Chemical Process

Industries

Outline

Introduction
Review on Industries/Processes
Solutions to Objective Type Qs
Problem Solving

Introduction

Manufacturin
g
Process

Unit Operations Unit Processes

Common BE Questions
given reaction, identify the industrial process
provide the products for a given industrial reaction
given the equipment or raw material, identify what
industry
given the industrial product, identify the scientist
who discovered the chemical/process
for problem-solving: usually Mass Balance Problems

Chemical Process Industries

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Alkali (Chlor-Alkali)
Electrochemical
Acid (Oxidation)
Paper and Paperboard
Ceramics
Fermentation
Glass
Sugar
Nitrogen

10. Water Conditioning

11. Metallurgical
12. Industrial Gases
13. Fertilizer
14. Fats and Oils
15. Paints and Pigments
16. Cement
17. Petroleum
18. Rubber
19. Plastic

Alkali Industries
Manufacture of
o Caustic Soda (NaOH)
o Soda Ash (Na2CO3)
o Baking Soda (NaHCO3)

Involves the following processes:

o Lime Soda Process
o Solvay Process

Alkali Industries
Lime Soda Process
o Used for manufacturing caustic soda
o Lime and soda ash as raw materials
Chemical Reactions:
CaO + H2O Ca(OH)2
Ca(OH)2 + Na2CO3 CaCO3 + NaOH

Alkali Industries
Solvay Process
o Used for manufacturing soda ash
o Limestone and salt as raw materials
Chemical Reaction:
CaCO3 + NaCl CaCl2 + Na2CO3

Electrochemical Industries
Industries that heavily rely on oxidationreduction reactions
Two types:
o energy-requiring
o energy-producing

Electrochemical Industries
Energy-requiring
o Electrolytic cells
o Production of metal from salt solutions
Formation of metal at the cathode

o Production of gases

Energy-producing
o Batteries
Wet cell
Dry cell

Sulfuric Acid Production

H2SO4 produced thru contact process
Chemical Reactions:
S + O2 SO2
SO2 + O2 SO3
SO3 + H2SO4 H2S2O7
H2S2O7 + H2O 2H2SO4

Paper and Paperboard

Paper
o From the word papyrus
o Matted or felted sheet usually composed of
plant fibers

Paperboard
o Heavier and rigid paper with grammage
higher than 250 gsm

Paper and Paperboard

Steps in Paper Production
1. Fiber preparation 1% fiber
2. Forming 20% solids
Use of foudrinier or cylinder

3. Pressing 40% solids

Also called calendering

4. Drying
Remaining water evaporated in steam-heated
cylinders

Clays and Ceramics

Clays
o consist primarily of Al2O3 and SiO2
(aluminosilicates)
o typical formula is Al2O3 . 2SiO2 . 2H2O

Ceramics
o heated clay
o interlocked SiO2-Al2O3 network

Fermentation Industry
Conversion of sugar to alcohol and/or
acid with the aid of microorganisms
Examples of fermented products are:
o Wine
o Beer / Lager
o Vinegar
o Yogurt

Fermentation Industry
Beer Production
o Anaerobic conversion of sugar to alcohol
with the aid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Vinegar Production
o Conversion of sugar to acetic acid
Chemical Reactions:
1a. C6H12O6 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
1b. C6H12O6 3CH3COOH
2. C2H5OH + O2 CH3COOH + H2O

Glass Industry
Glass
o Normally a colorless, transparent solid
o Acquires color from other elements present
o Made of SiO2, Na2O and CaO
o Has low thermal stability and easily breaks
on impact
Partial replacement of Na2O and CaO with
B2O3 gives rise to borosilicate glass, which has
greater heat and mechanical resistance

Ammonia Production
Production of ammonia from atmospheric
nitrogen was developed by Fritz Haber (Nobel
Prize Winner)
Chemical Reaction:
N2 + H2 NH3

Metallurgical Industries
Mining of ores, followed by refining process
o Bauxite/Cryolite - aluminum
o Hematite/Pyrite iron
o Sphalerite zinc
o Galena - lead

Metallurgical Industries
Aluminum Production
o Whler process isolation of aluminum from
aluminum chloride using potassium
o Deville process modified Whler process;
used sodium instead of potassium
o Faraday extracted aluminum from bauxite
thru electrolysis

Metallurgical Industries
Baeyers process
o Process of refining bauxite to pure Al2O3
Al2O3 + NaOH NaAlO2 + H2O
NaAlO2 + H2O NaOH + Al(OH)3
Al(OH)3 Al2O3 + H2O

