A History Of Industrial Chemistry

Written for the scholar, the layman, and the industrialist.

Fred Aftalion's international perspective of the history of chemistry integrates the story of chemical science with that of chemical industry. This new edition includes events from 1990 to 2000, when major companies began selling off their divisions, seeking to specialize in a particular business. Aftalion explores the pitfalls these companies encountered as well as the successes of "contrarians"--those companies that remained broad and diversified. He uses BASF, Dow, and Bayer as examples of true contrarians.

There have been several attempts to write the history of Britain's chemical industry as a whole, and countless others concentrating on individual companies. Some have looked at the technical aspects of the industry, whilst others have addressed economic issues. Few have, however, attempted to analyse the effects of the chemical industry on society in general. The current environmental crisis can only be fully understood in the light of its history. This is the first such book to look critically at the whole development of industrial chemistry in the UK in the context of its effects on the environment. No one from industry, government or academia can afford to be unaware of the historical roots of our present dilemma. Industrial chemists can take heart from the realization that their predecessors were remarkably aware of the problems and often found satisfactory solutions. Industrial chemistry has traditionally been seen as the great 'polluter'. Without any attempts at 'whitewash' this book puts the record straight. From academic chemist to industrialist to politician, Chemistry, Society and Environment: A New History of the British Chemical Industry will be of relevance to all those concerned with the social and environmental impact of the chemical industry.

The aim of this book is to present in a single volume an up-to-date account of the chemistry and chemical engineering which underlie the major areas of the chemical process industry. This most recent edition includes several new chapters which comprise important threads in the industry's total fabric. These new chapters cover waste minimization, safety considerations in chemical plant design and operation, emergency response planning, and statistical applications in quality control and experimental planning. Together with the chapters on chemical industry economics and wastewater treatment~ they provide a unifying base on which the reader can most effectively apply the information provided in the chapters which describe the various areas of the chemical process industries. The ninth edition of this established reference work contains the contributions of some fifty experts from industry, government, and academe. I have been humbled by the breadth and depth of their knowledge and expertise and by the willingness and enthusiasm with which they shared their knowledge and insights. They have, without exception, been unstinting in their efforts to make their respective chapters as complete and informative as possible within the space available. Errors of omission, duplication, and shortcomings in organization are mine. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the editors of technical journals and publishing houses for permission to reproduce illustrations and other materials and to the many industrial concerns which contributed drawings and photographs. Comments and criticisms by readers will be welcome.

Background This book provides an introduction to the main sectors of the chemical industry, and complements An Introduction to Industrial Chemistry (sub sequently referred to as Volume I) which covers the physico-chemical principles of the subject, as well as introductory technical economics and chemical engineering. Processes considered include the large-scale production of polymers (up to 1000 tonnes per day for a single plant); the chlor-alkali, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus industries; and the production, on a smaller scale, of dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The rapidly developing area of biotech nology is dealt with under biological catalysis. The consequences of scale of operation are also highlighted in Chapter 7. Each chapter includes common themes, such as brief history, present position, major products and the future. The final chapter links together the predictions made for the future of each sector, to give an overall projection for the whole chemical industry; the quadrupling of oil prices in 1974 and the widespread recession at the beginning of the 1980s provide a salutary lesson about the difficulty of such projections.