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2 APPLIED PROCESSES AND TECHNIQUES
Chapter 2
This chapter describes a range of processes and techniques applied in the OFC sector, often by
giving examples. The selection is based on the information provided and is restricted to
examples where the provided information enables the discussion of environmental issues.
2.1 Conception: unit processes and operations
[16, Winnacker and Kuechler, 1982], [55, CEFIC, 2003]
The chemistry of fine organic intermediates and products shows an enormous diversity. This
results in the problem that at first sight – with regard to environmental issues – no OFC
installation seems to be comparable to another. But in reality the number of processes and
operations used remains reasonably small and only a limited number of environmental issues
have to be discussed.
The primary chemicals used for the manufacture of products such as dyes, pharmaceuticals or
biocides are called intermediates and are prepared on an industrial scale from basic organic
(usually aromatic) raw materials by various chemical procedures (unit processes). The choice of
physical procedures which are applied is limited in a similar way (unit operations). The main
unit processes and operations are listed in Table 2.1, which, however, is not conclusive. Often,
the route taken to go from the basic organic raw material to the target product is via several unit
processes (see Figure 2.1) and possibly includes several unit operations.
Unit processes Unit operations
Acylation Charging reactants and solvents
Addition Inerting
Alkylation Reaction
Carboxylation Discharging
Carboxymethylation Crystallisation
Condensation Filtration
Diazotisation and modification of the diazo group Product washing
Esterification Drying
Halogenation Extraction
Nitration Electro dialysis
Oxidation Absorption
Rearrangements Phase separation
Reduction Adsorption
Substitution Distillation
Sulphitation Milling
Sulphonation
Apparatus cleaning
Table 2.1: Main unit processes and unit operations used in industrial fine organic chemistry
OFC_BREF Dezember 2005 19