A professional who controls heated reaction kettles to process liquid and solid materials into specified chemical products. Respnsibilities include:

• Turns valves or starts automatic metering pumps that admit specified quantity of liquid materials into kettle.
• Weighs and dumps or scoops prescribed solid, granular, or powdered ingredients into kettle, according to production sheet.
• Starts agitator to mix materials for specified time or stirs mixture with paddle.
• Observes gauges and recording instruments, and adjusts valves and controls to maintain temperature, vacuum pressure, and speed of reaction in kettle within prescribed limits.
• Draws sample of product for laboratory analysis.
• May test product for specified characteristics, such as acidity and composition, using standard litmus paper test and pH meter.
• May observe reaction through porthole in equipment and adjust controls to regulate speed or degree of reaction, according to knowledge of process.
• May tend auxiliary equipment, such as quench tanks and filter presses, to process resulting product or ingredients used to sustain reaction.
• May be designated by degree of pressure maintained in kettle as high-pressure-kettle operator; low-pressure-kettle operator.