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NOTICE: 

I am currently taking an indefinite leave of absence from "Today I Made...". Production line is hence halted until further notice. 

Until then with best regards,

Celastra

Zinc chloride

Raw materials

1. Zinc

2. Hydrogen chloride

Process

Anhydrous ZnCl₂ can be prepared from zinc and hydrogen chloride:

Zn + 2 HCl → ZnCl₂ + H₂

Hydrated forms and aqueous solutions may be readily prepared similarly by treating Zn metal with hydrochloric acid. Zinc oxide and zinc sulfide react with HCl:

ZnS (s) + 2 HCl (aq) → ZnCl₂ (aq) + H₂S (g)

Product

Zinc chloride

Used as/in

Metallurgical flux, organic synthesis, textile processing, smoke bombs, fingerprint detection, disinfectant 

Production facility

Townsville, QLD

Export

Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast

Sodium hydroxide

Raw materials

1. Aqueous solution of sodium chloride

Process

Sodium hydroxide is produced (along with chlorine and hydrogen) via the chloralkali process. This involves the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of sodium chloride. The sodium hydroxide builds up at the cathode, where water is reduced to hydrogen gas and hydroxide ion:

2 Na⁺ + 2 H₂O + 2 e^– → H₂ + 2 NaOH

More accurately:

2 Na⁺Cl^– + 2 H₂O + 2 e^– → H₂ + 2 Cl^– + 2 NaOH

The Cl^– ions are oxidized to chlorine gas at the anode.

Product

Sodium hydroxide

Used for

Manufacture of sodium salts and detergents, pH regulation, organic synthesis, Bayer process of aluminium production, additive in drilling mud to increase alkalinity in bentonite mud systems increases the mud viscosity, neutralizing acid gas (such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide) which may be encountered in the geological formation as drilling progresses, treating poor quality crude oil to remove sulfurous impurities in a process known as caustic washing

Production facility

Toowoomba, QLD

Export

San Jose, Costa Rica

Salt (Sodium cholride)

Raw materials

1. Seawater

Process

Salt is currently mass-produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from other sources, such as brine wells and salt lakes, and by mining rock salt, called halite.

Product

Salt

Used for

Cooking, manufacturing pulp and paper, setting dyes in textiles and fabric, producing soaps, detergents, and other bath products, major source of industrial chlorine and sodium hydroxide

Production facility

Mount Morris, New York

Export

Surfers Paradise, QLD

Potassium sodium tartrate

Raw materials

1. Sodium carbonate

2. Potassium bitartrate

Process

1. Potassium sodium tartrate, (NaKC₄H₄O₆) may be prepared by adding 0.5 mole sodium carbonate to heated solution containing 1 mole potassium bitartrate (KHC₄H₄O₆). (1M KHC₄H₄O₆ : 0.5M Na₂CO₃). 

2. The solution is filtered while hot. 

3. This solution is then dried to precipitate solid potassium sodium tartrate, as small crystallites.

Product

Potassium sodium tartrate

Used as

Food additive, break up emulsions (particularly for reactions in which an aluminium-based hydride reagent was used), ingredient in the Biuret reagent which is used to measure protein concentration

Production facility

Sunshine Coast, QLD

Export

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Potassium nitrate

Raw materials

1. Ammonium nitrate

2. Potassium hydroxide

Process 

Potassium nitrate can be made by combining ammonium nitrate and potassium hydroxide.

NH₄NO₃ (aq) + KOH (aq) → NH₃ (g) + KNO₃ (aq) + H₂O (l)

An alternative way of producing potassium nitrate without a by-product of ammonia is to combine ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride, easily obtained as a sodium-free salt substitute.

NH₄NO₃ (aq) + KCl (aq) → NH₄Cl (aq) + KNO₃ (aq)

Potassium nitrate can also be produced by neutralizing nitric acid with potassium hydroxide. This reaction is highly exothermic.

KOH (aq) + HNO₃ → KNO₃ (aq) + H₂O (l)

Product

Potassium nitrate

Used for 

Black powder, fertilizer, food preserver, oxidizer, tree stump remover

Production facility

Rockhampton, QLD 

Export

Brazzaville, Congo

Oxalic acid

Raw materials

1. Carbohydrate

2. Nitric acid

Process

Oxalic acid is mainly manufactured by the oxidation of carbohydrates or glucose using nitric acid or air in the presence of vanadium pentoxide. A variety of precursors can be used including glycolic acid and ethylene glycol.

 

A newer method entails oxidative carbonylation of alcohols to give the diesters of oxalic acid:

4 ROH + 4 CO + O₂ → 2 (CO₂R)₂ + 2 H₂O

These diesters are subsequently hydrolyzed to oxalic acid. 

