Chemical Engineers
In Egypt, they say: "There are two kinds of people in this world: engineers, and everyone else." When I was a kid, I thought an engineer was just that guy in overalls and a yellow hard hat at construction sites, but as I grew up, I realized how many different engineering fields there are, and I learned that engineers are the ones behind the design and manufacturing of most things in the world. Today I'm going to tell you about one of the biggest and most influential engineering fields in human life: chemical engineering. Do you know who builds most of the machines in the factories that produce all the goods we use? Chemical engineers. Do you know who invents the machines and equipment used to extract oil and natural gas from underground? Chemical engineers. Do you know who processes and refines crude oil so we get gasoline, diesel, and fuel for planes, ships, and power plants? Chemical engineers. Do you know who manufactures agricultural fertilizers and develops new techniques to increase crop yields? Chemical engineers. Do you know who's responsible for the chemical processes behind so many food products, detergents, medicines, cosmetics, and textiles? Yes, you guessed it โ chemical engineers. Chemical engineers are involved in the design, manufacturing, and development of almost every product and technology in our world today.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
- Determine most effective arrangement of operations such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
- Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
- Direct activities of workers who operate or are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.
- Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new products and test proposed processes in small-scale operation, such as a pilot plant.
- Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
- Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
- Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
- Design and plan layout of equipment.
- Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
- Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
- Perform tests and monitor performance of processes throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables such as temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.
- Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
- Develop computer models of chemical processes.