You’ve probably heard of chemical manufacturing in an industrial context, but what exactly does that mean? Basic chemical manufacturing refers to the processes by which large quantities of chemicals are made from raw materials. The most common products created through basic chemical manufacturing include soap, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and paint, among many others. Since the chemical industry has far-reaching applications and uses, it is important to understand precisely how this type of manufacturing works to gain an edge over your competition. Below are a few helpful examples of the different types of chemicals you can expect to see during basic chemical manufacturing.
Process Flowchart
Chemical manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry across several industries, including pharmaceuticals, cleaning products, textiles, and agrochemicals. Chemical processes are complicated and require an understanding of complex reactions to transform raw materials into finished goods.
Because of its complexity, chemical manufacturing has been largely split up among different companies or services within one company. This includes a chemical processing service that will oversee each process within your factory, from initial development to marketing your product or final distribution.
It’s important for businesses who want an efficient production process and are willing to provide input on their product throughout the development cycle to work with these experts of applied chemistries because it saves time in design validation and testing.
Reactor Types
It’s a little misleading that I’m listing types of reactors. There are many different kinds, but for our purposes, we can look at them by their uses: batch, continuous and semi-continuous (although these don’t tell us much about how they work). Batch processes deal with making one large batch of material or product at a time.
They tend to be fairly handed off, and because they only produce one batch at a time. They might be better suited for experiments rather than production (which is where continuous processes come in). Continuous processes take chemicals from A to Z without stopping; you feed them inputs and end up with a finished product.
Materials of Construction
The materials of construction used in any product will greatly impact how safe and environmentally friendly that product is. For example, most glass containers are formed from either soda-lime glass or borosilicate glass; borosilicate has superior thermal resistance (the ability to withstand high temperatures) compared to soda-lime.
Thus, containers made from borosilicate will not break as easily when exposed to temperature variations during shipping and storage of products such as hot sauce, barbecue sauce, and ketchup. Such products can be shipped more economically using less heat-resistant soda-lime glass cans.
Plant Layout Considerations
As you sketch out your plant, keep in mind several kinds of chemical manufacturing operations. The first and most common is continuous processing. This is a closed system where chemicals move through various stages until they become final or intermediate products.
Then those end products or intermediate products move on to other plants or facilities for further processing. For example, a fertilizer manufacturer would start with ammonium nitrate. They would then add nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash (NPK). When they were done, they would have urea, an end product that can be sold directly to farmers and shipped offsite for further processing into granules.
Feedstock Selection and Feedstock Handling
Feedstock is any raw material used for manufacturing a chemical or product. The most important factor in determining feedstock choice is cost. As feedstocks become more abundant, their costs decrease.
Additionally, because of their complex chemical structure. Different feedstocks require specific processes that must be matched with equipment that can handle such complexities. Chemical Processing Services selects each customer’s feedstock based on availability and economics.
Gas Purification and Pollution Control Systems
It can be hard to find a detailed guide explaining how chemical processes work in layman’s terms. Still, luckily there are sites dedicated solely to helping entrepreneurs navigate complex industries. This piece from Chemical Processing Services explains, in detail, how gas purification and pollution control systems function.
If you’re starting and looking for an overview of what it takes (and what it looks like) for basic chemical manufacturing and processing—check out CPS’s collection of resources. You’ll learn everything from filtration systems used during chemical processing to carbon dioxide separation methods during beer production.
Heat Exchangers & Coolers
Once you’ve created your reaction mixture, you need a way to cool it down while removing unwanted chemical byproducts. Because of their unique chemical composition, some byproducts cannot be cooled off as simply as others.
This is where heat exchangers and coolers come in handy. Some of them are even designed specifically for use with certain reagents, like those that can damage traditional heating elements or catalysts.
Even when they aren’t custom-made for specific purposes. Heat exchangers and coolers offer improved efficiency over simple cooling elements like air or water channels—making your reaction run better and more safely.
Utility Systems
Utilities are a necessary part of running a chemical manufacturing business. Although some companies opt for private utilities, such as natural gas or water, most rely on public utilities regulated by local government bodies.
To set up shop in an area with public utilities and avoid dealing with cumbersome utility regulations. It’s important to learn about your state’s rules regarding where to locate your facility. States vary on how many chemicals they allow you to produce without special licensing requirements.
But remember, just because you don’t need special licensing doesn’t mean you don’t need a permit. Before construction starts, your company will have its share of planning and permitting steps required by local authorities and regulatory agencies.
Final Words
The world of chemical manufacturing is a dynamic, ever-changing industry. It’s important for companies and individuals involved in chemical manufacturing. To stay abreast of trends and understand current issues and upcoming changes so they can make informed decisions regarding their futures. In some cases, staying up-to-date on the news can be a matter of life or death. For example, regulatory agencies like OSHA require businesses to regularly provide information on recent incidents that may impact workplace safety. The hope being that informed workers will put processes in place for dealing with hazards before an accident occurs. As such, staying informed about technological innovations and upcoming regulations keeps you ahead of your competition and helps keep workers safe.
