Department of Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
CHE 37
Chemical Reaction Engineering
Assignment 1

Name: Cabigon, Carl Anthony T.

ID Number: 200731680
Course and Year: BS ChE – 3

Chemical Reaction Engineering: A Turning Point

Chemical engineering truly is governed by chemical reactions and chemical processes.

From solving unit operation principles of several chemical processes to actually industrializing the
conversion of raw materials into beneficial products, chemical reactions for me are the heart and
foundation of chemical engineering. As such, chemical reaction engineering lays the groundwork
into envisioning the world of chemical engineering founded by principles of engineering, chemistry,
and other sciences. Knowing that chemical reaction engineering studies the behavior of chemical
reactions and how these processes are carried out into formation of products, it intrigues me as
to how this course makes me reflect on my previous learnings, which are specially important as
these principles are the foundations that make chemical reactions and chemical reaction
engineering possible, as well as how little knowledge I still have even about the existence and
prevalence of this course in the chemical engineering field. Upon delving into the article, I have
now realized how important our work is as future chemical engineers, and how important the
basics are to understand such a complex and yet impactful principle.

From the article, I have insighted that chemical reaction engineering gradually attempts to
go deeper in terms of the microscopic level in understanding the mechanisms of reactions. From
my constant exposure to chemistry and its principles, I have come to an understanding that
products become what they ought to be and what they are not due to macroscopic changes or
observations seen by our naked eye. For instance, corrosion or rust does not happen solely due
to exposure of iron metal to moisture or water. Rather, corrosion results from the oxidation of the
atoms of metal due to the presence of water molecules. This can also be in relation to my organic
chemistry classes. Different compositions of carbon and its bonds yield different states, structures,
and properties of objects and organic matter. So, in the scope of chemical reaction engineering,
such course and principle is truly integral to the study of chemical engineers since mechanisms
of reactions are studied in the microscopic level, or the interatomic and intermolecular interactions
between different reactants and chemicals.

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 Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
In addition, I have just realized that the higher education of chemical engineering,
specifically in my case as a third-year student, heavily relies on the preparatory courses and the
much easier principles of mathematics and the sciences. So far, I have already encountered
kinetics and the continual use of integrals and differentials in understanding the mathematical
interpretations of performing reactions in several types of reactors. From this exposure, I have
realized that chemical engineering is not solely focusing on converting raw materials to products
and just what needs to be employed in order to perform those processes and yield the desired
products. I have realized that even the concepts of kinetics and differentials serve as the
backbone of such course (CRE), which is the heart of the chemical engineering journey.
Previously, I have only thought that proceeding into higher years of the chemical engineering
program would lead me to and introduce me to more complex and entirely unfamiliar topics and
principles. But through this article, the knowledge I gained about chemical reaction engineering
gave me somewhat of a culture shock from realizing that as we enrich deeper into the chemical
engineering study, such learnings rely more strongly on these previous concepts and principles
learned from early years of the program.

Moreover, reading the article made me realize the dependency of chemical engineering
to advances in equipment design and technology. It is technically easier to progress the theory of
chemical engineering by principle, such as studying about mechanisms of reactions more
microscopically to further understand the kinetics of these reactions. It may also be the case of
using ideal conditions or relying on the Ideal Gas Law in order to more easily comprehend the
problems at hand and integrate these ideal conditions and solutions into real behaviors of
substances and reactants in their performed reactions. However, despite this easy comfort
achieved from being passionate in studying chemical engineering, such theories and learnings
will have drawbacks and setbacks when technology fails to catch up to the increasing demands
of chemical reaction engineering theory. This then makes me agree on the emphasized point in
the article that while research and engineering theory advancements continue to thrive in our
modern world, it is still necessary to use classical approaches, or the classics in terms of principles
of chemical engineering, as the backbone of every inquiry in order to found the development of
technology used by these processes, which are governed by the very principles we lay our
groundwork on in studying chemical reaction engineering and other further courses.

