Introduction:
It would be hard to imagine a world without gasoline, paper, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibers, paint, film or any other biochemical products we use and demand in our daily lives. Whether it is bettering already existing products or creating new ones, we generally take these engineering inventions for granted because we have grown up with many of them and for that very reason, they seem like they have always been around. Yet the work and discoveries made by biochemical engineers have had an overwhelming impact on all of our lives.
Applying scientific and mathematical principles, biochemical engineers develop processes, design equipment, and provide technical and management services for plants and manufacturing companies that convert raw materials into a wide range of end products, like pharmaceuticals, food and fuels. They are concerned with the large-scale culture of living cells in fermentation processes.
Biochemical engineers are constantly putting their creativity to work, synthesizing new materials, transforming combinations of elements of matter and developing the processes to do it all safely, efficiently and on a large scale. Different areas of biological engineering include biotechnology, biomedical studies, food processing, agriculture and environmental studies. Biochemical engineers process and package many of the foods we eat, develop new medicines, help power our cars and heat our homes. For example, a biochemical engineer could work for a food manufacturer, making sure that the food processed is safe for human consumption (no e-coli or salmonella) or one could work in the health industry, making sure that medical waste is properly disposed of.
Biochemical engineers are like alchemists; they turn living or raw materials into valuable products. They usually work with a team of biologists and chemists because while scientists develop the products, the engineers create the processes required to produce them commercially.
Biochemical engineers extract existing data and design methods to design equipment and operating specifications for industrial plants. They take into account cost, safety and environmental concerns when conducting research and performing experiments. Biochemical engineers working in plants must ensure that the equipment is operating efficiently and safely and that the desired quantity and quality of product is produced. They often meet with manufacturers, lawyers and clients to make sure that design plans are safe and will withstand a number of conditional variables.
Biochemical engineers are required to constantly update their skills and knowledge in order to keep up with technological advancements in this quickly changing field.