Inexpensive Raw Material

One way to assure low raw material costs is to have multiple use of the material. If wood chips, sawdust, or bark is to be extracted, the residue should be useful for another purpose. Examples of this approach are 1) Isolation of arabinogalac-tan gum from western larch Larix occidentalis) heartwood chips followed by kraft pulping of the extracted chips 2) isolation of mimosa tannins from bark of trees in which the peeled wood Acacia sp.) serves as raw material for chemical cellulose production (South Africa) and 3) tall oil separation from the concentrated black liquor derived from kraft pulping of southern pines. In each of these cases the brunt of the raw material cost is carried by some product other than the extractive. Assurance of low raw material costs virtually dictates extractive isolation and processing ancillary to a forest products processing plant. 

It almost goes without saying that there may be a product that can be made only from a given wood or bark substrate. In that event, the substrate is the preferred raw material, and the financial risk from substitute raw materials is very low. While there are relatively few utilization schemes that fall into this category, some important examples are natural rubber, the naval stores industry, production of carbohydrate gums from acacia trees, essential oils from foliage, and so on. 

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The defoamer formulations mentioned so far consist of fairly inexpensive raw materials, but several more cosdy defoaming materials have come into use in paper mills. Hydrophobicized siUca particles are useful in some emulsion formulations. SiUcone solutions and emulsions are very effective in eliminating foam in paper machine water systems. The siUca- or siUcone-based defoamers have higher activity, which somewhat compensates for the higher cost, but care must be taken to prevent ovemse. 

Dicyclopentadiene (24) [77-73-6] is an inexpensive raw material for hydrocyanation to (25), a mixture of l,5-dicarbonittile [70874-28-1] and 2,5-dicarbonittile [70874-29-2], then subsequent hydrogenation to produce tricyclodecanediamine, TCD diamine (26). This developmental product, a mixture of endo and exo, cis and trans isomers, is offered by Hoechst. 

During this period of intense synthetic research, a search for inexpensive raw materials for the partial synthesis of steroids was initiated. Abundant quantities of the sapogenin diosgenin [512-04-9] were isolated from plant sources and used for the industrial preparation of steroids (9). 

Biomass is a relatively inexpensive raw material. Since it is made by nature there is an enormous saving of energy. The main research areas include (1) isolation and purification of natural monomers and polymers, (2) modification of natural monomers and polymers, and... 

The game is thus to make chemicals that can be sold for high prices from inexpensive raw materials. This involves finding a chemical reactor system that wiU do this better than the competition, finding cheap and abundant raw materials, finding a good and reliable market for the product, and disposing of byproducts. 

Artificial sweeteners have also been developed to give the taste of sweetness without the calories. These chemicals have sweetness many times that of sugar so they sell for high prices as low-calorie sweeteners. Many artificial flavors have also been developed to replace natural biological flavors. In all cases we search for processes that convert inexpensive raw materials into chemicals that taste or smell like natural chemicals, either by producing the same chemical synthetically or by producing a different chemical that can replace the natural chemical. 

Recent developments to the hydrothermal process include improvements in yield and reaction rate and in overcoming the difficulty associated with the coproduct salt. One method of overcoming the co-product problem is to use magnesium nitrate instead of chloride, with the ammonium nitrate being utiHsed for fertiliser production [102-104]. At least one plant based on this concept is now in commercial production. While a considerable advance on the initial chloride process, the nitrate route does require close integration with a fertiliser process and thus lacks flexibility. An alternative approach being developed is to recycle the ammonium salt co-product (nitrate or chloride) and use it to leach magnesium oxide, a potentially inexpensive raw material [103]. 

Chemistry in London. For more than a decade, von Hoffman had been investigating the use of coal tar for the manufacture of new, commercially important chemicals. Coal tar had become a plentiful and inexpensive raw material after the development of the gas-lighting industry in the early 19th century, which generated vast amounts of coal tar as a by-product. 

Availability, ease of handling, and the combination of oxidation and reduction properties have all determined many of the traditional applications of hydrogen peroxide. Detailed investigation of the chemical properties of H202 also allows us to plumb the depths of the reaction mechanisms that proceed with its participation in order to consciously control their rate and direction. These studies may be applied as the basis for new chemical technological processes for the production of valuable chemical substances from readily available inexpensive raw materials. 

Cyanamide process. Although this process employs relatively inexpensive raw materials, it cannot compete with the Haber process under normal conditions. Formation of ammonia by the cyanamide process is based on the reaction between calcium cyanamide and steam ... 

