Traditional R&D modes in chemical and process engineering

featuring longer period and higher risks and cost

have become a bottleneck for the fast development of chemical and process industries. Breaking the bottleneck should be based on the mesoscience and virtual process engineering (VPE). Firstly

the scientific challenge roots in the multiscale and multilevel structures in which the mesoscales

as the key

are far from being well understood. Understanding the mesoscale complexity plays an important role in the study of structure-function relationships of materials

mixing and transfer in reactors as well as the system integration. Only by coupling the flow

mass and heat transfer as well as reactions on the mesoscales

could the multiscale structure in multiphase reactors be accurately predicted. On the other hand

the mesoscience-based VPE may become a new R&D mode in the near future

greatly shortening the time period and generating high-value and fine products. VPE bridges the gap between the mesoscience and the R&D of new technology and processes

assembling various tools

packages

knowledge database

each of which is of a certain function

and hence materializing the mesoscience and its application in R&D and upgrading the R&D capability. Traditional theories and supercomputing is inadequate to sustain the VPE. The mesoscience

however

offers an unprecedented opportunity for VPE. Involving interdisciplinary research

VPE is not only the task of computational scientist

but the mission of experimentalists

engineers and practitioners in chemical and process industries. It may also be integrated with cloud computation

enabling the advent of big data era in chemical engineering.