Substantially revising and updating the classic reference in the field, this handbook offers a valuable overview and myriad details on current chemical processes, products, and practices. No other source offers as much data on the chemistry, engineering, economics, and infrastructure of the industry. The Handbook serves a spectrum of individuals, from those who are directly involved in the chemical industry to others in related industries and activities. It provides not only the underlying science and technology for important industry sectors, but also broad coverage of critical supporting topics. Industrial processes and products can be much enhanced through observing the tenets and applying the methodologies found in chapters on Green Engineering and Chemistry (specifically, biomass conversion), Practical Catalysis, and Environmental Measurements; as well as expanded treatment of Safety, chemistry plant security, and Emergency Preparedness. Understanding these factors allows them to be part of the total process and helps achieve optimum results in, for example, process development, review, and modification. Important topics in the energy field, namely nuclear, coal, natural gas, and petroleum, are covered in individual chapters. Other new chapters include energy conversion, energy storage, emerging nanoscience and technology. Updated sections include more material on biomass conversion, as well as three chapters covering biotechnology topics, namely, Industrial Biotechnology, Industrial Enzymes, and Industrial Production of Therapeutic Proteins.
"This magisterial volume will be the definitive study of the economics and history of the chemical industry for many years to come. The core of the volume is a study of the process of innovation in the first industry to employ science as a basis for technology. This extends over 150 years and covers four leading countries-Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States. . . . The book will be of interest to participants in the industry, economists, and economic historians interested in growth, business school faculty and students concerned with corporate strategy, especially the management of technical change, and finally, policymakers who create the legal and political environment within which the industry has developed."-Dale W. Jorgenson, Frederic Eaton Abbe Professor of Economics, Harvard University "The chemical industry will continue to be a leading indicator of economic development in the century ahead. The research and conclusions of Ralph Landau and his colleagues capture the structure, processes, and future of the industry and make [this] book required reading for all who follow the field." -Frank Popoff, Chairman, The Dow Chemical Company "Given the magnitude and pervasiveness of the chemical processing industry which underlies all manufacturing, this study of the dynamics of interactions among technology, economics, and politics should become must reading for all serious students of industrial development." -S. Allen Heininger, Past President, American Chemical Society "A painstakingly thorough and insightful analysis of the global chemical industry. . . . It will be of great value to economic historians and economists concerned with the growth of modern industrial societies. It is must reading for executives and scholars concerned with innovation and competitiveness." -David J. Teece, Director, Institute of Management, Innovation & Organization Mitsubishi Professor, Walter A. Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley "The innovativeness of the chemical industry has made it a key player in the development of the modern world economy. Analysis of the industry's long-term growth therefore gives an insight into the interaction between science, technology, and economic progress, as this book demonstrates. At the same time, the analysis offers observations that are of great practical relevance to today's issues." -Professor Doctor Gottfried Plumpe, Bayer Corporation The chemical industry has been one of the world's best managed and most consistently successful business performers for 150 years. Now, drawing together fourteen of the most respected economists and industry experts, the editors of Chemicals and Long-Term Economic Growth present one of the most extensive studies of this industry in order to uncover the secrets behind this remarkable track record. With economic and managerial insights supported by specific real-world examples, this book shows how the development of the chemical industry can provide insights for achieving and sustaining economic growth. Scientists and business leaders in the chemical industry and many other technological fields, and economists generally, may benefit from the history and analysis presented in this book. This book examines: * The role of science, innovation, technology, and organization in creating economic growth and profits * Chemical industry growth in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan, including an analysis of relative strengths and weaknesses * The impact of macroeconomics, legal and financial institutions, corporate finance, and other policies and institutions on the behavior of chemical companies * The principle of comparative advantage-why certain industries excel in certain areas.
This reference outlines the fundamental concepts and strategies for economic assessments for informed management decisions in industry. The book illustrates how to prepare capital cost and operating expense estimates, profitability analyses, and feasibility studies, and how to execute sensitivity and uncertainty assessments. From financial reports to opportunity costs and engineering trade-offs, Process Engineering Economics considers a wide range of alternatives for profitable investing and for projecting outcomes in various chemical and engineering fields. It also explains how to monitor costs, finances, and economic limitations at every stage of chemical project design, preparation, and evaluation.
