Industrial revolution organic chemicals

Until the middle of the 19th century, when William Perkin (1856) discovered serendipitously mauveine, the first synthetic dyestuff, all dyestuffs had been obtained from natural sources. Perkin s discovery sparked a major revolution in the dyeing industry and, over the ensuing few decades, a whole raft of new chromophores were discovered, laying the foundation for the first major industry based on the manufacture of complicated organic chemicals, the European dyestuff industry. ... 

Moreover, the industry evolved in a very different manner in the United States than in Europe. In Europe it quickly emerged from the chemical industry—that is, the first producers of modem pharmaceuticals in Europe were chemical companies with expertise in organic chemistry. In the United States the industry evolved in response to the advent of modern transportation and communication—the railroads and the telegraph—from which the Second Industrial Revolution derived. 

A waste product itself probably provided the foundation for the modern synthetic organic chemical industry. The Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century saw large volumes of a malodorous, black, sticky waste product generated from the production of coke from coal. The coke fuelled the growing steel industry and town gas was produced to power the urban environments which sprang up around the industrial wealth creation. 

Such a concern was unheard of before the Industrial Revolution, but today the purity of rainfall is a major concern for many people, especially with regard to its acidity. Most rainfall is slightly acidic because of decomposing organic matter, the movement of the sea, and volcanic eruptions, but the principal factor is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which causes carbonic acid to form. Acid rain (pH <5.6) is produced by the conversion of the primary pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to sulfuric acid and nitric acid, respechvely. These processes are complex, depending on the physical dispersion processes and the rates of the chemical conversions. 

Modem river pollution in England is traced to about 1810 with the introduction of the modem "water-carriage system for towns and cities to dispose of sewage directly into rivers. This problem was exacerbated during the Industrial Revolution, with factories built along rivers, and with discharge of wastes from tanneries, paper mills, chemical works, and gas works. This resulted by the early 19 century in the virtual disappearance of fish, aquatic organisms, and plants in these areas. 

Organic solvents are chemical snbstances used routinely and extensively in commercial and other industries. Many chemical substances used to dissolve or dilute other substances and materials are called solvents. Industrial solvents are often mixtures of several individual substances. They can be found under a variety of trade names. Since the advent of the Indnstrial Revolution, the use of non-water-based chemicals has increased dramatically. According to the report of the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH), more than 49 million tons of organic solvents were pro-dnced in the United States alone in 1984, and today much larger quantities of many solvents are produced around the world. 

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