• Department of Chemical Engineering
• M.H. Wong Building
• 3610 University Street
• Montreal QC H3A 0C5
• Canada
• Telephone: 514-398-4494
• Fax: 514-398-6678
• Email: gradcoordinator.chemeng [at] mcgill.ca
• Website: mcgill.ca/chemeng

The Department offers programs leading to the Master of Engineering, Master of Science, and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

The Department's offices and research laboratories are located in the M.H. Wong Building. Collectively, 18 members of the academic staff conduct research programs in almost all areas of modern chemical engineering, drawing upon theoretical, computational, and experimental methodologies. The Department's faculty have been well supported by government programs (e.g., NSERC, FRQNT, CIHR, CFI, and CRC) and industry through research partnerships and contracts. Our laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, and we attract outstanding graduate students from all over the world. Our main current research areas are briefly described below.

Advanced materials and polymers – The Department has an internationally recognized research program in structural, functional, and biological materials, spanning synthesis, characterization, processing, and modelling activities, with strong links to academic, government, and industrial research centres. Areas include plasma processing (e.g., nanofluids, carbon nanotubes, advanced coatings) and polymeric or "soft" materials research (e.g., self-assembling or structured materials; complex fluids; liquid crystals; colloids and soft composites; and novel polymerization methods). Applications of the research are targeted toward the development of next-generation, high-density storage media, functional coatings, electronic devices, composite fluids and "smart" materials, to name but a few.

Biomedical engineering and biotechnology – The majority of professors in the Department are involved with biological engineering. This is a very broad research area that includes biotechnology and biomedical engineering. Biotechnology is an integrated approach of combining life sciences (e.g., biochemistry and cell biology) with process engineering, design, and scale-up principles. This is the use of biological systems or living organisms to do practical things and manufacture valuable products such as biohydrogen, drugs, therapeutics, polymers, and surfactants. Biomedical engineering combines the principles of engineering with medicine as well as life sciences and biology. Examples of this include:

• drug delivery methods;
• biomedical devices;
• cardiovascular and other biomechanics;
• biomaterials for applications such as artificial implants; and
• products such as bacteriophages for alternative treatment techniques.

Energy – Energy usage has increased significantly since the steam engine launched the Industrial Revolution. This is due to our ever-growing human population, increased production of consumer goods, and rising use of energy-intensive devices such as automobiles, cell phones, computers, and climate comfort units. Instability in oil production and the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels is forcing scientists to find new resources and develop new technologies to keep pace with elevating energy demands. The Chemical Engineering Department at McGill University has an extensive research effort related to energy including:

• hydrogen production from microbial conversion of waste streams and electrolysis of water;
• hydrogen storage and molecular modelling of hydrogen storage;
• hydrogen fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells;
• methane recovery, storage, and transportation using gas hydrates;
• oil and gas flow assurance; and
• plasma technology to produce nanomaterials for energy conversion/storage devices.

Environmental engineering – Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect the environment and remediate contaminated sites. Chemical and environmental engineers develop and design processes to provide healthy air, water, and soil. They also develop green products and sustainable processes. Using their background in process engineering, environmental chemistry, earth sciences, and biology, engineers have to meet the current and future challenges in protecting, managing, and restoring the environment. Ongoing research in the area of environmental engineering in our department includes:

• the study of wastewater treatment processes;
• biodegradation of emerging pollutants;
• advanced oxidation processes;
• transport and fate of waterborne contaminants;
• production of alternative fuels;
• environmental nanotechnology for remediation of contaminated soils and waters;
• green chemistry for safer products and processes; and
• development of biosensors for pollutant detection.

Plasma science and engineering – Plasma is often called the fourth state of matter, being the result of raising a gas to such an energy level that it contains conducting particles such as electrons and ions. While most of the universe is in a plasma state, plasmas on Earth are relatively uncommon. Plasma science and engineering research examines the use of the plasma state to produce physical and chemical changes to matter (bulk and surfaces). Plasmas may be in non-equilibrium, a state in which the overall gas is at low temperature and only the electrons are very energetic, or in the equilibrium state, where the temperature of all constituents is essentially equal and may range from thousands to tens of thousands of degrees Kelvin (e.g., the sun’s surface is in a plasma state, at a temperature of about 6,000K). Non-equilibrium plasmas are used in such applications as the deposition of coatings and functionalization of surfaces, the treatment of cells, and the treatment of harmful gases and liquids. Thermal plasmas are used in the synthesis of advanced materials such as nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and coatings, as well as in the treatment of toxic and persistent wastes and metallurgical processing. Both thermal and non-thermal plasmas are currently used and studied in the McGill Catalytic and Plasma Process Engineering Laboratory, which forms one of the founding groups of the Plasma-Québec Centre.