The High-Scoring Chemical Engineering Topics for GATE 2026 include topics like Chemical Reaction Engineering, Mass Transfer, Heat Transfer, Process Calculations, and Thermodynamics. Chemical Technology.
The High-Scoring Chemical Engineering Topics for GATE 2026 include topics like Chemical Reaction Engineering, Mass Transfer, Heat Transfer, Process Calculations, and Thermodynamics. Chemical Technology. The GATE 2026 exam acts as a big opportunity for you if you are looking to opt for chemical engineering for postgraduate admissions in top institutes like IITs, NITs, and IISc.
A good number of candidates take the GATE exam, but very few get into their desired stream. That’s why focusing on high-weightage topics and high-scoring subjects in the GATE Chemical Engineering paper is a must to get into the stream of your desire.
Top High-Scoring Chemical Engineering Topics for GATE 2026
Below are the top high-scoring topics of Chemical Engineering, which, if prepared well, will help you score good marks in GATE 2026. The table is made based on the previous year's data, which will give you an idea of the frequency of questions and the weightage per topic from GATE Syllabus 2026.
1. Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE)
Weightage - 8–12 marks
Imp Topics - CSTR, PFR reactors, rate laws, conversion, and energy balances.
2. Mass Transfer
Weightage - 8–12 marks
Imp Topics - Prioritize distillation (McCabe–Thiele, HTU/NTU), absorption, drying, and diffusion.
3. Heat Transfer
Weightage - 8–10 marks.
Imp Topics - conduction, convection, radiation, and heat exchanger design (LMTD and NTU methods).
4. Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations
Weightage - 9–11 marks.
Imp Topics - pump systems, flow regimes, size reduction, filtration, and sedimentation.
5. Process Calculations and Thermodynamics
Weightage- 5–7 marks.
Imp Topics - energy balances, mass balances, phase equilibrium, fugacity, and ideal/non-ideal gases.
6. Instrumentation and Process Control
Weightage- 6–8 marks.
Imp Topics - control systems, transfer functions, PID controllers, and response analysis.
7. Plant Design and Economics
Weightage- 4–6 marks.
Imp Topics - Cost estimation, equipment sizing, and cash flow calculations are typically asked.
8. Chemical Technology
Weightage- 4–6 marks.
Imp Topics - industrial processes (fertilizers, cement, petrochemicals).
GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering: Topic-Wise Weightage
Some important topics for GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering are added below in the table form with an Approximate Weightage percentage. This will help you to know about the priority of preparation needed for the GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering subject.
|
Section |
Approximate Weightage (%) |
|
General Aptitude (GA) |
15% |
|
Engineering Mathematics |
13% |
|
Chemical Reaction Engineering |
11% |
|
Mass Transfer |
11% |
|
Heat Transfer |
9% |
|
Fluid Mechanics & Mechanical Operations |
10% |
|
Instrumentation & Process Control |
7% |
|
Process Calculations & Thermodynamics |
6% |
|
Plant Design & Economics |
5% |
|
Chemical Technology |
5% |
How to Prepare for GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering Effectively?
To prepare effectively, you should follow the given preparation tips. These tips are created to help you ace the preparation game for the Chemical Engineering subject.
- Focus on high-weightage topics - The high-weightage topics will help you score well in the exam. Questions from high-weightage topics will be a good opportunity to grab the scores.
- Create a formula sheet- Create a shortcut formula sheet that will contain all the formulas from the course, to memorize the formulas at the last minute.
- Solve previous year question papers - Try solving the GATE previous year question papers as much as you can. This will help you with understanding the paper pattern a well as manage the speed of solving the paper.
- Daily revision of Engineering Mathematics & General Aptitude - These 2 are the high-scoring areas for the exam. Revising them daily will help you prepare the areas well, and you will score good marks.
- Practicing Mock Tests - Practicing mock tests will be a very good preparation strategy to prepare for the exam. Solving a full-length mock test will prepare you to solve the original question paper easily.
To prepare for the Chemical Engineering part, you should mainly focus on topics like Chemical Reaction Engineering, Mass Transfer, Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, and Thermodynamics & Process Calculations. Practise these topics with the general aptitude part, as they are the most scoring ones. To ace the GATE 2026 exam, you should mainly focus on preparing by solving previous year question papers, GATE Mock tests, and high-weightage topics.
