Farayand Virtual World

* A certain kind of chemistry

Be it abundant foliage, a moving car, a cake being baked, sticking glue, a warm fire, it's chemicals that make it all happen!
Every second, without stopping, some chemical reaction is taking place around us. It could be happening in factories, in the environment, in vehicles or in our bodies.

A chemical reaction is one in which different kinds of matter are changed into a new kind or several new kinds of matter. Things that we take for granted in our lives couldn't take place but for these chemical reactions — plants couldn't photosynthesize, cars couldn't move, cakes couldn't rise, muscles couldn't burn energy, glue couldn't stick and fire couldn't burn!

Almost all industries use some chemical or the other in their production, storing, transportation and other processes. These could range from major industries such as oil fields, refineries, petrochemical and gas plants to textiles, paints, detergents, printing, cosmetics and food. In the UAE, the chemicals industry is dynamic with quite a few major and minor players.

The chemicals industry has seen tremendous growth in the past couple of years, especially after the construction boom began in Dubai. Right from the beginning of the construction of a building till it is painted inside and outside, chemicals in the form of paints and additives are needed. Industries such as heavy and moving equipment, transportation, air conditioning, landscaping and others that are closely related to construction also use chemicals in a big way.

Price rise

Most major chemicals dealers offer the A to Z of chemicals, ranging from acetone to xylene. But currently, some chemicals are in short supply, which has escalated the prices. Also, prices of chemicals have replicated the international oil price rise. So, according to industry players such as Narendra Pandya of the House of Chemicals, those who didn't anticipate the price rise are suffering due to payment schedules that have not been followed up. Manufacturers hesitate to give longer payment periods due to an unprecedented rise in prices of chemicals.

Darius Batliwalla of M. H. Enterprises, says, "Adding to the problem of the steep rise in prices of chemicals, some clever dealers are hoarding certain valuable and highly crucial chemicals, thereby, creating an artificial shortage. For example, the availability of butyl glycol has been affected and its price is hitting the roof. Those who produce it and other such important chemicals are finding this the right time to increase their margin of profit. Moreover, the validity of offers is very short in today's fluctuating market conditions."

"For manufacturers of chemicals it is good that the prices have gone up and some of them have even reduced production to induce artificial shortage in the market. So prices have gone up also due to the shortage, but we are waiting to see what happens. I think it is bad for industries connected to oil production. But the Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, will prosper due to the increase in oil prices," says Pandya.

The awareness of the importance of conservation and use of biodegradable substances to minimise harming the environment has also seeped into the chemicals industry. Many chemicals that were earlier used widely, especially those containing chlorine, are being slowly replaced by non-hazardous and environment-friendly ones. Health, safety and environmental (HSE) concerns are very high in Europe and chemicals such as trichloro-ethylene and trichloro-ethane have been phased out there. Asian countries are also trying to adopt the same, but the process is slower.

HSE is a major concern when storing and transporting chemicals, some of them hazardous and flammable. Chemicals are stored in bulk or in drums. Companies that store hazardous chemicals invest in sophisticated, specially-designed fire fighting equipment and facilities that allow storage and handling of such chemicals safely. All employees of these companies are trained in HSE and fire policies.

In the UAE, digital sprinkler systems, boosters, advanced warning systems, etc., help keep the heat in check, since some chemicals have a flash point of 25 degrees and when outside temperature reaches 40 degrees and above it can pose a high risk.

Therefore, it's mandatory to keep chemicals at the right temperature, so they don't explode into flames resulting in loss of property and lives. Major chemical producers also visit the dealer's facility to check storage facilities and verify if all the specifications, including safety procedures are in place before sending their chemicals to the dealer.

Safety is of paramount importance when transporting chemicals as well as disposing them once their use is complete. Companies dealing in chemicals have to follow stringent government regulations in the use, transport, storage and disposal. A positive trend in the chemicals industry is the continual research that brings forth more effective chemicals. In several situations where a large amount of chemical was used earlier, now the amount used is little but as effective or better than earlier.

One example is the use of chemicals in the desalination plants, where salty seawater is converted to potable water using reverse osmosis and supplied to the population of countries such as the UAE. If the salty water were allowed to go through the pipes without being treated with anti-scalants and anti-foaming agents, the pipes would completely choke up due to scaling and foaming. But a very small amount, less than one litre for a million gallons of water, makes the water clear and free of scales that damage pipes and allows the wastewater to go back into the sea without harming the organisms in the sea.
Similarly, in several applications while performance of chemicals is getting better, the dosage is decreasing; more research will reduce it still further. These chemicals are economically viable and eco-friendly to boot.
The chemicals industry and those dependent on it are currently going through a slightly turbulent time due to the fluctuation in prices.

Once oil prices stabilise, this industry also will stabilise and hopefully availability of all chemicals will also be better. Here in the UAE, with the economy on an upswing, reactions from the market look definitely positive for chemicals.

TESTING INSTRUMENTS

Governments around the world are becoming keenly aware of the harm certain chemicals can pose to humans and the environment. A recent example is the finding of chemicals in cola soft drink production in India exceeding European norms.
Such a finding was possible due to the highly sophisticated instruments used to detect trace chemicals. In the UAE, and the region as a whole, testing of trace chemicals using high-end gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers (GCMS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometers (ICP-MS) and other instruments is on. More research centres are coming up and companies dealing in these instruments are experiencing high sales figures. Why, it was a GCMS that was used to find traces of performance-enhancing drugs in the bodies of Olympic athletes at Athens!

The mass spectrometer is an apparatus that converts molecules into ions (electrically-charged molecular fragments) and then separates the ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio. It is usually connected to a computer or other electronic device to process the data. Mass spectrometers are used to identify atoms and isotopes, and determine relative atomic masses, relative abundance of isotopes, and the chemical composition of a sample.

Chromatography is the technique of chemical analysis used for the separation of pure substances from complex mixtures. Gas liquid chromatography is the technique that permits separation of mixtures consisting of gas compounds or of substances that can be vapourised by heat. The mixture is carried by an inert gas along a narrow, coiled tube packed with a material through which the components flow at different rates.

The separated components are detected at the end of the tube. The separated components may be fed directly into a mass spectrometer, such as a GCMS, for identification. The GCMS is increasingly used in testing athletes for performance-enhancing drugs and for forensic investigation. In an environment-conscious world, this instrument can test for environmental contamination by banned chemicals in water, soil or air at parts per billion levels.

The ICP-MS can test for trace metallic contaminants that are poisonous such as arsenic, selenium, etc., at parts per trillion levels.

In ion chromatography, a gas may be broken down into ions by passing it through a hydrogen flame, bombarding it with X-rays or radiation from a radioactive material, or using adsorbent substances that exchange ions with the material being analysed. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) employs liquids adsorbed on extremely small and uniform particles to provide very high sensitivity. A pump is used to drive the solvent mixture through the column.

Chromatography is widely used in the analysis and preparation of chemical substances, including foods, drugs, blood, petroleum products, and radioactive fission products. It can also be used to test trace impurities in high purity gases such as helium, nitrogen, argon, etc., that are required for specialised applications.

Products of petroleum refining and processing, which usually contain various closely related hydrocarbons, are difficult to separate by conventional methods of chemical analysis, but can be isolated and analysed using a mass spectrometer. The petroleum products industry, one of the major contributors to the economy of this country, uses these and similar instruments regularly for research and testing purposes.
(Source: Gulf News)