Heavy chemicals

Fine chemicals are generally considered chemicals that are manufactured to high and weU-defined standards of purity, as opposed to heavy chemicals made in large amounts to technical levels of purity. Fine chemicals usually are thought of as being produced on a small scale and the production of some fine chemicals is in tens or hundreds of kilograms per year. The production of others, especially fine chemicals used as dmgs or food additives (qv), is, however, in thousands of metric tons (see Pharmaceuticals). For example, the 1990 U.S. production of aspirin [50-78-2] and acetaminophen [103-90-2] was on the order of 20,500 t and 15,000 t, respectively. 

Fine chemicals are produced by a wide spectmm of manufacturers, largely because the distinction between different kinds of chemicals is not sharp. There are specialty producers of fine chemicals. Many companies that manufacture dmgs also manufacture the chemical substances that are used in preparing the dosage forms. A number of companies manufacture dmg chemicals and food chemicals. Some fine chemicals are made by manufacturers of heavy chemicals, and either may be simply a segment of their regular production, or some of that production which has been subjected to additional purification steps. Many fine chemicals are imported into the United States from countries such as Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands. 

Phosgenes Thermal decomposition of chlorinated hydrocarbons, degreasing, manufacture of dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, organic chemi- Metal fabrication, heavy chemicals Damage capable of leading to pulmonary edema, often delayed... 

Hickson Welsh Ltd., 209, 217 Hickson International Pic, 210,217 Hikal Chemical hidustries Ltd., 172 Hindalco hidustries Ltd., 172 Hindustan Basic Drugs Ltd., 172 Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd., 172 Hindustan Heavy Chemicals Ltd., 172 Hindustan hisecticides Ltd., 172 Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd., 172 Hindustan Petroleum Coiporation Ltd., 172 Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd., 183... 

The vital importance of NaCl in the heavy chemical industry is indicated in the Panel opposite, and information on potassium salts is given in the Panel on p. 73. 

Industrial production of CI2 and chlorine chemicals is on a vast scale and comprises a major section of the heavy chemical industry. - Some aspects have already been discussed on p. 793, and further details are in the Panel. 

John Graham Smith. The Origins and Early Development of the Heavy Chemical Industry in France. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1979. 

American chemical engineers were not very well equipped to address such sudden problems in their industry. A. D. Little s formulation of unit operations, which appeared in 1915, could have but a limited impact on the growing organic industry because, in practice at least, it largely ignored purely chemical problems (23). In retrospect, this notion of unit operation appears as one which responded extremely well to the industrial demands of a rapidly disappearing past - namely those of a heavy chemical industry based on minerals and petroleum refining. 

R.T. Skodje, The adiabatic theory of heavy-light-heavy chemical reactions, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 44 (1993) 145. 

Union Chimique Beige was founded in 1928 by, among others, Baron Emmanuel Janssen, who was married to a granddaughter of Ernest Solvay, the founder of Sol-vay, the other Belgian hybrid chemical/pharmaceutical company. At that time, Union Chimique Beige was producing several heavy chemical intermediates such as ammonia, sulfuric acid, sodium sulfide, and coal derivatives. 

A few of the common acids and bases, together with certain salts that are discussed, are produced in such very large quantities that they are commonly referred to as the heavy chemicals (i.e., heavy in the sense of quantity production). In the discussion to follow, the methods used in the production of the more important of these chemicals are considered briefly. 

Much has been written about the role of sulfuric acid as an index of national prosperity. Since this acid is generally considered to be one of the most important heavy chemicals and is used in so many of the industries, it is possible to evaluate trends in economic conditions by following the trends in the consumption of sulfuric acid. This applies not only to industry but also to agriculture because of the use of sulfuric acid in the manufacture of fertilizers. 

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