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Foreign material
：
Chemical
Industry
s of
the Chemical Industry
Although
the
use
of
chemicals
dates
back
to
the
ancient
civilizations,
the
evolution
of
what
we
know
as
the
modern
chemical
industry
started
much
more
recently. It may be considered to have
begun during the Industrial Revolution, about
1800, and developed to provide
chemicals roe use by other industries. Examples
are
alkali for soapmaking, bleaching
powder for cotton, and silica and sodium carbonate
for glassmaking. It will be noted that
these are all inorganic chemicals. The organic
chemicals
industry
started
in
the
1860s
with
the
exploitation
of
William
Henry
Perkin’s discovery if the first
synthetic dyestuff—
mauve. At the start
of the twentieth
century the emphasis
on research on the applied aspects of chemistry in
Germany had
paid
off
handsomely,
and
by
1914
had
resulted
in
the
German
chemical
industry
having
75%
of
the
world
market
in
chemicals.
This
was
based
on
the
discovery
of
new dyestuffs plus the development of
both the contact process for sulphuric acid and
the
Haber
process
for
ammonia.
The
later
required
a
major
technological
breakthrough that of being
able to
carry out
chemical
reactions
under
conditions
of
very
high
pressure
for
the
first
time.
The
experience
gained
with
this
was
to
stand
Germany
in
good
stead,
particularly
with
the
rapidly
increased
demand
for
nitrogen-based
compounds
(ammonium
salts
for
fertilizers
and
nitric
acid
for
explosives
manufacture)
with
the
outbreak
of
world
war
Ⅰ
in
1914.
This
initiated
profound changes
which continued during the inter-war years
(1918-1939).
Since 1940 the chemical
industry has grown at a remarkable rate, although
this
has slowed significantly in recent
years. The lion’s share of this growth
has been in
the organic chemicals
sector due to the development and growth of the
petrochemicals
area
since
1950s.
The
explosives
growth
in
petrochemicals
in
the
1960s
and
1970s
was
largely due to the enormous increase in demand for
synthetic polymers such as
polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon,
polyesters and epoxy resins.
The
chemical industry today is a very diverse sector
of manufacturing industry,
within which
it plays a central role. It makes thousands of
different chemicals which
the
general
public
only
usually
encounter
as
end
or
consumer
products.
These
products are purchased because they
have the required properties which make them
suitable
for
some
particular
application,
e.g.
a
non-stick
coating
for
pans
or
a
weedkiller.
Thus chemicals are ultimately sold for the effects
that they produce.
2.
Definition of the Chemical Industry
At
the turn of the century there would have been
little difficulty in defining what
constituted
the
chemical
industry
since
only
a
very
limited
range
of
products
was
manufactured and these
were clearly chemicals, e.g., alkali, sulphuric
acid. At present,
however, many
intermediates to products produced, from raw
materials like crude oil
through (in
some cases) many intermediates to products which
may be used directly
as consumer goods,
or readily converted into them. The difficulty
cones in deciding at
which point in
this sequence the particular operation ceases to
be part of the chemical
industry’s
sphere
of
activities.
To
consider
a
specific
example
to
illustrate
this
dilemma,
emulsion
paints
may
contain
poly
(vinyl
chloride)
/
poly
(vinyl
acetate).
Clearly, synthesis
of vinyl chloride (or acetate)
and its polymerization are chemical
activities. However, if formulation and
mixing of the paint, including the polymer, is
carried out by a branch of the
multinational chemical company which manufactured
the ingredients, is this still part of
the chemical industry of does it mow belong in the
decorating industry?
It
is
therefore
apparent
that,
because
of
its
diversity
of
operations
and
close
links in many areas
with other industries, there is no simple
definition of the chemical
industry.
Instead
each
official
body
which
collects
and
publishes
statistics
on
manufacturing industry will have its
definition as to which operations are classified
as
the chemical industry. It is
important to bear this in mind when comparing
statistical
information which is
derived from several sources.
3. The Need for Chemical Industry
The chemical industry is concerned with
converting raw materials, such as crude
oil,
firstly
into
chemical
intermediates
and
then
into
a
tremendous
variety
of
other
chemicals. These are then used to
produce consumer products, which make our lives
more comfortable or, in some cases such
as pharmaceutical produces, help to maintain
our well-being or even life itself. At
each stage of these operations value is added to
the produce and provided this added
exceeds the raw material plus processing costs
then
a
profit
will
be
made
on
the
operation.
It
is
the
aim
of
chemical
industry
to
achieve this.
It
may
seem
strange
in
textbook
this
one
to
pose
the
question
“do
we
need
a
chemical
industry?”
