Understanding Saponification Value of Oils

Beauty of my training is that my students have the opportunity to learn from scratch, mentored to build the business, and spend time to interact with experienced soap makers for months and years. Soapmaking begins with formulation and saponification value is the tool to start with. Different oils have different SAP value. Saponification value is the mass of alkali (mg) required to react with 1g of the oil. For example SAP value for PKO is 250, Animal fat 196, and Palm oil 200. Let me work out something. Assuming you want to make a soap using 50% Palm oil, 30% PKO, and 20% Animal fat. Question to ask is what volume of oil, water and caustic soda is required. I teach my students how to quickly run this with soapCALC. But let's do it together. First we determine the SAP value of the blend: 0.5 x 200 = 100, 0.3 x 250 = 75, 0.2 x 196 = 39.2. That gives SAP value of 214.2 for the blend. Meaning that we need 214.2 mg of potassium hydroxide to react with 1g of our oil mixture. But you know we will use sodium hydroxide, called lye or caustic soda. We will convert by using the molar masses of NaOH (40) and KOH(56). (214.2 x 40)/56 = 153. That means we will need 153mg of caustic soda to react with 1g of our oil blend. This translates to 153g of caustic soda to 1kg of oil. Caustic soda to oil mass ratio of 1:6.5. For 5% superfat. We do 1.05 x 6.5 = 6.8. For 1kg of caustic soda we need 6.8kg oil blend. Using 900kg/m3 for density of oil. We will need between 6 to 7.5 Litres of oil blend for 1kg caustic soda. Next we will talk of water, fillers, bulking agents and perfume need as well as other technical issues. Odfid Technical Center Whatsapp: +2347037263653

MAKE SURE YOUR LIQUID SOAP DOES NOT ITCH THE SKIN

 

In a liquid detergent (popularly called liquid soap) what customers look out for are:

1. Thickness (viscosity)

2. Nice fragrance and colour (aesthetic appeal).

3. Highly foaming (percentage of surfactant in the formulation).

4. Gentleness on the skin (pH friendly).

When I say gentleness on the skin I do not intend you to use liquid detergent for bathing. I see many formulating so-called shower gel using Sulphonic acid, SLS, Texapon etc. After you will see them adding glycerine and vitamin E - and shower gel is ready. Are you serious! These products are for liquid detergents. They are synthetic surfactants not intended for use as bathing products. If you need shower gel then get necessary training.

A liquid detergent should be gentle coming in contact with skin when you are using it as hand wash, for dish wash, laundary etc. If it itches it would mean the skin is reacting to a chemical or two.

The only chemical in most formualations that can be harsh on the skin is caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). 

To ensure the product is not harsh on the skin use two spoons (70grammes) of caustic soda in 20litres of liquid detergent. This formulation will not have any adverse effect on a normal skin.

Many use 250grammes (quarter kg) of caustic soda in their liquid soap, I use just 70grammes (2spoons) and I use higher amount of soda ash to moderate the effect of the caustic soda in the formulation. This saves cost and ensure good product quality.

Not witstanding. There are a few people that have some reaction to liquid soap on their skin irrespective of your formulation. These are people with cases of dermatological allergy or hypersensitivity. In that case you add about 0.1percent glycerine in your liquid soap (i.e. 200ml in 20litres batch). Glycerine is hypoallergic.

Ensure that your liquid detergent formulation meets customer's quality as well as standard quality parameters.

Leave your question in the comment section. I will gladly attend to them.

For online training on commercial soaps and detergent Whatsapp: +2347037263653

Odfid Technical Center, Eket. Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria

Get the Best Water Ratio in Bar Soap Making

Many problems soap makers encounter is linked to the amount of water they use. Problem of soap being soft, breaking, sticky in plodder, not foaming, shrinking in size afer some days. Let me analyze how you can get control of your water in soap making.

At times people would be asking what quantity of caustic soda (g and kg) should I use per particular volume of oil? I can quickly answer 1kg of caustic soda should go for 4litres of oil. You can as well use 1kg for 6litres of oil. But I usually do not like answering such questions.

Such question though possible to answer will do little to nothing as help for the person asking.

The first thing a beginner in soap making should learn is how to dissolve caustic soda. What grammes or kilogrammes of caustic soda to be dissolved with what volume of water.