Hall-Heroult Process
o Extraction of aluminum thru electrolysis with
the use of carbon electrodes
Al2O3 + 3C 2Al + 3CO

Industrial Gases
Industrial gases are usually stored as liquid
(pressurized)
Thru a process called liquefaction
Carried out in three ways:
Heat exchange at constant pressure
Expansion process
Throttling

Fertilizers
Earliest fertilizers were natural organic
materials such as manure and waste materials
Primary nutrients needed for plant growth are:
CHONPK
o CHO are readily available in the atmosphere
o NPK come exclusively from the soil

Fertilizers
Ammonium nitrate
o An excellent nitrogen fertilizer
o Synthesized shortly after Fritz Haber discovered
ammonia production from atmospheric nitrogen
Chemical Reactions:
N2 + 3H2 2NH3
NH3 + 2O2 HNO3 + H2O
HNO3 + NH3 NH4NO3

Fertilizers
Superphosphate fertilizer
Treatment of phosphate rocks with sulfuric acid

N-P-K blends
Combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
(listed in order)

Fats and Oils

Soaps and Detergents
o Soap: a natural surfactant made from salt of fatty
acid; a good cleaning agent in soft water, but not in
hard water
o Detergent: a synthetic surfactant patterned after
soaps structure; first commercially developed
detergent is a fatty alcohol sulfate

Paints and Pigments

Paints are dispersions of
1. Binder - polymer
2. Solvent water or organic liquid
3. Pigment compound that either
Gives color (prime)
Makes the paint last longer (inert)

Two kinds:
o Oil-based paints
o Latex paints aqueous polymer dispersion

Paints and Pigments

Typical prime pigments
o Titanium dioxide (TiO2)
o Iron oxides (Fe2O3 / Fe3O4)
o Phthalocyanines

Typical inert pigments

o Talc
o Clay
o Calcium carbonate

Petroleum Industry
Petroleum and petrochemical products
are produced from the distillation of crude
oil
Petroleum fractions include
Fuel gas (C1-C4)
Gasoline (C5-C12)
Kerosene (C10-C16)
Diesel (C12-C20)
Fuel Oil (C15-C20)
Lubricating Oil (C16-C24)
Asphalt (C20+)

Petroleum Industry
Catalytic cracking
Splitting of large molecule to smaller molecules

Catalytic reforming
Conversion of one hydrocarbon to another
hydrocarbon, typically from lower octane HC to
higher octane HC

Petroleum Industry
Octane Rating
o Based on the combustion of n-heptane (Octane 0)
and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (Octane 100)
o Gasolines burning characteristic is measured
against mixture of n-heptane and isooctane

Rubber Industry
Natural Rubber (rubber latex)
o Sourced from the sap of the tree
Hevea brasiliensis
o Made up of units of isoprenes
o White, sticky material
o Very difficult to use

Vulcanization
o Accidentally discovered by Charles
Goodyear by mixing rubber with sulfur, creating
a cross-linked structure that is stronger, more
elastic, less sticky

Plastic Industry
Properties of Plastics
Thermal behavior
Thermoplastic
Thermosetting

Structure
Linear
Branched
Cross-linked

Preparation Method
Addition Polymerization
Condensation Polymerization

The Big Six of Plastics

PET
HDPE
PVC
LDPE
PP
PS

Objective Type Qs

Answers
Photo courtesy of cdms.com

Problem Solving
1) Catalysts used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid by
chamber and contact processes are respectively
a. V2O5 and Cr2O3
b. Oxides of nitrogen and Cr2O3
c. V2O5 on a porous carrier and oxides of nitrogen
d. oxides of nitrogen and V2O5 on a porous carrier

Problem Solving
2) In contact process, SO3 is absorbed in 97% H2SO3
and not in water because
a. SO3 gas is sparingly soluble in water
b. water forms an acid mist which is difficult to absorb
c. the purity of acid is affected
d. scale formation in absorber is to be avoided

Problem Solving
3) Contact process
a. yields acid of higher concentration than chamber
process
b. yields acid of lower concentration than chamber
process
c. is obsolete
d. eliminates absorber

Problem Solving
4) 20% oleum means that in 100 lb., there are 20 lb of
a. SO3 and 80 lb H2SO4
b. H2SO4 and 80 lb SO3
c. SO3 for each 100 lb of H2SO4
d. H2SO4 and 80 lb SO3

Problem Solving
5) Producer gas consists mainly of
a. CO, CO2, N2, H2
b. CO, H2
c. H2, CH4
d. C2H2, CO2, H2

