basf 100 years ammonia 1902-1924_en
TRANSCRIPT
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At the turn of the century,
the British chemist Sir William
Crookes delivers a lecture to the
British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science in Bristol
titled The Wheat Problem. His
audience hears that the wheat
harvest depends on saltpeter
from Chile. This fixed nitrogen is
used as a fertilizer to increase
agricultural yields and produce
more food for the rapidly growing
population. But land reserves in
Europe in particular are depleted
and Chiles saltpeter reserves
are running out fast. Nitrogen is
therefore urgently needed as a
plant nutrient.
Nitrogen is available in Europe
huge amounts of it in fact but
only in the atmosphere. Neither
plants nor humans can make use
of this inert substance because
a technically feasible method of
fixing atmospheric nitrogen in
chemical compounds has not yet
been discovered.
The results of Wilhelm Ostwalds
investigations into the effect of
catalysts eventually pave the way
for an application based on
physical chemistry. Fritz Haber
and Carl Bosch subsequently
develop a process to fix atmo-
spheric nitrogen and produce
synthetic ammonia. In 1913,
BASF starts operating the worlds
first ammonia synthesis plant.
Mineral fertilizer production
begins, launching a new phase
in the companys history.
Whereas BASF has been exclu-
sively a dyes company until now,
it now becomes a supplier of
agricultural products. At the same
time, it moves into a completely
new area of chemistry high-
pressure technology.
The introduction of high-pressure
technology means a change
in methods. Equipment becomes
more complex. Chemists and
engineers now need to work to-
gether much more closely.
The German chemical industry
leads the world, and in some
areas even holds a global mono-
poly. Industrial growth seems
unstoppable. But the First World
War brings these promising
developments to an end.
The Haber-Bosch Processand the Era of Fertilizers
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Coal is not merely a source of
energy, it is also the chemical
industrys most important raw
material at this time. To secure
its raw material base, BASF,
along with Bayer and AGFA,
acquires the Auguste Victoria
mine in Marl, Germany, in 1907.
From the Annual Report 1907:
Always mindful of improving the
welfare of our staff, we launched
a non-contributory workers
pension scheme at the beginning
of this year which will pay inval-
idity pensions to workers based
on certain guidelines. We also
intend to grant workers a fully
paid annual vacation of one
week, including a holiday bonus
payment, after 10 years of
service.
1908: The work of Fritz Haber
(1868 1934, professor of
chemistry at Karlsruhe and
Berlin) suggests that the tech-
nical synthesis of ammonia from
nitrogen and hydrogen may be
possible. The process requires
high temperatures, high pressure
and catalysts. BASF starts
conducting intensive research
under the direction of Carl Bosch
(1874 1940, chemist, chairman
of BASFs Board of Executive
Directors from 1919 to 1925 and
of IG Farben from 1925 to 1935). Patent documentOctober 13, 1908:Process for Synthe-
sizing Ammonia from
the Elements
The inventors of ammonia
synthesis: Carl Bosch and
Fritz Haber.
The apparatus used by
Haber in the laboratory
looks deceptively simple.
19051902 1903 1904
BASF at the turn
of the century
Poster announcing
first provision of paid
holiday
1907 19081906 1909
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Carl Bosch wants fertilizers to
be tested as thoroughly as dyes.
Customers are to be given
proper instructions for their use.
This means extensive trials to
determine the effect of fertilizers
on soil and on plants. 1914 sees
the opening of the Agricultural
Research Station in Limburgerhof,
near Ludwigshafen, to investigate
fertilizers and plant physiology.
This paves the way for BASFs
worldwide activities in the field of
agricultural chemistry.
The First World War begins in
August 1914. Germany pours its
resources into the war effort,
putting an increasing burden on
the economy. For the first time,
the war makes the new industrial
society aware of the ambivalence
of many products, including
chemicals. Synthetic ammonia,
for example, was developed to
secure food supplies for a grow-
ing population. Faced with a
shortage of ammunition by the
end of 1914, the government,
however, assigns top priority to
ammonia. It is converted into
saltpeter at the Oppau plant and
then delivered to the explosives
industry.
Chlorine and phosgene, impor-
tant intermediates used to manu-
facture dyes and drugs among
other things, are used as poison
gas by the armies of both sides.
Fritz Gnther (1877 1957, chem-
ist at BASF from 1901 to 1938)
discovers Nekal, a textile auxilia-
ry, in 1916. It is the first synthetic
surfactant. It reduces the surface
tension of water and outperforms
the washing performance of the
soaps of the day. Such synthetic
wetting agents are still used to-
day in dishwashing and laundry
products and without them a no-
dry shine would not be possible.
Other surfactants are used to
manufacture emulsion paints
and shampoos.
After several expansions of the
Oppau ammonia facilities, the
government orders the construc-
tion of a second major produc-
tion plant. A site in eastern
Germany, away from the danger
of air raids, is chosen. After a
brief period of construction,
BASFs second ammonia plant in
Leuna near Merseburg starts
operating in April 1917. In Oppau,
construction work starts on the
Ammonia Laboratory, BASFs
second major research facility.
In 1910, after extensive experi-
ments, Alwin Mittasch (1869
1953, chemist and head of the
ammonia lab from 1912 to 1932)
finds the long-sought ideal cata-
lyst for synthesizing ammonia:
activated iron. The industrial
production of ammonia requires
extensive pioneer work:
New types of steel have to be
developed and tested, new
reactor designs tried out, and
special gas machines and
compressors built.
The launch of machine-based
data processing at BASF: In 1911,
BASF is one of the first custom-
ers of Berlin-based Deutsche
Hollerith-Gesellschaft AG and is
listed as client number six.
The technical implementation of
the Haber-Bosch process faces
failure. The new pressure vessels
and pipes encased in reinforced
concrete burst again and again.
