The History of Chemical Engineering: Crash Course Engineering #5

Today we’ll cover the fourth and final of our core disciplines of engineering: chemical engineering. We’ll talk about its history and evolution going from soda ash competitions to oil refineries and renewable energies. We’ll also discuss some newer and emerging fields like biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
Crash Course Engineering is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios: • All PBS Digital Studio...
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RESOURCES:
www.chemistryex...
www.keionline....
www.sciencehis...
www.world-petro...
www.thoughtco....
www.britannica...
www.britannica...
www.britannica...
www.allaboutca...
www.myklassroo...
www.impossible...
www.eia.gov/en...
“Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering” by David Mautner Himmelblau, James B. Riggs
***
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[@crashcourse]

This is, indeed, a reupload - there was an error in the graphic at 2:00 that we tried to address with a pinned comment, but it was a little too much to clarify that way, so the graphic has been fixed!

[@d_wang9836]

Respect that dedication to accuracy

[@helenalilianavaquera5599]

Thank goodness. I was getting concenred

[@saber1epee0]

Nothing but love!

[@saiah0722]

CrashCourse pls do aerospace, im in my third year

[@jumpythehat]

Why would they wait until your third year to do aerospace?

[@joeybroda9167]

I'm glad my field got mentioned. As a ChemE you can have a wonderful career making methane gas from landfills, manure pits, and sewage! This isn't sarcasm, I actually love my job.

[@ElPsyKongroo]

Joey Broda 💩 = 💲💲💲

[@eoinoconnell185]

How long before you invent smellovision ?

[@saudabdulaziz35]

hi can u tell me about the university subjects how much math it has..

[@joeybroda9167]

In my degree, I took six dedicate math classes (linear algebra, calc I + II, multivariable calculus, ordinary differential equations, an ad calc). Most o the my engineering classes also used lots of math, especially integrals, derivatives, and differential equations,.

[@gslim7337]

I actually design BioFilters for removing odour from Sewerage Treatment Plants and yes I do enjoy my job. I would have liked CrashCourse to mention the fundamentals such as Process Flow Diagrams, Mass & Energy Balance and Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams.

[@mcdrums87]

...and it’s back! For those looking at careers, chemistry vs. chemical engineering (IMO) is the best example of how a science degree differs from an engineering one. Chemists can tell you everything about a chemical, while chemical engineers will figure out how to produce a chemical in usable quantities. This is especially true for pharmaceutical companies employing chemists to develop the right drug formulas and chemical engineers to handle production. Obviously, both are related-you can’t really do engineering without the science-but as far as careers are concerned, a “science” degree will prepare you for more research, development, and lab work. An engineering degree will give you the design and production background for products and manufacturing.

[@alexv5581]

Your point is? Without scientists engineering is nothing. This is coming from an engineer. What makes you think a scientists isn't capable if doing engineering work? Obviously any person with a degree in science has the brainpower, so that is not an issue. I have met many engineering students that struggle with the science aspect of things. Everyone thinks differently and no need to bash or have the discussion which degree is "better".

[@jordanandrews6479]

It also depends on how you apply your degree. I have a chemistry degree, but my job is a large scale production chemist, which is quasi-engineering. Either way, it's all pretty cool stuff!

[@jlhillmann79]

Surprised you didn't mention Mass and Energy Balances. In my experience, that's one of the key fundamentals that differentiates ChE from other engineering disciplines. I work with all different types of engineers (they have strengths/knowledge/experience that I don't), and it's always interesting to see how ChE's always seem to approach a problem thinking about black boxes with inputs/outputs, while other engineers don't.

[@SurvivingTheWorld101]

Patience, patience . . . there's so many more episodes to come ...!

[@iqbalkurniawan5626]

Damn dude, thats need entire semester to explain

[@austinjackson761]

Chemical engineer intern at an explosives plant! I love what I do. For me it’s perfect, I get to be creative with my projects, do calculations to solve problems, go out in the plant to get out of the office, work in teams and collaborate to achieve a common goal, and I get to see the work I do save the company money by making things more efficient. It’s challenging but very rewarding when you complete a project and realize you made that improvement. Be aware, not every company is fun to work for though. Make sure the people you work with are happy, motivated, and collaborative.

[@notevennelson]

I'm a Chemistry with Chemical Engineering student at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. I found this pretty much useful. Thanks!

