Developing an Industrial Chemical Process an Integrated Approach

(1)

(2)

An Integrated Approach

DEVELOPING

INDUSTRIAL

(3)

CRC PR E S S

Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C.

Joseph Mizrahi

An Integrated Approach

DEVELOPING

INDUSTRIAL

(4)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.

Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

The consent of CRC Press LLC does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained in writing from CRC Press LLC for such copying.

Direct all inquiries to CRC Press LLC, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, Florida 33431.

Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation, without intent to infringe.

Visit the CRC Press Web site at www.crcpress.com

No claim to original U.S. Government works International Standard Book Number 0-8493-1360-0 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

Printed on acid-free paper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Catalog record is available from the Library of Congress

(5)

Preface

This book presents a detailed discussion of the issues that have to be addressed, in most cases, in the development and the first implementation of a novel industrial chemical process.

These issues start with the “whys” and “wheres,” then address the working organization and all the different steps, activities, and reviews in the process development program, and finally in the implementation, design, construction, and start-up of a new plant.

Why is such book needed at all?

This specific field of activity is constantly occupying many thousands of managers, scientists, engineers, chemists, specialists, economists, and tech-nicians. These professionals work in industrial corporations, research orga-nizations, universities, engineering companies, equipment suppliers, statu-tory public functions, to name a few, in many countries around the world. The result of their activity has been hundreds of new processes and new plants in the chemical industry every year.

Nevertheless, at present, there seem to be no recognized professional standards, no generally accepted written procedures, or even a book cover-ing this professional field. Quite different workcover-ing practices are implemented in different corporations and in different countries. Thus, any professional who encounters some of these issues for the first time in his job can only rely on the direct teaching of his boss and colleagues. And in that lottery some have more luck than others. Strangely enough, up until now, the know-how in this important professional sector has been transmitted only by “apprenticeship.”

Somehow, novel processes have been finally developed and used in new plants that have been built and operated, most of them successful. But, on the other hand, many case stories are widely spread in the profession about all the associated problems, serious waste of time and resources, start-up troubles, and occasionally complete failures.

These problems have been generally attributed to personal errors in specific situations, possibly to the individualistic characters of the inventors and promoters, and to the opportunistic demand for quick results in new processes. Such explanations could only be true for the initiation stage

(6)

(possibly 5% of the efforts invested), but cannot hold for all the development and implementation work. So, a systematic study of the common aspects to most projects can be instructive.

This book is intended primarily for those professionals who are already on the job in real life, to help them, hopefully, to do a better and more efficient job, to be happier by understanding more about what is going on around them, and to reduce the frustrations associated with this line of work. It is assumed that the readers will be graduates with some professional experi-ence, who have access to all the textbooks, handbooks, and publications available, to Chemical Abstracts and to the Internet, and who know how to use these. So, this book will not be competing with these sources and will not copy what is readily available. At most, it will refer the readers to the more useful sources, in this author’s opinion. The suppliers of commercial services have essential contributions to such projects, and the general issues connected with the selection of such suppliers are discussed, but no partic-ular reference is given as far as possible. The other references direct the readers, who may be interested in any of the example cases mentioned, to more detailed sources.

Also, in this book, with due apologies to the chemists, a chemical process does include any physical or mechanical transformation or separation which is necessary to obtain the final products.

On the face of it, the development and implementation of a new chemical process may appear to be a matter of chemistry, materials, equipment, con-trol, etc., but it should be recognized that this is a very complex endeavor, and its success depends, in fact, mostly on the interactions and organization of many different people in various positions.

In each such project, hundreds of professionals are concerned, full-time or part-time, with the research organization, the various functions in the corporation, the engineering company, the equipment suppliers, patent attorneys, specialist consultants, and civil servants with statutory functions. These professionals are mostly chemical engineers, but all the related pro-fessions are also involved: managers (in particular in finance, production, and marketing), different fields of engineers, research and analytical chem-ists, various specialchem-ists, patent attorneys, lawyers, economchem-ists, and support-ing technicians.

The first need in a new project organization is to establish a common communication and reference system in which every participant in the project will understand the point of view, the priorities, and the “jargon” of the others. This aim can require both patience and goodwill from everyone concerned and should be motivated by the example of the management.

It is hoped that this book can be used for such purposes. The author has been occupied in this field of activity all of his professional life in many different positions. He strongly believes that a project involving the devel-opment and implementation of a new chemical process can be done better and more efficiently if:

(7)

• All the issues and all the interactions were discussed and understood from the beginning by all the participants

• The limits of responsibility were clearly defined

• A proper organizational structure and adequate programs were used The detailed recommendations in this book can be readily integrated, without any contradiction or competition, with the latest trends in corporate research and development (R&D) management procedure, such as the “Stage Gate” system and similar tools, which recently have been introduced in many large corporations. These detailed recommendations can assist the “Gate Keepers” in defining the “deliverables” and “criteria” to be achieved in the next “Stage.”

All the engineers, scientists, and managers concerned with the develop-ment of a novel industrial chemical process, and/or with the impledevelop-menta- implementa-tion, design, construcimplementa-tion, and start-up of a plant based on this process, can use this book to assist them in their work. The book will give them a general overview of all the issues ahead, and also provide them with checklists to draw up their own working programs, or at least understand the logic of the instructions given to them by their boss.

Friends with experience have remarked that the scope of this book may appear to be very complex and its “message” may be confusing for rapid readers sampling here and there. Therefore, it was decided to add at the end of each chapter a short recapitulation of the issues that can be worth an additional thought and possibly further reading or discussion.

