Top 15 articles published in the CJCE in 2024

Abstract

It gives me great pleasure to write the editorial of this virtual issue of the CJCE, which collects 15 articles published in 2024 with the highest number of full-text views. This is a great opportunity to thank our authors for their outstanding contributions to the CJCE and also to ‘take the pulse’ of our readers and find out what topics they considered more relevant in 2024.

These 15 articles cover many areas of chemical engineering—composites, carbon capture, circular-plastic economy, polymeric materials, experimental methods in chemical engineering, microfluidic devices, risk and safety, oil and gas, and educational aspects related to the future chemical engineering—and showcase the fascinating breadth of our profession.

The first article in this virtual special issue is part of the Conversations in Chemical Engineering special series. This series is dear to me because it attempts to change the way we write scientific papers in order to make them more accessible to a broader readership, not only to the conventional cadre of specialists. As I wrote not too long ago in an article entitled “Is It Time to Change How We Write Scientific Articles?,” ‘The only correct way to write an article is to express your ideas so clearly that after reading it, your readers would say, “Why didn't I think of this before?”’^[1]

In his contribution to the Conversations in Chemical Engineering special series, now included in this virtual issue, De France (Queen's University) captures the attention of his readers in the first sentence of his article on cellulose nanocrystal composites by asking them, ‘Just like jumbo shrimp, “liquid crystal” is an oxymoron—how can something be both a delicate, shapeless liquid and a robust, solid crystal?’^[2] In his comprehensive and accessible review, the author introduces the basics of liquid crystals and self-assembly, and explains the main approaches used to form cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) based composite films, such as co-assembly, templating, and post-processing. He finishes his paper with his uniquely Canadian perspective on the current status, future prospects, and major challenges associated with the development of CNC-based chiral nematic composite materials.

Carbon capture—echoing our modern anxieties about climate change—has also been in the minds of our readers. In the second article in this virtual issue, Usas and Ricardez-Sandoval (University of Waterloo) review the state of CO₂ capture in Canada,^[3] addressing the measures our nation is taking to address sustainable decarbonization in the context of carbon capture. The authors also suggest a new optimal framework for carbon capture implementation that accounts for environmental and social considerations.

When we think about sustainability these days, one of the first things that comes to mind is the impact of plastics on the environment. Schulze-Netzer (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) proposes a possible solution for the worrisome ‘plastic flood’ by using gasification for material recycling.^[4] The author starts the article by pointing out that, ‘Since 1950, only 9% of all plastic produced has undergone recycling, and a mere 10% of that has been recycled multiple times. Most discarded plastic (around 73%) ends up in landfills or is improperly managed, resulting in widespread littering’. These are shocking figures, and likely unknown by most people who are not aware of the limitations of recycling technologies for plastics. Schulze-Netzer explain the reasons behind these dismal figures, pointing out the limitations of most mechanical recycling methods, and singling out steam gasification as one of the most promising approaches for recycling mixed, contaminated, and unsortable plastics. The author believes that the advantages of steam gasification can significantly increase recycling rates and contribute to a bio-integrated circular carbon economy.

The Experimental Methods in Chemical Engineering article series—organized by Gregory Patience from Polytechnique de Montréal—has been the most successful special series published in the CJCE over the last several years. I was pleased when I discovered that three articles in this remarkable special series also made up to the top 15 articles of the CJCE in 2024, reinforcing the interest these articles have had among our readership.

In the first article coming from the Experimental Methods in Chemical Engineering series, Rivera-Quintero et al. review Karl Fischer titration, a method widely used to measure water content in organic and inorganic compounds, explaining how this method works and what its main limitations are.^[5] According to the authors, as of 2023, the Web of Science had indexed 1332 articles with Karl Fischer as a key word (Topic), but more than 3600 mentioning the technique (All fields). A bibliometric analysis classifies these contributions into five clusters: spectroscopy, stability, temperature, solubility, and mixtures.

The next article in the Experimental Methods in Chemical Engineering series—written by a team from the Université de Sherbrooke, Gyeongsang National University, and Polytechnique de Montréal—reviews Monte Carlo simulation methods,^[6] which are statistical methods to evaluate complex mathematical models, ranging from medicine to computational chemistry, economics, and industrial safety. The authors found that in chemical engineering, Monte Carlo simulations cluster around a few major areas: (1) design, systems, and optimization, (2) molecular simulation (including CO₂ and carbon capture), adsorption and molecular dynamics, and (3) thermodynamics. In their mini-review, the authors also demonstrate how Monte Carlo methods work in two applications within chemical engineering: emissions and energy forecasting.

The last article in the Experimental Methods in Chemical Engineering series, written by Ferreiro González et al. (Polytechnique de Montréal), is dedicated to X-ray fluorescence.^[7] X-ray fluorescence is a non-destructive spectrometric technique to detect elements with an atomic number from 11 (Na) and beyond 92 (U). According to the authors, this method is used by a broad range of scientists and engineers—140 of the 250 scientific categories in the Web of Science (WoS) cite X-ray fluorescence analyses, with chemical engineering ranking in the top fifth among the 10,000 articles indexed in WoS since 2018. The focus of the research in this category includes adsorption and waste water, combustion and pyrolysis, catalysis and zeolites, and nanoparticles and oxidation.

Polymers are, of course, everywhere in chemical engineering (call me biased). This virtual special issue—in addition to the timely article by Schulze-Netzer^[4]—includes two more articles on polymers, one in smart elastomers and the other in biodegradable polymer blends.

