Chemical engineers can address and find solutions for many of the grand challenges faced in the world today, which include, climate change, energy shortage, environmental and water concerns. The Chemical Engineering field involves the development, design, and management of industrial processes where raw materials are converted to products with higher economic value. Treating wastewater, converting coal to petrol, generating electricity from algae, turning corn into cornflakes and producing beer from grains are a few processes chemical engineers can design and manage.
Chemical with Minerals Processing Engineering
Minerals processing is a specialised field in chemical engineering and deals with the physical and chemical processes used to extract metals from ores. The coal, platinum, gold and diamonds exported by South Africa can be treated by chemical engineers specialising in minerals processing.
Professional Bodies:
Engineering Council of South Africa - ECSA
Career Opportunities:
Your options as a chemical and minerals engineer in South Africa and abroad include industries such as:
- Energy generation
- Food processing
- Brewing
- Wastewater treatment
- Pollution control
- Automotive
- Synthetic fuel manufacture
- Minerals processing
- Development of nano-materials for material science applications