Synthetic chemical production

Age-adjusted mortality rates for cancer at different sites in U.S. males are shown in Figure 1. It is evident from these data that cancer of the lung has steadily increased in males since 1935 corresponding to an approximate 20-year lag period after cigarette smoking first became popular. In marked contrast to this, the incidence of cancers of the colon and rectum, breast and prostate have increased only at a low rate since 1940. We logically conclude that industrial pollution, food additives, synthetic chemical products, etc., the levels of which have increased dramatically in our environment, are not associated with the development of these three cancer types. On the other hand, the mode of cooking has remained similar over this period, and thus is consonant with the cancer incidence data. 

Sulfuric acid is number one in synthetic chemical production. It is used to produce phosphate fertilizer, high octane gasoline, and a wide variety of inorganic and organic chemicals. Large quantities are consumed to pickle steel (cleaning and removal of surface oxides) disposal of spent pickling liquor can be a problem. 

Such a material flow model and such a system of chemical manufacturing is not sustainable. The natural systems of the planet are not linear, one-pass systems. Instead, the planet s systems are remarkably sophisticated cyclical systems in which materials and energy constantly flow through repeating cycles. The homeostatic equilibrium of ecological processes is resilient up to a point, but the torrent of synthetic chemical products and wastes that have been produced by the chemical... 

Among the commercially important esters of inorganic acids are those of nitric, sulfuric, phosphoric, and silicic acids. The nitrates of glycerol and cellulose are among the oldest of synthetic chemical products. They are prepared by the direct esterification of the alcohol by nitric acW. 

In its broadest sense, environmental chemistry might be considered to include the chemistry of everything outside of the synthetic chemist s flask The moment that a chemical substance is released to the environment, its physico-chemical properties may have an enormous impact on ecological systems, including humans. Researchers have identified 51 synthetic chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. Hormone disrupters include some of the 209 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and some of the 75 dioxins and 135 furans that have a myriad of documented effects (1). The latter half of the twentieth century has witnessed more synthetic chemical production than any other period in world history. Between 1940 and 1982, the production of synthetic chemicals increased about 350 times. Billions of pounds of synthetic materials were released into the environment during this period. United States production of carbon-based synthetic chemicals topped 435 billion pounds in 1992 or 1600 pounds per capita (2). 

Mitsui Mining Smelting Co., Ltd. (MMS) is a general non-ferrous metal enterprise which originated its business from mining and smelting. At present, its spectrum of business activities covers not only the production of zinc, lead, copper and other materials but also it has extended its applications to the production of rolled copper products, synthetic chemical products, electric circuit materials (electrolytic copper foil), PVD (physical vapour deposition) materials, battery materials, ceramics, rare metals, rare earth and automotive components. 

Essential oils are secondary metabolites produced in the plants as volatile aromatic principles. They are colorless and rarely colored and soluble in organic solvents. It is fotmd in all part of the plants and is stored in epidermal cells, trichomes, secretory cells, canals, and cavities. They are extracted by the use of liquid carbon dioxide or microwaves, expression and mainly steam or hydrodistillation process. Due to their biological, nutritive, and pharmaceutical properties, they are more attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical products to protect the equilibrium. 

Number-one in synthetic chemical production, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is a severely corrosive poison and dehydrating agent in the concentrated liquid form it readily penetrates skin to reach subcutaneous tissue, causing tissue necrosis with effects resembling those of severe thermal bums. Sulfuric acid fumes and mists irritate eye and respiratory tract tissue, and industrial exposme has even caused tooth erosion in workers. 

Coal is used ia industry both as a fuel and ia much lower volume as a source of chemicals. In this respect it is like petroleum and natural gas whose consumption also is heavily dominated by fuel use. Coal was once the principal feedstock for chemical production, but ia the 1950s it became more economical to obtain most industrial chemicals from petroleum and gas. Nevertheless, certain chemicals continue to be obtained from coal by traditional routes, and an interest in coal-based chemicals has been maintained in academic and industrial research laboratories. Much of the recent activity in coal conversion has been focused on production of synthetic fuels, but significant progress also has been made on use of coal as a chemical feedstock (see Coal CONVERSION processes). 

Because of the ovedapping roles of coal in industry, many of the technologies covered here have been developed for synthetic fuel appHcations, but they also have been used or have demonstrated potential for production of significant quantities of chemicals. The scope of an article on coal as a chemical source would not be complete without coverage of synfuel processes, but the focus will be on the chemical production potential of the processes, looking toward a future when coal again may become the principal feedstock for chemical production. 

