Industrial Organic Chemicals and

Consumer products (INCH3105)

Instructor
Tesfaye Eshete
(PhD, Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine)

October 2023
 Introduction

* *
Organic chemistry
*

Chemistry: The Analytical Chemistry

central science *

*
What is Industrial chemistry
Industrial chemistry is the manufacturing art
concerned with the transformation of matter into
useful materials in desired amounts. Usually this
transformation of available materials into more
desirable ones involves some kind of process
following a recipe.
In turn the process may involve grinding, mixing
together various ingredients, dissolving, heating,
allowing ingredients to interact (chemically or
biochemically react forming new compositions
of matter), cooling, evaporating or distilling,
growing crystals, filtering, and other physical-
chemical biological operations.
 Chapter 1 : Coal and Petroleum Processing
1.1. Origin of coal and its ranking
1.2. Carbonisation of coal, gasification and hydrogenation of coal
1.3. Petroleum: Origin, Classification and mining, Distillation of petroleum
1.4. Rating of Petrol and Diesel
1.5. Cracking, Alkylation, Hydrotreating and Reforming
1.6. Introduction to petrochemicals
1.7. Chemical conversions for manufacture of petrochemicals
1.7.1 Petrochemicals from Methane, Ethylene, Propylene, Butylenes and BTX
1.7.2 Manufacture of Acetylene, Ethylene oxide, Acrylonitile, Dimethyl
Terephthalate
1.8 Fossil fuels: Environmental effects
Energy demands in Industrial process
Reginal energy consumption
 Coal, its origin and ranking
• Fossil fuels like Coal, Petroleum Oil and Naural
Gas are some of the most important natural
resources in our everyday life. Those fossil fuels
are all Hydrocarbons. They are compounds
formed from only two elements, Carbon and
Hydrogen.
• Coal is a brown to black carbonaceous
sedimentary rock composed of macerals
(organic material) and minerals (inorganic
material), both subject to metamorphism. Coal
and coal products play an important role in
fulfilling the energy needs of the society.
• Coal originates from the remnants of various
forms of plant life (ferns, shrubs, trees, etc.)
that flourished in swamps and bogs millions of
years ago during prolonged periods of warm
temperatures and abundant rainfall.
- The accumulated organic matter, known as peat,
was the precursor of coal. Although the peat may
have been altered by fungal, bacterial, faunal, and
chemical action, overlying water excluded oxygen and
retarded the rate of decay. This exclusion of oxygen
from the peat was critical for preserving the organic
matter.
- Over time, inorganic sediments accumulated on top
of the deposits of plant debris. The gradual rising and
lowering of the sea level over time led to deposits of
peat alternating with deposits of sand and mud,
resulting in the current situation of coal seams
interlayered with rock layers. As overlying sediments
became thicker, the peat was compressed into a solid
rock by the process of lithification. Typically, 6 m of
peat will form 1 m of coal, although this is far from an
exact estimate.
• The length of time that these reactions proceed, later stage coalification
(formation of subbituminous coal, bituminous coal, and anthracite) results from
deeper burial. An exposure of the organic matter to more extreme temperatures
and pressures compared to those experienced by brown coals and lignite
produces matured coal. The more intense heating and pressure results in further
chemical changes in the organic molecules, as well as (physical) changes in the
appearance of the coal. In bituminous coals, specific plant components in the coal
(macerals) become more homogenous, and the cell structures of woody material
within the coal still visible in lignite and subbituminous coals using scanning
electron microscopy.
• As a result of the physical changes during late-stage coalification, the appearance
of coal change from a brown, dull-colored substance that resembles mixtures of
wood and plant remains (brown coal and lignite), to a lustrous, shiny, black
organic “rock” (bituminous coals and anthracite). Bituminous coals and
anthracites are often referred to as hard coal because of their physical structure,
while lignite and brown coal are commonly referred to as soft coal.
• Coal is a non-renewable resource that is far more plentiful than oil or gas with
considerable amount of coal reserves worldwide.
Top coal producing countries
Coal ranking
Coal is typically classified by “rank” a term referring to the degree of alteration of the
coal from the initial organic material (plant biopolymers). The higher the rank of the
coal, the greater the degree of alteration. Rank is an important parameter because of
its relation to key industrial characteristics of coal. For example, the energy produced
per unit weight of coal (calorific value in kcal lb-1 or kJ kg-1) is dependent on rank.
Higher-rank coals typically have higher calorific values, reflecting loss of moisture and
volatiles and the progressive increase in aromatization of the coal structure.

