Chemistry, society and environment : a new history of the British chemical industry / edited by Colin A. Russell.

Contributor(s): Russell, Colin Archibald .

Material type: materialTypeLabel

BookPublisher: Cambridge : Royal Institute of Chemistry, 2000Description: xvi, 372 p. : ill. ; 26 cm + hbk.ISBN: 0854045996.Subject(s): Chemistry -- History -- Great Britain | Chemical industry -- History -- Great BritainDDC classification: 660.942

Contents:

Records of the British Chemical Industry / C. A. Russell -- The shape of the British Chemical Industry / N. G. Coley -- Origins of the British Chemical Industry / N. G. Coley -- The Alkali Industry / W. A. Campbell -- The Nitrogen Industry / W. A. Campbell -- The British Pharmaceutical Industry / N. G. Coley -- General and fine inorganic chemicals / W. A. Campbell -- The organic chemicals industry to the first world war / C. A. Russell -- The age of polymers and petrochemicals (Industrial Organic Chemistry from 1914) / C. A. Russell -- Metal extraction and refining / C. A. Russell and S. A. H. Wilmot -- Chemical industry and the quality of life / N. G. Coley and S. A. H. Wilmot.

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
General Lending	MTU Bishopstown Library Lending	660.942 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		00085522

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

There have been several attempts to write the history of Britain's chemical industry as a whole, and countless others concentrating on individual companies. Some have looked at the technical aspects of the industry, whilst others have addressed economic issues. Few have, however, attempted to analyse the effects of the chemical industry on society in general. The current environmental crisis can only be fully understood in the light of its history. This is the first such book to look critically at the whole development of industrial chemistry in the UK in the context of its effects on the environment. No one from industry, government or academia can afford to be unaware of the historical roots of our present dilemma. Industrial chemists can take heart from the realization that their predecessors were remarkably aware of the problems and often found satisfactory solutions. Industrial chemistry has traditionally been seen as the great 'polluter'. Without any attempts at 'whitewash' this book puts the record straight. From academic chemist to industrialist to politician, Chemistry, Society and Environment: A New History of the British Chemical Industry will be of relevance to all those concerned with the social and environmental impact of the chemical industry.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Preface (p. v)
Chapter 1 Records of the British Chemical Industry (p. 1)
1 Written Source (p. 1)
(a) Primary sources (p. 2)
(b) Secondary sources (p. 5)
2 Objects (p. 7)
(a) The use of museums (p. 8)
(b) Industrial archaeology (p. 9)
(c) Archive film (p. 11)
3 The Wider Context (p. 11)
Chapter 2 The Shape of the British Chemical Industry (p. 13)
1 Introduction (p. 13)
2 A High-technology Industry (p. 14)
3 Primary Source Materials (p. 16)
(a) Sulphur, sulphur-bearing ores and sulphuric acid (p. 16)
(b) Alkalis and chlorine (p. 16)
(c) The nitrogen industry (p. 17)
(d) Limestone and phosphates (p. 19)
(e) Silicates (p. 19)
(f) Borax and boron compounds (p. 20)
(g) Fluorides, bromides, iodides (p. 21)
(h) Coal and its products (p. 22)
(i) The petroleum industry (p. 22)
(j) Oils, fats and waxes (p. 24)
4 Chemicals and the Domestic Consumer (p. 25)
(a) Dyestuffs (p. 25)
(b) Pigments and fillers (p. 26)
(c) Polymers (p. 26)
(d) Soap and detergents (p. 27)
(e) Perfumes and pharmaceuticals (p. 28)
(f) Agrochemicals (p. 29)
5 Defining the Chemical Industry (p. 29)
(a) Classification by product-types (p. 30)
(b) Classification by techniques (p. 31)
6 Chemical Industry and Economic Viability (p. 33)
(a) The economic feasibility of chemical waste recovery (p. 33)
