Industrial chemical process, first large-scale

Not until the industrial era did people want to make large quantities of products to sell, and only then did the economies of scale create the need for mass production. Not until the twentieth century was continuous processing practiced on a large scale. The first practical considerations of reactor scaleup originated in England and Germany, where the first large-scale chemical plants were constmcted and operated, but these were done in a trial-and-error fashion that today would be unacceptable. 

The LeBlanc Process was the first large-scale industrial chemical process. The process produced large quantities of gaseous hydrochloric acid as a by-product that released into the air and caused what was probably the first large-scale industrial pollution. It was later found that this waste gas could be captured and reacted with manganese dioxide to produce gaseous chlorine. The LeBlanc Process was used until about 1861, after which it began to be replaced by the more efficient Solvay Process. [7]... 

A primary premise relating to the development of an engineering discipline is that it is required by an established industry. The chemical-process industries in the United States popularly are assumed to have developed after the First World War. Up to that time Germany is credited with being the preeminent chemical power. This is not so. Many developments that we assume are modem were firmly established by 1908, the year AIChE was founded. In that year the United States began the first large-scale chlorination of water William H. Walker... 

Mitsubishi Rayon produces acrylamide from acrylonitrile with the help of an immobilized bacterial enzyme, nitrile hydratase (see Fig. 9.20). This acrylamide is then polymerized to the conventional plastic polyacrylamide. This process was one of the first large-scale applications of enzymes in the bulk chemical industry and replaced the conventional process that used sulfuric acid and inorganic catalysts. The enzymatic process has several advantages over the chemical process. The efficiency of the enzymatic process is 100%, while that of the previous chemical process was only 30-45%. The energy consumption is only 0.4MJ/kg product, compared to 1.9MJ/kg product for the chemical route. The process generates less waste. The CO2 production is only 0.3 kg/kg monomer, while the previous process produced 1.5 kg/kg. The reaction is carried out at 15°C, which is milder than the original chemical route. About 100,000 tons of acrylamide are produced yearly now via this approach in Japan and other countries. 

The first step of the conversion procedure is generally termed reforming, and has been well established in large scale industrial processes for many decades. The industrial applications most commonly (about 76% [12]) use natural gas as feedstock. The purpose of this process is the production of synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which is then used for numerous processes in large scale chemical production, which are not subject of this book. 

The synthesis of ammonia was the first large-scale synthesis in the chemical industry to work at high pressure, and the first process that was systematically developed based on chemical engineering concepts. We start with an overview of the history of the synthesis, from successful experiments in the laboratory to the start-up of the first industrial plant. For readers interested in details we refer to Appl (1999), Bakemeier et al. (1997), and Timm (1963). 

The synthesis of ammonia was the first large-scale synthesis in the chemical industry working at high pressure, and the first process that was systematically developed based on chemical engineering concepts. 

Almost all industrial catalysts are developed by researchers who are motivated to improve processes or create new ones. Thus the organization that first uses a new catalyst is usually the one that has discovered it. This organization, however, only rarely becomes the manufacturer of the catalyst used on a large scale. Catalysts are for the most part highly complex specialty chemicals, and catalyst manufacturers tend to be more efficient than others in producing them. Catalyst manufacturing is a competitive industry. Catalyst users often develop close relations with catalyst manufacturers, and the two may work together to develop and improve proprietary catalysts. 

The first two categories, clarifying and crossflow filters, have been very well developed and optimized for use in biotechnology and standard wastewater treatment applications. Equipment is easily available for these applications, whether as small 0.2 micron sterilizing filter used to terminally sterilize 100 ml of product solution, or a small 500 ml crossflow filter used to concentrate a small amount of antibody solution. Many vendors of this equipment to wastewater treatment applications have their origins in the CPI (Chemical Process Industries), and have incorporated many of the scale-up and optimization properties developed in much larger units used in large scale chemical production. As a result, these two filtration unit operations are one of the most optimized and efficient used in wastewater treatment. 

F. Haber s catalytic synthesis of NH3 developed in collaboration with C. Bosch into a large-scale industrial process by 1913. (Hater was awarded the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements Bosch shared the 1931 Nobel Prize for contributions to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods , the Hater synthesis of NH3 being the first high-pressure industrial process.)... 

Petrochemistry has always been a topic in the discussion of possible micro-reactor applications. However, reported micro-reactor developments have not yet entered the field. This may be due to the large gap between the size of current micro reactors and that required for petrochemistry. Already the first demonstrators probably need to be of considerable size. It would not be surprising if an industry that is used to handling very large-scale equipment was the latest to enter such a new emerging field as micro-chemical processing. 

Batchwise operating three-phase reactors are frequently used in the production of fine and specialty chemicals, such as ingredients in drags, perfumes and alimentary products. Large-scale chemical industry, on the other hand, is often used with continuous reactors. As we developed a parallel screening system for catalytic three-phase processes, the first decision concerned the operation mode batchwise or continuous. We decided for a continuous reactor system. Batchwise operated parallel sluny reactors are conunercially available, but it is in many cases difficult to reveal catalyst deactivation from batch experiments. In addition, investigation of the effect of catalyst particle size on the overall activity and product distribution is easier in a continuous device. 

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