History of Chemical Process Technology Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards covering key chemical engineering terms, historical timeline milestones, catalytic processes, and industrial chemical manufacturing technologies.

Lead Chamber Process

An industrial chemical process initiated by John Roebuck in 1746 for manufacturing sulfuric acid, utilizing nitrogen oxides as a homogeneous catalyst.

LeBlanc Process

A process developed by Nicholas LeBlanc in 1789 for converting sodium chloride into sodium carbonate.

Contact Process

A process patented by Peregrine Phillips in 1831 for manufacturing concentrated sulfuric acid, representing the first mention of heterogeneous catalysis for a large-scale process.

Mauveine

The first synthetic aniline dye, synthesized from coal tar by William Henry Perkin in 1856.

Solvay Process

An ammonia-soda method perfected by Ernest Solvay in 1863 for producing sodium carbonate (soda ash) using salt, limestone, and ammonia.

Alkali Works Act

Legislation passed by the British government in 1864 to control environmental emissions, serving as the first example of environmental regulation.

Deacon Process

A process developed by Henry Deacon in 1874 to convert byproduct hydrochloric acid ($\text{HCl}$) into chlorine.

Haber-Bosch Process

A chemical process developed by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch in 1905 to produce ammonia directly from nitrogen and hydrogen elements.

Bakelite

The first commercially important plastic, patented by Leo Baekeland in 1909.

Fischer–Tropsch Process

A method developed by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch for producing synthetic liquid fuels from coal gas, used extensively by Germany during World War II.

Nylon

A famous synthetic fiber discovered by Wallace Carothers at DuPont, manufactured commercially in 1938 and used to make parachutes in World War II.

Fluid Catalytic Cracking

An oil refining modification introduced in 1941, evolving from Eugene Houdry's 1936 development of industrial-scale catalytic cracking.

Hydroformylation

A chemical reaction discovered by Otto Roelen for forming aldehydes from alkenes.

Ziegler Catalyst

A catalyst introduced by Karl Ziegler in 1953 for producing high-density polyethene (HDPE) and later used to produce isotactic polypropene.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)

A catalytic process introduced in the 1980s specifically designed for controlling $\text{NO}_x$ emissions.

Carbon Nanotube

A type of cylindrical fullerene discovered by Sumio Iijima in 1991, serving as an important component in nanotechnology.

Ostwald Process

An industrial process used for the commercial production of nitric acid via the catalytic oxidation of ammonia over a platinum catalyst.

Frasch Process

A commercial process used for extracting and producing elemental sulfur.

Mannheim Furnace

A specialized furnace utilized in the industrial manufacture of hydrochloric acid.

Claude Process

A gas liquefaction process that employs adiabatic expansion against a piston or in a turbine.

Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)

A technology used in the final stages of helium purification to achieve a commercial helium purity of better than $99.99\%$.

Shift Conversion

A chemical reaction involving the conversion of carbon monoxide ($\text{CO}$) to carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$) using steam in the presence of a catalyst.

Flint Glass

A type of high refractive index glass used in optical instruments.

Cumene

Isopropyl benzene produced by the propylene alkylation of benzene, used as a starting material to synthesize phenol and acetone.

Kraft Process

An alkaline pulping process used in paper manufacturing where white cooking liquor consists of caustic soda and sodium compounds.

Black Liquor

A byproduct of Kraft paper pulping that is converted back into white liquor by evaporation, burning the concentrate, and causticization.

Bagasse

The fibrous sugarcane pulp expelled from the last pressure mill during sugar extraction.

$\varepsilon$-Caprolactam

The monomer required for the production of Nylon-6.

l-Glutamate

A compound widely used as a food flavoring agent that possesses no flavor by itself.