The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and its publishing partner John Wiley and Sons Inc., recently released the inaugural issue of the Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing. The publication is a peer-reviewed journal that captures leading-edge manufacturing techniques and technologies for reducing costs, saving energy and creating solutions that address societal needs.

Main areas of focus are chemical manufacturing and processing, smart manufacturing, and biological and biochemical manufacturing. The journal’s diverse range of topics includes intensification, modularization, sustainable manufacturing, sensors and automation, additive manufacturing (3D printing), nanofabrication, cell and tissue manufacturing and biopharmaceutical processing.

The first issue contains articles that illuminate several of these themes. Process intensification and modularization, for example, underpin an article on a chemical process enterprise; it focuses on improving process economics by increasing the scale of the manufacturing systems that make process modules, rather than increasing the scale of the process itself. Another article comparing processes for carpet dyeing highlights the importance of sustainability and sustainability metrics to advanced manufacturing, including how an understanding of life cycle assessment metrics can help drive industry toward more sustainable practices. Still another article focuses on how advanced computing and "virtual process engineering" can support traditional large-scale processing.

The new journal also spotlights results being realized by the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Manufacturing Institute, led by AIChE, as well as other institutes that fall under the umbrella of Manufacturing USA — a public-private network of 14 consortia aimed at securing U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing.

In announcing the launch of the new journal, June Wispelwey, AIChE's executive director and CEO, noted that “advanced manufacturing is an area of growing interest within the engineering profession, as it taps into our expertise as designers of energy-efficient and cost-effective ways of manufacturing useful products." The journal is one of several influential engineering publications produced by AIChE.