• Ammonia (NH3)

Very popular scrubbing solvent to remove pollutants from fossil fuel combustion streams before they can be released to the atmosphere. Also a popular refrigerant and precursor to nitric acid. (Key to making artificial fertilizers)

• Calcium Oxide (CaO) [quicklime or burnt lime]

As a cheap and widely available alkali. About 50% of the total quicklime production is converted to calcium hydroxide before use. Both quick- and hydrated lime are used in the treatment of drinking water.

It can be created by heating the limestone to 900°C for several hours which would turn the limestone into quick lime

• Calcium hydroxide [hydrated lime, caustic lime, builders’ lime, slack lime, cal or pickling lime]

Calcium hydroxide is commonly used to prepare lime mortar.

One significant application of calcium hydroxide is as a flocculant, in water and sewage treatment. It forms a fluffy charged solid that aids in the removal of smaller particles from water, resulting in a clearer product. This application is enabled by the low cost and low toxicity of calcium hydroxide. It is also used in fresh-water treatment for raising the pH of the water so that pipes will not corrode where the base water is acidic, because it is self-regulating and does not raise the pH too much.

It can be created by combining quicklime with water to form slaked lime

• Ethylene (C2H4)

Probably the most popular industrial precursor to polymer manufacturing

• Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)

Used mainly in the production of other chemicals (by acting as a reactant or a catalyst)

• Methanol (CH3OH)

Used as a reactant to make methyl tertbutyl ether (MTBE), formaldeyde, and acetic acid.

• Nitric Acid (HNO3)

Most common application is its reaction with ammonia to form the solid fertilizer ammonium nitrate the most widely used solid fertilizer. Nitric acid is subject to thermal or light decomposition and for this reason it was often stored in brown glass bottles Nitric acid’s boiling point of 83 °C. (68% solution boils at 121 °C).

Dilute nitric acid may be concentrated by distillation up to 68% acid, which is a maximum boiling azeotrope. In the laboratory, further concentration involves distillation with either sulfuric acid or magnesium nitrate, which serve as dehydrating agents. Such distillations must be done with all-glass apparatus at reduced pressure, to prevent decomposition of the acid. Industrially, highly concentrated nitric acid is produced by dissolving additional nitrogen dioxide in 68% nitric acid in an absorption tower.

The dissolved NOx is readily removed using reduced pressure at room temperature (10-30 minutes at 200 mmHg or 27 kPa) to give white fuming nitric acid.

• Propylene (C3H6)

Another industrial polymer precursor

• Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) [washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals]

Used in many cleaning agents and in glass making. Sodium oxide is a component of most glass, although it is added in the form of “soda” (sodium carbonate). Typically, manufactured glass contains around 15% sodium oxide, 70% silica (silicon dioxide) and 9% lime (calcium oxide). The sodium carbonate “soda” serves as a flux to lower the temperature at which the silica mixture melts. Soda glass has a much lower melting temperature than pure silica, and has slightly higher elasticity.

• Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) [liquid bleach]

A method of producing sodium hypochlorite involving the electrolysis of brine to produce sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas, which then mixed to form sodium hypochlorite.

Today, an improved version of this method, known as the Hooker process (named after Hooker Chemicals, acquired by Occidental Petroleum), is the only large-scale industrial method of sodium hypochlorite production. In the process, sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and sodium chloride (NaCl) are formed when chlorine is passed into cold dilute sodium hydroxide solution. The chlorine is prepared industrially by electrolysis with minimal separation between the anode and the cathode. The solution must be kept below 40 °C (by cooling coils) to prevent the undesired formation of sodium chlorate.

Sodium hypochlorite can be easily produced for research purposes by reacting ozone with salt. NaCl + O3 → NaClO + O2 This reaction happens at room temperature and can be helpful for oxidizing alcohols.

• Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) [lye and caustic soda]

The most popular alkaline substance in industry. Widely used in dyes and soap manufacturing. Also a good cleaning agent and can be used to neutralize acids.

• Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)

Probably the most common industrial acid. Used widely in mineral leaching and gas scrubbing (removing dangerous substances). Also used to neutralize alkaline substances and as an electrolyte in lead-acid batteries. A nation’s sulfuric acid production is a good indicator of its industrial strength. Sulfuric acid can be obtained by dissolving sulfur trioxide in water.

• potassium carbonate (K2CO3) [Potash]

Used in agriculture as a crop fertilizer.

• Urea (CO(NH2)2) [carbamide]

More than 90% of world industrial production of urea is destined for use as a nitrogen-release fertilizer.Urea has the highest nitrogen content of all solid nitrogenous fertilizers in common use. Therefore, it has a low transportation cost per unit of nitrogen nutrient.

An essential ingredient in diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which is 32.5% urea and 67.5% de-ionized water. DEF is sprayed into the exhaust stream of diesel vehicles to break down dangerous NOx emissions into harmless nitrogen and water.

The most common impurity of synthetic urea is biuret (HN(CONH2)2), which impairs plant growth.

• Lithium peroxide

It is prepared by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and lithium hydroxide. This reaction initially produces lithium hydroperoxide: LiOH + H2O2 → LiOOH + 2 H2O

This lithium hydroperoxide has also been described as lithium peroxide monoperoxohydrate trihydrate (Li2O2·H2O2·3H2O). Dehydration of this material gives the anhydrous peroxide salt: 2 LiOOH → Li2O2 + H2O2 + 2 H2O

Li2O2 decomposes at about 450 °C to give lithium oxide: 2 Li2O2 → 2 Li2O + O2

It is used in air purifiers where weight is important, e.g., spacecraft to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the reaction.