Chemical Manufacturing Industry Research Articles

Study on Correlations between Total Organic Carbon and Organic Matter Indexes in Industrial Wastewater from Busan

The introduction of total organic carbon (TOC) as a new organic matter index for industrial wastewater is under consideration. In this study, we investigated characteristics of organic pollutant indexes (TOC, BOD5, CODMn, CODCr) for 11 industrial categories comprising 210 industrial wastewater samples from Busan, Korea. Average organic concentrations for chemical manufacturing and food manufacturing industries are higher than that for other industries. The organic matter oxidation rates of CODCr and CODMn for TOC are 88.7% and 51.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the COD test can be underestimated for organic compounds in wastewater. The correlation between TOC and organic matter indexes was in the order of CODMn (r = 0.970) > CODCr (r = 0.956) > BOD5 (r = 0.812)(p < 0.01). In conclusion, the introduction of TOC, which has higher oxidation rate than COD and high correlation with existing organic matter indexes, is appropriate as an organic index to replace COD. Key Words: Organic matter index, Industrial wastewater, TOC, BOD5, CODMn, CODCr

Fully Automated Determination of Trimellitic Anhydride in Saturated Polyester Resins Using Programmed Temperature Vaporization-Large Volume Injection-Gas Chromatography Previous Aqueous Derivatization with Triethyloxonium Tetrafluoroborate

Trimellitic anhydride (TMAn) is an essential starting material of the chemical manufacturing industry; it is widely used in saturated polyester resins (SPR) manufacturing to produce plasticizers for different purposes. TMAn was recently added, as a new substance of very high concern, to the candidate list by the European Chemicals Agency, since it can lead to sensitization, respiratory tract irritation and lung disease. Any substance from the list of candidates if present in manufactured products at concentrations above 0.1% (w/w) obliges the manufacturer to communicate this to customers down the supply chain and to consumers. We propose here a method that allows the fully automated determination of TMAn in SPR samples by using large volume injection (LVI), with programmed temperature vaporization (PTV) injection, in a gas chromatographic (GC) system equipped with ion trap mass spectrometer (IT) operating in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The method optimization was obtained by a chemometric model, using the experimental design. Introducing the use of short chromatographic column, triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate (TEO) as derivatization agent and IS granted specificity, sensitivity and robustness. The detection and quantification limits for TMAn were 0.01% and 0.03% w/w, respectively. Trueness (between 94 and 98%) and precision (RSD lower than 10%, n = 6) were also assessed.

Analyzing economy-scale solid waste generation using the United States environmentally-extended input-output model

The United States Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) model includes commercial enterprises from 386 industrial sectors of the economy. The purpose of this work is to model the commercial generation of three streams of solid waste from USEEIO sectors: hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste excluding construction, and non-hazardous waste from construction. The waste accounts cover 536 waste materials, with commercial non-hazardous waste presently limited to municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris. Total combined generation for all streams based on 2015 economic activity is approximately 775 million metric tons, with concrete from construction activities accounting for 44% of this mass. The chemical and plastics industries generate the most commercial hazardous waste per dollar of economic output. In most cases, waste materials such as paper, plastic, and metals are generated in greater quantities per dollar of industry output when compared to commercial construction materials and hazardous waste. When considering direct waste generation within an industry, USEEIO model rankings identified the highway and street construction and chemical manufacturing industries as potential areas to continue to pursue new innovations in material use. The rankings change when considering final consumption of goods and services, with various construction industries and state and local governments becoming more prominent. The full detailed waste models are publicly available and will be incorporated into future USEEIO releases. Quantification of waste material generation across the economy is an essential part of decision making because it will highlight areas where intervention may be beneficial.

Double-Color Lanthanide Metal-Organic Framework Based Logic Device and Visual Ratiometric Fluorescence Water Microsensor for Solid Pharmaceuticals.

Water is one of the most widespread impurities and contaminants for pharmaceuticals and chemical products. A simple, fast and reliable water assay method is of high significance for the pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industries. In this work, lanthanide metal-organic framework Eu-dipicolinic acid/2-aminophthalic acid (Eu-DPA/PTA-NH2) was prepared as a double-color ratiometric fluorescent water sensor, which shows ultrasensitive (limit of detection 0.01% v/v) and linear broad-range (0-100% v/v) response to water. An innovative analytical device based on a one-to-two logic gate was constructed by using the water content and the two fluorescence responses as the input and output signals, respectively. The direct analysis of water content can be achieved by the four output types, NOT (0, 1), PASS 0 (0, 0), PASS 1 (1, 1), and YES (1, 0). Importantly, the metal-organic framework (MOF)-loaded fiber paper was prepared as a microsensor, and a water assay tube was designed for rapid water detection of solid pharmaceuticals via ratiometric chromaticity, coupled with a portable visual determination device. The paper-based microsensor is response-rapid (20 s), long-term stable (at least 30 days), and can achieve the accurate (relative error <9.8%) visual assay of trace water in solid pharmaceuticals. To our knowledge, this is the first time to report an MOF-based double-color ratiometric fluorescent water sensor, a water analytical logic device, and a paper-based water microsensor for point-of-care visual water assay in solid samples via ratiometric chromaticity.

Electrochemical treatment of industrial sulfidic spent caustic streams for sulfide removal and caustic recovery

Alkaline spent caustic streams (SCS) produced in the petrochemical and chemical manufacturing industry, contain high concentrations of reactive sulfide (HS−) and caustic soda (NaOH). Common treatment methods entail high operational costs while not recovering the possible resources that SCS contain. Here we studied the electrochemical treatment of SCS from a chemical manufacturing industry in an electrolysis cell, aiming at anodic HS− removal and cathodic NaOH, devoid of sulfide, recovery. Using a synthetic SCS we first evaluated the HS− oxidation product distribution over time, as well as the HS− removal and the NaOH recovery, as a function of current density. In a second step, we investigated the operational aspects of such treatment for the industrial SCS, under 300 A m−2 fixed current density. In an electrolysis cell receiving 205 ± 60 g S L−1 d−1 HS− over 20 days of continuous operation, HS− was removed with a 38.0 ± 7.7 % removal and ∼80 % coulombic efficiency, with a concomitant recovery of a ∼12 wt.% NaOH solution. The low cell voltage obtained (1.75 ± 0.12 V), resulted in low energy requirements of 3.7 ± 0.6 kW h kg−1 S and 6.3 ± 0.4 kW h kg−1 NaOH and suggests techno-economic viability of this process.

Concealed risk in catalytic processes: How weather can initiate a catastrophe in an ethylbenzene-producing tower

In a Taiwanese chemical processing plant producing ethylbenzene, an unexpected thermal runaway reaction occurred in an alkylation tower during shutdown, causing approximately 7500 kg of catalyst to be wasted. Prior risk assessments failed to identify the responsible hazard vectors. The thermal runaway occurred despite all former appropriate operating procedures being strictly followed. To identify the root cause of this incident, the generation and dissemination of the thermal source were tested and simulated using thermal analysis methods and a prototype tower. The results showed that water adsorption could provide heat to the catalyst bed, even at temperatures exceeding 350 °C, which is the temperature required for the oxidation of hydrocarbon adsorbates. High humidity caused by Typhoon Lionrock was a critical factor contributing to the incident, which was not anticipated by the plant engineers. Humidity within the air inlet supplied the abundant adsorption heat required to increase the bed temperature. This resulted in thermal runaway due to heavy oxidation of the large number of adsorbates. This study proposes a safer strategy that involves passing humid N2 through the catalyst tower to prevent the oxidation of hydrocarbon adsorbates, thereby removing the adsorption heat. The purpose of this study was to reveal hazards concealed in the catalyst system. If a catalyst has a noticeable adsorption heat that, at a given temperature, can induce spontaneous oxidation or decomposition of the adsorbates with a possible thermal runaway reaction. This paper interprets past failures as lessons and proposes solutions that can be used by those in the chemical manufacturing industry to avert such incidents in the future.

Employee’s Experience and Perceived Environmental Performance of Malaysian Chemical Related Industry

The previous research in environmental management practices suggests employee’s green behaviour can be regarded as one of the important assets for business environmental endeavours. Nevertheless there is lack study that focuses on Malaysian chemical related industries. This paper aims to explore the nexus between employee’s work experience, employee’s past environmental experience, and employee’s perceived environmental experience. 202 questionnaire were distributed through postal survey to manufacturing plant employees from eight chemical manufacturing industries from four regions in Malaysia including northern, central, east-coast, and southern. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling at least the square.Based on the analysis, the study revealed that the employee's work experience has significant positive correlation with environmental performance that is seen by employees.Nevertheless employee’s past environmental experience was otherwise. This study has significant managerial implication for Malaysian chemical related industry by showing that how employees can be important assets for the company to minimize the impact of chemical related industry to the environment.

Design and assembly of bio-manufacturing "cell factory"

The chemical manufacturing industry that uses fossil resources as raw materials, consumes non-renewable resources and also causes damage to the ecological environment, stimulating the development of bio-manufacturing with renewable resources as raw materials. Unlike traditional chemical manufacturing, bio-manufacturing uses cells as a "production workshop", and each process in the "workshop" is catalyzed by enzymes. In addition to mild reaction conditions, the "cell factory" has strong plasticity, and can be used to synthesize various target chemicals according to demand adjustment or reconstitution of metabolic pathways. The design process of the "cell factory" follows the following guidelines: 1) Construct an optimal synthetic route from raw materials to products; 2) Balance the metabolic flux of each reaction in the metabolic pathway, so that the metabolic flux of this pathway is much higher than the primary metabolism of the cells; 3) Precursor supply in the pathway should be sufficient, and adjust multiple precursors supply ratio as needed; 4) enzymatic reactions often involve the participation of various cofactors, smooth metabolic pathways need to balance or regenerate various cofactors; 5) Through genetic modification or process improvement to remove metabolic intermediates and products feedback inhibition to achieve higher yields.

Noise Sources and Control, and Exposure Groups in Chemical Manufacturing Plants

The chemical manufacturing industry employs sophisticated mechanical equipment to process feedstock such as natural gas by transforming it to usable raw material in downstream sectors. Workers employed at these facilities are exposed to inherent occupational health hazards, including occupational noise. An online and grey literature search on ScienceDirect, Oxford Journals online, PubMed, Medline, Jstor and regulatory bodies using specific keywords on noise emission sources in the manufacturing sector was conducted. This review focuses on noise sources and their control in chemical manufacturing plants along with the receptors of the emitted noise, providing hearing conservation programme stakeholders valuable information for better programme management. Literature confirms that chemical manufacturing plants operate noise emitting equipment which exposes job categories such as machine operators, process operators and maintenance personnel amongst others. Prominent noise sources in chemicals manufacturing industries include compressors, pumps, motors, fans, turbines, vents, steam leaks and control valves. Specific industries within the chemical manufacturing sector emit noise levels ranging between 85–115 dBA (A-weighted sound pressure level), which exceed the noise rating limit of 85 dBA used in South Africa and United Kingdom, as well as the 90 dBA permissible exposure level used in the United States, levels above which workplace control is required. Engineering noise control solutions for plant equipment and machinery operated in chemical manufacturing plants are available on the market for implementation.