Four options are available:

1. Ratio 1:1: Here you use 1kg of caustic soda to 1litre of water. This is not adviceable as the soap formed will be crumbling, breaking when cut and too drying.

2. Ratio: 1:2: This uses 1kg of caustic soda to 2litres of water. It gives a fast drying soap, within 2hours. The soap comes out strong. The only issue is that it requires hydrometer to correctly gauge the concentration of the lye and adjust to 1275. It works fine for cold process soaps. Do not use this method for hot process as it would not give the soap time to cook and gel properly.

3. Ratio 1:3: This uses 1kg of caustic soda with 3litres of water. It does not require hydrometer. The only problem is your caustic soda must be of good quality else concentration can turn to be too dilute. As a matter of fact I do recommend this ratio for my students for their hot, semi-hot and cold process. The drying time is very reasonable.

4. Ratio 1:4: Here you use 1kg of caustic soda to 4litres of water. Many that use hot process go for this. Those making cold process soaps that would require waiting for days or weeks for the soap to dry use this. Those making soda soap also play with this (I recommend 1:3 for soda soap).

Pick a ratio of your choice and dissolve your caustic soda.

Drop your question here at the comment section. Like, Subscribe and Share this blog. I will be posting useful topics on soap making here and you will be notified. 

You can enrol for a full soap and detergent training online on Whatsapp and Telegram. Ebook on commercial soap and detergent training is on sale.

Contact me on Whatsapp: +2347037263653 Odfid Technical Center, Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria

The Best Oil to Get a Perfect Bar Soap

 

In bar soap making oil is everything. It determines the quantity, quality and profit you make.

After learning about the ratios of dissolving caustic soda and what it will mean for your production, the next thing is understanding your oils.

I would not bore you with the science of oils as a triglyceride. I won't go into the fatty acid compositions of oil - lauric, myristic, palmitic, linoleic, stearic etc. I won't bother you with saponification value of the oils as the soap formulation most of you have are a bit superfat to accomodate a wide range of oils.

I will be dealing with oils for profitable soaping. I won't mention oils like coconut oil, olive, castor etc today - I talk about them when dealing with bathing soaps.

To make a quality commercial bar soap (laundry and multipurpose), you must learn about palm oil, animal fat, and palm kernel oil.

The easiest oil to use is palm kernel oil. Soap instructors use that for training and youtube. The oil gives a very hard bar. Highly foamy. Infact, I call PKO the king of foam in bar soap. The only oil that beats PKO is coconut oil. However, PKO soaps finish fast and can be breaking.

Palm oil can give you a hard soap too. Palm oil soaps, like olive oil, maybe soft when out of the mould. But given some time set into a very hard bar. The soap will not foam like PKO soap but will last longer. The foam is steady and doesn't collapse easily (excellent foam stability).

Animal fat can be rendered for use as oil for soap. The soap produced with animal fat are very strong and bright in appearance. The foaming is slow but lasting. Fat from cow, pig, fowl etc are useful here. Render the fat immediately the animal is slaughtered to avoid the oil smelling. Rendered fat can stay upto a year without deteriorating.

To make soap that will foam well, bright in appearance, last long, and with lower production cost, then blend palm oil, animal fat and PKO. A good start is ratio 50: 30: 20 respectively.

Drop your questions on the comment section. Subscribe to the blog to be notified on very useful soap tips.

Join our online soap and detergent training on Whatsapp and Telegram. Get our comprehensive soap and detergent ebook.

Contact us on Whatsapp: +2347037263653

Odfid Technical Center, Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria.

LET US MAKE ORGANIC BATHING BAR SOAP

The advances in green chemistry has made organic soaps to have a global acceptance. The soap is has wide appeal due to its exceptional properties.

What is the difference between laundary soap, toilet soap, and organic soap? 

Bluntly speaking all soaps made with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) are laundary soaps. Those made with potash (potassium hydroxide) are toilet soaps. Potash soaps with plant and animal extract are organic soaps. Laundary soaps are made using alkali with hydrometer gauge of 1275 while toilets and organic soaps are made with hyrometer gauge of 1250. It is possible and advisable to blend caustic soda and potash to make toilet and organic soaps. Toilet soaps only cleanses you but organic soaps cleanse, treat, and nourish your skin. Many have ability to reverse aging and keep you young. 

