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Indian Chemical Industry & Role of Chemical Engineer

Nimish Dixit

It is a great pleasure to write on a topic which is close to my heart and that I am living every day, so I am excited about this opportunity to share my thoughts with you all in this article. I sincerely hope this article will give you some idea about Indian Chemical Industry & Role of a Chemical Engineer.

My name is Nimish Dixit, son of Narendrabhai Jethalal Dixit & Kokilaben Dixit. I have 16 years Plus of experience in the field of Chemicals and I live in Mumbai. I have started my journey by doing Diploma In Chemical Engineering followed by Graduation in Chemical Engineering from Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, Mumbai. I have also completed Family Business Management (F-MBA) from NMIMS, Mumbai and Executive Business Management Program (EBMP) from IGTC, Mumbai. In case of any question please reach out to me on my WhatsApp phone no. (+91 9892621336) or also note my e-mail: dixitnimish@gmail.com.

 

Indian Chemical Industry:

Indian Chemical Industry is 6th Largest in the World and Third in Asia. The Value of chemical Industry in India was estimated at USD 178 billion (approx. INR 13.3 lakh cr.) in 2019 covering over 80,000 commercial products, which accounts for 12.5% of Country’s total Industrial Output, 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 10% of total Exports and 20% of Taxes and Import Duty Collection. This shows that the Chemical Industry is a key industry in Indian Manufacturing sector, being an intermediate of manufacturing sector. Thus the performance of chemical industry reflects into and has favorable impact on other Industries and Manufacturing Sector as a whole. The Indian market size is further expected to grow and reach USD 300 billion (approx. INR 22 lakh cr.) by 2025.

Why Chemical Engineering?

Life as you know today, could not have existed without the remarkable contributions of Chemical Engineering. Today Chemical Industry, that offers more than 70,000 Products catering to almost every sphere of our activities rest on the plinth of Chemical PC`s, to Paper we write on, the water we drink, the fabrics that make our garments, their amazing spectrum of colors, the lifesaving drugs that bring us relief from pain, the fresh fruits and vegetables of better quality to eat etc., virtually thousands of all the consumer products and intermediates that without doubt continue to Improve our daily lives and lifestyles.

Chemical Engineering which deals with application of the principles of the physical sciences, together with the principles of economics and human relations to fields that pertain directly to processes and process equipment in which matter is treated to effect a change in state, energy content and composition.

In short, Chemical Engineering is about creating new material wealth via the chemical (or biological) transformation and/or separation of materials. This Involves processing of raw materials into a whole range of useful and profitable end Products.

A. Following are the Sectors where Chemical Engineers are employed.

  1. Polymers

  2. Catalysts

  3. Fine and Specialty Chemicals

  4. Industrial Gases

  5. Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Pigments and Inks

  6. Plastics, Synthetic Resins, and Composites

  7. Pulp and Paper

  8. Rubber and Rubber Products

  9. Soaps, Detergents, Perfumes, Fats, Oils and Cosmetics

  10. Synthetic Fibers, Textiles and Films.

In all of the above industries the function of a chemical Engineer is to apply the knowledge of Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Kinetics combined with Economics using co-ordinated scientific and engineering principles, with our highly developed analytical, project management and problem-solving skills to transfer the research of chemist into an economically feasible chemical Process.

Thus, to translate ideas into reality we need the knowledge of chemical engineering. The multifaceted job profiles that give recognition within Industry and Society, and the gratification that comes from working with the processes that meet the need of society, the financial reward, the zeal to face challenges are some reasons for us to be in chemical engineering.

B. Chemical Engineering Job Profile.

  1. Process Design Engineer

  2. Plant Process Engineer

  3. Process Safety Engineer

  4. Project Engineer

  5. Consultant

  6. Product Engineer

  7. Research & Development Engineer

  8. Project Manager

  9. Control and Instrumentation Engineer

  10. Environmental Consultant

  11. Quality Control Engineer

  12. Sales and Marketing Engineer

  13. Educationalist/Professor

C. Some of the Outstanding Achievements of chemical engineering that drive us into this field are as below.

  1. Food

  2. Wonder Drugs for the Masses

  3. The Environment

  4. The Plastic and Synthetic Fibers Age

  5. Liquified Air

  6. Synthetic Air

  7. Synthetic Rubber

  8. Petrochemicals

  9. The Atom

Starting from original Concept of scaling -up the laboratory experimental results of chemist to large scale operating plant, chemical engineering has evolved with rapid strides spreading its tentacles to almost every branch of engineering and science.

In the present scenario a young candidate aspiring to join engineering is left with but only one question to ask: “Where in Chemical Engineering?” rather than “Why chemical Engineering?”

There are many colleges and some IITs/NITs that offer Graduation (4 years or 8 semesters) or Post-graduation (2 years or 4 semesters) in Chemical Engineering. Here are details of subjects & study options these courses:

B. Tech Chemical Engineering Courses

  1. Engineering Mathematics

  2. Engineering Physics

  3. Engineering Chemistry

  4. Basic Electrical Engineering

  5. Computer Programming Basics

  6. Engineering Drawing

  7. Advanced Chemistry

  8. Fluid Flow Mechanics

  9. Heat Transfer Operations

  10. Mass Transfer Operations

  11. Material and Energy Balance

  12. Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics

  13. Chemical Reaction Engineering

  14. Chemical Process Safety and Utilities

  15. Chemical Equipment Design and Drawing

  16. Computer Programming and Numerical Methods

  17. Computational Fluid Dynamics

  18. Engineering System Design

  19. Transport Phenomena

  20. Chemical Engineering Economics

  21. Process Dynamics and Control

  22. Chemical Technology



M. Tech Chemical Engineering Courses



  1. Advanced Numerical Methods

  2. Analysis of Transport Phenomena

  3. Chemical Reactor Theory

  4. Computational Methods in Chemical Engineering

  5. Fluid Phase Equilibria

  6. Instrumental Methods of Analysis Lab

  7. Chemical Process Design

  8. Modern Control Theory

  9. Modern Separation Processes

  10. Process Modelling and Simulation

  11. Analysis of Energy Engineering

  12. Chemical Process in Industries

  13. Advancement in Material Sciences and Technology