Hydrocarbon Processing - January 2022 - 49

History of the HPI
That changed in 1907 with the discovery
of Bakelite by Belgian chemist Leo
Baekeland. His process involved reacting
phenol and formaldehyde-in the
presence of a catalyst-under pressure
at high temperatures, which occurred
in his innovative Bakelizer-a steam
pressure vessel (FIG. 2). The result was
an extremely versatile resin that could
be molded and shaped. This invention
was the world's first synthetic plastic.10
Five years later, Swiss chemist Jacques
Brandenberger invented Cellophane-a
transparent sheet made from cellulose,
which was primarily used as a packaging
material. Around the same timeframe,
German chemist Friedrich Klatte patented
a method for polymerization of vinyl
chloride to produce polyvinyl chloride
(PVC). Note: PVC was first discovered
in the 1870s by the German chemist Eugen
Baumann but never patented.11
A new process for fertilizer production.
Using fertilizers for agricultural significantly
expanded in the 1800s/early
1900s. However, the primary sources to
develop ammonia-niter and guano-
were not adequate to satisfy demand;
therefore, a new process was needed to
produce adequate amounts of ammonia
and nitrates. This challenge was solved
by the German chemist Fritz Haber in
1909 and later commercialized and expanded
by Carl Bosch of BASF. Baden
Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) traces
its roots back to 1865. The company
started as a producer of dyes and inorganic
chemicals, and, at the turn of the
century, added ammonia production to
its products portfolio.
The first industrial-scale production
plant based on the Haber-Bosch process
began operations at BASF's Oppau facility
in Germany in 1913 (FIG. 3). This process-still
in use today-enabled BASF
to become the first company to employ
high-pressure technology.12
The process
was also employed in the production of
nitrates for munitions during World War
I (WWI). The Oppau facility's success
with ammonia production expanded to
include a second site in Leuna, Germany.
This site would not only utilize the
Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia
but would also be instrumental in the
research and development of synthetic
gasoline from the hydrogenation of lignite
(i.e., the Bergius process, the forerunner
to the Fischer-Tropsch process).
Other ammonia process pioneers (e.g.,
the Italian chemist Luigi Casale) would
create their own technologies in later
years, which would compete against the
Haber-Bosch process.
The internal combustion engine
(ICE). The production of kerosene included
byproducts, such as straight-run
naphtha, the forerunner to gasoline.13
At
the time, this product was usually discarded
since there was no clear intended
use for the material. However, the onset
of the ICE changed the nature of oil refining,
as it created an outlet for a byproduct
that, at the time, had no real use.
Early pioneers of ICE designs include
the French-born Swiss inventor François
Issac de Rivaz, French brothers Claude
and Nicéphore Niépce and English inventor
Samuel Brown. De Rivaz's design-
invented in 1807-used an electric
spark to ignite hydrogen and oxygen.14
Although his design led to the first ICE
incorporated onto a carriage (a primitive
automobile), it was never commercially
successful. In the same year, the Niépce
brothers patented their own ICE design.
The Pyréolophore used a mixture of lycopodium
powder, coal dust and resin for
ignition purposes.15
The brothers proved
the concept of their design by conducting
a test run of their ICE on a boat on the
Saône river in France. The successful test
led to the brothers receiving credit as the
first to use an ICE on a boat.
Samuel Brown is also one of the earliest
developers of the ICE (his engine
FIG. 2. The Bakelizer, the pressure vessel
Leo Baekeland used to produce the world's
first synthetic plastic. Photo courtesy of the
U.S. National Museum of American History
(Smithsonian Institution).
used hydrogen as a fuel to propel a carriage
up to 7 mph in 1828 and a river
boat up to 6 knots in 1827). Belgian
engineer Étienne Lenoir's ICE design
was a single-cylinder engine that used
the ignition of coal gas and air to create
power that drove the pistons.16
Although
inefficient, the concept led to
the creation of the Lenoir gas engine
and the production of rudimentary automobiles-the
engine was also used
for power generation.
FIG. 3. View of the world's first ammonia synthesis plant. BASF opened the facility
in Oppau, Germany in 1913. Photo courtesy of BASF.
Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 2022 49
Hydrocarbon Processing - January 2022

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