how to ask and design the industrial question in the wider framework opened up by these new tools, which requires a sound understanding of technological and industrial reality.
We train non-specialized engineers. For more than two centuries, the mines engineer has indeed had to integrate scientific, economic, and human dimensions, as well as management, security, openness, and solidarity that the beginnings of a professional career “basically” and inevitably inculcate. For this purpose, the school’s training combines the so-called “hard” or engineering sciences, natural sciences, and humanities and social sciences (economics, management, sociology, etc.).
The work of Jean-Pierre Dal Pont and Marie Debacq could not better fit the strategy of the school, and vice versa. The words “theory and practice” have been inscribed on the pediment of our establishment for almost two centuries. Similarly, this work is punctuated and illustrated by concrete cases. This choice can only delight the Director of the École des mines that I am. These concrete cases relate to hot topics, often widely publicized (Smart Citites, plastic recycling, etc.). It is not for the sole purpose of following the news: it is recognition of the fact that we are going through a period where we have ever faster cycles of innovation - driven in particular by the digital revolution - and that we need innovation and new technologies to meet the challenges of sustainable development, but also that these innovations are not necessarily accepted by the general public in our society, where we are seeing trust in the engineer and the expert decrease. The engineer and the scientist must integrate this dimension into their approach. The tools and methods developed in this book perfectly integrate these challenges.
This book therefore not only makes an exciting connection between the challenges of business, research, and higher education, it also opens the reader up more broadly to major societal challenges. It does so at a time when, while ecological and energy transitions are underway, the digital revolution is bringing about profound changes to the conduct of companies and industrial management.
This revolution also has consequences on society and brings its share of fears and fantasies, like those engendered by robotics. This book comes at the right time to help students, teachers, researchers, and professionals in their choices and their reflections concerning a rapidly changing world where science and technology are increasingly essential players in sustainable development.
I highly recommend it!
Vincent LAFLÈCHE
Director
École des mines de Paris
Foreword by June C. Wispelwey
Fifteen years ago, when starting the Society for Biological Engineering of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE®), I had the good fortune to meet Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. We talked about the future of the chemical engineering profession and about the influence of advancements in biological engineering, particularly with bio-energy and bio-pharma. We discussed the opportunities for creating new life-saving therapeutic proteins and chemicals produced economically from renewable feedstocks. This was the first of many inspiring conversations we would have regarding the future of chemical engineering. It is not a surprise to me that he wrote this passionate book about the process industries and a vision of its future.
Now is a time of transformation. AIChE has a ground floor view of one aspect that is gaining ground - process intensification and modularization. The effort, led by the AIChE’s RAPID Manufacturing Institute, is dedicated to improving energy efficiency and lowering investment requirements, and removing barriers that have limited deployment of this technology. For example, process intensification can combine steps and lead to lower costs in industries such as oil and gas, pulp and paper, and chemical production. Modularization enables one to add capacity in small increments which are more suited to a manufacturer’s need. The Institute de-risks new technologies in these capital-intensive industries and reduces the ecological footprint.
Another new transformative technology is digitization, or Industry 4.0. There are many aspects of digitization, including the internet of things, smart manufacturing, 3D printing, enhanced or virtual reality, artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, drones and more. These individual technologies are made possible by the new speed of computation, though they are threatened by cybersecurity. Chemical and other engineers, technicians, operators and all those who work in the process industries will need to understand and work with these technologies as they mature.
These volumes arrive at the right time for the new generation, who will enable these technologies and develop new ones to strengthen the process industries and make the world a better place.
June C. WISPELWEY
Executive Director and CEO
AIChE
Introduction
This book, a result of knowledge exchange between the academic and industrial worlds, aims to introduce process industries to students, teachers, researchers, professionals, decision-makers, and, in general, the general public, at a time when they are affected by the digital revolution that accompanies the ongoing energy and environmental transitions.
These industries aim to transform and/or separate matter by chemical, physical or biological means. They cover huge and often complex fields such as chemistry, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, metallurgy, food industry, biotechnology, environmental and energy industries, among others. Their economic and societal importance is considerable.
These companies create value through their products from industrial facilities (workshops, factories) that implement specific technologies and processes. The science enabling this implementation is called “chemical engineering” (génie des procédés in French).
The French name is to be credited to the late Professor Jacques Villermaux of the École nationale supérieure des industries chimiques (ENSIC, the French National School of Chemical Industries) in Nancy, who noted that all the knowledge and techniques of chemical engineering could be perfectly applied, beyond the chemical and petroleum industries, to all process industries.
This book is an invitation to discover the operational modes and technical and industrial management of these industries. It attempts to succinctly answer the following questions:
Introduction written by Jean-Pierre Dal Pont and Marie Debacq.
1 – What is a company?
2 – What are its foundations and how is it organized?
3 – How does it respond to what is today known as CSR (corporate social responsibility)?
4 – How does it cooperate with its stakeholders (clients, stockholders, employees, administration, etc.) when the concept of capitalism with a human face is born which, in addition to remunerating its shareholders, wants to display its contribution to the common good?
5 – How does it design its commercial products based on the results of its research?
6 –
