Germany century

Historically, the development of the acrylates proceeded slowly they first received serious attention from Otto Rohm. AcryUc acid (propenoic acid) was first prepared by the air oxidation of acrolein in 1843 (1,2). Methyl and ethyl acrylate were prepared in 1873, but were not observed to polymerize at that time (3). In 1880 poly(methyl acrylate) was reported by G. W. A. Kahlbaum, who noted that on dry distillation up to 320°C the polymer did not depolymerize (4). Rohm observed the remarkable properties of acryUc polymers while preparing for his doctoral dissertation in 1901 however, a quarter of a century elapsed before he was able to translate his observations into commercial reaUty. He obtained a U.S. patent on the sulfur vulcanization of acrylates in 1912 (5). Based on the continuing work in Rohm s laboratory, the first limited production of acrylates began in 1927 by the Rohm and Haas Company in Darmstadt, Germany (6). Use of this class of compounds has grown from that time to a total U.S. consumption in 1989 of approximately 400,000 metric tons. Total worldwide consumption is probably twice that. 

Large-scale recovery of light oil was commercialized in England, Germany, and the United States toward the end of the nineteenth century (151). Industrial coal-tar production dates from the earliest operation of coal-gas faciUties. The principal bulk commodities derived from coal tar are wood-preserving oils, road tars, industrial pitches, and coke. Naphthalene is obtained from tar oils by crystallization, tar acids are derived by extraction of tar oils with caustic, and tar bases by extraction with sulfuric acid. Coal tars generally contain less than 1% benzene and toluene, and may contain up to 1% xylene. The total U.S. production of BTX from coke-oven operations is insignificant compared to petroleum product consumptions. 

High Pressure in the Chemical Industry. The use of high pressure in industry may be traced to early efforts to Hquefy the so-called permanent gases using a combination of pressure and low temperature. At about the same time the chemical industry was becoming involved in high pressure processes. The discovery of mauveine in 1856 led to the development of the synthetic dye industry which was well estabUshed, particularly in Germany, by the end of the century. Some of the intermediate compounds required for the production of dyes were produced, in autoclaves, at pressures of 5-8 MPa (725-1160 psi). 

The dominant role of petroleum in the chemical industry worldwide is reflected in the landscapes of, for example, the Ruhr Valley in Germany and the U.S. Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast, where petrochemical plants coimected by extensive and complex pipeline systems dot the countryside. Any movement to a different feedstock would require replacement not only of the chemical plants themselves, but of the expensive infrastmcture which has been built over the last half of the twentieth century. Moreover, because petroleum is a Hquid which can easily be pumped, change to any of the soHd potential feedstocks (like coal and biomass) would require drastic changes in feedstock handling systems. 

A comparison of available resources and production shows that Germany, ranked second in resources, was ranked first in production in 1990. Indeed a number of central and eastern European countries are producing proved recoverable reserves at a rate that should lead to exhaustion of local deposits before the end of the twenty-first century. On the other hand, the massive Russian reserves could allow production for a much longer time. 

The synthetic ammonia industry of the latter part of the twentieth century employs only the Haber-Bosch process (12—15), developed in Germany just before World War 1. Development of this process was aided by the concurrent development of a simple catalyzed process for the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, needed at that time for the explosives industry. N2 and H2 are combined direcdy and equiUbrium is reached under appropriate operating conditions. The resultant gas stream contains ca 20% ammonia. 

The oxidation of carbohydrates is the oldest method for oxahc acid manufacture. The reaction was discovered by Scheele in 1776, but was not successfully developed as a commercial process until the second quarter of the twentieth century. Technical advances in the manufacture of nitric acid, particularly in the recovery of nitrogen oxides in a form suitable for recycle, enabled its successful development. Thus 150 t of oxahc acid per month was produced from sugar by I. G. Earben (Germany) by the end of World War II. 

Montan Wax. Montan wax [8002-53-7] is derived by solvent extraction of lignite (qv). The earliest production on a commercial scale was in Germany during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and Germany continues to supply the majority of the world s production of montan wax. Montan wax production at Amsdorf is part of a massive coal-mining operation from a continuous vein and raw material is expected to last for decades. Montan wax is also produced in the United States. Imports of montan wax into the United States for the years 1990—1995 are Hsted in Table 1. Germany suppHes over 80% of the montan wax imported into the United States (3). 

Perkin s discovery of mauveine in 1856 led to a flurry of activity in synthetic organic chemistry in England, which spread to Germany, and flourished through the last half of the nineteenth century, one of the richest periods for synthetic organic chemistry. During this time many synthetic organic methods were developed which are still used today. 

Others. The only top-fermented beer ia Scandinavia is Hvidt Lp. it has a low alcohol content (2.6% vol), a high level of extract, and is very mildly hopped. Smoke Beer is manufactured ia Germany and Denmark. It is made entirely from malt that is dried by direct beechwood fumes. In Denmark it is called Skibs Lp. (Ships Beer) and for centuries was iatended for consumption ia the Danish Navy and Marines siace it had better keeping quahties than the ordinary beers. It is top-fermented with low alcohoHc content. 

Benzoic acid [65-85-0] C H COOH, the simplest member of the aromatic carboxyHc acid family, was first described in 1618 by a French physician, but it was not until 1832 that its stmcture was deterrnined by Wn b1er and Liebig. In the nineteenth century benzoic acid was used extensively as a medicinal substance and was prepared from gum benzoin. Benzoic acid was first produced synthetically by the hydrolysis of benzotrichloride. Various other processes such as the nitric acid oxidation of toluene were used until the 1930s when the decarboxylation of phthaUc acid became the dominant commercial process. During World War II in Germany the batchwise Hquid-phase air oxidation of toluene became an important process. 

Mineral Research Noah Technologies Pacific Century Seiwa (Germany)... 

In a 1959 lecture at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Lise Meitner reflected that Life need not be easy, provided that it is not empty. Life was not easy for any Jewish woman scientist in Germany in the first half of the twentieth century, and Meitner certainly had her own experience in mind when she made this statement. 

The process of nuclear fission was discovered more than half a century ago in 1938 by Lise Meitner (1878-1968) and Otto Hahn (1879-1968) in Germany. With the outbreak of World War II a year later, interest focused on the enormous amount of energy released in the process. At Los Alamos, in the mountains of New Mexico, a group of scientists led by J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) worked feverishly to produce the fission, or atomic, bomb. Many of the members of this group were exiles from Nazi Germany. They were spurred on by the fear that Hitler would obtain the bomb first Their work led to the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert at 5 30 a.m. on July 16,1945. Less than a month later (August 6,1945), the world learned of this new weapon when another bomb was exploded... 

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