Detergent Manufacturing Process with flowchart

Adapted from Shreves, Chemical process Industries

Main reaction

Alkylbenzene + Oleum -----> Alkylbenzene sulphonate + sulfuric acid

Process steps

Sulfonation-sulfation

The alkylbenzene is introduced continuously into sullfonator with the requisite amount of oleum. The temperature  should be maintained about 55C. Fatty tallow alcohol and more oleum are fed into sulfonated mixture.The mixture is then pumped to the sulfater (should also operate arroun50-55C)

Neutralization

The sulfonated –sulfated product is neutralized with NaOH solution under controlled temperature to maintain fluidity of the surfactant slurry. The surfactant slurry is conducted to storage.

The surfactant slurry, sodium tripolyphostphate and most of the miscellaneous additives are introduced into the crutcher. A considerable amount of the water is removed and the paste is thickened by sodium tripolyphostphate hydration reaction.

The mixture is pumped to an upper story where it is sprayed under high pressure into the 24m high spray tower, counter to hot air from the furnace. Dried granules of acceptable shape and size and suitable density are formed. The dried granules are transferred to a upper story by an air life which cools them from 115C and stabilize the granules. They are then separated in a cyclone , screened, perfumed and packed.

Detergent production process video

Veneer Sheet Manufacturing process flow

Two major operations are involved in the production of veneer sheets.   

These are:-

a)                  Preparation of logs.

b)                  Veneer manufacturing.

a)                  Preparation of Logs

This  involves  two  unit operations, namely: cutting of logs and cooking or steaming of logs.  Logs  stored  in  a  pond are conveyed to  the  factory yard  and are cut by the chain  saw  to the  desired length for feeding  to the veneer lathe or to the length of the veneer sheets to be produced. In the operation of cooking or steaming high-density logs are pre-treated by cooking vats or steam chambers because they are hard and frequently too resinous to permit fresh cutting.

b)        Veneer manufacturing

This process involves the following unit operations:

1)   Veneer cutting

2)   Green veneer clipping

3)   Veneer drying

4)   Veneer preparation

1)         Veneer cutting - The method of rotary cutting is used to produce veneer sheets. 

In automated mills, log chargers with log centering devices are usually installed for speedily, automatic feeding of log to the veneer lathe.  As the log is centered by the centering device before feeding, it can immediately be fixed on the spindles of the veneer lathe and peeled in an endless sheet by utilization veneer reeling and un reeling machines.  The speed of cutting and reeling is fully synchronized.  Full reels are so stored on the deck of the system.  The “edge-grain” veneer” is then cut by the veneer slicer, which slices across the grain of the log.

2)        Green Veneer Clipping: - The sheet of green veneer peeled by the veneer lathe is cut by veneer clipper (automatic or manual) into the desired dimensions.  Full rolls of the reeling machine are transferred to the unreeling unit, and the veneer is unrolled and cut by the veneer clipper.

3)       Veneer Drying: - In order to ensure the maximum bonding effect of adhesive, veneer sheets must be dried adequately before gluing them together.  The moisture content of veneer sheets is the most important factor in gluing.  There are two types of veneer dryers, - namely roller and continuous veneer dryers.

4)        Veneer Preparation:-  Narrow strips of veneer are joined together into full size by the following methods.

  

Veneer Jointing - The edges of veneer sheets are cut straight for precise jointing.  The Arisun Clipper or the veneer guillotine jointer is used for this purpose. 

Veneer Taping - The veneer taping machine is used to join the veneer edge to edge to prescribed dimensions.

Veneer Edge Gluing – The veneer edge gluer is used for continuous glue – coating and splicing of the edges of veneer pieces which are carried with the grain at right angle to the direction of the feeding, automatically cutting the veneer to the desired length.  Thermo-setting or thermo-plastic glue can be used with this machine.  The veneer splicer is used to join the edges of veneer with glue instead of tape and is suitable for both back and core veneer sheets. The veneer sheets thus produced are packed and ready for market.

The technological process has no any adverse environmental impact.

Integrated Textile Mill process flowsheet

Process Description

The production process of woven mixed fabrics consists of the following three basic processes:

• Spinning: making fibers into a thread, generally referred to as yarn, and
• Weaving: making fabrics on looms.

(i) Spinning

The basic sub processes involved in spinning of natural or synthetic fiber are:

• Opening, blending and cleaning (blow room),
• Carding,
• Drawing, and
• Roving, spinning and winding.

1) Opening, blending and cleaning (blow room)

All staple fibers both natural and synthetic must pass through some form of opening, blending and cleaning to convert compressed bales of fiber into an open sheet for presentation to the carding machine.

