unsuccessful at first due to a
high salt tax in 1791, but flourished in 1808 when it was removed. However, another
problem arose, hydrogen chloride was being released into the atmosphere as a result of the
process. So people like William Gossage tried using the windmill to resolve the problem,
but inevitably Ernest Solvay’s process replaced Blanc’s.
Sodium Carbonate also known, as soda was one of the first chemicals produced on
the industrial level and paved the way for the chemicals industry that exists today. There
was a high demand for soda as it was a raw material used in sops, glass, dyes and bleaches
reaching an average of 400,000 tons a year, which made today’s alkali industry possible.
However, the French creator, Nicolas Leblanc, even with this success never made any
profit. Eventually after some personal and business mishaps Leblanc committed suicide.
It all began in 1783 when Leblanc took on an offer by King Louis XVI to create a
process for manufacturing soda from sea salt. Originally soap and glass were produced
using potash extracted from wood ash, but since wood was in high demand all over Europe
for construction, shipbuilding, and heating there wasn’t enough being produced. As a
result, Leblanc started research with the help of the Duke’s associate, Michel JJ Dize in
2 Davies, John, T. History of Chemical Engineering. Washington D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1980.
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1784 to solve the problem. Leblanc after some work figured out a process that he, himself
didn’t full understand, but was the process the French Academy of Sciences desired.
Leblanc didn’t notice any hazards to his process, but other scientists were quick to pick up
the flaws. In the process he created there was a significant waste and pollution problem
where hydrogen chloride was being released into the atmosphere. The outburst of hydrogen
chloride was apparently killing trees, damaging buildings and spoiling miles of landscape
around. By the mid 19th
century the UK passed the Alkali Act of 1863, one of the first
pieces of air-pollution legislation. The act required 95% containment of hydrogen chloride,
so as a result companies converted hydrogen chloride into hydrochloric acid, resolving the
air pollution problem, but creating water pollution, which by no means was illegal.
Leblanc’s process set the foundation fro some of the earliest industrial chemical
plants in Europe. His process was nothing like what experts have seen in the past and gave
Leblanc and Dizz 200,000 livres to build a soda plant. However, the two wouldn’t receive
any prize money in return, because the French Academy had been destroyed after the start
of the French Revolution in 1789. Even without the compensation there still remained
complications. The first one came up around 1793 when the production of sulfuric acid in
the process was taken by the revolutionary government to make gunpowder to defend the
republic against the royalists at that time. In 1794 Leblanc was accused of being a royalist
advocate after revealing his welcoming the revolution. As a result, the government shut
down Leblanc’s main soda factory in Saint Denis, and him and his family were evicted
from their house on factory grounds.
Afterwards Leblanc was left to support his family with little to no income. Leblanc
continued to protest for the revival of his factory, for his rights to his own process, and the
money he was granted by the French Academy. The French government did pay him some
money back, but he only received 60 out of 3,000 francs the government agreed to pay him.
Finally after 7 years of a continuous battle, the French government returned the soda
factory to Leblanc. However, another problem arose, the factory had been out of business
for many years and needed substantial repairs, but Leblanc had barely enough money to
support his family. So then again Leblanc went on another tangent fighting for restoration
of his soda factory. In 1804 Leblanc again received compensation, but nothing satisfactory
enough to open up the factory again. As a result, in 1806 Leblanc shoot himself in the head,
committing suicide as he was fed up with the not getting full respect and compensation for
his losses. Though he died, his process still lived on, and by 1818 France was making
around 10 to 15 tons of soda a year. Nevertheless, the British soon after caught up, people
like James Muspratt and Charles Tennant formed massive soda works in Liverpool and
Glasgow, producing a staggering 200,000 tons of soda a year. Negating either Britain or
France, Solvay’s environmentally friendly process surpassed Leblanc’s. Regardless of
who’s process prospered, Leblanc’s process for over 60 years fueled the growth of the
chemicals industry in Europe.
