Fundamentals of applied

Chemistry
 Applied Chemistry

 Applied chemistry is the scientific field for understanding the

basic chemical properties of materials and for producing new
materials with well controlled functions .
 It is the application of the principles and theories of chemistry
to solve real world problems.
 Applied chemistry is increasingly important in solving
environmental problems and contributing to development
new materials.
 It includes four areas of study i.e. physical chemistry, material
chemistry, chemical engineering and environmental
chemistry.
Chemical Industries
Introduction
Chemical industries indicates the companies that produce
industrial chemicals. It is the central part in the world economy.
It converts raw materials into various products.
Various professionals are involved in the chemical industry ,
which includes chemical engineers, scientists, lab chemists,
technicians etc. There are varieties of chemical industries
including petrochemical industries, metallurgical industries, food
and beverage production industries, plastic manufacturing
industries, chemical manufacturing industries, drug and
pharmaceutical industries etc. Chemical industries are directly
related to safety, economics, environment, research &
development etc.
 Importance of Chemical Industries
Chemical industries convert the raw materials into desired
products that we use in our daily life. It has made drastic change
in the way the things operate. It is very important for us to
understand the importance of the chemical industry which play
significant role in our life like agriculture, environment, food,
hygiene, décor, transportation etc. It is also significantly used in
re- cycling industries, which helps a lot in utilizing the waste
materials and gives one more life cycle for the products.
Some importance of Chemical Industries are:
• They play major role in our food. The preservatives, taste
enhancers and flavours helps the food to store for long time
and increases taste.
• The polymer and plastic industries produces materials used in
packaging, wiring, furniture, clothing, electronics, piping,
home decor etc.
• Fertilizers, pesticides etc. aids in agriculture and development
by increasing yield of crop and preventing it from pests. The
green revolution succeeded only due to advancement of
chemical industry.
• Pharma industries and life saving drugs are very important
because they produce various drugs for endemic and
epidemic diseases.
• Toiletries like soaps, scents, perfumes, deodorant are
personnel products that we use everyday. From the status of
luxury products, it has come to a level of essentials.
• Advanced researches like bio-engineering, mutation, artificial
human organ production and genetic engineering are made
possible only with the help of proper chemical industries.
 Stages in Producing a new product
In case of chemical product, chemical industry is continuously
looking for opportunities to manufacture the necessary
commodity chemicals as well as to convert them into higher
value- added chemicals-based products. The core issue is the
development of the product desired by customer .In the
development chemical based products , the customer's needs
are in the main focus.
Development of these chemicals-based products involves not
only their design and selection but also their sustainable
manufacturing through an appropriate chemical process, its
marketing and its disposal as waste.
Fig: Path of new product from idea to market
Economics of Production
Production refers to the number of units that a firm outputs
over a given period of time. According to microeconomics, a firm
that operates efficiently should attain sound knowledge of its
total product, marginal product and average product. In practice,
firms can utilize the figures as metrics to make better operational
decisions. Indicators of production are total products (TP),
marginal product (MP),and average product(AP).
The MP is calculated as:

where, TP1 = Total Product at time 1

TP0 = Initial total product
K0 = Initial number of units of the factor of production
K1 = Number of units of the factor of production at time 1
The average product is calculated as:

where, TP1 = Total Product at time 1

K1 = Number of units of the factor of production at time 1
 Cash Flow in the Production Cycle
Cash flow is the net amount of cash and cash-equivalents being
transferred into and out of a business. At the most fundamental
level, a company’s ability to create value for the shareholders is
determined by its ability to generate positive cash flows, or more
specifically, maximize long- term free cash flow (FCF).
The cash flow from a product as it moves through its life cycle
will change. Initially, high development costs and high
promotional costs will mean a negative cash flow, but as the
products moves through the growth phase and into maturity, the
cash flow should start to become positive.
Cash Flow = Net profit + depreciation
 As a product moves through its life cycle, the price elasticity of
demand will also tend to change. As the product becomes more
mature, it is likely that competition in the form of substitute
products will increase which should make the demand more
price elastic. This may well reduce the profit margin the firm
earns on the product unless they are able to reduce costs
correspondingly.
 Running a Chemical Plant