To make organic bathing bar soaps get the following: 

1. Oils: I blend palm kernel oil, palm oil, coconut oil, carrot oil, and sheabutter. Don't use only palm kernel oil only. It makes the soap too hard. A blend of palm oil makes the soap soft and supple. I bleach the palm oil on low heat. Sheabutter and coconut oil are antimicrobial. Carrot oil lightens your skin. I make carrot oil by cold process - infusing it into high quality olive oil. 

2. Alkali: I blend caustic soda and potash. Hundred percent potash soaps are very soft. I use it for liquid body wash. For organic bar soaps I combine caustic soda and potash. I make my potash from plantain peel. You can also use cocoapod or empty palm fruit bunch. Dry the material you want to use. Set fire on it to burn it to ash. Boil water and soak the ash over night. Strain the water off and gauge with hydrometer (if you have). I have achieved 1150 gauge with plantain peel. 

3. Organic bioactives: I blend original honey, tumeric powder, and orange peel powder. You can add activated charcoal for exfoliating effect and body odour control.  Other herbal extracts can be incorporated for healing and restoration ability.

Follow the standard procedure for formulation of soap based on your training and experience. Use semi-hot process. You can add Colour, I don't. You can add silicate, I don't. 

To get the magic from bathing bar soaps, your ingredients must be as natural as possible. I use palm oil which is rich in vitamin E. Palm kernel oil and coconut oil have lauric acid, an antimicrobial subtance. Sheabutter is blessed with stearic acid. Other ingredients are tumeric powder and original honey. I extract oils from banana and carrot by infusion - using olive as carrier oil. Colours used are natural. Black palm kernel oil, little unbleached palm oil, and tumeric powder give my soap its unique colour. I blend caustic soda with natural potassium hydroxide obtained from plantain peel, cocoapod and empty palm fruit bunch. Perfume added is natural. This combination gives a unique organic bar soap that maintains natural skin complexion, fights bacterial attack, and nourishes.

Drop your questions on the comment section. Subscribe to the blog to be notified on very useful soap tips.

You can enrol for our soap and detergent training on Whatsapp and Telegram. Get our comprehensive soap and detergent ebook.

Contact us on Whatsapp: +2347037263653

Odfid Technical Center, Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria.

How to Obtain a Very Smooth Bar Soap

Many do ask me what to add to soap to make it very smooth. A very smooth soap is a product of three things: 

1. Your oils 

2. Your water ratio. 

3. Your processing skill. 

 YOUR OILS 

 Oils play a very important role when it comes to texture of your finished soap. To be sure that you will have a smooth soap take a little quantity of the oil and react with half quantity of caustic soda solution. It it thickens fast then the quality of the oil is questionable. In this case you will have to reduce the quantity of caustic soda solution. It is always adviceable to test your oil each time you get a new stock from your vendor. 

YOUR WATER RATIO 

Also, when you are not having hydrometer to gauge concentration of your caustic soda rough soap is likely to occur. Some good caustic sodas at water ratio 1:2 gives strong concentration that thickens soap fast. A good hydrometer gauge to give you a smooth soap is at 1275. To be at safer side use caustic soda to water ratio of 1:3. 

YOUR PROCESSING SKILL 

When you overstir your soap you will have rough soap. Oftentimes many soap makers delay between adding raw materials during soap making. Many add fillers and bulking agents after the soap has already traced. Others continue stiring when the soap has reached trace. 

 In your next production, test your oils before use. If you have hydrometer be sure your caustic soda and soda ash are at 1275 gauge. If you do not have a hydrometer I would advise you to use ratio 1:3 hydrometer reading. If you are doing a cold process soap, mix all your bulking agents and fillers in one container such that you will have just three containers - your oil, caustic soda solution and soda ash solution with all other fillers and bulking agents in. 

 Drop your question here at the comment section. Like, Subscribe and Share this blog. I will be posting useful topics on soap making here and you will be notified. 

You can enrol for a full soap and detergent training online on Whatsapp and Telegram. Ebook on commercial soap and detergent training is on sale.

