Presented before
the Division of
lndostrial and Engineering Chemistry, 724th Meeting, ACS, Chicago, 111.
PILOT PLANT STUDIES C. R. Bartels, G. Kleimon, D. B. Irish, and T. M. Rosenblott..
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SMALL PLANT APPROACH TO PROCESSING NOXIOUS ORGANICS Eric R. Bleu and Wilbert L. Kleiber..
...................................................................... .................................................................................... I O N EXCHANGE MEMBRANE PURIFICATION OF ORGANIC ELECTROLYTES E. N.Lightfoot and I. J. F r i e d m a n . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................................. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY I N CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN Edward G. Scheibel
FRACTIONAL LLQUID EXTRACTION OF 2,6-LUTIDINE, 3-PICOLINE; AND 4-PICOLINE Andrew E, Korr ond Edward G. Scheibel..
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In fine chemical manufacturing the full scale plant i s usually no larger than the pilot plant for a heavy chemical manufacturing process. The manufacturing process for a heavy chemical i s more stable, and the sale price may drop slightly after the plarlt i s in operation as a result of competition. Thus pilot plant tests may be conducted over an appreciable period of time. On the other hand, in fine chemical manufacturing, particularly the pharmaceutical industry, time is the most important factor to be considered. After a new drug has been proved, it is the moral obligation of the company to make it available as quickly as possible, to satisfy all requirements, and in the early stages price i s usually a secondary consideration. With fine chemicals of this type process changes and improvements may make a plant obsolete shortly after completion or sometimes even before completion. The plant must be installed as quickly as possible, and the proper chemical engineering design is necessary to forestall obsolescence as long as possible. Thus emphasis i s on standard or stock equipment; or where preliminary tests show no available equipment suitable, the minimum modifications must be determined as quickly as possible.
This symposium includes description methods of pilot plant or laboratory studies preparatory for the design and fab1562
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rication of a fine chemical plant. Particular attention is given to the processing and handling of noxious and corrosive organic compounds, including the study of the corrosion resistance of different materials of construction. Physical chemistry correlations for estimating all the properties of a given compound from the molecular structure have been summarized fur use in preliminary design calculations. The equarisns are useful in the early sfages of investigation when insufficient pure material i s a*,ai'abie far measurement of the properties, and are par1ic;riarly valuable when the compouids are unstable under t h e existing conditions SO the properties cannot be measured. The application of ion exchange membranes for the puri fication and separation of fine chemicals i s discussed. A t the present time this process appears to be expens;"e to operate, and thus the most promising applications occur in the field of fine chemicals where separations are desired which are di%icult or which cannot be achieved by present known methods. The use of fractional liquid extraction i s described for the purification and isolation of one of the intermediates in the manufacture of isonicotinic acid hydrazide, a recently discovered antituberculosis drug.
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
EDWARD G. SCHEIBEL Vol. 46, No. 8
