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Chemical Production 450-2023
Chemical Production 450-2023
References:
•Joan Ribas Gispert, Coordination Chemistry, Willey
•Harding Jane, (2002). Elements of the p-block, The Open University.
•Miessler and Tarr (). Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd edition,
•House, J.E. (2008). Inorganic chemistry, Academic Press
•Cotton, F.A., Wilkinson,G., and Murillo, C.A. (1999).
Advanced inorganic Chemistry, 6th ed., John Willey, New York.
•Housecroft, C. E., and Sharp A. E. (2008). Inorganic Chemistry, 3rd ed. Pearson .
The Chemical Industry
Among the largest manufacturing industries in all most countries
The chemical industry creates an huge selection of products.
30 % of chemical products used by household consumers, the
rest of chemicals are used by other industries.
Ores: are minerals from which the metal can be extracted easily and
economically. Ores contain a lower percentage of impurities.
Premise: all ores are minerals but all minerals are not ores.
(i) Native ores – metals in the free state e.g. Ag, Au, Pt, Hg, Cu, mixed
with rock or clay and sand.
(iv) Halide ores – Chlorides are more common and include NaCl, , KCl,
MgCl2.6H2O CaF2 , AgCl.
Sources of Industrial Chemicals:
B) Air Composition:
D) Elements
An element is a substance made up of atoms of the same type.
Example coal for carbon.
Metallurgical Processes
Metallurgy: deals with processes used in extracting metals from their
ores, purifying and alloying metals and generating valuable objects from
metals
Three mains Steps are Involved in Metallurgical Process
Concentration of Ore (ore preparation)
Conversion of ore to metal
Purification of metal
A. Concentration of ore:
Vital step- involves separating gangue from an ore. Gangue is unwanted impurities
such as sand and clay found with the ore.
The soluble aluminate ion is separated from the insoluble impurities (SiO2 and
Fe3O3) by filtration.
1) Liquation: the reduced metal is heated until it melts and flow away
from any impurities usually in an alloy.
2) Electrolysis: impure metal is anode that dissolves into solution and
is attracted to cathode where it deposits as pure metal e.g. copper
3) Distillation: impure metal is heated above its boiling point where the
Pure metal vaporizes and is collected by condensation. Impurities
remain behind. Suitable for volatile metals like zinc and mercury.
4) Zone refining: used to purify materials mainly semiconductors
by melting a short region (i.e., zone) and causing this liquid zone to
travel slowly through a relatively long rod of the solid
Industrial Chemistry:
Sulfuric Acid
• Sulfuric acid (Sulphuric acid – H2SO4)
• A diprotic acid and highly corrosive
• Colorless to slightly yellow viscous liquid, but
sometimes dyed brown during production to
alert people due to its hazards
• At high concentration, it causes high damage
upon contact;
– Chemical burns via hydrolysis
– Secondary thermal burns via dehydration
Uses of Sulfuric Acid
• Applications
– Domestic (drain cleaner, electrolyte [lead-acid
batteries], cleaning agents)
– Industrial
• Oil refining – wash impurities of gasoline (Indeni)
• Mineral processing - pickling (cleaning) iron/steel
before electroplating with zinc
• Wastewater processing – control pH by reducing
bicarbonate content
• Fertilizer manufacturing – ammonium sulphate
(NH4SO4), superphosphate of lime (Ca(H2PO4)2)
• Chemical synthesis - HCl, HNO3, detergents, drugs,
explosives etc.
Production of Sulfuric Acid
• Several Methods
Contact Process
• Based on the catalytic oxidation of SO2 to SO3
Wet sulfuric acid process (WSA process)
• A major desulfurization process
• An efficient process for recovering sulfur from various process
gases in the form of H2SO4
Geber’s Method (Greener Synthesis)
• Based on calcination (heating) of “green vitriol” in the presence
of air, without producing SO2
• Green vitriol is Iron (II) sulfate of general formula FeSO 4.xH2O
The Contact Process
The Contact Process
https://medium.com/@genuinechemistry78/manufacture-of-h2so4-by-contact-process-
14995f857379
The Contact Process
A. Preparation and Purification of SO2
– Pyrite burner: SO2 is obtained by burning sulfur or
heating iron pyrite (FeS2) in a pyrite burner
S(s) + O2(g) SO2(g)
D. Dilution of Oleum
– Oleum is now diluted with H2O to form H2SO4 of
required concentration
Concentration
• In order to increase the concentration of HNO3, vapors
of HNO3 are passed over concentrated H2SO4
• Being a dehydrating agent H2SO4,absorbs water from
HNO3 and concentrated HNO3 is obtained
The Haber Process
Production of Ammonia
AMMONIA: An essential industrial process made by the Haber Process.
Uses of ammonia
Industrial refrigeration systems: cooling purposes
Production of chemicals: nitric acid, urea
Cleaner: 5-10% solution for glass, stainless steel, ovens e.t.c.
Fermentation: source of nitrogen for yeast (microorganisms)
remediation: clean SO2 from burning of fuels converting to
ammonium sulphate.
The Haber Process
Production of Ammonia
The Haber process is a REVERSIBLE reaction and follows the Le
Charteliers Principle:
Water, CO2 and CO must be removed from the gas stream to prevent
oxidation of the iron during the actual ammonia synthesis.
Step 3 - Removal of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is converted to carbon dioxide by passing the
gas stream (CO, H2, CO2, H2O) over a Cr/Fe3O4 catalyst at 360 ᵒC
and then over a Cu/ZnO/Cr catalyst at 210 ᵒC.
Industrial Uses
• 67% in organic industry: chlorates, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride
• 30% to pulp & paper mills, textiles: bleaching as chlorates (ClO3-)
• 5% to water treatment: hypochlorite (HOCl) to kill bacteria and
microbes in drinking water supplies and public swimming pools
• PVC (poly(vinyl chloride, [-CH2-CHCl-]n ), pipes for drinking water
• Chlorinated cleaning compounds
• Antiseptics, insecticides
The Chlor-Alkali Industry
Production
The chloralkali process: industrial method of producing chlorine
from brine by electrolysis.
A major by-product is sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. Equal
masses of NaOH and Cl2 being produced.
Old method used mercury amalgam, new method uses diaphragm.
Anode reaction
Cl! (aq) —> ½Cl2(g) + e!
Soap production
Sodium hydroxide was traditionally used in soap making (cold
process soap, saponification).
Biodiesel
For the manufacture of biodiesel, sodium hydroxide is used as a
catalyst for the transesterification of methanol and triglycerides.
This only works with anhydrous sodium hydroxide, because
combined with water the fat would turn into soap, which would be
tainted with methanol. It is used more often than potassium
hydroxide because it is cheaper and a smaller quantity is needed
Chlorine and Environmental Concerns
Besides all of the good uses of Chlorine: concerns about
adverse effects of chlorinated organic compounds.
1.Several chlorinated organic compounds are known to be
carcinogenic(causing cancer) such as:
DDT, dichlorodiphenylchloroethane: an insecticide to combat mosquito
TCDD, tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin: a toxin and carcinogen. This dioxin is
a byproduct of Cl2 bleaching of pulp and paper.
PCBs, polychlorobiphenyls: once used as electrical transformer oils. PCB
mimics natural hormones & disrupt endocrine systems of animals