During our sophomore year in college, I had hour thoughts about our decision to learn chemical engineering. I’m sure this is usual for students of any major. American model, actress, as well as television personality Cindy Crawford once studied chemical engineering at Northwestern University, although she dropped out to pursue another work. I would have done the same had I possessed her “qualifications”. Instead, I stuck it out as well as went on to a rather moderate work in our chosen field. One industry where chemical engineers are often ignored is Heating as well as A/C; Mechanical as well as electrical engineers get the bulk of the credit however without chemistry, Heating as well as A/C could not exist. They are responsible for plastics, the development of fuels that power the electrical grid, and, of course, the refrigerants that are the “lifeblood” of any Heating as well as A/C system. The role of chemical engineering in Heating as well as A/C is also an example of how complications caused by particular chemicals will be solved by the use of a replacement chemical. In 1928 chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) replaced toxic as well as explosive refrigerants prefer ammonia as well as propane used in early A/C units. By the 1969s the danger of CFCs to the Earth’s ozone layer was discovered, but undoubtedly, chemical engineers were involved in the phase-out of CFCs as well as the phase-in of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that eliminated the concernsome chlorine component. Unblessedly, HFCs have a high global warming potential due to their carbon gratified. The replacement for HFCs may be hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), a member of a group of chemicals known as unsaturated organic compounds. It still contains carbon so research is continuing on other refrigerants that will not add carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Ironically, the ultimate refrigerant may be CO2 itself, it already exists so it cannot add more to the atmosphere. I wonder if Cindy Crawford is aware of that.