Chemical Engineers are Really Particle Engineers

That was the implied message of a "special session" address at Chem Show '97, which was held in New York, N.Y. from Nov. 18-20. The address was given by Dr. Reg Davies, research manager of the Particle Science and Technology Center at DuPont Co. (Wilmington, Del.). The talk was also the debut, of sorts, for the Particle Process Industries Assn. of the Americas, a new organization that is expected to grow out of several initiatives already under development.

"In the United States, particle science and technology (PS) has received undeserved neglect in the chemical process industries," says Davies. A 1985 article in Chemical Engineering Progress showed that particle processes have histories of poor plant start-up performance and excessive maintenance and downtime when compared to liquid processes. Davies himself found that in 1984, 60 percent of DuPont products were sold in particle form, and a further 20 percent of polymer-based products have particulates added to them to improve end-use performance. Further, industrial grinding of particles consume 1.3 percent of U.S. electrical power (mostly for mineral processing). PS is important across a range of process industries: advanced materials, food processing, mineral processing, munitions, semiconductors.

In academia, however, PS is practically invisible, at least insofar as chemical engineering departments are concerned. Germany has had significant efforts since the 1950s, and currently has 13 chairs in particle technology. Japan has 28 active research centers, and its Assn. of Powder Process in Industry and Engineering (APPIE) has an industrial membership of over 300 companies. No academic chairs exist in the U.S.

However, this is beginning to change. AIChE has founded a Particle Technology Forum to bring members of like interests together; they will be sponsoring a conference this coming spring. The U.S. National Science Foundation has helped organize the National Center for Particle Science and Technology at the University of Florida; Davies says that this center has been functioning extremely well in attracting undergraduate student interest. A third effort is the Particle Process Industry Association of the Americas (PPIAA), now "in embryonic form and being introduced at the Chem Show for the first time this week." Davies looks on these three efforts as the legs that PS can stand on in the U.S. in the future. "We need to pool our resources, industrial participation must be increased, and industrial awareness accelerated. Better links between the Forum, the engineering research center, and PPIAA should facilitate this," he says.

PPIAA conducted a market-research survey during the Chem Show to determine the current level of industry interest. Interested parties can contact Peter Knox at Peter J. Knox & Co., 36 West 10th St., New York, NY 10011. Tel: 212-533-0358.

By Nick Basta