The ranking also plays a role as a predictor of oil and natural gas generation from coal
beds. Although microorganisms play a role in the alteration of plant biopolymers to
form peat and coal, temperature and (to a lesser degree) pressure are the principal
factors controlling the degree of alteration (rank) attained by a particular coal. The
rank of coal is not consistently correlated with its age, and there are examples of
Carboniferous coals of lower rank than Tertiary coals.
Carbonization
It is a process in which coal is heated in the absence of oxygen. After combustion,
carbonization of coal is the most important use of coal to produce coke. Coke : is the
solid residue that remains when coal is heated out of contact with air. Principal use :
Coke is basically formed, so that it can be used in iron and steel manufacture
( metallurgical purpose ) where it provides heat energy and acts as a reducing agent for
iron ore in blast furnace. The residue from the carbonization process is a non- porous
powder or granular mass, it is known as char. Char may be used in the form of specially
moulded briquettes, in much the same way as coke. Carbonization can broadly be
divided into two types depending on the temperature of carbonization as follows.

- High Temperature Carbonization : (9000 0C – 13000 0C) Coke is produced for

metallurgical purpose. In high temperature carbonization, the yield of gaseous product is
more than liquid products with production of tar relatively low.

- Low Temperature Carbonization : (4000 0C – 7000 0C) The main aim of low temperature
carbonization is to produce soft coke as a smokeless fuel.
Gasification
Coal gasification is a versatile process to supply town gas
and feedstock for chemicals production as well as power
generation. Coal produces cokes, tar, and gaseous
products upon pyrolysis. Powdery cokes were used to
produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a gas
producer in the form of producer or water gas.
The product gas has been used for various purposes
such as town gas, industrial fuel, chemical synthesis, and
power generation. Today, coal utilization is competing
with many types of sources, such as petroleum, natural
gas, atomic energy, renewable energy, and energy from
wastes. Considering business environments, coal is
suitable for a feedstock of mass consumption in power
generation, hydrogen production, steal making, or one
carbon (C1) chemistry (CO, CO2, CH4, and CH3OH etc)
Syngas and other chemicals production

Syngas is a mixture of
CO and hydrogen is
known as syngas
(synthesis gas or water
gas). It is used for
manufacturing
methanol.

It is produced by the
action of steam on
hydrocarbons or coke at
high temperature in the
presence of a catalyst.
Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation of coal also called as liquefaction. It
is a type of direct coal liquefaction process in
converting coal to gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon
products. Coal hydrogenation serves as an
alternative to coal combustion and offers lower
temperatures, more reduced conditions, and longer
residence times while producing a more crystalline
product with reduced ash. Direct liquefaction
involves the addition of hydrogen to coal in a solvent
slurry at elevated temperature and pressure.
Catalysts are normally used to increase the rates of
the desirable reactions which include cracking,
hydrogenation, and removal of oxygen, nitrogen,
and sulfur.

Common types of catalysts used are supported

metal-containing catalysts such as cobalt molybdate
on alumina, and molybdenum oxide or sulphide on
alumina silica support.
The purpose of coal liquefaction is to turn coal, which is a solid, into a liquid product.
There are primarily two reasons for doing so. First, by turning the organic matter of coal
into a liquid product, it is possible to separate the mineral matter from the organic
matter. In this respect, it is an extreme form of coal cleaning. Even when the liquid coal
product is so heavy that it turns solid at ambient conditions, the so-called ash-free coal
is still an upgraded product.

Ash-free coal can be used in applications such as integrated gasification combined cycle
because there are no ash-forming substances in the product. Using ash-free coal in
conventional coal-fired power plants improves thermal efficiency, because energy is not
expended to heat and convert the mineral matter to ash. Second, by turning the organic
matter of coal into an oil product, the coal-derived oil can be upgraded and refined to
produce fuels and chemicals. Historically, coal tar was the main source of many
aromatic chemicals. There is also an historic precedent for the use of coal liquefaction
to produce transportation fuels.
Flow sheet of hydrogenation of coal
 Functional role of each unit
Coal storage vessel:
• Pulverized coal is stored and produced coal is fed to the preheater by a screw conveyor.
• Hydrogen gas stream is added to the fed. Hydrogen is obtained from any dehydrogenation
process or any other hydrogen synthesis process.
• Pressure equalizing line is used to maintain pressure of reaction mixture stream with the
help of valve.

