Chemical Engineering,

Chemistry and Green Chemistry

Introductory Lecture

Dr. Thushara Subasinghe ~ 5-May-2022

 Overview of Chemical Industry
A discussion on chemical industry and its focus

• The chemical industry comprises the companies that convert raw materials
such as oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals into more than 70,000
di erent products. In US alone, chemical industry comprises approximately
15% of the US manufacturing economic sector

• Including fuel and feedstock use, the chemical industries account for about
25- 29 percent of the total energy consumed in the manufacturing sector -

• Direct CO2 emission by 880 million metric tons - 2018 data - iea.org

• In Sri Lanka we had sulphuric production plant, Urea factory, Nylon 6 factory
and Paranthan Chemical Industry zone …etc
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1904 – 2 automobiles
1917- only automobiles
CPC - Sri Lanka
• Ceylon Petroleum
Corporation
(CEYPETCO) was set up
as a state enterprise by
Act. No. 28 of 1961
and started to install in
1962 and
commissioned in 1967.
Polyethylene industry
HDPE, LLDPE, and LDPE
◦ HDPE - High-density polyethylene
◦ Density to strength ratio is high
◦ Density ranged 930 to 970 kg/m3
◦ Slight branching with leads to stronger intermolecular forces and
tensile strength than LDPE.
◦ LDPE – Low density polyethylene
◦ Density ranged 930 to 970 kg/m3
◦ More branching with shorter chains which leads to weaker
intermolecular forces
◦ LLDPE -
◦ with significant numbers of short branches
◦ absence of long chain branching
 Typical High Pressure, Low Density PE Process

Low pressure recycle

Purge
High pressure recycle
Chain Transfer Agents

Reactor HPS
(16-39,000 psi)
Compressor
LPS

Secondary or Extruder
Ethylene Hypercompressor

Compression → Reaction → Devolatilization → Extrusion

 Three major coordination catalyst types

• Chromium oxide types – so-called Phillips type
• restricted to slurry and gas phase
• dominant type in conventional slurry HDPE
• can be used for LLDPE
• Ziegler-Natta – “conventional” LLDPE
• discovered in 1950’s for HDPE and PP
• effectively commercialized in 1970’s for LLDPE
• still predominant type for LLDPE
• density limited to ca. 0.900 and above
• Single site catalysts
• constrained geometry and metallocene types (mLLDPE)
• both can be used as homogeneous (soluble) or supported for particle-form processes (gas, slurry)
• relatively recent innovation, commercialized in 1992
• enables densities all the way down to that of amorphous
• enabling rapid growth in specialty polyolefins

Your class notes illustrate the catalyst chemistry and polymerization mechansims.

Chemical Industry Accidents

Source : Technical Analysis of Accident in Chemical Process Industry and Lessons Learnt - By Kamarizan Kidam


 Chemical Industry Accidents
De nition

• A chemical incident has been de ned as “an unexpected

uncontrolled release of a chemical from its containment”.
A public-health chemical incident has been de ned as
“where two or more members of the public are exposed
(or threatened to be exposed) to a chemical” (World
Health Organization, 1999d).
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Chemical Industry Accidents
Introduction

• The health e ects of chemical incidents

• Chemical incidents a ect people in a number of ways, including: —

• the e ects of explosion;

• the e ects of re;

• the toxic e ects of the chemicals

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 Chemical Industry Accidents
Introduction

• Toxic e ects of chemicals

• Chemicals enter the body through the skin, eyes, lungs or digestive tract. The rate of absorption via these
paths is di erent for di erent chemicals, and is also a ected by the concentration of the chemical in contact
with the body (the concentration may change over time), the length of time that the chemical is in contact with
the body, the air temperature, humidity and the person’s age.

• Within the body itself, the e ect depends upon the actual toxicity of the chemical and on the biologically
e ective dose (i.e. the quantity of chemical taken into the target tissue). The way the dose is accumulated in
the target tissue can make a di erence to its impact. Even if the exposure is short, the peak level might be high
enough to cause toxic e ects. When the exposure is prolonged and the dose rate low, it may be the total
cumulative dose that causes toxicity.

• E ects can be local (e.g. burning or blistering of the skin, eyes or respiratory tract) or systemic, and the pattern
may be in uenced by age, gender, immune state, concomitant exposures and general tness. Some e ects
(e.g. eye and respiratory irritation or central nervous system depression) can occur within minutes or hours of
the exposure. Other e ects (e.g. congenital malformations or cancers) may take months or years to appear.
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Warning : Sensitive images
Chemical Industry Accidents
Introduction
Chemical Industry Accidents
Famous accident

Sevin (UCC's brand name for

carbaryl) using methyl A toxic substance
isocyanate (MIC) as an
intermediate.
Chemical Industry Accidents
Causes of accident

Source : Technical Analysis of Accident in Chemical Process Industry and Lessons Learnt - By Kamarizan Kidam


Thank you