Industrial processes are procedures involving

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

steps to aid in the manufacturing of an item or items, usually carried out on a very large scale. Industrial processes are the key components of heavy industry.

Chemical processes by main basic material

Certain chemical process yield important basic materials for society, e.g., (

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

, and

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

). However, these chemical reactions contribute to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

by emitting

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

, a

greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...

, through chemical reactions, as well as through the combustion of

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

to generate the high temperatures needed to reach the activation energies of the chemical reactions.

Cement (the paste within concrete)

Calcination Calcination refers to thermal treatment of a solid chemical compound (e.g. mixed carbonate ores) whereby the compound is raised to high temperature without melting under restricted supply of ambient oxygen (i.e. gaseous O2 fraction of air), genera ...

–

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, which is largely composed of fossilized calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), breaks down at high temperatures into useable

calcium oxide Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, Caustic (substance), caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime (material), lime''" co ...

(CaO) and carbon dioxide gas (), which gets released as a

by-product A by-product or byproduct is a secondary product derived from a production process, manufacturing process or chemical reaction; it is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be consid ...

. This chemical reaction, called calcination, figures most prominently in creating

(the paste within

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

). The reaction is also important in providing calcium oxide to act as a chemical

flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...

(removal of impurities) within a

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

. :CaCO₃(s) → CaO(s) + CO₂(g)

Steel

Smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

– Inside of a

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

(CO) is released by combusting coke (a high-carbon derivative of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

) and removes the undesired oxygen (O) within

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

s. is released as a by-product, carrying away the oxygen and leaving behind the desired pure metal. Most prominently,

iron smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

is how

(largely iron with small amounts of carbon) is created from mined

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

and coal. :Fe₂O₃(s) + 3 CO(g) → 2 Fe(s) + 3 CO₂(g)

Aluminum

Hall–Héroult process The Hall–Héroult process is the major industrial process for smelting aluminium. It involves dissolving aluminium oxide (alumina) (obtained most often from bauxite, aluminium's chief ore, through the Bayer process) in molten cryolite, and el ...

– Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) is smelted with coke (C) in a high-temperature

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

reaction, yielding the desired pure aluminum (Al) and a mixture of CO and . :Al₂O₃(s) + 3 C(s) → 2 Al(s) + 3 CO(g) :2 Al₂O₃(s) + 3 C(s) → 4 Al(s) + 3 CO₂(g)

Fertilizer

Haber process The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and C ...

– Atmospheric Nitrogen (N₂) is separated, yielding ammonia (NH₃), which is used to make all synthetic

. The Haber process uses a

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

carbon source, generally

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

, to provide the CO for the

water-gas shift reaction Water gas is a kind of fuel gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is produced by "alternately hot blowing a fuel layer okewith air and gasifying it with steam". The caloric yield of this is about 10% of a modern syngas plant. F ...

, yielding

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

(H₂) and releasing . The H₂ is used to break the strong triple bond in N₂, yielding industrial ammonia. :CH₄(g) + H₂O(g) → CO(g) + 3 H₂(g) :CO(g) + H₂O(g) → H₂(g) + CO₂(g) :N₂(g) + 3 H₂(g) → 2 NH₃(g)

Other chemical processes

Pyroprocessing Pyroprocessing (from Greek Πυρος = ''fire'') is a process in which materials are subjected to high temperatures (typically over 800 °C) in order to bring about a chemical or physical change. Pyroprocessing includes such terms as ore-ro ...

– using heat to chemically combine materials, such as in

. *

Disinfection A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than st ...

– chemical treatment to kill bacteria and viruses.

Electrolysis

The availability of electricity and its effect on materials gave rise to several processes for plating or separating metals. *

Gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current. The part to be ...

anodization Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts. The process is called ''anodizing'' because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electr ...

, electrowinning – depositing a material on an electrode *

Electropolishing Electropolishing, also known as electrochemical polishing, anodic polishing, or electrolytic polishing (especially in the metallography field), is an electrochemical process that removes material from a metallic workpiece, reducing the surface roug ...

