Unit 1ChemicalIndustry化学工业Before reading the text below, try to answer following question:1.When did the modern chemical industry start?2.Can you give a definition for the chemical industry?3.What are the contribution which the chemical industry has made tomeet and satisfy our needs?4.Is the chemical industry capital- or labor-intensive? Why?1.Origins of the Chemical IndustryAlthough the use of chemicals dates back to the ancient civilizations, the evolution of what weknow as the modern chemical industry started much more recently. It may be considered to havebegun during the Industrial Revolution, about 1800, and developed to provide chemicals roe useby other industries. Examples are alkali for soapmaking, bleaching powder for cotton, and silicaand sodium carbonate for glassmaking. It will be noted that these are all inorganic chemicals. Theorganic chemicals industry started in the 1860s with the exploitation of William Henry Perkin’sdiscovery if the first synthetic dyestuff—mauve. At the start of the twentieth century the emphasison research on the applied aspects of chemistry in Germany had paid off handsomely, and by 1914had resulted in the German chemical industry having 75% of the world market in chemicals. Thiswas based on the discovery of new dyestuffs plus the development of both the contact process forsulphuric acid and the Haber process for ammonia. The later required a major technologicalbreakthrough that of being able to carry out chemical reactions under conditions of very highpressure 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 saltsfor fertilizers and nitric acid for...