Problem Solving
6) Oxygen is produced by fraction of air using
a. Lindes process
b. Claudes process
c. both Lindes and Claudes process
d. Bayers process

Problem Solving
7) Raw materials for Solvay process for manufacture
of the soda ash are
a. salt, limestone, ammonia, and coke oven gas
b. ammonia, salt, and limestone
c. ammonia, limestone, and coke
d. ammonia, and coke oven gas

Problem Solving
8) Economics of Solvay process depends upon the
efficiency of
a. carbonating tower
b. ammonia recovery
c. ammonia recovery and size of plant
d. ammoniation of the salt solution

Problem Solving
9) Cement mainly contains
a. CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3
b. MgO, SiO2, K2O
c. Al2O3, MgO, Fe2O3
d. CaO, MgO, K2O

Problem Solving
10) Gypsum is
a. calcium chloride
b. potassium sulfate
c. sodium sulfate
d. calcium sulfate

Problem Solving
11) Glaubers salt is
a. calcium sulfate
b. potassium sulfate
c. potassium chlorate
d. sodium sulfate decahydrate

Problem Solving
12) Permanent hardness of water is due to the presence
of calcium and magnesium
a. bi-carbonates
b. sulfates and chlorides
c. carbonate
d. chlorides

Problem Solving
13) Widely used method for conditioning of boiler feed
water is
a. cold lime process
b. coagulation
c. hot-lime soda process
d. sequestration

Problem Solving
14) Hydrazine is largely used
a. as a starting material for hypo
b. in photographic industry
c. as rocket fuel
d. in printing industry

Problem Solving
15) Trinitro-toluene is
a. used in glycerin manufacture
b. an explosive
c. used in dye manufacture
d. used in paint manufacture

Problem Solving
16) Oil is
a. a mixture of glycerides
b. a mixture of glycerides of fatty acids
c. solid at room temperature
d. esters of alcohols other than glycerin

Problem Solving
17) Wax is
a. a mixture of glycerides
b. a mixture of esters of polyhydric alcohols except
glycerin
c. liquid at room temperature
d. a mixture of glycerides of fatty acids

Problem Solving
18) Unsaturated oils compared to saturated oils have
a. lower melting point and higher reactivity to oxygen
b. higher melting point and higher reactivity to oxygen
c. lower melting point and lower reactivity to oxygen
d. higher melting point and lower reactivity to oxygen

Problem Solving
19) Rancidity of oil can be reduced by
a. decoloration
b. hydrogenation
c. oxidation
d. purification

Problem Solving
20) Solvent used for the extraction of oil is
a. hexane
b. methyl ethyl ketone
c. furfural
d. benzene

Problem Solving
21) Catalyst used in hydrogenation of oil is
a. nickel
b. platinum
c. iron
d. alumina

Problem Solving
22) Metallic soap is
a. sodium salt of fatty acids
b. potassium salt of fatty acids
c. both sodium and potassium of salt of fatty acids
d. aluminum or calcium salt of fatty acids

Problem Solving
23) Fat splitting catalyst is
a. CaCO3
b. ZnO
c. Alumina
d. Iron

Problem Solving
24) Free alkali in toilet soap is
a. less than that in a laundry soap
b. more than that in a laundry soap
c. same as that in a laundry soap
d. not present in laundry soap

Problem Solving
25) Soap cannot be used with hard water because
a. hard water contains sulfate
b. they form insoluble calcium soaps which precipitate
c. they attach back the removed dirt
d. they increase the surface tension

Problem Solving
26) Builders are added in soap to
a. boost cleaning power
b. act as anti-redeposition agent
c. act as corrosion inhibitor
d. acts as fabric brightener

Problem Solving
27) Biodegradeable detergents
a. can be readily oxidized
b. pose problem in sewerage plant
c. have an isoparaffinic structure
d. should not be used as it spoils the cloth

Problem Solving
28) Which of the following is a detergent?
a. fatty alcohol
b. alkyl benzene sulfonate
c. fatty acids
d. methyl chloride

Problem Solving
29) Yellow glycerin is made into white using
a. activated carbon
b. diatomaceous earth
c. bauxite
d. bentonite

Problem Solving
30) Essential oils are usually obtained using
a. steam distillation
b. extractive distillation
c. solvent extraction
d. leaching

Problem Solving
31) Plasticizers are added to paints to
a. make it corrosion resistant
b. make glossy surface
c. give elasticity and prevent cracking of the film
d. increase atmospheric oxidation

