GELTUNGSBEREICH
1 GENERAL INFORMATION ON LARGE VOLUME INORGANIC CHEMICALS – SOLID AND OTHERS (LVIC-S) INDUSTRY
1.1.3 Characteristics of the LVIC-S industry
The following 11 points are the most typical characteristics of the LVIC-S industry:
1. Medium to large levels of installed capacities and substantial production outlets of commodity products from the plant, ranging from the capacities of approximately 5 kt up to 500 kt per year in one plant.
Example: the production of soda ash by the Solvay process route – typical capacity of some 500 kt per year, ranging from 160 kt up to 1200 kt per year.
2. In the majority of cases, with some exceptions, mature processes and older installations with a limited possibility for changes in well known processes, still however have some degree of freedom for changes in unit operations (e.g. crystallisation, filtration, drying) applied and used for environmental protection (e.g. dedusting).
Example: production processes of inorganic solid chemical compounds and salts.
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Anorganische Grundchemikalien – Feststoffe und andere - August 2007 11 3. Capital intensity, highly subject to the economies of scale, both in terms of specific
investment for a given inorganic product and for an LVIC-S production complex.
Example: the production of titanium dioxide by the sulphate and chloride routes.
4. High energy requirements for certain products, and relatively high energy requirements at the site, involving a supply of energy from the associated power plant.
Example: production of calcium carbide.
5. Substantial infrastructure involved in a typical inorganic chemical complex comprising:
energy supply; raw materials supply; quality (physical properties and chemical purity) check and preparation; inorganic chemical synthesis processes; purification of products;
storage and handling of products; as well as environmental protection and waste disposal units – see Figure 1.14.
Example: an inorganic chemical complex for the production of pure phosphoric acid, feed phosphates and sodium tripolyphosphate for detergent-grade phosphates.
Figure 1.14: Inorganic chemical complex with a boundary between LVIC-S and SIC plants Based on [6, CEFIC, 2002]
E N E R G Y S U P P L Y F O R T H E C O M P L E X
economy and basic needs Specific outlets
GENERAL INFRASTRUCTURE
capital and energy intensive High quality Interlinkages with industry, requirements.
price driven. Usually mature Small size heavy chemical industry, Quality driven Chemicals - Solid & Others inorganic
chemicals Commodity
products-(Off-shoot of LVIC-S Plant) Product storage/handling
Large Volume Inorganic Speciality chemical Pollution abatement unit speciality installation SIC PLANT Product finishing section
Small-scale inorganic GENERAL INFRASTRUCTURE
LVIC-S PLANT Feedstock supply and quality check
Inorganic chemical synthesis
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12 August 2007 Anorganische Grundchemikalien – Feststoffe und andere - 6. Diversified chains of production processes used jointly in integrated inorganic chemical complexes, thus allowing an heterogeneity of products and viability of production which is highly dependent on an integrated approach and economic outlets for co- and by-products to be obtained.
Example: integrated soda ash complex leading to soda family products, as illustrated in Figure 1.15.
Figure 1.15: Integrated soda ash complex leading to soda family products Based on [82, UNIDO, 1988]
7. Close upstream linkages of large volume inorganic chemicals to inorganic ores and basic inorganic raw materials, and downstream interlinkages to chemical industries and other sectors of the economy – see Figure 1.16.
C
CaCO3 CaCO3 CaCl2
COSMETIC CALCIUM
„WHITE SEAS‟ CHALK CHALK CHLORIDE
WASTE FERTILISER
NaHCO3
NH4Cl Na2CO3
SODIUM
CaCO3 CHLORIDE DENSE BICARBONATE
CARBONATE AMMONIUM SODA ASH LIGHT AND
CALCIUM LIME
Ca(OH)2 NH4Cl NaCl
SLAKED CaCl2+ CaCO3+ Ca(OH)2+ NaCl
Na2CO3 CaO
DIOXIDE SODA
NaCl
QUICKLIME CARBON
CO2
CaCO3 NH3
LIMESTONE COKE AMMONIA SALT
CaCl2 + CaCO3 + Ca(OH)2+ NaCl
Production of:
drying agents antifreezing media additives to concrete
paper chemicals Production of:
glass soap pharmaceuticals
ceramics papers
dyes chemicals
leather textiles sugar
steel Also for:
water treatment Used for:
prod. of cells fire extinguishers
refining of metals soldering tin covering galvanisation
fertilisers others Production of:
paper rubber gypsum tiles
asphalt glass others
Production of:
medicines baking soda
soft drinks food
fire extinguishers
other CaO
Note: Production of fertiliser chalk and cosmetics chalk possible in specific local conditions.
