AI in Chemical Engineering: A New Chapter of Innovation

The integration of artificial intelli-gence(AI)into chemical engineering marks a transformative era,redefin-ing traditional methodologies with AI-driven approaches.AI has emerged as a powerful ally in tackling complex problems once considered insur-mountable.As chemical engineering grapples with increasingly complex systems and stringent sustainability targets,AI sets the stage for a new generation of solutions.

An Overview of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Green Chemical Engineering

Given the current global energy and environmental issues resulting from the fast pace of industrialization,the discovery of new functional materials has become increasingly imperative in order to advance science and technology and address the associated challenges.The boom in metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)and MOF-derived materials in recent years has stimulated profound interest in exploring their structures and applications.The preparation,characterization,and processing of MOF materials are the basis of their full engagement in industrial implementation.With intensive research in these topics,it is time to promote the practical utilization of MOFs on an industrial scale,such as for green chemical engineering,by taking advantage of their superior functions.Many famous MOFs have already demonstrated superiority over traditional materials in solving real-world problems.This review starts with the basic concept of MOF chemistry and ends with a discussion of the industrial production and exploitation of MOFs in several fields.Its goal is to provide a general scope of application to inspire MOF researchers to convert their focus on academic research to one on practical applications.After the obstacles of cost,scale-up preparation,processability,and stability have been overcome,MOFs and MOF-based devices will gradually enter the factory,become a part of our daily lives,and help to create a future based on green production and green living.

Green microfluidics in microchemical engineering for carbon neutrality

The concept of“carbon neutrality”poses a huge challenge for chemical engineering and brings great opportunities for boosting the development of novel technologies to realize carbon offsetting and reduce carbon emissions.Developing high-efficient,low-cost,energy-efficient and eco-friendly microfluidicbased microchemical engineering is of great significance.Such kind of“green microfluidics”can reduce carbon emissions from the source of raw materials and facilitate controllable and intensified microchemical engineering processes,which represents the new power for the transformation and upgrading of chemical engineering industry.Here,a brief review of green microfluidics for achieving carbon neutral microchemical engineering is presented,with specific discussions about the characteristics and feasibility of applying green microfluidics in realizing carbon neutrality.Development of green microfluidic systems are categorized and reviewed,including the construction of microfluidic devices by bio-based substrate materials and by low carbon fabrication methods,and the use of more biocompatible and nondestructive fluidic systems such as aqueous two-phase systems(ATPSs).Moreover,low carbon applications benefit from green microfluidics are summarized,ranging from separation and purification of biomolecules,high-throughput screening of chemicals and drugs,rapid and cost-effective detections,to synthesis of fine chemicals and novel materials.Finally,challenges and perspectives for further advancing green microfluidics in microchemical engineering for carbon neutrality are proposed and discussed.

Scoping biology-inspired chemical engineering

Biology is a rich source of great ideas that can inspire us to find successful ways to solve the challenging problems in engineering practices including those in the chemical industry. Bio-inspired chemical engineering(Bio Ch E)may be recognized as a significant branch of chemical engineering. It may consist of, but not limited to, the following three aspects: 1) Chemical engineering principles and unit operations in biological systems; 2) Process engineering principles for producing existing or developing new chemical products through living ‘devices';and 3) Chemical engineering processes and equipment that are designed and constructed through mimicking(does not have to reproduce one hundred percent) the biological systems including their physical–chemical and mechanical structures to deliver uniquely beneficial performances. This may also include the bio-inspired sensors for process monitoring. In this paper, the above aspects are defined and discussed which establishes the scope of BioChE.

Multi-criteria decision-making selection model with application to chemical engineering management decisions

Chemical industry project management involves complex decision making situations that require discerning abilities and methods to make sound decisions. Chemical engineers as project managers are faced with decision environments and problems in chemical industry projects that are complex. Multiple-criteria decision making （MCDM） approaches are major parts of decision theory and analysis. This paper presents all of MCDM approaches for use in chemical engineering management decisions. In this work, case study is Research and Development （R＆D） project selection in chemical industry. The ability to make sound decisions is very important to success of R＆D projects. It is hoped that this work will provide a ready reference on MCDM and this will encourage the application of the MCDM in chemical engineering management.