Distillation also made a huge contribution to the industry of chemical engineering,
but it wasn’t until the later 19th
and early 20th
century that chemical engineers designed
specific and efficient distillers. Distillation first of all is the process of purifying and
separating mixture of liquids into their individual components. Distillation was introduced

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to northern Europe from the Arab world via Spain and Italy in the 12th
-14th
centuries.
However, it wasn’t until the 17th
century that natural crude oil was distilled commercially.
By the mid 1800’s many distillers were in operation, however, there operations were quite
simple and inefficient, especially when alcohol distillation required better equipment. So
people like J.B. Cellier and Aeneas Coffey devised stills for making brandy in large
volumes and proper alcohol separation respectively.
However, without the father of chemical engineering, George E. Davis, no one
would know about all that chemical engineering has lived up to. George Davis is the father
of not only chemical engineering, but he is the father of the Institute of Chemical
Engineers. In 1901 in his Handbook of Chemical Engineering he defines a chemical
engineer, and how it differs from applied chemist, chemical technology, or a mechanical
engineering, the so-called “chemical engineers” before chemical engineering was even a
thing. He goes about making his case by presenting 12 lectures at Manchester Technical
School in 1887, later known as the University of Manchester Institute of Science and
Technology (UMIST). Davis urged that people be educated in both chemistry and
engineering as he has seen it’s importance through his experience as a plant inspector. Prior
to being the father of chemical engineering, Davis was just like any average American. He
was born in 1850 and was the son of a bookbinder. As he grew up into an adult Davis was
apprenticed to his father’s job as a bookbinder. However, George didn’t have the same
excitement for bookbinding as his father and he decided to follow his passion for
chemistry. Davis went on to work at a local gas works, while staying a part time student at
Slough Mechanics Institute and then transferring to Royal School of Mines, which his close
friend Norman Swindin depicted as being one of few schools that taught chemistry at that
time.3
Swindin also noted Davis was interested in industrial processes and that Davis from
a young age experimented with extracting benzoyl from coal gas.
In 1870 Davis started working as a works chemist in a bleach factory near
Manchester. There were plenty of other positions at these bleach and alkali companies as
well, so maintaining a job did not seem too hard. 10 years later Davis was actually offered
a job as an alkali inspector. As an alkali inspector he enforced the Alkali Act of 1864,
which “limited the pollution caused by the nascent industry” primarily Le Blanc’s soda
process. Davis, as an alkali inspector ensured that plants condensed at least 95% of the
hydrochloric acid released into the atmosphere. As an inspector, he also saw the poor
design and management of many plants, as well as the ineffective management by people
who could care less about chemistry and engineering. This aided Davis in establishing the
title chemical engineer. Also as an inspector he was able to compare different designs and
their performance levels. However, the inspector career didn’t appeal to Davis either. He
didn’t like the constant travel with the job and the unskilled managers he dealt with on a
daily basis. After this Davis returned to more hands on work like managing Rockingham
gas works in Yorkshire. Even with this transition, Davis’s time spent as an inspector
instigated his passion for creating inventions and processes that resolved the problems of
previous models like pollution to the air, rivers, and watercourses.
3 “Chemical Engineers Who Changed The World: Meet the Daddy.” Tce Today. March 2012. 29 November
2013. http://www.tcetoday.com/~/media/Documents/TCE/Articles/2011/838/838CEWCTW.pdf.

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Davis, in addition to his job, led a group of chemists and engineers who met up as
the Faraday Club. In 1881 the Faraday Club combined with Newcastle and Tyne Chemical
societies to establish the society of chemical industry (SCI). The SCI was designed as a
professional company for industrial chemists and chemical engineers. Davis still wasn’t
satisfied and urged for the making of an institution of Chemists who knew how to work in
labs, and had the knowledge of Physics and Mechanics to perform chemical processes.
However, there were few people who had all of these skills; it wasn’t until the creation of
the institution of chemical engineers in 1922 that the number of chemical engineers
drastically increased from the original 15 members that attended SCI’s first general
meeting.
