Standardizing production processes

In 1957 Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) discovered bismuth molybdate catalysts capable of producing high yields of acrolein at high propylene conversions (>90%) and at low pressures (12). Over the next 30 years much industrial and academic research and development was devoted to improving these catalysts, which are used in the production processes for acrolein, acryUc acid, and acrylonitrile. AH commercial acrolein manufacturing processes known today are based on propylene oxidation and use bismuth molybdate based catalysts. 

Sucrose Esters. These newer emulsifiers, approved for direct addition in the United States in 1983 (35), ate formed when sucrose is combined with various fatty acids and the resulting emulsion is dehydrated. These additives are odorless and tasteless, and can withstand the retort process. They are used in products when standards of identity do not preclude their use, such as baked goods, baking mixes, dairy product analogues, fto2en dairy desserts and mixes, and whipped milk products (39). High price has limited use in the United States, but these compounds ate used extensively in Japan as emulsifiers in baked goods (40). 

Specifications and Standards, Shipping. Commercial iodine has a minimum purity of 99.8%. The Committee of Analytical reagents of the American Chemical Society (67) and the U.S. Pharmacopoeia XXII (68) specify an iodine content not less than 99.8%, a maximum nonvolatile residue of 0.01%, and chlorine—bromine (expressed as chlorine) of 0.005% (ACS) and 0.028% (USP), respectively. In the past these requirements were attained basicaHy only by sublimation, but with processing changes these specifications can be met by direct production of iodine. Previously the impurities of the Chilean product were chiefly water, sulfuric acid, and insoluble materials. Improvements in the production process, and especiaHy in the refining step, aHow the direct obtainment of ACS-type iodine. Also, because of its origin and production process, the Chilean iodine has a chlorine—bromine impurity level of no more than 0.002%. 

Copper Development Association P.O. Box 1840 Greenwich, Conn. 06836 Standards for wrought and cast copper and copper alloy products a standards handbook is pubUshed with tolerances, alloy data, terminology, engineering data, processing characteristics, sources and specifications cross-indexes for six coppers and 87 copper-based alloys that are recognized as standards. 

Fig. 2. Source materials and production processes used to make the various grades of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR).

Production processes are given in Table 12. Electrolytic processes are dominant because of lower cost and fewer environmental problems. Production of slab zinc in Tennessee commenced in 1978 when Jersey Miniere Zinc Company began operation of its new 90,000 t/yr electrolytic smelter at Clarksville. Today, Tennessee is the leading producer of slab zinc. Although the U.S. demand for zinc metal in the past 16 years has increased by 47%, smelting capacity has declined by almost 50%. Plants closed because they were obsolete and could not meet environmental standards or obtain sufficient concentrate. Consequendy, slab zinc has replaced concentrates as the principal import form. This situation is expected to prevail up to the year 2000 (69-71). 

The main purpose for the heating and air conditioning of work spaces is to provide an environment that is acceptable and does not impair the health and performance of the occupants. During production processes and in the external environment it may be necessary to work in unacceptable conditions for a limited time period. However, it must be ensured that these conditions do not impair the health of the employees. Light, noise, air quality, and the thermal environment are all factors that influence the acceptability of conditions for and performance of the occupants. This section will only deal with the thermal environment. Several standards dealing with methods for the evaluation of the thermal environment have been published by international standard organizations such as ISO and CEN. 

Doing what you say you will do Not accepting work below standard Not shipping product below standard Improving processes... 

Generically there are two types of requirements defining requirements and verification requirements. Defining requirements specify the features and characteristics required of a product, process, or service. (Within the standard these are termed specified requirements.) These may be wholly specified by the customer or by the supplier or a mixture of the two. Verification requirements specify the requirements for verifying that the defining requirements have been achieved and again may be wholly specified by the customer or by the supplier or a mixture of the two. With verification requirements, how-... 

