A unified view of the chemical and bioprocess engineering curriculum

Chemical engineering students often encounter core subjects as isolated topics without understanding how they connect. Introduction to Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering presents the standard curriculum as an integrated whole, showing how material and energy balances, transport phenomena, reaction engineering, and separation processes relate to one another. The book maps the discipline's evolution, diversification, and future trajectories from the first semester onward.

Each chapter delivers a focused overview of a major curriculum area, using deliberately chosen examples from process industries to illustrate principles in context. Particular attention is given to bioprocesses and bio-separations, reflecting their growing role in modern practice. The discussions connect fundamental theory to industrial applications, providing a systematic framework for understanding how individual courses build toward professional competence.

Readers will also find:

• Coverage spanning chemical manufacturing, oil and gas processing, pharmaceuticals, biofuels, food processing, and emerging energy technologies
• A structured chapter sequence that mirrors the progression of a standard undergraduate chemical engineering program
• Deliberate treatment of bioprocess engineering as an integral component rather than a supplementary or peripheral topic
• Simple worked examples that clarify how theoretical concepts translate into practical problem-solving approaches for real processes
• Discussion of the diversification and growth of chemical engineering into environmental engineering and pollution control

Written for undergraduate students in chemical engineering, biotechnology, biochemistry, and chemistry, this book provides the connected curricular overview that standard textbooks rarely offer. Practicing chemical engineers and industrial chemists seeking a concise refresher on fundamentals and emerging bioprocess topics will also find it valuable.

Binay K. Dutta, PhD, is a chemical engineering educator with nearly five decades of teaching and research experience across institutions including the University of Calcutta, University of Alberta, and IIT Kharagpur. A Past President of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, he has supervised twelve PhD students and published approximately 110 research papers.