Contact me on Whatsapp: +2347037263653 Odfid Technical Center, Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria

YOU DO NOT NEED MUCH TO MAKE LAUNDRY BAR SOAP

I made this with just: 1. Oil: that provided the fatty acid: you can use either Palm Kernel Oil or bleached Palm Oil. It is adviceable to blend the oils so the soap will foam well and last. Use 70 percent bleached Palm Oil and 20percent good quality Palm Kernel Oil. (I will teach you later how to test for good quality Palm Kernel Oil). Use 1:4 ratio of caustic soda to oil. 2. Caustic soda: source of alkali. Use 1:2 caustic soda to water ratio and dissolve the caustic soda. Soak for two days. 3. Soda ash: to increase the size. Your soap can contain between 30 to 40 percent soda ash by volume of oil. 4. Liquid detergent: this is to prevent your soap mixture from separating. I reduces the surface tension and helps your mixture to be homogenous. Check my other write up on how to make a good liquid detergent. 5. Colour and perfume are optional. You don't need silicate and calcium carbonate as your soap will already be very hard. I didn't add any colour. For laundry soap, the question is does it foam? Does it last? Hope it doesn't itch? Is the texture marketable? Is it big with profit? Keep your chemical inventory low. Optimize size, quality, and profit.

DON'T ADD SODA ASH TO BATHING SOAP. STOP IT!

Soda ash is sodium carbonate and too much sodium in soap makes the soap harsh on the skin. Soda ash is a weak base added to increase the size of laundary soaps. A bathing soap (Toilet soap) must have more of potassium salt and little of sodium. Factory formulated Toilet Soaps contain Potassium Hydroxide and this gives you that gentle feel in the bath room ~ unlike sodium soaps that we use for laundary. By standard, a Toilet soap should have pH of about 9 while Laundary is 10. Total Fatty Matter in Toilet Soap should be up to 75percent. The standard is indeed high for Toilet soap because it is used to take care of the largest organ of the body ~ the skin. While fillers, bulking agents, foaming agents and hardeners, like soda ash, kaolin, SLS/Sulphonic acid, Silicate, and Calcium Carbonates, are permitted in laundary soaps, you must never put them in bathing soap. A bathing soap must be as natural as possible. An improperly prepared bathing soap may not have effect today but that is cancer (especially cervical) and other dermatological disorder waiting for the future. Use only oils and alkali to make your bathing soaps. Add perfumes and colours that are not carcinogenic. Palm Kernel Oil alone is not suitable for bathing soap ~ you need superfat. Blend the oil with Palm Oil, Coconut Oil or Sheabutter. Caustic soda alone is not suitable add potassium hydroxide. Formulate it well. The glycerol must be intact. Give it time to cure. A toilet soap must be gentle, soft, and supple. From: Odfid Technical Center

WASTE BATTERY RECYCLING

PORT HARCOURT SOOT: DON’T FEAR THAT BLACK STUFF THERE. BE AFRAID OF THE ONES YOU CANNOT SEE

By Idongesit F. Oduok Soot in Port Harcourt has been a cause for serious concern of recent. This is suspected to be from activities of those producing illegal fuels (bunker kerosene) at the creeks. I suppose the soot is as a result of them burning a portion of crude oil to generate energy to cook the crude to obtain kerosene etc. In industrial setting this is done in well designed furnaces to control the release of pollutants. But these folks at the creek are using crude method to distill crude oil to obtain crude kerosene, hence you see these pollutants in addition to the loss of lives of the masses from explosion of this their crude kerosene. Adverse air pollution may be divided into two classes – acute and chronic effects. Acute effects manifest themselves immediately upon short term exposure to air pollutants at high concentrations, and chronic effects become evident only after continuous exposure to low levels of air pollution. The chronic effects are very difficult to demonstrate and are consequently less obvious. Soot is classified as particulate. It is carbon released from the crude oil molecule due to incomplete combustion. Its effect is acute, as you can see and experience its presence almost immediately. The effect include general physical discomfort, skin irritation, damage to paint and aesthetic of both built and natural environment. Other effect includes upper respiratory tract infection. On the positive side, if you can lay hold on a good quantity of this soot you can use it to produce printer ink, paint, and other products that require carbon as feedstock. What should be our greatest fear? That black stuff you see there is a lesser evil compared to several other invisible pollutants you cannot see. In the midst of that black smoke are hundreds of unseen pollutants – they are colourless. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene and formaldehyde as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These unseen pollutants are highly carcinogenic. How bad can things be? In future Port Harcourt may turn out to be the cancer headquarters of the world if nothing is done urgently to address this mayhem. And the right time for action is now. (Idongesit Oduok works on achieving a pollution free environment. This he does by designing reactors that efficiently obtain energy and material resources from waste. 07037263653. odfidservices@gmail.com. odfidtechnicalworld.blogspot.com)

