The lectures give an up-to-date and essential knowledge of the chemical industrial processes used to transform the petroleum into chemicals and final products, for chemical industry and manufacturing, respectively. Chemical, technological and economical issues are investigated.

Aims of the course are the development of abilities in the chemical process evaluation for industrial production, the application of theoretical principles to control the conversion of a raw material into a chemical product, the identification of the process parameters playing a critical role on the transformation and the gathering of factors critical for the product cost reduction. At the end of the course, it is expected that the student has knowledge on: - industrial cycles for transformation of petroleum into chemicals and polymeric end products, - critical parameters that control the chemical transformations on a large scale, - applicable technologies to produce polymeric material on large scale, that he has the following capacities: - evaluate the suitability of a hydrocarbons transformation process on industrial scale, - design processes for polymeric material production, - test the influence of the polymerisation conditions on the properties of the polymeric product, that he is able: - to identify a suitable industrial process for the production of a specified chemical product, - to change the process conditions to reach the specification target about the product. The course, in order to reach all the planned goals, has been structured on two parts, exploiting as a subject the whole cycle of the petroleum transformation, from the refinery to the petrochemical plants. In the first part the processes, involved in the crude refining or hydrocarbon conversion into chemicals or monomers, are described through the analysis of the thermodynamic, kinetic and technological aspects of each transformations step. The second part of the course deals with the principles of industrial production of polymers and with the product characterization. The fundamentals, for step and chain reactions of polymer formation, are illustrated together with the industrial technologies developed to produce thermoplastic, thermosetting or elastomeric materials.

The course can be followed if the student has the basic knowledge of: - principles of general and organic chemistry, - operating basic principles of the equipments used in the industrial chemistry, like heat exchangers, absorption columns, distillation equipments or chemical reactors.

Part one (20 hrs) Petroleum, a raw material. Economic and historical aspects of the industrial exploitation of hydrocarbon mixtures. Industrial products from petrochemistry. Technological evaluation of hydrocarbon mixtures. Crude oil distillation. Fractions composition. Distillation curves. Technological properties and their graphical representation. Refining processes. Hydrocarbon fractions for energy and petrochemistry. Refining processes of gaseous mixtures by absorption and adsorption. Hydrotreating of liquid fractions. Conversion of liquid and gaseous fraction. Catalysts for hydrocarbon interconversion. Catalytic cracking, alkylation, isomerisation, isomerisation, oligomerization and catalytic reforming. Petroleum fractions. Product specifications. Blending. Additives. Environmental pollution by hydrocarbons. Ecological and safety criteria in the hydrocarbon mixture handling. Flammability. Production of light olefins. Ethylene. Olefins and diolefins from steam cracking. Reaction schemes. Unsaturated product separation and purification. Butadiene and isoprene from chemicals. Production of aromatics. Sources of aromatic hydrocarbons. Separation of BTX mixtures. Processes for separation and purification of aromatic C8 isomers. Alkylaromatics conversion. Aromatic derivatives. Chemicals. Monomers. Solvents. Light olefins derivatives through oxosynthesis, selective oxidation, hydration and halogenations. Part two (30 hrs) Introduction to polymers. Classification, structures, properties, applications. Mean molecular weight concept. MW from measure of polymer solutions properties. Instrumental techniques for molecular weight distribution measurements. Polymers from radical chain reactions. Monomers, initiators, reaction models, kinetics, MW control. Technologies for bulk, solution, suspension or emulsion polymerization. Polymers from step reactions. Monomers, catalysts, process variables and DP, MW distribution. Industrial production of polyamides and polyesters. Polymers from ionic chain reaction. Features of the ionic propagation process. Stereospecific polymerization. Polymer commodities. HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PP, PS PVC. Polymers from copolymerization. Copolimerization theoretical models. Polymer composition and monomers reactivity. Evaluation of the reactivity ratios. Industrial copolymers. Industrial production of some thermoplastic, thermosetting and elastomeric polymers. Environmental impact of the industrial polymers. Environmental degradation. Technologies for polymer re-using, disposal or recycling Polymers from renewable sources. Biopolymers. Production and application of starch and cellulose. Production an applications of poly(lactic acid) and poly(hydroxy alkanoates).

Lectures are integrated with numerical exercises where students are asked to solve simple problems connected with the subject of the lesson.

Texts and exercises will be available on the web student site before the beginning of the course. As an exception, for subjects requiring periodic updating, the material will be available at the end of the course. To deepen the subjects of the course: P. J. Chenier, Survey of Industrial Chemistry, Plenum Publisher, 2002 C. Giavarini, Processi di raffinazione e petrolchimici, Siderea, Roma, 1999. A.I.M. , Macromolecole: Scienza e Tecnologia. Vol. 1, Pacini Editore, Pisa, 1992

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam;

... The final exam consists of an oral examination that lasts for about 45 minutes, and consists of three or four questions about theoretical issues, chemical processes description and simple calculations.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.