– the reverse of electroplating *

Electrofocusing Isoelectric focusing (IEF), also known as electrofocusing, is a technique for separating different molecules by differences in their isoelectric point (pI). It is a type of zone electrophoresis usually performed on proteins in a gel that takes ad ...

– similar to electroplating, but separating molecules *

Electrolytic process An electrolytic process is the use of electrolysis industrially to refine metals or compounds at a high purity and low cost. Some examples are the Hall-Héroult process used for aluminium, or the production of hydrogen from water. Electrolysis i ...

– the generic process of using electrolysis *

Electrophoretic deposition Electrophoretic deposition (EPD), is a term for a broad range of industrial processes which includes electrocoating, cathodic electrodeposition, anodic electrodeposition, and electrophoretic coating, or electrophoretic painting. A characteristic ...

– electrolytic deposition of colloidal particles in a liquid medium * Electrotyping – using electroplating to produce printing plates *

Metallizing Metallizing is the general name for the technique of coating metal on the surface of objects. Metallic coatings may be decorative, protective or functional. Techniques for metallization started as early as mirror making. In 1835, Justus von Li ...

plating Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improv ...

spin coating Spin coating is a procedure used to deposit uniform thin films onto flat substrates. Usually a small amount of coating material is applied on the center of the substrate, which is either spinning at low speed or not spinning at all. The substrate ...

– the generic terms for giving non-metals a metallic coating

Cutting

Shearing Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a '' shearer''. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (a sheep may be said to have been "shorn" or ...

Sawing A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

Plasma cutting Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other c ...

* Water-jet cutting - cutting materials using a very high-pressure jet of water * Oxyacetylene cutting *

Electrical discharge machining Electrical discharge machining (EDM), also known as spark machining, spark eroding, die sinking, wire burning or wire erosion, is a metal fabrication process whereby a desired shape is obtained by using electrical discharges (sparks). Material i ...

(EDM) *

Machining Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...

– the mechanical cutting and shaping of metal which involves the loss of the material * Laser cutting

Metalworking

and direct Reduction – extracting metals from ores. *

Forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...

– the shaping of metal by use of heat and hammer *

Casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

– shaping of a liquid material by pouring it into moulds and letting it solidify *

Steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and all ...

— turning "pig iron" from smelting into steel *

Progressive stamping Progressive Die is a metalworking method that can encompass punching, coining, bending and several other ways of modifying metal raw material, combined with an automatic feeding system. The feeding system pushes a strip of metal (as it unrolls ...

– the production of components from a strip or roll * Stamping *

Hydroforming Hydroforming is a cost-effective way of shaping ductile metals such as aluminium, brass, low alloy steel, and stainless steel into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong pieces. One of the largest applications of hydroforming is the automotiv ...

– a tube of metal is expanded into a mould under pressure *

Sandblasting Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...

– cleaning of a surface using sand or other particles *

Soldering Soldering (; ) is a process in which two or more items are joined by melting and putting a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Unlike welding, soldering does not involv ...

brazing Brazing is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, with the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Brazing differs from we ...

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

– a process for joining metals *

Tumble polishing Tumble finishing, also known as tumbling or rumbling, is a technique for smoothing and polishing a rough surface on relatively small parts. In the field of metalworking, a similar process called barreling, or barrel finishing,Degarmo, p. 781. wo ...

– for polishing *

Precipitation hardening Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening or particle hardening, is a heat treatment technique used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including most structural alloys of aluminium, magnesium, nickel, titanium, and ...

– heat treatment used to strengthen malleable materials *

Work hardening In materials science, work hardening, also known as strain hardening, is the strengthening of a metal or polymer by plastic deformation. Work hardening may be desirable, undesirable, or inconsequential, depending on the context. This strengt ...

– adding strength to metals, alloys, etc. *

Case hardening Case-hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon ...

, differential hardening,

shot peening Shot peening is a cold working process used to produce a compressive residual stress layer and modify the mechanical properties of metals and composites. It entails striking a surface with shot (round metallic, glass, or ceramic particles) with ...

