What is Chemical Engineering?
Chemical engineering can be defined as the science of changing one thing into another. Chemical engineering is a field that has only been studied for about 125 years, but in that time it has produced a huge number of processes and products that are now taken for granted.
Imagine a world without electronics, plastics, or oil and gas, for example. You will literally be changing the world as a chemical engineer.
Chemical engineering is a difficult but very rewarding field that will take you from the classroom to the lab to the real world of business and back again. This degree will teach you how to work in a variety of settings and across the fields of chemistry, mathematics, engineering, and physics. It is very practical.
Importance of Chemical engineering:
Companies in Chemical Engineering Promote Innovation
Few consumers are aware of chemistry’s importance in engineering. The development of fresh, cutting-edge products is made possible by the complementarity of these two industries. Almost every aspect of daily life is impacted by chemical engineering, from the creation of food and beverages to medical procedures. According to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, it also has applications in the fields of finance, law, biotechnology, construction, and other industries.
Modern technology is used by chemical engineering companies to transform raw materials into useful products. They might create new processes for industrial projects, develop or enhance manufacturing equipment, or discover new applications for current materials, depending on the industry. For instance, Shell employs chemical engineers who can create new strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. Global company DuPont is looking for experts who can enhance current medical devices and other products or develop more effective substitutes.
Where is the use of chemical engineering?
Large-scale manufacturing facilities are the most common places to find chemical engineering because there, the objective is to maximize output and product quality while lowering costs. Chemical engineering is used by the aerospace, automotive, biomedical, electronic, environmental, medical, and military industries to create and enhance their technical products, including:
- Vehicle-specific ultra-strong fabrics, fibers, and adhesives
- Materials for implants and prosthetics that are biocompatible
- Optoelectronic device films
Chemical engineers’ job:
Due to the numerous industries that rely on the synthesis and processing of chemicals and materials, chemical engineers are in high demand. Chemical engineers have expanding career options outside of the traditional fields of the chemical, energy, and oil industries, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, the manufacturing of electronic devices, and environmental engineering. When processes involve the chemical or physical transformation of matter, the special training of the chemical engineer becomes crucial in these fields.
The chemical engineer must possess a thorough and quantitative understanding of the engineering and scientific principles underlying these technological processes in order to perform these tasks. Applied mathematics, material, and energy balances, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, energy and mass transfer, separation technologies, chemical reaction kinetics, reactor design, and process design are all included in the Chemical Engineering Department’s curriculum, which reflects this. These classes are founded in the fields of biology, physics, and chemistry.
South Carolina’s Top 20 Schools for Chemical Engineering
Finding the best college for your undergraduate and graduate Chemical Engineering degree on our list of the Best Chemical Engineering Colleges and Universities in South Carolina is a great way to start your career in the field.
Best Chemical Engineering Schools in South Carolina
| Insitution | Category | Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| UofSC College of Engineering and Computing | Engineering school | 301 Main St | http://cec.sc.edu/ |
| Biomedical Engineering Program | University department | 1200 Catawba St | http://biomed.engr.sc.edu/ |
| Clemson College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences | University department | Riggs Hall | https://www.clemson.edu/cecas/index.html |
| Clemson University Dept. of Automotive Engineering | Public university | 4 Research Dr | http://www.clemson.edu/ces/automotive-engineering/ |
| The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UofSC | University | 300 Main St | http://ce.sc.edu/ |
| College of Charleston | University | 66 George St | https://cofc.edu/ |
| University of South Carolina | Public university | Venerable school with a scenic campus | https://sc.edu/ |
| Clemson University | Public university | 105 Sikes Hall | http://clemson.edu/ |
| Clemson University Department of Mechanical Engineering | University department | Fluor Daniel Engineering Innovation Building | http://www.clemson.edu/cecas/departments/me/ |
| Technical College of the Lowcountry | Community college | 921 Ribaut Rd | http://www.tcl.edu/ |
| S&ME | Engineering consultant | 1330 US-501 BUS | http://www.smeinc.com/ |
| Clemson University Graduate Admissions | University department | E-106 Martin Hall | http://clemson.edu/graduate |
| National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying | Non-profit organization | 200 Verdae Blvd | http://ncees.org/ |
| The University of Georgia College of Engineering | University department | 597 D. W. Brooks Drive | http://www.engineering.uga.edu/ |
| FN America, LLC | Manufacturer | 797 Old Clemson Rd | https://fnamerica.com/ |
| Duke University Pratt School of Engineering | Engineering school | 305 Teer Engineering Building Box 90271 | https://pratt.duke.edu/ |
| Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science | University | 1000 Main Campus Dr | |
| North Carolina State University | University | Public research school dating to 1887 | https://www.ncsu.edu/ |
| School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering | University | 311 Ferst Dr | |
| Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - NC State University | University department | Engineering Bldg I, 911 Partners Way room 2-009 | https://www.cbe.ncsu.edu/ |
Career As a Chemical Engineering:
Chemical engineering careers call for technical, analytical, and decision-making abilities to guarantee the efficiency and safety of processes, frequently on a large scale. A chemist may use a flask, condenser, and syringe on a laboratory bench to react a few grams, or even micrograms, of various compounds. However, a chemical engineer might be in charge of mixing literally tons of chemicals in reactors that are up to 50 feet tall and 20 feet wide. This requires more than simply combining various compounds in the proper ratios. Therefore, the core of almost every chemical manufacturing process is chemical reaction engineering.
Chemical engineers may therefore frequently be required to put their specialized knowledge and expertise to use in fields like:
- Thermodynamics determines the precise amount of energy needed to heat the reactants.
The size and material of the pipes should be determined by fluid dynamics. - The ideal size of the reactor tank is determined by reaction kinetics.
- process dynamics to set up enough safety measures to stop a catastrophic failure.
- Using computer simulations, it is possible to forecast the behavior of complex systems and to design reactors, processes, and materials that are optimized.
Many of the choices and design considerations that affect how profitable a chemical process will be are made by chemical engineers. They have a strong passion for problem-solving and are much more familiar with business operations.
How Much Does a Chemical Engineer Usually Earn?
A chemical engineer’s salary typically exceeds that of a chemist due to their mastery of specialized knowledge as well as the possibility of large-scale commercial applications. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for chemical engineers was $108,540 in May 2020. In May 2020, the median annual salary for chemists was $79,300.
According to the American Chemical Society’s 2019 Salary Survey, there is even a noticeable difference between the full-time starting salaries for new chemical engineers with bachelor’s degrees and those with chemistry degrees. Notably, chemical engineers with bachelor’s degrees who are just starting out earn a median full-time starting salary that is more than 1.5 times higher than graduates of chemistry.