Preheater:
• Powdered coal and hydrogen are the raw material fed to the preheater.
• Optimum temperature is required for reaction so reaction mixture is preheated instead of
feeding it in reactor directly.
• Heat required for preheating is supplied by furnace.
• In furnace, combustion of fuel gases is occurring and all hot gases from furnace are
passed from preheater.
Reactor:

• Temperature is maintained at 400-1000˚C and pressure of about 500 to 3000psi.

• The residence time is about 1 to 10 minutes.
• Since reaction is highly exothermic, so cooling jackets are used to control
temperature of reactor.
• Catalyst used is 1% tungsten or molybdenum oxide.
• Catalyst solution is made for reaction.
• The products from the reactor then pass to cyclone.
• There will be liquid aromatics along with unreacted coal and hydrogen in stream
leaving the reactor.
Cyclone:
• Solids as bottom product are removed.
• Hot reaction mixture from the reactor is fed to the cyclone for separation of
solids and gases.
• Gaseous mixture leaving cyclone contain aromatics, unused hydrogen and small
amounts of light hydrocarbon and carbon dust.
• Temperature of the leaving stream is about 700˚C.

Scrub quenching tower:

• The gases from cyclone are at very high temperature.
• Sudden cooling of gases or quenching of gases is done in this tower.
• Quenching and absorption both are done simultaneously.
• Water scrub carbon dust from gaseous mixture.
• Stream leaving mainly contain aromatics, hydrogen and other hydrocarbons.
Condenser:
• All the gaseous mixture from the scrubber is fed to the condenser to condense aromatic
liquids.
• The stream leaving the condenser, the aromatics are in liquid form, whereas, hydrogen
and other hydrocarbons are in gaseous form.
Separator:
• This unit separate aromatic liquids from other gaseous impurities.
• Hydrogen and other lighter hydrocarbons (gaseous form) are obtained as top product
and aromatic liquids are obtained as bottom product.
Distillation tower:
• Light oil and heavy oils are separated by distillation tower as top and bottom product
respectively.
• The process occurs at high pressure. So at first, pressure is reduced before distillation by
pressure reducing valve.
• Reduction in pressure increases relative volatility of heavy oils and light oils.
• Lower temperature and less residence time reduces thermal degradation of aromatic oils.
 Petroleum
• Millions of years ago, algae and plants lived in shallow seas. After dying
and sinking to the seafloor, the organic material mixed with other
sediments and was buried. Over millions of years under high pressure
and high temperature, the remains of these organisms transformed into
what we know today as fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are
all fossil fuels that formed under similar conditions

• Today, petroleum is found in vast underground reservoirs where ancient

seas were located. Petroleum reservoirs can be found beneath land or
the ocean floor. The crude oil is extracted with giant drilling machines.
Origin of Petroleum

Petroleum is complex due to its origin. In the eighteenth-century scientists

concluded that coals were derived from plant remains. Mikhail Lomonosov gets
credit for suggesting that petroleum and bitumen were produced underground
from coal at high pressure and temperature. In the mid-nineteenth century, T.S.
Hunt concluded that the organic matter in certain rocks comes from marine plants
or animals.

Modern scientists believe petroleum came primarily from plankton and algae in the
following way: the remains of dead organisms accumulated at the bottoms of
ancient lakes or seas, along with sand, clay, salts, and other material. Over time,
pressure and heat transformed the deposits into sedimentary rock. Depending on
the origin of the organic matter and the environment in which it aged, the organic
matter was transformed into kerogen, bitumen, petroleum, and/or natural gas.
 Crude oil
• Crude oil is usually black or dark brown, but can also be yellowish, reddish, tan, or even
greenish. Variations in color indicate the distinct chemical compositions of different supplies
of crude oil. Petroleum that has few metals or sulfur, for instance, tends to be lighter
(sometimes nearly clear).
• Petroleum is used to make gasoline, an important product in our everyday lives. It is also
processed and part of thousands of different items, including tires, refrigerators, life jackets,
and anesthetics.