At least, the core team of a project would benefit from a systematic study. Evidently, not everyone would be interested in all issues at one specific time, but it is nice to know that they can come back and consider more intensively any pertinent issue whenever they might face the need. Professionals with a few years of experience in this field, who may recognize some of the issues discussed from personal exposure, should benefit more.

Part of the material in this book can also be used as a basis for an overall course for graduate students who are intending to start their work in indus-trial R&D, equipment development, process engineering, plant design, and managing functions in industrial corporations. It also can be used for work-shops of continuing education for these working professionals.

Obviously, one could have filled the book with examples from actual projects, but it is debatable whether more such particular examples would have helped illustrate the points or distract attention from the complex issues. Furthermore, most of the examples are covered by commercial secrecy and cannot be published. So, the compromise chosen here by the author may not satisfy every reader.

The author will be pleased to receive any comment or suggestion that can help expand the usefulness of this book.

1360_frame_FM Page 7 Wednesday, May 1, 2002 3:40 PM

(8)

The author

Dr. Joseph Mizrahi was born in 1933 and lives in Israel since 1951 at 27A Einstein Street, Haifa, 36014, phone (972-4) 824-4431, office phone (972-4) 826-0737, fax (972-4) 826-0797, email [email protected]. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering and a D.Sc. in Mineral Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. In addition, he received the Diploma of Imperial College, London, 1965, and the professor-equivalent grade of Research Institutes Scientists. He also taught and was a postgraduate supervisor part-time at Technion from 1956 to 1979.

Dr. Mizrahi has published 14 papers for international scientific confer-ences, 29 papers in international journals, has received 20 patents, and 24 communications to various professional conferences.

He worked at the IMI Institute for Research and Development in Haifa from 1958 to 1974, first as a research engineer, then as head of the Chemical Engineering Department. His work included basic engineering design for process implementation, engineering aspects of licensing agreements, anal-ysis of new processes, economic evaluations, surveys, worldwide liaison with engineering companies, piloting of new processes, run-in of new plants in foreign countries, and development and testing of new industrial contact-ing equipment. In addition, fundamental research was done under his super-vision and published in the fields of mixing and separation of liquids and of hydrochloric acid technology.

From 1974 to 1978, Dr. Mizrahi was Managing Director of Miles-Israel Ltd. in Haifa, a subsidiary of a multinational corporation in food, pharma-ceutical, and speciality chemicals. This work included the completion of new plants, the introduction of new products to the world markets, and the stabilization and diversification of operations.

From 1979 to 2001, he provided independent professional consulting services to corporations worldwide in the fields of organization and stream-lining of R&D programs; consolidation, evaluation, and transfer of know-how; initiation, organization, and evaluation of projects; process design of new plants; troubleshooting and expansion of existing plants; and analysis of corporate development strategy.

(9)

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to my wife, Sara, for a lifetime of motivation and support.

I would like also to acknowledge:

• The influence of Professor Avram Baniel from whom I learned very much in various forms of collaboration in many projects over more than 4 decades, since he founded and managed the pioneer team at the IMI Institute for R&D where I spent the first 16 years of my professional career.

• The friendly and helpful reviews of the draft of this book by Ari Eyal, David Gonen, Chanoch Gorin, David Meir, and Tuvia Zisner. • The long and productive interaction over all my professional life with

a large number of my friends and colleagues in many countries, the names of whom I cannot list in this limited space.

(10)

chapter 1 Why a new industrial

chemical process could

be needed?

1.1 Changing world

The development of a new chemical process is a major technical, eco-nomical effort that can be justified only if it fills a definite need of an industrial corporation. The present chapter discusses the various situa-tions in which such a need could be defined. This review allows one connected to the chemical industry to evaluate the probabilities that his/her corporation would need a new chemical process in the foresee-able future. There are basic reference books that can be used as sources for this initial information.1–5

The chemical industry has always been operated in a changing worldwith expanding markets, a need for better products at lower prices, change in raw materials, addition and removal of political barriers, great jumps in the technology available for industrial application, higher ecology demands, etc. As time goes on, the dynamic rate of such changes seems to be increasing exponentially. In the past 3 decades, in particular, it requires an open attitude from any corporate management towards possible process revision.

In such a changing world, an operating chemical corporation could require a novel process for a certain product, if and when one (or more) of the objective situations discussed below becomes dominant and is recognized, at least inside the organization. Let us consider first the situation in which a corporation is already producing and selling the product, but now needs

process changes for:

• Obtaining a better quality product • Reaching a lower cost of production • Using different raw materials • Responding to ecological pressures

1360_frame_C01 Page 1 Monday, April 29, 2002 3:32 PM

(19)

A different situation occurs when a corporation is considering making a new product.The company will need a new industrial process for:

• Producing according to a soon-to-expire patent • “Bypassing” an existing patent

• Using a newly available industrial technology

• Creating new markets with a product fulfilling new functions • Expanding its public image

1.2 A better quality product

The need for a better quality product could be felt in one of the corporation’s existing markets and reported by the marketing organization. Such a need could arise from the persistent requests or complains of clients or from the pressures of competitors’ products, and it could be reflected in the presen-tation of more stringent standard purchasing specifications. Furthermore, an upgraded product could open the way to other market segments.

This situation is quite common in the process industry, as a chain result from changes in the downstream uses of the products. It generally motivates a continuous effort in limited research and development (R&D) projects, resulting in gradual changes in the existing production technology, in an attempt to improve the product’s quality as requested. Such an aim could possibly be obtained, for example, by the addition of purifying operations to the production line, such as distillation, recrystallization, active-carbon decolorization, ion-exchange purification, and the like, or by compromising on the product’s yield in order to remove more impurities in the wastestreams. However, in many cases, a point is reached when further improvement would no longer be possible with the existing process or with the raw materials presently used, or when such quality improvement would become too expensive. At this point, the need for a significant process change will be recognized and defined inside the corporation, and such need could also be made public in the market segment. This significant process change would preferably be limited to the core production process, while almost all of the expensive infrastructure could most likely be maintained with minimum adjustments.

1.3 Lower cost of production

Lower cost of production is, of course, always desirable in any existing plant, either to increase the profits or to allow lower and more competitive prices. In practice, in all operating plants, this objective is dealt with continuously by small and gradual ad-hoc steps, which do not impair the regular flow of production.

There is not always a direct link between the production cost and the sale price, and there are even examples of plants that have been supplying an essential strategic corporate need while losing money. However, many

(20)

operating plants are living under the shadow of the possible development of a more efficient, completely new process with drastically lower production costs. This process may become available to the competition and may endanger the basic economic existence of the plant. Thus, corporations must always devote a continuous effort to keeping up to date with all the developments that could lead in this direction. These include higher yields, lower energy consumption, shorter route, revaluation of byproducts, etc. This could evolve into a full-scale process development effort, whenever a company intends to build a new plant to replace an old installation or when stronger protection is required against the perceived competition.

1.4 Different raw material

In some cases, different raw materials may become available that could have definite technical or cost advantages. In other cases, a significant change could be expected in the future quality or in the cost of the raw materials that are presently used, or even in the continuation of their future supply.

The changing situation concerning the raw materials’ supply has always characterized those industrial chemical processes that start with natural raw materials, i.e., mineral ores, agricultural crops, or petroleum fractions for the petrochemical industries. The situation could be even more sensitive when the raw materials from a plant are byproducts or waste products from the main production of another plant that is using such natural raw materials (i.e., grain hulls, molasses, mineral concentrate fractions, hydrocarbon streams, etc.). A similar situation relates to the use of some waste products from the combustion in large power plants (fly ash from coal, soot, solutions from ecological scrubbers, etc.) as the starting raw materials.

For example, the world’s main supply of zirconium oxide (and zirconium compounds) for many decades came from a byproduct (Baddelayite concen-trate) mined in South Africa. It has been known from the 1990s that this unique source was progressively and irrevocably being depleted6_{and all the suppliers} and users of zirconium oxide had to urgently look for new processes. The acute need directed the users’ attention to options for extracting zirconium oxide from the mineral Zircon (zirconium silicate), which is plentiful world-wide as a heavy-sand concentrate. Unfortunately for the developers, however, it also has a very stable mineralogical structure. To overcome this inherent stability, some proposed the use of brute force, such as fusion in an electric arc furnace at 2700˚C, followed by volatilization of silica fumes and other impurities (some of it radioactive) that had to be collected, or thermal disso-ciation by a shock treatment at very high temperatures in a plasma torch, followed by a wet treatment. Other proposals were based on sophisticated chemical detours by additive reactions with calcium or sodium oxide at rela-tively lower temperatures.7–10_{The recently patented process, developed by} Chanoch Gorin and Joseph Mizrahi9_{for that purpose, presents an efficient} novel route and will be discussed in Chapter 5 as an illustration of several development steps. The possibility of getting some Baddelayite supply from

(21)

a mine in Russia’s arctic Kola region, along with the rather small world market (in tons and in sales volume) also represent limiting factors in the development of these new processes.

In an opposite situation, the exclusive and efficient production of high-grade synthetic potassium nitrate, according to the 1967 IMI solvent extrac-tion process,11_{has been a profitable operation for several decades as the} principal worldwide supplier, despite the well-known existence of large natural deposits of nitrates in South America. Since the mining and refining operations have finally been established in Chile, the situation in this market changed throughout the world. Different grades of potassium nitrate are now available to different users at different costs and the consumption of the highest quality synthetic product has decreased. All of these changes called for drastic process reconsideration in the plants using the synthetic route. Such options for change had been available for at least 10 years,12–13 but there was no pressing incentive for a development effort.

In the last few decades of the twentieth century, the fluctuations in the quality as well as the cost or the availability of many raw materials have often reflected the changes in international trade, as many political and

cus-toms barriers were added or removed. Examples of such changes are the

decolonization of many countries, the European Union and other regional unions, the decentralization of the former Eastern block into separate coun-tries and the accelerated privatization of their induscoun-tries, as well as the increasing role of The Republic of China in all economic areas. All of these geopolitical changes have seriously affected the way in which many older chemical plants have been operated for generations, and have forced com-panies to reconsider their production processes and possibly how to develop alternative processes more related to the new situation.

For example, raw (brown) cane sugar could be produced somewhere in Asia, transported to a European city to be refined and recrystallized, and then reexported around the world. Such activity could only have been devel-oped in the past generations under the cover of heavy custom tariffs, which have finally affected the European consumers. But the gradual reduction of this practice in the future also will affect a series of downstream industries, which are linked to the byproducts of the sugar refinery in Europe (i.e., molasses or low-grade sweeteners). There are many similar examples in other fields and in other parts of the world.

In addition, the new “global village” economy has led to many international corporate mergers and other “arrangements” that have affected the distribution of raw materials in different areas. This presently accepted practice constitutes a drastic change from the anticartel laws that were taken very seriously until recently in the American sphere of operation (at least in open references).

1.5 Ecological pressure

Such pressures have been systematically applied in the last generation by public

organizations and/or by statutory regulations in developed countries, to reduce

(22)

as much as possible the environmental damages caused by some existing chem-ical plants. In many cases, serious cleanup operations have been successful and all concerned, including the employees of these plants, were much relieved.

