Chemical Processes
Every industrial process is designed to produce a desired product from a variety of
starting raw materials using energy through a succession of treatment steps integrated
in a rational fashion. The treatments steps are either physical or chemical in nature.
Energy is an input to or output in chemical processes.
The layout of a chemical process indicates areas where:
- raw materials are pre-treated
- conversion takes place
- separation of products from by-products is carried out
- refining/purification of products takes place
- entry and exit points of services such as cooling water and steam
Units that make up a chemical process
A chemical process consists of a combination of chemical reactions such as synthesis,
calcination, ion exchange, electrolysis, oxidation, hydration and operations based on
physical phenomena such as evaporation, crystallization, distillation and extraction.
A chemical process is therefore any single processing unit or a combination of processing
units used for the conversion of raw materials through any combination of
chemical and physical treatment changes into finished products.
Unit processes
Unit processes are the chemical transformations or conversions that are performed
in a process.
In Table 1.1, examples of some unit processes are given:
Unit Operations
There are many types of chemical processes that make up the global chemical industry.
However, each may be broken down into a series of steps called unit operations.
These are the physical treatment steps, which are required to:
- put the raw materials in a form in which they can be reacted chemically
- put the product in a form which is suitable for the market In Table1.2, some common unit operations are given.
It is the arrangement or sequencing of various unit operations coupled with unit
processes and together with material inputs, which give each process its individual
character. The individual operations have common techniques and are based on the
same scientific principles.
For example, in many processes, solids and fluids must
be moved; heat or other forms of energy may be transferred from one substance to
another; drying, size reduction, distillation and evaporation are performed.
By studying systematically these unit operations, which cut across industry and
process lines, the treatment of all processes is unified and simplified.
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