GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering
GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering - Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay has released the GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus in online mode. The GATE syllabus for Chemical Engineering mentions the topics which are covered in the GATE exam. Candidates who are preparing for the exam are advised to follow only official GATE 2021 syllabus for Chemical Engineering. By referring to the GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus, students will be able to know the topics which have to be studied for their preparation. The question papers in the exam will be formulated strictly in accordance with the GATE 2021 Chemical Engineering syllabus. Preparing for the exam as per GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus is highly advisable to score good marks. The GATE 2021 Chemical Engineering paper will have questions from General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics and the subject of Chemical Engineering. The GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus will be available below for download in the form of pdf. Candidates are also provided with the marking scheme and exam pattern along with the syllabus of GATE syllabus for Chemical Engineering.
Latest GATE Update: GATE admit card 2021 released
Also Check:- GATE mock test has been released. Check GATE 2021 revised eligibility criteria; GATE 2021 will be conducted on February 6, 7, 13 and 14

Topics in GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering
GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering - Topics from Chemical Engineering
Section 1 - Process Calculations and Thermodynamics :
Steady and unsteady state mass and energy balances including 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 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.
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 5 - Instrumentation and Process Control
Measurement of process variables; sensors and transducers; P&ID equipment symbols; process modeling 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 8 - 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 9 - 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).
GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering - Topics from Engineering Mathematics
Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors.
Calculus: Functions of 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.
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.
Complex variables: Complex number, polar form of complex numbers, triangle Inequality.
Probability and Statistics: Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, Linear regression analysis.
Numerical Methods: Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations. Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for numerical solution of differential equations.
To download the complete file of previous year's GATE Chemical Engineering syllabus - Click Here
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern for Chemical Engineering
Candidates can find below the exam pattern of GATE 2021 Chemical Engineering. Candidates are advised to prepare for the exam as per the exact exam pattern and syllabus to score good marks in the GATE 2021.
Pattern of Questions
The GATE 2021 Chemical engineering paper will contain two types of questions
● Multiple Choice Questions carrying 1 and 2 marks, each having choice of four answers
● Numerical Ability Type (NAT) questions for which the answers have to be entered by using the virtual keyboard in the monitor.
Marking Scheme
Students can find below the marking scheme
● The General Aptitude part will carry a total of 15 marks. There will be a total of 5 questions carrying 1 mark each and 5 questions carrying 2 marks each.
● The Chemical Engineering part will contain 25 questions carrying 1 mark each and 30 questions carrying 2 marks each.
Reference Books for GATE 2021 Syllabus for Chemical Engineering
S.No | Reference Books | Authors |
1 | Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering | David M. Himmelblau |
2 | Thermodynamics | A Textbook of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics - K. V. Narayanan. An Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics-J. M. Smith, H. C. Van Ness, M. M. Abbott |
3 | Fluid Mechanics | Introduction To Fluid Mechanics by Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala Introduction to Fluid Mechanics- Fox and Mcdonald |
4 | Chemical Engineering for GATE | Ram Prasad |
5 | Engineering Mathematics | B.S. Grewal |
6 | Transport Phenomena | R. Byron Bird, Warren E. Stewart, Edwin N. Lightfoot |
7 | Chemical Technology | Dryden’s Outlines of Chemical Technology by Gopala Rao M. and Marshall S |
8 | Mass Transfer | Mass Transport Phenomena- Christie J. Geankoplis Mass Transfer Operations-Robert E. Treybal |
9 | Heat Transfer | Heat Transfer- Binay K. Dutta Heat Transfer - Jack Philip Holman |
10 | Mechanical Operation | Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering -Warren McCabe, Julian Smith, Peter Harriott Mechanical Operation For Chemical Engineering by Narayanan C. M. & Bhattacharyya B. C |
11 | Chemical Reaction Engineering | Chemical Reaction Engineering- Fogler & Gurmen Chemical Reaction Engineering- Octave Levenspiel |
12 | Process Dynamics and Control | Process Systems Analysis and Control - Donald R. Coughanowr & Steven E. LeBlanc |
13 | Chemical Process Control | An Introduction To Theory And Practice- Stephanopoulos. Process dynamics and control - Seborg, D.E., Edgar, T.F. and Mellichamp, D.A Plant design and Economics- Peters M. S. and Timmerhaus K. D |
GATE Cutoff for Chemical Engineering
Students can find below the previous year cutoff of GATE Chemical Engineering paper which will help candidates to prepare accordingly.
Year | General | OBC (NCL) | SC/ ST/ PwD |
2019 | 34.8 | 31.3 | 23.2 |
2018 | 37.8 | 34 | 25.1 |
2017 | 44.30 | 39.80 | 29.50 |
2016 | 29.7 | 31.1 | 22 |
Latest Articles
GATE 2021 Cutoff for CSE
GATE 2021 Cutoff for CSE - Candidates seeking admissions to M....
GATE Cutoff for Civil Engineering (CE) 2021
GATE Cutoff for Civil Engineering (CE) 2021 - IIT, Delhi will ...
IIT Gandhinagar GATE Cutoff 2021
IIT Gandhinagar GATE Cutoff - Indian Institute of Technology, ...
PTU M.Tech Admission 2021
I.K.G PTU will conduct PTU M.Tech 2021 the admission process i...
Questions related to GATE
Can any GATE aspirant tell me that questions related to Curve Tracing and Area comes in GATE paper ?
Hello dear student
Please visit the link link below you can find out more information about exam Gate examination pattern.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-exam-pattern
If still have any queries than please post your queries our experts definitely help you.
Hope that's helpful
Best of luck
I have completed my graduation in 2016 in computer science.now Im working in company and Im writing my gate exam to pursue mtech in artificial intelligence so which college will be good ? what is the process to apply?
Hello,
Best colleges to apply Mtech are:
- IIT Hyderabad( GATE )
- Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (Entrance Based)
- IIT Ropar (GATE)
- Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi (IPU-CET)
- Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune
- Chennai Institute of Technology
- Woxsen University
- IIIT Lucknow - Indian Institute of Information Technology
- Gautam Buddha University
In order to be eligible for MTech AI, you are required to hold a BE/ BTech degree in Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence from a recognized university.
You must also score a minimum 50% marks or equivalent GPA to be eligible for admission.
- Some colleges or universities select students depending on their marks in the Bachelor’s degree examination.
- However, some colleges also conduct their own entrance exams.
Hope this helps!!!
how many marks should I get to be placed in one of the best nits
Hi.
Since you have not mentioned the name of any NIT or your category or the field *-u are interested. So, I will be telling cutoff range [GATE] for NIT Trichy, OPEN, and few known fields
FOR CSE: 807-643
FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: 712-466
FOR COMMUNICATION SYSTEM: 766-681
Good Luck
I filled Gate application with caste category , say C1, but can I apply for admission cap rounds with another caste C2?
hi,
see gate score would be given as per category wise and you can not change the category once exam would take place and results declare. qualifying score would be different for different category and candidates have to participate in the counselling process on that category only.
hope you may understand.
mam can i get rank 1 in gate in 1 month preparation
It is really hard to crack gate with a month's preparation specially if you are going to start your preparation from scratch. However you shouldn't waste more time now and work really. Go through the syllabus, Practice the problems, go through previous years question papers, join some good series and put all your efforts in this month. There are many students who have been working hard for years to crack gate but don't lose hope. For more info you can visit the following link:
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/how-prepare-gate-in-1-month