Abstract
IN his speech at the opening of the exhibition ol British chemical plant, held last week at the Central Hall, Westminster, in connexion with the Society oi Chemical Industry's Congress of Chemists, Sir Max Muspratt referred to the ever-changing nature of the chemical industry and to the great part which chemical engineering plays in the changes. The life of the Le Blanc soda process, now extinct, wa; greatly prolonged by engineering, and it is that branch of the industry to which we must look to keep us abreast of the times, and more particularly in regard to the artificial fibre industry and to what is known as ‘high-pressure’ chemistry. As an illustration of the radical changes now taking place, Sir Max referred to a large sulphuric acid works, using the lead-chamber process, which is producing 1000-1200 tons of acid per week solely by electric power. We must learn to dispense with coal, he said. British chemical industry was built upon cheap coal and the German industry upon dear coal; now the positions are reversed, and all our old problems must be attacked from this new point of view.
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News and Views. Nature 118, 166–170 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118166a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118166a0