• Black crude oils are

very heavy whereas
the other colours are
from non-hydrocarbon
components - such as
sulfur, metals, salts,
which changes its color.
 Classification of Crude Oil
• Crude oil is composed of hydrocarbons, which are mainly hydrogen (about 13% by
weight) and carbon (about 85%). Other elements such as nitrogen (about 0.5%), sulfur
(0.5%), oxygen (1%), and metals such as iron, nickel, and copper (less than 0.1%) can also
be mixed in with the hydrocarbons in small amounts.
• The way molecules are organized in the hydrocarbon is a result of the original
composition of the algae, plants, or plankton from millions of years ago. The amount of
heat and pressure the plants were exposed to also contributes to variations that are
found in hydrocarbons and crude oil.
• Due to this variation, crude oil that is pumped from the ground can consist of hundreds
of different petroleum compounds. Light oils can contain up to 97% hydrocarbons, while
heavier oils and bitumens might contain only 50% hydrocarbons and larger quantities of
other elements. It is almost always necessary to refine crude oil in order to make useful
products.
• Oil is classified according to three main categories: the geographic location where it
was drilled, its sulfur content, and its API gravity (a measure of density).
• Oil is drilled all over the world. However, there are three primary sources of crude oil
that set reference points for ranking and pricing other oil supplies: Brent Crude, West
Texas Intermediate, and Dubai and Oman.

• OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The OPEC Reference

Basket is the average price of petroleum from OPEC’s 12 member countries: Algeria,
Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
 Sulfur Content

• Sulfur is considered an “impurity”

in petroleum. Sulfur in crude oil
can corrode metal in the refining
process and contribute to air
pollution. Petroleum with more
than 0.5% sulfur is called “sour,”
while petroleum with less than
0.5% sulfur is “sweet.”
• Sweet oil is usually much more
valuable than sour because it does
not require as much refining and is
less harmful to the environment.
 API Gravity

• The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a trade association for businesses in

the oil and natural gas industries.
• API gravity is a measure of the density of petroleum liquid compared to
water. If a petroleum liquid’s API gravity is greater than 10, it is “light,” and
floats on top of water. If the API gravity is less than 10, it is “heavy,” and sinks
in water.
• The process of dividing petroleum into fractions with different boiling range
volatilities and free from impurities is called refining. Petroleum is refined by
fractional distillation. The process of separating a mixture into a series of
fractions of different volatilities by means of distillation is known as fractional
distillation.
• In the process of fractional distillation, a mixture of different liquids is evaporated
followed by condensation. Different liquids are evaporated according to their
boiling point and they are collected in different chambers of distillation tower.
Distillation of petroleum

Oil refinery process units

Fractional distillation of
crude oil
• Generally crude oil contains
compounds having boiling points
upto 400OC. In this process, crude
oil is heated to above 400 OC in a
pipe.
• Its vapors are allowed to enter
into a fractionating tower having
different compartment to collect
different volatilities. These are
now condensed to liquid and are
separated.
 Rating of Petrol and Diesel
The combustion characteristics of diesel fuels are expressed in terms of a
cetane number (CN) or cetane index (CI). The number is expressed in terms
of the volume percent of cetane (C16H34), which has high ignition (CN=100)
in a mixture with alpha-methyl -naphthalene (C11H10) which has low
ignition quality (CN= 0). Diesel fuel includes No. 1 diesel (Super – diesel),
which has cetane number of 45, and it is used in high-speed engines,
trucks and buses. No. 2 diesel has cetane number of 40. Railroad diesel
fuels are similar to the heavier automotive diesel fuels, but have higher
boiling ranges up to 750 °F (400 °C) and lower cetane number (CN = 30).
• Kerosene, sometimes referred to as Fuel oil # 1, is a refined petroleum distillate.
Kerosene usually have flash points within the range of 100 °F–130 °F (37.8 °C–54.4 °C).
Therefore, unless heated, kerosene will usually not produce ignitable mixtures over its
surface. Kerosene has a maximum distillation temperature of 400 °F (204 °C) at the 10%
recovery point, a final boiling point of 572 °F (300 °C). The two grades are recognized by
ASTM Specification D3699. A kerosene- type jet fuel-based product has a maximum
distillation temperature of 400 °F (204 °C) at the 10% recovery point and a final
maximum boiling point of572 °F (300 °C) and meeting ASTM Specifications D1655.

