The role of a chemical engineer revolves around the manufacturing of chemicals. There is a wide variety of chemicals that are manufactured around the globe by various companies. The manufacturing of every chemical is different from another chemical.
Learning about various chemicals produced in chemical industries helps you understand the scope of chemical engineering. All the chemicals and their manufacturing process are studied in a subject called process technology.
In this post, we are going to take a look at various chemicals produced in the chemical industries and will classify chemicals and industries to make it easier to study manufacturing processes. In future posts, we are going to see the manufacturing of various important chemicals.
What is a chemical manufacturing process?
The chemical manufacturing process is method consists of one or more steps employed to convert low-value raw materials to high-value final products.
Every chemical produced in the chemical plant requires different steps in manufacturing. These steps are called unit operations and unit processes. Let's understand what are unit operations and unit processes.
- Unit Operations: Physical changes takes place inside raw materials when the unit operation is applied to them. Change of pressure, the temperature of composition changes takes place in unit operations.
- Unit Processes: Chemical changes take place inside raw materials when unit processes are applied to them. Reactions are the heart of unit processes. Change of molecular structure and chemical properties may change in unit processes.
I hope you now understand what is the chemical manufacturing process. Now we will take a look at all the chemicals produced in the chemical industry. Then we will learn about the classification of various industries.
Classification of industries according to chemicals produced
- Inorganic Chemicals Producing Industries: Companies producing inorganic chemicals have come under this type of company. Chemicals such as industrial acids, bases, and salts are produced in these types of companies.
- Fertilizers Producing Industries: Companies fertilizers such as urea, ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, superphosphates, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, etc. These type of chemicals produces raw materials which are inorganic chemicals themselves or import from other companies.
- Petroleum Refining Industries: Companies that refine crude oil and produce important chemicals such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, gas oils, petroleum coke, LPG, asphalt, etc.
- Petrochemical Industries: Companies that produce important organic compounds from refined products of petroleum. These type of industries produces chemicals such as benzene, toluene, phenols, methanol, etc.
- Polymer Producing Industries: Companies that produce polymer products such as polythene, polypropylene, nylon, polyesters, resins, fibers, rubbers, etc.
- Natural Product Producing Industries: Companies that produce products that are produced from natural sources. Products such as paper and pump, sugar, fats, cement, glass, ceramics, soaps, and detergents.
- Paint and Dyes Producing Industries: Companies that produce paints and dyes for painting purposes.
- Fuels Producing Industries: Companies that produce industrial-grade fuels for other companies. These type of companies produces solid fuels including various types of coals and solid fuels, liquid fuels including various petroleum products and gaseous fuels such as natural gas, water gas, hydrogen gas, acetylene gas, etc.
List of important chemicals produced in various industries
Here is a list of chemicals according to industries classified above:
- Inorganic Chemicals
- Hydrogen Gas
- Oxygen Gas
- Nitrogen Gas
- Acetylene Gas
- Carbon Dioxide Gas
- Chlorine Gas
- Sulphuric Acid
- Nitric Acid
- Phosphoric Acid
- Hydrochloric Acid
- Acetic Acid
- Benzoic Acid
- Formic Acid
- Oxalic Acid
- Phthalic Acid
- Sodium Chloride
- Sodium Hydroxide
- Sodium Carbonate
- Sodium Bicarbonate
- Fertilizers
- Urea
- Ammonium Chloride
- Ammonium Phosphate
- Ammonium Sulphate
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate
- Single superphosphate
- Triple superphosphate
- Potassium Chloride
- Potassium Sulfate
- Composite Fertilizers
- Refined Products of Petroleum
- Petrochemical Products
- Ethylene
- Propylene
- Propylene Oxide
- Isopropanol
- Benzene
- Methanol
- Ethyl Benzene
- Styrene
- Cumene
- Phenol
- Bisphenol
- Aniline
- Polymer Products
- Polyethene
- Polypropylene
- Polystyrene
- Polyvinyl Chloride
- Urea Formaldehyde
- Melamine Formaldehyde
- Styrene-Butadiene Rubber
- Poly Butadiene
- Nitrile Rubber
- Polyester
- Acrylonitrile
- Polyurethane
- Cellulosic Fibres
- Natural Product Producing Industries
- Paper and Pulp
- Soaps and Detergents
- Sugar and Alcohol Manufacturing (Fermentation Products)
- Cement
- Ceramics
- Glass
- Paint and Dyes Producing Industries
- Fuels Producing Industries
- Solid Fuels
- Liquid Fuels
- Gaseous Fuels
Classification of Industrial Chemicals According to Production
There are major two types of chemicals that are manufactured in chemical industries:
- Heavy Chemicals: Heavy chemicals are manufactured in large quantities. A large plant is employed for the manufacturing of heavy chemicals. Examples of heavy chemicals are sulphuric acid, caustic soda, petroleum products, etc. Capital and operating investment for the plants producing these types of plants are quite high. The purity of heavy chemicals is relatively lower than fine chemicals.
- Fine Chemicals: Fine chemicals are manufactured in small quantities. A small plant is built to produce this type of chemical. Examples of fine chemicals are pharmaceutical products, specialty chemicals such as perfumes, solvents, etc. Capital and operating investment for the plants producing these types of plants are relatively low. The purity of fine chemicals should be very high.
Classification of Industrial Chemicals According to Composition
- Organic Chemicals: The amount of carbon and hydrogen is higher in these types of chemicals. Majorly, Carbon is the central part of these types of chemicals. For example petrol, kerosene and other petroleum products, benzene, phenols, etc. Petroleum refining and petrochemical industries produce these types of chemicals.
- Inorganic Chemicals: These types of chemicals are generally acid or base of salts of inorganic compounds. Acid such as sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, etc. A base (Alkalies) such as caustic soda, soda ash, potassium hydroxide, etc. And salts such as magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, etc. Fertilizers such as urea, superphosphate, etc. are also counted as inorganic chemicals.
- Polymers: Polymers are macromolecules produced by combining thousands of small size molecules, also called monomers. Example of polymers is polythene, polypropylene, polystyrene, nylon 6, etc.
Conclusion
In this post, we covered various classifications of chemicals and discussed various important industries. This post is an introductory post for all the process technology subjects and further, I will add manufacturing processes of chemicals listed above with important points.