Chemical Engineer Licensure Board Exam: Application Requirements, Coverage, and Schedule

Excited to start working as a Chemical Engineer in the country? Then you came to the right place!

This post will discuss what you need to know about the Examination Board on Chemical Engineering in the Philippines, including all your specifications and how to plan them.

So, if you are up for such an enormous benefit, continue and read to learn more.

What is a Chemical Engineer?

Chemical engineers use mathematics, chemistry, and other natural sciences to devise cost-effective methods of using materials and resources for the good of humanity. In a nutshell, they make chemistry function in advantageous ways.

Because of the numerous industries that rely on producing and manufacturing chemicals and products, chemical engineers are in high demand. Chemical engineers have growing opportunities in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, electronic product fabrication, and environmental engineering, in addition to conventional employment in the chemical, nuclear, and oil industries. As processes require the chemical or physical transformation of matter, the chemical engineer’s specific preparation becomes essential.

To perform these duties, the chemical engineer must have a thorough knowledge of the technical and scientific concepts underpinning these technical processes.

What are the Chemical Engineer Licensure Exams?

Except for the Philippine bar examination, the Professional Regulation Committee (PRC) is the official Philippine Committee for all licensing exams. As a result, it is responsible for examining Chemical Engineers.

The applicants must have a  Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from a reputable university or college to take the Chemical Engineering Licensure Exam.

There are obligatory requirements to qualify candidates and soon-to-be professionals who have passed a licensing examination to safeguard the workforce’s integrity.

Qualification for the Chemical Engineering Licensure Board Exam

Any applicant for admission to the Chemical Engineering Board Exam must have the following requirements:

• A Filipino citizen
• Having a good moral character
• A Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering or its equivalent from a government-approved institution, institute, college, or university; and
• Hasn’t been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude

Requirements for the Chemical Engineer Board Examinations

All the following conditions should be fulfilled before qualifying for the Chemical Engineering Licensing Board Exam:

• Passport-sized image of the applicant with a white background and collared attire;
• A valid NBI Clearance;
• Transcript of Records accompanied by a scanned image and the remarks “For Board Review Purposes”;
• A copy of the applicant’s Birth Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);
• A copy of the Marriage Contract from the NSO or the PSA (applicable to married female applicants only);
• Documentary stamps;
• An examination payment of Php 900.00;

Chemical Engineer Licensure Examination Registration Procedure

The online portal of PRC LERIS provides an essential virtual register office for each license examination, which makes scheduling an appointment very straightforward for any applicant. Before sending any documents to any regional or PRC satellite office, the PRC urges all candidates to verify an online application.

If you cannot register because you are confused about the procedure, our step-by-step approach allows you to organize your registration, or if you are already familiar with the procedure, go to the PRC LERIS website for registration.

Chemical Engineer Board Exam Coverage

The Chemical Engineering Board Exam coverage must assess the applicant’s total understanding of this profession, with a general average of no less than 70% and a rating of no less than 50% in each examination topic.

The following topics are covered:

Physical and Chemical Principles – 30%

1. General Inorganic Chemistry
   1. Matter and energy
   2. Theory of atoms and molecules
   3. Chemical periodicity
   4. Calculation principles in chemical changes
   5. Chemical bonding, solutions
   6. Chemical equilibrium
   7. Chemical kinetics
   8. Nuclear chemistry
2. Organic Chemistry
   1. Structural characteristics and reaction mechanism of different organic compounds:
      1. Aliphatic
      2. Aromatics
      3. Arenas
      4. Alcohols
      5. Aldehydes
      6. Ketones
      7. carboxylic acids
      8. Carbohydrates
      9. amino acids
      10. and proteins
3. Analytical Chemistry
   1. Theory and practice of gravimetric and volumetric analysis methods and their application in analysing acids, bases, salts, and minerals.
4. Physical Chemistry
   1. Properties of gases, liquids, solids, and solutions
   2. Introduction to first and second laws of thermodynamics
   3. Thermochemistry
   4. Homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria
   5. Transference and conductance of ionized solutions
   6. Electrochemistry.
5. Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
   1. First and second laws of thermodynamics
   2. P-V-T relationships of fluids
   3. Heat effects
   4. Thermodynamics of flow processes
   5. Power and refrigeration cycles
   6. Phase equilibria
   7. Chemical reaction equilibrium