 

Product

Oxalic acid

Used for

Cleaning or bleaching (especially for the removal of rust), restoration of old wood, cleaning 'grubbyness' from dirty leather to get back to the flesh of the leather before reintroducing preservatives, rubbed onto completed marble sculptures to seal the surface and introduce a shine

 

Production facility

Mount Isa, QLD 

 

Export  

Moroni, Comoros

Naphthalene

Raw material

1. Coal tar

Process

Naphthalene is the most abundant single component of coal tar. Although the composition of coal tar varies with the coal from which it is produced, typical coal tar is about 10% naphthalene by weight. In industrial practice, distillation of coal tar yields an oil containing about 50% naphthalene, along with a variety of other aromatic compounds. This oil, after being washed with aqueous sodium hydroxide to remove acidic components (chiefly various phenols) and with sulfuric acid to remove basic components, undergoes fractional distillation to isolate naphthalene.

Product

Naphthalene

Used as

Household fumigant (such as in mothballs), chemical intermediate, wetting agent/surfactant

Production facility

Maryborough, QLD

Export

Bogota, Colombia

Manganese (IV) oxide

Raw materials

1. Dinitrogen tetroxide

2. Water

Process

One of the two chemical methods starts from natural manganese dioxide and converts it using dinitrogen tetroxide and water to manganese (II) nitrate solution. Evaporation of the water, leaves the crystalline nitrate salt. At temperatures of 400 °C, the salt decomposes, releasing N₂O₄ and leaving a residue of purified manganese dioxide. These two steps can be summarized as:

MnO₂ + N₂O₄ → Mn(NO₃)₂

Mn(NO₃)₂ → MnO₂ + N₂O₄

In the other chemical process, manganese dioxide ore is reduced by heating with oil or coal. The resulting manganese (II) oxide is dissolved in sulfuric acid and the filtered solution is treated with ammonium carbonate to precipitate MnCO₃. The carbonate is calcined in air to give a mixture of manganese(II) and manganese(IV) oxides. To complete the process, a suspension of this material in sulfuric acid is treated with sodium chlorate. Chloric acid, which forms in situ, converts any Mn(III) and Mn(II) oxides to the dioxide, releasing chlorine as a by-product.

 

Product

Manganese (IV) oxide

 

Used as

Component of dry cell batteries (called Leclanché cell or zinc-carbon batteries), oxidant in organic synthesis, pigment for body painting and cave painting (manganese dioxide was one of the earliest natural substances used by human ancestors; some of the most famous early cave paintings in Europe were executed by means of manganese dioxide)

 

Production facility

Mackay, QLD 

 

Export

Beijing, China

Hydrofluric acid

Raw materials

1. Fluorite

2. Concentrated sulfuric acid

Process

Hydrofluoric acid is produced by treatment of the mineral fluorite (CaF₂) with concentrated sulfuric acid. When combined at 265 °C, these two substances react to produce hydrogen fluoride and calcium sulfate according to the following:

CaF₂ + H₂SO₄ → 2 HF + CaSO₄

Product

Hydrofluric acid

Used for

Oil refining, production of organofluorine compounds, production of fluorides, etchant and cleaning agent, dissolving rock samples (usually powdered) prior to analysis, extracting organic fossils from silicate rocks, removing the "sickness" from the glass caused by acids (usually in the soil the bottle was buried in) attacking the soda content of antique glass bottles

Production facility

Logan City, QLD

Export

Santiago, Chile

Glucose

Raw material

1. Starch (many crops can be used as the source of starch eg. maize, rice, wheat, cassava, corn husk, sago)

Process

Glucose is produced commercially via the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch. 

Product

Glucose

Used as

Source of energy, precursor to make vitamin C in the Reichstein process (to make citric acid, gluconic acid, bio-ethanol, polylactic acid, sorbitol)

Production facility 

Ipswich, QLD

Export

N'Djamena, Chad

Copper (II) sulfate

Raw materials

1. Copper metal 

2. Sulfuric acid

Process

Copper sulfate is produced industrially by treating copper metal or its oxides with sulfuric acid.

Product

Copper (II) sulfate

Used as

Herbicide, fungicide, pesticide

Production facility

Hervey Bay, QLD

Export 

Bangui, Central African Republic

Calcium sulfate

Raw materials

1. Gypsum

2. Anhydrite

Process

The main sources of calcium sulfate are naturally occurring gypsum and anhydrite which occur at many locations worldwide as evaporites. These may be extracted by open-cast quarrying or by deep mining.

In addition to natural sources, calcium sulfate is produced as a by-product in a number of processes:

• In flue gas desulfurization, exhaust gases from fossil-fuel burning power stations and other processes (e.g. cement manufacture) are scrubbed to reduce their sulfur oxide content, by injecting finely ground limestione or lime. This produces an impure calcium sulfite, which oxidizes on storage to calcium sulfate.
• In the production of phosphoric acid from phosphate rock, calcium phosphate is treated with sulfuric acid and calcium sulfate precipitates.
• In the production of hydrogen fluoride, calcium fluoride is treated with sulfuric acid, precipitating calcium sulfate.
• In the refining of zinc, solutions of zinc sulfate are treated with lime to co-precipitate heavy metals such as barium.
• Calcium sulfate can also be recovered and re-used from scrap drywall at construction sites.