After his days spent working as a manager at Rockingham gas works, Davis
became a consultant in Manchester where he gave his 12 famous lectures at the University
of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. His lectures were peculiarly organized
into concepts and operations common to the varying types of chemical plants, and not on
particular industries. According to Davis, there were general principles that were applicable
to any of the processes. As a result of his popular lectures, Davis received many requests to
publish his content, but he was often too busy and had to wait until 1901 when he
published his Handbook. In his Handbook he described the work and responsibilities of a
chemical engineer and the contributions they make in society. He also stressed, “To
produce a competent chemical engineer the knowledge of chemists, engineering and
physics must be co-equal.”4
Davis’s handbook was also such a success that an updated,
more detailed rendition went out in 1904. Davis also was a pioneer of sustainability that
many people think is a new way of thinking, but it is isn’t. He noted that in all chemical
procedures the goal is to use everything and avoid any waste, because it is cheaper to
prevent waste than it is to try to find a way to use excessive waste.
Around the time of World War I, chemistry an application of chemical engineering
revolutionized the traditional way of battle. In the beginning of the 20th
century a young
priest, Father Julius Arthur Nieuwland, working to get his doctoral degree would soon
create Lewisite, a chemical weapon of mass destruction used in World War I. In 1903
Father was studying the reaction of gas acetylene and arsenic trichloride with aluminum
chloride at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. However, during his
experimentation a toxic odor formed from mixing these compounds and Father Julius
became seriously ill and was hospitalized for many days. After being released he had no
intention of continuing his research. Nevertheless, in his 1904 dissertation he went back to
explain the toxic substance he encountered a year ago. It was called lewisite, one of
deadliest poison gases created before World War I. The use of lewisite was constantly
expanding, during World War I the United States began its production, then during World
War II Great Britain, the Soviet Union and Japan started production, and since then
countries like Iraq, N. Korea, and Libya have adopted its use in their countries.
On the evening of April 22, 1915, the first gas attack in Ypres, Belgium initiated
4 “Chemical Engineers Who Changed The World: Meet the Daddy.” Tce Today. March 2012. 29 November
2013. http://www.tcetoday.com/~/media/Documents/TCE/Articles/2011/838/838CEWCTW.pdf.

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World War I. Germans released 160 tons of chlorine gas toward allied trenches, the French
and Algerians ran in horror trying to secure themselves from this deadly poison, some put
their faces in dirt, while others more educated urinated on cloth and inhaled it in efforts of
crystallizing and neutralizing the chlorine. This attack resulted in 5,000 dead and 15,000
injured. Even after prewar conferences had banned such use of weapons that diffused
poisonous gases, the Central Powers followed by the Allies still decided to use them. By
the time the U.S. declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917, the Germans had already
started research on chemical gases. With the help of Van H. Manning the Bureau of Mines,
founded in 1910 to search for possible poisonous gases in mines, began chemical warfare
research in early 1917. The bureau aided the NRC, the National Research Council and
formed a subcommittee on noxious gases on April 3, 1917. As the need for more chemists
arose, the Bureau of Mines in May gathered laboratory help from 21 universities, three
companies, and three government agencies. In July of 1917 a central lab was formed at
American University in Washington D.C. In September of 1917, the war department
suggested the labs at American University be militarized. In June on the next year President
Wilson advocated the same idea and as a result American formed an army subdivision
called the Chemical Warfare Service.
In 1918 Winford Lee Lewis, a chemistry professor, decided to leave Northwestern
University to become the director of Chemical Warfare Service at Catholic University. At
Catholic, Lewis reviewed Priest Julius Arthur Nieuwland dissertation on the toxic
substance the priest encountered in 1903. Lewis formulated a resulting compound and the
effects this substance had on us and as a result of his perfect discoveries this compound,
Lewisite, was named after Lewis himself. Lewis supported gas warfare by saying “it would
make wars more humane because it would shorten them and innocent civilians would
suffer less.”5
He also noted that these chemical battles are the most effective and
economical way of all the types of fights. Nieuwland who began all of this had similar
views as Lewis did. He implied the use of gas and other modern weapons of warfare have
caused a small percentage of fatalities. Whereas the traditional method of battle meant
fighting until the one or the few victorious remain. Today, war is not about killing one
another it is about incapacitating them, so that lives within wars will be saved as well as
lives outside of wars will be protected. Lewisite is said to still be in production in the U.S.
today, but only for precautionary reasons. However, its applications in other nations
haven’t been determined. Lewisite, once a major contribution to chemical warfare in World
War I, doesn’t have any major implications in our lives today, but it may someday be
useful again.