• Diesel is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum fuel oil or a washed form of vegetable
oil that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel.
Diesel or sometimes referred to as Fuel Oil # 2 is the fraction of petroleum that distils
after kerosene, which is the family of gas oils. Several grades of diesel are products
depending on the intended service.
• An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of the performance of
an engine or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression
the fuel can withstand before detonating (igniting). In broad terms, fuels with a
higher octane rating are used in high performance gasoline engines that require
higher compression ratios.

• In contrast, fuels with lower octane numbers (but higher cetane numbers) are
ideal for diesel engines, because diesel engines (also referred to as compression-
ignition engines) do not compress the fuel, but rather compress only air and then
inject fuel into the air which was heated by compression. Gasoline engines rely on
ignition of air and fuel compressed together as a mixture, which is ignited at the
end of the compression stroke using spark plugs. Therefore, high compressibility of
the fuel matters mainly for gasoline engines. Use of gasoline with lower octane
numbers may lead to the problem of engine knocking
 Octane rating or number
• Octane rating is the measure of a fuel's ability to resist "knocking" or "pinging" during
combustion, caused by the air/fuel mixture detonating prematurely in the engine. In the
U.S., unleaded gasoline typically has octane ratings of 87 (regular), 88–90 (midgrade), and
91–94 (premium).

• Octane rating (octane number): A measure of performance of fuel for internal combustion
engines. Stated simply, a higher octane rating corresponds to more engine power and less
knocking or other pre-ignition problems.
 Cetane number
• The cetane number (CN) is an indicator of the ignitibility of diesel fuels. It
provides information about the ignition delay, i.e. the speed of self-ignition
of diesel fuel when injected into hot air through the fuel injector.

• Cetane numbers are used to indicate the combustion speed

of diesel fuel. Diesel fuels with higher cetane ratings have shorter ignition
delays, providing more complete combustion and allowing engines to operate
more effectively.
 Petroleum refining: Cracking
• Cracking is the most important process for the commercial production of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Refining petroleum is like cooking crab: you boil it, crack it, and pull out the bits. In a trip through a
refinery, a given molecule might be boiled and recondensed hundreds of times.
• Cracking, the process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules
by means of heat and usually pressure and sometimes catalysts. Cracking of many molecules into
small ones using thermal cracking— coking, thermal hydrocracking, catalytic cracking, catalytic
hydrocracking. The pulling out the bits—the removal and disposition of contaminants—improves
the cracking processes and protects the environment.
• Cracking of petroleum yields light oils (corresponding to gasoline), middle-range oils used in diesel
fuel, residual heavy oils, a solid carbonaceous product known as coke, and such gases as methane,
ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, and butylene.
• Depending on the end-product, the oils can go directly into fuel blending, or they can be routed
through further cracking reactions or other refining processes until they have produced oils of the
desired weight.
• The gases can be used in the refinery’s fuel system, but they are also important raw materials for
petrochemical plants, where they are made into a large number of end products, ranging from
synthetic rubber and plastic to agricultural chemicals
 Alkylation
• Alkylation, in petroleum refining, chemical process in which light, gaseous hydrocarbons are
combined to produce high-octane components of gasoline.
• The light hydrocarbons consist of olefins such as propylene and butylene and isoparaffins
such as isobutane. These compounds are fed into a reactor, where, under the influence of a
sulfuric-acid or hydrofluoric-acid catalyst, they combine to form a mixture of heavier
hydrocarbons.
• The liquid fraction of this mixture, known as alkylate, consists mainly of isooctane, a
compound that lends excellent antiknock characteristics to gasolines.
 Hydrotreating
The naphtha cut from the atmospheric distillation unit is sent to the
naphtha hydrotreater to remove sulfur and nitrogen compounds. The
naphtha hydro treating unit uses a cobalt-molybdenum catalyst to
remove sulfur by converting it to hydrogen sulfide that is removed
along with unreacted hydrogen. Reactor conditions for a naphtha
hydrotreater unit are around 400-500˚F (205-260˚C) with a pressure
of 350-650 psi (25-45 bar).
Reforming
• Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum
refinery naphthas distilled from crude oil (typically having low octane
ratings) into high-octane liquid products called reformates, which are
premium blending stocks for high-octane gasoline.
• The process converts low-octane linear hydrocarbons (paraffins) into
branched alkanes (isoparaffins) and cyclic naphthenes, which are then
partially dehydrogenated to produce high-octane aromatic hydrocarbons.
The dehydrogenation also produces significant amounts of byproduct
hydrogen gas, which is fed into other refinery processes such as
hydrocracking. A side reaction is hydrogenolysis, which produces light
hydrocarbons of lower value, such as methane, ethane, propane and
butanes.
Introduction to Petrochemicals
These are the chemicals that are made from petroleum and natural gas. About 5 % of
the oil and gas consumed each year is needed to make all the petrochemical products.
Petrochemicals play an important role on our food, clothing, shelter and leisure.
Because of low cost and easy availability, oil and natural gas are considered to be the
main sources of raw materials for most petrochemicals. Petrochemicals can be broadly
classified into three categories-
Light Petrochemicals: These are mainly used as bottled fuel and raw materials for
other organic chemicals. The lightest of these -- methane, ethane and ethylene -- are
gaseous at room temperature. The next lightest fractions comprise petroleum ether
and light naphtha with boiling points between 80 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
Medium Petrochemicals: Hydrocarbons with 6 – 12 carbon atoms are called
"gasoline", which are mainly used as automobile fuels. Octane, with eight carbons, is a
particularly good automobile fuel, and is considered to be of high quality. Kerosene
contains 12 to 15 carbons and is used in aviation fuels, and also as solvents for heating
and lighting.
Heavy Petrochemicals:
• Those can be generally categorized as diesel oil, heating oil and
lubricating oil for engines and machinery. They contain around 15 and
18 carbon atoms with boiling points between 570 and 750 degrees
Fahrenheit. The heaviest fractions of all are called "bitumens" and are
used to surface roads or for waterproofing. Bitumens can also be broken
down into lighter hydrocarbons using a process called "cracking."
Chemical conversions for the manufacture of petrochemicals

