Scoping biology-inspired chemical engineering

Publication date: Available online 15 July 2015 Source:Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Author(s): Xiao Dong Chen 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 (BioChE) 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’; 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. Graphical abstract

Source: Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering - July 17, 2015 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research