Importance of Chemistry in Engineering

Chemistry is a branch of natural sciences that study matter, energy, properties, and their relationship. Engineering is there to apply this science practically. Most of the students think that there is no use of chemistry in engineering. But actually, there are a lot of applications of chemistry in engineering. Chemistry is present in everything in the world. It’s important in everyday life too.

Use of Chemistry in Daily Life

Chemistry, while having its various branches, is used in all aspects of our daily life experience. Because everything we need in our daily lives is mostly related to chemistry, like food, clothes, cosmetics, drinks, soaps, washing powder, baking powder, acids, medicines, etc. Life is incomplete without chemistry.

How Chemistry will help in Future

In the future, chemistry may help us find new ways to maintain the environment, preserve foods, solve many incurable diseases and infections, and also overcome pollution. It can increase food and crop yields and provide more effective pharmaceutical pesticides to destroy harmful insects from crops.

Use of Chemistry in Engineering

Chemistry is directly and indirectly used in engineering. We can never ignore chemistry while studying engineering. Chemistry is used in many engineering fields like manufacturing, smoothing production facilities, and making more valued chemicals for long-lasting products.

Dive in Chemistry in Engineering

Importance of Chemistry in Electrical Engineering

Chemistry is vastly applied in electrical engineering. Because there is all discussion about the transistor, resistor, capacitor, inductor, and also semi-conductors. The current passing through these items is due to the movement of electrons. Electron and its properties are also chemistry sub-field. Electrical engineers must have this knowledge to make an electrical circuit.

There are chemical liquids used in batteries to produce current. Nickel-cadmium and lead-acid batteries. When electrical engineers study the formation of batteries, they must know the reactions of elements present in the chemicals of batteries. Semiconductors like silicon, germanium, and indium are also used in many reactions.

So, to perform reactions safely, electrical engineers must know about their chemical properties. Solar panels/plates are the common examples of circuits consisting of solar cells made of semiconductors (silicon made from boron and gallium).

Importance of Chemistry in Civil Engineering

In civil engineering, cement is the basic element of any construction. So, one who is using cement should know about the formation of cement. Cement is formed through a chemical process. It combines chemical elements, including calcium, silicon, clay, chalk, aluminum, iron, slat, silica, and other ingredients.

In civil engineering, subjects like mechanics, construction material, concrete, and masonry structures are also related to chemistry. Knowledge of the environment, the material used in construction, and their relation and interaction with each other. Metals such as steel is building material. Due to chemical reactions with environmental elements such as moisture and carbon present in steel/iron. So, corrosion can be removed using white vinegar or oxalic acid.

We have to do many tests on construction materials to ensure safety. Civil Engineers also spray a kind of chemical like boric acid on walls to control termite. And, calcium carbide is also a chemical that is used to find the moisture content of sand. Every process has some link with it.

Importance of Chemistry in Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the study of energy and materials. It processes raw materials to make them useful. As the name shows, chemical engineering is made of chemistry. It starts with chemistry and ends with chemistry. In this engineering, all the study is about chemical elements and their reactions. A person knowing chemistry is known as a chemist.

Chemistry is an important part of agriculture. About 50% of crop yields are just because of the use of fertilizer (chemical product). For the proper and productive growth of crops and fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are also used to beware of the crop from the attack of harmful insects.

It covers the area of the process of manufacturing food, drinks, cosmetics, and, lubricants. In laboratories, a chemical engineer is present to find new things; he reacts to elements and introduces new theories.

Importance of Chemistry in Industrial Engineering

Chemistry is also the most important factor in Industrial Engineering. It is almost used in every industry. For example, in the sugar, fertilizer, textile, printing, medicine industry, and many others. In the sugar industry, the formation of sugar from sugar cane and crystallization and the leaching process of sugar is done through a chemical process.

Industries mostly depend upon engineers because engineers are there to control the industrial process and maintenance.

Importance of Chemistry in Mechanical Engineering

It is hard to believe that chemistry has a hand in almost every type of engineering, but it is true. Chemistry is not a mechanical engineering subject, but it guides in many topics such as thermodynamics and thermochemistry.

It also covers mechanical engineering topics, i.e., mechanics, kinematics, fabrication of electronic devices, heat transfer in the combustion engine, and IC engines. Mostly, Inorganic chemistry is used in mechanical engineering because it contains the knowledge of metals, non-metals, and their properties.

