Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Bu y, N., Shallc oss, D., & Male, S. (2025). Connec ions
Be ween Chemical Enginee ing P inciples and Sus ainable De elopmen – A
Delphi S udy. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.),
SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion
(SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631369.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – A DELPHI STUDY
N. A. Bu y a,
1
, D. C. Shallc oss b, S. A. Male c,
a Teaching and Lea ning Labo a o y, Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia,
ORCID: 0000-0001-9893-3359
b Depa men o Chemical Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne,
Aus alia, ORCID: 0000-0003-0552-9758
c Teaching and Lea ning Labo a o y, Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia,
ORCID: 0000-0001-9852-3077
Con e ence Key A eas: Sus ainabili y and socie y in enginee ing, Cu iculum
de elopmen and eme ging cu iculum models in enginee ing
Keywo ds: Delphi su ey, Chemical Enginee ing, Enginee ing Educa ion o
Sus ainable De elopmen
ABSTRACT
Enginee s a e c ucial o ope a ing a sus ainable socie y. Enabling enginee s o
con ibu e o ou sus ainable socie y equi es Enginee ing Educa ion o Sus ainable
De elopmen , including bo h gene alis and discipline-speci ic knowledge. No
amewo k o chemical enginee ing-speci ic knowledge o sus ainable de elopmen
cu en ly exis s. In his s udy, we answe he esea ch ques ion, “How do chemical
enginee ing p inciples and concep s con ibu e o mee ing sus ainable de elopmen
challenges?”. By answe ing his ques ion, we aim o de elop an in en o y o
connec ions be ween chemical enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen .
Such an in en o y will enable meaning ul in eg a ion o sus ainable de elopmen in o
exis ing chemical enginee ing cu icula. We employed he Delphi me hodology o
answe his esea ch ques ion wi h h ee su ey ounds in ol ing 18 pa icipan s
ac oss h ee pa icipan g oups. Nine y-six unique connec ions be ween chemical
enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen we e iden i ied, and hei
impo ance was a ed. Six y-six o hose we e included in he in en o y. Connec ions
o h ee p inciples (Sys ems Thinking, Design, and Sepa a ions) a e discussed.
1
Co esponding Au ho
N. A. Bu y
nbu y@s uden .unimelb.edu.au
1 INTRODUCTION
Sus ainable De elopmen (SD) is essen ial o c ea ing a wo ld whe e e e yone
enjoys heal h, p ospe i y and jus ice wi hin a h i ing ecosys em (Uni ed Na ions,
n.d.). All a eas o socie y mus wo k oge he o achie e his equi able wo ld,
including enginee ing and all i s disciplines. Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen
(ESD) aims o equip all lea ne s wi h he compe encies o p og ess sus ainable
de elopmen . Enginee ing Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen (EESD) seeks o
do he same o all enginee s. ESD and EESD knowledge and compe encies wo k
oge he wi h discipline-speci ic knowledge and compe encies o enable enginee s o
con ibu e o sus ainable socie ies h ough hei enginee ing p ac ice.
F amewo ks o gene alis ESD and EESD knowledge a e well-discussed in he
li e a u e (Beagon e al., 2022; Desha e al., 2019; Rieckmann, 2012; Wiek e al.,
2011), bu discipline-speci ic amewo ks a e mo e di icul o ind. Some wo k has
been done o ci il (ASCE, 2019) and mechanical (Enelund e al., 2013) enginee ing,
bu li le has been done in chemical (ChE) enginee ing. Allen & Shonna d (2012)
p oposed a sus ainabili y Body o Knowledge; his amewo k ocuses on he
echnical side o enginee ing and he en i onmen al dimension o sus ainabili y
a he han holis ically analysing bo h chemical enginee ing p ac ice and sus ainable
de elopmen . Se e al sus ainable design me hodologies ha e been p oposed, mos
no ably G een Chemis y (Anas as & Wa ne , 2000) and G een Enginee ing
(Anas as & Zimme man, 2003). Bo h me hodologies can be applied in chemical
enginee ing design, bu a e di icul o ind in exis ing chemical enginee ing cu icula.
Va ious me hodologies ha e been used o iden i y he con en o hese sus ainable
de elopmen amewo ks. Me hodologies a e o en quali a i e o explo a o y mixed
me hods: a quali a i e s age is used o iden i y po en ial con en o a amewo k, and
a quan i a i e s age de e mines wha po ion o ha con en should be included in he
inal amewo k. Semi-s uc u ed in e iews (O iz-Ma cos e al., 2020), ocus g oups
(Beagon e al., 2022) and li e a u e e iews (Gue a, 2012) a e common quali a i e
app oaches, and Delphi s udies a e common explo a o y mixed me hods
app oaches (Demssie e al., 2019; Rieckmann, 2012).