‘Is Grafting Crystals the New Art of Making Conventional Elastomers Smart?’, asks the author (S. Basak, University of Calcutta) in their article that focus on how to transform conventional elastomers into shape memory polymers.^[8] Shape memory polymers can undergo temporary deformation and return to their original shape when exposed to external stimuli, but elastomers—such as polyisoprene, polybutadiene, and styrene–butadiene rubber—lack this ability. This opinion piece celebrates the development of semi-crystalline shape memory elastomers developed via grafting crystals onto conventional elastomers and offers personal insights into the potential directions this discovery could take us, thus acting as a window into the evolving landscape of materials science, pushing the boundaries of conventional materials and exploring new frontiers in smart materials.

In addition to plastic recycling and reuse,^[4] today there is a pressing need to find alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Biopolymers have been touted as such an alternative. Zytener et al. (University of Guelph, Canada) propose melt blending as a reliable strategy for improving the properties of biopolymers such as poly(hydroxy-3-butyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT).^[9] These blend components are attractive due to their diverse properties and complementary soil biodegradability, but they are also immiscible. In their article, the authors propose the use of compatibilizers that can improve the properties of these blends and potentially make them a drop-in solution for the replacement of nonbiodegradable petro-based plastic products.

And how can we forget about the COVID-19 pandemic? To help us remind how vulnerable some of systems, organizations, and infrastructures can become under emergencial conditions, take a look at the article by Fabiano et al. (Genoa University and Texas A&M University), which focus on lessons learned in manufacturing and process industry and healthcare sector during the COVID-19 emergency and capacity building for resilient response using a combined scientometric and systematic review of papers in the dataset and definition of research gaps.^[10]

Oil and gas is one of the traditional areas of chemical engineering; the fact that five papers in this area were among the 15 articles published in 2024 with the highest number of full-text views proves that it still continues to be relevant today to our readers.

In the first paper in this category, Betancour et al. (University of Alberta and Fundación Universidad de América) review how to use microfluidic devices for petroleum applications.^[11] Microfluidic devices are miniaturized systems that manipulate fluids at micro- or nanolitre volumes. The authors claim that recent advancements in this area have the potential to improve oil recovery efficiency, reduce costs, and provide valuable insights into fluid behaviour and reservoir characterization. The versatility and customization of microfluidic devices have allowed researchers to accurately represent fractures, ensure chemical conformance, simulate high pressure–high temperature conditions and reservoir heterogeneity, and study geochemical interaction. The authors also explain how molecular tagging and machine learning techniques can be used for image analysis to enhance the capabilities of these devices.

Heavier crude oils, containing significant amounts of paraffin waxes, are being used more often because the increasing demand for crude oil is depleting the global oil reserves. The increasing use of heavier oils creates difficulties related to wax crystallization and deposition during the production and transportation of crude oil. In their paper, Al-Shboul et al. (University of Calgary) describe the use a new class of wax deposition inhibitors based on cetrimonium bromide-grafted faujasite nanoparticles that can be used at low dosages, providing a nano-inhibitor that has the potential to have significant value to the oil and gas industry.^[12]

In response to similar concerns about the growing demand for fossil resources, Heris et al. (Xi'an University of Science and Technology, University of Tabriz, University of Mashhad, Texas A&M University, and University of Oklahoma) investigated the effects of adding multi-walled carbon nanotubes and sodium dodecyl sulphate into crude oil with an anionic base to enhance its thermophysical attributes in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. ^[13] Their study highlights the potential of tailored nanofluid formulations to improve the thermophysical properties of crude oil, potentially enhancing extraction and refining processes.

Adding value to waste materials is also one of today's priorities in chemical engineering. Along these lines, Xing and Gieleciak (CanmetENERGY Resources Canada) developed a method to make titanium carbine (TiC)—widely used in ceramic metals, grinding wheels, high-temperature heat exchangers, turbine engine seals, and as an anti-wear and anti-abrasion material—from bitumen coke via mechanical alloying. Their method has the advantage of using abundant and low-value bitumen coke as the carbon source in reactive milling.^[14]

Water quality testing in the oil and gas industry is important for both environmental performance as well as for maintaining reliable operations. In their paper, Wong et al. (Syncrude Edmonton Research Centre) developed a solvent-free method to quantify and classify leaking hydrocarbons in a cooling water system using ClearShot extractors and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry.^[15] Their method decreases the exposure risk and ergonomic strain for technologists, improving overall safety and environmental performance.

Finally, the article by Chintalapati et al. (University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, and University of Alberta)—authored by four chemical engineering professors engaged in a dialogue facilitated by a researcher in education—closes this timely virtual issue by presenting an experiment of co-creation and reflection about the state of chemical engineering education. Their dialogue uncovered innovative possibilities, educational themes, experiences, and opportunities.^[16] Their findings reveal instructive perspectives on the shape of chemical engineering education that should be of value not only to engineers, but also other professionals, practitioners, or those in various science, technology, and math fields.

I would like to thank the authors of these outstanding articles for pushing the boundaries of our ever-changing profession. Their dedication is essential to the progress of chemical engineering as a discipline that is here to help humankind move towards a more prosperous society, while keeping in mind the health of our planet and the well-being of our future generations.

I hope the readers of this virtual issue enjoying reading these articles as much as I did.

João B. P. Soares: Conceptualization; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing.