Industrial Chemical Process Analysis and Design

Mariano Martín Martín

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780081012338
• Topic: Technologie et ingénierie
• Subtopic: Ingénierie de la chimie et de la biochimie

Industrial Chemical Process Analysis and Design uses chemical engineering principles to explain the transformation of basic raw materials into major chemical products. The book discusses traditional processes to create products like nitric acid, sulphuric acid, ammonia, and methanol, as well as more novel products like bioethanol and biodiesel.

Historical perspectives show how current chemical processes have developed over years or even decades to improve their yields, from the discovery of the chemical reaction or physico-chemical principle to the industrial process needed to yield commercial quantities. Starting with an introduction to process design, optimization, and safety, Martin then provides stand-alone chapters—in a case study fashion—for commercially important chemical production processes. Computational software tools like MATLAB®, Excel, and Chemcad are used throughout to aid process analysis.

• Integrates principles of chemical engineering, unit operations, and chemical reactor engineering to understand process synthesis and analysis
• Combines traditional computation and modern software tools to compare different solutions for the same problem
• Includes historical perspectives and traces the improving efficiencies of commercially important chemical production processes
• Features worked examples and end-of-chapter problems with solutions to show the application of concepts discussed in the text

Chapter 1

The chemical industry

Abstract

In this chapter the evolution of the use of raw materials and processing technologies over the history of humankind is discussed. The aim is to present a brief history of the processes that will be evaluated throughout the text. Thus this chapter provides an overview to show why and how different raw materials gained support over time and the processing technologies evolved from simple processes to those used currently, based on a detailed understanding of the physical–chemical–biological foundations. Finally, a brief comment on the chemical industry (in figures) is presented at the end of the chapter.

Keywords

Chemical industry; process development; industrial chemistry

1.1 Evolution of the Chemical Industry

Chemicals and materials have been used and developed by mankind over centuries. Human history has traditionally been divided into eras directly related to the evolution of the use and processing of materials, that is, the stone and iron eras. Fig. 1.1 shows this evolution, from natural polymers and ceramics in 10,000 BC, to the development of synthetic materials via metals processing back in the Middle Ages, sponsored by the wars in Europe. In this chapter we will see how mankind’s evolution and needs have guided the development of the chemical industry.

Figure 1.1 Evolution of engineering materials. Reproduced with permission from: Ashby, M.F., 2004. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, third ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford; Ashby (2004), Copyright Butterworth-Heinemann, third ed.

The journey starts at the beginning of society with the use and manipulation of natural products. The more demanding society became, the more complex products and efficient processes were needed. This chapter will be the link between all the chapters included in this book. We focus on chemical process analysis when and why they originated, and how they evolved over decades to improve the quality of products and meet the needs of industry at every turn. The story begins with the use of natural products and the principles of biotechnology for food-related activities. The main turning point was the moment the first chemical process as we know it today was put together, 1746. It corresponds to the lead chambers Roebuck used for the production of sulfuric acid within the NaCl industry.

For simplicity, this timeline is divided into eight stages, from prehistory to today. Note that a more detailed analysis would lead to a more segmented timeline, but for the sake of argument and the purpose of this introductory chapter, this will suffice (García et al., 1998, Ordóñez et al. (2006a, 2006b)).

1.1.1 Prehistory

In the beginning mankind was nomadic, satisfying its needs directly from nature. Little or no transformation was needed, and if anything, it was craftwork.

1.1.2 First Settlements

However, as society changed from nomadic habits to established settlements, needs also underwent similar drastic changes. The discovery of fire and its control allowed cooking and curing of meat for preservation as smoked meat. As expected, food was a primary concern for mankind. Other methods such as solar curing or the use of salts as preservatives, which already required chemicals or chemical transformation, were also used. Salt production was therefore a need, and the evaporation of seawater was the method of choice.

Cave paintings dating back to 10000–5000 BC were the first evidence of the establishment of mankind into groups, but they also represented the capability of producing pigments out of natural species. As a result, mankind no longer looked to nature to satisfy its needs, but started developing its own means. For instance, around 7000 BC the use of fire allowed the production of fired-clay pottery. Crop irrigation has been known since 5000 BC. Several hundred years later copper artifacts were also used. Stone tools were developed and used by 4000 BC, and the wheel can also be dated back to this time. Most of these tools were used to grow and produce food. There is evidence of the domestication of cattle from 4000 BC. Also by that time, early biotechnology appeared. For instance, bread was produced in Egypt from 3500 BC, the production of cheese dates back to 2000 BC, yogurt out of fermented milk was created by central Asian People in the Neolithic period, barley beer can be dated back to 2500 BC in ancient Egypt, and by the same time rice beer was being produced by the Chinese. Furthermore, butter and natural glue gave rise to certain chemical and biochemical craftwork.

Animal skins have been used for protection via the production of garments, clothing, shelter, carpets, or decoration. One of the main issues, as with any other natural resource, was its preservation. Leather tanning using tree bark is said to have originated among the Hebrews. The techniques developed were kept as professional secrets and passed down through generations from father to son under a halo of magical foundations.

