Chemical engineering research synergies across scientific categories

Chemical engineers operate industrial plants, design reactors and equipment, manage capital projects, estimate costs, project earnings, and drive efficiency through innovation while maintaining rigorous safety standards. The undergraduate curriculum includes mathematics, physics, chemistry, mechanics, biology, and management, much of which is common with other engineering departments. However, chemical engineering research is more related to chemistry. Here, we show that chemical engineers cite journals in WoS' chemical engineering category most, followed by physical chemistry, energy & fuels, multi-disciplinary chemistry, environmental science, and multi-disciplinary materials science. According to a bibliometric analysis, the major research poles include materials, biotechnology, catalysis, environment, and thermodynamics. The 5 top cited journals in 2012 were Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., J. Membrane Sci., Chem. Eng. Sci., J. Hazard. Mater., and J. Catal., which are not the journals with the highest impact factors of the category. Can. J. Chem. Eng. was ranked third among the 32 classical chemical engineering journals after AIChE J. and Chem. Eng. Sci. and with respect to the ratio of the number of citations accrued until August 2017 to the number of articles they published in 2012. Chinese researchers have authored more articles than any other nation and they co-author research most with the USA and other Pacific Rim nations. Research collaborations between nations follow linguistic, geographical, and historical traditions.