化学工程与工艺专业英语二课件

Unit2researchanddevelopmentResearchanddevelopment,orR&Dasitiscommonlyreferredto,isanactivitywhichiscarriedoutbyallsectorsofmanufacturingindustrybutitsextentvariesconsiderably,aswewillseeshortly.Letusfirstunderstand,oratleastgetafeelfor,whatthetermsmean.Althoughthedistinctionbetweenresearchanddevelopmentisnotalwaysclear-cut,andthereisoftenconsiderableoverlap,wewillattempttoseparatethem.

Insimpletermsresearchcanbethoughtofastheactivitywhichproducesnewideaandknowledgewhereasdevelopmentisputtingthoseideaintopracticeasnewprocessesandproducts.Toillustratethiswithanexample,predictingthestructureofnewmoleculewhichwouldhaveaspecificbiologicalactivityandsynthesizingitcouldbeseenasresearch,whereastestingitanddevelopingittothepointwhereitcouldbemarketedasanewdrugcouldbedescribedasthedevelopmentpart.

1.FundamentalResearchandAppliedResearchInindustrytheprimaryreasonforcarryingoutR&Diseconomicandistostrengthenandimprovethecompany’spositionandprofitability.ThepurposeofR&Distogenerateandprovideinformationandknowledgetoreduceuncertainty,solveproblemsandprovidebetterdataonwhichmanagementcanbasedecisions.Specificprojectscoverawiderangeoftoactivityandtimescales,fromanewmonthsto20years.WecanpickoutanumberofareasofR&Dactivityinthefollowingparagraphsbutifweweretostartwiththosewhichweretospringtothemindoftheacademic,ratherthanthe

workcanleadtousefulapplications.Thusphysicistsclaimthatbutforthestudentanddevelopmentofquantumtheorywemightnothavehadcomputersandnuclearpower.However,totakeaspecificallychemicalexample,generalstudiesonabroadareasuchashydrocarbonoxidationmightprovideinformationwhichwouldbeusefulinmorespecificareassuchascyclohexaneoxidationfortheproductionofnylonintermediates.Aspectsofsynthesiscouldinvolveeitherdevelopingnew,morespecificreagentsforcontrollingparticularfunctionalgroupinterconversions,i.e.developingsyntheticmethodologyorcompletesynthesisofanentirely

newmoleculewhichisbiologicallyactive.Althoughtheformerisclearlyfundamentalthelatterencompassesboththisandappliedaspects.Thisterm‘applied’hastraditionallybeenmoreassociatedwithresearchcarriedoutinindustriallaboratories,sincethisismorefocusedortargeted.Itisaconsequenceoftheworkbeingbusinessdriven.Note,however,thattherehasbeenamajorchangeinrecentyearsasacademicinstitutionshaveincreasinglyturnedtoindustryforresearchfunding,withtheresultthatmuchmoreoftheirresearcheffortisnowdevotedtomoreappliedresearch.Evenso,inacademiatheemphasisgenerallyisverymuchontheresearchratherthan

thedevelopment.2.TypesofIndustrialResearchandDevelopmentTheappliedormoretargetedtypeofresearchanddevelopmentcommonlycarriedoutinindustrycanbeofseveraltypeandwewillbrieflyconsidereach.Theyare:(i)productdevelopment,(ii)processdevelopment,(iii)processimprovementand(iv)applicationsdevelopment.Evenundertheseheadingsthereareamultitudeofaspectsoonlyatypicalexamplecanbequotedineachcase.Theemphasisoneachofthesewillvaryconsiderablywithinthedifferentsectorsofthechemicalindustry.Productdevelopment.Productdevelopment

covers

notonlydevelopmentamanufacturingprocessforanentirelynewproductbutalsoanewprocessorrouteforanexistingproduct.Thepushforthelattermayoriginateforoneormoreofthefollowingreasons:availabilityofnewtechnology,changeintheavailabilityand/orcostofrawmaterials.Manufactureofvinylchloridemonomerisanexampleofthis.Itsmanufacturingroutehaschangedseveraltimesowingtochangingeconomics,technologyandrawmaterials.Anotherstimulusisamarkedincreaseindemandandhencesalesvolumewhichcanhaveamajoreffectontheeconomicsoftheprocess.Theearlydaysofpenicillintopreventtheonsetofsepticemiaof