– creating a wear-resistant surface * Die cutting – A "forme" or "die" is pressed onto a flat material in order to cut, score, punch and otherwise shape the material *

Electric arc furnace An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc. Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundries for producing cast iron products) up to ab ...

— very-high-temperature processing

Iron and steel

– the generic process used in furnaces to produce steel, copper, etc. *

Catalan forge A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a ''bloom''. ...

open hearth furnace An open-hearth furnace or open hearth furnace is any of several kinds of industrial Industrial furnace, furnace in which excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of pig iron to Steelmaking, produce steel. Because steel is difficult to ma ...

bloomery A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a ''bloom ...

Siemens regenerative furnace An open-hearth furnace or open hearth furnace is any of several kinds of industrial Industrial furnace, furnace in which excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of pig iron to Steelmaking, produce steel. Because steel is difficult to ma ...

– produced wrought iron *

Blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

– produced cast iron * Direct Reduction – produced

direct reduced iron Direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore (in the form of lumps, pellets, or fines) into iron by a reducing gas or elemental carbon produced from natural gas or coal. Many ores are suit ...

Crucible steel Crucible steel is steel made by melting pig iron (cast iron), iron, and sometimes steel, often along with sand, glass, ashes, and other fluxes, in a crucible. In ancient times steel and iron were impossible to melt using charcoal or coal fires ...

Cementation process The cementation process is an obsolete technology for making steel by carburization of iron. Unlike modern steelmaking, it increased the amount of carbon in the iron. It was apparently developed before the 17th century. Derwentcote Steel F ...

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities from the iron by ox ...

Basic oxygen steelmaking Basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS, BOP, BOF, or OSM), also known as Linz-Donawitz steelmaking or the oxygen converter processBrock and Elzinga, p. 50. is a method of primary steelmaking in which carbon-rich molten pig iron is made into steel. Blowin ...

Moulding

The physical shaping of materials by forming their liquid form using a mould. *

sand casting Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced i ...

– the shaping of molten metal or plastics using a mould *

Sintering Clinker nodules produced by sintering Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens as part of a manufacturing ...

powder metallurgy Powder metallurgy (PM) is a term covering a wide range of ways in which materials or components are made from metal powders. PM processes can reduce or eliminate the need for subtractive processes in manufacturing, lowering material losses and ...

– the making of objects from metal or ceramic powder *

Blow molding Blow molding (or moulding) is a manufacturing process for forming hollow plastic parts. It is also used for forming glass bottles or other hollow shapes. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection ...

as in

plastic container Plastic containers are containers made exclusively or partially of plastic. Plastic containers are ubiquitous either as single-use or reuseable/durable plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic bags, foam food containers, Tupperware, plastic tub ...

s or in the

glass container industry Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

– making hollow objects by blowing them into a mould. * Compression molding

Separation

Many materials exist in an impure form, purification, or separation provides a usable product. *

Comminution Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. In geology, it occurs naturally during faulting in the upper part of ...

– reduces the size of physical particles (it exists between crushing and grinding) *

Froth flotation Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in mineral processing, paper recycling and waste-water treatment industries. Historically this was first used in the mining industry, wher ...

, flotation process – separating minerals through flotation *

Liquid–liquid extraction Liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), also known as solvent extraction and partitioning, is a method to separate compounds or metal complexes, based on their relative solubilities in two different immiscible liquids, usually water (polar) and an orga ...

– dissolving one substance in another * Frasch process – for extracting molten sulfur from the ground

Distillation

Distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

is the purification of volatile substances by

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...

and

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...

Fractional distillation Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts, or fractions. Chemical compounds are separated by heating them to a temperature at which one or more fractions of the mixture will vaporize. It uses distillation to ...

, steam distillation,

vacuum distillation Vacuum distillation is distillation performed under reduced pressure, which allows the purification of compounds not readily distilled at ambient pressures or simply to save time or energy. This technique separates compounds based on differences i ...

Batch distillation Batch distillation refers to the use of distillation in batches, meaning that a mixture is distilled to separate it into its component fractions before the distillation still is again charged with more mixture and the process is repeated. This is in ...

Continuous distillation Continuous distillation, a form of distillation, is an ongoing separation in which a mixture is continuously (without interruption) fed into the process and separated fractions are removed continuously as output streams. Distillation is the sep ...

Fractionating column A fractionating column or fractional column is an essential item used in the distillation of liquid mixtures to separate the mixture into its component parts, or fractions, based on the differences in volatilities. Fractionating columns are used in ...

Spinning cone Spinning cone columns are used in a form of low temperature vacuum steam distillation to gently extract volatile chemicals from liquid foodstuffs while minimising the effect on the taste of the product. For instance, the columns can be used to remo ...

Additive manufacturing

additive manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

, material is progressively added to the piece until the desired shape and size are obtained. *

Fused deposition modeling Fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modeling (with the trademarked acronym FDM), or called ''filament freeform fabrication'', is a 3D printing process that uses a continuous filament of a thermoplastic material. Filam ...

(FDM) *

Stereolithography Stereolithography (SLA or SL; also known as vat photopolymerisation, optical fabrication, photo-solidification, or resin printing) is a form of 3D printing technology used for creating models, prototypes, patterns, and production parts in a lay ...

(SLA) *

Selective laser sintering Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a laser as the power and heat source to sinter powdered material (typically nylon or polyamide), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined ...

(SLS) *

Photolithography In integrated circuit manufacturing, photolithography or optical lithography is a general term used for techniques that use light to produce minutely patterned thin films of suitable materials over a substrate, such as a silicon wafer, to protect ...

Petroleum and organic compounds

The nature of an organic molecule means it can be transformed at the molecular level to create a range of products. *

Cracking (chemistry) In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking o ...

– the generic term for breaking up the larger molecules *

Alkylation Alkylation is the transfer of an alkyl group from one molecule to another. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents). Alkylating agents are reagents for effecting ...

– refining of crude oil *

Burton process The Burton process is a thermal cracking process invented by William Merriam Burton and Robert E. Humphreys, each of whom held a PhD in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. The process they developed is often called the Burton process. More fa ...

– cracking of hydrocarbons *

Cumene process The cumene process (cumene-phenol process, Hock process) is an industrial process for synthesizing phenol and acetone from benzene and propylene. The term stems from cumene (isopropyl benzene), the intermediate material during the process. It was i ...

– making phenol and acetone from benzene * Friedel-Crafts reaction, Kolbe-Schmitt reaction *

Olefin metathesis Olefin metathesis is an organic reaction that entails the redistribution of fragments of alkenes (olefins) by the scission and regeneration of carbon-carbon double bonds. Because of the relative simplicity of olefin metathesis, it often create ...

thermal depolymerization Thermal depolymerization (TDP) is the process of converting a polymer into a monomer or a mixture of monomers, by predominantly thermal means. It may be catalysed or un-catalysed and is distinct from other forms of depolymerisation which may rely o ...

Transesterification In organic chemistry, transesterification is the process of exchanging the organic group R″ of an ester with the organic group R' of an alcohol. These reactions are often catalyzed by the addition of an acid or base catalyst. The reaction can ...

– organic chemicals * Raschig process for production of

hydroxylamine Hydroxylamine is an inorganic compound with the formula . The material is a white crystalline, hygroscopic compound.Greenwood and Earnshaw. ''Chemistry of the Elements.'' 2nd Edition. Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd. pp. 431–43 ...

– part of the process to produce nylon *

Oxo process Hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes from alkenes. This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group (CHO) and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon d ...

– Produces aldehydes from alkenes *

Polymerisation In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many for ...

Organized by product

* Aluminium – ( Hall-Héroult process,

Deville process The Deville process was the first industrial process used to produce alumina from bauxite. The Frenchman Henri Sainte-Claire Deville invented the process in 1859. It is sometimes called the Deville-Pechiney process. It is based on the extract ...

