Engineering Chemicals

Linda Burton posting from Baton Rouge, Louisiana – “Chemical engineering,” Robert answered, nodding as though that were the only logical answer. I was stopped at the gate on the LSU campus, asking for directions and permission to drive through. I’d also asked the young man sitting in the booth his major. “My grandson Justin is studying chemical engineering too,” I smiled back, “he’s a junior at the University of Florida.” “I’m a junior too,” he replied. “Tell him that for a chemical engineer, Baton Rouge is the perfect place to be.” It probably is, I thought as I drove through this well-settled campus where oak trees curve above wide streets. I’d seen the tank fields north of the capitol; I’d seen huge cargo ships on the river. I didn’t know who they belonged to however, or what their business was all about. Back in my room on this chilly but sunny first day of winter, I settled in; a little research to do. According to the Baton Rouge Chamber, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, The Shell Group, and BASF are a few of the players; names that pop up under the header of Specialty Chemicals and Petrochemicals. Did you know one-quarter of America’s petrochemicals are manufactured in Louisiana? That includes basic chemicals, plastics, and fertilizer. Annual production of the nearly one hundred facilities operating in the state is valued at more than $19.6 billion. And approximately 65 of these facilities are in the Baton Rouge region. » read more