Difference Between Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

The key difference between industrial chemistry and chemical engineering is that the industrial chemistry applies chemical and physical processes to convert raw materials into important products whereas the chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that designs the processes to produce, transform and transport materials.

Industrial chemistry is a branch of chemistry in which we study the techniques of converting raw material into products. This may include synthesis of chemicals, conversion of one chemical species into another, the breakdown of chemical compounds, etc. Chemical engineering is a part of industrial chemistry. It deals with the question, “how to do it?”. This section of chemistry explains and develops the pathway of industrial chemistry.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Industrial Chemistry
3. What is Chemical Engineering
4. Side by Side Comparison – Industrial Chemistry vs Chemical Engineering in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Industrial Chemistry?

Industrial chemistry is a main branch of chemistry in which we study the technologies of producing chemicals from raw materials. This may also include the conversion of existing compounds into other compounds and breakdown of large chemicals to obtain more valuable components.

Industries use chemical and physical processes to transform raw materials into value-added products. Here, the raw materials may include oil, natural gases, air, water, metals, minerals, etc. The most common products are polymers, plastics, metal alloys, fertilizers, etc. Industries use chemical reactions, refining strategies and many other techniques.

What is Chemical Engineering?

Chemical engineering is a sub-category of industrial chemistry in which we deal with the designing of the process to synthesis, convert, transform or transport chemicals. This section begins with the experiments in the laboratory which are then taken into industrial-scale productions.

The chemical engineering has applications in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, electronic devices fabrication and environmental engineering. This subject helps to increase the efficiency of productions and save energy. The concepts of this field include the discovery of optimal plant operation strategies, plant designing and construction, process design and analysis, etc.

What is the Difference Between Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering?

Industrial chemistry is a main branch of chemistry in which we study the technologies of producing chemicals from raw materials. Chemical engineering is a sub-category of industrial chemistry in which we deal with the designing of the process to synthesis, convert, transform or transport chemicals. This is the main difference between industrial chemistry and chemical engineering.

Summary – Industrial Chemistry vs Chemical Engineering

Both industrial chemistry and chemical engineering are very important branches in chemistry. Chemical engineering is a sub-category of industrial chemistry. The difference between industrial chemistry and chemical engineering is that industrial chemistry applies chemical and physical processes to convert raw materials into important products whereas chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that designs the processes to produce, transform and transport materials.

Reference:

1. “Department of Chemistry.” B.Sc INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY | Department of Chemistry. Available here  
2. “What Is Chemical Engineering?” What Is Chemical Engineering? | Chemical Engineering. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’763247′(public Domain) via pixhere
2.’22709398705′ by NTNU, Faculty of Natural Sciences (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr