The Chemical Industry

5

5.1 Introduction

The chemical industry has been around for a very long time, but not always in the way

we think of it today! Dyes, perfumes, medicines and soaps are all examples of products

that have been made from chemicals that are found in either plants or animals. How-

ever, it was not until thetime of the Industrial Revolution that the chemical industry as

we know it today beganto develop. At the timeof the Industrial Revolution, the hu-

man population began to grow very quickly andmore and more people moved into the

cities to live. With this came an increase in the need for things like paper, glass, textiles

and soaps. On the farms, there was a greater demand for fertilisers tohelp produce

enough food to feed allthe people in cities andrural areas. Chemists and engineers

responded to these growing needs by using their technology to producea variety of

new chemicals. This was the start of the chemical industry.

In South Africa, the keyevent that led to the growth of the chemical industry was the

discovery of diamondsand gold in the late 1800’s. Mines needed explosives so that

they could reach the diamonds and gold-bearingrock, and many of the main chemical

companies in South Africa developed to meet this need for explosives.In this chapter,

we are going to take a closer look at one of South Africa’s major chemical companies,

Sasol, and will also explore the chloralkali and fertiliser industries. See introduc-

tory video: VPnbn at http://www.everythingscience.co.za

5.2 Sasol

Oil and natural gas are important fuel resources. Unfortunately, South Africa has no

large oil reserves and, until recently, had very little natural gas. One thing South Africa

does have however, is large supplies of coal. Much of South Africa’schemical industry

has developed becauseof the need to produce oil and gas from coal, andthis is where

Sasol has played a veryimportant role.

FACT

The first interest in coal

chemistry started as

early as the 1920’s. As a

result, the government-

sponsored ’South

African Coal, Oil and

Gas Corporation Ltd’

(commonly called

’Sasol’) in 1950 to

begin making oil from

coal. A manufacturing

plant was established

in the Free State and

the town of Sasolburg

developed around this

plant. Production began

in 1955.

Sasol was established in 1950, with its mainaim being to convert low grade coal

into petroleum (crude oil) products and other chemical feedstocks. A’feedstock’ is

something that is used to make another product. Sasol began producingoil from coal

in 1955.