A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transformation and or separation of materials. Chemical plants use special equipment, units, and technology in the processes. Other kinds of plants, such as polymer, pharmaceutical, food, and some beverage production facilities, power plants, oil refineries or other refineries, natural gas processing and biochemical plants, water and wastewater treatment, and pollution control equipment use many technologies which have similarities to chemical plant technology such as fluid systems. Some would consider an oil refinery or a pharmaceutical or polymer manufacturer to be effectively a chemical plant.
Petrochemical plants (plants using petroleum as a raw material) are usually located adjacent to an oil refinery to minimize transportation costs for the feedstocks produced by the refinery. Specialty chemical plants are usually much smaller and not as sensitive to location.
Chemical plants typically use chemical processes, which are detailed industrial-scale methods, to produce the chemicals. The same chemical process can be used at more than one chemical plant, with possibly differently scaled capacities at each plant. Also, a chemical plant at a site may be constructed to utilize more than one chemical process.
A chemical plant commonly has usually large vessels or sections called units that are interconnected by piping or other material-moving equipment which can carry streams of material. Such material streams can include fluids (gas or liquid carried in piping) or sometimes solids or mixtures such as slurries. An overall chemical process is commonly made up of steps called unit operations which occur in the individual units. A raw material going into a chemical process or plant as input to be converted into a product is commonly called a feedstock, or simply feed. In addition to feedstocks for the plant as a whole, an input stream of material to be processed in a particular unit can similarly be considered feed for that unit. Output streams from the plant as a whole are final products and output streams from individual units may be considered intermediate products for their units. However, final products from one plant may be intermediate chemicals used as feedstock in another plant for further processing. For example, some products from an oil refinery may used as feedstock in petrochemical plants.
Either the feedstock(s), the product(s), or both may be individual compounds or mixtures. It is often not worthwhile separating the components in these mixtures completely based on product requirements and economics.
Various kinds of unit operations are conducted in various kinds of units. Although some units may operate at ambient temperature or pressure, many units operate at higher or lower temperatures or pressures. Vessels in chemical plants are often cylindrical with rounded ends, a shape which can be suited to hold either high pressure or vacuum. Chemical reactions can convert certain kinds of compounds into other compounds in chemical reactors. Chemical reactors may be packed beds and may have solid heterogeneous catalysts which stay in the reactors as fluids move through. Since the surface of solid heterogeneous catalysts may sometimes become poisoned from deposits such as coke, regeneration of catalysts may be necessary. Fluidized beds may also be used in some cases. There can also be units (or subunits) for mixing (including dissolving), separation, heating, cooling, or some combination of these. For example, chemical reactors often have stirring for mixing and heating or cooling going on in them. When designing plants on a large scale, heat produced or absorbed by chemical reactions should be considered. Some plants may have units with organism cultures for biochemical processes such as fermentation or enzyme production.
Separation processes include filtration, settling (sedimentation), extraction or leaching, distillation, recrystallization or precipitation (followed by filtration or settling), reverse osmosis, drying, and adsorption. Heat exchangers are often used for heating or cooling, including boiling or condensation, often in conjunction with other units such as distillation towers. There may also be storage tanks for storing feedstock, intermediate or final products, or waste. Storage tanks commonly have level indicators to show how full they are. There may be structures holding or supporting sometimes massive units and their associated equipment. There are often stairs, ladders, or other steps for personnel to reach points in the units for sampling, inspection, or maintenance. An area of a plant or facility with numerous storage tanks is sometimes called a tank farm, especially at an oil depot.
Fluid systems for carrying liquids and gases include piping and tubing of various diameter sizes, various types of valves for controlling or stopping flow, pumps for moving or pressurizing liquid, and compressors for pressurizing or moving gases. Vessels, piping, tubing, and sometimes other equipment at high or very low temperature are commonly covered with insulation for personnel safety and to maintain temperature inside. Fluid systems and units commonly have instrumentation such as temperature and pressure sensors and flow measuring devices at select locations in a plant. Online analyzers for chemical or physical property analysis have become more common. Solvents can sometimes be used to dissolve reactants or materials such as solids for extraction or leaching, to provide a suitable medium for certain chemical reactions to run, or so they can otherwise be treated as fluids.
In process control, information gathered automatically from various sensors or other devices in the plant is used to control various equipment for running the plant, thereby controlling operation of the plant. Instruments receiving such information signals and sending out control signals to perform this function automatically are process controllers. Previously, pneumatic controls were sometimes used. Electrical controls are now common. A plant often has a control room with displays of parameters such as key temperatures, pressures, fluid flow rates and levels, operating positions of key valves, pumps and other equipment, etc. In addition, operators in the control room can control various aspects of the plant operation, often including overriding automatic control. Process control with a computer represents more modern technology. Based on possible changing feedstock composition, changing products requirements or economics, or other changes in constraints, operating conditions may be re-optimized to maximize profit.
As in any industrial setting, there are a variety of workers working throughout a chemical plant facility, often organized into departments, sections, or other work groups. Such workers typically include engineers, plant operators, and maintenance technicians. Other personnel at the site could include chemists, management/administration and office workers. Types of engineers involved in operations or maintenance may include chemical process engineers, mechanical engineers for maintaining mechanical equipment, and electrical/computer engineers for electrical or computer equipment.
Large quantities of fluid feedstock or product may enter or leave a plant by pipeline, railroad tank car, or tanker truck. For example, petroleum commonly comes to a refinery by pipeline. Pipelines can also carry petrochemical feedstock from a refinery to a nearby petrochemical plant. Natural gas is a product which comes all the way from a natural gas processing plant to final consumers by pipeline or tubing. Large quantities of liquid feedstock are typically pumped into process units. Smaller quantities of feedstock or product may be shipped to or from a plant in drums. Use of drums about 55 gallons in capacity is common for packaging industrial quantities of chemicals. Smaller batches of feedstock may be added from drums or other containers to process units by workers.
In addition to feeding and operating the plant, and packaging or preparing the product for shipping, plant workers are needed for taking samples for routine and troubleshooting analysis and for performing routine and non-routine maintenance. Routine maintenance can include periodic inspections and replacement of worn catalyst, analyzer reagents, various sensors, or mechanical parts. Non-routine maintenance can include investigating problems and then fixing them, such as leaks, failure to meet feed or product specifications, mechanical failures of valves, pumps, compressors, sensors, etc.
The actual production or process part of a plant may be indoors, outdoors, or a combination of the two. The actual production section of a facility usually has the appearance of a rather industrial environment. Hard hats and work shoes are commonly worn. Floors and stairs are often made of metal grating, and there is practically no decoration. There may also be pollution control or waste treatment facilities or equipment. Sometimes existing plants may be expanded or modified based on changing economics, feedstock, or product needs. As in other production facilities, there may be shipping and receiving, and storage facilities. In addition, there are usually certain other facilities, typically indoors, to support production at the site.
Although some simple sample analysis may be able to be done by operations technicians in the plant area, a chemical plant typically has a laboratory where chemists analyze samples taken from the plant. Such analysis can include chemical analysis or determination of physical properties. Sample analysis can include routine quality control on feedstock coming into the plant, intermediate and final products to ensure quality specifications are met. Non-routine samples may be taken and analyzed for investigating plant process problems also. A larger chemical company often has a research laboratory for developing and testing products and processes where there may be pilot plants, but such a laboratory may be located at a site separate from the production plants.
A plant may also have a workshop or maintenance facility for repairs or keeping maintenance equipment. There is also typically some office space for engineers, management or administration, and perhaps for receiving visitors. The decorum there is commonly more typical of an office environment.