[@davidsweeney111]

Warning - chemical engineering degrees are VERY mathematical!!!

[@TiberiusStorm]

What's the least? Just curious!

[@guy-uw6zj]

Shaine MacDonald I think its Mechanical, im going for Mechanical after I will graduate

[@andreanikolaev2751]

@shaine MacDonald any course that's related with engineering involves numbers and computations

[@TiberiusStorm]

Yes I know that Engineers have to deal with Math and numbers but I've heard that some jobs have little to no math. I have heard that Mechanical has a lot though!

[@muhammadhelmihibatullah8113]

Envy lol hope you wont regret that. The fact M.E is full of physics and math. I think there is no engineering major with a less math. Even agricultural engineering has so much math in it.

[@pankajkhushalani]

English is not my first language and I usually use captions but the narrator in this video had such brilliant diction that I didn't need them. Apart from that, this video gave me a good insight on Chemical Engineering. I am a Junior Science College in India where we study Physics, Chemistry, Math/Biology, a language and a vocational subject such as Electrical Maintenance or Computer Science or Psychology or IT. In about 2 months, I have to decide which branch of engineering I should choose. This video helped a lot.

[@InfinityLRDL]

Any chemical engineers? 👨🏻‍🔬

[@CanuckMonkey13]

I'm a chemical engineer!

[@saber1epee0]

Word up! I'm Working on green batteries in pittsburgh USA

[@InfinityLRDL]

Flaming Basketball Club all of them with the exemption of chemE haha

[@InfinityLRDL]

Fencer Dave Nice man! I'm a junior, pursuing my bachelor's degree in ChemE. I really want to work in the food industry or cosmetic industry.

[@PureInsanity]

Chemical engineer here. Working in the battery industry in Edison NJ.

[@saidzaid-alkailani519]

How is the Haber-Bosch process not mentioned? It is literally the most important chemical engineering process and the first thing most chemical engineering professors mention.

[@Billionaire_B]

food science is a branch off chemical engineering and is making a new revolutionary development not only within the food themselves but also looks at new packaging materials and ways to extend shelf. just got to love chemical engineering

[@SkywalkerAni]

Chemical engineering is a primary reason I have a job- I work in an office dealing with hazardous waste, and someone has to make and mix all those chemicals! For the record, I am not a Chemical engineer, the chemical engineering processes is a huge reason I have the job I do.

[@ss9922]

Mistake in diagram 4:26. Petrol is an alkane (single C bonds), not alkene (double C bonds).

[@CloroxBleach.]

someone motivate me to continue this goddamn course

[@mohammedbinjassar250]

I think there is a mistake in 4:30 it is not polymerization it is actually Alkylation Polymerization is when we repeat the same molecule a certain quantity

[@JunSian1001]

I am thrilled to hear that CrashCourse mentions "Biomass" in introducing Chemical Engineering. I always have doubts about what I am working on as a chemical engineer who works on biomass energy research.

[@DIOGO4181]

I m a Chemical Engineer and thisnis one of the best vídeos about Chemical Engineering i vê ever seen

[@moukambrenda5862]

Wow great

[@christopherakot3160]

Woow, thanks for sharing. Chemistry is life and life is Chemistry, everything needs Chemistry for better explanation and exploitation.

[@Blowdown92]

Finally, it is getting interesting. Especially, when a mechanical engineer is talking about chemical engineering. Nothing to correct though. Things that we study years in uni, you are condensing in a few short videos. Applause! Your passion for teaching is incredible!

[@sallysimpson77]

All the chemical engineers hit like!

[@rafisanders]

Just got accepted for my BA

[@zhongliangcai602]

Always dislike someone who asks 4 likes

[@charliedexter3202]

Love your work...the coverage of material at such short time was awesome. :D

[@RheinielRDR97]

I had a little case of PTSD watching this hahaha

[@quinius173]

Great video. Rewatching.

[@kierannurmi5488]

Despite the commonality of units between industries, most sectors (in Australia at least) will still demand experience in their particular sector which tends to work against chemical engineering graduates.

[@SrLupinotuum]

I hope they make a video on Bioengineering :D

[@jonathanpirri8023]

I've been waiting for this :)

[@munbun75]

I really hope you do one in this series on biomedical engineering. My soulmate (best friend not so) studies that and I would love to be able to show her an episode on that! I love crash course and all the information you bring to my life! ^_^

[@science-health-safetymusic2322]

The most difficult Engineering course because chemical engineering goes beyond untouched and the unseen, nuclear chemistry we always imagine all the time cos we can not visually see them unlike other engineering courses not studying proton, neutron, positron, nuclear radiation etc.....they actually see and touch on hand when they practice their professions...but we Chemical Engineers we can not see how gases behave how chemical reactions actually happen etc.

