ABSTRACT
The field of colloidal and interfacial phenomena is truly interdisciplinary, for it requires the talents of chemists, physicists, biologists, and mathematicians—and engineers with training in these disciplines. Chemical engineers have traditionally focused on the processing end of the chemical industries, and surely there are plenty of challenges in the processing of colloidal materials. Fogs, mists and smoke consist of colloidal-sized particles. Association colloids are so called because they are formed from the association of certain types of molecules known as surfactants. Life sciences provide a fascinating array of examples in which colloid and surface science plays a vital role in maintaining and promoting supramolecular structures and processes that sustain life. Most food products and food preparations are colloids. They are typically multicomponent and multiphase systems, consisting of colloidal species of different kinds, shapes and sizes and different phases.