FOOD SAFETY: WHY YOU SHOULD DRINK SUGAR DRINKS AND NOT "NO SUGARS"

When you drink "no sugar" products they still taste sweet and even sweeter than sugars. Why? What is added there are sweeteners e.g. Aspartame or Saccharin. When you hear "no sugar" it is more of marketing term than safety. If you consume sugar in excess, worse that will happen is diabetes mellitus but if you consume sweeteners in excess you stand a chance of having cancer - a bigger devil. We need sugar in our body but I doubt if we need sweeteners. Sugars are natural chemicals while sweeteners are man-made. A small dose of sugar is good for you as it will be a primary source of energy. Good news is that you can burn it off completely if you are a hustlers - children are experts on this. Are you scared of diabetes? Only sugars that you can't burn off give diabetes. Meaning you consumed more than you needed. Mind you there are people that do not consume sugar but still have diabetes. Why? This type is due to imbalance of Antidiuretic hormone (ADH). In summary: Consume sugar not sweeteners. Do not take excess sugar. Honey, glucose are awesome for you.

LET ME COACH YOU ON HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY

I will be online to assist senior secondary school students on Chemistry. Go to comment, type or snap your questions. I am here to assist. Share with other kids

HOW IT WORKS: KEROSENE STOVE

This is kerosene stove. How do you use it? You put kerosene in the tank and leave space above the kerosene so you fill air. You lock the kerosene inlet. Pour little amount of spirit (alcohol, methylated spirit, or little amount of kerosene) around the lower part of the burner, light it and allow some time for the burner to heat up. Pump air into the kerosene champers, with the help of pump attached - Pump there work like that of bicycle. The air/kerosene mixture will burn to give flame without smoke. Anyone that has the stove should advertise in the comment section here. Whoever needs the stove should indicate interest. Ask any question you have on the technical aspect of this product.

SUCCESSFUL: BIOMASS WASTE TO ALCOHOL

Alcohol has many applications in the industry – as fuel, in producing diethyl ether, for sterilization etc. Two major methods of producing alcohol are hydrolysis of ethene and fermentation of glucose. Glucose is an expensive feedstock hence other carbohydrates are used. The good news is we can now produce alcohol from biomass wastes such as sugarcane bagasse and sawdust. In a research that I provided Technical Assistance at my Center, we were able to breakdown the lignin that hindered access to cellulose in these wastes, did chemical hydrolysis and then fermented the reducing sugar to alcohol. Physico-chemical analysis as well as GC-MS/FTIR result confirmed the claim. At Odfid Technical Center we conduct trial experiments at our lab, develop research proposal before a study is advanced to specialized laboratories for analysis, then we analyze results using Excel and MATLAB. Ongoing environmental researches we are assisting include converting biomass waste to biogas and biopolymer, development of adsorbent, design of batch reactor, combustor, and adsorber. “Odfid … Ensuring competence.” 07037263653

MY HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY KIDS MADE THIS SALT

 

The attached picture made my day.

A group of SS2 students in one of the schools I visit to teach Chemistry came excitedly, "Sir, we have produced our own salt. We would not buy salt again in the market."

 

I taught them in SS1 SEPARATION TECHNIQUES that you can obtain salt (NaCl) by evaporating sea water to dryness.

 

The students now secretly arranged for one of them to visit Ibeno water and get sample of the seawater which they evaporated to dryness and here comes our locally made salt.

Qualitative Analysis: The salt produced on exposure to air was found to be deliquescent - attracts water from the atmosphere to dissolve itself. It dissolves completely in water. The solution of the salt gave white precipitate when tested with solution of silver nitrate, the precipitate was insoluble in nitric acid (confirmatory test for chlorides)

This indeed is very rewarding as it has been my expectation to help this young minds to begin now to figure out ways of harnessing our natural resources.

While I will continue with the work of purifying the product at my private technical center, I have advised them that the salt need to be purified to remove carbonates and other non-sodium halides etc.

We would in the present state use the salt as preservative for our emulsion paint, we would use it for laboratory test for chlorides and to demonstrate removal of hardness of water (water softening by ion exchange).

My philosophy of high school chemistry is to let them understand the theory, carry out the laboratory practicals, and apply the knowledge to do mini projects.