In other situations, the response of the chemical industry to such pres-sures has been to “do something” that is not too expensive (mostly down-stream effluent treatments), and to claim to have done “everything possible,” except for the ultimate closing of the plant, which is generally not desired by the community. In this continuing struggle, both sides are progressively improving their knowledge as more experts are called in. An underlying menace, however, is the occasional threat to move an industrial activity to another part of the world where ecological pressures are less demanding.

In many situations, a mutually acceptable solution would evolve from a change in the source or quality of the raw materials. This would require a significant change in the main process, while retaining the plant’s entire expensive infrastructure. In such a case, the development of the new process has to be done within strict boundaries, but the know-how developed could eventually be applied in future plants.

Another aspect of the ecological pressure relates to the combustion gases from fuel burning, either in cars or power stations. The effluent gases from cars have been dealt with more efficiently, in particular by auto industry improve-ments and through the supply of cleaner fuels from the petroleum refining industry. This necessitated the development of many new chemical processes (most of them still not published). This solution is not feasible for power stations, which are using mostly coal and the residual “dirty” petroleum heavy fractions. There an additional treatment must be done on the effluent gases on the way to the chimney to separate the SO2/SO3, NO/NO2, particulate matters, and possible poisonous metallic traces. Such treatment is complicated (from the chemical and technology points of view) and expensive, because gases need to be cooled and then saturated with water vapors. The resulting heavy white “plume” from the chimney would be much more visible and of concern to the surrounding population. This could also be corrected with the use of more heating and pressure, which would result in more energy and higher costs. If the chemical industry participated in such efforts, they could recover part of the costs from the marketing of, for instance, valuable ammonium sulfate and nitrate of fertilizer grade produced from the treatment of effluent gas. Many processes were proposed along these lines and are actively being considered, however, actively but slowly by the power station operators. (No references are given here, considering the actual commercial interests.)

1.6 New products for the corporation

Let us consider now the situation in which the corporation has not been producing and selling the product, or a new corporation that is organized for such project.

A corporation may have been prevented from entering into a specific production line that was well protected by a competitor’s existing patent. Such

(23)

patents could cover either the nature (analysis, specification) of the product or a specific production process for such product. These are different issues.

If the existing patent covers the nature of the product, a process develop-ment effortwould be required as soon as it is established that such patent would expire ina few years, or if a way to by-pass such protection can be proposed (e.g., by a small change in the formula that does not affect the performance). Note that the patent law prevents only the selling of the product covered by the patent, not the study or the preparation for its eventual production or even its production for storage. This situation has been typical, in particular, to the pharmaceutical industry, as so-called

generic medicines are sold in the marketplace at reduced prices as soon as the basic patent covering the trademark medication hasexpired. This same tactic relates to the fine chemicals industry, producing patented chemical specialties, additives, resins, catalysts, etc.

A patent covering a specific production process can generally beextended on and on, by additional filing of complementary patent applications based on the specific practical know-how that has been accumulated during the plant’s operation. This technique is not always effective, but it is widely used, mostly as a deterrent toward weaker, would-be competition. On the other hand, if such a competitor has a strong incentive and a good R&D team, a serious effort could possibly indicate some ways to avoid the formal definitions in the claims of these complementary patent applications. This would collapse the whole patent protection. (See the case of citric acid production discussed in Chapter 4, Section 4.5.)

1.7 Newly available industrial technology

Generally, whenever a new industrial technology has become available from an external source supplying other industries, typical opportunities for new pro-cess developments should be investigated. Such new technology could be applied to the potentially profitable production of desired products, which previously could not be produced economically. The timely recognition and exploitation of such opportunity is one of the main challenges of industrial R&D.

As a classical example, the solvent extraction technology has been researched, applied, and refinedas an industrial separation/purification tool in the 1940s and 1950s. This was due to the urgency nuclear applications at the time; however, on a relatively small scale. When the essential basis of this technology became publicly available in the 1950s, it was recognized as a powerful separation tool by many of the best R&D leaders in the chemical scientific profession. Its potential uses were intensively and competitively studied by many faculties and institutes and discussed in successive inter-national conferences. The various proposals for processes and contacting equipment then were developed further and patented in an all-out race by those in the fields of chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, and hydrometallurgy, resulting in dozens of highly profitable industrial processes and enterprises by the late 1970s.

(24)

The so-called “energy crisis” of 1973 prompted many fundamental studies on the more efficient production and use of energy, and particularly in the chemical industry. Many old-fashioned processes and equipment were then condemned as utterly inefficient and, after intensive scientific and technological develop-ment, were replaced eventually by new solutions. Many new equipment mod-els and designs were developed and introduced in the following 15 to 20 years, and most of these are now considered “standard practice.”

A similar international effort at the time was devoted to the desalination

of seawater in order to supply potable water to arid areas at a reasonable cost. Such an intensive effort resulted in improved industrial equipment and technologies, which are now available on a wide and diverse scale, although the industrial investments (dependent mostly on public funds) apparently are still not catching up with the demand. These technologies include, for example, multistage flash evaporation, multiple-effect distillation with dif-ferent heater combinations, vapor recompression, reverse osmosis mem-branes, etc. (See the excellent review of Rafi Semiat in Reference 14.)

However, it is important to remember that these technological develop-ments should not be classified for a limited “specialized” application. They could also be the critical key for many new processes in the chemical and bio-technology industry that has involved a significant evaporation load, or that operates sections at widely different temperatures and requires large heat-ing/cooling exchanges.

