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Chemical industry: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Chemical industry
The first practical large-scale production of sulfuric acid began in 1736 when pharmacist Joshua Ward developed a process involving heating sulfur with saltpeter to allow oxidation and combination with water. This breakthrough laid the groundwork for the heavy chemical industry, which emerged alongside the Industrial Revolution. In 1749, John Roebuck and Samuel Garbett established the first large-scale factory in Prestonpans, Scotland, utilizing leaden condensing chambers to manufacture sulfuric acid. By the early 18th century, cloth bleaching relied on stale urine or sour milk exposed to sunlight for extended periods, creating severe production bottlenecks. Sulfuric acid and lime replaced these inefficient methods, but it was Charles Tennant's discovery of bleaching powder that truly revolutionized the sector. Tennant's powder, created by reacting chlorine with dry slaked lime, was cheap and effective. He opened the St Rollox Chemical Works north of Glasgow, where production surged from just 52 tons in 1799 to nearly 10,000 tons within five years, making it the largest chemical enterprise in the world at the time.
The Soda Ash Wars
Soda ash has been used since ancient times to produce glass, textiles, soap, and paper, yet the traditional source of potash from wood ashes became uneconomical by the 18th century due to deforestation. The French Academy of Sciences offered a prize of 2400 livres for a method to produce alkali from sea salt, which Nicolas Leblanc patented in 1791. Leblanc built a plant at Saint-Denis but was denied his prize money due to the French Revolution. In Britain, William Losh established the first soda works in 1816 on the River Tyne, though large tariffs on salt production kept operations small until 1824. Once these tariffs were repealed, the British soda industry expanded rapidly. James Muspratt's chemical works in Liverpool and Charles Tennant's complex near Glasgow became the largest chemical production centers globally. By the 1870s, British soda output reached 200,000 tons annually, exceeding the combined total of all other nations. These massive factories initially vented alkaline waste into the environment, prompting one of the first pieces of environmental legislation in 1863 to inspect factories and impose heavy fines for pollution. The Solvay process, developed by Belgian industrial chemist Ernest Solvay in 1861, offered a more economical and less polluting alternative. Solvay and his brother Alfred constructed a plant in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1864, expanding to Nancy, France, in 1874. Ludwig Mond acquired the rights to use the process and, with John Brunner, formed Brunner, Mond & Co., building a plant at Winnington, England, where Mond refined the method between 1873 and 1880 to remove inhibiting byproducts.
The Synthetic Revolution
Common questions
When did the first practical large-scale production of sulfuric acid begin?
The first practical large-scale production of sulfuric acid began in 1736 when pharmacist Joshua Ward developed a process involving heating sulfur with saltpeter to allow oxidation and combination with water. This breakthrough laid the groundwork for the heavy chemical industry, which emerged alongside the Industrial Revolution. In 1749, John Roebuck and Samuel Garbett established the first large-scale factory in Prestonpans, Scotland, utilizing leaden condensing chambers to manufacture sulfuric acid.
Who invented the first synthetic dye and when was it discovered?
William Henry Perkin discovered the first synthetic dye in London by transforming aniline into a crude mixture that produced an intense purple color. Perkin also developed the first synthetic perfumes, but German industry quickly dominated the field of synthetic dyes. By 1913, German industries produced almost 90% of the world's supply of dyestuffs and sold approximately 80% of their production abroad.
What percentage of the global chemical industry output is made up of polymers and plastics?
Polymers and plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polycarbonate comprise about 80% of the industry's output worldwide. These chemicals are used in many different consumer goods and sectors, including agriculture, construction, and service industries. Major industrial customers include rubber and plastic products, textiles, apparel, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, and primary metals.
Which company led chemical sales in 2015 and what was its revenue?
BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, led chemical sales in 2015 with $63.7 billion. This was followed by Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, with $48.8 billion, and China Petrochemical Corporation in Beijing ranked third with $43.8 billion. SABIC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, held fourth place with $34.3 billion.
When did the Solvay process become available and who developed it?
The Solvay process was developed by Belgian industrial chemist Ernest Solvay in 1861 and offered a more economical and less polluting alternative to existing methods. Solvay and his brother Alfred constructed a plant in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1864, expanding to Nancy, France, in 1874. Ludwig Mond acquired the rights to use the process and, with John Brunner, formed Brunner, Mond & Co., building a plant at Winnington, England, where Mond refined the method between 1873 and 1880 to remove inhibiting byproducts.