Artificial neural networks are one of the ways in seeing how important chemical
engineering revolves around our lives and understanding its importance in society.
Artificial neural networks (ANN) provide a spectrum of new ways for solving problems in
chemical engineering. In 1888 Lewis Mills Norton, professor at MIT created a program
that combined mechanical engineering and applied chemistry primarily for industrial
5 Vilensky, Joel A. Sinish, Pandy R. “The Story of Lewisite, America’s World War I Weapon of Mass
Destruction.” Weider History Group. The Quarterly Journal of Military History. Spring 2005. 1 December
2013. http://www.historynet.com/weaponry-lewisite-americas-world-war-i-chemical-weapon.htm.

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practice, which was later known as chemical engineering. Chemical engineering became
one of the primary leaders in promoting process development and technology innovation
from pharmaceuticals all the way to nanotechnology. Chemical engineering problems are
too complex and nonlinear so traditional approaches don’t usually help, and that is why
different techniques have been proposed. Artificial neural networks are especially
recommended because they don’t need information about the physical and chemical rules
that control the processes.
Around 70 years ago McCulloch and Pitts and Hebb published the original neural
networks. However, it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that there was an increasing amount of
research done in ANN’s combined with its coverage in the popular press. In the past
decade many reviews have been made about the inputs of ANN’s in chemical engineering.
ANN’s are applicable in anything from “assessing quality of products in the food industry
to predicting specific properties of polymer composite materials.” 6
They have been proven
to have many applications and are often compared to classic models of solving real world
problems.
Normally, the phenomenological and empirical models also known as the classic
models can be used in solving real world problems. A lot of the time classic models need
given information, and are based on the fundamental chemical and physical laws that
describe a process. Under controlled processes classic models need a long period of time
for results, so time manipulation is crucial in getting more accurate and precise results. As
a result, ANN’s provide faster and more reliable data than the time consuming classic
methods that may or may not have reliable information. ANN’s are useful especially when
researchers don’t know the physical or chemical laws that control a process. ANN’s don’t
rely too much on the laws of the process either; if there’s enough data that is represented
correctly they tend to have better results and less error than classic models. However,
ANN’s don’t work alone, they provide the accurate data behind the process, but using the
classic models help answer the question why do these things happen or occur in nature.
Now that we’ve learned some of the background information and applications of
ANN’s around chemical engineering in the world, how can we go about getting a degree in
chemical engineering? As a chemical engineering major knowing and being proficient in
maths and sciences is key to becoming a chemical engineer. As an engineer I need to
understand how to analyze and solve problems, and if I were to get a leadership position,
management skills would be necessary in managing projects, budgets and workers. As a
chemical engineer I would design manufacturing processes that turn raw materials into
domestic and industrial products.
In progressing in my chemical engineering career I must first receive my bachelor’s
degree. However, as an undergraduate limiting myself to course work doesn’t impress
employers, employers look for future employees that put the knowledge they learn in class
into real world applications, professors say all the time it’s never too early to get in the lab
6 Pirdashti, Mohsen. "Artificial Neural Networks: Applications In Chemical Engineering." Reviews In
Chemical Engineering (2013): 205-239. Academic Search Complete. August 2013. 24 November 2013.

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and start experimenting. Being well rounded is important in that chemical engineers are
also known as the universal engineer that take on not only chemistry, but physics, and
biology as well. Taking electives outside of my major are important too. Taking a foreign
language, being bilingual helps me to communicate with other nations as the marketplace is
becoming globalized. Enrolling in that economics class aids me in understanding the
economy I live in, which will in turn make me more economical aware of my business
decisions. Knowing the current economy I can decide whether that product I made is
marketable and will actually bring significant profit.
