Perspectives on chemical product and process design

In this article, new perspectives and strategies of chemical product design are provided. Beginning with the innovation map (Widagdo, S., Incandescent light bulb: Product design and innovation, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 45 (25), 8231–8233 (2006)) that links the critical technological advances necessary to meet customer needs, aspects of the Stage-Gate™ product-development process (SGPDP) are considered with emphasis on the concept, feasibility, and development stages. A focus is placed on the design of basic chemical products (e.g., commodity and specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, polymeric materials), industrial chemical products (e.g., films, fibers, paper, glass substrates, pastes, creams), and configured-consumer chemical products (e.g., light bulbs, hemodialysis devices, labs-on-a-chip). Perspectives on the role of process design in the context of product design are presented.