In his s udy, we add ess he esea ch ques ion, “How do chemical enginee ing
p inciples and concep s con ibu e o mee ing sus ainable de elopmen
challenges?”. To answe his ques ion, a Delphi su ey was employed o iden i y
connec ions be ween chemical enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen .
The s udy ocuses on chemical enginee ing p inciples because hey a e widely used
o s uc u e chemical enginee ing educa ion. These p inciples a e hus accessible o
mos chemical enginee ing educa o s wo ldwide. Meaning ul in eg a ion o
sus ainable de elopmen in o enginee ing educa ion can occu ia new cu icula o
enhancing exis ing cu icula: enhancing exis ing cu icula gene ally equi es ewe
esou ces and is hus he ocus o his s udy. The connec ions iden i ied in his s udy
will o m an in en o y ha educa o s can use o de e mine whe e and how
sus ainable de elopmen can be meaning ully in eg a ed in o exis ing chemical
enginee ing cu icula.
2 METHODOLOGY
The Delphi me hodology aims o ind consensus on a opic be ween a g oup o
expe s by using i e a i e su eys (Bel on e al., 2019). In his case, he opic is
impo an connec ions be ween chemical enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable
de elopmen . Th ee s akeholde g oups pa icipa ed in his s udy, all om wi hin he
Aus alian chemical enginee ing communi y: chemical enginee ing educa o s, la e-
s age chemical enginee ing s uden s, and p ac ising chemical enginee s. By he inal
ound o he su ey, he pa icipan s pe g oup we e 8, 4 and 6, espec i ely, o a
o al o 18 pa icipan s (App o ed Human Resea ch E hics P oposal 25662 a
Uni e si y o Melbou ne). While pa icipan s we e based in Aus alia, he esul s a e
highly likely o be ele an o chemical enginee ing educa ion mo e b oadly. This is
because mos chemical enginee ing deg ees a e s uc u ed a ound a simila se o
ChE p inciples (Table 1), especially hose deg ees acc edi ed by he Ins i u ion o
Chemical Enginee s.
As seen in Fig. 1, his Delphi s udy has h ee majo phases: lis gene a ion (Phase
1), impo ance a ing (Phase 2), and in en o y gene a ion (Phase 3).
Fig. 1: Flowcha o Delphi me hodology used in his s udy (IQR = In e qua ile Range)
Phase 1 (Lis Gene a ion) gene a ed he lis o connec ions be ween chemical
enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen . This phase included a li e a u e
e iew, wo p epa a o y ocus g oups (Bu y e al., 2023) (App o ed Human Resea ch
E hics P oposal 23882 a Uni e si y o Melbou ne), and a quali a i e Delphi su ey.
The lis o connec ions was i e a i ely condensed o 96 unique connec ions, each
assigned o a leas one ele an chemical enginee ing p inciple (Table 1).
Phase 2 (Impo ance Ra ing) encompassed he wo quan i a i e Delphi su eys.
Pa icipan s we e in i ed o a e he impo ance o each connec ion on a Like scale,
om 0 (no impo an ) o 4 (ex emely impo an ). P o iding pa icipan s wi h
agg ega ed da a om p e ious su ey ounds is common p ac ice. This allows
pa icipan s o compa e hei esponses o he g oup a e age. The median and
in e qua ile ange (IQR) p o ide anonymous, agg ega ed da a o cen al endency
and sp ead, espec i ely (Bel on e al., 2019). The e o e, in he second quan i a i e
su ey ound, pa icipan s we e p o ided wi h he median ‘impo ance’ a ing and he
IQR o each connec ion and in i ed o conside hese da a poin s in hei a ings.
Table 1: Lis o 12 chemical enginee ing p inciples
Con ol
Design
Fluid Mechanics
Ma e ial and Ene gy
Balances
Reac ion Enginee ing
Sa e y
Sepa a ions
Sys ems Thinking
The modynamics
T anspo Phenomena
Uni Ope a ions
Modelling/ Simula ion
The in en o y was gene a ed a e he su eys we e comple ed (Phase 3). A
connec ion needed a high median a ing (signi ying impo ance) and a low IQR
(signi ying consensus) o be included in he in en o y, i.e., pa icipan s needed o
ag ee ha he connec ion was su icien ly impo an . Consequen ly, connec ions wi h
a median ≥ 3 and an IQR ≤ 1 we e included in he in en o y (Von De G ach , 2012).