Later on, the use of advanced membranes as separation tools, of nano-struc-tured catalysts, of extraction at “supercritical conditions,” of the high vacuum technology, of lasers and plasma as focused heat sources, of micro-systems, (to name a few), have added many new, potent processing possibilities.

Today, the advances in industrial biotechnology are notable and already offering industrial ways to replace many old chemical synthesis processes and to produce economically some of the large-scale organic chemicals. This is a direct link to the ongoing progress made by the corn sweetener industry (mostly in North America) in the industrial uses of enzymes (in particular, the immobilized enzymes) for producing very pure, defined compounds from starch or cellulose by chemical and physical processes. (See some basic references in 15, 16, and 17.)

Many very important applications in the pharmaceutical industries for very expensive products were handled as a “lot of small-scale batch production

units.” The simpler large-tonnage fermentation processes were for a long

time limited to the smaller molecules (ethanol, acetic acid, etc.) and in direct competition with the petrochemical processing industry, except for food applications. The large-scale production of citric acid by fermentation opened the way to more complex products. At present, the biotechnology R&D handled by the largest corporations aims mainly to large tonnage, relatively lower cost, and intermediate chemicals for the polymerization of industrial plastic materials, such as lactic acid as just one example.18

Of course, any such research project starts with the fermentation biology in order to select the organism and the conditions in which the desired

(25)

compound can be reliably produced. However, one should note that any such fermentation can only be operated in relatively dilute conditions compatible with the life (osmotic pressure?) of the microorganism. Thus, the desired compound can only be obtained in a concentration range of 1 to 8% (very rarely up to 12 to 15%) in the fermentation broth, together with unavoidable residual contamination from the fermentation media. A quite expensive con-centration installation will be needed downstream, together with specific separation and purification processes, to obtain the final 100% product. And this fact-of-life brings us back to the solvent extraction and/or desalination technologies mentioned above.

Finally, the electronic computer process control technologies, which became widely spread in the past few decades, did allow the practical recon-sideration of some processes that were studied theoretically, but were previ-ously rated as difficult or even hazardous to control manually (i.e., based on the operator’s decisions and responses). These are mainly in the petrochemical field, but also in the classified chemical industry for military applications.

1.8 New functions for new products

A new product could also be needed in the market to fill a new function at the users’ end, resulting from some parallel technological development in other industries. Whenever the need for such a product can be defined, a process development and evaluation effort will be justified. Of course, the silicon chip industry jumps to mind, but there are many more prosaic large-scale products.

For example, the production of citric acid by fermentation was handled for many decades as a pharmaceutical product on a small scale. However, the expanding industry for soft drinks and packaged food required more and more citric acid, until it was treated as a commodity and produced in larger tonnage in continuous plants by a completely different technology.

In a different field, the way in which fertilizers are used in more sophis-ticated and intensive farming by many developed countries, under ecological control, has continuously changed. This has called for the supply of more

concentrated, cleaner, multicomponents mixtures, mostly water-soluble, with less residual contamination of the soil and underground water layers. The same principle applies to products in the insecticide and fungicide fields, as the toxic metals were removed from the formulae and replaced by very specific, biodegradable, organic components.

The purchase specifications of many of the fine chemical intermediates used in the mass production of plastic, refractory, and ceramic materials have also changed significantly to meet the users’ demands. The term “advanced material” is more and more fashionable these days (although not always justified) and are interesting and profitable markets that the chemical indus-try is expected to supply. This would require a significant innovative effort. For example, a young entrepreneur named Steff Vertheimer started nearly 40 years ago to study the preparation of small bits of very hard and

(26)

tough solid material, by sintering tungsten carbide powder with various chemical additives, mechanical pressing, and heat treatments. These prod-ucts improved continuously and now the cutting tools produced by his companies throughout the world have a sizable portion of a billion dollar market. Unfortunately, due to the climate of terrorism there also are increas-ing markets developincreas-ing today for shock-resistant ceramic protectors and bulletproof glass panels.

However, there should be a real need or demand for such new products from the potential users, and not just the desire from the suppliers to sell more or to respond to a passing fashion. When this author was starting in R&D, he was given a project (with his tutor, A. Mitzmager) to develop applications for the use of tetra-bromoethane (TBE), a heavy, stable organic liquid containing 88% bromine with a specific gravity of about 3. The wishful purpose of this development was to increase the limited markets that existed for the company which was (and still is) making and selling bromine compounds. TBE was used then only in mineralogical laboratories for bench-scale, “sink-float” sep-arations between solid particles of different densities after the controlled dilu-tion of TBE with a solvent. For example, a mixture of particles is slurryed in a liquid of specific gravity 2.83. All the “reject” particles with a lower average density will float while the heavier particles with valuable metallic content will sink. So, why can’t similar separations be obtained on an industrial scale? This R&D project was a very interesting challenge and within a couple of years several possible industrial applications became focused. A contin-uous separation technology with liquid cyclones was developed and piloted, and methods for the recovery and recycle of the TBE were designed and tested. The economics looked good on paper and the know-how (with full technical assistance) was offered practically free of charge to any user willing to buy the TBE.19–26

However, despite all the sales efforts, nothing really happened in the industry. A basic difference had been ignored; that separating a hydrometal-lurgical plant (which is basically a chemical plant, using acids or cyanide or similar materials) from a mineral beneficiation plant, where, at most, small quantities of chemical reagents could be handled. This difference is not rea-sonably objective, but it relates to the people, organization, management, and staffing. Apparently, no manager of a mineral plant was willing to have a separation unit with thousands of tons of a bromine compound in his back-yard, and all the potential objective advantages and profits could not change that fact. This manager may be convinced that nothing would go wrong as long as the plant would be operated according to the instructions. But he also knew his staff and that, somehow, someone could make a mistake, and he had enough worries to keep him awake at night.