The first well-established generations were born in the Mediterranean area. Grapevine and olive trees are widely available in these regions. Mankind used both resources in several ways. From olive trees, oil was obtained as a means to cook food, to preserve it, and to use it as fuel for lighting. From the grapevine mankind obtained juice, and via fermentation, wine, which later aged into vinegar. For ages, vinegar was the strongest acid known to man.

These established civilizations also developed gypsum (2500 BC), and pigments for house and personal decoration. In terms of personal care, perfumes, dyed textiles, and paints appeared, which indicates a certain degree of developed craftwork. As we can see, it was society that demanded such products to improve the quality of life.

1.1.3 Alchemists

Knowledge of how to obtain and process raw materials was scattered. The ancient Greeks developed certain basics to explain these transformations. Although the theories were not correct—that is, the theory of the four elements—they worked in terms of pursuing rational thinking about natural processes.

The rational thinking from the ancient Greeks, together with theocentric concepts from Arabs and Christians, resulted in what is known as alchemy, an Arab word. Although it was surrounded by a magic halo, alchemists developed and prepared a large number of new materials and chemicals such as acids, alkalis, salts, etc. That also allowed improvements in perfume and dye production, as well as metallurgic developments. The aim of this development was more mystical: the search for eternal youth and the philosopher’s stone.

Around the 13th century, the center for knowledge moved from the East to the West. Universities, by putting together Greek knowledge, Arab and Jewish learnings, and Christian ideas, created the origins of the Renaissance, an intellectual revolution.

1.1.4 Lower Middle Ages

As civilization developed in Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, textile production transferred to villages and towns, where workers in the same fields united in trade guilds becoming rather powerful. Thus, through the middle ages the use of iron spread not only as a material for agriculture and domestic tools, but as weapons too. Wars were the reason for the huge development of metallurgy. By this time mankind learned how to improve the taste of wine, bread, and cheese. Furthermore, the origin of a certain chemical industry was in place from basic natural species:

• weak acids (vinegar, lemon juice, acid milk)

• alkalis (carbonates from ashes, lime).

1.1.5 Middle Ages

Around the 14th century, strong acids such as chlorhydric acid, nitric acid, the mixture of both, and sulfuric acid (oil of vitriol) appeared. The discovery of sulfuric acid is as important to the chemical industry as the discovery of fire, since it allowed the preparation of a number of salts and other acids.

Although the aim was still the search for eternal youth, along the way a number of chemicals with interesting properties were produced, such as sodium sulfate, a laxant, and chloride as a byproduct from the production of chlorhydric acid using sulfuric acid and sodium chloride:

${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4+2\mathrm{NaCl}(\mathrm{salt})\to 2\mathrm{HCl}+{\mathrm{Na}}_2({\mathrm{SO}}_4)$

Furthermore, commercial trade increased as a result of the ideas in the Renaissance and the geographic discoveries in the 13th and 14th centuries. Both contributed to the development of larger manufacturing centers. However, the demand was limited to a few privileged classes, nobles, and clergy, which slowed down technological development.

During this preindustrial period, a number of activities that can be considered to belong to the chemical industry were carried out in the fields of metallurgy, chemical medicine, and the production of glass, soap, powder, and inorganic acids (based on craftsmen’s knowledge). For instance, Lazarus, Eeker, and Agrícola in the 16th century produced nitric acid from salt and ferrous sulfate.

1.1.6 Industrial Revolution

Transition from the craft-based production system to the industrial one required the identification and further understanding of the principles and foundations of nature. Lavoisier’s work by the end of the 18th century can be considered as the beginning of chemistry as a modern science. Thus, the chemical composition of some of the most common products was becoming known by the beginning of the 19th century. The basis of the chemical processes has its foundations in John Dalton’s atomic theory and Jöns Jacob Berzelius’s work to develop the Periodic Table. Organic species were gaining attention thanks to the work of Friedrich August Kekule, founder of the Theory on Chemical Structure, and Stanislao Cannizzaro.

As a result, industry specialized. A particular industry will not cover the entire process from raw materials into final products as the craftmen used to do. The chemical industry is divided into three categories:

• Basic chemicals,

• Intermediate products,

• Consumer goods.

1.1.6.1 Siderurgy

This is the first industry that grew following the commercial trades. In the beginning, charcoal from wood was used as a fuel and reductor agent. However, its scarcity due to the diverse uses of wood, such as in the naval or construction industries, and its use as fuel, limited the progress. The use of mineral coal was unsuccessful for quite some time due to the problems related to the presence of sulfur, the amount of volatiles, and the fact that the increase in the mass during preheating was troublesome for the furnace. It wasn’t un...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Chapter 1. The chemical industry
• Chapter 2. Chemical processes
• Chapter 3. Air
• Chapter 4. Water
• Chapter 5. Syngas
• Chapter 6. Nitric acid
• Chapter 7. Sulfuric acid
• Chapter 8. Biomass
• Appendix A. General nomenclature
• Appendix B. Thermodynamic data
• Appendix C. Solutions to end-of-chapter problems
• Index