What is Chemical Engineering?
Chemical engineering is concerned with the ways in which raw materials are changed into useful and commercial end products. This involves the research of raw materials and their properties, design and development of equipment and the evaluation of operating processes.
These skills are combined to extract raw materials which can then be refined and manufactured to produce such things as food, petrol, plastics, paints, paper, ceramics, minerals and metals. Often these processes are carried out at large scale plants – the safe operation of these plants is also part of chemical engineering.
Extracting raw materials without harming the environment is also a major area of work for chemical engineers. For example, new types of fuels which can be used safely to provide the energy we need, without having an adverse effect on the environment, are currently being developed and tested. Chemical engineers are also involved in the production of pharmaceutical products as diverse as penicillin and shampoo.
Chemical engineers may work in companies involved in the production of such things as food, plastics, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, metals and glass. Many chemical engineers also find employment in environment protection and the reclamation or clean up of contaminated sites, or in research laboratories, chemical plants and petroleum refineries. Other major employers of chemical engineers include manufacturers of basic iron and steel products, organic industrial chemicals and the mining industry.
Engineers working in this field may specialise as combustion engineers, petroleum engineers, principal chemical engineers, smelting engineers, water treatment engineers or environmental engineers (see section on environmental engineering). There is also scope for chemical engineers to move into related areas including biotechnology, food engineering and mineral engineering.