In the twentieth century, dyes, pharmaceuticals, photographic products, explosives, insecticides, fertilizers, synthetic rubber, fuels, and fibers, plastics, and other products have flowed out of the chemical industry and into the consumer economies, war machines, farms, and medical practices of industrial societies. The German chemical industry has been a major site for the development and application of the science-based technologies that gave rise to these products, and has had an important role as exemplar, stimulus, and competitor in the international chemical industry. This volume explores the German chemical industry's scientific and technological dimension, its international connections, and its development after 1945. The authors relate scientific and technological change in the industry to evolving German political and economic circumstances, including two world wars, the rise and fall of National Socialism, the post-war division of Germany, and the emergence of a global economy. This book will be of interest to historians of modern Germany, to historians of science and technology, and to business and economic historians.
Discussing the technological supremacy of the chemical industry, including pharmaceuticals, and how it will adopt a leading position to solve some of the largest global challenges humans have even seen, this book details how the industry will address climate change, aging populations, resource scarcity, globality, networks speed, pandemics, and massive growth and demand. Following a detailed introduction to some of the megatrends shaping our world over the forthcoming decades, the book goes on to provide several scenarios of how the world could look by 2050, including 'business as usual' and a 'sustainable' one. Chapter 3 gives a comprehensive overview of the current status, while providing a short historical review of the chemical industry, its origins, achievements and fundamentals. The following chapter reviews the potential impact of each of the selected megatrends on the industry, while Chapter 5 proposes how it could look by 2050. Several features of the chemical industry are presented and discussed, including the industrial relevance from an economical, technological and profitability point of view. The largest chemicals markets in absolute and per capita bases and the areas and countries with largest growth potential for chemicals, pharmaceuticals and feedstock. This chapter also reviews the impact of climate change on the chemical industry from a feedstocks and products point of view and, more specifically, the potential costs in reducing CO2 emissions. A final, concluding chapter summarizes the forthcoming megatrends and potential challenges, opportunities and the outlook for the industry as a whole.
"Covers global and domestic competition, marketing strategies, operating expenses, and environmental and safety regulations for chemical professionals at all levels. Contains up-to-date mergers and acquisitions of chemical companies."
This book covers all major areas of operation, pollution control, safety, modernization, diversification, and resource management for cost control in the industrial production of chemicals. The author details the importance of obtaining the right type of raw materials and equipment for maximum plant efficiency and discusses revival of plants that have been idle for long periods. He also presents important issues concerning product quality, energy recovery, safety, pollution control and improving profitability by proper management of resources. The book is ideal for shop floor engineers, middle level management, and owners of small- and medium-scale facilities in many countries as it serves as a guide for keeping the plant operations running in adverse situations, for reducing energy consumption; improving profitability, resource allocation, and workforce planning.
Fred Aftalion's international perspective of the history of chemistry integrates the story of chemical science with that of chemical industry. This new edition includes events from 1990 to 2000, when major companies began selling off their divisions, seeking to specialize in a particular business. Aftalion explores the pitfalls these companies encountered as well as the successes of "contrarians"--those companies that remained broad and diversified. He uses BASF, Dow, and Bayer as examples of true contrarians.
The editors wish to thank the European Science Foundation for its support of the programme on the Evolution of Chemistry in Europe, 1789-1939, as well as for sponsoring the publication of this volume. Through the subdivision of this initiative that deals specifically with chemical industry it has been possible for historians of science, technology, business and economics to share often widely differing viewpoints and develop consensus across disciplinary and cultural boundaries. The contents of this volume are based on the third of three workshops that have considered the emergence of the modern European chemical industry prior to 1939, the first held in Liege (1994), the second in Maastricht (1995), and the third in Strasbourg (1996). All contributors and participants are thanked for their participation in often lively and informative debates. The generous hospitality of the European Science Foundation and its staff in Strasbourg is gratefully acknowledged. Introduction Emerging chemical knowledge and the development of chemical industry, and particularly the interaction between them, offer rich fields of study for the historian. This is reflected in the contents of the three workshops dealing with the emergence of chemical industry held under the aegis of the European Science Foundation's Evolution of Chemistry in Europe, 1789-1939, programme. The first workshop focused mainly on science for industry, 1789- 1850, and the second on the two-way traffic between science and industry, 1850-1914. The third workshop, dealing with the period 1900-1939, covers similar issues, but within different, and wider, contexts.
