Asking Questions and Developing a Basic Knowledge

This week’s blog asked us to think about some questions to get a better understanding of our field of choice. I was able to come up with ten questions that have been on my mind since I chose my field of chemical engineering. To answer my questions I needed to find a textbook. It may seem simple enough to just pick up a book on chemical engineering, but in reality I had a much harder time then I thought I would. The reason was at a university many of the textbooks on chemical engineering are very technically based or are very detailed concepts of what chemical engineering is. It can be tough to find a textbook that is more general that just gives a glimpse into the life of a chemical engineer, but through my research I was able to find one that answered some of my question.

The ten questions are listed below. Some of the questions were answered from the textbook I found. For example “What does a chemical engineer do as an occupation?” Well chemical engineers work on production of chemical products and other products that require the use of chemical processing. They produce on a much larger scale than chemist do. Another question that was answered “Why do chemical engineers work on projects at a larger scale?” The reason is chemist work on research at a smaller scale while chemical engineers use the research done by them to produce their findings at a much bigger scale. The last question I was able to find an answer for was “What types of fields can chemical engineers go into?” The field of choice I would like to go into is the environmental side of chemical engineering. That would just be one of the many fields I found. Some specializations that chemical engineers can go into are pollution control, oxidation, or the production of plastics.

Through this textbook I was able to get a better understanding of what my field is so far, but as I divulge deeper into chemical engineering there will be much more. I have only broken the surface so far and I cannot wait to explore much more of it!

Questions:

1. How do chemical engineers affect the world?

2. What types of fields can chemical engineers go into?

3. What are the different types of renewable energy that chemical engineers look at?

4. How can chemical engineers use renewable energy?

5. What are some effective ways chemical engineers use their research to build a better planet?

6. What does a chemical engineer do as an occupation?

7. What type of technology are chemical engineers using to help aid their research?

8. Why do chemical engineers work on projects at a larger scale than a smaller scale?

9. Why are chemical engineers important to the world?

10. What are some famous contributions that chemical engineers have been able contribute?

Citations:

"Chemical Engineer." Career Information Center. Ed. Mary Bonk. 9th ed. Vol. 6: Engineering, Science, Technology, and Social Science. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 107-109. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2586800442&v=2.1&u=msu_main&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w

Chemical Engineering for Masters Students. N.d. Online UniversityWeb. 31 Jan 2013. <http://www.onlineuniversity.net/chemistry/chemical-engineering-resources/>.

Types of Renewable Energy

As engineers and chemist are looking for ways to find renewable energy on this planet. I began to think to myself "What are the different types of energy that are available to us?" All I knew about renewable energy is that energy can be harnessed from the sun, wind, and large bodies of water. That is only a small portion of the many different types of renewable energy that is out there in the world. The other types of renewable energy are geothermal, biogas, biomass, and also tidal. These other types of energy open more possibilites for researchers and engineers to try to harness it. If renewable energy can be used more often, it will make our future much better since the use of fossil fuels will decrease, causing a smaller carbon footprint onto the atmosphere.

Biomass

Being able to know more about the different types of renewable energy really opened my eyes to the many possibilites for me to make an impact on this planet. After college I really want to find new ways of harnessing energy from the planet so that everyone can move towards being green. It will take time, but the wait will be much worth it especially for ourselves and the planet.

Biogas

Through the research I have done, I learned that there are many different types of renewable energy out there. The more options for renewable energy on this planet allows chemical engineers and all types of researches to find a way to obtain it from the planet. With global warming being a hot topic and people trying to go towards being green, using renewable energy would be a step in the right direction. It will probably take little steps to move toward being fully reliable on renewable energy for the future, but any type of renewable energy used now will make an impact.





Link:
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/renewables/

Citations:
Definition of Biogas. 2009. n.p. Web. 30 Jan 2013. <http://www.inverter-china.com/blog/upload/biogas.gif>.
What is Biomass and Bioenergy?. N.d. Biomass Innovation CentreWeb. 30 Jan 2013. <http://www.biomassinnovation.ca/Images/BiomassSourcesLand.jpg>.

Analyzing Narrative

The biography that I chose to read and analyze about was on a famous chemical engineer called Thomas Midgley. Here is a little background about who he was as a chemical engineer. He was known for his contributions of finding an anti-knocking agent found in automobiles back in the 1900’s and also finding a new and better way for refrigerant. Mr. Midgley’s anti-knocking agent called tetraethyl lead, also known as TEL, was put into gasoline to stop the loud knocking sounds that the start of an engine would make and it also boosted the performance it. He also found a new compound called Freon that would help aide refrigerants that would change the world forever.

As I was reading about his life it really dawned on me how his efforts of finding innovative ideas were able to impact the world so much. The writer of his biographical memoir was Charles F. Kettering; the way he wrote about Mr. Midgley’s life was amazing. He was able to combine all of his research and contributions and spread them throughout the narrative. Always referring back to it to keep the reader interested. Kettering’s use of rhetorical elements helped show the success of what Thomas Midgley was able to accomplish.

In the biography Kettering emphasized on how Mr. Midgley’s hard work attributed to his findings as an engineer. One rhetorical element that was used many times by Kettering was amplification, constantly referring to Thomas Midgley’s research. The use of imagery really allowed me to picture what was going on in his life. Without this rhetorical element it becomes very difficult to see the different pieces coming together as a whole. A lot of imagery was used by Kettering to emphasize his research. This really allows the reader and me to get a better understanding of the type of research that was done by him and how he was able to succeed.

            The use of rhetorical elements in this biographical memoir really helped showcase the success and challenges that Thomas Midgley had face when he was doing his research. Without these elements, the biographical memoir would not fully be able to tell Thomas Midgley's story!

Biographical Memoir: 

http://www.myboe.org/cognoti/content/file/resources/documents/86/86716122/867161224494bf2a68246c5238747a2224f5e332/downloadedfile_7038614331252481794_tmidgley.pdf

Citation:

5 Minutes of Biography: Thomas Midgley Jnr. N.d. blogspotWeb. 24 Jan 2013. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMK-kcIDQx6KYgkSewOptZeoqBfqd2F9fjzHKZeob39uR4W_zGjuPFce0e-jWxfgnkKyWPyhmZ50QVALApP2CmkBEJBseBSAC4u6qrFtfOYRLwtUj_NcpiMm5SE0szSyPHqJN1WRXJ2qE/s1600/TMJnr2.jpg>.

Renewable Energy In San Diego

California is known to be the state of change. There are always people trying to find innovative ways to change for the future. Finding different ways of renewable energy is no different. I recently read an article about renewable energy plants that come from the wind and sun. It is really great to know that the city of San Diego is beginning to use renewable energy generated from the town of Ocotillo. This is really going to help move cities away from the use of coal and move towards becoming a greener planet. By having wind and solar energy, it is providing two hundred megawatts of energy to about thirteen hundred homes. I never really knew that just wind and solar power can give so much energy to homes. If we can keep continuing like this in the future, renewable energy can help give energy to more homes!

 What I was able to learn is that slowly now cities are opening up to take in more renewable energy, which is a great thing. Being able to harness renewable energy is key to slowing down global warming. This really got me thinking, “Will it be possible to have a more than two large cities just rely on renewable energy ten to fifteen years from now?” 

Article Link:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/21/Sunrise-delivers-renewables/

Citation: 

Desert wind farm jolts San Diego. 2012. North County TimesWeb. 22 Jan 2013. <http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nctimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/57/c577f5f2-5908-5649-a8da-a777597792ad/50bc2776af1fd.preview-620.jpg>.