How the chemical industry has progressed and changed over time

This article briefly introduces the history of the chemical industry. How the chemical industry has progressed and changed over time. Explore the history of the chemical industry from its early days to the 21st century. Chemical products have been manufactured for thousands of years. The history of the chemical industry can be traced back to ancient times, when alkali and limestone were combined to make glass. Sulfur and saltpeter became an explosive similar to modern gunpowder.Chemical products have been manufactured for thousands of years. The history of the chemical industry can be traced back to ancient times, when alkali and limestone were combined to make glass. Sulfur and saltpeter became an explosive similar to modern gunpowder. As early as 7000 BC, Middle Eastern craftsmen began to extract alkali and limestone for the production of glass, and the Phoenicians began to produce soap in the 6th century BC. The Chinese invented black powder around the 10th century, and it was used as a primitive explosive. In the Middle Ages, alchemists produced small amounts of chemicals. By 1635, pilgrims in Massachusetts had begun to produce saltpeter for gunpowder and chemicals for tanning. However, a large-scale chemical industry developed for the first time in the 19th century.The emergence of the chemical industry as an independent branch is connected with the industrial revolution. The first sulphuric acid plants were built in England (Richmond) in 1740, France (Rouen) in 1766, Russia (Moscow Province) in 1805, and Germany (near Leipzig) in 1810. The development of the textile and glass industries prompted the start of soda production. The first soda plants were built in France (near Paris) in 1793, Britain (Liverpool) in 1823, Germany (Schönebeck) in 1843, and Russia (Barnaul) in 1864. In the mid-nineteenth century, artificial fertilizer factories appeared in Britain (1842), Germany (1867), and Russia (1892).

In 1823, British entrepreneur James Muspratt began mass production of baking soda (used to make soap and glass) using a process developed by Nicolas Leblanc in 1790. The further development of organic chemistry in the second half of the 19th century allowed companies to produce synthetic dyes from coal tar, which were used in the textile industry as early as the 1850s. In the 1890s, German companies began mass production of sulfuric acid. At the same time, chemical companies began to use electrolysis, which required large amounts of electricity and salt to produce caustic soda and chlorine.It was not until the 19th century that the progress of organic chemistry made it possible to produce synthetic dyes from coal tar, and the coal tar industry began to develop on a large scale. By World War II, the United States began to use petrochemical products to produce plastics and fibers. Petrochemical products are chemical products extracted from petroleum or natural gas. Polymer science and chemical engineering are becoming the driving force of this industry. Polymer science uses petrochemical products to make products such as plastics, resins, paints, and adhesives. Chemical engineering makes the production of this product possible, and the cost is low enough to be profitable. After World War II, the industry experienced a shift from organic chemicals (such as coal) to the production of petrochemical products.

In the first three-quarters of the 19th century, Britain established extensive links with many countries in the world in the trade of raw materials. The early formation of developed industries put Britain in a leading position in chemical production. By the end of this century, the leadership of the industry had shifted to Germany. The rapid progress of the concentration of the chemical industry, the high level of technological development, the strengthening of patent monopolies, and commercial politics led Germany to conquer the world market. Until the First World War, it had monopolized the production of organic dyes and intermediates. The development of the chemical industry in the United States was much later than in European countries, but as early as 1913, the United States ranked first in the world in chemical production due to its extremely rich mineral resources, advanced transportation system and huge domestic market. And learn from the experience of other countries.The introduction of man-made fibers in 1914 changed the textile industry; in 1909, Cyanamid Company of the United States introduced synthetic fertilizers, which triggered a green revolution in agriculture and greatly increased the output of crops. With the advancement of plastic manufacturing technology, celluloid was invented in 1869, and DuPont also invented nylon and other products in 1928. Research on organic chemistry in the 1910s led the company to start producing chemicals for petroleum in the 1920s and 1930s. https://www.echemi.com/