However
trying
to
answer
this
question
will
provide(
ⅰ
)
an
indication of the range
of the chemical industry’s activities,
(
ⅱ
) its influence on our
lives in everyday terms, and
(
ⅲ
) how great is society’s
need for a chemical industry.
Our
approach in answering the question will be to
consider the industry’s co
ntribution
to meeting and satisfying our major
needs. What are these? Clearly food (and drink)
and health are paramount. Other which
we shall consider in their turn are clothing and
(briefly) shelter, leisure and
transport.
(1)Food. The chemical
industry makes a major contribution to food
production in
at least three ways.
Firstly, by making available large quantities of
artificial fertilizers
which are used
to replace the elements (mainly nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium)
which
are
removed
as
nutrients
by
the
growing
crops
during
modern
intensive
farming. Secondly,
by manufacturing crop protection chemicals, i.e.,
pesticides, which
markedly
reduce
the
proportion
of
the
crops
consumed
by
pests.
Thirdly,
by
producing
veterinary
products
which
protect
livestock
from
disease
or
cure
their
infections.
(2)Health. We are all aware of the
major contribution which the pharmaceutical
sector of the industry has made to
help
keep us
all
healthy, e.g. by curing bacterial
infections
with
antibiotics,
and
even
extending
life
itself,
e.g.
?
–
blockers
to
lower
blood
pressure.
(3)Clothing. The improvement
in properties of modern synthetic fibers over the
traditional clothing materials (e.g.
cotton and wool) has been quite remarkable. Thus
shirts,
dresses
and
suits
made
from
polyesters
like
Terylene
and
polyamides
like
Nylon are crease-resistant, machine-
washable, and drip-dry or non-iron. They are also
cheaper
than
natural
el
developments
in
the
discovery
of
modern
synthetic
dyes
and
the
technology
to
“bond”
th
em
to
the
fiber
has
resulted
in
a
tremendous increase in the
variety of colors available to the fashion
designer. Indeed
they now span almost
every color and hue of the visible spectrum.
Indeed if a suitable
shade is not
available, structural modification of an existing
dye to achieve this can
readily
be
carried
out,
provided
there
is
a
satisfactory
market
for
the
major advances in this
sphere have been in color-fastness, i.e.,
resistance to the dye
being washed out
when the garment is cleaned.
(4)Shelter, leisure and transport. In
terms of shelter the contribution of modern
synthetic
polymers
has
been
substantial.
Plastics
are
tending
to
replace
traditional
building materials like wood because
they are lighter, maintenance-free (i.e. they are
resistant
to
weathering
and
do
not
need
painting).
Other
polymers,
e.g.
urea-formaldehyde and polyurethanes,
are important insulating materials f or reducing
heat losses and hence reducing energy
usage.
Plastics
and
polymers
have
made
a
considerable
impact
on
leisure
activities
with
applications
ranging
from
all-weather
artificial
surfaces
for
athletic
tracks,
football pitches and
tennis courts to nylon strings for racquets and
items like golf balls
and footballs
made entirely from synthetic materials.
Like
wise the chemical
industry’s contribution to transport over the
years has led
to
major
improvements.
Thus development
of improved additives like anti-
oxidants
and viscosity index improves
for engine oil has enabled routine servicing
intervals to
increase from 3000 to 6000
to 12000 miles. Research and development work has
also
resulted in improved lubricating
oils and greases, and better brake fluids. Yet
again the
contribution of polymers and
plastics has been very striking with the
proportion of the
total
automobile
derived
from
these
materi
als
—
dashboard,
steering
wheel,
seat
padding and covering
etc.
—
now exceeding 40%.
So
it
is
quite
apparent
even
from
a
brief
look
at
the
chemical
industry’s
contribution to
meeting our major needs that life in the world
would be very different
without the
products of the industry. Indeed the level of a
country’s development may
be
judged
by
the
production
level
and
sophistication
of
its
chemical
industry4.
Research and
Development
(R&D) in
Chemical Industries
One of
the main reasons for the rapid growth of the
chemical industry in the
developed
world
has
been
its
great
commitment
to,
and
investment
in
research
and
development
(R&D). A
typical
figure is
5% of sales income, with
this figure being
almost
doubled for the most research intensive sector,
pharmaceuticals. It is important
to
emphasize that we are quoting percentages here not
of profits but of sales income,
i.e.
the
total
money
received,
which
has
to
pay
for
raw
materials,
overheads,
staff
salaries, etc. as
well. In the past this tremendous investment has
paid off well, leading
to
many
useful
and
valuable
products
being
introduced
to
the
market.
Examples