 

CURRENT JOBS: APPLY IMMEDIATELY

 

1. DANGOTE JOB

2. NAMPAK NIGERIA LIMITED - Chemical and Electrical Engineers (Degree/HND)

Nampak Nigeria Limited - We are a frontline multinational manufacturing company with clientele cutting across the major sector of the economy.

Applications are invited for:

Title: 2022 Graduate Trainee Program

Location: Nigeria

Requirements

BSc - 2nd Class Upper or HND - distinction

Chemical or Electrical Engineering

0 year work experience

Not older than 25 years of age by January 2022

Application Closing Date

15th October, 2021.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: bevcan.hr@nampak.com using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

3. GRACECO LIMITED

Technical Operator (Functional Trainee)

Company: Graceco Limited

Location: Lagos

Job Summary

We are searching for a smart and well-focused Engineering graduate to join our team as a Functional trainee who will be in charge of specific machine on the production.

The person will operate the machine and ensure it is working optimally.

To be successful as a trainee engineer, you should always be expanding your engineering knowledge and sharpening your communication skills.

Requirements

Graduate of Electrical Engineering, 2.1 or better

0 - 2 years work experience.

Post degree training from Institute like IIT would be added advantage

Applicants under age of 30 are preferred.

Applicant who resides within Ikeja, Agege, Ipaja, Otta, Alagbado and environs will have added advantage.

Applicant must be knowledgeable about basic TPM knowledge, autonomous maintenance step 1,2,3 is preferable.

Basic computer skills (windows, excel) is preferable to enter performance results in the related database.

HACCP & Hygiene oriented.

Apply here:

https://lnkd.in/esPrvXKe

SS3 CHEMISTRY LESSON NOTE: PETROLEUM REFINING

 

1.0     Introduction

Fractional distillation is the process by which oil refineries separate crude oil into different, more useful hydrocarbon products based on their relative molecular weights in a distillation tower. This is the first step in the processing of crude oil, and it is considered to be the main separation process as it performs the initial rough separation of the different fuels. The different components that are separated out during this process are known as fractions. Fractions that are separated out include gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and bitumen. Fractional distillation allows a lot of useful products to be made from crude oil, with many environmental consequences for the use of those useful products

1.1     Process

The process of fractional distillation is fairly simple, but is powerful in the way that it separates all the different, complex components of crude oil. First, the crude oil is heated to vapourize it and is fed into the bottom of a distillation tower. The resulting vapour then rises through the vertical column. As the gases rise through the tower, the temperature decreases. As the temperature decreases, certain hydrocarbons begin to condense and run off at different levels. Each fraction that condenses off at a certain level contains hydrocarbon molecules with a similar number of carbon atoms. These boiling point 'cuts' allow several hydrocarbons to be separated out in a single process. It is this cooling with the height of the tower that allows for the separation.

After this rough refinement, individual fuels may undergo more refinement to remove any contaminants or undesirable substances, or to improve the quality of the fuel through cracking.

1.1.1  Fractions of petroleum

There are several ways of classifying the useful fractions that are distilled from crude oil. One general way is by dividing into three categories: light, middle, and heavy fractions. Heavier components condense at higher temperatures and are removed at the bottom of the column. The lighter fractions are able to rise higher in the column before they are cooled to their condensing temperature, allowing them to be removed at slightly higher levels. In addition to this, the fractions have the following properties:

• Light distillate is one of the more important fractions, and its products have boiling points around 70-200°C. Useful hydrocarbons in this range include gasoline, naphta (a chemical feedstock), kerosene, jet fuel, and paraffin. These products are highly volatile, have small molecules, have low boiling points, flow easily, and ignite easily.
• Medium distillate are products that have boiling points of 200-350°C. Products in this range include diesel fuel and gas oil - used in the manufacturing of town gas and for commercial heating.
• Heavy distillates are the products with the lowest volatility and have boiling points above 350°C. These fractions can be solid or semi-solid and may need to be heated in order to flow. Fuel oil is produced in this fraction. These products have large molecules, a low volatility, flow poorly, and do not ignite easily.

However, there are two major components that are not accounted for in these three categories. At the very top of the tower are the gases that are too volatile to condense,such as propane and butane. At the bottom are the "residuals" that contain heavy tars too dense to rise up the tower, including bitumen and other waxes. To further distill these they undergo steam or vacuum distillation as they are very useful.