Problem Solving
38) Function of thinner in a paint is to
a. accelerate the oxidation of oil
b. prevent gelling of the paint
c. suspend pigments and dissolve film-forming
materials
d. form a protective film

Problem Solving
39) Varnish does not contain
a. pigment
b. thinner
c. dryer
d. anti-skinning agent

Problem Solving
40) Enamels
a. give good glossy finish
b. are same as varnish
c. are prepared from non-drying oil
d. do not contain pigment

Problem Solving

Solutions
Photo courtesy of cdms.com

Problem Solving
Problem No. 41
A 20% aqueous solution of Na2CO3 and 25% aqueous
solution of Ca(OH)2 were reacted caustic soda solution.
The precipitate which formed was analyzed to contain
5% H2O, 1% NaOH, 94% CaCO3. The concentration of
NaOH solution produced is
a.
b.
c.
d.

98.67%
15.68%
20.97%
10.97%

Problem Solving
Problem No. 42
A plant near Maria Christina Falls is to manufacture NH3
by using a stoichiometric mixture of N2 and H2.
Electrolytic H2 is to be reacted with air to produce NH3.
The moles of H2 present in the mixture when 100 moles
of pure electrolytic H2 is used is
a.
b.
c.
d.

15.053 moles
25.05 moles
84.95 moles
74.95 moles

Problem Solving
Problem No. 44
In the lime soda process for caustic soda manufacture,
lime is made to react with water and then with soda ash.
Composition of raw materials: Lime: 54% CaO, 1.5%
MgO and inerts; soda ash: 50% Na2O and inerts. The
metric tons of lime that will be needed to produce 100
MT of 25% liquid NaOH is
a. 38.75 MT
b. 30.1 MT
c. 33.12 MT
d. 31.21 MT

Problem Solving
Problem No. 45
In a liquid Cl2 plant, chlorine gas with some H2 gas is
liquified, with part of the Cl2 made to form HCl, according
to the following diagram. The Cl2 sent to HCl synthesis
plant is MT is
Feed
40.5 MT
99 % Cl2
1 % H2

a.
b.
c.
d.

Liquefaction
HCl synthesis
plant

38.75 MT
30.1 MT
33.12 MT
31.21 MT

Exhaust
94 % Cl2
6 % H2

15 MT liquid Cl2
Milk of Lime
Absorber

Problem Solving
Problem No. 46
The MT of CaCO3 needed to produce 100 MT of soda
ash daily by the solvay process is
a.
b.
c.
d.

32.08 MT
110.1 MT
94.34 MT
84.34 MT

Problem Solving
Problem No. 48
A cement company uses 3000 MT of gypsum a month. If
40 MT of this gypsum are needed for every 1000 MT of
clinker to produce Portland cement, the MT of clinker
produced monthly by the cement plant is
a.
b.
c.
d.

75,000 MT
85,000 MT
70,000 MT
90,000 MT

Problem Solving
Problem No. 49
A cement clinker with the following analysis:
CaO = 64% Fe2O3 = 6.5%
SiO2 = 21% Al2O3 = 7.5%
is produced at a rate of 2000 MT per day. The
materials used are limestone (CaCO3 and inert
materials) containing 97% CaO; iron oxide (Fe2O3 and
inert materials) containing 85% Fe2O3; Shale (SiO2,
Al2O3 and inerts) containing 60% SiO2 and 25% Al2O3
and silica with 90% SiO2 and 10% inerts.

Problem Solving
Problem No. 49
The MT of silica required for a 300-day operation per
year is
a. 20,000 MT
b. 30,000 MT
c. 25,000 MT
d. 35,000 MT

Problem Solving
Problem No. 50

Al2O3 + 2NaOH 2NaAlO2 + H2O

SiO2 + 2NaOH Na2SiO2 + H2O

Bauxite containing 61% Al2O3 and 8% SiO2 is roasted and

dissolved in caustic soda to form a solution from which iron present
is precipitated and filtered out. By suitable treatment, hydrated
Al2O3 is precipitated in very pure form with recovery of 80% of
the original Al2O3. The SiO2 remains behind as Na2SiO3. The
precipitated hydrated Al2O3 is dehydrated and forms the charge
to an aluminum furnace. If liquid caustic soda (50% NaOH) costs
2,300 per MT, what will be the cost of the caustic soda needed for
producing 1000 kg of pure Al2O3 assuming 10% more than the
theoretical amount of NaOH needed is used?
a. 6065
c. 6030
b. 5035
d. 6080