It is Carl Bosch himself who
comes up with the solution:
a double pipe with an inner mantle
of soft iron and an external pres-
sure-bearing but perforated steel
casing. Nevertheless, further
expert advice is needed. In order
to solve the growing problems
posed by materials and related
safety problems, BASF sets
up the chemical industrys first
materials testing lab in 1912.
The main task of materials test-
ing, then and now, is to identify
and control problems in materials
for instrumentation and process
engineering.
A year after the groundbreaking,
the first ammonia synthesis plant
begins producing nitrogen fertil-
izers in Oppau in 1913 three
kilometers north of the Ludwigs-
hafen site. Annual output:
7,200 metric tons of ammonia to
be processed into 36,000 metric
tons of ammonium sulfate.
Ninety years later, BASF has
an annual capacity of 875,000
metric tons of ammonia in
Ludwigshafen.
BASFs clubhouse, the Vereins-
haus, today known as the
Feierabendhaus, is inaugurated.
It provides function rooms, a
library, a restaurant and a bowling
alley that workers can use in
their leisure time. The first edition
of the company newspaper is
published to coincide with the
opening of the building on
April 13, 1913.
Entrance to the
Agricultural Research
Station in Limburger-
hof and the first
greenhouse
Simplifying the
dyeing process:
Nekal reduces the
surface tension
of water and stops
yarn from floating
in the dye bath.
Installation of a high-
pressure reactor in the
ammonia plant.
1910 1911 1912 1913
The new Oppau
plant around 1914:
The Ludwigshafen
plants can be seen
in the distance.
BASFs Vereinshauslater
becomes the Feierabend-
haus, where workers go
to relax after work.
Interior view of
the materials testing
laboratory
19161914 1915 1917
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The lost war brings runaway in-
flation to Germany. One U.S.
dollar is worth 4.2 trillion marks.
In 1923, BASFs assets amount
to 65,733,583,748 million marks.
BASF tries to protect its work-
force from the effects of the de-
valuation. At the height of the
crisis in 1923, the company in-
troduces a new currency, the
aniline dollar. For a short time,
it becomes the most sought
after banknote in the region.
The Haber-Bosch process
means BASF becomes the first
company to begin working
on the many opportunities pre-
sented by high-pressure tech-
nology. It is this technology that
will now shape large-scale chem-
ical operations. In 1923, Matthias
Pier (1882 1965, chemist at
BASF from 1920 to 1949) suc-
cessfully synthesizes methanol.
Yet another of natures raw
material monopolies is broken:
Wood alcohol is dethroned by
synthetic methanol. A year
earlier, BASF had succeeded in
producing urea on an industrial
scale from ammonia and carbon
dioxide 100 years after
Friedrich Whler had first synthe-sized urea in the laboratory.
In his attempt to improve the
production of synthesis gas in
the manufacture of ammonia,
Fritz Winkler (1888 1950, chem-
ist at BASF from 1916 to 1950)
discovers the principle of the
fluidized bed in 1924. This pro-
duces an excellent combustible
gas during the process of coking
fine-grain lignite. The Winkler
principle is also the basis for the
process developed by BASF in
1950 whereby pyrite is roasted in
fluidized bed furnaces in the
production of sulfuric acid.
19241922
Fritz Winkler and
his sketch of an out-
standing invention:
The fluidized bed
principle for coking
lignite
The first shipment
of methanol leaves
the Leuna site on
September 26, 1923.
In October 1923,
BASF prints its
own money:
The aniline dollar
The Oppau site
following the 1921
explosion
By the end of the First World
War in 1918, German dye manu-
facturers have lost their leading
position on the worlds markets.
Production facilities, subsidiaries,
associated companies, and sales
companies abroad are confis-
cated, as are patents registered
abroad. Reparations imposed
by the victors hamper economic
recovery. BASF is occupied by
French troops for several months
and links to the eastern bank of
the Rhine are severed.
Representatives of BASFs senior
management, salaried employees
and workers found a joint com-
mittee for education in 1919.
This lays the foundation for to-
days broad program of cultural
events sponsored by BASF.
Symphony and chamber concerts
and a wide range of special
events as well as extensive sports
and leisure facilities are offered
not only to BASFs workforce, but
also to their families and to the
citizens of Ludwigshafen and the
surrounding region.
The creation of the first German
republic in November 1918
also leads to changes in the com-
panys charter. The previously
paternalistic approach to rela-
tions between the company
and its employees is replaced by
mandatory codetermination
rights. The first collective wage
agreement in the chemical
industry is signed in July 1919.
It guarantees the eight-hour
working day long demanded by
labor unions. BASFs first works
council is elected in 1920;
its representatives are admitted
to the companys Supervisory
Board in 1922.
On September 21, 1921, the
new Oppau site is rocked by a
huge explosion that claims
more than 500 lives and causes
considerable damage to the
site and neighboring community.
The accident occurs during
blasts carried out to loosen am-
monium nitrate sulfate fertilizer
stored in a warehouse.
At the memorial service, Carl
Bosch says: The disaster was
caused neither by carelessness
nor human failure. Unknown
natural factors that we are still
unable to explain today have
made a mockery of all our efforts.
The very substance intended
to provide food and life to millions
of our countrymen and which
we have produced and supplied
for years has suddenly become
a cruel enemy for reasons we are
as yet unable to fathom. It has
reduced our site to rubble. But
what is that compared to the
victims whose lives this disaster
has claimed. We stand here
today helpless and powerless,
and whatever we can do to
comfort their grieving families
and the injured is nothing com-
pared to what they have lost.
The Leuna site
near Merseburg
around 1920
1918 1919 1920 1921
Wartime emergency:
BASF distributes
food supplies to its
employees.
1923