Product
Calcium sulphate, also known as Plaster of Paris

Used as
Coagulant (in products like tofu)

Production facility
Kalannie, WA

Export
Praia, Cape Verde

Calcium hydroxide

Raw materials

1. Lime

2. Water

Process

Calcium hydroxide is produced commercially by treating lime with water:

CaO + H₂O → Ca(OH)₂

Product

Calcium hydroxide

Used as/for

Flocculant (in water and sewage treatment),  production of sodium hydroxide in the paper industry

Production facility

Gympie, QLD

Export

Ottawa, Canada

Calcium chloride

Raw materials

1. Sodium chloride

2. Calcium carbonate

Process

Calcium chloride can be produced directly from limestone, but large amounts are also produced as a by-product of the Solvay process.

Solvay process results in soda ash (predominantly sodium carbonate,Na₂CO₃) from brine (as a source of sodium chloride, NaCl) and from limestone (as a source of calcium carbonate, CaCO₃).

The overall process is: 2 NaCl + CaCO₃ → Na₂CO₃ + CaCl₂

Product

Calcium chloride

Used for/as

Desiccant, deicing and freezing point depression, source of calcium ions,  food additive, treatment of  hypocalcaemia, speeding up the initial setting in concrete mixes, pH buffer and to adjust the calcium hardness of the water in swimming pools, additive in plastics and in fire extinguishers, drainage aid in wastewater treatment, additive in blast furnaces to control scaffolding (clumping and adhesion of materials that prevent the furnace charge from descending), thinner in fabric softener, the exothermic dissolution of calcium chloride is used in self-heating cans and heating pads, increasing the density of solids free brines in the oil industry, provide inhibition of swelling clays in the water phase of invert emulsion drilling fluids

Production facility

Gold Coast, QLD

Export

Yaounde, Cameroon

Calcium carbonate

Raw materials

1. Calcium oxide

2. Water

3. Carbon dioxide

Process

1. Calcium carbonate is prepared by calcining crude calcium oxide.

2. Water is added to give calcium hydroxide.

3. Carbon dioxide is passed through this solution to precipitate the desired calcium carbonate, referred to in the industry as precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC):

CaCO₃ → CaO + CO₂

CaO + H₂O → Ca(OH)₂

Ca(OH)₂ + CO₂ → CaCO₃ + H₂O

Note: Calcium carbonate used in industry is extracted by mining or quarrying. Pure calcium carbonate (e.g. for food or pharmaceutical use), can be produced from a pure quarried source (usually marble).

Product

Calcium carbonate

Used for/as

Construction industry, either as a building material or limestone aggregate for road building or as an ingredient of cement or as the starting material for the preparation of builder's lime by burning in a kiln; purification of iron from iron ore in a blast furnace; added to drilling fluids in the oil industry as a formation-bridging and filtercake-sealing agent and as weighting material which increases the density of drilling fluids to control the downhole pressure; pH corrector in swimming pools for maintaining alkalinity and offsetting the acidic properties of the disinfectant agent; major component of blackboard chalk;  filler material for latex gloves; filler in paper (cheaper than wood fiber); extender in paints; inexpensive dietary calcium supplement or gastric antacid; phosphate binder for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia (primarily in patients with chronic renal failure); inert filler in pharmaceutical industry for tablets and other pharmaceuticals; sufferers to help reduce diarrhea in irritable bowel syndrome sufferers; production of toothpaste; food preservative; color retainer; neutralize the effects of acid rain in river ecosystems; neutralize acidic conditions in both soil and water

Production facility

Gladstone, QLD

Export
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Boric acid

Raw materials

1. Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate)

2. Hydrochloric acid

Process

Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate) is reacted with a mineral acid, such as hydrochloric acid:

Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O + 2 HCl → 4 B(OH)₃ [or H₃BO₃] + 2 NaCl + 5 H₂O

Product

Boric acid, H₃BO₃, sometimes written B(OH)₃

Used as

Antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant

Production facility

Caloundra, QLD

Export

Bujumbura, Burundi

Ammonium carbonate

Raw materials

1. Ammonium chloride

2. Chalk

Process

1. A mixture of ammonium chloride and chalk is heated to redness in iron retorts, the vapors being condensed in leaden receivers. 

2. The crude product is refined by sublimation, when it is obtained as a white fibrous mass, which consists of a mixture of ammonium bicarbonate, NH₄HCO₃, and ammonium carbonate, (NH₄)₂CO₃, in molecular proportions; on account of its possessing this constitution it is sometimes called ammonium polycarbonate (has a strong ammonium smell, and on digestion with alcohol the carbonate is dissolved and a residue of ammonium bicarbonate is left; a similar decomposition taking place when the polycarbonate is exposed to air).

3. Ammonia gas passed into a strong aqueous solution of the polycarbonate converts it into normal ammonium carbonate, (NH₄)₂CO₃, which can be obtained in the crystalline condition from a solution prepared at about 30 °C. This compound on exposure to air gives off ammonia and passes back to ammonium bicarbonate which has pH of 9.

Product

Ammonium carbonate

Used as

Smelling salt, leavening agent in particular recipes (particularly those from northern Europe and Scandinavia), an active ingredient in Buckley's cough syrup from Canada intended to help relieve symptoms of bronchitis, an emetic (a substance that induces vomiting)

Production facility

Cairns, QLD

Export

Yangon, Myanmar