A Century of Chemical Engineering at Uct
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A CENTURY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AT UCT Editors: Jim Petrie and Jenni Case CONTENTS 4/5/2020 S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science Caldecott, Dr William Arthur (metallurgy, chemistry) Born: 17 November 1869, Malta. Died: 26 November 1926, Selborne, Eastern Cape, South Africa. William A. Caldecott, metallurgist, was a great-grandson of the 1820 settler Charles Caldecott (c. 1780- 1820). Though born in Malta, he lived in the Cape Colony from 1875 and received his schooling at the Public School in Grahamstown. He studied at the South African College in Cape Town from 1887 to 1889, receiving the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with honours in mathematics and natural science from the University of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1889 he moved to Johannesburg and started work at the Rietfontein Gold Mill as an unpaid learner. The next year he joined the Cassel Gold1920 Extraction Company– 1960 (of Glasgow, 1960 – 1980 1980 – 2000 2000 – 2020 Scotland), which was demonstrating the newly invented McArthur-Forrest cyanidation process of gold recovery on the Witwatersrand. In 1891 he worked for the African Gold Recovery Syndicate, Barberton, to which the MacArthur-Forrest patents had been ceded, and applied this process to recover gold from tailings on a commercial scale at the Sheba Mine near the town. The plant he used was only the second commercial cyanide plant built in South Africa, the first being that used by George A. Darling* at the Robinson Gold FOREWORDS 1. WHAT’Smining Company IN . ADuring NAME? the next few years Caldecott worked2. for some FOUNDATION time in Pilgrim's Rest, in 3. CONSOLIDATION 4. EXPANSION 5. RECOGNITION 6. VISIONING Zimbabwe, and for the Rand Central Ore Reduction Company, before becoming consulting metallurgist to the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Johannesburg, in 1901. He remained in this position for 20 page 3 page 11years. page 21 page 41 page 79 page 125 page 169 Caldecott was a foundation member of the Chemical and Metallurgical Society of South Africa in 1894, served on its council from 1897 to 1921, and was its president for 1904/5. He received the society's gold medal for metallurgical research in 1921. Several of his early research papers on the cyanide process were published in its Proceedings: "Notes on cyanide work" (1894), "The discrepancy between actual and theoretical gold extraction in cyanide works" (1896), "The relative efficiency of strong and weak cyanide solutions for dissolving gold" (1896), "The solution of gold in accumulated and other slimes" (1897), "Discrepancies in slimes treatment" (1899), and "The use of vats in place of zinc boxes" (1899). His 1556https://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/print_action.php?sernum=443&q_name=./includes/biofinal_query.inc&pf_name=./content/biofinal/biofinal_display1920 .inc 1/3 1960 1985 2003 The publication of Chemical Engineering The Department The first black African The Department moves De Re Metallica programme takes up residence student graduates into a custom-made which heralded the established at UCT in its distinctive from the Department building that integrates it modern-day minerals new building on more closely with other and metals industries 1956 North Lane 1993 engineering departments The BSc Chemical The Caltex Education 1888 Engineering degree 1965 Development Programme 2008 The first course in is reinstated The Department established First SARChI research chemical engineering of Chemical chairs established in was offered at MIT Engineering is the Department and George Davis formally constituted promoted the “unit operations” model of 2013 chemical engineering 1968 New Engineering The first women Building opens and first Coloured students graduate from the Department Cover: “Of molecules and cells; bubbles, drops and particles; fluids, fluxes and equilibria; systems, networks and partnerships. These are the colours of chemical engineering at UCT.” Original artwork by Ann Donald, Cape Town. FOREWORDS A WORD FROM THE DVC A strong department built on talented people Sue Harrison Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation Chemical Engineering has been a part of UCT for 100 The Department has demonstrated down the years years. A Department built on strong and talented both its willingness and capacity to support national people who value both knowledge generation and tertiary education research initiatives. Its early knowledge translation, many of the senior staff have successes in collaborative research projects, with been associated with the Department for over 20 years industry support, provided a template for other UCT – some for 40! Academic positions in the Department departments to follow. Its commitment to the National are sought after and many staff and students retain an Research Foundation’s research rating scheme from ongoing interaction with it long after moving on in their its inception