3 RESULTS
3.1 Tables
Based on he inclusion c i e ia abo e, 66 ou o 96 unique connec ions be ween
chemical enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen we e included in he
in en o y. A sample o he in en o y is shown below (Table 1), showing 22 o he
o al 66 connec ions. The sample ocuses on h ee o he wel e p inciples: Sys ems
Thinking, Design and Sepa a ions. These h ee p inciples we e selec ed o he
sample o demons a e he b ead h o connec ions in he in en o y and because
hese h ee p inciples also ela e o o he sus ainable de elopmen p inciples. All
h ee a e co e chemical enginee ing p inciples, while design is essen ial o all
enginee ing disciplines, and sys ems hinking is a commonly accep ed ESD
compe ency (Rieckmann, 2012, 2017; Wiek e al., 2011). The sample includes he
op- a ed connec ions o each o he h ee p inciples, and connec ions which
demons a e he indings om an analysis o he in en o y, which a e discussed
below.
Table 2: Sample in en o y o connec ions be ween chemical enginee ing p inciples and
sus ainable de elopmen ocusing on h ee p inciples: Design, Sepa a ions and
Sys ems Thinking (N=18).
Connec ion
Median
IQR
P inciple
Designing pa hways o sus ainably p ocess new
esou ces
4
0
D
Sus ainable Design/ Design o Sus ainabili y
Me hodology
4
0
D
Sys ems app oach o ci cula economy
4
0
ST
Valuing sus ainabili y a beginning o design p ocess
4
0
D
Applying p inciples o sys ems hinking o p oblem
sol ing
4
1
ST
Combining chemical enginee ing p inciples (e.g.,
he modynamics, ma e ial and ene gy balances) o
sol e sus ainable de elopmen p oblems
4
1
ST
Design o esilience
4
1
D
Designing new, sus ainable p oduc s (e.g., bio-based
sol en s, bioca alys s, e ige an s)
4
1
D
Connec ions (con .)
Designing new, sus ainable e sions o exis ing
p ocesses
4
1
D
Managing con lic ing p io i ies in design (e.g., sa e y,
sus ainabili y, a ailable echnology, cos , e iciency,
was e)
4
1
D, S, ST
P ocess op imisa ion
4
1
D, S, ST
Recycling ma e ials/ esou ces (e.g., p ecious me als)
4
1
S
Sus ainabili y as a ac o o design excellence
4
1
ST, D
Was e hie a chy (a oid/ educe, euse, ecycle,
eco e ene gy, ea , dispose)
4
1
ST
Was ewa e ea men (e.g., wa e ecycling)
4
1
S
Applying Ma e ial and Ene gy Balances on a sys ems
le el
3
1
ST
Applying sys ems hinking o anspo / logis ics o
educe impac on people
3
1
ST
Design o decommissioning
3
1
D
Ene gy in eg a ion
3
1
ST
Li e Cycle Assessmen s
3
1
ST
Supply chain/ alue chain managemen
3
1
ST
Unde s anding b oade con ex o sus ainable
de elopmen challenges
3
1
ST
No e: “IQR” = In e -Qua ile Range, “D” = Design, “S” = Sepa a ions, “ST” = Sys ems
Thinking
Some Sys ems Thinking connec ions ela e o all lea ne s, such as “unde s anding
he b oade con ex o sus ainable de elopmen challenges”. In con as , o he s a e
much mo e ele an o chemical enginee s, such as “ene gy in eg a ion” (a design
app oach whe e one p ocess s eam hea s ano he , a he han elying on a hea ing
u ili y such as s eam). We can see a simila compa ison in Design. “Designing o
esilience” applies o all enginee s, while “designing new, sus ainable e sions o
exis ing p ocesses” applies o chemical enginee ing. I should be no ed ha
“Designing new, sus ainable e sions o exis ing p ocesses” is only linked o Design
in his sample in en o y. Howe e , p ocess design also elies on many ChE
p inciples, depending on he ype o p ocess being designed.
This sample o he in en o y also shows di e en ypes o connec ions, such as
enginee ing ools (e.g., Li e Cycle Assessmen s), new ways o hinking (e.g., design
o decommissioning), applying p inciples in new con ex s (e.g., applying ma e ial
and ene gy balances on a sys ems le el), and adi ional chemical enginee ing
ac i i ies (e.g., p ocess op imisa ion). Based on his, he in en o y begins o show
how chemical enginee ing p inciples and concep s con ibu e o sus ainable
de elopmen in a ious ways.
