CORE OF CHEMICAL-REACTION ENGINEERING - ONE INDUSTRIAL VIEW

Chemical reaction engineering (CRE) is expanding in scope and breadth through the application of the core CRE principles to new problems in emerging technologies, through the application of new techniques to th e more effective solution of traditional problems, and through the int egration of the widely varied CRE activities into broad, powerful syst ems descriptions. Catalysis, chemical kinetics, transport phenomena, a pplied mathematics, and the modeling, design, and optimization of chem ical reactors are the core and the intellectual basis of CRE. The CRE discipline will contribute significant, tangible improvements to the e merging technologies, such as biotechnology, microelectronics, and adv anced materials; will further advance existing technologies in petrole um refining, petrochemicals, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals; will cont ribute to protecting the environment; and above all will provide new s ystematic knowledge and generic tools. New analytical instrumentation is providing more quantitative information on complex reaction and pro duct mixtures, on catalyst structures, and on catalytic reaction mecha nisms. Major advances in computing speed and marked changes in compute r architecture, e.g., massively parallel processing, are providing new opportunities for advancement of catalyst, reactor, and process techn ologies and for rapid quantification and advancement in the emerging t echnologies, which will extend from the microscale molecular level to macroscale integration into processes and total systems. To meet the c hallenges of the future, strengthening core components of CRE through interdisciplinary teaming with experts in other fields is essential. T his effective teaming should be enhanced by powerful global computer n etworks, could reduce fragmentation of the CRE profession, and provide s a mechanism for enhanced development of its core disciplines.