Blog Entry 1

For the past 3 weeks, I have have covered module overview, and classification of chemical products. There are 4 types of chemical products , commodities, molecular products, micro-structured products, chemical devices. Commodities is made in large quantities, has a traditional focus of chemical engineering and it's made through reaction engineering and unit operations. Molecular products possess specific chemical structure and is discovered through research. Micro-sturctured products are products with specific functions. Chemical device is a

• Miniature processes which accomplish a particular chemical transformation

• Provides convenience

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To create a chemical device, we have to firstly , identify customer needs. Our product design must be able to meet the needs of our customers. I identify their needs by putting myself into the customers shoes and ask myself "what is something that will make my life easier? ", "is the problem real or simply perceived to be real?" . For example, lack of water, sustainability, global warming, smart factory and more. Secondly, we have to identify and fix pain points. Pain points are specific problems experience by the user while a using a product or service. These pain points can generate friction and (in extreme instances) cause your customers to abandon the product or service. Some examples of pain point is

• Interaction : Long waiting time etc.

• Purchasing : issues with pricing transparency etc.

• Compatability : A lack of support for certain devices or operating systems etc.

• Functionality : Outdated features etc.

How do we identify these pain points? We could do so by conducting online surveys, checking online reviews. social media threads and more.

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My group and i carried out a brainstorming session of what chemical device we would want to make. After the session, we have agreed to make a device that can produce clarified butter from a normal butter. Clarified butter is healthier and purer than normal butter and has a bold richness and a clean finish, with none of the muted milkiness of some traditional butters. Plus, it has a high smoke point, making it the better choice for high temp cooking.

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My Learning reflection

Throughout this past 4 weeks i have learned alot about chemical product design. One of the things that i have learned is the importance of literature review. Literature review helps me to address the important issues, theories, and concepts relevant to your research area. It helps me identify gaps in current knowledge; by showing limitations of theories and points of view; and by formulating areas for further research and reviewing areas of controversy. Firstly, it will help me determine what is already known about the topic and how extensively the topic has already been researched. Secondly, it helps me identify experts of the current topic i will be doing. These experts and their publications can be a key resource for reference and consultation. Thirdly, identification of key questions about a topic that need further research. Lastly, it helps steer clear of inadvertent plagiarism. Literature review helps me not just to protect myself against charges of plagiarism, but also saves my time, effort and resources.

I have also learned about how to build an effective team from Bruce Tuckerman's team formation model. I find that his methods are very accurate in terms it takes time to reach the performing stage and it's normal for teams go through ups and down as we develop relationships. I always believe that if we give and take everything will go smoothly without any conflicts.

In week 3, my group and i carried out our first practical on reverse engineering. My takewaways from this practical is that reverse engineering is the process through which ones attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device ( coffee maker BD-100) accomplishes a task with very little insight into exactly how it does so. We dismantled the machine to find a heating element at the bottom which is used to heat up the water and a check valve to prevent backflow of water. I enjoyed this practical where i learned how a coffee maker works which i did not thought of before and it's interesting.