(b) Research and development (p. 35)
7 The Chemical Industry and its Work Force (p. 37)
Chapter 3 Origins of the British Chemical Industry (p. 43)
1 Pre-history (p. 43)
2 Early British Chemical Industry (p. 45)
(a) Wood (p. 46)
(b) Coal and coke (p. 47)
(c) Limestone (calcium carbonate) (p. 47)
(d) Barilla and kelp (p. 48)
(e) Salt (p. 48)
(f) Sulphur (p. 50)
(g) Metals (p. 51)
3 Some Products of Early Chemical Manufacturing (p. 53)
(a) Alkalis (p. 53)
(b) Soap (p. 55)
(c) Glass (p. 56)
(d) Copperas (p. 56)
(e) Sulphuric acid (p. 57)
(f) Chemicals for bleaching (p. 59)
(g) Nitric acid (p. 62)
(h) Alum (p. 62)
4 Dyes and Dyeing (p. 65)
5 Chemicals in Agriculture and Allied Industries (p. 67)
(a) Fertilisers (p. 67)
(b) Sugar, starch and fermentation (p. 68)
(c) Brewing (p. 69)
(d) Tanning (p. 70)
6 Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (p. 70)
Chapter 4 The Alkali Industry (p. 75)
1 Alkali in the Industrial Revolution (p. 75)
(a) Sources of alkali (p. 75)
(b) Early soda manufacture (p. 76)
2 The Leblanc process (p. 77)
(a) The raw materials (p. 78)
(b) Furnace design (p. 80)
(c) Fiscal considerations (p. 80)
3 The Alkali Workers (p. 82)
(a) The saltcake workers (p. 84)
(b) Black ash men and finishers (p. 85)
(c) Bleaching powder workers (p. 86)
(d) Wages and conditions (p. 86)
(e) Children in the alkali trade (p. 87)
(f) The health of the workers (p. 88)
4 Environmental Aspects (p. 90)
(a) Remedial measures (p. 90)
(b) Utilisation of waste products (p. 91)
5 Sulphuric Acid Manufacture (p. 98)
(a) Lead chamber process (p. 98)
(b) Contact process (p. 101)
6 Demise of the Leblanc Process (p. 103)
(a) Ammonia-soda or Solvay process (p. 103)
(b) Electrolysis of brine (p. 105)
7 Coda (p. 106)
Chapter 5 The Nitrogen Industry (p. 107)
1 Chemical Manure (p. 107)
(a) Liebig and superphosphate (p. 107)
(b) Manure and the environment (p. 112)
(c) The analysis scandal (p. 113)
2 Explosives (p. 117)
(a) Picric acid (p. 117)
(b) TNT (p. 118)
(c) Detonators (p. 120)
3 Cyanides and their Derivatives (p. 121)
(a) Prussiates (p. 121)
(b) Cyanamide (p. 123)
4 Leather and Glue (p. 123)
5 Ammonia (p. 125)
(a) The trade in urine (p. 125)
(b) Gas-works ammonia (p. 126)
(c) The Haber process (p. 126)
(d) Ammonium chloride or sal ammoniac (p. 129)
6 Nitric Acid (p. 130)
Chapter 6 The British Pharmaceutical Industry (p. 133)
1 Introduction (p. 133)
2 The British Pharmaceutical Industry in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries (p. 133)
3 The British Pharmaceutical Industry from the Later 19th Century (p. 137)
4 Organic Chemistry and Fine Chemicals (p. 142)
5 19th Century Drug Synthesis (p. 144)
6 The Early 20th Century Drugs Industry (p. 146)
(a) The sulphonamides (p. 147)
(b) Penicillin and other antibiotics (p. 149)
7 The Modern British Pharmaceutical Industry (p. 151)
8 The Search for New Drugs (p. 153)
9 Some Modern Problems (p. 155)
Chapter 7 General and Fine Inorganic Chemicals (p. 157)
1 Iatrochemistry (p. 157)
2 Pigments (p. 159)
(a) Vermilion (p. 159)
(b) White lead (p. 159)
(c) Red lead (p. 160)
(d) Verdigris (p. 161)
(e) Scheele's Green (p. 163)
(f) Prussian Blue (p. 164)
(g) Chromium pigments (p. 165)
(h) Ultramarine (p. 167)
3 Glass and Glazes
4 Matches and Pyrotechnics (p. 170)
(a) Phosphorus (p. 171)
(b) Incendiary mixtures (p. 173)
5 Copperas and Alum (p. 175)
(a) Copperas (p. 175)
(b) Alum (p. 178)
6 Oxygen and Hydrogen (p. 181)
(a) Hydrogen peroxide (p. 182)
(b) Ozone (p. 184)
(c) Hydrogen (p. 184)
7 Fine Inorganic Chemicals (p. 185)
(a) Reagents (p. 186)
(b) Photographic chemicals (p. 189)
8 Uranium, Radium and Plutonium (p. 190)
(a) Radium (p. 191)
(b) Nuclear fission (p. 193)
(c) Atomic energy (p. 195)
Chapter 8 The Organic Chemicals Industry to the First World War (p. 197)
1 Extraction of Organic Natural Products (p. 197)
(a) Sucrose (p. 198)
(b) Products of fermentation (p. 200)
(c) Natural dyestuffs (p. 203)