[@gelgamath_9903]

I kind of feel like this whole engineering series is glossing over or not even mentioning some of the darker sides of engineering. For example we just did an episode on chemical engineering without mentioning Fritz Haber

[@joeybroda9167]

I was kind of surprised by this. This episode focused more on the idea of unit operations, so from that perspective I could see why Haber wasn't included. But Haber is definitely the most famous chemical engineer and an absolutely horrid human being.

[@Bird_Dog00]

Fritz Haber is an interesting case. On one side, he played an important role in chemical warfare in WW1, but on the other, he was also instrumental in developing the Haber-Bosch process. And without that, there is a good chance we wouldn't be here to talk about it today...

[@bryanhumphreys940]

He was, indirectly, responsible for the deaths of thousands and the births of millions. Yeah it's a moral quandary for sure.

[@joeybroda9167]

i don't think we should understand Haber as a sum of how many he helped and how many he killed. We should look at this and say that science has an awesome potential. That the tools of modern science can uplift our world, or they can end them. And that's a really scary prospect. That's why we need to keep nationalists like Haber away from decision making. He was fine with letting tens of thousands of people choke to death on mustard gas. He was a horrible person and no amount of fertilizer will save his memory. This is not a moot question now. So much of science is advanced with money from defense departments. That has an effect on science. It increases our ability to build more fantastical machines of death. That is to no one's benefit, really. But if our back is against the wall, people will innovate and design. It will drive science forward that can have both good and bad repercussions. But if we are scared, we will try the bad stuff.

[@teubert2]

@Joey Broda "...and no amount of fertilizer will save his memory." even if said fertilizer saves 100 times as many people from starvation?

[@magnesiumdrip]

Aspen model v plus, Need to mix use a mixer, need to separate use a seperator, magical boxes

[@NebuchodonozorSalomon]

I love that accent 😍😍❤️

[@JohnSmith-nc9ep]

At the end, I was left thirsty for more. Thanks :D

[@Nacur]

Nice video! Hope we have an episode on materials engineering.

[@lolaeliza1589]

History of Biomedical Engineering?? It is what I want to do with my life and having a video like this to explain what it is would be so much easier😁😁

[@neniscarlet3880]

Nice!! It'd be nice to learn about it. And I do biomedical engineering myself, and I must say it's really pretty awesome! ;)

[@davidsweeney111]

Look at the videos on youtube channel called UCLBiochem, I did the masters degree there, theres a lot of maths and practical work but gives a good basis for a career, I work in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry :)

[@maxungar516]

Very nice listening while I design my oil refineries in Factorio.

[@Karekare_YG]

Yeeeey finally an answer to my questioning future course that I will take up. This is truly amazing and it also makes me more curious about the idea itself. This very helpful to me. Thank you CC!!! 💕

[@razzolap2500]

Beauty and intelligence, great combination

[@rahmtube2885]

have you made anything on biochemical engineering please ?

[@Buddhabebop]

where might i find more in depth videos on engineering? im considering an engineering degree and i need something deeper

[@andys6004]

Do operation research engineering!!!! A whole new world of optimization.

[@rkpetry]

*_...it'd also be nice to categorize this as 'electrochemical' engineering 0~20 eV 0~200 K°K based on atomic electron quantum orbital structures and 'chemical' mechanics-i.e. not, atomic nuclear, chemistry, 0~20 MeV 0~200 G°K, nor subatomic particles 0~20 TeV..._*

[@rj-nj3uk]

This is why I chose Computer Science.

[@beee7892]

Why did i only now see this... I was looking for what to take for college months ago. Well i still took chemical engineering anyway

[@nealdesai8779]

What about materials engineering??

[@Lioralon1]

I hope they make a video about that!! it's my major :) Also super interesting field with some ancient history! especially metallurgy.

[@nealdesai8779]

Lioralon1 I asked because as of next year, it will be my major as well!

[@chimaijemotitolouis8291]

Ziggy Stardust isn’t that a subfields of chemical engineering?

