Perspectives on Sustainable Processes in Chemical Engineering

In September 2015, the United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This Agenda calls for action by all countries to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), looking for strategies that help end poverty, reduce inequalities, improve health and education, and tackle climate change. Chemical Engineering has addressed many of these goals. Some of these efforts include strategies to mitigate climate change, alternatives for the sustainable management of water, optimizing and re-designing existing chemical processes to obtain sustainable economic growth. Several applications of intensified technologies allow the use of new clean energy sources and the implementation of food engineering applications to achieve food security, providing alternatives for improving people’s nutrition. Furthermore, new generations of Chemical Engineers are being prepared to undertake these challenges, so there is also an important impact on the quality of education goal. This chapter discusses these efforts and future trends in Chemical Engineering.