has resulted in one of the highest relative careers. Our undergraduate classes are usually full, and numbers of rated researchers outside of the Faculty our postgraduate numbers have swelled. of Health Sciences at UCT and across South African chemical engineering departments. And its research The Chemical Engineering students are central to the and teaching outreach across Africa continues to focus of Chemical Engineering at UCT. A hallmark of the reward the Department and UCT more generally in Department is that, guided by excellent researchers in terms of networks and partnerships. engineering education, the team was among the first to mainstream academic development, new pedagogies Research drivers have been shaped by differing of teaching and learning, and new teaching tools into influencers over time. Some 40 to 50 years back, we the curriculum. Faculty are happy to be research subjects focused strongly on the needs of the economy and in the classroom and to continually learn together to our key resource industries: the mining, energy, liquid deliver an integrated and accessible programme. fuels and chemicals sectors in particular. Twenty-five to 30 years ago, the focus refined towards the delivery Of course, academic departments are about both of products and processes that caused less impact generating and translating knowledge – research on the environment and places where people lived. and teaching and learning. Often these live in tension With this, our bioprocess engineering, environmental with each other. In Chemical Engineering, these are engineering and process systems research grew. These embedded and, wherever possible, an easy flow areas all continue to thrive, but the Department has exists between them. The strong, soft-funded research superimposed on them the deep need to contribute enterprise that has grown within the Department means to sustainable development in which societal, that no longer is everyone a researcher and a teacher, environmental and economic components experience but the spirit and principle remain and most contribute equal attention. in some way to both. 2 In marking the centenary of this remarkable Department, we celebrate those who have formed and contributed to its strength over the many years. There are many stand- out names of academics and leaders in its history who excel(led) and these are remembered and celebrated in the chapters of this book. To meet these pressing needs, chemical engineering is In marking the centenary of this remarkable Department, returning to its roots of celebrating interdisciplinarity. we celebrate those who have formed and contributed to After all, chemical engineering is an early product its strength over the many years. There are many stand- of exactly that – being formed through the linking out names of academics and leaders in its history who of industrial chemistry and mechanical engineering excel(led) and these are remembered and celebrated sufficiently long ago for this to be a centennial in the chapters of this book. Here the feature to note celebratory work. is “chemical engineering as a team”, always with clear goals and a joint endeavour to attain them – be it a We understand the space of letting work across new curriculum, a new building or a re-energised set of disciplines, and with other disciplines, inform our research thrusts. We have not got it right over all 100 years, findings and our ways of doing. This has been a core but those periods – and they have been many – when we focus of the Department, for example, through the have, have spurred us on to build on our complementary growth of bioprocess engineering and has increased skills and expertise, and to place our work into the context in focus over the past 10 to 15 years. It informs the of our University and of South Africa. interdisciplinary research groupings that we are currently nurturing – Minerals to Metals and Future Through this reflection on our past, we also hope to Water – where we work in concert with researchers inspire the next generation to expand our groundwork across UCT to tackle the complex and wicked problems and work together to deliver new ways of thinking, of our country, continent and globe. doing and being in all sectors of interest and influence. 3 A WORD FROM THE DEAN A Department that has grown and changed with the times Alison Lewis Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment I have been fortunate to be part of the Department From the programme’s origin in 1920, its generation- of Chemical Engineering since 1981, when I started as long alignment with the BSc Applied and Industrial a first-year undergraduate student. I completed my Chemistry course, and, in 1957, its first graduating class Master’s degree in 1987, worked in industry as a process of seven (white, male South Africans) from the new engineer and came back to complete my PhD in Civil Department, the Department has evolved beyond Engineering in 1993. After a postdoctoral fellowship, I measure. In 2020 it has 649 registered undergraduate joined the Department in 1995 as a senior lecturer.