2022 Global Chemical and Materials Engineering Research and Development Frontier Announced

On December 15, the Strategic Consulting Center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering jointly released the "2022 Global Engineering Frontiers" report, which selected a total of 188 cutting-edge hotspots
in the field of global engineering research and development.

The Top12 engineering research frontiers in the fields of chemical industry, metallurgy and materials engineering include: research on high-performance superconducting energy storage materials, research on green and low-carbon blast furnace ironmaking technology, precise construction of catalyst surface active sites, andCO2 High-performance gas separation membrane for capture, cathode research on a new generation of high-energy density power lithium battery, high-efficiency nitrogen fixation in light/electrical processes driven by green energy, independent reasoning of big data in chemical industry, experimental simulation of materials in complex extreme service environment, construction and application of multi-dimensional gradient metamaterials, research on biological adaptation of new implanted biomaterials in the whole life cycle, research on steel materials for deep-sea marine engineering, supernormal enrichment and ultrapure preparation
of key metals.

At present, the research on the precise construction of catalyst surface active sites mainly focuses on the following aspects: precise regulation of the reaction environment makes the surface structure of catalyst evolve; The reactants or intermediates during the reaction process are used to induce the remodeling of the catalyst surface; Self-assembly and other means were used to construct the active surface site
of the catalyst in situ.
In the future, in order to accurately construct the active site of the catalyst surface, it is first necessary to accurately observe and identify the catalyst structure, develop in situ experimental technology, and pay attention to the interdisciplinary discipline.
On this basis, the understanding of structure-activity relationship is deepened, the correlation between practical operation and reaction activity is optimized, and the goal of improving reaction efficiency is effectively achieved.
In addition, it is also necessary to pay attention to the intelligence of precise construction of active sites, accelerate the precise construction efficiency with the help of machine learning and other means, and realize rational design.
In terms of operation methods, attention should be paid to the in-situ construction and regulation of the active site of the catalyst surface, so that the synthesis process can also be accurate
.

The research on high-performance gas separation membranes forCO2 capture mainly focuses on the following aspects
.
Research on high-performance membrane materials and separation membranes; Large-scale preparation of defect-free separation membrane; High-performance membrane module design; Large-scale demonstrations
for different application scenarios.

Current research on efficient nitrogen fixation in light/electrical processes driven by green energy mainly focuses on improving the intrinsic activity of catalysts, promoting the adsorption ofN2 on the surface of catalysts, breaking the symmetry of electron distribution, weakening N≡N bonds, and enhancing proton affinity
.

Independent reasoning of big data in the chemical industry: Under the requirements of the "dual carbon" goal, the green and low-carbon development of the chemical industry is imperative
.
However, how to mine effective information from high-dimensional and high-noise chemical industry big data, that is, independently deduce the dynamic mechanism that implicitly determines the behavior of complex industrial systems, is a key issue
that the academic community needs to solve urgently.

The frontiers of Top10 engineering development in the fields of chemical industry, metallurgy and materials engineering include: R&D and application of ultra-high temperature structural ceramic matrix composites in extreme environments, intelligent manufacturing technology of large-scale complex refineries, short-process recycling technology of decommissioned power batteries, green recycling and reuse of waste plastics, grid-level large-scale molten salt energy storage technology, continuous manufacturing process of fine chemicals and APIs, andCO2 of steel process Recycling technology, development and application of steel for key equipment of advanced nuclear island, development of new generation flexible display glass materials and technology, key preparation technology and application
of flexible display devices.

The frontier direction of intelligent manufacturing technology in large-scale complex refineries includes: intelligent identification and real-time perception of complex material attributes; Multi-field multi-phase reaction process structure effect cognition and simulation technology; Whole-process collaborative optimization technology in open environment; Intelligent management and control technology of security risks; Carbon footprint traceability, monitoring and collaborative carbon reduction technology
.

The future of green recycling and reuse technology of waste plastics mainly focuses on the following aspects: from mechanical recycling with demanding raw materials to chemical recycling with wide adaptability of raw materials; Development from high-temperature thermochemical recovery to highly selective low-temperature catalytic chemical recovery; From downgrade recycling to relegation or even upcycling; From batch small-scale recycling to continuous large-scale recycling
.

In the future, the continuous manufacturing process of fine chemicals and APIs needs to start from process control, and focus on using integrated optimization control to carry out the whole process and life cycle process and product quality optimization; On the other hand, it is necessary to combine advanced artificial intelligence means to make the continuous manufacturing of fine chemicals and APIs develop in the direction of digitalization and intelligence, and finally realize the systematic application of the continuous manufacturing process of fine chemicals and APIs with a high degree of integration, continuity and intelligence from raw materials to commercial products