Evaluation of safety climate differences among employees’ demographic variables: a cross-sectional study in two different-sized manufacturing industries in Malaysia

Introduction. Demographic information is one of the key parameters that organizations utilize to modify their practices in order to respond to the existing risk within work environments. The present article aims to assess the level of safety climate factors as well as to evaluate the influence of personal factors on safety climate in two different-sized industries. Methods. A total of 216 employees in two large and three small and medium-sized chemical manufacturing industries responded to a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the safety climate level; a two-independent-sample Mann–Whitney U test and a Kruskal–Wallis test were run to compare the difference in safety climate scores among different demographic variables. Results. The lower level of safety climate in small and medium-sized industries revealed lower understanding and performance of management and non-management with regard to safety climate compared to the large industries. Additionally, significant mean differences on some safety climate factors among demographic variables were detected in both sizes of industries, emphasizing the important role of the employees’ demographic variables on the plants’ safety climate. Conclusion. Improving organization-level and group-level safety climates is recommended to improve employees’ level of safety climate and control their personal factors.

Perspectives on the effect of sulfur on the hydrocarbonaceous overlayer on iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts

Abstract Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is commonly viewed as an alternative approach to the production of diesel fuels via sources independent of crude oil. The adaptability of the FTS process allows for the selective production of shorter chain C2 to C6 hydrocarbons and has the potential to be a legitimate source of useable chemical feedstocks with high value to the chemical manufacturing industry. Interestingly, although recognised as a poison in most catalytic systems, small amounts of sulfur in iron-based FTS catalysts has been demonstrated to promote catalyst reducibility and activity towards shorter chain hydrocarbons. However, it is not known what impact sulfur has on the formation of hydrocarbonaceous surface species that have been proposed to play a pivotal role in the mediation of reactants during iron FTS. Here we apply ambient pressure CO hydrogenation at 623 K on a selection of sulfur promoted iron FTS catalysts to investigate the effect of sulfur content on hydrocarbonaceous species formation. For the first time, we report the application of inelastic neutron scattering to quantify the presence of hydrocarbonaceous species under the presence of sulfur promotion. In combination with temperature programmed oxidation, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, we observe how low sulfur loadings (

Various Sources of PM2.5 and their Impact on the Air Quality in Tainan City, Taiwan

ABSTRACT The recent deterioration of Taiwan's air quality is partly due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). With several studies pointing out a direct link between PM2.5 and the global disease burden, plans are underway to reach the standard of an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 15 µg m–3 in Taiwan by 2020. Subsequently, environmental protection bureaus in all cities should assess PM2.5 emission sources and implement control strategies. This study focuses on analysis of PM2.5 sources within Tainan City in an effort establish the contribution of large-scale pollution sources within the city as well as those from neighboring counties and cities. During this study, the top nine largest emission sources in Tainan City were investigated: (1) the Chemical manufacturing industry, (2) the iron and steel industry, (3) the power industry, (4) manufacturing of coal-based products, (5) diesel vehicles, (6) two-stroke scooters, (7) catering, (8) construction/road dust, and (9) open burning. Three important pollution sources in the central region of Taiwan were investigated as well, including: (1) the Taichung Power Plant, (2) the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) Sixth Naphtha Cracking Industry, and (3) the Dragon Steel Company in Taichung City, Changhua County, and Yunlin County, respectively, all of which are located on the windward side of Tainan City. The Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) was used to simulate the impact of the mentioned sources on Tainan’s air quality. The results for the monthly contributions from the different sources averaged over a one year period indicated that diesel vehicles are the largest source, emitting up to 1.06 µg m–3, followed by the Taichung Power Plant, which had 0.87 µg m–3 the construction industry and road dust emissions, with 0.80 µg m–3, and with open burning of waste having the lowest contribution. These results can be applied to facilitate the development of follow-up air quality control strategies.

Sustainable procurement and corporate sustainability performance: the moderating role of organisation age

The chemical manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to the Malaysian economy and has been reported to have sustainability issues which may affect the sustainability of the nation if proper green practices have not been taken by the industry. This paper aims to study the effects of sustainable procurement on corporate sustainability performance with the moderating role of organisation age. Drawing data from 130 Malaysian chemical manufacturing organisations, the model studies the moderating role of organisation age on sustainable procurement and the corporate sustainability performance of the organisations. Partial least square (PLS) analysis is used in this study in order to analyse the data and the multistage sampling technique has also been used in this study. The results show that there is a positive relationship between sustainable procurement and corporate sustainability performance and organisation age does not moderate the effect of sustainable procurement on corporate sustainability performance.

