Cases chemical processes

The use of process analytical chemistry can be further exemplified in the monitoring of reactions to observe their progress and determine their completion. In many cases, chemical processes require the continuous addition of reagents until the reaction is completed. If there is real-time, in-process monitoring to allow completion follow-up, then the need for adding more reagents can be eliminated and there will be none in the waste stream. 

For chemical processes, some examples are the elimination of aromatics by sulfonation, the elimination of olefins by bromine addition on the double bond (bromine number), the elimination of conjugated diolefins as in the case of the maleic anhydride value (MAV), and the extraction of bases or acids by contact with aqueous acidic or basic solutions. 

The record m the number of absorbed photons (about 500 photons of a CO2 laser) was reached with the CgQ molecule [77]. This case proved an exception in that the primary reaction was ionization. The IR multiphoton excitation is the starting pomt for a new gas-phase photochemistry, IR laser chemistry, which encompasses numerous chemical processes. 

The subsequent step is to identify the various scenarios which could cause loss of control of the hazard and result in an accident. This is perhaps the most difficult step in the procedure. Many accidents have been the result of improper characterization of the accident scenarios. For a reasonably complex chemical process, there might exist dozens, or even hundreds, of scenarios for each hazard. The essential part of the analysis is to select the scenarios which are deemed credible and worst case. 

In several important cases, new synthetic strategies have been developed into new production schemes. An outstanding example of this is the production of an entire family of terpene derivatives from a-pinene (29), the major component of most turpentines, via linalool (3) (12). Many of these materials had been produced from P-pinene, a lesser component of turpentine, via pyrolysis to myrcene and further chemical processing. The newer method offers greater manufacturing dexibiUty and better economics, and is environmentally friendly in that catalytic air oxidation is used to introduce functionality. 

Products can be found in every principal market area including rocket motor and shell casings, air and gas pressure tanks, aircraft wing fuel tanks, utihty poles, automotive and tmck drive shafts, sailboat masts, vaulting poles, fishing rods, golf shafts, railroad tanks cars, and pipes and tanks for oil, gas, and chemical processing. 

Vulcani2ation is a chemical process for improving an elastomer compound s performance. However, in most cases not all of the desired properties reach their optimum levels simultaneously. One of the mbber compounder s key responsibiHties is to achieve a balance of the most important property requirements by the proper selection of cure system (chemical) and time—temperature cure cycle (physical). 

Water Treatment. Water and steam chemistry must be rigorously controlled to prevent deposition of impurities and corrosion of the steam cycle. Deposition on boiler tubing walls reduces heat transfer and can lead to overheating, creep, and eventual failure. Additionally, corrosion can develop under the deposits and lead to failure. If steam is used for chemical processes or as a heat-transfer medium for food and pharmaceutical preparation there are limitations on the additives that may be used. Steam purity requirements set the allowable impurity concentrations for the rest of most cycles. Once contaminants enter the steam, there is no practical way to remove them. Thus all purification must be carried out in the boiler or preboiler part of the cycle. The principal exception is in the case of nuclear steam generators, which require very pure water. These tend to provide steam that is considerably lower in most impurities than the turbine requires. A variety of water treatments are summarized in Table 5. Although the subtieties of water treatment in steam systems are beyond the scope of this article, uses of various additives maybe summarized as follows ... 

The volatile oils are isolated from plant sources and are terpenoid in stmcture. They are purified by a combination of physical and chemical processes. Individual components of the oils ate often isolated by crysta11i2ation or, in some cases, prepared synthetically. 

Capacity Element Now consider the case where the valve in Fig. 8-7 is replaced with a pump. In this case, it is reasonable to assume that the exit flow from the tank is independent of the level in the tank. For such a case, Eq. (8-22) still holds, except that/i no longer depends on hi. For changes in fi, the transfer function relating changes in to changes in is shown in Fig. 8-10. This is an example of a pure capacity process, also called an integrating system. The cross sectional area of the tank is the chemical process equivalent of an electrical capacitor. If the inlet flow is step forced while the outlet is held... 

No single method or algorithm of optimization exists that can be apphed efficiently to all problems. The method chosen for any particular case will depend primarily on (I) the character of the objective function, (2) the nature of the constraints, and (3) the number of independent and dependent variables. Table 8-6 summarizes the six general steps for the analysis and solution of optimization problems (Edgar and Himmelblau, Optimization of Chemical Processes, McGraw-HiU, New York, 1988). You do not have to follow the cited order exac tly, but vou should cover all of the steps eventually. Shortcuts in the procedure are allowable, and the easy steps can be performed first. Steps I, 2, and 3 deal with the mathematical definition of the problem ideutificatiou of variables and specification of the objective function and statement of the constraints. If the process to be optimized is very complex, it may be necessaiy to reformulate the problem so that it can be solved with reasonable effort. Later in this section, we discuss the development of mathematical models for the process and the objec tive function (the economic model). 

