Hydrocarbon Processing - February 2022 - 63

Industry Pioneers
WALLACE CAROTHERS
The American chemist started work at
DuPont in the late 1920s. His primary
focus was on polymer research. Under
his tenure, DuPont would produce several
long-lasting discoveries that would
revolutionize the chemical industry.
In 1930, Carothers and his staff conducted
experiments and research on
an acetylene polymer. The goal of the
research was to create synthetic rubber.
After several tests, the group produced a substance that
resembled rubber, which later took the name Neoprene.
Carothers' group was also credited with producing the first
synthetic silk. This synthetic polymer would later be called
polyester, which is still in use today.
By the mid-1930s, Carothers produced fibers comprised
of amine, hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid. These new
strong, elastic fibers were called polymer 6,6 (or nylon 66).
Nylon first became a household product as women's hosiery,
later being used in the U.S. war effort to produce parachutes and
tents. Over the next several decades, nylon would be used extensively
as a combined fabric in fashion and apparel, as well as in
several industrial applications-the global nylon industry market
size is forecast to reach more than $46 B by the late 2020s.3,4
ERNEST SOLVAY
The Belgian chemist and industrialist is
known for developing the ammonia-soda
process to manufacture soda ash on a commercial
scale. The process was invented by
Ernest and his brother Alfred in the early
1860s. In 1863, the brothers founded Solvay
and Cie, opening their first soda ash plant in
Couillet, Belgian shortly thereafter.5
Soda ash was widely used in several industrial applications.
The wide use of the material enabled the Solvay brothers to
expand operations into other countries, such as Austria, Germany,
Russia, the UK and the U.S. By 1900, 95% of soda ash
consumption around the world was produced by the Solvay
process. Many of these plants are still in use today.
CHARLES GOODYEAR
The American
Listen to
self-taught
chemist
is
known for developing volcanized rubber,
which revolutionized the industry. Goodyear's
dive into better rubber materials began
while visiting the Roxbury India Rubber
Co. in New York (U.S.). After examining
life vests, he believed he could improve the
valves on the vests. However, the store
manager made the comment to Goodyear that he would be
better off inventing a better rubber. 6
Over the next several years, Goodyear worked tirelessly
on developing better rubber, even going nearly bankrupt in
the process. However, while working at the Eagle India RubHydrocarbon
Processing | FEBRUARY 2022 63
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ber Co., Goodyear accidentally discovered the vulcanization
of rubber by combining rubber and sulfur over a hot stove.6
Once heated, the rubber hardened. In 1844, he finally perfected
the process and was given a patent for his invention-the
process was called vulcanization after Vulcan, the Roman god
of fire.6
His work led to the development of a vulcanized rubber
producing hub in the northeast U.S., leading to the Goodyear
company being named in his honor in the late 1890s.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Hydrocarbon Processing would like to thank several institutions/companies
for the use of archived images of industry pioneers. These include Michigan State
University's College of Natural Science Department of Chemistry, Röhm and Hass
AG, Science History Institute, Bayer, Solvay and Goodyear.
LITERATURE CITED
1
2
Wikipedia, " Herman Francis Mark, " online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Herman_Francis_Mark.
Sun Co., " The Houdry Process for the catalytic conversion of crude petroleum to
high-octane gasoline, " April 1996, online: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/
education/whatischemistry/landmarks/houdry.html.
3
4
PBS, " Nylon is invented 1935, " A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries,
online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt35ny.html.
Research and Markets, " Global nylon market size, share and trends analysis 2021-
2028, " PRNewswire, October 2021, online: https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/global-nylon-market-size-share-trends-analysis-2021-2028-nylon6-accounts-for-highest-revenue-share-301389960.html.
5
6
Solvay,
" Our Company's History, " online: https://www.solvay.com/en/ourcompany/history.
Somma,
A. M., " Charles Goodyears and the vulcanization of rubber, "
ConnecticutHistory.org., December 2014, online: https://connecticuthistory.
org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Francis_Mark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Francis_Mark https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/houdry.html https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/houdry.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt35ny.html https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/global-nylon-market-size-share%E2%80%94trends-analysis-2021-2028%E2%80%94nylon-6-accounts-for-highest-revenue-share-301389960.html https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/global-nylon-market-size-share%E2%80%94trends-analysis-2021-2028%E2%80%94nylon-6-accounts-for-highest-revenue-share-301389960.html https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/global-nylon-market-size-share%E2%80%94trends-analysis-2021-2028%E2%80%94nylon-6-accounts-for-highest-revenue-share-301389960.html https://www.solvay.com/en/our-company/history https://www.solvay.com/en/our-company/history http://www.ConnecticutHistory.org https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/ https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/ http://www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/Podcasts

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