[@nealdesai8779]

Chima Louis there is certainly a large overlap, however chemical engineering is more about the process to create chemicals, rather than creating new ones. So a chemical engineer would be working at a factory, while a Materials scientist works in a lab.

[@Lioralon1]

it's a very broad filed, so some materials engineers do things similar/overlapping with chemical eng, some work is closer to mechanical eng. (materials eng. has branched out of mechanical eng. actually!). really depends on the direction you go. Generally the main difference to chemical eng. is that while they work the process we work on the materials themselves, and also they work mostly on fluids and gases while we work mostly with solid state or something in between solid and fluid.

[@sumitdatta9546]

grate video. I love this types of video. Thank you so much

[@-thesmartboard8984]

What a great series ! Does anyone know when will be the next video ?

[@FalbertForester]

If one has to rebuild the world after world-wide disaster, you could do worse than to start with a copy of the CRC Handbook!

[@kennethwesterfield398]

So it may not be the direction you all would want to do, but I would have enjoyed a textbook from CrashCourse writers with fun animations.

[@ManfredDudesonVonGuy]

First, as a chemist who started in a Chem E degree, Chem E has much less to do with chemistry than you portrayed. The job of a Chem E is to take what chemists figure out in beakers and make (literal) tons of it for industry. The real chemistry is already done well before a chem E does anything; they're really just systems engineers that focus on chemical manufacturing. Second, the chemical you put up as petrol/gasoline is not that chemical. That is the alkane nonane C0H20. Gasoline/petrol is a mix of many hydrocarbons, but is defined by the presence of octane C8H18 relative to other compounds. Also, C7H14 is heptane, not heptene.

[@chrislasekan1685]

Love these.

[@Amin_3k]

Awesome video! I am going to start studying chemical engineering in a few months. I hope it will be as fun as my expectations

[@Amin_3k]

Iqbal Kurniawan i love chemistry and math/engineering. Imo this is the best option for me. Even though i heard its one of the hardest studies out there

[@andreanikolaev2751]

Best of luck!

[@zionmaynard4534]

Biomedical engineering next !

[@eliasgallegos3058]

Great! exciting!

[@mikkelfondt5425]

Great video, but you skipped one of the most important parts of the history of Chemical Engineering, Justus Liebig and the colour (yes, colour, not color) industry. Liebig changes chemistry from being a supporting subject for medical student to making chemistry one of the most important subjects because of the booming synthetic colour industry that singlehandedly made Germany a financial powerhouse, dominating Britain and competing toe to toe with USA.

[@mikkelfondt5425]

Also, on a side note. The waste products of the Leblanc-process didn't just make putrid-smelling waste; the hydrogen-chloride began making fumes from the waste pile of calcium-sulphate, causing major hazard damage to the nearby residents.

[@birdgod5584]

That sounds interesting, but most crash course videos are very short. Maybe they can make another video about ChemE where they can go into detail about the colour

[@applejackzo]

Good ol Chem E 😍

[@clara.444]

WOAH!!! HEISENBERG!!

[@rezafirdaus224]

metallurgy engineering please!!

[@bruh-wg4iz]

Im trying to get that course but is it good?

[@hannahsharp3641]

Can you please make a in dept video on some of types civil engineering featured in your civil engineering video like flood engineering

[@Khofax]

Actually the oldest record of something that used chemical engineering was Greek Fire

[@matthewcahill4475]

Nah, it was soap, made from animal fats and boiled with Ash, add a bit of alcohol and it turns into soap

[@ripsumrall8018]

"When you are a creator the possibilities are endless" yep. We are gods.

[@abcde8293]

Soduim carbonate used in soap France couldn't get Sodium carbonate You guys seeing where I'm going with this

[@wingjaigaming8240]

From my chemistry lessons, sodium carbonate is not a must have for making soap. Soap can also be made by adding sodium hydroxide solution to vegetable oil, then stir with sodium chloride.

[@najat1427]

Please make pharmacy history 💗💗💗💊💊

[@LuisSierra42]

Or a tutorial on how to synthesize DMT from plants

[@chemeng-industrialacademy]

Chemical Engineering is simply to industrialize the chemical processes maintaining the various constraints of economics, safety, environment, sustainability etc.More importantly Chemical Engineering discipline is more vocational rather than academics.

[@ScienceCommunicator2001]

Great video but couldn't u talk about Antoine Lavoisier?

