This month’s column gives a brief overview of the Chemical Engineering brand. While long-term readers need no introduction to the magazine, newer readers might be interested in the history of the magazine and what we cover. Perhaps even long-term readers might discover newer content forms that they were not familiar with.
Our monthly magazine was launched as Electrochemical Industry over a hundred twenty years ago in 1902 (see “Electrochemistry and much more,” Chem. Eng., December 2024). The name of the publication changed in 1905 to Electrochemical and Metallurgical Industry, and after a couple more name iterations, eventually became Chemical Engineering in 1946.
Chemical Engineering serves chemical engineers and related technical professionals in the chemical process industries, or the CPI. We define the CPI very broadly to include not just basic chemicals, but also petrochemicals, cosmetics, fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and more. What ties all these industries together is that they use the basic principles and unit operations that are familiar to chemical engineers, such as reaction kinetics, heat transfer, mixing, distillation and so on. Important throughout the CPI are also environmental, health, safety and security, as well as automation and control. We cover these topics, as well as business news, current and breakthrough technologies, new product information and more.
Our monthly magazine is published in print, digital issues and on our website. New articles are often added to our website, some of which we list in our table of contents with QR codes for easy access. You can also find the following on our website:
- Latest business and technology news
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Videos, with monthly updates from the editors
- Bookshelf, listing the latest books of interest to the CPI
- Chemical Engineering’s Plant Cost Index®
- Quizzes where you can test your knowledge
In addition, readers can opt in to receive e-newsletters on specific topics, as well as on more general news updates. Our active LinkedIn page is also a good way to stay up-to-date with Chemical Engineering.
In this issue
Every month our magazine offers a variety of articles, with the intention that there is something for everyone in each issue. This month is no exception.
Our Cover Story on valves dives into the valve types used for high-purity applications, as well as regulatory concerns, materials of construction and how to avoid common pitfalls in valve selection and installation.
The Feature Report details makeup-water treatments for boilers. Our Solids Processing article addresses ways to control particle-size distribution in solids-handling applications, and the Engineering Practice article highlights continuous process monitoring with Raman spectroscopy.
The latest work to decarbonize the steel industry, categorized as “hard-to-abate,” is the topic of our Newsfront on pp. 12–17.
Welcome to Chemical Engineering. ■
Dorothy Lozowski, Editorial Director