This lesson was painful but clear; the developing team should try to put themselves in the place and the mentality of the potential user of the new product. They should ascertain that they would like to have such a new supply or means as this before convincing themselves that there should be a need and a market.

(27)

1.9 Corporate public image

The development of a novel high-tech chemical process technology has often been used to enhance the public image of a chemical corporation as a progres-sive factor, particularly by those companies operating old plants in crowded areas. Of course, this cannot be the main reason for a new development project, but it could be a contributing factor. Although it is quite difficult in these cases to separate publicity from fact, this factor has often been used effectively by interested parties to gain the good will of upper management so they will invest in a novel process development, in particular, in this high-tech generation.

Another related aspect, which is recognized inside the profession but hardly ever discussed publicly, is the importance of the professional self-esteem of the engineering and R&D staff of the corporation. Their involve-ment in a pioneering developinvolve-ment should boost their interest, loyalty, and

efficiency. Upper management does not always appreciate this effort and

often act as if employees are disposable. In many cases, temporary pres-sures and false economy considerations have led upper management to drastically reduce, or even eliminate altogether, the R&D and new project budgets. Such decisions could have an immediate effect on the yearly profit statement, but it generally leads to a serious loss in the corporate market position in the future, as available know-how becomes obsolete and the more qualified individuals leave the company.

1.10 Worth another thought

• The development of a new chemical process is a major technical-economical effort that can be justified only if it fills a concrete need of an industrial corporation.

• All operating plants are living under the shadow of a possibly more efficient, completely new process with drastically lower production costs that may endanger the company’s basic economic existence if it ever becomes available to the competition.

• All the geopolitical changes have seriously affected many older chemical plants, forcing the owners to reconsider their production processes and develop alternative ones.

• If an existing patent covering the nature of a “valuable product of interest” is due to expire, or if a way to by-pass it can be proposed, a process development effort is justified.

• Whenever a new industrial technology has become available, oppor-tunities for new chemical process developments should be envisioned. • The biotechnology R&D handled by the largest corporations aims mainly at large-tonnage, relatively lower cost, and intermediate chemicals for the polymerization of industrial plastic materials.

(28)

• Any industrial fermentation can only be operated in relatively dilute conditions, and a very expensive concentration installation will be needed downstream, together with specific separation and purifica-tion processes.

• A new product could be needed to fill a new function at the users’ end, resulting from parallel technological development in other in-dustries. Such a need will justify a process development and evalu-ation effort, if there is a real need from the potential users and not just the desire from the suppliers to sell more.

• The developing team should try to put themselves in the place of the potential users of the new product and ascertain if they would like to have this new supply, before claiming that there should be a need and a market.

• The professional self-esteem of the engineering and R&D staff is very important to a company, and their involvement in a pioneering de-velopment should boost their interest, loyalty, and efficiency.

References

1. Hawley, G.G., The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 10th ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1981.

2. McKetta, J.J. and Cunningham, W.A., Encyclopedia of Chemical Processes and

Design, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1983.

3. Meyers, R.A., Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996.

4. Bickford, M. and Kroshwitz, J.J., Concise Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical

Technology, various eds., John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1999.

5. Comyns, A.E., Encyclopedic Dictionary of Named Processes in Chemical Technol-ogy, 2nd ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1999.

6. Skidmore, C., Review of World Baddelayite Production and Future Outlook, pre-sentation to the Zircon 1995 Conference, Munich, May 1995.

7. Poleatev, I.F., Krasnenkova, L.V., and Smurova, T.V., Manufacture of zirconi-um oxide for fusion cast, Tsvetn. Met. (Moscow), 12, 56.8, 1988.

8. Tan Guoca et al., Preparation of zirconium oxide from zircon by slaked lime sintering process, Faming Zhuanli Shemqing Gonkai Shuomingshu CN, 1, 063, 268, August 1992.

9. Mizrahi, J. and Gorin, Ch., Process for the manufacture of substantially pure zirconium oxide from raw material containing zirconium, Israel Patent. Ap-plication 127,848, December 1998; PTC/Il 00/00125, March 2000.

10. Schoenlaub, R.A., Method for Manufacturing Zirconium Oxide and Salts, U.S. Patent 3,832,441, July 1973.

11. Araten, Y., Baniel, A., and Blumberg, A., Process for the manufacture of Potassium Nitrate, Proc. of the Fertilizer Society, No. 99, 1967. Also U.S. Patent 2,902,341, 1959.

12. Eyal, A., Mizrahi, J., and Baniel, A., Potassium nitrate through solvent extrac-tion of strong acids, I&EC Proc. Dev., 387, 1985.

(29)

13. Mizrahi, J., Improved process and apparatus for the production of potassium nitrate, Israel Patent Application 9347HA1, 1993. (Assigned to Haifa Chemi-cals, Ltd.)

14. Semiat, R., Desalination, present and future, Water Int., 1, 54–65, 2000. 15. Vogel, H.C. and Todaro, C.L., Biological Engineering Handbook Principles: Process

Design and Equipment, Noyes Publishing, Park Ridge, NJ, 1996.

16. Blanch, H.W. and Clark, D.S., Biochemical Engineering, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1997.

17. Johnson, A.T., Biological Process Engineering: An Analogical Approach to Fluid

Flow, Heat Transfer, and Mass Transfer Applied to Biological Systems, John Wiley

& Sons, New York, 1998.