Despite the advantages of biosurfactants, they will not replace the synthetic ones unless there is a great improvement inbiosurfactant production technology in order to reduce its costs. Thus, the use of renewable, readily available, and relatively inexpensive raw materials, considering that B. subtilis may synthesize biosurfactants from different carbon sources (20,21), may account for the feasibility of this bioprocess. 

Apart from its technical performance the material is based on the inexpensive raw materials iron and silicon. The amorphous precursor material for the Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu alloys, furthermore, is easily accessible by rapid solidification from the melt - a well established technique for large scale production of amorphous metals. 

Extrusion/spheronization (marum) Screw extruder, Marumerizer, Fluid bed coater Inexpensive raw materials Continuous process Complex multi-step process High dust during process and in product Requires highly concentrated enzyme... 

In particular, silver nanoparticles and occasionally gold nanoparticles are employed in inks due to their low electrical resistivity, low tendency toward oxidation, and generally high chemical stability. Other metal nanoparticles, such as copper and nickel particles, tend to oxidize and yield formulations that are less stable than silver and gold at ambient conditions. Carbon nanoparticles, which incorporate relatively inexpensive raw materials, are difficult to prepare in an industrial process and have higher resistivity than metal particles. Use of non-metal nanoparticles, such as silicon, for non-conductive electronic features, is also described in the literature on IJ inks. ... 

Calcium occurs mainly as calcium carbonate and calcium silicate on earth s crust both are found in limestone. By heating the limestone, carbon dioxide is driven away to obtain calcium oxide. Because of its abundance in nature, it is an inexpensive raw material and is used in various industries including in cement manufacture to tooth pastes. It is available in dilferent grades based on the particle size, purity, and reactivity. 

This volume consists of reviews devoted to a range of important subjects. Vadim Guliants and Moises Carreon (University of Cincinnati) review the selective oxidation of butane. This is an excellent example of a catalytic process designed to add value to an inexpensive raw material, and is the only vapor phase selective oxidation of an alkane that is practiced industrially. This process also avoids the use of benzene, which eliminates the risk of handling this carcinogenic compound. The authors review the synthesis, activation, and mechanism of this reaction on V-P-O catalysts. 

A number of synthetic peptides are significant commercial products, ranging from the sweet dipeptide aspartame (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) to clinically used hormones such as insulin and oxytocin. L-Aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (3 Scheme 2) is the methyl ester of the C-terminal dipeptide of gastrin. It was found accidently during the synthesis of gastrin that this synthetic sweetener is about 200 times as sweet as sucrose.f This pleasant sweetness without a bitter aftertaste was the reason that L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester was approved in many countries as a food additive, receiving much attention as a low-calorie sweetener. L-Aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester can be prepared by various chemical routes and the first enzymatic procedure of commercial interest was described by Isowa et al.h l In the industrial process,L-Asp and DL-Phe were chosen as inexpensive raw materials. L-Asp is available very inexpensively, whereas L-Phe is more expensive than DL-Phe. Z-D-Asp acts as a competitive inhibitor, while D-Phe-OMe... 

There are several methods for the preparation of mercaptans and sulfides. It is our intention here to emphasize only the most facile methods that are safe to operate commercially, use inexpensive raw materials, produce minimum by-products, and allow for simple and easy by-product handling. While the sources of sulfur for thiolation can be many, the most common ones are hydrogen sulfide (H2S), elemental sulfur, and carbon disulfide (CS2). H2S is a component of sour natural gas and can be separated for use in the manufacture of mercaptans and other sulfur chemicals. Additionally, H2S is generated in the many hydrode-sulfurizing units in a refinery. With minimal purification this could be used for the manufacture of thiochemicals. In many instances H2S is manufactured by either the Girdler or the Folkins processes ... 

The styrene plastics industry has emerged over the past 30 years to become a major worldwide business. The industry has grown because the excellent balance of mechanical properties and processability of styrene plastics allow it to fill diverse market needs. The advent of workable industrial processes for both monomer and polymer and the fact that styrene plastics were made from once inexpensive raw materials have likewise contributed to the growth of the industry. In spite of the relative maturity of the science and the industry, styrene plastics remain a fruitful area for research. For example, the development of new materials having unique properties, such as fire and heat resistance, and the development of efficient energy and material-saving fabrication processes are expected to be the subject of extensive study in the future. 

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