The standard requires the supplier to investigate the cause of nonconformities relating to product, process, and quality system and record the results of the investigation. The supplementary requirements require the supplier to use problem-solving methods when an internal or external nonconformity occurs. 

The final step in the process of standardizing our columns was to try and maintain the high quality of columns from batch to batch of gel from the manufacturer. This was done by following the basic procedures outlined earlier for the initial column evaluation with two exceptions. First, we did not continue to use the valley-to-peak ratios or the peak separation parameters. We decided that the D20 values told us enough information. The second modification that we made was to address the issue of discontinuities in the gel pore sizes (18,19). To do this, we selected six different polyethylenes made via five different production processes. These samples are run every time we do an evaluation to look for breaks or discontinuities that might indicate the presence of a gel mismatch. Because the resins were made by several different processes, the presence of a discontinuity in several of these samples would be a strong indication of a problem. Table 21.5 shows the results for several column evaluations that have been performed on different batches of gel over a 10-year period. Table 21.5 shows how the columns made by Polymer Laboratories have improved continuously over this time period. Figure 21.2 shows an example of a discontinuity that was identified in one particular evaluation. These were not accepted and the manufacturer quickly fixed the problem. 

The Institute of Petroleum, IP Standard Methods for Analysis and Testing of Petroleum and Related Products and British Standards, Jolm Wiley Sons, Chichester, UK (1999). Universal Oil Products Process Division, Des Plaines, IL, USA. 

Statistical process control (SPC) is an important on-line method in real time by which a production process can be monitored and control plans can be initiated to keep quality standards within acceptable limits. Statistical quality control (SQC) provides off-line analysis of the big picture such as what was the impact of previous improvements. It is important to understand how SPC and SQC operate. 

Firstly, there are technical reasons concerning catalyst and reactor requirements. In the chemical industry, catalyst performance is critical. Compared to conventional catalysts, they are relatively expensive and catalyst production and standardization lag behind. In practice, a robust, proven catalyst is needed. For a specific application, an extended catalyst and washcoat development program is unavoidable, and in particular, for the fine chemistry in-house development is a burden. For coated systems, catalyst loading is low, making them unsuited for reactions occurring in the kinetic regime, which is particularly important for bulk chemistry and refineries. In that case, incorporated monolithic catalysts are the logical choice. Catalyst stability is crucial. It determines the amount of catalyst required for a batch process, the number of times the catalyst can be reused, and for a continuous process, the run time. 

We also expect our business partners -paper mills, printers, packaging manufacturers, etc. - to commit themselves to using materials and production processes that do not harm the environment. The paper in this book is made from low- or no-chlorine pulp and is acid free, in conformance with international standards for paper permanency. 

Sulfur dioxide is generated in large quantities during the primary zinc refining process and sulfur fixation is carried out concurrently with the primary production process in order to meet CAA emission standards. Concentrations of sulfur dioxide in the off-gas vary with the type of roaster operation. Typical concentrations for multiple-hearth, suspension, and fluidized-bed roasters are 4.5 to 6.5%, 10 to 13%, and 7 to 12%, respectively. This sulfur dioxide is then converted into sulfuric acid. 

Standard for Production, Processing, Handling and Storage of Zirconium, NFPA 482M, 1974... 

Pork is the product of a very complex process. All the various characteristics of pork quality cannot be assessed directly in each carcass because these measurements and assessments would be too expensive. Therefore, previous scientific quality assessment of meat is primarily an indirect approach based on a few easily detectable quantitative traits and on the prescription of minimal standards in relation to the product in terms of size or composition and in relation to the production process. The prescriptions and the exclusion criteria vary between countries or between labelling programmes. The most encompassing prescriptions are enshrined in the EC regulation on organic livestock production (EEC No. 2092/91). Owing to this approach, extreme deviations in quality traits and deleterious effects are prevented. However, there is still space left within these framework conditions for huge variability in pork quality. 

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