Chemical Process Equipment Design
Name:Reem Rababah
The Chemical composition of materials:
I. Steel
Steel in general is an alloy of carbon and iron, it does contain many other elements,
some of which are retained from the steel making process, other elements are added to
produce specific properties. We can see some most common chemical elements with
important effects on steel properties.
Many product specifications have mandatory requirements for reporting certain elements and
these vary. Most mills routinely provide heat analysis which includes the elements below.
Although it is possible to analyze for other elements this is most often not practical or
necessary unless they are additions (e.g. Pb – Lead, Sb – Antimony or Co - Cobalt)
E.g:
Carbon is the most important element in steel, it is essential in steels which have to be hardened by quenching and the degree of carbon controls
the hardness and strength of the material, as well as response to heat treatment (hardenability).
And ductility, forgeability and machinability will decrease if the amount of carbon increases, as well as weldability properties of the steel.
Manganese (Mn)manganese could be the second most important element after Carbon on steel. Mn has effects similar to
those of carbon, and the steel producer uses these two elements in combination to obtain a material with the desired
properties. Manganese is a necessity for the process of hot rolling of steel by its combination with oxygen and sulfur.
Phosphorus (P)Although it increases the tensile strength of steel and improves machinability it is generally regarded as an
undesirable impurity because of its embrittling effect.
II.034 Stainless Steel
the chemical composition of 304 Stainless Steel is composed of 18-20%
chromium and 8-10.5% nickel, combined with a maximum of 0.07% carbon, 2%
manganese, 1% silicon, 0.11% nitrogen, 0.045% phosphorus, and 0.03% sulfur.
chromium and nickel are important elements to improve the corrosion resistance
and oxidation resistance of stainless steel, chromium can form a layer of stable
passivation film on the surface, to protect the steel from external erosion, and
nickel can enhance the stability and ductility of the passivation film to improve
the plasticity and toughness of stainless steel, these elements on the mechanical
properties and processing performance of stainless steel has a certain impact.
III.316 Stainless steel
316 stainless steel (also called A4 or 18/10) is the second most commonly used austenitic stainless steel after
304/A2 stainless steel with a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure. Its primary composition contains 16-
18% chromium, 10-14% nickel, and 2-3% molybdenum. 316 meets standards such as ASTM A240 with
equivalent grades like 1.4401 (EN) and SUS 316 (JIS). It has excellent corrosion resistance, particularly against
chlorides, and is widely used in marine environments, chemical processing, medical devices, etc. Common
variants include 316L and 316H. 316 is often processed through cold working to gain high strength that is
similar to duplex stainless steel, though not as high.
Chromium, Phosphoru
Nickel, Ni Molybdenum, Mo Manganese, Mn Silicon, Si Carbon, C Sulfur, S Nitrogen, N Iron, Fe
Cr s, P
16-18% 10-14% 2-3% ≤ 2.00% ≤ 0.75% ≤ 0.08% ≤ 0.045% ≤ 0.030% ≤ 0.10% Balance
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Monel is a group of alloys of nickel (from 52 to 68%) and copper, with small
amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Monel is not a cupronickel alloy
because it has less than 60% copper.
Monel is a general term for a range of nickel-copper alloys. As such, it can be said that
Monel is primarily composed of the elements nickel and copper. Of course, there are some
differences in the composition of different Monel alloys, and these differences form
different grades. Below are the common Monel grades:
Monel 400
Monel 401
Monel 404
Composition Content Range Effect Typical Alloy
Nickel 40% ~ 70% Stabilize the Austenitic Structure Monel 400
Copper 22% ~ 56% Corrosion Resistance, Electric Conductivity Monel 401
Aluminum 0% ~ 3.5% Strength Monel K-500
Titanium 0% ~ 0.85% Strength Monel K-500
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Inconel is a general term for a series of alloys developed by Special Metals. It has excellent
high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance. According to different chemical
composition ratios, Inconel alloys are divided into many different grades. The earliest
grade Inconel X-750 can be traced back to 1943.
Inconel, being a group of superalloys rather than a single type, exhibits varying chemical
compositions among its different alloy types.
Nevertheless, all alloys within the Inconel family are primarily nickel-based.
Chromium consistently ranks as the second most abundant element in these alloys. Iron is
also a prevalent element, typically constituting more than 1% of the composition.
Some Inconel alloys may additionally contain elements such as cobalt, molybdenum,
niobium, and titanium.
Composition Content Range Effect Typical Alloy
Nickel 45% ~ 75% High Temperature Resistance Inconel 600
Chromium 14% ~ 31% Corrosion Resistance Inconel 690, Inconel 693
Molybdenum 0% ~ 17% Corrosion Resistance Inconel 625, Inconel 686
Cobalt 0% ~ 22% High Temperature Resistance Inconel 617, Inconel 740H
Tungsten 0% ~ 5% Pitting Corrosion Resistance Inconel 686
Aluminum 0% ~ 2% Strength Inconel X-750
Titanium 0% ~ 3% Strength Inconel X-750
Niobium 0% ~ 5% Strength Inconel 718
Tantalum 0% ~ 1% Strength Inconel 718