化工导论--历史.doc

History of Chemical Industry 1 History of Chemical Industry is something very important to be discussed if one wants to get a vivid picture of world chemical industry and its trends. Though for many years, the western countries dominated the Global Chemical Industry, the first chemical operations which signify the birth of chemical industry took place in the Middle East. Long back in 7000 B.C. Some artisans from Middle East refined Alkali and Limestone and prepared glass. After this, next were the Chinese people who invented a chemical explosive named Black Powder. Then in 1965, some chemicals were produced for tanning in Massachusetts. But all these were small ventures. The first large scale chemical industry came into existence in the 19th century. In 1823, production of Soda Ash was started by a British Entrepreneur. But massive advancement in Organic Chemistry started in the last half of 19th century. These advancements enabled the chemical companies to produce synthetic dyes from coal tar. This was successfully done in the 1850s. In the 1890s, production of Sulfuric Acid started in Germany. In the same period, chemical industries were also producing Caustic soda and Chlorine. Then in the 1990s came two revolutionary chemical products. The first one was rayon, introduction of which in 1914 changed the whole scenario of the Textile Industry. The second chemical product was synthetic fertilizers which lead to Green Revolution in the agricultural sector. Celluloid was invented in 1869 as a result of the advanced production of plastics by the chemical companies. Then came products like Synthetic Rubber. Continuous research in Organic chemistry ultimately resulted in production of Petrochemicals from oil in the 1920s and 1930s. In the present world, this Petrochemical Industry constitutes the main portion of chemical industry in many countries.Research and Development on chemical products are even going on today and almost each day the chemical companies are coming