Flow diagram depicts the major hydrocarbon sources used in producing petrochemicals:
 Petrochemicals from Methane, Ethylene, Propylene,
Butylenes and BTX

• Methane and BTX are used directly as feedstocks for producing

petrochemicals. However, ethane, propane, butanes, naphtha and gas oil
serve as optional feedstocks for steam-assisted thermal cracking plants
referred to as steam crackers that produce these intermediate
petrochemical feedstocks:
➢Ethylene
➢Propylene
➢Butenes and butadiene
➢Benzene
 Ethylene production
• In 2019, Global ethylene
production was 190 million
tonnes and propylene was
120 million tonnes.
Aromatics production is
approximately 70 million
tonns.
• The largest petrochemical
industries are located in
the USA and Western
Europe; however, major
growth in new production
capacity is in the Middle
East and Asia.
 Acrylonitrile from Propylene
• Acrylonitrile is produced by catalytic ammoxidation of propylene, also known
as the SOHIO process. The process was discovered and developed in the
1950s by scientists and engineers at Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio),

Reaction conditions
• The reaction is exothermic
• Stoichiometric ratio: C3H6 : NH3 : O2 = 1:1:1.5
• Operating conditions: 1.5 – 3 atms pressure and 400 – 500oC
• By products: Acetonitrile and Hydrogen cyanide from side reactions
• Catalyst: Mo-Bi catalyst
 SOHIO process
• In the Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) process, propylene, ammonia, and air
(oxidizer) are passed through a fluidized bed reactor containing the catalyst
at 400–510 °C and 50–200 kPag. The reactants pass through the reactor
only once, before being quenched in aqueous sulfuric acid.
• Excess propylene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and dinitrogen that do
not dissolve are vented directly to the atmosphere, or are incinerated. The
aqueous solution consists of acrylonitrile, acetonitrile, hydrocyanic acid,
and ammonium sulfate (from excess ammonia). A recovery column
removes bulk water, and acrylonitrile and acetonitrile are separated by
distillation.
Flow sheet of Acrylonitrile production
Uses of Acrylonitrile:
- Acrylonitrile is mainly used to produce acrylic fibers, resins, and elastomers.
- Copolymers of acrylonitrile with butadiene and styrene are the Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene (ABS) resins and those with styrene are the styrene-acrylonitrile resins SAN that
are important plastics.
 Ethylene Oxide
Reaction Conditions
• Ethylene to air ratio: 3 - 10 %
• Side reaction products: CO2, H2O
• Catalyst: Silver oxide on alumina
• Operating temperature and
pressure: 250 - 300 oC and 120 -
300 psi
• Supressing agent for side reactions:
Ethylene dichloride
• Reaction is exothermic
1.4. Rating of Petrol and Diesel
Petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons
and enhanced with aromatic hydrocarbons toluene, benzene or iso-octane to increase
octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines. Production of petrol
vs diesel

