GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus 2024 includes General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Chemical Engineering topics. Going through the complete details on the GATE 2024 Chemical Engineering syllabus will help the candidates understand the exam level and the type of questions that will be asked in the GATE exam.

GATE Chemical Engineering Syllabus 2024

Check out the section-wise GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus 2024. Topics for General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Chemical Engineering have been discussed.

Section 1 - Process Calculations and Thermodynamics 

Steady and unsteady state mass and energy balances include multiphase, multicomponent, reacting, and non-reacting systems. Use of tie components; recycle, bypass and purge calculations; Gibb’s phase rule and degree of freedom analysis. 

First and Second laws of thermodynamics. Applications of first law to close and open systems. Second law and Entropy. Thermodynamic properties of pure substances: Equation of State and residual properties;
properties of mixtures: partial molar properties, fugacity, excess properties and activity coefficients; phase equilibria: predicting VLE of systems; chemical reaction equilibrium.

Section 2 - Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations

Fluid statics, surface tension, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, transport properties, shell-balances including a differential form of Bernoulli equation and energy balance, equation of continuity, equation of motion, equation of mechanical energy
Macroscopic friction factors, dimensional analysis and similitude, flow through pipeline systems, velocity profiles, flow meters, pumps and compressors, elementary boundary layer theory, flow past immersed bodies including packed and fluidized beds
Turbulent flow: fluctuating velocity, universal velocity profile and pressure drop.

Particle size and shape, particle size distribution, size reduction and classification of solid particles; free and hindered settling; centrifuge and cyclones; thickening and classification, filtration, agitation and mixing; conveying of solids.

Section 3 - Heat Transfer

Equation of energy, steady and unsteady heat conduction, convection and radiation, thermal boundary layer and heat transfer coefficients, boiling, condensation and evaporation; types of heat exchangers and evaporators and their process calculations;
design of double pipe, shell and tube heat exchangers, and single and multiple effect evaporators.

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Section 4 - Mass Transfer

Fick’s laws, molecular diffusion in fluids, mass transfer coefficients, film, penetration and surface renewal theories; momentum, heat and mass transfer analogies; stage-wise and continuous contacting and stage efficiencies;
HTU & NTU concepts; design and operation of equipment for distillation, absorption, leaching, liquid-liquid extraction, drying, humidification, dehumidification and adsorption, membrane separations(microfiltration, ultra-filtration, nano-filtration and reverse osmosis).

Section 5 - Chemical Reaction Engineering

Theories of reaction rates; kinetics of homogeneous reactions, interpretation of kinetic data, single and multiple reactions in ideal reactors, kinetics of enzyme reactions (Michaelis-Menten and Monod models), non-ideal reactors;
residence time distribution, single parameter model; non-isothermal reactors; kinetics of heterogeneous catalytic reactions; diffusion effects in catalysis; rate and performance equations for catalyst deactivation.

Section 6 - Instrumentation and Process Control

Measurement of process variables; sensors and transducers; P&ID equipment symbols; process modelling and linearization, transfer functions and dynamic responses of various systems, systems with inverse response, process reaction curve
controller modes (P, PI, and PID); control valves; transducer dynamics; analysis of closed loop systems including stability, frequency response, controller tuning, cascade and feed-forward control.

Section 7 - Plant Design and Economics

Principles of process economics and cost estimation, including depreciation and total annualized cost, cost indices, rate of return, payback period, discounted cash flow, optimization in process design
and sizing of chemical engineering equipments such as heat exchangers and multistage contactors.

Section 8 - Chemical Technology

Inorganic chemical industries (sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, chlor-alkali industry), fertilizers (Ammonia, Urea, SSP and TSP); natural products industries (Pulp and Paper, Sugar, Oil, and Fats); petroleum refining and petrochemicals; polymerization industries (polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and polyester synthetic fibers).

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GATE Chemical Engineering 2024 Syllabus - Engineering Mathematics Topics

As mentioned earlier, the GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus involves topics from Engineering Mathematics as well. Check out the list of these GATE 2024 topics below.

• Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues, and Eigenvectors.
• Differential equations: First-order equations (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Laplace transforms,
  Solutions of one-dimensional heat and wave equations, and Laplace equation.
• Calculus: Functions of a single variable, Limit, continuity and differentiability, Taylor series, Mean value theorem, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial derivatives, Total derivative,
  Maxima and minima, Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.
• Complex variables: Complex number, polar form of complex numbers, triangle Inequality.
• Numerical Methods: Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations. Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for the numerical solution of differential equations.
• Probability and Statistics: Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, and Linear regression analysis.

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GATE Exam Pattern 2024 for Chemical Engineering

Candidates can refer to the test pattern of GATE Chemical Engineering in this section. They must prepare for the exam according to the exact GATE Exam Pattern 2024 structure and syllabus to score well on the test.

Pattern of Questions

The Chemical Engineering paper of GATE 2024 will consist of 2 kinds of questions:

• Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) worth 1 and 2 marks, each question with four answer options.
• Numerical Ability Type (NAT) problems for which candidates need to enter answers through the virtual keyboard on the monitor.

Marking Scheme

Following is the marking scheme for the Chemical Engineering paper of GATE 2024.

• The General Aptitude section will comprise a total of 15 marks. The test-takers will find a total of 5 questions worth 1 mark each and 5 questions worth 2 marks each.
• In the Chemical Engineering portion, there will be 25 questions carrying 1 mark for each correct response. And there will be 30 more questions that will carry 2 marks each.

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Best Books for GATE 2024 Chemical Engineering Syllabus

Candidates must choose the relevant study material to prepare for the GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus. The table below lists some of the best GATE books that candidates can refer to.

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