Volume 35, Issue 8 - Special issue: Chemical engineering in China. Part 1 / Issue editor: Jinghai Li

Gas-solid fluidization is intrinsically dynamic and manifests mesoscale structures spanning a wide range of length and timescales. When involved with reactions, more complex phenomena emerge and thus pose bigger challenges for modeling. As the mesoscale is critical to understand multiphase reactive flows, which the conventional two-fluid model without mesoscale modeling may be inadequate to resolve even using extremely fine grids, this review attempts to demonstrate that the energy-minimization multiscale (EMMS) model could be a starting point to develop such mesoscale modeling. Then, the EMMS-based mesoscale modeling with emphasis on formulation of drag coefficients for different fluidization regimes, modification of mass transfer coefficient, and other extensions are discussed in an attempt to resolve the emerging challenges. Its applications with examples of development of novel fluid catalytic cracking and methanol-to-olefins processes prove that the mesoscale modeling plays a remarkable role in improving the predictions in hydrodynamic behaviors and overall reaction rate. However, the product content primarily depends on the chemical kinetic model itself, suggesting the necessity of an effective coupling between chemical kinetics and flow characteristics. The mesoscale modeling can be believed to accelerate the traditional experimental-based scale-up process with much lower cost in the future.

Materials-oriented chemical engineering involves the intersection of materials science and chemical engineering. Development of materials-oriented chemical engineering not only contributes to material research and industrialization techniques but also opens new avenues for chemical engineering science. This review details the major achievements of materials-oriented chemical engineering fields in China, including preparation strategies for advanced materials based on the principles of chemical engineering as well as innovative separation and reaction techniques determined by new materials. Representative industrial applications are also illustrated, highlighting recent advances in the field of materials-oriented chemical engineering technologies. In addition, we also look at the ongoing trends in materials-oriented chemical engineering in China.

Chinese biochemical engineering is committed to supporting the chemical and food industries, to advance science and technology frontiers, and to meet major demands of Chinese society and national economic development. This paper reviews the development of biochemical engineering, strategic deployment of these technologies by the government, industrial demand, research progress, and breakthroughs in key technologies in China. Furthermore, the outlook for future developments in biochemical engineering in China is also discussed.

In China, the rapid development greatly promotes the national economic power and living standard but also inevitably brings a series of environmental problems. In order to resolve these problems fundamentally, Chinese scientists have been undertaking research in the area of green chemical engineering (GCE) for many years and achieved great progresses. In this paper, we reviewed the research progresses related to GCE in China and screened four typical topics related to the Chinese resources characteristics and environmental requirements, i.e. ionic liquids and their applications, biomass utilization and bio-based materials/products, green solvent-mediated extraction technologies, and cold plasmas for coal conversion. Afterwards, the perspectives and development tendencies of GCE were proposed, and the challenges which will be faced while developing available industrial technologies in China were mentioned.