Recent Advances in Energy Chemical Engineering of Next-Generation Lithium Batteries

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)afford a profound impact on our modern daily life.However,LIBs are approaching the theoretical energy density,due to the inherent limitations of intercalation chemistry;thus,they cannot further satisfy the increasing demands of portable electronics,electric vehicles,and grids.Therefore,battery chemistries beyond LIBs are being widely investigated.Next-generation lithium(Li)batteries,which employ Li metal as the anode and intercalation or conversion materials as the cathode,receive the most intensive interest due to their high energy density and excellent potential for commercialization.Moreover,significant progress has been achieved in Li batteries attributed to the increasing fundamental understanding of the materials and reactions,as well as to technological improvement.This review starts by summarizing the electrolytes for next-generation Li batteries.Key challenges and recent progress in lithium-ion,lithium–sulfur,and lithium–oxygen batteries are then reviewed from the perspective of energy and chemical engineering science.Finally,possible directions for further development in Li batteries are presented.Next-generation Li batteries are expected to promote the sustainable development of human civilization.

Design and Fabrication of Ceramic Catalytic Membrane Reactors for Green Chemical Engineering Applications

Catalytic membrane reactors(CMRs),which synergistically carry out separations and reactions,are expected to become a green and sustainable technology in chemical engineering.The use of ceramic membranes in CMRs is being widely considered because it permits reactions and separations to be carried out under harsh conditions in terms of both temperature and the chemical environment.This article presents the two most important types of CMRs:those based on dense mixed-conducting membranes for gas separation,and those based on porous ceramic membranes for heterogeneous catalytic processes.New developments in and innovative uses of both types of CMRs over the last decade are presented,along with an overview of our recent work in this field.Membrane reactor design,fabrication,and applications related to energy and environmental areas are highlighted.First,the configuration of membranes and membrane reactors are introduced for each of type of membrane reactor.Next,taking typical catalytic reactions as model systems,the design and optimization of CMRs are illustrated.Finally,challenges and difficulties in the process of industrializing the two types of CMRs are addressed,and a view of the future is outlined.

A Modified Model for Flexibility Analysis in Chemical Engineering Processes

This paper discussed an extended model for flexibility analysis of chemical process. Under uncertainty, probability density function is used to describe uncertain parameters instead of hyper-rectangle, and chanceconstrained programming is a feasible way to deal with the violation of constraints. Because the feasible region of control variables would change along with uncertain parameters, its smallest acceptable size threshold is presented to ensure the controllability condition. By synthesizing the considerations mentioned above, a modified model can describe the flexibility analysis problem more exactly. Then a hybrid algorithm, which integrates stochastic simulation and genetic algorithm, is applied to solve this model and maximize the flexibility region. Both numerical and chemical process examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

Machine Learning in Chemical Engineering:Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,and Threats

Chemical engineers rely on models for design,research,and daily decision-making,often with potentially large financial and safety implications.Previous efforts a few decades ago to combine artificial intelligence and chemical engineering for modeling were unable to fulfill the expectations.In the last five years,the increasing availability of data and computational resources has led to a resurgence in machine learning-based research.Many recent efforts have facilitated the roll-out of machine learning techniques in the research field by developing large databases,benchmarks,and representations for chemical applications and new machine learning frameworks.Machine learning has significant advantages over traditional modeling techniques,including flexibility,accuracy,and execution speed.These strengths also come with weaknesses,such as the lack of interpretability of these black-box models.The greatest opportunities involve using machine learning in time-limited applications such as real-time optimization and planning that require high accuracy and that can build on models with a self-learning ability to recognize patterns,learn from data,and become more intelligent over time.The greatest threat in artificial intelligence research today is inappropriate use because most chemical engineers have had limited training in computer science and data analysis.Nevertheless,machine learning will definitely become a trustworthy element in the modeling toolbox of chemical engineers.

Chemical Reaction Route Selection Based on Green Chemical Engineering

In the preliminary stage of chemical process design, the choice of chemical reaction route is the key design decision, and the concepts of atom utilization and environmental quotient have become extremely useful tools. However, the waste quality such as chemical toxicity and other engineering factors have not been taken into account. Therefore, a synthetic route selection index, Iroute, is proposed to determine the suitability of a chemical route in this paper. Iroute considers the effects of 'extended atom economy', material renewability, chemical characteristics and some engineering factors. The extended atom economy concept regards not only the value of the desired product but also the value of byproducts. The methodology by using Iroute to compare different routes is illustrated in case study of cyclohexanone oxime and acrylonitrile manufacture.