In this case, there are n process variables with equality constraints and inequahty constraints. Such problems pose a serious challenge to performing optimization calculations in a reasonable amount of time. Typical constraints in chemical process optimization include operating conditions (temperatures, pressures, and flows have limits), storage capacities, and produc t purity specifications. 

Contrac tors bids offer the most rehable information on cost. Order-of-magnitude costs, however, may be required for preliminary studies. One way of estimating them is to obtain cost information from similar facihties and scale it to the proposed installation. Costs of steel storage tanks and vessels have been found to vaiy approximately as the 0.6 to 0.7 power of their weight [see Happel, Chemical Process Economics, Wiley, 1958, p. 267 also Williams, Chem. Eng., 54(12), 124 (1947)]. AU estimates cased on the costs of existing eqiiipment must be corrected for changes in the price index from the date when the equipment was built. Considerable uncertainty is involved in adjusting data more than a few years old. 

A complete analysis of dense gas dispersion is much beyond the scope of this treatise. More detailed references are available (Britter and McQuaid, Workbook on the Dispersion of Dense Gases, Health and Safety Executive Report No. 17/1988, England, 1988 Lees, 1986, pp. 455 61 Hanna and Drivas, 1987 Workbook of Test Cases for Vapor Cloud Source Dispersion Models, AlChE, 1989 Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis, 1989, pp. 96-103). 

The manner in which many of these bacteria cany on their chemical processes is qmte comphcated and in some cases not fuUy understood. The role of sulfate-reducing bacteria (anaerobic) in promoting corrosion has been extensively investigated. The sulfates in shghtly acid to alkaline (pH 6 to 9) soils are reduced by these bacteria to form calcium sulfide and hydrogen sulfide. When these compounds come in contact with underground iron pipes, conversion of the iron to iron sulfide occurs. As these bacieria thrive under these conditions, they will continue to promote this reaction until failure of the pipe occurs. 

If the technical staff from the client company recognizes that a toller may be asked to perform new analyses and make operating decisions based upon the results, the client may help the toller develop the needed procedures and skills required to make these decisions. Typically a round robin laboratory qualification exercise will be performed. Samples of known standards and unknown concentrations of the materials to be analyzed for the toll will be prepared and sent to both laboratories. This can help ensure that equipment calibration is synchronized and that the toller is capable of performing accurate measurements. In some cases, the toller may be the party with the chemical, process, or synthesis specific expertise. 

The time required for atmospheric chemical processes to occur is dependent on chemical kinetics. Many of the air quality problems of major metropolitan areas can develop in just a few days. Most gas-phase chemical reactions in the atmosphere involve the collision of two or three molecules, with subsequent rearrangement of their chemical bonds to form molecules by combination of their atoms. Consider the simple case of a bimolecular reaction of the following type-. 

A free-radical reaction is a chemical process which involves molecules having unpaired electrons. The radical species could be a starting compound or a product, but the most common cases are reactions that involve radicals as intermediates. Most of the reactions discussed to this point have been heterolytic processes involving polar intermediates and/or transition states in which all electrons remained paired throughout the course of the reaction. In radical reactions, homolytic bond cleavages occur. The generalized reactions shown below illustrate the formation of alkyl, vinyl, and aryl free radicals by hypothetical homolytic processes. 

The chemical process industries (CPI), petroleum and allied industries apply physical as well as chemical methods to the conversion of raw feedstock materials into salable products. Because of the diversity of products, process conditions and requirements, equipment design is often unique, or case specific. The prime requirement of any piece of equipment is that it performs the function for which it was designed under the intended process operating conditions, and do so in a continuous and reliable manner. Equipment must have mechanical reliability, which is characterized by strength, rigidness, steadiness, durability and tightness. Any one or combination of these characteristics may be needed for a particular piece of equipment. 

This book briefly reviews ammonia synthesis, its importance in the chemical process industry, and safety precautions. This case study is integrated into several chapters in the text. See the Introduction for further details. 

The tools in CCPS (1994a) can be used in each stage of the chemical process life cycle to help evaluate the tradeoffs involving human factors between various options. In many cases, low cost options in design can make the operations inherently safer from a human factors perspective. 

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