While these learnings and insights made me realize the importance of chemical reaction
engineering in our world and as well as our role as chemical engineers, these realizations
somehow also set me back further in terms of questioning my capabilities to understand chemical

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 Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
engineering, chemical reaction engineering, and what it entails. For one, I was confused with the
unfamiliar terms I have encountered about reaction kinetics, such as in-situ operando techniques,
as well as the knowledge gap about the interplay of kinetics and thermodynamics in the
mechanisms of chemical reactions. Honestly, I am able to account myself for such challenges in
my learning about the article as to how I envisioned chemical engineering to be before. This made
me not take earlier principles of kinetics, and just understand thermodynamics at surface level,
initially thinking that higher chemical engineering education will focus on complex concepts, which
have little to no connection to previous learnings in general. To be more specific, I thought about
chemical engineering before as a course with independent topics and principles, that due to the
idea that raw materials are selected and turned into products, there is no interplay between
foundational and complex principles into these processes and engineering roles. To add, reading
from the article about the neglection of momentum balance equations in the study of continuous
reactors made me ponder on the complexity of understanding a principle in all possible angles to
arrive at a correct approach or methodology. This thought lingered in my mind and made it difficult
for me to understand the presented conditions questioning the validity of such assumptions for
continuous reactors as to how I only understand foundational concepts of chemical engineering
at surface level. For instance, I have previously emphasized how I only have surface level,
specifically memorization level, type of understanding about thermodynamics from my physical
chemistry courses. I am definitely aware of the different conditions systems are situated into, with
different variables held constant and varying, as well as different assumptions to consider for
every case. However, given that I lack a full grasp of thermodynamics as to how I only memorize
these equations and assumptions and then result in being confused when presented with
unfamiliar problems, this made me ponder that I still lack the necessary engineer skills of
analytical thinking, despite already considering myself as one, in terms of how I approach different
problems and different situations using my foundational understanding of the basics. These areas
of difficulty and confusion that I have identified upon reading the article made me realize the gaps
that I need to address in order to appreciate chemical reaction engineering more, especially in
dealing with the foundational and basic concepts and principles.

With this assessment I have encountered about my attainment level as an aspiring

chemical engineer, I have realized more the importance of chemical reaction engineering as a
headstart in actuating my learnings, as well as my dreams, to help my community and solve
problems within my community and society as a future chemical engineer. With that in mind, in
the future, chemical engineers will play a pivotal role in addressing pressing societal challenges
by leveraging the principles of chemical reaction engineering to bridge the gap between the nano

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 Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
and macro worlds. One key challenge is the need for sustainable energy sources. Chemical
reaction engineering can facilitate the development of advanced catalytic processes for efficient
conversion of renewable resources into fuels and chemicals, thereby reducing reliance on fossil
fuels and mitigating climate change.

Another challenge is environmental pollution. Chemical engineers can utilize innovative

reaction engineering approaches to design cleaner and more efficient processes that minimize
waste generation and reduce emissions of harmful pollutants. This extends to addressing water
scarcity through advanced separation and purification techniques that ensure the responsible
utilization of this critical resource.

Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry stands to benefit from chemical reaction

engineering, enabling the synthesis of intricate molecular structures with enhanced precision,
yielding safer and more effective medicines. Additionally, in the realm of materials science, novel
reaction engineering methods can contribute to the creation of high-performance materials, from
lightweight and durable composites to advanced electronic components.

Ultimately, by harnessing chemical reaction engineering principles, future chemical

engineers can lead the charge in addressing energy, environmental, healthcare, and materials
challenges, making significant contributions to a more sustainable and technologically advanced
world.

Generally, reading the article about the bridge of chemical reaction engineering between
the macro and micro of things and reactions, I can say that I am grateful for this encounter and
opportunity to be introduced of chemical reaction engineering in this manner. Being able to assess
my learning gaps in my study while still learning interesting insights about this core engineering
course made me picture better my future goals as a chemical engineer as to how I have managed
to envision societal challenges and possible scopes of focus in studying and pursuing this
program and degree. Personally, I think that my lack of appreciation and dedication back then to
the program greatly affected my drive to see the bigger picture of chemical engineering, but
through this introductory activity, I was able to reflect and visualize the importance of our program,
as well as the importance of appreciating the current principles I am dealing with, such as CRE,
because these courses will drive me to make a difference and be more passionate about my
chosen field of study and future profession.

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