Green Chemical Engineering

1. Introduction Green chemical engineering is regarded as one of the most effi- cient means of achieving sustainable development in chemical in- dustrial processes. It can be divided into two main categories： Green product engineering. Examples include the develop- ment of new catalysts and the development and use of renewa- ble resources （e.g., solar energy and biomass）.

Green Chemical Engineering for a Better Life

The industrial revolution helped to improve living standards and dramat- ically increase the global population; however, it simultaneously caused severe environmental pollution and the issue of climate warming due to the rapid consumption of fossil-based energy. For example, although chem- ical products address the needs and demands of daily life, their production also consumes massive quantities of natural resources and generates unwanted byproducts.

Short review on liquid membrane technology and their applications in biochemical engineering

As a branch of membrane separation technology,liquid membrane has attracted great attention and expanded investigations in biological chemical engineering,with life and health concern in ecosystems.Composed of membrane solvent and mobile carrier,liquid membrane was acquired of function,performing the facilitated mass transfer across the diffusive solvent,so as for the separation and delivery achievement with efficacy.In this review,two types of liquid membrane are mainly focused,respectively on supported liquid membrane(SLM)of membrane solvent supporter in necessity,and on emulsion liquid membrane(ELM)of the required interfacial stabilizers and homogenization.Accordingly,the transfer mechanism,compositions,structure and features of SLM and ELM are introduced respectively.Moreover,the current investigations of liquid membrane have been discussed,focusing on the improvements of efficacy and stability in separation&detection,encapsulation and delivery,so as to scale up the favorable and efficient application with bio-life concern.Prospectively,this review could provide comprehensive insight into the bio-applications of liquid membrane,and guidelines for the further investigations on the efficacy and long-term applicable stability,in order to realize the industrialization.

A Mathematical Model Based on Supply Chain Optimization for International Petrochemical Engineering Projects

Based on the study of supply chain(SC) and SC optimization in engineering projects, a mixed integer nonlinear programming(MINLP) optimization model is developed to minimize the total SC cost for international petrochemical engineering projects. A steam cracking project is selected and analyzed, from which typical SC characteristics in international engineering projects in the area of petrochemical industry are summarized. The MINLP model is therefore developed and applied to projects with detailed data. The optimization results are analyzed and compared by the MINLP model, indicating that they are appropriate to SC management practice in engineering projects, and are consistent with the optimal priceeffective strategy in procurement. As a result, the model could provide useful guidance to SC optimization of international engineering projects in petrochemical industry, and improve SC management by selecting more reliable and qualified partner enterprises in SC for the project.

Bio-Review 2021: Inspiring the future of Biochemical Engineering

Biochemical Engineering(BCE)discipline had largely developed from fermentation technology studies from 1950s through 1960s when fermentation emerged as the core technology able to address multiple industrial needs ranging from health care products such as antibiotics;food products such as single cell proteins,amino acids,organic acids,and vitamins;liquid fuels and chemicals such as ethanol and acetic acid;and industrial enzymes.

Comparative study of heat transfer and pressure drop for curved-twisted tubes utilized in chemical engineering

Increasing importance of heat transfer in chemical engineering science causes that investigation in the field of enhancement techniques is always one of the up-to-date topics for study.In the current comparative analysis,the thermal enhancement and friction penalty are explored numerically for curved tubes via twisted configuration.To accomplish this,three common geometries namely helical,serpentine,and Archimedes spiral,are considered at different coil-pitches and twist-pitches as well as five Reynolds numbers in the laminar flow regime.The results exhibit noticeable enhancements(up to 60%)in the thermal performance of the twisted cases as compared to the smooth cases.The highest increases are recorded for the serpentine case,followed by the helical and spiral cases.It is found that these enhancements vary via coil-pitch and twist-pitch.Increasing coil-pitch and twist-pitch augments both heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in all curved-twisted tubes,however,the effects of twist-pitch are more pronounced.To predict Nusselt number and friction factor,new correlations are also proposed.The maximum deviations of the predicted results compared to the simulated data are within±5%.