Petroleum is refined to produce petrol and diesel. Fractional Distillation process is used on
petroleum and at various temperatures, different by products are formed from it. Petrol
and diesel both are derived at varying temperatures during refining process. Petrol is
produced at temperature between 35 degrees to 200 degrees while diesel is produced at
a boiling point of 250-350 degrees. After distillation, in order to use these byproducts as
commercially acceptable petrol and diesel, some blending with other elements has to be
done. Petrol is produced first in this process as it is produced at a lower temperature than
diesel.
Natural gas
Natural gas is a gaseous mixture, which is
predominantly methane but does contain other
combustible as well as nonhydrocarbon
compounds. Natural gas is colorless, odorless,
tasteless, shapeless, and lighter than air. In the
natural state, it is not possible to see or smell
natural gas. In addition to composition and
thermal content (Btu/scf, Btu/ft3), natural gas can
also be characterized on the basis of the mode of
the natural gas found in reservoirs where there is
no or, at best only minimal amounts of, crude oil.
Many natural gases contain nitrogen (N2) as well
as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide
(H2S). Trace quantities of argon, hydrogen, and
helium may also be present. Hydrocarbons having
a higher molecular weight than methane, carbon
dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide are removed from
natural gas prior to its use as a fuel.
 Introduction to petrochemicals
• Petrochemicals are chemical products made from the hydrocarbons present
in raw natural gas and petroleum crude oil. The largest petrochemical
manufacturing industries are to be found in the USA, Western Europe, Asia
and the Middle East. A relatively small number of hydrocarbon feedstocks
form the basis of the petrochemical industries, namely methane, ethylene,
propylene, butanes, butadiene, benzene, toluene and xylenes
• As of 2007, there were 2980 operating petrochemical plants in 4320
locations worldwide. The petrochemical end products from those plants
include plastics, soaps, detergents, solvents, paints, drugs, fertilizer,
pesticides, herbicides, explosives, synthetic textile fibers and rubber, flooring
and insulating materials and more.
• Petrochemicals are found in such common consumer products as
aspirin,automobiles, clothing, compact discs, video tapes, electronic
equipment, furniture, and a host of others
• Typical feedstocks to petrochemical processes include
• C1 Compounds: Methane & Synthesis gas
• C2 Compounds: Ethylene and Acetylene
• C3 Compounds: Propylene
• C4 Compounds: Butanes and Butenes
• Aromatic Compounds: Benzene
• It can be seen that petrochemicals are produced from simple compounds
such as methane, ethylene and acetylene but not multicomponent
products such as naphtha, gas oil etc.
Environmental impacts of fossil fuel use

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Problems with the use of fossil fuel
1. Air pollution :
Burning of oil → CO2, NOx,SO2, CO, hydrocarbon would be emitted

i. Illness:
Cause respiratory illnesses:
Asthma, irritate the throat and eyes

ii. Greenhouse effect, acid rain and smog:

Emission of CO2 →Greenhouse effect → climatic change
SO2 and NO react with rain → Acid rain
Smog: Mixture of smoke and fog → cause a health hazard

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2. Water pollution
i. Spillage from tankers involved in accidents; e.g. Alaska Oil spill
ii. Tankers at sea washing out their oil tanks
iii. Oil seeping from oil pipelines and oil refineries, most of which are on the
coast
iv. Oil leaking from offshore oil rigs
v. Waste from factories making goods from oil by-products

3. Soil pollution
i. Chemicals made from oil by-products, and used in agriculture
e.g. fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides
ii. Disposal of oil-related waste products which do not completely
degrade or disintegrate in the environment
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