1.2     Locations of petroleum refinery in Nigeria

The downstream industry in Nigeria is well established. NNPC has four refineries, two in Port Harcourt (PHRC), and one each in Kaduna (KRPC) and Warri (WRPC). The refineries have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 bpd. A comprehensive network of pipelines and depots strategically located throughout Nigeria links these refineries. 

Cracking of hydrocarbons

The process of breaking higher hydrocarbons with high boiling points into a variety of lower hydrocarbons that are more volatile (low boiling), is called cracking (or pyrolysis). For example, a higher hydrocarbon C₁₀H₂₂ splits according to the reaction.

The process of cracking, increases the relative amounts of the lower hydrocarbons. During cracking, carbon-carbon bonds get broken in a random manner, leading to various kinds of products being formed.

Types of cracking

Thermal cracking

Breaking down large molecules by heating at high temperature and pressure is termed as thermal cracking. Thermal cracking is further classified into the following classes.

• Liquid phase thermal cracking process: The higher boiling fractions e.g., fuel oil, lubricating oil are converted into low boiling fractions by heating the liquids at a temperature of 750 K, under a pressure of about 10 atmosphere.

• Vapor phase thermal cracking process: Low boiling fraction e.g., kerosene is cracked in the vapor phase at a temperature of about 875 K and under a pressure of 3 atmosphere.

Catalytic cracking

Higher hydrocarbons can also be cracked at lower temperature (600 - 650 K) and lower pressure (2 atm) in the presence of a suitable catalyst. Catalytic cracking produces gasoline of higher octane number and therefore this method is used for obtaining better quality gasoline. A typical catalyst used for this purpose is a mixture of silica (SiO₂), 4 parts; alumina (Al₂O₃), 1 part, and manganese-dioxide (MnO₂), 1 part.

Steam cracking

Here, higher hydrocarbons are mixed with steam in their vapor phase and heated for a short duration to about 900°C, and cooled rapidly. This process is suitable for obtaining lower unsaturated hydrocarbons.

1.3     Reforming

Reforming, in chemistry, processing technique by which the molecular structure of a hydrocarbon is rearranged to alter its properties. The process is frequently applied to low-quality gasoline stocks to improve their combustion characteristics. Thermal reforming alters the properties of low-grade naphthas by converting the molecules into those of higher octane number by exposing the materials to high temperatures and pressures. Catalytic reforming uses a catalyst, usually platinum, to produce a similar result. Mixed with hydrogen, naphtha is heated and passed over pellets of catalyst in a series of reactors, under high pressure, producing high-octane gasoline.

Reforming or aromatisation involves the conversion of open chain (aliphatic) hydrocarbons and/or cycloalkanes in the presence of a catalyst, into aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes) containing the same number of carbon atoms. Aromatisation involves reactions of the type, dehydrogenation, cyclisation, and isomerisation.

In reforming (or aromatisation), cyclic and acyclic alkanes containing six to eight carbon atoms are heated at about 670 K in the presence of palladium, platinum or nickel as catalyst. Platinum seems to be the best catalyst and so the process is sometimes called platforming.

NLNG IS EMPLOYING HND ENGINEERING GRADUATES

 JOB VACANCY

We seek to engage suitably qualified candidates for employment into the following positions:

​

1.    TRAINEE OPERATOR (PO/2021/001)

The Job Objective: To carry out daily field operational activities in the assigned plant area in a safe and efficient manner; contributing to steady and sustained production in line with daily production targets.

2.    TRAINEE TECHNICIAN (PM/2021/001)

The Job Objective: To execute Field or Workshop Maintenance tasks, to meet work Programs, safety requirements, and quality standards in order to ensure plant integrity, reliability and availability in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

Both positions are located in Bonny Island, Rivers State. 

The Person:

1. To be eligible to apply for the TRAINEE OPERATOR position, candidate should:

• ​​​Possess a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Chemical, Process, Instrumentation, Mechanical or Electronics /Electrical Engineering, obtained at a minimum of Upper Credit Level

​​​2. To be eligible to apply for the TRAINEE TECHNICIAN position, candidate should:

• ​​​​Possess a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics), Metallurgy, Instrumentation Engineering obtained at a minimum of Upper Credit Level

For both positions, in addition to the requirements above, candidates should:

• Be able to demonstrate proficiency in information technology
• Have completed NYSC not earlier than year 2018

​During application, please note the following:

