Chemical Engineering Progress

Chemical Engineering Progress
Title	Chemical Engineering Progress
Discipline	Chemical engineering
Abbreviation	CEP
Publisher	American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Country	United States
History	1905–present
Frequency	Monthly

Chemical Engineering Progress is a monthly professional magazine published by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. It serves practicing engineers, industrial managers, academic researchers, and policymakers with applied reviews, industry news, and technical analyses related to process industries, energy, materials, and environmental technology.

Overview

Chemical Engineering Progress presents applied technical articles, industry analyses, and professional commentary aimed at readers in the process industries, linking practical plant operations with developments in research centers such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Imperial College London, and ETH Zurich. The magazine connects corporate stakeholders from firms like Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, BASF, Shell plc, and DuPont with standards organizations such as American Society of Mechanical Engineers and International Organization for Standardization. It reports on innovations tied to national laboratories including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, and follows regulatory and policy decisions from agencies like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission.

History

Founded under the auspices of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in the early 20th century, the publication evolved alongside milestones such as the expansion of the Petroleum Industry, the rise of the Plastics Revolution, and postwar growth tied to institutions like Bell Labs and General Electric. Contributors and editors have included practitioners affiliated with universities such as Princeton University, University of Cambridge, Caltech, University of Michigan, and Carnegie Mellon University, and industry figures from BP, Chevron Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, and 3M Company. The magazine chronicled major events affecting the profession, including energy crises associated with the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis, environmental regulatory shifts exemplified by the enactment of laws like the Clean Air Act (United States), and technological transitions such as the commercialization of processes patented by entities like DuPont and research teams at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Scope and Topics

Articles span core chemical engineering topics tied to textbooks and curricula at institutions like University of Texas at Austin and Northwestern University, and to professional practice in sectors dominated by companies such as Honeywell International and Siemens. Typical coverage includes process design and simulation relevant to software vendors like Aspen Technology and ANSYS, reaction engineering and catalysis associated with groups at Max Planck Society institutes and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, separations tied to membrane research at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and adsorbents developed by teams at Argonne National Laboratory, and process safety practices informed by incidents such as the Bhopal disaster and studies from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The magazine also addresses themes in energy transition, including carbon capture efforts involving collaborations with Chevron Corporation and TotalEnergies, battery materials research linked to Tesla, Inc. and Panasonic Corporation, and sustainability initiatives championed by organizations like World Economic Forum and United Nations Environment Programme. Coverage touches supply-chain resilience relevant to firms like Amazon (company) and Procter & Gamble, and digitalization trends featuring companies such as IBM and Microsoft.

Publication and Editorial Practices

Published monthly by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, editorial oversight draws on peer networks that include academics from Yale University and Columbia University and industry experts from conglomerates like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Honeywell International. The magazine uses an editorial board model similar to publications like Nature and Science for soliciting review articles, and maintains production practices compatible with indexing services that include Scopus and Web of Science. Special issues are often coordinated with conferences organized by bodies such as the AIChE Spring Meeting and thematic programs run by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Advertising and sponsorship follow standards observed by trade journals serving sectors represented by Chemical & Engineering News and Engineering News-Record.

Impact and Influence

Chemical Engineering Progress has influenced design practice in refineries operated by Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum Corporation, process intensification efforts pursued at MIT and University of Cambridge, and regulatory discourse at agencies like the United States Department of Energy. Its reviews inform curriculum updates at engineering schools such as Purdue University and Texas A&M University, and its case studies are cited in industrial training programs run by firms such as Baker Hughes and Emerson Electric. The magazine’s impact extends to international standards discussions hosted by organizations like the International Electrotechnical Commission and to collaborative research consortia involving the European Commission and national funding bodies such as the National Science Foundation (United States).

Notable Articles and Special Issues

Notable articles have examined large-scale process hazards referenced in reports by National Transportation Safety Board and Chemical Safety Board, advanced separations tied to Nobel laureates affiliated with University of Stockholm and research initiatives at California Institute of Technology, and lifecycle analyses in partnership with think tanks like Resources for the Future and World Resources Institute. Special issues have focused on topics aligned with global events such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, technological shifts like the emergence of microreactor technologies championed by research groups at ETH Zurich and University of Twente, and industrial electrification strategies discussed at forums like the International Energy Agency.

Category:Chemical engineering publications