All 12 p inciples a e p esen in he in en o y, bu Sys ems Thinking connec ions
made up 30% o he in en o y (20/66 connec ions), ollowed by Design (25%)
(17/66), Ma e ial and Ene gy Balances (21%) (14/66), and Sa e y (20%) (13/66).
While all chemical enginee ing p inciples a e essen ial o he discipline, hese ou
p inciples comp ise 76% o he in en o y (50/66 connec ions). This majo i y implies
ha sus ainable de elopmen can be bes in eg a ed when eaching hese ou
p inciples.
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
4.1 Implemen a ion
This in en o y is designed o be used by chemical enginee ing educa o s who ha e
iden i ied ha sus ainable de elopmen could o should be in eg a ed in o hei
subjec s bu do no ha e he ime o esou ces o de e mine wha o m ha
in eg a ion may ake. (Wi hin he Aus alian con ex , “subjec s” a e he uni s o s udy
ha make up a semes e , usually ou subjec s pe semes e ).
In his case, educa o s would i s iden i y which chemical enginee ing p inciple(s)
a e he ocus o ha subjec ; o example, Subjec A may look a sepa a ions. The
in en o y will show he connec ions o he Sepa a ions p inciple. The educa o can
hen see which o hose connec ions would wo k well wi h he con en al eady
exis ing in he cu icula. In his example, “ ecycling ma e ials/ esou ces (e.g.,
p ecious me als)” would wo k well: i p o ides po en ial case s udies ha can be
used o lec u es o u o ial ques ions, and i can s a a discussion o he many
di e en ypes o sepa a ion echnologies. This p ocess can be epea ed o all
subjec s wi hin a chemical enginee ing deg ee. The connec ions in he in en o y can
be applied om he i s yea h ough o he inal yea . Some connec ions could also
be he ocus o Con inuing P o essional De elopmen , such as “Supply chain/ Value
chain managemen ”.
4.2 Limi a ions
A Delphi s udy is inhe en ly limi ed by he su ey i ems a ed by he pa icipan s
(Bel on e al., 2019). To o e come his limi a ions, Phase 1 (Lis Gene a ion) was
designed o collec da a om a wide a ie y o sou ces: li e a u e e iew, ocus
g oups, and quali a i e su ey. By collec ing connec ions om a wide a ie y o
sou ces, he esea ch design limi ed he possibili y o impo an concep s being
excluded om he se o connec ions a ed by pa icipan s.
A pa icipan in he quan i a i e su ey ounds no ed ha many o he connec ions
ocused on he echnical aspec o socio- echnical enginee ing p ac ice, and he
en i onmen al dimension o sus ainabili y. While he social dimension is b ie ly
men ioned (e.g., “applying sys ems hinking o anspo / logis ics o educe impac
on people”), we acknowledge ha he lis o connec ions does ocus mo e on he
echnical and en i onmen al connec ions. This is because he lis o connec ions
e lec s he li e a u e and b oade discussions abou chemical enginee ing and
sus ainable de elopmen : discussions ha gene ally ocus on he echnical na u e o
enginee ing and he en i onmen al dimension o sus ainable de elopmen . The
con e sa ion, in bo h li e a u e and p ac ice, is slowly shi ing o include he social
dimension o socio- echnical enginee ing p ac ice and he social and economic
dimensions o sus ainable de elopmen . Fu he esea ch and p ac ice a e needed
o a icula e he connec ions be ween chemical enginee ing p inciples and
sus ainable de elopmen 's social and economic dimensions.
4.3 Conclusions
We pe o med a Delphi s udy ac oss h ee su ey ounds, wi h a o al o 18
pa icipan s. This Delphi su ey a ed he impo ance o connec ions be ween
chemical enginee ing p inciples and sus ainable de elopmen . Based on median and
IQR da a, 66 ou o a possible 96 connec ions we e included in he in en o y o
connec ions. The p inciples o Sys ems Thinking, Design, Ma e ial and Ene gy
Balances, and Sa e y domina ed he in en o y. Fu he wo k will in es iga e how bes
o s uc u e he in en o y o cons uc a amewo k, hema ic analysis o included
connec ions, and why connec ions we e included o excluded. O he enginee ing
disciplines can use he Delphi me hodology o cons uc a simila in en o y o
discipline-speci ic sus ainable de elopmen knowledge. The in en o y om his s udy
can be used o in eg a e sus ainable de elopmen in o exis ing chemical enginee ing
cu icula meaning ully. This will enable u u e chemical enginee s o con ibu e o
sus ainable socie ies h ough hei enginee ing p ac ice.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We hank he pa icipan s o hei ime and expe ience gi en o his s udy.
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