Unit 6:Chemical Engineer

Chemistry is a very interesting field with many interesting subtopics as documented throughout my previous blog posts. There are many options and jobs in the world for those interested in pursuing a career based on chemistry. Today we're going to be examining chemical engineering and what the requirements are and who has contributed to this field of work.

Chemical engineering is a job in high demand because of the large number of industries that depend on the synthesis and processing of chemicals and materials. Chemical engineering is basically creating and designing processes to produce, transform, and transport materials  beginning with experimentation in the laboratory, allowing the product or item to be produced in a large quantity. In simpler terms, chemical engineers try to convert materials into more valuable and usable materials.

There have been many well recognized chemical engineers including Toronto’s own Lewis Frederick Urry, who was a Canadian chemical engineer. He invented both the alkaline battery and lithium battery while working for the Everyday Battery company. The minimum you need to become a chemical engineer is a bachelors in chemical engineering or one can can go further and get your masters or PhD. Training in university would require, different types of chemistry, maths, and physics.


There are many health risks that are associated with becoming a chemical engineer. Working with corrosive or dangerous materials poses many health concerns including illnesses and problems like: cancer and potential organ failures, which can ultimately lead to death. Based on the evidence presented, I still think chemical engineering is a very cool job because the individuals handling the materials are trained professionals and know how to deal with the materials.


Hopefully this has given you some new background information about chemical engineering, which will hopefully sway you towards the field.
After hearing a little bit about chemical engineering, would you want to pursue this as a career? Does any of the training required scare you?


References:

“Lemelson-MIT Program.” Josephine Cochrane | Lemelson-MIT Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018,
https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/lewis-f-urry


“What Is Chemical Engineering?” What Is Chemical Engineering? | Chemical Engineering, Stanford Engineering, 2018, https://cheme.stanford.edu/admissions/undergraduate/what-chemical-engineering

Unit 5: Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry

Throughout unit five of our chemistry course we explored gases and atmospheric chemistry. We learned about the dangers that an overabundance of carbon dioxide has on our environment. Humans are ultimately the main producers of carbon dioxide and transportation plays a huge role in contributing to our greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. 

Almost every Cedar Ridge High School student goes and gets picked up from school each day either by getting a ride, or taking city transportation. Although many people prefer getting a ride from their parents, city transportation surprisingly plays a huge role in reducing air pollution. 

In 2016, Vehicles emitted over 202 Megatons worth of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada alone. Some of the major greenhouse gases that are emitted into our environment by transportation include: hydrocarbons which cause smog, nitrogen oxides, which help in forming ground level ozone, carbon monoxide which is very toxic to humans, and carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. If you are riding on public transport, you are ultimately helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by leaving your car at home. A bus with just seven passengers is more fuel efficient than a car carrying one person. Buses produce as little as 20% as much carbon monoxide per mile as a car only carrying one person. 

They also produce much less hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. This ultimately helps you reduce your own carbon footprint. 

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by taking public transport is definitely a more tiring and time consuming activity, but it is ultimately saving our planet. Seeing as buses produce just 20% as much carbon monoxide

 per mile as a car only carrying one person really makes me wonder why we shouldn’t all just try to take public transit. Although it is a timely activity, it could be the difference between having fresh air, or having air pollution. I think there is still work to be done in order to reduce the personal carbon footprint of buses. One way to combat this is by installing an electric battery powered engine. This could potentially cut our greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation even further allowing for us to live in a cleaner environment, for a longer period of time. 

Questions:

After reading this blog-post, has your opinion changed on using cars as a mode of transportation?

Has your opinion changed on public transportation? Why? Or why not?

References:

 Middleton, James. “Transit's Role in Environmental Sustainability.” Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation, 14 Dec. 2015, www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/environmental-programs/transit-environmental-sustainability/transit-role.

Sitther, Vijji. “Vehicles, Air Pollution, and Human Health.” Union of Concerned Scientists, 23 July 2018, www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/vehicles-air-pollution-and-human-health#.XDPMWc9Kjs0.

“Where Do Canada's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Come From?” From Risk to Resilience, Prairie Climate Centre, 7 Mar. 2018, 

http://prairieclimatecentre.ca/2018/03/where-do-canadas-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from/