PEC EPE Chemical study guide
PEC EPE Chemical · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The PEC Engineering Practice Examination (EPE) in Chemical Engineering is a multiple-choice, practice-oriented assessment delivered within the Pakistan Engineering Council's engineering registration framework. It is built to test whether a chemical engineering graduate can apply first-principles knowledge to the decisions an engineer actually makes around a plant: closing a balance, sizing a line or an exchanger, selecting a separation sequence, diagnosing a reactor or control problem, and recognising when a design change introduces unacceptable risk. The PEC EPE Chemical study guide has 8 sections and about 2,594 words.
01Chemical Engineering Fundamentals: Material and Energy Balances and Thermodynamics
Steady and unsteady material balances, reactive balances with recycle and purge, and the thermodynamic property framework - equations of state, fugacity, activity coefficients, vapour–liquid equilibrium and energy balances around reactors and separators. Choose a basis (100 mol/s, 1 h) and a system boundary before writing anything; count unknowns against independent equations.
334 words, about 2 min02Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer
Pipe and duct hydraulics, pump and compressor selection, NPSH, packed and fluidised beds, flow metering, and heat-exchanger thermal design - LMTD, effectiveness–NTU, fouling, boiling and condensation. Reynolds number uses the inside diameter and bulk velocity; use Colebrook or Swamee–Jain for friction factor; minor losses are ΣKv²/2g and equivalent length.
345 words, about 2 min03Mass Transfer and Separation Processes
Stage-wise and rate-based separations: distillation (McCabe–Thiele, Fenske, Gilliland), absorption and stripping (Kremser), extraction, drying, adsorption and membranes, plus mass-transfer coefficients and HTU/NTU. An equilibrium stage leaves its streams in equilibrium; the operating line comes from a mass balance; the feed line (q-line) reflects the thermal condition of the feed.
313 words, about 2 min04Reaction Engineering and Process Kinetics
Rate laws, batch/CSTR/PFR design equations, Arrhenius temperature dependence, selectivity and yield in multiple reactions, non-isothermal reactor behaviour and stability, and catalysis with diffusion limitations. Design equations: batch t = N A0∫dX/(−r A V); CSTR V = F A0 X/(−r A); PFR V = F A0∫dX/(−r A).
320 words, about 2 min05Process Design, Simulation and Economics
Flowsheet synthesis and pinch analysis, equipment sizing, capital and operating cost estimation, profitability measures (NPV, IRR, payback) and simulation practice - convergence, tear streams and property-package selection. Six-tenths rule: C₂ = C₁(S₂/S₁)^n with n ≈ 0.6; escalate with a cost index, C now = C then(I now/I then).
318 words, about 2 min06Process Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management
Hazard identification (HAZID, HAZOP), risk ranking (LOPA, SIL), relief and flare systems, flammability and toxicity, dispersion, environmental control and regulatory compliance. HAZOP applies guide words - no, more, less, reverse, as well as, part of, other than - to nodes defined by design intent.
302 words, about 2 min07Instrumentation, Process Control and Automation
Measurement of pressure, temperature, flow, level and composition; P&ID symbology; control valve sizing and fail action; PID tuning and loop stability; cascade, feedforward and DCS/PLC/SIS architecture. Proportional band and gain are reciprocal: PB% = 100/K c; proportional output change is K c × error.
335 words, about 2 min08Materials, Corrosion and Equipment Design
Material selection, corrosion mechanisms and allowances, pressure-vessel and piping design codes (ASME VIII, B31.3), brittle fracture, welding and inspection. Thin-wall shell thickness: t = PR/(SE − 0.6P) + CA, with R the inside radius and E the joint efficiency.
327 words, about 2 min