Koya Venkata ReddySecretary
IIChE Kochi Regional Centre,
Mobile: 9446435451
mail: koyareddy@yahoo.com
Dear IIChE Members ,
Let me first extend my sincere gratitude to all chemical engineers of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (IIChE), Kochi Regional Centre for electing me as Honorary Secretary.
As you all know, Kochi Regional Centre has been very active in disseminating the Chemical Engineering knowledge in the society. There is no sphere of life in which Chemical Engineering is not applied. The climate around us is changing because of the anthropogenic activities. The recent floods in Keala are an example of this. Chemical Engineers can, not only contribute in supplying the hydrocarbons, chemicals and other consumer durables to society but also can strongly defend the environment by their interventions in solid waste management, pollution control, climate change and can solve other problems being faced by the humanity
The difference between Chemical Engineers and other engineering fraternity is the ability to design the chemical reactors. The world would have been very simple, had the yield and the conversion of chemical reactors is 100%. The conversion of synthesis reactions is only 18-20%, Urea synthesis conversion is 60-70% and other major chemical reactions like Cyclohexane to Anone is only 4%. As the conversion rates are less, engineers have to put in efforts to design complex separation process and recycle the un reacted reactants back to the reactors using static and rotating equipment which increase the capital cost of plants and consume energy, thus increasing the final product cost..
However, the recent developments in design, research and Material of Construction have made the chemical engineers and other engineering fraternity to design and run Economies of Scale plants bringing down the cost of products.
Chemical Engineers can work in the area of plant operations, design of equipment and research. Updating of knowledge should be a constant endeavor to serve the society better.
In this regard I request all chemical Engineers those who have not yet become members of IIChE to join the professional body and strengthen its activities. The membership in Professional bodies is having immense value especially in the career path when engineers move from India to abroad in this globalised world.
I request all young chemical engineers to put efforts in publishing the technical articles in national and international journals to disseminate the knowledge they had acquired at work spot.
Also the young engineers have to work in the field of Energy conservation as India is mostly dependent on import of fossil fuels. Also chemical engineers have to work in the area of process simulations and other important areas to bring down the energy, Capital cost and operating cost reduction to bring down the total cost of products.
Every Chemical Engineer has to put efforts in Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) to make the work spot a better place to work at. The recent blast at Bhilai steel plant , which lead to loss of lives, and other unsafe accidents can be avoided by suitable application of Safety measures.
IIChE will be conducting lectures not only in technical arena but also in Management, Soft skills, balancing of work and personal life etc to make the engineers a better person. We request your participation in all these endeavors as Organizers and as participants to make them a grand success.
I hope the activities of IIChE will bring many chemical engineers and other engineering fraternity under one umbrella to usher in a new chapter in Kerala in general and Kochi Region in particular.
Koya Venkata Reddy
Deputy General Manager (Process)
FACT Engineering and Design Organisation (FEDO)