18. Baniel, A., Eyal, A., Mizrahi, J., Hazan, B., Fisher, R., Konstad, J., and Steward, B., Lactic Acid Production, Separation and/or Recovery Process, U.S. Patent 5,892,109, 1997. (Assigned to Cargill, Inc.).

19. Mitzmager, A. and Mizrahi, J., Pre-concentration of flotation feed with TBE,

Min. J., 7, 481, 1961.

20. Mitzmager, A. and Mizrahi, J., Improvement in the Sink-Float Classification of Solid Granular Material, Israel Patent 18,108, 1962.

21. Mitzmager, A. and Mizrahi, J., Method for the Sink-Float Classification of Wet Granular Material, Israel Patent, 18,230, 1962.

22. Baniel, A., Mitzmager, A., Mizrahi, J., and Star, S., Concentration of Silicate Minerals by tetrabromoethane, Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., 146–154, 1963. 23. Boskovich-Rohrlich, E., Mitzmager, A., and Mizrahi, J., Structure and

benefi-ciation of a low-grade iron ore, Min. Mag., 325–331, 1963.

24. Schachter, 0., Mitzmager, A., Mizrahi, J., and Brillianstein, A., Classification and jigging with heavy liquids, Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., 91–96, 1964. 25. Mitzmager, A. and Mizrahi, J., Correlation of the pressure drop through small

cyclones operating with dilute pulp of various liquids, Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng.

(London), 42, 152–159, 1964.

26. Mizrahi, J., Separation Mechanisms in Hydro-cyclone classifiers, Brit. Chem.

Eng., 10, 686–692, 1965. 1360_frame_C01 Page 12 Monday, April 29, 2002 3:32 PM

(30)

chapter 2 Starting the development

of a new process

2.1 Driving forces

2.1.1 Backing of a large corporation

It is evident at the onset that the development and implementation of a novel industrial chemical process is a very expensive project; that only the backing of a sizable corporation can carry it to completion in the final instance, and then only if and when it fits into its corporate framework. Thus, this backing is a necessary condition for the completion of the project.

2.1.2 Promoting group

However, in most cases, such development projects can be initiated by a group of promoters, who could be a part of one or more of the following functions: an individual scientist, an academic department, an industrial research organization, or an engineering company. Lately, certain “risk cap-ital” funds are involved in such promotions as well.

In certain cases, this promoting role could be carried out inside the corporation by its own R&D section, by its new business department, or even in many cases by able production engineers. (One may also mention that in certain large corporations, some “secret” development projects are actively encouraged by certain executive managers, who report only to them with entirely separate budgets.).

This promoting group could be formally organized as a legal partnership and raise a limited investment, in order to manage and carry on the first part

of the development project, which includes the following elements:

• The “invention” (in fact, a proposal for a new industrial process) with its justification compared to the existing situation, its basic chemistry and mode of operation, and its implementation logic.

1360_frame_C02 Page 13 Monday, April 29, 2002 3:34 PM

(31)

• A sufficient basis for the formal claims in a patent application, which can derive from a novel reasoning and/or of newly-discovered fac-tual evidence.

• A bench-scale experimental demonstration of the novel aspects of the proposal, which could convince, or at least impress, experienced scientists.

• A preliminary technical, economical study of the proposal, which indicates conclusively that its potential profitability should justify the necessary investment in the development program.

• The promotion, i.e., the location of potentially interested corpora-tions, contacts and presentacorpora-tions, and negotiations of a commer-cial contract, until the project is sold and transferred to a corporate organization.

2.1.3 The second part

The second part of the project follows the transfer of the management and the associated responsibility of the project to the corporation.

The transfer, from the promoters in the first part (or period) to corporate management in the second period, changes drastically the vision and rules of the game. This transfer could be a delicate procedure with many pitfalls, as completely different driving forces are operating during the development and implementation of a novel industrial chemical process.

In the first period, the promoters are mainly interested in all the

principal issues that could affect the elaboration of the rationale of the project and the choices of possible implementation objectives. Such issues could determine the decision-making process of each of the prospective corporate candidates, and result in their buying and implementing the project. Obviously, the promoters, as a small group, have not the means nor the time, and possibly not the ability to pursue in detail all of the possible options.

In the second period, on the other hand, the corporate project manager is taking over the decision-making, with the concrete task of optimizing the novel process in one particular context, and building and operating a viable plant. The manager has to cover every significant aspect of the development and implementation, but in a definitely limited scope.

2.1.4 Public authorities

Public authorities also are actively pushing or helping such industrial

development in many countries. For example, funds are made available as grants, loans, or subsidies (i.e., tax credits) for industrial R&D budgets and/or for risk capital companies, and these funds could facilitate the promoters’ initiative or corporation incentive. However, this procedure could also introduce significant restrictions concerning the location and ownership of the plant.

(32)

2.2 How a new process is born

The objective need for a new process and its potential application must first become identified in one of the situations listed in Chapter 1, and become known to the professionals in the field. Only then will the subjective motivation

for an industrial invention be actuated in one or more of the following routes listed below.

2.2.l

Normal research and development activity

Normal R&D activity creates a situation in which a better basic scientific understanding of the limitations of the existing industrial processes is systemati-cally associated with the study of similar developments, and with new

available data or technology in parallel fields. When scientists are saturated with this information, an idea may come to someone in the form of a proposal: “Why can’t we do it better another way?”

This “click” is part of the functions normally expected from any industrial R&D group, albeit in a corporation, an academic department, or an industrial research organization. Nevertheless, the mechanism of its occurrence is not well understood, and it is generally attributed to individual characteristics. (Despite much interest, most of the studies and dissertations devoted to this idea-generating psychology are related to artistic creation and apparently there is still no accepted theory as regard to scien-tific/industrial inventions.)

