STUDYSMART

CHEMISTRY FORM 4
CHAPTER 9 : MANUFACTURED SUBSTANCES IN INDUSTRY

9.1 Understanding the manufacture of sulphuric acid

9.2 Synthesising the manufacture of ammonia and its salts
9.3 Understanding Alloys
9.4 Evaluating uses of synthetic polymers
9.5 Applying uses of glass and ceramics
9.6 Evaluating uses of composite materials

9.1 UNDERSTANDING THE MANUFACTURE OF SULPHURIC ACID

Sulphuric acid, does not occur naturally. It has to be manufactured.
Sulphuric acid is manufactured in industry through contact process. The raw materials used are
sulphur, air and water.

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9.2 SYNTHESISING THE MANUFACTURE OF AMMONIA AND ITS SALTS

Ammonia is manufactured in industry through Haber process.
This process combines nitrogen gas from the air with hydrogen gas derived mainly from natural
gas to form Ammonia, NH3.

Preparation of ammonium fertilizer

- Ammonium fertilizers contain ammonium ions. In the soil, the ammonium ions are oxidised to
nitrate ions.
- Example of ammonium fertilisers:
a) Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4
b) Ammonium nitrate NH4NO3
c) Ammonium phosphate (NH4)3PO4

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9.3 UNDERSTANDING ALLOYS

Is mixture of two or more elements with a certain fixed composition in which the major
component is metal.
Pure metals are make-up of the same type and same size of atoms.
The orderly arrangements of atoms make the metal ductile and malleable.
Orderly arrangement of atoms in metal enables the layer of atoms to slide on one another when
force is applied

Arrangement of atom in pure Metal:

Closely packed & in an orderly manner

FORCE

Layers of atoms slide over each other.

Most pure metals are weak and soft.

The properties of pure metal can be improved by making them into alloys.
Alloys are stronger, harder, and resistant to corrosion, have a better furnish and luster
Examples of alloys are bronze, brass, steel, stainless steel, duralumin, and pewter
ALLOY
Bronze

COMPOSITION
90% copper and 10% tin

Brass
Steel
Stainless
steel

70% copper and 30% zinc

99% iron and 1% carbon
74% iron, 8% carbon and
18% chromium

Duralumin

93% aluminium, 3%
copper, 3% magnesium, 1%
manganese
96% tin, 3% copper, 1%
antimony

Pewter

PROPERTIES
Hard and strong
Does not corrode
Has shiny surface
Harder than copper
Hard and strong
Shiny
Strong
Does not rust
Light
Strong

USES

Lustre
Shiny
Strong

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Why make alloy

a) To improve the appearance of the pure metal
b) to increase the strength and hardness of the pure metal
c) to increase the resistance to corrosion of the pure metal
The arrangement of atoms in alloy
The presences of atoms of other metals that are of different size disturb the orderly
arrangement of atoms in the metal. This decrease the layer of atoms from sliding.
Thus alloy is stronger and harder than its pure metal.

9.4 EVALUATING USES OF SYNTHETIC POLYMERS

Polymer is made from large molecules make up of many identical repeating sub-units called
monomers which are joined together by covalent bonds.
Polymerization : a process to join the monomer into chains by repeated linking.
2 types of polymer :
a) naturally occurring polymers
Examples : starch, cellulose, wool, protein, silk, natural rubber
b) Synthetic polymers : man-made polymer.
Examples : polythene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropene, perspex, nylon and terylene
Importance of Polymers are :
SYNTHETIC
MONOMER
USES
POLYMER
Polythene
Ethene
Plastic bags, shopping bags, plastic
container, and insulation for electrical wiring
Polypropene
Propene
Piping, bottle crates, carpet, car batteries,
and rope
PVC
Chloroethene
Artificial leather, water pipes, and records
Perspex
Methylmethacrylate
Safety glass, reflectors, traffic signs, and lens
Terylene
Hexane,1-6-diol
Clothing, sails and ropes
Benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid
Nylon
Hexane-1.6-diamine
Ropes, clothing, and carpets
Hexane-1,6- dioic acid
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9.5 APPLYING USES OF GLASS AND CERAMICS

