Scope of Chemical Engineering

Question 1

chemical engineers are involved in products in terms of their..

Answer 1

quality, economy, safety, environment

Question 2

where are chemical engineers are concerned

Answer 2

not only with the manufacture of these compounds but also improving their quality by ensuring that they have desired
physical and chemical properties

Question 3

where does the quality of the product should be dependent

Answer 3

market demands and other considerations such as impact
on health and environment

Question 4

chemical engineers ask themselves: what are the properties required of the
end product they are manufacturing so that…

Answer 4

▪ it helps them design new processes to improve the quality of existing products.
▪ it forces them to innovate continuously and improve the quality of the existing products
and bring about changes in technology

Question 5

in what way/s chemical engineers must learn in manufacturing?

Answer 5

▪ in an economical way,
▪ in a safer way, and
▪ in an environmentally friendly way.

Question 6

what makes the chemical engineer versatile

Answer 6

sound knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics combined
with engineering principles

Question 7

what is one characteristic of chemical engineering?

Answer 7

it is interdisciplinary as broad knowledge base gives the chemical engineer an opportunity to work in a wide
range of industries and disciplines

Question 8

what does chemical engineers do?

Answer 8

• scaling up or down
• design of processes and process equipment
• design of utility support systems
• sales and marketing
• safety and environment
• cost estimates
• supervision of actual chemical plant operations
• chemical engineering research
• business and executive management
• study of biological systems
• development of system models

Question 9

depending on the processes involved one has to have basic knowledge of what?

Answer 9

chemistry, biology,
and physics

Question 10

In which an idea is developed from laboratory to industrial scale

Answer 10

scaling up

Question 11

one of the challenges faced by chemical engineers

Answer 11

transformation from a concept in the laboratory to the process in a commercial
plant, i.e. increasing production from a few grams per hour to a few tons per hour

Question 12

steps of scaling up operations

Answer 12

▪ After an idea is developed in a laboratory a demonstration plant of an intermediate scale
or size (known as pilot plant) is built before going in for the full-scale commercial
production.
▪ This helps identify new challenges that have to be addressed as a result of increasing the
scale of production.
▪ The operation of the pilot plant results in a lot of new knowledge being generated.
▪ The operation at this scale allows us to test different ideas to improve the performance.
▪ For instance, in a large vessel mixing the contents to maintain a uniform composition
could be a challenge.
▪ Similarly, ensuring a uniform temperature inside a large vessel is difficult as mixing is
usually poor.
▪ These issues have to be resolved production going from a small-scale to a large-scale

Question 13

TRL

Answer 13

technology readiness level

Question 14

chemical engineers are trained to…

Answer 14

identify the areas in a plant where improvements can be
made

Question 15

process of production of a chemical or analysis of a
chemical can be carried out on a small chip

Answer 15

scaling down

Question 16

example of scaling down

Answer 16

hand-held device to measure sugar levels in the blood for
patients with diabetes

Question 17

major advantage of the scaling-down approach

Answer 17

affords a possibility to
have a decentralized way of producing and analyzing chemicals

Question 18

several situations in which the scale-down approach is advantageous

Answer 18

designing a portable system for analyzing water samples in remote areas

Question 19

aim of miniaturization of laboratory on a chip

Answer 19

similar revolution in the chemical industry
wherein it may be possible to carry out several reactions, analyze several species and produce
several products in a small hand-held device

Question 20

The piping size; the number and type of trays in a distillation tower; the
configuration of coils, tubes, and baffles in a heat exchanger; the shape and size of
an agitator system; the shape and geometry of a solids hopper; the shape and
configuration of a chemical reactor; and the depth of packing in a tower are all
examples of such detailed design calculations.

Answer 20

design of processes and process equipment

Question 21

design a system that will achieve the desired goals, but within practical
limitations

Answer 21

design or processes and process equipment

Question 22

includes the supply of water for process and emergency cooling, continuity of
electrical supply for powered process equipment such as pumps and agitators, and
supply of oil, gas, or coal to generate steam and power

Answer 22

design of utility support systems

Question 23

ability to understand the customer’s
process may be critical to the ability to
sell a material to a customer, especially if
it is a new material or requires substantial
change in a customer’s operation

Answer 23

sales and marketing

Question 24

understand the basic
limitations of chemical processes, laws
of thermodynamics, and the limits of measurement capabilities

Answer 24

writing rules and regulations in safety and environment

Question 25

Regulations and enforcement actions
relating to hazardous material transport especially in bulk pipeline,
rail car, and truckload shipping

Answer 25

safety and environment

Question 26

evaluate and
compare many possible process options as
a function of raw material pricing,
geographic location, energy cost, and cost projections

Answer 26

cost estimates

Question 27

cost estimates allows…

Answer 27

optimum process design and
the ability to predict process costs and
economics under changing conditions

Question 28

In this role, the understanding of equipment design and performance is critical, but more
importantly the management of plant
operations to minimize safety incidents and
environmental releases, as well as complying
with permits under which the plant is allowed
to operate

Answer 28

supervision of actual chemical plant operations

Question 29

in the supervision of actual chemical plant operations , chemical engineers have additional unique responsibilities

Answer 29

labor relations with operating plant personnel as well as the need, in some cases, to interface
with the surrounding community in a public communications role

Question 30

done by advanced
degreed chemical engineers, many times in
association with other disciplines

Answer 30

chemical engineering research

Question 31

Examples of such work would include chemical engineering principles used in the design of artificial organs (remember: the heart is a pump
and the kidney is a filter), the study of atmospheric
diffusion to study the impact of environmental
emissions, the design and optimization of process
control algorithms, alternative energy sources and
processes, and the recovery of energy from waste
products in an economical and environmentally
acceptable way.

Answer 31

chemical engineering research

Question 32

especially in chemical and
material‐based companies (both large and start‐up)

Answer 32

business and executive management

Question 33

This includes not only the previously
mentioned human organs such as the heart
(pumps) and kidneys (filters) but also
absorption and conversion of food
ingredients into the human body.

Answer 33

study of biological systems

Question 34

requires the combination of
chemical engineering skills with
knowledge of mathematical models
and software that, in many cases,
minimizes the cost of system scale‐up
and evaluation

Answer 34

development of system models