In 1991, the relatively old and small synthetic fuel production faciHties at Sasol One began a transformation to a higher value chemical production facihty (38). This move came as a result of declining economics for synthetic fuel production from synthesis gas at this location. The new faciHties installed in this conversion will expand production of high value Arge waxes and paraffins to 123,000 t/yr in 1993. Also, a new faciHty for production of 240,00 t/yr of ammonia will be added. The complex will continue to produce ethylene and process feedstock from other Sasol plants to produce alcohols and higher phenols. 

A number of chemical products are derived from Sasol s synthetic fuel operations based on the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis including paraffin waxes from the Arge process and several polar and nonpolar hydrocarbon mixtures from the Synthol process. Products suitable for use as hot melt adhesives, PVC lubricants, cormgated cardboard coating emulsions, and poHshes have been developed from Arge waxes. Wax blends containing medium and hard wax fractions are useful for making candles, and over 20,000 t/yr of wax are sold for this appHcation. 

Synthetics. The lack of spice products to satisfy demand and the wide variation in price and availabihty have caused the manufacture of selected synthetics, chemically identical to the component in the natural spice, to replace the vital components of some spices. However, synthetic organic chemistry is not yet able to manufacture economically the many homologous piperine [94-62-2] components in black pepper or those capsaicin [404-86-4] amides in... 

Wintergreen Oil. Water distillation of the leaves of Gaultheriaprocumbens L. yields an oil which consists of essentially one chemical constituent, methyl saUcylate. Because of this, the oil has been almost totally replaced by the synthetic chemical. Natural oil of wintergreen [68917-75-9] is a pale yellow to pinkish colored mobile Hquid of intensely sweet-aromatic odor and flavor. The oil or its synthetic replacement find extensive use in pharmaceutical preparations, candy, toothpaste, industrial products, and in rootbeer flavor. In perfumery, it is used in fougnre or forest-type fragrances. 

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission s Synthetic Organic Chemicals, Production and Sales, 1987, the three manufacturers of diphenylamine are Rubicon, Inc., Aristech Chemical Corp., and Uniroyal Chemical Co. No production figures have been given siace 1974, but U.S. production ia the range of 5,000—10,000 t/yr appears reasonable. 

United States International Trade Commission, Synthetic Organic Chemicals, Production and Sales, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1987. 

Chemical Production. Glyciae, DL-methionine, and dl-alanine ate produced by chemical synthesis. From 1964 to 1974, some glutamic acid was produced chemically (48). The synthetic amino acid with the largest production is DL-methionine from actoleia (see Acrolein and derivatives). The iadustrial production method is shown ia the foUowiag (210). 

J. Dacey and W. Pult2, Synthetic Silicate Products for the Rubberindusty, at the CL Meeting of the 147th Rubber Division, Philadelphia, Pa., Mery 2—5, 1995, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 

Sales of thiophene in the 1990s amount to hundreds of metric tons per year. SuppHes are available worldwide from Synthetic Chemicals Ltd. (SCL) in the United Kingdom and Elf-Atochem SA in France. There is currendy no U.S. producer of thiophene or the principal thiophene derivatives. At these levels of demand, material is shipped in 200-hter dmms and in bulk quantities. Market price is dependent on the level of off-take. 3-Methylthiophene is also available from SCL, but demand is low and even lower in the case of 2-methylthiophene lower production and lower market demand have led to higher prices for these derivatives. 

Clays are used in a vast number of products. In a few cases, clays are used as a chemical raw material as, for example, for synthetic zeoHte production or for production of aluminum. 

What has become an even greater concern in recent years is the phenomenon known as multiple chemical sensitivity disorder triggered by exposures to many chemicals in the environment. Synthetic chemicals are all around us. They are in the products we use, in the clothes we wear, in the food we eat, in the air we breathe at work. Because chemicals are everywhere in the environment, it is not possible to escape exposure. For this reason many people have become sensitized to the chemicals around them. In fact, it is estimated that 15% of the population has become sensitized to common household and commercial products. For some people the sensitization is not too serious a problem. They may have what appears to be a minor allergy to one or more chemicals. Other people are much more seriously affected. They may feel tired all the time, and suffer from mental confusion, breathing problems, sore muscles, and a weakened immune system. Such people suffer from a condition known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). 

Many chemical products are produced from crude oil. Initially, little chemistry was involved therefore the petrochemicals were not considered part of the chemical process industry. Today, materials ranging from specialised fuels, plastics and synthetics makes it part of the chemical processing, The petroleum refinery is where the chemical processing of oil begins. 

Synthetic organic chemical production is approximately 200 billion pounds per year. " There are more than 8 million known organic compounds, and of these, the compounds that are commercially produced are too numerous to mention. Only a brief overview of commercially produced syntlietic organic chemicals can be given here. 

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