(d) Natural rubber (p. 206)
2 Chemical Modification of Natural Products (p. 207)
(a) Distillation of wood (p. 207)
(b) Hydrolysis of fats (p. 209)
(c) Cellulose (p. 213)
(d) Condensation of casein (p. 216)
3 The Supremacy of 'Old King Coal' (p. 217)
(a) Industrial progress and environmental hazard (p. 217)
(b) Coal-tar acquires a chemistry (p. 221)
(c) The manufacture of synthetic dyestuffs (p. 226)
(d) Other products from coal (p. 234)
(e) Back to the environment (p. 235)
Chapter 9 The Age of Polymers and Petrochemicals (Industrial Organic Chemistry from 1914) (p. 239)
1 Organic Chemistry and the First World War (p. 239)
(a) Explosives (p. 239)
(b) Aircraft construction (p. 241)
(c) Dyestuffs (p. 243)
(d) Rubber tyres (p. 243)
2 Synthetic Polymers (p. 245)
(a) Phenol-formaldehyde resins (p. 245)
(b) Urea-formaldehyde resins (p. 246)
(c) Alkyd resins (p. 247)
(d) Poly(methyl methacrylates) (p. 248)
(e) Nylon (p. 248)
(f) Polyethylene (p. 249)
(g) Polystyrene (p. 249)
(h) Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) (p. 249)
(i) Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVA) (p. 251)
(j) Synthetic rubber (p. 252)
(k) Polypropylene (p. 252)
(l) Polyester resins (p. 253)
3 Non-petroleum Based Primary Organic Chemicals (p. 253)
(a) Acetone and related chemicals (p. 255)
(b) Methanol and formaldeyde (p. 255)
(c) Calcium carbide and acetylene (p. 256)
(d) Coal tar aromatics (p. 257)
4 The Early British Petrochemical Industry (p. 259)
(a) Petrochemicals come to Britain (p. 259)
(b) The shape of the new industry (p. 262)
(c) Some environmental considerations (p. 266)
Chapter 10 Metal Extraction and Refining (p. 271)
1 Introduction (p. 271)
2 Iron Before Steel (p. 272)
(a) The blast furnace (p. 273)
(b) Replacement of charcoal by coke (p. 278)
(c) The puddling process (p. 282)
3 The Coming of Steel (p. 285)
(a) Huntsman's crucible steel (p. 285)
(b) The Bessemer converter (p. 285)
(c) The open hearth process (p. 287)
(d) Later modernisations (p. 288)
4 Chemistry and Iron Making (p. 290)
(a) Overlapping personnel (p. 290)
(b) Use of chemical knowledge (p. 290)
(c) Material transfer (p. 291)
5 Copper in South Wales (p. 292)
(a) Early beginnings (p. 292)
(b) Copper mining in the 19th century and its environmental impact (p. 295)
(c) The rise of copper smelting and its environmental impact (p. 296)
(d) The chemical industry and the growth of the 'wet copper' industry (p. 300)
(e) Decline of the British copper industry (p. 302)
6 Three Other Non-ferrous Metals (p. 303)
(a) Lead (p. 303)
(b) Tin (p. 306)
(c) Zinc (p. 308)
7 Metals and Electricity (p. 309)
(a) The coming of electric power (p. 309)
(b) Sodium (p. 311)
(c) Aluminium (p. 313)
Chapter 11 Chemical Industry and the Quality of Life (p. 319)
1 Introduction (p. 319)
2 Environment: the Big Issue (p. 320)
(a) Some general considerations (p. 320)
(b) Agriculture, agro-chemicals and biodiversity (p. 326)
(c) Global issues: ozone depletion and global warming (p. 332)
(d) Health and diet (p. 334)
3 Consumer Benefits from the British Chemical Industry (p. 338)
4 Conclusion (p. 346)
Index of Persons (p. 351)
Subject Index (p. 357)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

W.A. Campbell Formerly Senior Lecturer in General Chemistry at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
N.G. Coley Senior Research Fellow in History of Science and Technology at the Open University
C.A. Russell Emeritus and Visiting Research Professor, Department of History of Science and Technology, the Open University; Affiliated Research Scholar, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
S.A.H. Wilmot Senior Research Associate, the Darwin Correspondence Project, University of Cambridge

Chemistry, society and environment : a new history of the British chemical industry / edited by Colin A. Russell.

Contributor(s): Russell, Colin Archibald.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Contributor(s): Russell, Colin Archibald .