2) Carding

The carding machine is the last major cleaning machine in the normal process (excluding combing) and converts the open flock into a condensed sliver reducing its weight per meter to 100^th of the flock weight.

3) Drawing

The draw frame draws several slivers from the card and attenuates them to the dimensions of one thus increasing the uniformity of the product. it may also be used to blend cotton and synthetic slivers in desired proportions.

4) Roving

The objective of roving is to attenuate further and even the sliver, give it some twist to the strength required at this stage, and wind into a bobbin to fit a ring frame creel. This process is eliminated in open-end (rotor) spinning.

5) Spinning

Two main types of spinning are available, i.e., ring spinning and open end or rotor spinning.

(a) Ring spinning

Ring spinning is the final yarn producing stage in conventional spinning. Again ring spinning machines have undergone very little change over the years except a slight increase in speed and higher drafts. Nowadays, automation is common with the tubes being removed automatically and in some cases fed directly to a ‘’ Linked’’ cone winding machine.

(b) Open end or rotor spinning

This is one of the developments over the previous types of spinning. The sliver, either carded or combed, is fed to the rotor chamber revolving at speeds of up to 100,000 revolutions per minutes. Here the off take provides the much higher drafts that are employed.

6) Winding

Three types of windings are to be differentiated: cone winding, Assembly winding, twisting and hank winding.

ESSENTIAL OIL OF PEPPERMINT

Peppermint oil is extracted from the whole plant above the ground just before flowering. The plant chopped in to a size of 1-3cm, and placed on a grid which is located at a certain distance above the level of water which fills the bottom of the kettle. The water is vaporized indirectly by steam flowing in a pipe coil submerged by the water. The water and the distilled oil coming from the evaporator vessel are recovered in a separate water cooled condenser. The mixture flowing out of the condenser is separated by decantation. The distilled water, which may contain some oil, shall be sent to distillation tank in which the oil is extracted.  

The production process of peppermint oil has no impact one environment. The solid waste (straw) from steam distillation processes dried and transported to compost production or can be used as energy source. 

Epoxy resin manufacturing process with flow chart

Raw materials

Bisphenol-A, Epichlorohydrine, sodium hydroxide and methylisobutylketone are the main raw materials required

Flow sheet of epoxy resin production process

Epichlorohydrine and bisphenol-A as respective raw material are fed into the reaction vessel. These are melted and undergo the first stage reaction with temperature maintained constant.

In this first stage reaction, which is exothermic, epoxy radical is separated from epichlorohydrine to be attached to hydroxyl radical, thus producing chlorohydrine ether.

In the second stage reaction the produced chlorohydrine ether causes a...

ESSENTIAL OILS OF ORANGE, LEMON AND LIME

It starts by chopping in small pieces the orange peel, lemon peel and lime rind respectively so that the steam can vaporize easily the essential oil in the peel or in the citrus rind.

The steam, produced in small vertical boiler is passed through steam pipes into an evaporation kettle which contains the chopped material and water. The raw materials to be processed for each type of production are located on a grid placed at certain position above the level of the water which fills the bottom of the vessel. The water is vaporized indirectly by the steam flowing through a coiled pipe covered by the water. The water plus the extracted oil coming from the evaporator is recovered in a separate water cooled condenser.

The mixture flowing out of the condenser is separated in a Florentine flask. The essential oil is collected at the top and distilled water leaves the flask at the bottom. As the water still contains some residue oil, it is sent back to the evaporator to recover the some remained oil by second distillation.

The production process is environmental friendly. The residual product of the distillation process is used for animal feed or compost production.

Filter aid production process

The natural discoloring power of filter aids can be greatly increased by an acid treatment which generates the so-called “activated earth”.  The acid treatment of diatomaceous earth eliminates alkalis and calcium, reducing the contents of magnesium, iron and aluminum in it.  The acid treatment can be carried out by using either sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) or hydrochloric acid (HCL).  Calcium oxide is used for the neutralization of the spent acid.

The production process of filter aids from diatomaceous earth essentially involves the following operations.  The crude material is mixed with water to form a suspension to which sulfuric acid is added.  The mixture is then heated by steam in a mixing tank up to a temperature of 40^oc and kept at this temperature for about 4 hours.  Then the mixture is heated to 180^oc for one hour.  After cooling the suspension is filtered through a filter press and washed in order to eliminate excess acidity.  The cake of the activated earth is then dried through a pneumatic conveyor by hot air (700^oc).  The product is collected in a depot and then packed. The activated earth is packed in craft paper bags of 50kg.  Filling operations are carried out manually. Any leak of sulfuric acid that could be generated will be washed by water and neautralized to a PH of 6-8 so that it will be disposable with out harming the environment.