• For best user experience, do not use Mobile Phones. Only make use of laptops and desktops
• Ensure you have any of the following Supported Internet browsers
•  Microsoft Internet Explorer - 11.0 & later
• Mozilla Firefox - 63.0 & later    
• Apple Safari – 6.2 & later
• Google Chrome – 68.0 & later

All interested prospective applicants should:

A. Log on to www.nigerialng.com 

B. Click on “Careers”

C. Click on “Current Vacancies”

D. Click on “Register with Us” on Related Links to register

E. Click on “Login to Job Portal” on Related Links 

F. Search and click on the position to access the details and apply

G. Attach /upload copies of relevant certificates along with application - on the Job Portal

Attachment of the underlisted documents is mandatory:

1. Government issued Birth Certificate
2. Copies of Tertiary education certificates
3. Copies of Secondary education certificates
4. Copies of Primary education certificates
5. NYSC completion certificate

If you have an​y challenges , please write to ​Opstech.Recruitment202122@nlng.com for support. ​

                                                                  IMPORTANT NOTE

• NLNG DOES NOT DEMAND PAYMENT FROM APPLICANTS as the application is entirely FREE OF CHARGE
• NLNG DOES NOT ASSIGN AGENTS to assist applicants in processing applications
• Applications open 21st September 2021 and closes 12th October 2021
• Only successful candidates at each stage of the exercise will be contacted
  
• Only applications completed via the NLNG JOB PORTAL are valid
• Any false information provided during or after the application process will lead to the outright disqualification of such candidate(s)

To commence application click: https://www.nigerialng.com/Careers/Pages/Current-Vacancies.aspx

EXXONMOBIL WANTS TO EMPLOY A LITIGATION ATTORNEY

 

Job Role Summary

 

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (“MPN”), an ExxonMobil affiliate incorporated in Nigeria, is one of the largest crude oil and natural gas producers in Nigeria. MPN is looking for an attorney with strong litigation experience to manage a varied docket of commercial, environmental, land and tort matters. The attorney will handle a variety of matters and will work independently with supervision that is appropriate for the attorney’s level of experience. 

Job Role Responsibilities

 

Actively manage a wide docket of commercial, environmental, land and tort matters, including responsibility for case strategy, legal analysis, witness preparation, depositions, judicial proceedings (hearings, trials, appeals, etc.).

Provide legal counsel and support as needed on various risk management issues.

Coordinate and interface with outside counsel to ensure proper handling of matters where outside counsel is retained.

Handle a significant case load (volume and complexity).

Review documents and pleadings as relevant and necessary associated with the above matters.

Communicate with and advise business clients and law management regarding case status and key milestones.

Work and coordinate with, and provide and seek advice from, other lawyers.

Expected Level of Proficiency

 

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) and – minimum of Second Class Honours (Upper Division).

Barrister at Law (B.L) from the Nigerian Law School and licensed to practice in Nigeria.

Strong academic record, a Master’s Degree in Law will be an added advantage.

Strong research and analytical skills.

Highest ethical standards and integrity.

Strong interpersonal and communication (oral and written) skills.

Ability to exercise sound business judgment and work both independently and as part of an integrated legal team.

At least Ten (10) years of post-call legal experience, all (or substantially all) of which is in litigation.

Preference for energy industry experience.

Experience in handling and managing significant and complex litigation matters.

Knowledge of Civil Procedure and Rules of Evidence.

Ability to travel domestically, as needed.

 

Alternate Location:  

Conditions of Employment

Successful candidates will be made a conditional offer of employment. The conditions include, but are not limited to: a satisfactory criminal records disclosure; satisfactory employment references over five years (where applicable); verification of qualifications, including any professional accreditation stated in the application; completion of a pre-employment medical, including a test for illicit or unprescribed drugs in accordance with the Company's safety policies; and the legal right to work on the agreed commencement date.

 

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

ExxonMobil and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (“MPN”), an ExxonMobil affiliate incorporated in Nigeria, are equal opportunity employers and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. All applicants are offered equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities during our recruitment processes, therefore, please contact the Recruitment Team if you wish to discuss any particular requirements to enable you to complete our recruitment process.

https://jobs.exxonmobil.com/ExxonMobil/job/Lagos-Litigation-Attorney-LA/789733900/?from=email&refid=8798441900&utm_source=J2WEmail&source=2&eid=99500-202122190122-16855596900&locale=en_US