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Anorganische Grundchemikalien – Feststoffe und andere - August 2007 13 Figure 1.16: Interlinkage of chemical process industries with basic needs
Based on [28, UNIDO, 1982]
8. It should be noted that some of the criteria characteristic to the chemical industry sector such as: alternative processes and alternative feedstock for the production of the same product (e.g. carbon black, aluminium fluoride), as well as complex technology involving multistage processing (e.g. titanium dioxide), in several cases also apply to the LVIC-S industry.
9. Other characteristics of the LVIC-S industry include, but are not limited to, the following features:
high purity of raw materials is of primary importance to attain the required purity of the final product and reduce possible emissions. This needs to be achieved by an integrated approach to the chain of steps involved in ore mining, beneficiation and pretreatment, before the raw materials are used in the LVIC-S industry
many reactions take place at high temperatures, in several cases above 800 °C and in a few cases more than 2000 °C (e.g. calcium carbide, silicon carbide) often with carbon (e.g. coal, coke, charcoal) being used as a reducing agent
many LVIC-S products are obtained by their crystallisation from an aqueous solution and with subsequent drying to remove the free and/or combined water (e.g. sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, precipitated calcium carbonate)
the LVIC-S plants are typically equipped with the storage and handling systems of solid substances. Although miscellaneous techniques are used, the potential for dust emissions is common.
Food
Minerals
Hydro-carbons Agricultural Others
Sulphur (S) Natural gas petroleum
coal lignite
Wood medicinal plants cereals
other plants yielding rubber, oils resins, tanins,
animal by-products
Air
pyrite water
S-off gases phosp. rock
potash limestone
salt sand bauxite ilmenite, etc.
Health care Housing, clothing,
transport
Fertilisers, pesticides
Pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, soap,
detergents
Cement, glass, plastics, paints, fibres, dyes, rubber
Intermediate chemicals (involving different stages of
processing)
Basic chemicals
(sulphuric acid, ammonia, chlorine, caustic soda, soda ash, ethylene, etc.)
Raw materials (concentration, refining, etc.)
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14 August 2007 Anorganische Grundchemikalien – Feststoffe und andere - 10. One of the distinct characteristics of LVIC-S plants is their linkage to SIC installations.
Small scale SIC installations are often offshoots of LVIC-S plants, the boundary being usually located in the product purification section of an LVIC-S installation, with the shares of final products typically well over 95 % for large volume inorganic commodity products and much below 5 % for speciality inorganic products – see Figure 1.14 above.
Additional criteria for the selection between the LVIC and SIC industries are given below in Table 1.2:
Criterion LVIC SIC
Volume* Usually high Usually low
Size of investment Very high Medium
Product description Formula Formula + effect, purity, formulation
Product differentiation from competition
Not usually Yes – often the speciality is sold on performance
Applications Often large number of applications or very high volume applications
Often only a few applications or highly specialised
Driver Price Quality
Raw material Often a mineral Often a chemical to be reprocessed
and refined
R&D To improve the economics of
the process
To create new tailored applications Integration Vertical, possibly with the
source of mineral
Often on an LVIC site as a complementary production Which department of the
customer makes the buying decision
The purchasing department The technical/production staff
* UBA: suggested 100 kt limit
Table 1.2: Criteria for the selection between the LVIC and SIC industries [98, CEFIC, 2003]
11. Finally, it should be stressed that the overall energy efficiency in the integrated inorganic chemical complex depends not only on the efficiency of chemical processes used, but also (and in several cases predominantly) on the energy efficiency in the associated power plant at the site.
Increased energy efficiency in the integrated inorganic chemical complex is particularly relevant to the cogeneration of heat and power in CHP systems, as stems from the Council Directive 2004/8/EC of 11 February 2004 on the promotion of cogeneration based on a useful heat demand in the internal energy market [86, The Council of the EU, 2004]. Refer also to Section 1.4.3 below.
1.1.4 Cornerstone and selected illustrative products in the scope of