What roles do chemical engineers play in the research and development of alternative energy?
Yes, they work on fuel cell development. And not just hydrogen fuel cells, but the trickier ones being developed for other fuels. So classes in electrochemistry are an obivous choice. Other projects that they would be critical in include: Alternative fuels: ethanol – take classes in fermentation (“Curds & Whey 101”); hydrogen -the shift-gas reaction will be covered in your normal curriculum; biodiesel – separations, reactor design Solar (hot water/steam): heat transfer (listen during radiant topics, most ChemEngs don’t use it much), mass transfer, piping systems, control systems. Passive solar: heat transfer, natural convection topics in fluid flow. HVAC/building design (archy classes). Wind is more of a MechEng or AeroEng thing to do. But you could take some of those classes as technical electives. Tidal and Hydro are usually done by Mechs and Civils. Since efficient reactions of future will be biologically mediated, IMO, try to find the most engineering/production oriented microbiolo