The late 19th century witnessed an explosion in both the quantity and variety of chemicals manufactured, with large industries arising in Germany and the United States. Sir John Lawes pioneered artificial manufactured fertilizer at his Rothamsted Research facility, establishing large works near London in the 1840s to produce superphosphate of lime. Processes for the vulcanization of rubber were patented by Charles Goodyear in the United States and Thomas Hancock in England during the same decade. The first synthetic dye was discovered by William Henry Perkin in London, who transformed aniline into a crude mixture that, when extracted with alcohol, produced an intense purple color. Perkin also developed the first synthetic perfumes, but German industry quickly dominated the field of synthetic dyes. By 1913, German industries produced almost 90% of the world's supply of dyestuffs and sold approximately 80% of their production abroad. Major German firms such as BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst produced several hundred different dyes. In the United States, Herbert Henry Dow's use of electrochemistry to produce chemicals from brine became a commercial success that helped promote the country's chemical industry. The petrochemical industry traces its origins to the oil works of Scottish chemist James Young and Canadian Abraham Pineo Gesner. The first plastic, Parkesine, was invented by English metallurgist Alexander Parkes in 1856. Parkes patented celluloid based on nitrocellulose treated with various solvents, which was exhibited at the 1862 London International Exhibition and anticipated many modern aesthetic and utility uses of plastics. Industrial production of soap from vegetable oils began in 1885 in Lancashire by William Lever and his brother James, based on a modern chemical process invented by William Hough Watson that utilized glycerin and vegetable oils. By the 1920s, chemical firms consolidated into large conglomerates, including IG Farben in Germany, Rhône-Poulenc in France, Imperial Chemical Industries in Britain, and DuPont in America.
The Plastic Dominance
Polymers and plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polycarbonate comprise about 80% of the industry's output worldwide. These chemicals are used in many different consumer goods and sectors, including agriculture, construction, and service industries. Major industrial customers include rubber and plastic products, textiles, apparel, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, and primary metals. Chemicals form a nearly $5 trillion global enterprise, with the EU and U.S. chemical companies being the world's largest producers. Sales of the chemical business are divided into basic chemicals, life sciences, specialty chemicals, and consumer products. Polymers represent the largest revenue segment, including all categories of plastics and human-made fibers. The major markets for plastics are packaging, followed by home construction, containers, appliances, pipe, transportation, toys, and games. The largest-volume polymer product, polyethylene, is used mainly in packaging films, milk bottles, containers, and pipe. Polyvinyl chloride is principally used to make piping for construction markets, siding, and, to a much smaller extent, transportation and packaging materials. Polypropylene, similar in volume to PVC, is used in markets ranging from packaging and appliances to clothing and carpeting. Polystyrene is used principally for appliances, packaging, toys, and recreation. The leading human-made fibers include polyester, nylon, polypropylene, and acrylics, with applications in apparel, home furnishings, and other industrial and consumer uses. Principal raw materials for polymers are bulk petrochemicals like ethylene, propylene, and benzene. Petrochemicals and intermediate chemicals are primarily made from liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, and crude oil fractions. Large volume products include ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, methanol, vinyl chloride monomer, styrene, butadiene, and ethylene oxide. These basic or commodity chemicals serve as the starting materials for many polymers and other complex organic chemicals.
The Life Sciences Frontier
Life sciences account for about 30% of the dollar output of the chemistry business, including differentiated chemical and biological substances, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, animal health products, vitamins, and pesticides. While much smaller in volume than other chemical sectors, their products tend to have high prices, often exceeding ten dollars per pound, with growth rates of 1.5 to 6 times GDP. Research and development spending in this sector ranges from 15 to 25% of sales. Life science products are produced with high specifications and are closely scrutinized by government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration. Pesticiles, also called crop protection chemicals, make up about 10% of this category and include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Specialty chemicals are a category of relatively high-valued, rapidly growing chemicals with diverse end product markets. Typical growth rates are one to three times GDP, with prices over a dollar per pound. They are generally characterized by their innovative aspects, and products are sold for what they can do rather than for what chemicals they contain. Products include electronic chemicals, industrial gases, adhesives and sealants, coatings, industrial and institutional cleaning chemicals, and catalysts. In 2012, excluding fine chemicals, the $546 billion global specialty chemical market was 33% paints, coatings, and surface treatments, 27% advanced polymer, 14% adhesives and sealants, 13% additives, and 13% pigments and inks. Specialty chemicals are sold as effect or performance chemicals, sometimes as mixtures of formulations, unlike fine chemicals, which are almost always single-molecule products. Consumer products include direct product sales of chemicals such as soaps, detergents, and cosmetics, with typical growth rates of 0.8 to 1.0 times GDP. Consumers rarely come into contact with basic chemicals, but encounter polymers and specialty chemicals daily in plastics, cleaning materials, cosmetics, paints, electronics, automobiles, and home construction materials. Chemical companies rarely supply these products directly to the consumer, instead marketing them to downstream manufacturing industries as pesticides, specialty polymers, electronic chemicals, surfactants, construction chemicals, industrial cleaners, flavors and fragrances, specialty coatings, printing inks, water-soluble polymers, food additives, paper chemicals, oil field chemicals, plastic adhesives, cosmetic chemicals, water management chemicals, catalysts, and textile chemicals.