, Bayer process, Wöhler process) *

Ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

, used in

– (

) *

Bromine Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is the third-lightest element in group 17 of the periodic table (halogens) and is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a simila ...

– (

Dow process The Dow process is the electrolytic method of bromine extraction from brine, and was Herbert Henry Dow's second revolutionary process for generating bromine commercially. This process was patented in 1891. In the original invention, bromide-con ...

) *

Chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

, used in chemicals – (

chloralkali process The chloralkali process (also chlor-alkali and chlor alkali) is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. It is the technology used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which are comm ...

Weldon process The Weldon process is a process developed in 1866 by Walter Weldon for recovering manganese dioxide for re-use in chlorine manufacture. Commercial operations started at the Gamble works in St. Helens in 1869. The process is described in considera ...

, Hooker process) * Fat – ( rendering) *

Fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

– (

nitrophosphate process The nitrophosphate process (also known as the Odda process) is a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the municipality of Odda, Norway around 1927. The process involves acidifying phosphate ro ...

) * Glass – ( Pilkington process) * Gold – (

bacterial oxidation Bacteria biooxidation is an oxidation process caused by microbes where the valuable metal remains (but becomes enriched) in the solid phase. In this process, the metal remains in the solid phase and the liquid can be discarded. Bacterial oxidation ...

Parkes process The Parkes process is a pyrometallurgical industrial process for removing silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Europ ...

) *

Graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

– ( Acheson process) * Heavy water, used to refine radioactive products – (

Girdler sulfide process The Girdler sulfide (GS) process, also known as the GeibSpevack (GS) process, is an industrial production method for filtering out of natural water the heavy water (deuterium oxide = D2O) which is used in particle research, in deuterium NMR sp ...

) *

Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

– (

water–gas shift reaction The water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) describes the reaction of carbon monoxide and water vapor to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen: : CO + H2O CO2 + H2 The water gas shift reaction was discovered by Italian physicist Felice Fontana in 1780. ...

steam reforming Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is hydrogen product ...

) * Lead (and

Bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental ...

) – (

Betts electrolytic process The Betts electrolytic process is an industrial process for purification of lead from bullion. Lead obtained from its ores is impure because lead is a good solvent for many metals. Often these impurities are tolerated, but the Betts electrolytic p ...

, Betterton-Kroll process) *

Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

– ( Mond process) *

Nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...

– (

Ostwald process The Ostwald process is a chemical process used for making nitric acid (HNO3). Wilhelm Ostwald developed the process, and he patented it in 1902. The Ostwald process is a mainstay of the modern chemical industry, and it provides the main raw materi ...

) * Paper – (

pulping Pulp is a Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rags. Mixed with water and other chemica ...

Kraft process The kraft process (also known as kraft pulping or sulfate process) is a process for conversion of wood into wood pulp, which consists of almost pure cellulose fibres, the main component of paper. The kraft process involves treatment of wood chip ...

Fourdrinier machine A paper machine (or paper-making machine) is an industrial machine which is used in the pulp and paper industry to create paper in large quantities at high speed. Modern paper-making machines are based on the principles of the Fourdrinier Mach ...

) * Rubber – (

vulcanization Vulcanization (British: Vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to includ ...

) * Salt – (

Alberger process The Alberger process is an industrial method of producing salt from rock salt. Method The Alberger process begins by heating brine under high pressure with a series of heaters. Impurities are removed using a tank filled with granite cubes called ...

, Grainer evaporation process) *

Semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

crystals – (

Bridgman–Stockbarger method The Bridgman–Stockbarger method, or Bridgman–Stockbarger technique, is named after Harvard physicist Percy Williams Bridgman (1882–1961) and MIT physicist Donald C. Stockbarger (1895–1952). The method includes two similar but distinct te ...

Czochralski method The Czochralski method, also Czochralski technique or Czochralski process, is a method of crystal growth used to obtain single crystals of semiconductors (e.g. silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide), metals (e.g. palladium, platinum, silver, ...