[@joycejeann4358]

I hope this gets subtitles in Spanish 🙏

[@jaebakahn8784]

What are the products of chemical engineering?

[@IsaacDeezz]

Will you be doing biochemical engineering?

[@feynstein1004]

Hmm as far as I know, octanol can be used as a substitute for and is almost identical to gasoline. How come scientists haven't figured out a way to mass-produce it?

[@derksgarage]

HOLY COW. SLOW DOWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

[@radioboys8986]

some how missed the important discoveries using coal tar chemicals / aniline dyes which opened a whole new world of chemistry Perkin, Runge, and Otto Unverdorben

[@Bird_Dog00]

I was actualy a bit surprised they didn't mention the Haber-Bosch process, given that it was as crucial to increasing the earth's carrying capacity as inventions such as irrigation or crop rotation.

[@magzieforfunj187]

Articles about the history of chemical tend not to mention specific processes. They mention George E Davis as father of Chemical Engineering, introduction of Unit Operations, Chemical Engineering becoming more mathematical with the introduction of transport phenomena and reaction engineering. They probably didn't mention those process because of a combination of their sources don't mention them and trying separate the chemistry from the engineering.

[@rusandifernando9286]

Dr.Shinie, how can I get access to crash course worksheets??

[@mathematicalcoffee2750]

Chemical engineering is best engineering

[@Nicro328]

It felt so short!

[@Jojo43O9]

what music did you use and how did you get it?

[@ruslannurakhmetov4466]

could you please make video about pharmacology or pharmacy?)

[@Leopr1]

I have a degree in Chemical Engineering, sadly my job is not as Chemical Engineer.

[@lorenzovonmatterhorn4756]

I don't have a chem degree but I do work in a lab with chemicals. But I am an engineering student

[@kushalkapadia9682]

Than where are you doing job, in which field?

[@trumanshow162]

Is chemical engineering ≒ material engineering ? Every technology have to be materialized into material resources , like tools , machines , fuels or facilities , to be utilized. Then , fertilizer , plastic , semiconductor , new medicine …… chemical engineering is vital to all the stages of civilizational development 💖.

[@elia-eo3bf]

The difference between them is the main subject of chemical engineering is about processing techniques and the material engineering about the properties of materials

[@danielshade710]

She is a visual poem

[@ayoubduolingo1526]

and what about embedded system engineering please

[@anenaude5343]

Why did u leave out so many types of engineers?

[@asia.mccurdy340]

Can you do a video on nuclear engineering

[@rafisanders]

I just got accepted to collage to study chemical engineering

[@woodchuck003]

What makes coal different from biomass? Coal is just biomass that has been condensed and compressed over time.

[@eddielookingbeautifulbravo8]

200 IQ

[@discotanzo]

The "c" is silent.

[@zajec11]

Arthur D. Little. Poor guy must've gotten bullied for his name a lot

[@nailulfirdaus_]

Environmental engineering please. .

[@lolopolhhhk5591]

This helped me with my robotics lessons If it helped you guys like👍🏻👇🏻they deserve it 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[@kashaanmahmood5311]

A video on history of Chemical Engineeeing without mentioning Haber,wow.......

[@robhousehold]

*Help* Okay there was a video on KZbin about the realities of engineering. The video showed one spectrum of engineering as boring graphs and computer screens. The other societal spectrum the vid depicted engineering as awesome as iron man everyone is smart and knows everything. While the video shows engineering reality as a life like Big Hero 6, groups of people knowledged in different aspects of engineering working together. Anyone know the video / creator? Let me know and thank you so much.

[@wepranaga]

how is she had a straight hair?

[@DoobieDre420]

Sumary?

[@Mark-dc1su]

The French Revolutionaries paved the way for not only Reconstruction, October 1917, but our future Socialist society based on a free association of producers!

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

Mark Rainey Puke.

[@saidursezan9193]

Does chemical engineering have a future in quantum field???

[@madkhilla22]

Any Gin-gineering?

[@darkguardian1314]

Surprised this episode didn’t lead off with explosives and poisons like they did with electrical engineering. Please redo electrical engineering. 🤨

[@curtiscarpenter9881]

I though biomass was interesting if we could use it for, look at golden rice....

[@Ston3dNinja13]

This helped me learn that we can all blame France for Global Warming. (sarcasm if not clear)

[@princessramonah21]

her accent

[@MauricioGonzález-m1r]

dankon