Hello

* The US chemical industry is the nation’s 1th largest manufacturing industry and the 5th largest in the world.

The 3 largest sections are:

(a) Food, drink and tobacco,

(b) Mechanical engineering

and

(c) Paper, printing and publishing

* A chemical plant produces the desired products. The process used to manufacture the product may be operated in batch or continuous sequences.

Cost considerations

Capital costs: The one-off cost of constructing the plant and all the associated costs of all buildings.

Variable costs: The cost that changes throughout the year and is dependent on how much product is sold. E.g. buying raw materials, treating waste and dispatching the product.

Fixed costs: The annual cost of the staff, local rates, advertising and utility bills.

Fertilizer Industry

Haber process

* Ammonia is manufactured from N2 and H2.

* The nitrogen is available from the raw material, air.

* The other feedstock for the manufacture of NH3 is hydrogen which is usually produced from methane.

* Temperatures around 500 degrees Celsius and pressures of over 150 atmospheres give a yield of ammonia of about 15%.

Sulphuric Acid Industry

Sulphuric Acid

* Sulphuric acid is manufactured by the Contact Process.

* The raw materials for the manufacture of H2SO4 are H2O, O2 from air and S or a compound containing sulphur.

Petrochemical Industry

* Houston has largest of the US’s major oil refineries and petrochemical Plants. The crude oil is processed to increase its market value.

* Oil refining is a continuous process.

Plastic Industry

* Plastics use only 4% of world crude oil, petrochemicals a further 4%.

* The cheapest feedstock is natural gas.

* The cheapest location is the Middle East where there is no other good use for it.

* Natural gas becomes a liquid at 161oC