Business survival and market performance through Lean Six Sigma in the chemical manufacturing industry

PurposeThe research paper aims to unveil the practical use of Lean Six Sigma and its effectiveness as a business survival strategic tool by a chemical product realization concern, as well as to establish the market and business performance impacts on the manufacturing entity.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was pursued with a multi-national chemical manufacturing entity in South Africa. A comprehensive literature research was undertaken to establish the contemporary tools used for implementing Lean Six Sigma, and the classification and flow of tools and steps undertaken to ensure the successful and effective application of Lean Six Sigma in a manufacturing organization and the benefits derived. The critical success factors and reasons of ineffective use of tools are reviewed. To ensure that a comprehensive research was conducted which is relevant to the body of knowledge in engineering, recent articles on the application of Lean Six Sigma were selected and reviewed during the progress of the study to add impetus to the relevance of the findings.FindingsThe research findings were mainly based on the inferences obtained from a chemical product manufacturing concern in South Africa, to distinguish the efficacy and relevance of Lean Six Sigma as strategic business survival tool and imputing strategic resonance to corporate strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was limited to distinguishing Lean Six Sigma as a business survival strategic tool and an ultimate enhancer of market performance for a chemical product manufacturing entity. The implementation and evaluation of the Lean Six Sigma methodology as a business survival strategic and market performance enhancement option for the case study organization was entailed as the corollary of deductive resemblance to similar entities.Practical implicationsThis study enables continuous improvement practitioners to evaluate the Lean and Six Sigma practices. The advantages posed by the simultaneous and optimized application of the two approaches versus individual application were assessed and verified to produce enhanced continuous improvement. This poses further challenges to scholars and academics to pursue further researches on the practicality of applying Lean Six Sigma as a strategic option.Originality/valueThe paper prompts the efficacy of well publicized methodologies and evaluates their implementation for strategic performance for manufacturing organizations. The practical application, constraints and resultant effects of deploying Lean Six Sigma were reviewed to give impetus to the methodology.

Influencing Factors and Emission-Reducing Potential on Carbon Emission in the Industrial Sectors of Economic Underdeveloped Areas - A Case Study

This study selected Shanxi province as one typical study object, and investigated the influencing factor of carbon emission and its emission-reducing potential of Shanxi industrial sectors in the past ten years, in order to understand the main emission-reducing factors and provide related policy recommendations. The result showed that the industrial output was the main positive influencing factor on industrial carbon emission growth, while the effect of energy intensity was the main negative influencing factor; in the non-energy exploitation and raw material processing industries, the carbon emission displayed the decreasing trend with the lower degree, while the output effect in Chemical Fibre Manufacturing industry presented the negative trend. The increases of carbon emission ranked top three in the energy exploitation, raw material processing, and manufacturing industries in Shanxi.

Research on the Enhancement Effects of Using Ecological Principles in Managing the Lifecycle of Industrial Land

This paper introduces a performance level concept for industrial land use. The performance level concept uses ecological principles to evaluate index systems for industrial land. We used this concept to integrate local economics, land use, development potential, environmental health and ecosystem management with innovation, harmony, floral preservation, and shared land use. The concept helps promote the efficient use of industrial land and the sustainable use of land resources. We used the chemical medicine manufacturing industry in Chongqing Changshou Economic and Technological Development Zone as a case study. We selected eight companies for analysis and calculated an industrial land performance level for each company. We created three industrial land performance levels: growth potential type, positive development type, and inefficient recession type. To determine economic development and land sustainability, we applied administrative, economic, legal and technical measures to evaluate the entire lifecycle of industrial land. This lifecycle included preliminary project audit access, mid-period dynamic supervision and post land exit management. We conclude by proposing measures to mitigate environmental harm occurring from the intensive use of land for industrial use.

