What is Chemical Engineering?

Chemical engineers change raw materials into valuable products on an industrial scale
Chemical engineers are concerned with PROCESSES and PRODUCTS.
Processes:
O Making chemicals and
pharmaceuticals
O !rocessing polymers and IoodstuIIs
O nergy generation
O astewater treatment
O nvironmental clean-up
Process Design:
O nventing a new process
O esigning the equipment Ior a
process
O perating a process
O mproving a process
Products:
O hemicals - petrol, ammonia,
methanol
O !olymers - polythene, !', synthetic
Iibres
O onsumer products - shampoo,
washing powder
O oodstuIIs - ice cream, chocolate,
beer
O !harmaceuticals - paracetamol,
penicillin
Product Design:
O hoosing a product Ior an application
O esigning the product
O mproving the product
Chemical engineers know how transformations occur at different lengthscales.
Transformations:
O hemical reactions
O hanges in physical state (e.g.
melting, boiling)
O Mixing and separating
O iosynthesis
engthscales:
O Molecular level - how molecules
behave and react
O !rocess level - how transIormations
can be perIormed
O !lant level - how processes can be put
together
O lobal level - logistics, management,
the environment
Chemical engineers know about mature and new technologies.
ature technology:
O $tirred tanks
O istillation columns
O eat exchangers
O ilters
ew technology:
O Membrane separators and reactors
O $upercritical Iluids
O iotechnology
O enetic manipulation oI organisms
Chemical engineers have knowledge of many subjects.
O !ure science
O ngineering
O nIormation technology
O conomics
O Management
O ntrepreneurship
O $aIety, health and the environment
Chemical engineers are vital in the process industries.
External link: www.whynotchemeng.com gives more inIormation on "what is chemical
engineerin

Why study Chemical Engineering?
Cbemical engineering is interesting, useful and rewarding

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Cbemical engineers acquire a wide variety of skills
hemical engineers have technical knowledge oI chemistry,
biochemistry, engineering, materials science and inIormation
technology. owever, they also know about economics,
management, saIety and the environment. The tools used
include sophisticated scientiIic experiments, the latest
developments in computing, and large-scale pilot plants.
Cbemical engineers are bigbly
employable
hemical engineers are employed
across a wide range oI businesses by
both large and small companies.
hemical engineering remains one
oI the best-paying proIessions in the
UK with salaries rising by 30 over
the last decade. $urveys show that
chemical engineers earn more, on
average, than other types oI engineer
and more than pure scientists.

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SLaLlsLlcs 8SC and lChemL)

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Cbemical engineering offers many exciting career cboices
hemical engineers have many career opportunities. A
graduate might perIorm groundbreaking scientiIic research,
work as a Iield engineer, or occupy a senior management
position. raduates employed by multinational companies
oIten travel all over the world.
Cbemical engineering is not a
restrictive cboice
ven those graduates who
choose not to accept jobs in
industry are highly employable
in other areas because they are
experienced at solving
problems and have good
analytical and management
skills. hemical engineering
graduates can go on to
successIul careers in Iinance,
consultancy or scientiIic
journalism, to name but a Iew.

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Chemlcal englneers aL Cambrldge
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Cbemical engineers can cbange tbe world
hemical engineers work to improve the quality oI people's
lives. Most items used by people everyday have needed
chemical engineers to produce them. hemical engineers are
helping to end starvation, disease and poverty. They are
working to save the environment by developing alternative
technologies to combat acid rain, lead pollution and the
greenhouse eIIect.
Chemical engineering offers plenty of excitement and new challenges
External link: www.whynotchemeng.com gives more inIormation on "why study chemical
engineering".
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lan Ingham

ame: Alan ngham
ob title: !rocess engineer
Company: avy !rocess Technology
Country: UK
levels: hemistry, maths and physics
University: University oI Nottingham, UK.
I didnt really come across chemical engineering until I was studying towards my A-levels. I
knew that I wanted to do something science or engineering based at university but I wasnt really
sure what. I remember thinking about physics and maths, along with other engineering
disciplines.

My A-levels were physics, chemistry and maths. They were my favourite subfects and I enfoyed
them.

My form tutor was a chemistry teacher and he introduced me to chemical engineering. Up until
then I hadnt even considered chemical engineering as a possibility.
eeping my options open
ne of the main reasons I chose chemical engineering was that, at the time of completing my
university application, I still really didnt know what I wanted to do career-wise. In that sense,
chemical engineering is ideal because it is such a diverse degree course that can take you in so
many different directions. And even if Id have had enough of chemical engineering by the time
my course was over, the degree is respected so widely that I would have been able to switch into
a different sector altogether.

I ended up studying chemical engineering at the University of Nottingham, UK. The first year
was a broad introductory year and gave me an idea about all of the topics that Id be studying in
more detail later on.

I really enfoyed the practical work and doing research in the labs. I found learning about
process control really difficult but I stuck with it and got there in the end.

The best part was probably the design profect at the end of the course which really brings
together everything that I had already been learning about. There is no doubt that a chemical
engineering degree is challenging but its still good fun.

