Chemical Engineering vs. Chemistry

<p>I asked a question similar this some time ago, but I thought I would ask it a bit differently. So, what really is the difference between chemical engineering and just chemistry?</p>

<p>chemical engineering is the use of chemistry,physics,math and economics to come up with large scale processes....mass production if u want to call it.if a chemist makes one gram of tylenol,a chemical engineer figures out how to make 10 million tonnes of tylenol.chemistry is done at the lab level</p>

<p>Just like Retheem said,</p>

<p>Chemistry is far more theoretical and focuses more on exploring the various reactions, equations and molecular kinetics in chemical processes.</p>

<p>Chemical Engineering is an engineering discipline and is therefore concerned with the application of chemistry to solve problems on small and large scale. For example, a chemist might research experimental ways to separate arsenic from water. A Chemical engineer would figure how to build a large scale separation facility that is cost effective and efficient.</p>

<p>Besides,a Chemical Engineer Can Do What A Chemistry Major Can Do........but A Chemistry Major Cannot Do What A Chemical Engineer Can Do.</p>

<p>Like everyone here says, Chem E is concerned with production on a large/commercial scale. Chem is more lab oriented concerned with formulation. </p>

<p>Although they are different, in practise many jobs, especially sales, are offered to both ChE and Chem grads.</p>

<p>here's a cool answer from an MIT admissions blog: <a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/majors_minors/if_man_is_five.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/majors_minors/if_man_is_five.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>So if you're a chemistry major (Course 5), you're going to learn about molecules. What they look like, how they react with each other, what their orbitals are doing at the quantum level, whether they'll kill you or not and WHY WHY WHY WHY they have these properties. You'll spend three semesters in organic chemistry, one or two each in inorganic, biological, and quantum chemistry, and one in kinetics. Because of the way the courses are structured (no conflicting times and few prerequisites), it's actually not too difficult to squeeze the whole major into three years, leaving you free your senior year to work on a double major, pursue other interests, or, if you're like most chemistry majors I know, TAKE EVEN MORE CHEMISTRY CLASSES!</p>

<p>If you're a chemical engineer (Course 10), you don't care about molecules. At all. No, really. What you're going to do is take some reaction or some process that a chemist has given you already, look at it, and say "Hmm, HOW HOW HOW HOW can I make this bigger/smaller/faster/better?". You still have to take a few chemistry classes--kinetics, organic chemistry, an introductory lab, and for some strange reason biochem--but you're not really going to use any of those in your engineering courses. These courses--thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and chemical kinetics--are the heart and soul of chemical engineering. They treat compounds and reaction not so much as things to be studied for they work, but rather as elements of a problem that have specific properties for you to minimize and maximize depending on what your professor asked you to do."</p>

<p>Chemistry is theoretical and Chemical Engineering is practical. IMO, ChemEng is more valuable to companies, but what do I know?</p>