How can one improve skills as a chemical engineer? What are the right tasks for a chemical engineer in the industry?

Production OR process Engineer

A chemical engineer develops raw materials into a range of useful products & by doing so he gets a chance to create things such as petrochemicals, medicine and plastics which eventually helps him to improve his or her skills .

A chemical engineer designs and develops the processes that make a diverse range of products. Their work focuses on changing the chemical, biochemical and physical state of a substance to turn it into something else, for example making plastic from oil.

They understand how to alter raw materials into required products while taking into consideration health and safety and cost issues.

They work in a variety of industries including:

• oil and gas;
• pharmaceuticals;
• energy;
• water treatment;
• food and drink;
• plastics;
• toiletries.

Modern chemical engineering is also concerned with pioneering valuable new materials and techniques, such as nanotechnology, fuel cells and biomedical engineering.

Day-to-day responsibilities are extremely diverse and depend on the role and the sector in which you work. In general, tasks may include:

• working closely with process chemists and control engineers to ensure the process plant is set up to provide maximum output levels and efficient running of the production facility;
• designing plant and equipment configuration so that they can be readily adapted to suit the product range and the process technologies involved, taking environmental and economic aspects into account;
• setting up scale-up and scale-down processes including appropriate changes to equipment design and configuration;
• assessing options for plant expansion or reconfiguration by developing and testing process simulation models;
• designing, installing and commissioning new production plants, including monitoring developments and troubleshooting;
• optimising production by analysing processes and compiling de-bottleneck studies;
• applying new technologies;
• researching new products from trial through to commercialisation and improving product lines;
• ensuring that potential safety issues related to the project operator, the environment, the process and the product are considered at all stages.

Examples of work activities in specific sectors include:

• undertaking small and intermediate-scale manufacturing and packaging activities in pharmaceutical product development for clinical trial purposes;
• developing new methods of safe nuclear energy production, including projects such as conceptual design, simulation and construction of test rigs, and detailed design and operations support.

You will need to show:

• an understanding of engineering principles and mathematics;
• an aptitude for and interest in chemistry;
• project management skills;
• resource management skills;
• oral and written communication skills;
• analytical and problem-solving ability;
• the ability to work as part of a team;
• the capacity to motivate and lead a team;
• strong IT skills;
• a careful and methodical approach with good attention to detail;
• commercial and business awareness;
• creativity and innovation.