Interesting industries chemical engineers work in
by Rajaram Pande
November 1, 2017by Rajaram Pande
November 1, 2017Let’s take a little peek into my friend Rohan’s life to see how chemical engineers impact his life:
Rohan loves the sweet taste of cough syrup his doctor recommends when he is down with cough and cold. Now we know that a doctor doesn’t make all those medicines neither does a chemist. Chemical engineers design the plant to manufacture the medicines on a large scale in a profitable manner, choose the best equipment for different processes, monitor the process and troubleshoot production issues.
By the way, did I tell you, Rohan just got a new water purifier installed at his home? Chemical engineers are involved in large scale water purification as well. They work on ways to test water for contamination, help design purification systems, design systems to remove salt from seawater, design pipelines to move water across long distances, develop water bottling systems. As more and more pollutants are found in streams and rivers, chemical engineers are designing new methods to discover and measure foreign substances in water as well as to treat the water, making it safe again.
Everyday Rohan drives his car to work which runs on fuel. This wouldn’t be possible without chemical engineers. They have long contributed to the development of traditional, non-renewable fossil-fuel sources such as petroleum and natural gas. Crude oil, or petroleum, is of little use in its raw state. Its value to society lies in the broad slate of products that can be created from it. Refineries use complex chemical separation and conversion processes to turn crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, kerosene, lubricating oils, and numerous other end products. More recently their efforts have been concentrated on renewable fuels derived from biomass feedstocks, solar power, and the wind.
Rohan enjoys eating fresh fruits everyday and chemical engineers play a small role in enabling it. Chemical engineers are involved in the manufacturing of fertilisers and pesticides which are used by farmers for growing crops. Fertilisers are applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply nutrients essential for the growth of plants. Chemical engineers can also be involved in the industrial processing of certain crops.
Rohan’s cousin works as an engineering consultant in a big firm. What does he do exactly? Chemical engineering consultants act as outside contractors to supply specialised knowledge to businesses and government institutions on various applications of chemical engineering. They might also serve as expert witnesses in courts of law. Employment settings can include offices and labs, with some off-site work at industrial locations where protective gear might be required. Engineers who are consultants generally travel often to meet with clients and work at client sites as needed. Consultants might be self-employed and have to balance working on the needs of their current clients with reaching out to new clients to secure future work.
Rohan’s gym clothes are made of polyester, a material manufactured with the help of chemical engineers. They play an important role in the manufacturing of synthetic fibres (like nylon, polyester) from raw materials in textile industry. They work on processes like bleaching, dyeing, improving systems for pollution control.
Everyday Rohan can choose from a variety of packaged ingredients to make his meals. He expects food to be ready to eat or easy to prepare. Chemical engineers are involved in food processing and packaging that help improve taste, appearance, nutritional value, safety, convenience, and shelf life of food, protecting food against spoilage and people against food-borne illnesses.
Chemical engineers are involved in the large scale manufacturing of the range of shampoos, body washes, perfumes Rohan uses everyday.
Banks make loans to ventures in chemical, oil, pharmaceutical, biotech industries, assist with mergers and acquisitions, and also provide insurance. These need asset valuations, business forecasts, and financial, environmental and hazard risk assessments to be done. Chemical engineers are uniquely qualified to address these aspects in a quantitative manner for chemical industry related companies.
Chemical engineers don’t just play a role in making things we use every day but also help build the future. They are working on developing alternate energy sources (like solar, wind), alternate raw materials, green processes with minimal environmental impact.