Chemical Engineering Principles – 40%

1. Chemical Engineering Calculations
   1. Elementary mass and energy balances
   2. Stoichiometry
   3. Principles of equilibrium applicable to unit operations and processes
   4. Material and energy balances apply to industrial processes, e.g., gaseous, liquid, solid fuels, sulphur, nitrogen compound, etc.
2. Reaction Kinetics
   1. Principles and applications of chemical kinetics to the building of chemical reactors
3. Unit Operations
   1. Principles of fluid mechanics
   2. Heat, mass, and momentum transfer
   3. Separation processes; stage-wise operations
4. Plant Design
   1. Application of physical and chemical principles in the design of industrial plants or parts thereof involving the development of process flow sheets, mass and energy balances, and equipment design
5. Chemical Process Industries
   1. Unit processes and operations involved in the inorganic and organic chemical industries
6. Biochemical Engineering
   1. Aspects of biological sciences, primarily microbiology and biochemistry, are applicable to process industries.
7. Environmental Engineering
   1. Types of pollutants
   2. Physical, chemical, and biological processes applicable to pollution control and abatement
8. Instrumentation and Process Control
   1. Principles and operations of a wide variety of process instruments and the proper selection thereof for practical industrial application
9. Laws, Contracts, and Ethics
   1. Legal and ethical issues related to the practice of chemical engineering, including intellectual property and environmental laws

General Engineering – 30%

1. Mathematics
   1. Algebra
   2. Trigonometry
   3. Analytic Geometry
   4. Differential Calculus
   5. Differential Equation
   6. Statistics & Probability Theory
2. Physics
   1. Mechanics
   2. Waves
   3. Sound
   4. Heat
   5. Electricity
   6. Magnetism
   7. Light
3. Engineering Mechanics
   1. Statics and Dynamics
   2. Free Body Concepts
   3. Equilibrium of Coplanar and non-coplanar systems
   4. Analysis of Frames and Trusses
   5. Friction
   6. Centroids and Moments of Inertia
   7. The motion of Particles and Rigid Bodies
   8. Mass, Force, and Acceleration
   9. Work and Energy
   10. Impulse and Momentum
4. Strength and Materials
   1. Axial Stress and Strain
   2. Stresses in Torsion and Bending
   3. Combined Stresses
   4. Bean Deflections
   5. Indeterminate Beams
   6. Elastic Instability
5. Engineering Economics
   1. Introductory financial accounting
   2. Financial Mathematics
   3. Time Value of Money
   4. Break-even Analysis Capital Investment Decision Criteria
   5. Engineering-Oriented Applications

Chemical Engineer Licensure Board Exam Reminders

1. Only the Chemical Engineering Handbook by Perry et al. any edition shall be allowed to be opened and to be used as a reference during the examination day. All excess books and printed, handwritten, or mimeographed notes, solutions, and reviewers, bound or unbound, shall not be permitted inside the room.
2. Only hand-held electronic calculators, which are not programmable, shall be allowed in the examination room. Personal computers, laptops, and higher types of calculating medium shall not be allowed.
3. Only writing materials [ballpen of only one color, whether blue, blue-black, or black, and two more pencils (No. 2)] for blackening or shading Examinee”s Identification/Answer Sheet Set, hand-carried food, and ladies handbag or clutch bag may be allowed subject to inspection by the examination proctor or guard.
4. The examinee will bring one piece of a long brown envelope and one mailing envelope with a stamp.
5. Examinees shall not be allowed to leave the examination room, except to go to the comfort room, in which case the examinees shall be accompanied by a proctor or guard. Use of the comfort room shall be limited to only one (1) examinee at a time.

PRC Chemical Engineering Board Exam 2022 Schedule

The exam is given twice a year on the dates and locations specified by the Board. It is often held between the months of May and November.

The calendar of all license examinations is available here. This guide contains details of the opening and deadline of the Chemical Engineering license examination applications.

The first batch of examinations is on May 17, 18, & 19 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). The online processing begins on February 17, 2022, until April 18, 2022.

While the second batch of licensure exams is on October 11, 12 & 13 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). The online processing starts on July 11, 2022, until September 12, 2022.

Given the pandemic scale, you can also visit the official Commission website daily for the latest news and recommendations if you have some concerns or queries about the license examination.