Chemical and process engineering

We find that this upfront, high-level planning and exploration saves time later in the project, improves everyone’s understanding of possible implications, and significantly reduces investment risk. Our clients include national and local governments, renewable energy developers, and multinational consortia.

Process engineering is valuable from the initial phase of the project life cycle, through design development, commissioning, and operation. We conceptualise ideas, gather relevant data, evaluate commercial implications, and establish levels of project risk whilst building investor confidence. Our expertise covers applications such as electrolysis, transport and storage, carbon capture, ammonia bunkering, anaerobic digestion, Haber-Bosch process, combustion, gasification and pyrolysis, biogas upgrading and advanced thermal treatment.

Our service offering includes process modelling (HYSYS), process design, process documentation, process flow sheets, energy and mass balance, equipment design and specifications, hazard and risk assessment, major hazard facilities, and safety cases. We also offer our expertise and facilitation in design reviews while considering hazard and risk assessment through hazard and operability analysis (HAZOPs).

We deploy sophisticated tools to measure, monitor, quantify, report, and improve process performance across multiple sectors. We critically evaluate the efficiency gaps, design and process elements to propose an end-to- end solution that aims to strategically align with the business goals and thus achieve sustainability as a whole.

Learn more about our work exploring green hydrogen production.

Our specialist teams have both skills and expertise to systematically evaluate these opportunities case by case and propose an end-to-end solution to streamline processes that offers business a great value proposition to pursue their decarbonisation targets.

The proposed targeted solutions aim to address both current and future issues pertaining to measuring, monitoring, analysing, and improving processes. Through our process engineering capabilities, we also help businesses to incorporate sustainable operations and realise their future goals.

We deploy robust tools such as MACC (Marginal Abatement Cost Curves) to determine a range of carbon emission reduction opportunities that enable businesses to strategize and formulate their both short and long-term emission reduction pathway.

We worked with Unitywater in Queensland, Australia, to support the development of a sustainability strategy and a decarbonisation plan. We helped them to establish a carbon baseline; model different abatement scenarios; quantify emissions reductions and associated costs. Our process teams focused on optimizing both water and waste treatment processes.

We also define and implement measures and solutions that enable manufacturers, service providers and consumers to strategically minimize waste and on some occasions divert the same for energy production in the form of process heat or electricity. Wherever possible we help clients to embrace circular economy principles within their operations. Our clients span waste management, food organics and green organics (FOGO), landfills, wastewater and bio-digestion, agriculture and forestry, and municipal governments.

At a process level we have expertise in anaerobic digestion, biofilters, gasification, pyrolysis, combustion, process heating, separation processes, pipeline design, pollution control, dewatering, treatment of biosolids and bio-residues, and biogas upgradation. 

Our end-to-end capability informs our approach to process optimisation and functional safety. We audit existing system, de-bottleneck and identify recommendations for retrofits or improvements through extensive process documentations encompassing process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams, control philosophy, energy, and mass balance. We also offer our expertise and understanding in equipment design and technical specifications and design reviews while considering hazard and risk assessment through hazard and operability analysis (HAZOPs).

We commonly use HYSYS to perform many of the core calculations of chemical engineering, including those concerned with mass balance, energy balance, vapor-liquid equilibrium, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical kinetics, fractionation, and pressure drop. HYSYS is a recognised too used extensively in industry and academia for steady-state and dynamic simulation, process design, performance modelling, and optimisation. 

Learn more about our work in the waste sector.

We use powerful modelling software and advanced simulation techniques to optimise treatment processes, enhance efficiency, and reduce operational costs. 

Arup has worked on improvements to clean  wastewater treatment systems, finding new ways to work with by-products of this vital resource process. In the nuclear sector, we have worked with Sellafield Ltd to provide advice on safety aspects of their generation and waste facilities. In aerospace, we’ve helped Rolls-Royce to design a new bulk chemical storage and transfer facility. And we’ve worked for international brewing companies like Guinness, Coors and Heineken to develop sustainable solutions to optimise production and recover valuable resources.

Arup's integrated approach, encompassing technical excellence, environmental stewardship, and client collaboration, sets them apart as a leader in delivering cutting-edge process engineering solutions for water and wastewater management projects worldwide.

Learn more about our work for the water sector.

3D computer aided design can be combined with 3D laser scanning to explore spatial options when considering plant layout details and pipework configurations. Computational fluid dynamics is used to model hazardous chemical releases and likely consequences. Our simulation approach combines mathematical data modelling and deep engineering knowledge to draw conclusions about the current and future state of an operational asset. 

Learn more about our use of computational fluid dynamics.