中英文文献以及翻译

Foreign material

：

Chemical

Industry

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

warⅠin

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, .

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,

.,

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 thi

s 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 soci

ety’s need for a chemical industry. Our approach in

answering the question will be to consider the industry’s contribution

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, ., 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, . by curing bacterial infections with antibiotics, and even

extending life itself, .

?

–

blockers to lower blood pressure.

(3)Clothing.

The

improvement

in

properties

of

modern

synthetic

fibers

over

the

traditional

clothing

materials

.

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 developments in the discovery of modern synthetic dyes and the

technology to “bond” them 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, ., 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

.

they

are

resistant

to

weathering

and

do

not

need

painting).

Other

polymers,

.

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.

Likewise

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