The Giants of Production
The largest chemical producers today are global companies with international operations and plants in numerous countries. BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, led chemical sales in 2015 with $63.7 billion, followed by Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, with $48.8 billion. China Petrochemical Corporation in Beijing ranked third with $43.8 billion, while SABIC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, held fourth place with $34.3 billion. Formosa Plastics in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and Ineos in London, United Kingdom, rounded out the top six with $29.2 billion and $28.5 billion respectively. ExxonMobil in Irving, Texas, and LyondellBasell, with operations in Houston and London, followed with $28.1 billion and $26.7 billion. Mitsubishi Chemical in Tokyo, DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, and LG Chem in Seoul, South Korea, completed the top ten. The industry's scale is evident in the United States, which has 170 major chemical companies operating internationally with more than 2,800 facilities outside the U.S. and 1,700 foreign subsidiaries or affiliates. The U.S. chemical output reached $750 billion a year, with the industry recording large trade surpluses and employing more than a million people in the United States alone. The chemical industry is also the second largest consumer of energy in manufacturing and spends over $5 billion annually on pollution abatement. In Europe, the chemical, plastics, and rubber sectors generate about 3.2 million jobs in more than 60,000 companies. Since 2000, the chemical sector alone has represented two-thirds of the entire manufacturing trade surplus of the EU. In 2012, the chemical sector accounted for 12% of the EU manufacturing industry's added value. Europe remains the world's biggest chemical trading region with 43% of the world's exports and 37% of the world's imports, although Asia is catching up with 34% of the exports and 37% of the imports. Over the 20 years between 1991 and 2011, the European Chemical industry saw its sales increase from 295 billion Euros to 539 billion Euros, despite its share of the world chemical market falling from 36% to 20% due to huge increases in production and sales in emerging markets like India and China. The data suggest that 95% of this impact is from China alone. In 2012, five European countries accounted for 71% of the EU's chemicals sales: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands.
The Global Chemical Map
The scale of chemical manufacturing tends to be organized from largest in volume, such as petrochemicals and commodity chemicals, to specialty chemicals, and the smallest, fine chemicals. The petrochemical and commodity chemical manufacturing units are on the whole single product continuous processing plants. Not all petrochemical or commodity chemical materials are made in one single location, but groups of related materials are often clustered to induce industrial symbiosis as well as material, energy, and utility efficiency. Those chemicals made on the largest of scales are produced in a few manufacturing locations around the world, for example in Texas and Louisiana along the Gulf Coast of the United States, on Teesside in the United Kingdom, and in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The large-scale manufacturing locations often have clusters of manufacturing units that share utilities and large-scale infrastructure such as power stations, port facilities, and road and rail terminals. To demonstrate the clustering and integration mentioned above, some 50% of the United Kingdom's petrochemical and commodity chemicals are produced by the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster on Teesside. Specialty chemical and fine chemical manufacturing are mostly made in discrete batch processes, often found in similar locations but in many cases in multi-sector business parks. The bulk of the world's $3.7 trillion chemical output is accounted for by only a handful of industrialized nations. The United States alone produced $689 billion, representing 18.6 percent of the total world chemical output in 2008. Global chemical shipments show significant growth in China, India, Korea, the Middle East, South East Asia, Nigeria, and Brazil, driven by changes in feedstock availability and price, labor and energy costs, differential rates of economic growth, and environmental pressures. The United States produced $689 billion in 2008, while Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands remain dominant European producers. China's chemical output grew from $80.9 billion in 1998 to $549.4 billion in 2012, reflecting its rapid industrialization. The Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, saw shipments increase from $215.2 billion in 1998 to $993.2 billion in 2012, demonstrating the shifting center of gravity in the global chemical industry.