this.TheabilityofpenicillintopreventtheonsetofsepticemiainbattlewoundsduringtheSecondWorldWar(1939~1945)resultedinanenormousdemandforittobeproducedinquantity.Upuntilthenithadonlybeenproducedinsmallamountsonthesurfaceofthefermentationbrothinmilkbottles!AnenormousR&DeffortjointlyintheU.S.andtheU.K.resultedintwomajorimprovementstotheprocess.Firstlyadifferentstrain③ofthemould(penicilliumchrysogenum)gavemuchbetteryieldsthantheoriginalpenicilliumnotatum.Secondlythemajorprocessdevelopmentwastheintroductionofthedeepsubmergedfermentationprocess.Herethefermentationtakesplacethroughoutthebroth,providedsterileairisconstantly,andvigorously,blownthroughit.Thishasenabledtheprocesstobescaledupenormouslytomodernstainlesssteelfermentershavingacapacityinexcessof50000liters.Itissalutarytonotethatinthefirstworldwar(1914-1919)moresoldiersdiedfromsepticemiaoftheirwoundsthanwereactuallykilledoutrightonthebattlefield!Processdevelopmentforanewproductdependsonthingssuchasthescaleonwhichitis

process.Phenolmanufactureprovidesastrikingexampleofthis.Theoriginalroute,thebenzenesulphonicacidroute,hasbecomeobstaclebecausedemandforitsby-productsodiumsulfite(2.2tons/1tonphenol)hasdriedup.Itsrecoveryanddisposalwillthereforebeanadditionalchargeontheprocess,thusincreasingthecostofthephenol.Incontrastthecumenerouteowesitseconomicadvantageoveralltheotherroutetothestrongdemandfortheby-productacetone(0.6tons/1tonphenol).Thesaleofthisthereforereducesthenetcostofthephenol.Amajorpartoftheprocessdevelopmentactivityforanewplantistominimize,orideally

preventbydesigningout,wasteproductionandhencepossiblepollution.Theeconomicandenvironmentaladvantageofthisareobvious.Finallyitshouldbenotedthatprocessdevelopmentrequiresabigteameffortbetweenchemists,chemicalengineers,andelectricalandmechanicalengineerstobesuccessful.Processimprovement.Processimprovementrelatestoprocesseswhicharealreadyoperating.Itmaybeaproblemthathasarisenandstoppedproduction.Inthissituationthereisalotofpressuretofindasolutionassonaspossiblesothatproductioncanrestart,since'downtime‘costsmoney.

Morecommonly,however,processimprovementwillbedirectedatimprovingtheprofitabilityoftheprocess.Thismightbeachievedinanumberofways.Forexample,improvingtheprofitabilityoftheprocess,increasingthecapacitybyintroductionanewcatalyst,orloweringtheenergyrequirementoftheprocess.AnexampleofthelatterwastheintroductionofturbocompressorsintheproductionofammoniabytheHaberprocess.Thisreducedutilitycosts(mainlyelectricity)from$6.66$0.56pertonofammoniaproduced.Improvingthequalityoftheproduct,byprocessmodification,mayleadtonewmarketsfortheproduct.

Note,however,withaplantwhichhasalreadybeenbuiltandisoperatingthereareusuallyonlyverylimitedphysicalchangeswhichcanbemadetotheplanttoachievetheaboveaims.Hencetheimportance,alreadymentioned,ofeliminatingwasteproductionatthedesignstageofanewplant.Conservingenergyandthusreducingenergycosthasbeenanothermajorpreoccupationinrecentyears(4)Applicationsdevelopment.Clearlythediscoveryofnewapplicationsorusesforaproductcanincreaseorprolongitsprofitability.Notonlydoesthisgeneratemoreincomebuttheresultingincreasedscaleofproductioncanleadto

lowerunitcostandincreasedprofit.AnexampleisPVCwhoseearlyusesincludedrecordsandplasticraincoats.Applicationswhichcan\melaterincludedplasticbagsandparticularlyengineeringusesinpipesandguttering.Emphasishasalreadybeenplaceonthefactthatchemicalsareusuallypurchasedfortheeffect,orparticularuse,orapplicationwhichtheyhave.Thisoftenmeansthattherewillbecloseliaisonbetweenthechemicalcompanies’technicalsalesrepresentativesandthecustomer,andtheleveloftechnicalsupportforthecustomercanbeamajorfactorinwinningsales.Researchanddevelopmentchemistsprovidethesupportfor

theseapplicationsdevelopment.AnexampleisCF3CH3F.ThisisthefirstoftheCFCreplacementsandha