During the extensive 4 years as an undergraduate it’s also important to look at
industries in chemical engineering that interest me. I personally am looking into
biotechnology, and environmental safety & health. Biotechnology is an up and coming
field, it “uses living cells, cell produced materials, and biological techniques developed
through research to create products in other industries.”7
Chemical engineers develop and
create the process to expand, control, and harvest living organisms and their by-products.
This field has produced anything from antibiotics to hybrid plants that are insect repellant.
Environmental safety and health on the other hand is not as complex, but thrives my desire
for being environmentally friendly. In this specialization, processes in some way or another
use or manipulate raw materials to produce by-products. Chemical engineers monitor and
control by-product production, so the process remains efficient. In this field, chemical
engineers participate in waste treatment and disposal as well as process safety and loss
prevention.
After I have found a field where I can reside and build on my career the work
options can branch of into research and development or into manufacturing. In research and
development one can use computer models to compute the safest and cost effective
production models, because engineers work in the most economical way possible. One also
plans on how to move lab tests into pilot production and then into larger scale production.
In manufacturing one works with plant designers to create equipment and instruments for
production processes and manages the daily operations at a processing plant. In research
and development one works on a daily 9-5 shift, but in manufacturing one might work on a
shift system, which may include weekends, evenings and nights.
As a chemical engineer, I will have one of the highest, if not the highest paid
engineering job. I will also have a higher median income than biomedical, civil,
mechanical, electrical engineers according to the 2010 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A
minimum of a bachelor’s degree is needed, but some chemical engineers go onto get their
graduate degrees if I typically want a higher income. In the entry-level careers, a bachelor’s
degree will pay less than a master’s degree, which wont be as high as a doctorates degree
all of which range from $65,000 to $93,000 on average respectively. On average chemical
engineers make around $102,000 annually, whereas the lowest 10% to top 10% earned
from $58,830 to $154,840 respectively. The salary between the specializations didn’t
differ much at all on average. Basic chemical manufacturing hired around 4,200 people last
7 “Chemical Engineering Overview.” Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
Career Cornerstone Center. Skills Funding Agency, 2012. 29 November 2013.
http://www.careercornerstone.org/chemeng/chemeng.htm

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year making $106,00, architectural engineering hired around 5,600 people last year making
$105,000, and scientific research and development hired around 3,300 people last year
making around the same as architectural engineers.
Finally, we have the biggest moneymakers, engineers focused in natural gas
distribution making on average $152,000 a year. Income also differs by topographical
regions. So engineers in California aren’t going to make the same income as engineers in
Montana. Virginia, Alaska, Texas, and Delaware are the four states that have the highest
income ranging from $135,000 to $120,000 respectively. The overall outlook according to
the bureau of labor statistics seems bright as the number of jobs available for chemical
engineers will increase about 6% in the next 10 years. This isn’t as high as the 14%
increase in all jobs, but new areas that open up in chemical engineering will make a path
for new jobs in new the unexplored industries of chemical engineering.
Chemical engineering is my future it is what I have chosen, and not forced to
become. I love the aspect of solving problems and using mathematical approaches in doing
so, the sciences intrigue me as well, they excite my desire to know more about our
ecosystem and how I can make it a more ecofriendly environment. I feel like even though
chemical engineering hadn’t had its peak until the 17th
century that it has been a part of our
lives every since existence and its eternal applications differentiates itself from all those
stereotypical jobs your parents aspire for you, because in reality we as individuals are
always striving to separate ourselves from society, trying to make an identity for ourselves.
Whether the identity we find is appraised or criticized by the media and general public, we
will always see in ourselves our true identity that nobody can take away. Throughout my
life I was always quite an active child, I always loved experimenting whether it be for
better or for worse. As I have transcended from adolescence I believe my strengths in the
math and sciences and my drive to discover new things makes me want to become a
chemical engineer doing research for as long as I can. True, there has been so much history
created from the creation of distillation to the use of lewisite in world war I and II, but there
is much more for future engineers, people like me to make the next advancements in
chemical engineering. The money is an added benefit, but it’s the experience, the stories,
the history we make that makes us who we are, for if money were to become worthless,
then it is those personal experiences that make a job not a job, but a choice of life.