At the end of my third year I did a summer internship at BP and got a better idea about what it is
really like to be a chemical engineer. I spent my time trouble-shooting and problem solving on
plants and that was really enfoyable.
aking time out
At the end of my studies I decided to take a year out and go travelling. I still wanted to come
back to the UK and become a chemical engineer though and sure enough, I foined Davy Process
Technology in 2006.

Working in industry is very different to university. My degree gave me the fundamentals, but by
working here I have been able to mould those skills and apply them to my work. Theres also lots
of on-the-fob learning and training to be done and that will be the same wherever you work.

I work on multiple profects during the course of a working week so theres plenty of variety and
its always busy. Chemical engineers get good travel opportunities too last month I spent time
in both China and Bra:il for work.

I think the important thing to remember about chemical engineering as a degree choice is that it
keeps your options open. If you get to the end of the course and want to do something else, you
can. But if you enfoy what you do like I did and decide that chemical engineering is the right
career path for you, having a degree in it is the only way to go.

Steven Chandler

ame: $teven handler
ob title: ReIinery economist
Company: $hell
Country: The Netherlands
evels: hemistry, maths, physics
University: University oI irmingham, UK

I didnt grow up wanting to be an engineer. In fact, I didnt really have any fixed ideas about
what I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted to do something that would be fun. Id never heard
of chemical engineering when I was at school but my dad was an environmental chemist. He
worked for a chemical company and when we talked about career options, he told me about the
chemical engineers he worked with.

I studied maths, physics and chemistry at A-level and as I started to think about university, I
looked at lots of prospectuses and researched different subfects and the career opportunities on
offer. I liked engineering but chemical engineering seemed to be far and away the most exciting.
It looked like an interesting combination of Willy Wonka style creativity alongside a good bit of
common sense'
eeping my options open
The other mafor attraction of chemical engineering was that it kept my career options open upon
graduation. If I had decided that chemical engineering wasnt for me, I knew that a chemical
engineering degree was well respected by employers in other sectors and Id have plenty of
opportunities elsewhere.

Studying chemical engineering at university was a bit of an unknown factor one element that
surprised me was how many different facets that were to the degree. I studied at the University of
Birmingham , UK and my course covered everything from food, energy, the environment and
plenty more besides.

My Masters course was a 4-year one and at the end of my third year, I got a summer fob at Shell
. ne good thing about chemical engineering was that you could find well-paid summer fobs as a
student.
orking at Sbell
I enfoyed working at Shell and they offered me an interview upon graduation. I was successful
and I got offered a starting post in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

My first fob was as a process engineer, remotely supporting Shell s Hydrocracker plants (a key
part of the oil refining process) globally. Shell had 3 hydrocracker units in Germany that I
worked on generating in total around $1billion refining margin, so it was pretty mafor stuff.

I was based in the companys central knowledge unit where I had access to people from all over
the world with hydrocracker knowledge. As well as troubleshooting, I was responsible for
developing new designs for 3rd party customers.
ravel and cbange
After three years in the Netherlands, I moved to a Shell operating site in Germany. In contrast to
my first role, I got more involved in the day-to-day operations of the plant, where Shell
supported me in becoming fluent in German.

In 2010 I moved again, this time to an oil refinery in the Netherlands. I am now a refinery
economist and I help the company determine the volumes of e.g. kerosene, petrol and diesel it
produces. My work is more finance and market-based now but I still rely upon and use my
chemical engineering knowledge on a daily basis.

O
Emily ather

ame: mily Mather
ob title: raduate process engineer - nergy
Company: Tate and Lyle
Country: UK
levels: hemistry, maths and physics. iology (A$-level)
University: University oI ambridge, UK
I wanted to be an engineer from a relatively young age. I wasnt sure what sort of engineer I
would be, but I loved science and maths so I studied chemistry, maths and physics at A-level with
biology at AS-level.

It was the practical side of engineering that appealed to me. When I was 16 I had done work
experience at a power station and had met chemical engineers. They were on the site and their
work seemed to be a good mix of technical and practical duties. I think it was that period which
really made me think about chemical engineering more seriously.
Studying at Cambridge
I studied chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge , UK. At Cambridge, the first year
of the course is general engineering so my options were still open. However I knew that I wanted
to work in a big plant and I was less keen on the idea of doing a design fob or being sat behind a
desk all day.

I did consider mechanical engineering at one stage but although the course looked interesting
the fobs didnt seem to be nearly as exciting.
y first |ob
I foined Tate and Lyle in 2009 and spent one year training where I developed an understanding
of what operators do on a day-to-day basis. There was lots of information to take in over a
relatively short period of time but I really enfoyed myself.

Every week is different, in fact every day is different' There is always lots of profect work and
trouble-shooting going on. I am now doing lots of work looking at the way in which we use our
energy and how we can reduce our energy usage across the entire site.

Im also looking at how we use water and whether we can cut down on the amount we use.
Thats in the early stages right now so Im really fust monitoring where we are now and how
much we currently use.

If youre thinking about a career in chemical engineering, Id strongly suggest that you study
chemistry, physics and maths at A-level. If you can also do further maths too, it will serve you
well.

Chemical engineering is fun. Its hands-on and all about identifying problems and coming up
with technical solutions.

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O rlvacy pollcy
JebslLe by Dnlfled SoluLlons