HKIE Professional Assessment - Chemical Discipline study guide
HKIE Professional Assessment - Chemical Discipline · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HKIE Professional Assessment in the Chemical Discipline is the route by which a graduate chemical engineer in Hong Kong demonstrates the competence expected of a professional member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. It is intended for engineers who have completed an accredited degree and a period of structured professional training, and who now seek the professional title and the responsibilities that accompany it. The HKIE Professional Assessment - Chemical Discipline study guide has 11 sections and about 5,454 words.
01Chemical Engineering Fundamentals and Applied Thermodynamics
The assessment tests whether you can close mass and energy balances, choose a thermodynamic model, and calculate phase equilibrium without hiding behind software defaults. Expect bubble and dew points, flash calculations, activity-coefficient behaviour, compressibility, refrigeration duties, and steam-cycle energy balances.
453 words, about 2 min02Reaction Engineering and Catalysis
Reaction engineering questions test whether you can translate a rate law into a reactor volume, separate intrinsic kinetics from transport limitations, and justify catalyst selection and deactivation strategy. Expect CSTR and PFR sizing, conversion-selectivity trade-offs, Arrhenius and energy balances, and Thiele-modulus reasoning.
464 words, about 2 min03Transport Phenomena
Transport phenomena questions test the analogy between momentum, heat, and mass transfer, and whether you can select the right correlation and boundary condition. Expect pipe pressure drop, pump power, heat-exchanger duty, drying or absorption mass-transfer coefficients, and dimensionless-group reasoning.
489 words, about 2 min04Separation Processes and Unit Operations
This domain tests selection and sizing of separation operations: distillation, absorption and stripping, extraction, drying, crystallisation, membranes, and adsorption. You must distinguish equilibrium-limited from rate-limited separations and defend the choice on energy, selectivity, and operability.
403 words, about 2 min05Process Design, Simulation and Scale-Up
The assessment tests whether you can turn a process concept into a defensible design basis: mass and energy balances, PFD and P&ID hierarchy, thermodynamic model selection, convergence strategy, and scale-up logic. It is not a software test; it is a judgement test.
418 words, about 2 min06Process Safety, HAZOP, Risk Assessment and Loss Prevention
This is a high-yield domain. It tests structured hazard identification, consequence and frequency thinking, and safeguard independence.
431 words, about 2 min07Health, Safety and Environmental Protection
This domain tests the hierarchy of control, exposure assessment, effluent and emission control, and environmental impact thinking. It asks whether you can protect people and the environment by design, not by slogans.
397 words, about 2 min08Regulatory Compliance
This domain tests whether you know the statutory framework a chemical engineer works within in Hong Kong and how permits, notifications, and duties attach to a project. It is not a memory test of section numbers; it is a test of which instrument applies and what it requires.
439 words, about 2 min09Process Control, Instrumentation and Digitalisation
Control questions test loop thinking: what is measured, what is manipulated, what disturbs, and what happens on failure. Instrumentation and digitalisation extend this to sensor selection, alarm management, safety instrumented systems, and data integrity.
390 words, about 2 min10Materials, Corrosion, Mechanical Integrity and Asset Management
This domain tests material selection, corrosion mechanisms, inspection strategy, and fitness-for-service. The exam wants evidence that you can predict the failure mode and set an inspection interval, not just name a stainless steel.
380 words, about 2 min11Energy, Sustainability, Decarbonisation and Circular Economy
This domain tests energy accounting, heat integration, and decarbonisation reasoning. Expect pinch analysis, energy efficiency, CO2 scopes, emissions factors, and circular-economy choices.
1,190 words, about 6 min