A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures

or processes chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general
objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via
the chemical or biological transformation and or separation of
materials. Chemical plants use specialized equipment, units, and
technology in the manufacturing process. Some plants also use
technology such as fluid systems , oil refinery and chemical
reactor systems.
Safety is one of the major part of chemical industries for running
all kinds of chemical plant. Some safety precautions are:
• Offer training and resources
• Label everything clearly
• Location of chemicals according to toxicity
• Safety check emergency equipment
• Cleanliness
• Keep safety gear in sight
• Designate location for food and drink
• Create a chain responsibility
• Give language course to new employees
• Practice safety precautions for emergency
Designing a Chemical Plant
The fundamental aspects of designing chemical plants are done
by chemical engineers. In plant design, very few ideas for new
design become commercialized. During this, cost studies are
used as an initial screening to eliminate unprofitable designs. If
the process appears profitable, then other factors like safety,
environmental constraints, controllability etc. are considered.
The general goal in plant design is to construct or synthesize
‘optimum design’ of the desired constraints.
Chemists research chemical reactions or chemical principles in
a laboratory, commonly on a small scale in a ‘batch-type’
experiment. Information of the chemistry is then used by
chemical engineers, along with expertise of their own, to convert
to a chemical process and scale up the batch size or capacity.
Commonly, a small chemical plant called a pilot plant is built to
provide design and operating information before construction of
a large plant. From data and operating experience obtained from
the pilot plant, a scaled-up plant can be designed for higher or
full capacity. After the fundamental aspects of a plant design are
determined, mechanical or electrical engineers may become
involved with mechanical or electrical details respectively.
Structural engineers may become involved in the plant design to
ensure that the structure can support weight of the units, piping
and other equipment.
The following steps are followed:
*Heat transfer *Mass transfer *Fluid dynamics * Process design
*Process control *Chemical thermodynamics * Reaction engineering
The plant process includes:
*Process control *Workers * Transport *Maintenance
*Statutory and regulatory compliance
The chemical process may be run as continuous and batch
processing.
Continuous and Batch Operations
Batch Operations
In batch operation, production occurs in time-sequential steps in
discrete batches. A batch of feedstock is fed into a unit or
process, then the chemical process takes place. Finally, the
product and any other outputs are removed. Such batch
production may be repeated over again and again with new
batches of feedstock. Batch operation is commonly used in
smaller scale plants such as pharmaceutical or special chemical
production, for purpose of improved traceability as well as
flexibility.
Continuous Operations
In continuous operation, all steps are ongoing continuously in
time. During usual continuous operation, the feeding and
product removal take place simultaneously and continuously.
Chemical plants or units in continuous operation are usually in a
steady state or approximate steady state. Steady state means
that quantities related to the process do not change as time
passes during operation. Such constant quantities include steam
flow rate, heating or cooling rate, temperature, pressure and
chemical compositions at any given point. Continuous operation
is more efficient in many large scale operations like petroleum
refineries. It is possible for some units to operate continuously
and others in batch operations. The amount of primary
feedstock or product per unit of time which a plant or unit can
process is referred to as the capacity of that plant or unit.
E.g. Oil refinery - barrels of crude oil, Chemical plant – tons of
product etc.
Environmental Impact of Chemical Industry
The chemical industries are for the welfare of human being.
But, the lack of information on safety measures has direct impact
in the environment. The impact may either be short term or long
term and is a major challenge for policy makers. The major
impact are environmental pollution including water pollution,
soil pollution, sound pollution etc. The management of waste
from industries helps to control the impact in the environment.
The wide range of past and current policies are designed to
manage risks posed by the production and use of chemicals and
the key safety issues for the future. Despite considerable
improvement over the last three decades in the control of toxic
substances released to the environment during production of
chemicals, concern is growing about chemicals detected in the
environment which are persistent, can bio accumulate and are
toxic. There is a need for:
• more information to fill the significant gap in knowledge
about the characteristics, effects and exposure pattern of the
chemicals on the market.
• a greater focus on the types and amounts of chemicals found
in consumer products and released to the environment during
use and after final disposal.
• more involvement of stakeholders ( public, workers and
industry ) in the chemical safety assessment and management
process.
• a greater focus on the chemical safety infrastructure.