It is admission time and those contemplating an engineering degree can consider chemical engineering
I am writing this article in order to bring about an awareness about the scope of chemical engineering to young Omanis, who are aiming to pursue higher technical education. While one can opt for any branch of engineering depending upon one's interest and job potential, being a chemical engineer, I will confine myself to chemical engineering.
The scientific and technical knowledge inherent in the chemical engineering profession has caused some to describe a chemical engineer as the 'Universal Engineer'. Chemical engineers are extremely versatile and are able to handle a wide range of technical problems. All engineers employ mathematics, physics and the engineering to overcome technical problems in a safe and economical fashion, yet only the chemical engineer can draw upon the vast and powerful science of chemistry to solve a wide range of problems.
Biology, medicine, metallurgy and power generation have all been revolutionised by chemical engineering's ability to split the atoms and isolate isotopes. This technique brought about an abrupt conclusion to World War II with the production and use of the atomic bomb. Today, these technologies have found uses in more peaceful applications. Doctors use isotopes to monitor body functions, quickly identifying clogged arteries and veins. Similarly, biologists gain invaluable insight into the basic mechanisms of life and archaeologists can accurately date historical findings. In the last century, it required the insight of chemical engineers to make mass produced polymers a viable economic reality.
Chemical engineers have long studied complex chemical processes by breaking them up into smaller 'unit operations'. Such operations might consist of heat exchangers, filters and chemical reactors. This concept has also been applied to the human body. The results of such analysis have helped to improve clinical care, suggested improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic devices and led to mechanical wonders such as artificial organs.
The ability to bring once scarce materials to all members of society through industrial creativity is a defining characteristic of chemical engineering. Chemical fertilisers help provide nutrients to crops. Biotechnology also offers the potential to further increase worldwide food production.
Chemical engineers are at the forefront of food processing where they help create tastier and more nutritious foods. Chemical engineers have helped develop processes like catalytic cracking to break down the complex organic molecules found in crude oil into much simpler form. These blocks are then separated and recombined to form many useful products including gasoline, lubricating oils, plastics, synthetic rubber, and synthetic fibres. Petroleum processing is therefore recognised as an enabling technology, without which much of modern life would cease to function.
Chemical engineers provide economical answers to clean up yesterday's waste and check tomorrow's pollution. Additionally, chemical engineers help reduce the strain on natural materials through synthetic replacements, efficient processing and recycling technologies.
The 'Big Four' engineering fields consist of civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineers. Of these, chemical engineers form the smallest group. However, this relatively small group holds a very prominent position and are among the highest paid.
More typically, chemical engineers concern themselves with the chemical processes that turn raw materials into valuable products. The necessary skills encompass all aspects of design, testing, scale-up, operation, control and optimisation and require a detailed understanding of the various unit operations, which make these conversions possible. Chemical engineering utilises mass, momentum, and energy transfer to analyse and improve on these 'unit operations'.
By Dr Shaik Feroz
businesstoday 2005
