How are chemicals manufactured?
The manufacture of chemicals encompasses a wide range of industries, such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, construction, and manufacturing. Companies in the chemical business, both large and small, specialise in manufacturing chemicals for use in various industries. Studying chemical manufacturing as a whole entails looking at things like cutting-edge engineering, production support and maintenance, and streamlined material handling processes.
South Africa’s chemicals industry has been around since the 19th century, when the country underwent its “industrial revolution” to take advantage of the wealth that came from gold and diamond mining. As a subset of manufacturing, the chemical industry accounts for 22.8% of all jobs in the country and 3.4% of GDP. About 600 different chemical products are manufactured in South Africa. As an integral part of the manufacturing sector, the chemical value chain plays a crucial role in the nation’s economy.
The industry is the largest of its kind in Africa and is highly complex and diversified, with end-products frequently made of multiple chemicals mixed to achieve desired attributes. It can be put into four main groups: base chemicals, intermediate chemicals, chemical end-products, and specialty end-products.
Base chemicals are important chemical building blocks derived from the petrochemical industry and include ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, and methanol. Some examples of inorganic base chemicals are ammonia, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, chlorine, sulphur, soda ash, bromine, fluorine, and phosphorus.
Intermediate chemicals is a term that can be used to describe a wide range of products, such as ammonia, waxes, solvents, phenols, tars, plastics, and rubbers. End products of chemistry include plastics that can be moulded, paints, explosives, and fertilisers. Specialty chemical end products tend to be fewer in number but have a higher value. In this group are many pharmaceuticals, herbicides and pesticides, biochemicals, and additives for food, fuel, and plastics.
How are chemicals made?
However vast the chemical industry, most factories adhere to a somewhat standard approach for production, even though they create a dizzying array of compounds. Preparing and transporting the feedstock chemicals, which serve as the reactants to generate the end product, is the first step in the chemical manufacturing process. Prepped feedstocks are then transferred to a reactor, where the required chemical processes take place to produce the final product. The reactor’s wastes, unwanted feedstock, and desired products all make their way to the cleanup facility. Purification is the last step before sending the completed product on to packing and eventual shipment to a consumer, often through a pipeline.
Logistics, familiarity with chemical feedstocks, and expertise in a wide range of chemical reactions and production procedures are all required for the manufacture of chemicals. The chemical plant, which is the lifeblood of every chemical manufacturing activity, includes components from each of these categories. The majority of chemical plants are designed to operate in a continuous mode, meaning they don’t interrupt output unless there is an emergency, a breakdown, or a planned maintenance downtime.
Synthetic ethanol
The Sasol Synthol technique is exclusive to South Africa and results in the production of a one-of-a-kind first run synthetic alcohol. This alcohol is a blend of isopropyl and ethyl alcohols with a ratio of 95:5. This particular product is referred to as ethylol 95. In order to generate a crude gas stream, the Sasol process involves gasifying coal while it is also surrounded by water and air. The gas (referred to as synthesis gas) is then introduced into the synthol reactors after an earlier phase involving the purification of the gas. In this step, the gas is primarily transformed into hydrocarbons with some oxygenates. This group, which consists of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and acids, is then broken down into its constituent components one at a time.
The ethylol 95 is one of the alcohols. Because of the very near proximity of the boiling temperatures of ethyl and isopropyl alcohols, this first run alcohol is a combination. A part of this stream is utilised as feedstock in the production of an anhydrous ethyl alcohol of exceptionally high purity. High purity alcohol can easily be diluted to 96% strength by adding water.
A last word
The manufacture of chemicals is an essential field because the vast majority of enterprises utilise chemicals in one form or another. Chemical firms produce a diverse array of goods in order to satisfy the demands of their sector. These items can range from specialised chemicals that are produced in limited quantities to chemicals that are manufactured in vast quantities for general use. To meet the requirements that are placed on chemicals by residential, commercial, and industrial usage, industries are required to continually innovate new processes and goods.
Several types of workers are needed to keep a chemical factory functioning. Chemical engineers create new processes and improve on existing ones. Operators are experts in process management who are responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities of taking measurements, running equipment, and monitoring the performance of the process. Quality control and the non-routine studies requested by the engineers necessitate the presence of lab personnel and technicians. The plant’s operational systems are supported by maintenance and support staff such as mechanics, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers.
Chemi is a well-established bulk chemicals supplier in South Africa. Get in touch with our team today.
