How to understand chemical industry?

1.1 Chemistry is a fundamental discipline that deals with the modification of substances at the molecular level. As a basic subject, the main body of its research is the law and principle of material change. In addition to physical chemistry is the study of abstract and macroscopic concepts, through physical experiments and statistical mathematics and other tools established disciplines; Inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry are both disciplines that study the mechanism and law of molecule formation. There is also a discipline called analytical chemistry, which is a tool - when we cannot directly observe the structure of molecules with tools such as a microscope, we will use some properties of matter under energy to "observe" the microscopic structure into a macroscopic state that can be quantified or qualitative to a certain extent. 

1.2 Chemical engineering is an engineering discipline, or an applied discipline. It's absolutely different from chemistry. 

1.2.1 Chemical industry is not only to learn chemistry, but also to learn physics, they are the tools of chemical industry, which is more inclined to apply the properties of molecules and substances - here the properties include chemical properties and physical properties - to achieve a certain purpose than to study the properties of molecules themselves. In chemical engineering, physical properties are just as important as chemical properties, if not more so. For chemical workers, we often say that the four major chemistry: inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry and physical chemistry are all courses that must be studied, but in practical applications, the first three will have more professional chemical researchers to provide professional guidance for chemical workers, and physical chemistry is an important tool and research object for chemical workers. As mentioned above, physical chemistry is a discipline that studies abstract and macroscopic concepts and is established through physical experiments and statistical mathematics and other tools. Chemical industry pays more attention to macroscopic phenomena and physical experiments, as well as scientific statistical mathematical methods. 

1.2.2 The chemical industry is the work of the craftsman - creator To make a perhaps inappropriate metaphor, the chemist is the expert in asking questions, more in the image of the "scientist", who is constantly asking the world why and proving it. Chemical people are more of a creator, and each of their research or practice is accompanied by a clear purpose - creating value, that is, producing. Scientists have a kind of achievement called "failure", their efforts can tell others that a thing is objectively impossible, which can reduce the detours of others, and is also a kind of value creation. However, chemical workers cannot bear "failure", because the meaning of failure is that they cannot get products that meet the quality requirements, such products are just like a failed painting or low-quality clothing. Can't produce any economic value. 

1.2.3 Chemical engineering is a complex study As a chemical engineer, maybe you do not need to master all the disciplines involved in chemical production, but you must understand them and master the language of dialogue with their experts - laws and regulations, drawings, professional terms, such as: chemistry (reaction mechanism, material safety properties); Machinery (feasibility of producing the necessary power equipment and means of process modification); Pressure vessels (necessary for the production of static equipment); Instruments (necessary tools for observing the state of materials); Electrical appliances (the basis of instrument function and power operation); Construction (structure and location of plant installations); Materials (equipment in contact with materials needs to choose materials that meet the temperature and corrosion of the materials, and can be processed into the shape required for production); Pipeline valves (mainly related to the calculation of fluid mechanics and structural mechanics, the characteristics and selection of pipe fittings); Metrology (involving the use of instruments to detect whether reliable, whether recognized by the customer); Analysis (involves observing the microscopic state of materials and the quality of products); Packaging (which is essential for the safe transportation of materials, safe storage and ensuring the quality of materials); Technical economics (calculation of costs and benefits); Mathematics (tools of analysis and statistics); Safety..... Of course, your compulsory course "chemical engineering" needs continuous improvement. Whether in actual production or scientific research, chemical people are acting as a hub role, information from various departments is gathered to you, for a common purpose, you need to fully communicate with people in each industry, understand his reasons, and tell others when they ask you for help - personally, this is the charm of chemical industry. It's one of the reasons I've stayed in this industry for five years. "What are the main technologies that distinguish chemical engineering from civil, mechanical, electronic, electrical and other engineering disciplines?"