化学工程涉及用于材料提取，转化和回收的系统的系统设计，开发和操作。它是一门重要的工程学科，它将化学，数学以及越来越多的生物学知识与工程原理和现实世界的经济考虑相结合。操作规模各不相同，化学工程的主要特征是将实验室规模的研究结果转化为大规模的商业化生产。化学工程是一门学科，可以维持和改善食品加工，石化，陶瓷，炼油，初级金属，塑料，生物技术，制药，玻璃和特种化学品等多种行业。
Chemical engineering involves the systematic design, development and operation of process systems for the extraction, transformation and recovery of materials. It is a key engineering discipline, which combines knowledge of chemistry, mathematics and, increasingly, biology with engineering principles and real world economic considerations. The scale of operation varies and a principal feature of chemical engineering is the translation of laboratory-scale research results to large-scale commercial production. Chemical engineering is the discipline that sustains and improves a range of industries as diverse as food processing, petrochemicals, ceramics, petroleum refining, primary metals, plastics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, glass and specialty chemicals.