When a mechanical engineer uses metal objects to design, build, analyze and manufacture bearings, gears, cogwheels, semi-conductor tools, motor engines, and generator engines, he should know all properties of metals. Aluminum and iron both are metals. Mechanical engineer uses aluminum instead of iron to design the structure of an aircraft due to its lightweight because iron is a heavy metal and therefore not used in the design.

Importance of Chemistry in Textile Engineering

Textile engineering is the study of the design, production, and manufacturing of textiles or fabrics. In the textile industry, fabrics are manufactured by converting raw fabric material into useful textiles. There are three main processes of manufacturing fabrics.

Spinning

In this process, raw fabric material is converted into threads. Sources of raw material can be natural (cotton, silk, wool) or synthetic (polyester, nylon).

Weaving

In this process, the number of threads formed is properly shaped/woven into the fabric. These fabrics are rusted with dust and other chemicals due to passing through many processes.

Bleaching

The woven fabrics get rusted by dust, oils, and many chemicals due to passing through machinery. Therefore, cleaning of clothes, and removing oil and wax spots are done by using different chemicals. This process is known as bleaching.

After this, dyeing, printing, and a special kind of chemical finishing are done. All of these processes need different kinds of chemicals. So, the textile industry has a great relationship with the chemical industry.  Using chemicals needs knowledge of chemistry.

Importance of chemistry in Nuclear & Biomedical Engineering

Chemistry has a key role in nuclear engineering. Nuclear engineering is the study of nuclear reactions to produce energy from different methods. Different periodic radioactive elements are used in these reactions. Atom is the most important term in this engineering. Nuclear engineers play with atoms in many ways to perform reactions.

There are many radioactive elements present around us. These elements emit radiation which can be harmful to human health. Radioactive elements are very reactive as they can result in alpha and beta decay, so one should have enough knowledge to deal with elements.

Nuclear engineers study the properties of many radioactive elements radium, radon, platinum, uranium, and many others.

Also, in Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry has many applications in the field of medicine. Nowadays, radiation is used to cure diseases like cancer. These radiations emit from radioactive elements and are used to destroy harmful cancer cells, and in the treatment of tumor. Such therapy is called as Radiotherapy. However, long term radiation exposure to the body can even lead to development of abnormal cells, such as cancer.

Importance of Chemistry in Mining, Metallurgical, and Geological Engineering

Geology is the branch of engineering that deals with studying the earth, its structure, the detail of things it contains (i.e., metals, non-metals, and alloys), and these processes.

A Geologist study the history of the land at which he is going to start the work. He also studies past events (volcano eruption, earthquake, or flood) happening on this land and designs its structure by supposing these events in the future. Geological students study different types of rocks and how different metals are extracted from these rocks.

Mining is the process of getting minerals by digging the land. Chemistry provides a broad detail about metals, ores and, minerals obtained by the mining process.

There are two types of ores, primary and secondary. Primary ores consist of sulfide and arsenide. These ores are present between the land surface and groundwater level. They get oxidized by oxygen, moisture, and corrosion, and then deposited as sulfates and carbonates. These deposits are known as secondary ores.

When these ores are extracted from the ground and in contact with the atmosphere, different ores give different reactions. When Sulphide ores are exposed to moisture and air, they produce heat, which can cause difficulties for workers.

Metallurgy is the most important branch of mining engineering. Metallurgical engineerings are here to separate metals from extracted ores. They extract these metals and metallic alloys and remove the impurities to get metal in pure form. It provides detail about the properties of these metals, their reactivity, and strength, and solve problems related to metals like corrosion.

Metals and metallic alloys are used in different manufacturing and constructions. Metallurgical engineering helps us to choose metals according to our requirements. So, chemistry is vastly used in geology, mining, and, metallurgical engineering.

Importance of Chemistry in Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum engineering explores petroleum products (oil and natural gas), refining, production, and making them usable. Oil and natural gas are combinations of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Petroleum engineering works as a fuel in the engine of this world because petroleum products are used in every vehicle as fuel.

The petroleum industry also needs a biochemist along with a petroleum engineer. Because a biochemist deals with the problems relating to the effect of insects on oil and petroleum, an engineer tells how to get usable products (petrol, diesel, gasoline, lubricants) from crude oil.

Conclusion

In other words, chemistry is widely involved in our daily life and engineering, which we cannot ignore it in any aspect of our life. Most of the engineering depends upon chemistry, but we are not so aware of it.

There should be a subject of chemistry in one of the middle semesters of engineering to promote the knowledge of chemistry in students to apply chemistry theories in their practical life.