- What functions and activities does a Chemical Engineer do?
- 1. Design of chemical processes
- 2. Develop technology, procedures and processes
- 3. Analyze manufacturing processes
- 4. Select equipment and elements of the production process
- 5. Model chemical processes
- 6. Apply knowledge of Economic Engineering
- 7. Implement controls in chemical processes
- 8. Implement Environmental Engineering solutions
- 9. Manage industrial plants
- 10. Determine the final destination of the waste and by-products of the process
- References
A chemical engineer is an individual who is dedicated to the study, development, operation and improvement of all industrial processes that produce changes, whether physical, chemical or biological in materials.
To do this, you must graduate with a 5-year career in engineering, or in English-speaking countries, do a bachelor's degree in Chemistry, having as an additional option to take a Master's / Master's degree, that is, to carry out more advanced studies that allow you a greater specialization in a certain area of the career.
Since the beginning of humanity, human beings have explored with substances, making mixtures to obtain products. In ancient times, the little empirical knowledge was mixed with religious and supernatural beliefs, giving rise to alchemy, which little by little was acquiring rigor and scientific maturity over the centuries.
Then people emerged who, with their empirical knowledge and experience, tried to give solutions to problems to improve construction work and manufacturing processes.
These were the first engineers. Over the centuries, the tools of mathematics and other sciences helped to develop a profile of the person who could develop these improvement processes more efficiently. It is the birth of engineering as a professional career.
The work area of chemical engineers is normally found in production processes: factories of textiles, substances, oil industry, food, etc.
What functions and activities does a Chemical Engineer do?
The chemical engineer works in various industries in very diverse areas. Not only in the manufacture of substances, but in every plant where the conversion of raw material into manufactured products is carried out, especially including the oil, fertilizer and refining industries.
The functions of a chemical engineer in industry can be summarized as follows:
1. Design of chemical processes
The manufacture of the various elements of daily use occurs through the combination of processes, machinery and labor.
Chemical engineers are able to plan and design industrial plants that produce the materials and products required by today's society, for example: synthetic fibers for fabrics or clothing.
Almost all the products that we use on a daily basis today are designed by chemical engineers.
2. Develop technology, procedures and processes
A chemical engineer is prepared to create new products or also modify existing ones, in order to improve their efficiency and productivity.
This technology can be studied worldwide or be part of the ingenuity of the professional, who uses the tools he has learned in his career.
3. Analyze manufacturing processes
This function aims to improve the raw material transformation process so that the product acquires a better value. Studying a process and improving it is part of the challenge posed by the chemical engineer.
4. Select equipment and elements of the production process
A chemical engineer sizes and selects the equipment that a process needs to be built, improved, or modified.
For example the fluid valves, the types of meters, the dimensions of a tank and a length etc.
5. Model chemical processes
Carrying out simulations and models of processes to study them before their construction or to improve or change the characteristics of existing ones is one of the most common functions of the chemical engineer.
To do this, it uses software packages that can recreate the conditions of the installation, make virtual adjustments and observe the results.
In the end, you can propose a strategy that allows you to achieve the objectives set.
6. Apply knowledge of Economic Engineering
The chemical engineering curriculum includes Economic Engineering as an area of study, so that the professional is able to evaluate a process from an economic point of view, to verify if its cost is susceptible to being improved, or if it is a process that is not profitable and does not produce profit.
Economic feasibility studies are essential to start plant installation projects and require specific knowledge of each of the processes required for the manufacture or transformation of raw material.
7. Implement controls in chemical processes
For processes already in operation, the chemical engineer can study the control system necessary to improve or automate it.
Make modifications to amplify profit and reduce costs where possible.
8. Implement Environmental Engineering solutions
The chemical engineer applies the knowledge and regulations of hygiene, safety and environmental impact in the installation, modification and operation of processes and equipment.
Chemical engineering is intimately committed to the environment, since it knows the nature of the product and its impact on the environment.
9. Manage industrial plants
Based on his experience, a chemical engineer can manage the finances and human and material resources of a production plant.
Due to his knowledge of the process and the operation of the administrative part of the plant, he is the ideal person to manage human and financial resources.
10. Determine the final destination of the waste and by-products of the process
The chemical engineer is in charge of studying the waste from the processes, in order to ensure that they comply with environmental regulations, reduce their impact and be done in the most efficient way possible, taking into consideration economic, ethical and legal.
Today this is very relevant given that the international community has come together in order to reduce the effects that our industry produces on nature, especially affecting climate change and global warming.
The chemical engineer is involved in a climate of constant change, where scientific and technological training and the advancement of science are permanent day by day, as well as the growing concern of the environmental impact by human technological activity, seeking the optimum use of material and energy resources, maintaining a high level of safety for process workers.
Chemical engineering is a branch of vital importance in the modern world since the most important industries need the application of the various sciences and technologies that can be developed thanks to it.
The petrochemical, oil, food and beverage, plastics, pharmaceutical and many other industries require the advice and leadership of chemical engineers.
References
- Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from: acs.org.
- Helmenstine, A. (2017). ThoughtCo: What Do Chemical Engineers Do and How Much Do They Make? Recovered from: thoughtco.com.
- Chemical Engineering - Definition. Recovered from: w3.ual.es.
- Chemical engineering. Recovered from: my-carrera.com.
- Chemical engineering. Recovered from: udo.edu.ve.
- Bachelor of Chemical Engineering. Recovered: quimica.unam.mx.
- Scodelaro, F. (2006). Chemical Engineering: Chemical Engineering - Definition. Recovered from: ingenieriaquimica.org.