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Industrial processes are procedures involving chemical or mechanical steps to aid in the manufacture of an item or items, usually carried out on a large scale.

Industrial processes are the key components of heavy industry.

Most processes make the production of an otherwise rare material vastly cheaper, thus changing it into a commodity; i.e. the process makes it economically feasible for society to use the material on a large scale. One of the best examples of this is the change in aluminium from prices more expensive than silver to its use in recyclable/disposable beverage containers.

An industrial process differs from a craft, workshop or laboratory process by the scale or investment required. Most of the processes are complex and require large capital investments in machinery, or a substantial amount of raw materials, in comparison to batch or craft processes. Production of a specific material may involve more than one type of process.

General processes

These may be applied on their own, or as part of a larger process.

Physical reshaping

There are several processes for reshaping a material by cutting, folding, joining or polishing, developed on a large scale from workshop techniques.

Moulding

The shaping of materials by forming their liquid form using a mould.

Purification

Many materials exist in an impure form, purification, refining or separation provides a usable product.

Electrolysis

The availability of electricity and its effect on materials gave rise to several processes for plating or separating metals.

Iron and Steel

Early production of iron was from meteorites, or as a by-product of copper refining. Heating iron ore and carbon in a crucible at 1000 K produces wrought iron. This process gained popularity during the Iron Age. Temperatures of 1300 K were produced around the 8th century by blowing air through the heated mixture in a bloomery or blast furnace (12th century); producing a strong but brittle cast iron. Furnaces were growing bigger, producing greater quantities; a factor contributing to the Industrial Revolution. In 1740 the temperature and carbon content could be controlled sufficiently to consistently produce steel; very strong and very workable. The 19th century saw the development of electric arc furnaces that produced steel in very large quantities, and are more easily controlled.

Petroleum and organic compunds

The nature of an organic molecule means it can be transformed at the molecular level to create a range of products.

Others

Organized by product:

A list by process:

Industry | Industrial processes

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Industrial process".

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