) * Silver – (

Patio process The patio process is a process for extracting silver from ore. Smelting, or refining, was necessary because silver does not occur by itself in a natural state like some metals. Instead, it is made up of a larger ore body. Thus, smelting, or refin ...

) *

Silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder and crystal sin ...

– ( Acheson process,

Lely process The Lely method, also known as the Lely process or Lely technique, is a crystal growth technology used for producing silicon carbide crystals for the semiconductor industry. The patent for this method was filed in the Netherlands in 1954 and in th ...

) *

Sodium carbonate Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

, used for soap – ( Leblanc process,

Solvay process The Solvay process or ammonia-soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s ...

, Leblanc-Deacon process) *

Sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

– (

lead chamber process The lead chamber process was an industrial method used to produce sulfuric acid in large quantities. It has been largely supplanted by the contact process. In 1746 in Birmingham, England, John Roebuck began producing sulfuric acid in lead-lined ...

, contact process) *

Titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

– (

Hunter process The Hunter process was the first industrial process to produce pure ductile metallic titanium. It was invented in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter, a chemist born in New Zealand who worked in the United States. The process involves reducing titanium tet ...

Kroll process The Kroll process is a pyrometallurgical industrial process used to produce metallic titanium from titanium tetrachloride. The Kroll process replaced the Hunter process for almost all commercial production. Process In the Kroll process, the TiCl ...

) *

Zirconium Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...

– (

van Arkel–de Boer process The van Arkel–de Boer process, also known as the iodide process or crystal-bar process, was the first industrial process for the commercial production of pure ductile titanium, zirconium and some other metals. It was developed by Anton Eduard ...

) A list by process: *

, Grainer evaporation process – produces salt from brine *

Bacterial oxidation Bacteria biooxidation is an oxidation process caused by microbes where the valuable metal remains (but becomes enriched) in the solid phase. In this process, the metal remains in the solid phase and the liquid can be discarded. Bacterial oxidation ...

– used to produce gold * Bayer process – the extraction of aluminium from ore *

Chloralkali process The chloralkali process (also chlor-alkali and chlor alkali) is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. It is the technology used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which are comm ...

– for producing chlorine and sodium hydroxide *

– produces bromine from brine *

– for making heavy water *

– produces titanium and zirconium *

Industrial rendering Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into pur ...

– the separation of fat from bone and protein *

Lead chamber process The lead chamber process was an industrial method used to produce sulfuric acid in large quantities. It has been largely supplanted by the contact process. In 1746 in Birmingham, England, John Roebuck began producing sulfuric acid in lead-lined ...

, contact process – production of sulfuric acid * Mond process –

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

Nitrophosphate process The nitrophosphate process (also known as the Odda process) is a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the municipality of Odda, Norway around 1927. The process involves acidifying phosphate ro ...

– a number of similar process for producing fertilizer *

– produces nitric acid *

Packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a co ...

Pidgeon process The Pidgeon process is one of the methods of magnesium metal production, via a silicothermic reduction. Practical production requires roughly 35–40 MWh/ton of metal produced, which is on par with the molten salt electrolytic methods of producti ...

– produces magnesium, reducing the oxide using silicon *

Steam reforming Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is hydrogen product ...

water gas shift reaction Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

– produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide from methane or hydrogen and carbon dioxide from water and carbon monoxide * Vacuum metalising – a finishing process *

Van Arkel–de Boer process The van Arkel–de Boer process, also known as the iodide process or crystal-bar process, was the first industrial process for the commercial production of pure ductile titanium, zirconium and some other metals. It was developed by Anton Eduard ...

– for producing titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, thorium or protactinium *

Formox process The Formox process produces formaldehyde. Formox is a registered trademark owned by Johnson Matthey. The process was originally invented jointly by Swedish chemical company Perstorp and Reichhold Chemicals . Industrially, formaldehyde is produced b ...

– oxidation of methanol to produce formaldehyde

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Industrial Processes Secondary sector of the economy Technology-related lists processes