Surface engineering of ZnO electrocatalyst by N doping towards electrochemical CO_(2) reduction

The discovery of efficient,selective,and stable electrocatalysts can be a key point to produce the largescale chemical fuels via electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(ECR).In this study,an earth-abundant and nontoxic ZnO-based electrocatalyst was developed for use in gas-diffusion electrodes(GDE),and the effect of nitrogen(N)doping on the ECR activity of ZnO electrocatalysts was investigated.Initially,a ZnO nanosheet was prepared via the hydrothermal method,and nitridation was performed at different times to control the N-doping content.With an increase in the N-doping content,the morphological properties of the nanosheet changed significantly,namely,the 2D nanosheets transformed into irregularly shaped nanoparticles.Furthermore,the ECR performance of Zn O electrocatalysts with different N-doping content was assessed in 1.0 M KHCO_(3) electrolyte using a gas-diffusion electrode-based ECR cell.While the ECR activity increased after a small amount of N doping,it decreased for higher N doping content.Among them,the N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalysts showed the best CO selectivity,with a faradaic efficiency(FE_(CO))of 92.7%at-0.73 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE),which was greater than that of an undoped Zn O electrocatalyst(FE_(CO)of 63.4%at-0.78 V_(RHE)).Also,the N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst exhibited outstanding durability for 16 h,with a partial current density of-92.1 mA cm^(-2).This improvement of N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst can be explained by density functional theory calculations,demonstrating that this improvement of N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst comes from(ⅰ)the optimized active sites lowering the free energy barrier for the rate-determining step(RDS),and(ⅱ)the modification of electronic structure enhancing the electron transfer rate by N doping.

Phase engineering of a donor-doped air electrode for reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells

Reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells(R-PCECs)demonstrate great feasibility for efficient energy storage and conversion.One critical challenge for the development of R-PCECs is the design of novel air electrodes with the characteristics of high catalytic activity and acceptable durability.Here,we report a donor doping of Hf into the B-site of a cobalt-based double perovskite with a nominal formula of PrBa_(0.8)Ca_(0.2)Co_(1.9)Hf_(0.1)O_(5tδ)(PBCCHf_(0.1)),which is naturally reconfigured to a double perovskite PrBa_(0.8-x)Ca_(0.2)Co_(1.9)Hf_(0.1)-xO5tδ(PBCCHf_(0.1)-x)backbone and nano-sized BaHfO3(BHO)on the surface of PBCCHf_(0.1)x.The air electrode demonstrates enhanced catalytic activity and durability(a stable polarization resistance of 0.269Ωcm2 for~100 h at 600℃),due likely to the fast surface exchange process and bulk diffusion process.When employed as an air electrode of R-PCECs,a cell with PBCCHf_(0.1) air electrode demonstrates encouraging performances in modes of the fuel cell(FC)and electrolysis(EL)at 600℃:a peak power density of 0.998 W cm^(-2)and a current density of1.613 A cm^(-2)at 1.3 V(with acceptable Faradaic efficiencies).More importantly,the single-cell with PBCCHf_(0.1) air electrode demonstrates good cycling stability,switching back and forth from FC mode to EL mode0.5 A cm^(-2)for 200 h and 50 cycles.

Systematic engineering of BiVO_(4)photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation

BiVO_(4)is one of the most promising photoanode materials for photoelectrochemical(PEC)solar energy conversion,but it still suffers from poor photocurrent density due to insufficient light‐harvesting efficiency(LHE),weak photogenerated charge separation efficiency(Φ_(Sep)),and low water oxidation efficiency(Φ_(OX)).Herein,we tackle these challenges of the BiVO_(4)photoanodes using systematic engineering,including catalysis engineering,bandgap engineering,and morphology engineering.In particular,we deposit a NiCoO_(x)layer onto the BiVO_(4)photoanode as the oxygen evolution catalyst to enhance theΦ_(OX)of Fe‐g‐C_(3)N_(4)/BiVO_(4)for PEC water oxidation,and incorporate Fe‐doped graphite‐phase C_(3)N_(4)(Fe‐g‐C_(3)N_(4))into the BiVO_(4)photoanode to optimize the bandgap and surface areas to subsequently expand the light absorption range of the photoanode from 530 to 690 nm,increase the LHE andΦ_(Sep),and further improve the oxygen evolution reaction activity of the NiCoO_(x)catalytic layer.Consequently,the maximum photocurrent density of the as‐prepared NiCoO_(x)/Fe‐g‐C_(3)N_(4)/BiVO_(4)is remarkably boosted from 4.6 to 7.4 mA cm^(−2).This work suggests that the proposed systematic engineering strategy is exceptionally promising for improving LHE,Φ_(Sep),andΦ_(OX)of BiVO_(4)‐based photoanodes,which will substantially benefit the design,preparation,and large‐scale application of next‐generation high‐performance photoanodes.