The American Synthetic Organic Chemicals Industry

American Synthetic Organic Chemicals Industry: War and Politics, 1910-1930

An essential introduction to the organic chemicals industry—in the context of globalization, advances in technology, and environmental concerns Providing 95 percent of the 500 billion pounds of organic chemicals produced in the world, the petroleum and natural gas industries are responsible for products that ensure our present quality of life. Products as diverse as gasoline, plastics, detergents, fibers, pesticides, tires, lipstick, shampoo, and sunscreens are based on seven raw materials derived from petroleum and natural gas. In an updated and expanded Third Edition, Industrial Organic Chemicals examines why each of these chemical building blocks—ethylene, propylene, C4 olefins (butenes and butadiene), benzene toluene, the xylenes, and methane—is preferred over another in the context of an environmental issue or manufacturing process, as well as their individual chemistry, derivatives, method of manufacture, uses, and economic significance. The new edition details the seismic shifts in the world's chemistry industry away from the United States, Western Europe and Japan, transforming the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region, especially China, into major players. The book also details: The impact of globalization on the patterns of worldwide transportation of chemicals, including methods of shipping chemicals The technological advances in the area of polymerization and catalysis, including catalyst design and single-site catalysts Chemicals for electronics, with much new material on conducting polymers, photovoltaic cells, and related materials The discovery of vast reserves of shale gas and shale oil, altering long-term predictions of resource depletion in the United States and other countries Commercial and market aspects of the chemical industry, with coverage of emerging new companies such as INEOS, Formosa Plastics, LyondellBasell, and SABIC With expanded coverage on the vital role of green chemistry, renewables, chemicals and fuels on issues of sustainability and climate change, Industrial Organic Chemicals offers an unparalleled examination of what is at the heart of this multi-billion dollar industry, how globalization has transformed it, and its ever growing role in preserving the Earth and its resources.

A comprehensive survey of industrial organic chemicals, their useful properties, and the economic rationale for the dominant synthetic pathways. This practical guide explains where these organic building blocks of the chemical industry come from, how to make them on a commercial scale, how to price them, and how to analyze trends in demand and production of any given material. Coverage ranges from how and why different processes originated to the latest developments in high-value-added specialty chemicals.

This book broadly describes the polymer industry and industrial catalysts, essential topics for understanding the chemical industry. In addition, it covers the largest commodity-organic chemicals made. These chemicals account for billions of dollars in revenue per year in the U.S. alone.

Prior to 1914, Germany dominated the worldwide production of synthetic organic dyes and pharmaceuticals like aspirin. When World War I disrupted the supply of German chemicals to the United States, American entrepreneurs responded to the shortages and high prices by trying to manufacture chemicals domestically. Learning the complex science and industry, however, posed a serious challenge. This book explains how the United States built a synthetic organic chemicals industry in World War I and the 1920s. Kathryn Steen argues that Americans' intense anti-German sentiment in World War I helped to forge a concentrated effort among firms, the federal government, and universities to make the United States independent of "foreign chemicals." Besides mobilization efforts to make high explosives and war gases, federal policies included protective tariffs, gathering and publishing market information, and, most dramatically, confiscation of German-owned chemical subsidiaries and patents. Meanwhile, firms and universities worked hard to develop scientific and manufacturing expertise. Against a backdrop of hostilities and intrigue, Steen shows how chemicals were deeply entwined with national and international politics and policy during the war and subsequent isolationism of the turbulent early twentieth century.