Tracing perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in soils along the urbanizing coastal area of Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

With the shift of fluorine chemical industry from developed countries to China and increasing demand for fluorine chemical products, occurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in production and application areas has attracted more attention. In this study, 153 soil samples were collected from 21 cities along the urbanizing coastal area of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. PFASs in this area were relatively higher, compared with other study areas. The concentrations ranged from 2.76 to 64.0 ng g−1, and those in most sites were between 2.76 and 13.9 ng g−1, with a predominance of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Among the 21 coastal cities, contaminations of PFASs in Zibo, Nantong and Binzhou were elevated, which was likely affected by local fluorine chemical plants, equipment manufacturing and chemical industry, respectively. The total emissions of PFOA and PFOS were similar, with amount of 4431 kg and 4335 kg, respectively. Atmospheric deposition was the largest source, accounting for 93.2% of total PFOA and 69.6% of PFOS, respectively. In addition, due to application of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) and sulfluramid, disposal of sewage sludge and stacking of solid waste, emission of PFOA and PFOS to soil was 1617 kg, accounting for 9.29% of the whole China. In general, pollution in Jiangsu, Shandong and Tianjin was more serious than those in Liaoning and Hebei, which was consistent with industrialization level and size of industrial sectors emitting PFASs.

Comparison and Predesign Cost Assessment of Different Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Treatment of 1,4-Dioxane-Containing Wastewater from the Chemical Industry

The predesign cost analysis of the industrial implementation of several advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as the pretreatment of 1,4-dioxane-containing wastewater from the chemical manufacturing industry is herein assessed and discussed. Aiming to maximize biodegradability and minimize the generation of residues, ozonation (O3), conductive diamond electrochemical oxidation (CDEO), and zerovalent iron-based heterogeneous photo-Fenton processes were tested. Sufficient biodegradability (≈60%) was reached by all the studied AOPs when the pretreatment was performed until obtaining a 40% removal of the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The design criteria consisted of reaching this 40% COD reduction in a unit with a treatment capacity of 43 800 m3·y–1. Considering the limitations inherent to this type of assessment, it resulted, from the analysis of capital investment and annual operational spending, that the cost of all the assessed AOPs was about 5 €·m–3.

Prioritizing Type of Industry through Health Risk Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Dimethylformamide in the Workplace.

The purpose of this study was to classify hazards at an industrial level and evaluate the exposure risks of workers exposed to dimethylformamide (DMF) used as a solvent in the workplace and to determine industries that need priority measures in managing DMF exposure. We calculated hazard quotients at an industrial level. The exposure data of DMF in the workplace were obtained from the work environment monitoring program provided by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. The evaluation was conducted on textile manufacturing, leather manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and rubber manufacturing industries, which have many unit work sites handling DMF. The highest central tendency exposure and reasonable maximum exposure were 2.13 and 18.66 mg/m3 for the rubber product manufacturing industry, respectively. A total of 63.8% of workplaces in the textile manufacturing sector had a hazard quotient higher than 1. The highest risk for exposure to DMF is in the rubber and plastic manufacturing industry, and the lowest risk was in the medical materials and pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. Based on this study, effective management of DMF exposure could be achieved by establishing priority management measures for the textile and rubber and plastic product industries.

A Study on Procurement Management of Supplier’s Selection and Evaluation for a Group

A group belongs to the chemical manufacturing industry. This paper will be based on the management status of supplier A group purchasing in supplier management, combined with relevant theoretical knowledge, make a comprehensive analysis of the existing problems, solutions and rational design, to improve the supplier management efficiency, improve supplier quality, ensure the production of material supply, improve the timeliness and accuracy of the company the existing supplier management status. At the same time, help the group to establish a scientific and reasonable supplier evaluation system, with a case study, elaborated on how to evaluate and select the best supplier, and its strategic cooperation, to solve the actual problems for enterprises. Finally, I hope this paper has certain reference value to the related enterprises in the industry.