Chemical Technology NOV DEC 2016 p1-32 low res 1ab

Chemical Technology • November/December 2016

rom January 2017,

Chemical

Technology

will be merging

with its sister magazine at

Crown Publications,

Mechanical

Technology

, under the new title:

MechChem Africa

. As editors, we

strive constantly to establish an

identity for our own magazines, not

an easy task when the subject mat-

ter covers such a broad spectrum

of topics associated with chemical

‘things’ or mechanical ‘things’. As

it happens, the two mags had their

origins in

Technology SA

, a magazine

started by Crown in the early ‘90s.

Chemical engineering’s history as

a vocational subject had its roots in

the late 1900s in the existing chem-

istry and mechanical engineering

programmes of the time. In the ‘20s,

chemical engineering education

focused on the study of unit opera-

tions such as separators, reactors

and mixers. But after 1960, when a

key textbook was published, a new

paradigm was adopted and referred

to as chemical engineering science.

In the ‘70s safety began to be em-

phasised and only in the ‘90s did

sustainability and green engineering

enter the scene.

Since the early days of con-

sidering mostly just the kinds of

engineering that processes raw

material by physical, chemical or bio-

logical means into different products,

chemical engineers have had to learn

to understand a broad range of top-

ics, including biological processes,

control of processes, fluid flow, heat

transfer, mass transfer, material

balances, process dynamics, process

equipment design, solids handling

and thermodynamics, amongst

many others. The same trend has

taken place in the field of mechanical

engineering where the basics have

expanded to include subjects cover-

ing aerospace, automotive; acoustics

and vibration; manufacturing/pro-

duction, mechatronics; biomedical;

fluid mechanics; emissions and the

environment; and energy systems.

Thus, when attempting to iden-

tify the manner in which to evolve

both

Mechanical Technology

and

Chemical Technology

as one hybrid

unit, seeking advantage (the founda-

tion of evolution), is the logical start-

ing point. First among these is that

both magazines have expanded in

many directions over the years and,

although always focusing on their

core disciplines, several overlapping

areas have naturally emerged, pump-

ing systems, plant maintenance,

instrumentation and process control,

to name just three.

Both chemical and mechanical

engineering features involve, for

example, topics such as indus-

trial plant, machines and equip-

ment across the engineering spec-

trum, from mill circuits to refineries

and food and beverage plants.

These include highly integrated

technologies which incorporate

expertise, coatings, materials and

treatment solutions derived from

the chemical industries and also

aspects of mechanical, electrical and

IT control systems. Both publications

have in the past been positioned to

service the technically minded. In

MechChem Africa

, these key techni-

cal strengths will be retained, with

the content enriched by deliberately

seeking out areas of interest to both

chemical and mechanical engineers.

Both chemical and mechanical top-

ics will feature every month; the

new features list ensures content

continuity.

Along with supporting long-term

transformation and survival, comes

the opportunity to refocus on a holis-

tic publication offering. Our content-

driven approach will form the base

for offering readers and advertisers

opportunities to connect with, and

inform each other, by means of this

rich technical content.

Using the magazine’s content as

a springboard, numerous opportuni-

ties reveal themselves for reuse and

reorganisation of this content to suit

different sets of digital consumers. It

can be circulated via email, enews-

letter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Content can be made ‘findable’ by

attaching some carefully selected

keywords and, by using mechanisms

such as hashtags, collections of