Glass : made from sand
The major component: silica, SiO2.
There are so many types of glass; fused glass is the simplest one which is mainly silica, SiO2.
Fused glass : Highly resistant glass. It can be heated to an extremely high temperature and then
can be plunged into icy, cold water without cracking.
Its expensive but still widely used because of its :
1. Great purity 2. Optical transparency 3. High temperature 4. Chemical durability
5. Resistance to thermal shock.
It is used as :
1. Laboratory glassware 2. Lenses 3. Telescope mirrors 4. Optical fibers.
Ex : Starch, cellulose, wool, protein, silk and natural rubber.
The most common glass : Soda lime glass
- Made by heating sand with limestone/ sodium carbonate.
- Can be melted at a relatively low temperature
- Easy to be shaped and has a good chemical durability.
- High thermal expansion coefficient.
- Expands a lot when it is heated and contracts a lot too when it is cooled.
- Do not withstand heat.
Used to make : flat glass, electrical bulbs, mirrors and glass containers.
Soda lime glass + Boron oxide, B2O3 Borosilicate glass
- Has a lower thermal expansion coefficient
- 3 times as heat resistant as soda-lime glass
- More resistant to chemical attacks because it contains less alkali.
- Good to use in cookware, laboratory glassware and automobile headlight.
- Used in glass pipelines and applications which require superior resistance to thermal shock
and greater chemical durability.
Ceramic are made from clay.
Ex : Kaolin ( Aluminiumsilicate, Al2O3.2SiO2.2H2O )
When the clay is heated to a very high temperature, they undergo a series of chemical reactions
and are hardened permanently to form ceramic.
Ex : clay pots, bricks, tiles and mugs.
Ceramics are very hard, brittle, chemically inert, do not corrode, high melting point and are
good insulators of electricity and heat.
Suitable for making abrasive, construction material, tableware, insulators in electrical
equipment and refractories.
Comparing properties of glass and ceramics
Similarities :
Hard, Brittle, strong under compression, do not corrode, good electrical insulator, good heat insulator,
resistant to chemical attacks

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Difference :
Glass
Highly transparent
Can be melted and remoulded

Criteria
Optical transparency
Moulding

Lower melting point

Melting point

Ceramic
Opaque
Cannot be melted and
remoulded
Very high melting point

9.6 EVALUATING USES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Structural material that is formed by combining two or more different substances such as metal,
alloys, glass, ceramic and polymers. These materials are created for specific application.
The material formed has properties that are better than the original components.
Types of composite materials
Reinforced Concrete
Concrete: Consists a mixture of stones, chips and sand bound together by cement. It is strong
but brittle and weak in tension.
Steel : Strong in tension.
Concrete reinforced with steel wires, steel bars or any polymers fibres, the resulting
combination is a very tough material with more tensile strength.
The composites are good for the construction of large structures like high-rise building, bridges
and oil platforms.
It is also cheap and can be moulded into any shape.
Superconductors
Capable of conducting electricity without any electrical resistance when they are cooled to
extremely low temperature.
They are used in the bullet trains in Japan, magnetic energy-storage systems, generators,
transformers and computer parts.
Fibre optic
Fibre optic cable consists of a bundle of glass or plastic threads that are surrounded by a glass
cladding.
They are used to replace copper wire in long distance telephone lines, in mobile phone, video
camera and to link computer within local area network.
Fibre optic is good to use because they have law material costs, high transmission capacity,
chemical stability and less susceptible to interference.
Fibre Glass
Formed when glass fibres are used to reinforce plastic.
Properties : High tensile strength, can be easily coloured, low in density easily moulded and
shaped and can be made into thin layers.
Used to make household products like water storage tanks, badminton rackets, small boats, skis
and helmets.
Photochromic Glass
Produced by embedding photochromic substances like silver chloride, AgCl crystals in glass or
transparent polymers.
Used for making optical lenses, car windshields, smart energy efficient windows in buildings,
information display panels, lense in cameras, optical switches and light intensity meters.
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