But not all such ideas are actually pursued. Many (one would say most?) are impractical, premature, or incorrect in some aspect. There is no discredit in that, since a more fundamental study of the limits of the problem can only be reached by raising these proposals. Many potentially interesting ideas could also be stopped just for lack of follow-up by the initiator, who, for example, could be too busy. One of the main challenges of any R&D organi-zation is to have a proper forum and a routine procedure for the systematic recording and review of such ideas, which would then avoid any possible bias due to personalities, positions, and past records.

2.2.2 Personal motivation

The main driving force for a successful innovation (the invention, the promo-tion, and the first steps) is without a doubt the personal motivation of the more-talented R&D scientists. In addition to their genuine scientific curiosity

and drive, a series of successful innovations is generally considered as a key for their personal advancement, their public recognition, and their personal satisfaction. It could also be linked to a financial bonus or other incentives in certain organizations.

Since these more talented scientists could also be successful and happy in an academic position, a major challenge for the management

(33)

of the industrial R&D organization is to create conditions in which their scientists would be interested in continuing to work there, effectively and for a

prolonged period. Of course, this motivation is a delicate matter, which

could concern nonscientist personalities as well. There are no easy short-cuts.

2.2.3 Corporate function

The managers of the dedicated corporate departments (R&D or “new busi-ness”) have the role, the staff, and the budget to generate new projects, and they are generally looking fornew ideas that may be worth promoting. These new subjects could be found internally by a continuous and systematic covering of their defined territory, or from the outside by promoters who are familiar with their corporate business field.

On the other hand, once their hands and means are more or less full (as decided in advance by the yearly plans and budget), they have to find ways to delay additional new proposals without causing too much ill will with the promoters who are offering a golden opportunity. More flexibility in this matter could give better overall results.

2.2.4 Financial and commercial rewards

Each participant in the promoter/developer group (external to the corpora-tion) is normally motivated by some financial reward, expected from a suc-cessful implementation, including buy-in at an early stage, development, and re-sale when ready.

But some of the participants in this group also could have additional commercial considerations related to their other activities, such as the supply of engineering services, the sale of proprietary equipment, the assignment of marketing rights, exclusivity in certain services, agent’s commission, and so forth. Unless all of these interests are clear from the beginning, they could lead to conflicts between the partners. Such unpleas-ant cases are not uncommon; therefore, it is advisable to have a clear picture of the situation at the onset of a joint venture to help promote an innovative process development.

2.2.5 False starts

It is generally recognized that, due to the pressures stated above, a very

large part of these “would-be inventions” eventually will be false starts

and dropped sooner or later. This situation could also happen to excep-tional R&D scientists who, following reappraisal, will readily pull back their proposals (for the time being) and find other avenues for their efforts. There is no shame in such a decision, as this is an integral part of R&D work.

(34)

Unfortunately, some of these false starts may take a long time to die, wasting precious time. The general efficiency of an industrial R&D organi-zation depends on the routine screening procedure for new ideas, preferably by a peer reviewthat is more readily accepted than a manager’s ruling.

2.3 Explicit definition of the development project

It is essential, at the beginning of every development project, to detail explic-itly what the project will try to achieve and what would be considered a successful implementation.

This clearly written definition may be critical for the success of the entire project, and the promoting group should give it utmost attention. The first benefit will be that thorough discussions will force the group to focus its proposals exactly toward objectives and procedures that are feasible in this real world. This definition should include the following components listed below.

2.3.1 Objectives and purposes

A quantitative definition of the actual objectives and purposes of the devel-opment project, as compared with the known existing situation, may include, for instance:

• Minimum specification of the new product or products • Maximum acceptable production cost

• Minimum recovery of the valuable component • Acceptable waste disposal, etc.

2.3.2 Patents

There is no point, however, in starting a significant development effort unless there is a reasonable prospect for an eventual patent protection in case of positive results. An adequate patent search and strategy should be discussed and decided at an early stage, after consultation with the relevant experts. This analysis should start with a clear statement and definition concerning:

• Extent of effective patent protection needed for the increasingly large investments in industrial research and the potential profits

• The need to avoid some constrains in an existing patent

2.3.3 Possible industrial framework

A projection of the eventual (or possible, probable) industrial implementation

framework of the new process is needed to help cement the technological factors

Developing an Industrial Chemical Process an Integrated Approach

An Integrated Approach

DEVELOPING

INDUSTRIAL

CRC PR E S S

Joseph Mizrahi

An Integrated Approach

DEVELOPING

INDUSTRIAL

Preface

Why is such book needed at all?

The author

Acknowledgments

Contents

chapter 1

Why a new industrial

chemical process could

be needed?

1.1 Changing world

1.2 A better quality product

1.3 Lower cost of production

1.4 Different raw material

1.5 Ecological pressure

1.6 New products for the corporation

1.7 Newly available industrial technology

1.8 New functions for new products

1.9 Corporate public image

1.10 Worth another thought

References

chapter 2

Starting the development

of a new process

2.1 Driving forces

2.1.1 Backing of a large corporation

2.1.2 Promoting group

2.1.3 The second part

2.1.4 Public authorities

2.2 How a new process is born

2.2.l

Normal research and development activity

2.2.2 Personal motivation

2.2.3 Corporate function

2.2.4 Financial and commercial rewards

2.2.5 False starts

2.3 Explicit definition of the development project

2.3.1 Objectives and purposes

2.3.2 Patents

2.3.3 Possible industrial framework