化学工程与工艺专业英语_UNIT_1(2)

Our approach in answering the question will be to consider the industry’s contribution to meeting and satisfying our major needs。 What are these? Clearly food (and drink) and health are paramount。 Other which we shall consider in their turn are clothing and (briefly) shelter, leisure and transport。(1)Food。 The chemical industry makes a major contribution to food production in at least three ways。 Firstly, by making available large quantities of artificial fertilizers which are used to replace the elements(mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) which are removed as nutrients by the growing crops during modern intensive farming。

Secondly, by manufacturing crop protection chemical, i。e。, pesticides, which markedly reduce the proportion of the crops consumed by pests。 Thirdly,by producing veterinary products which protect livestock from disease or cure their infections。 (2)Health。 We are all aware of the major contribution which the pharmaceutical sector of the industry has made to help keep us all healthy化学工程与工艺专业英语unit18,e。g。 by curing bacterial infections with antibiotics化学工程与工艺专业英语unit18,and even extending life itself, e。g。β-blockers to lower blood pressure。

(3)Clothing。 The improvement in properties of modern synthetic fibers over the traditionalclothing materials (e。g。 cotton and wool) has been quite remarkable。 Thus shirts, dresses and suits made from polyesters like Terylene and polyamides like Nylon are crease-resistant, machine-washable, and drip-dry or non-iron。 They are also cheaper than natural materials。 Parallel developments in the discovery of modern synthetic dyes and the technology to“bond” them to the fiber has resulted in a tremendous increase in the variety of colors available to the fashion designer。

Indeed they now span almost every color and hue of the visible spectrum。 Indeed if a suitable shade is not available, structural modification of an existing dye to achieve this can readily be carried out, provided there is a satisfactory market for the product。 Other major advances in this sphere have been in color-fastness, i。e。, resistance to the dyebeing washed out when the garment is cleaned。(4)Shelter, leisure and transport。 In terms of shelter the contribution of modern syntheticpolymers has been substantial。

Plastics are tending to replace traditional building materials like wood because they are lighter, maintenance-free (I。e。 they are resistant to weathering and do notneed painting)。 Other polymers, e。g。 urea-formaldehyde and polyurethanes, are important insulating materials for reducing heat losses and hence reducing energy usage。 Plastics and polymers have made a considerable impact on leisure activities with applications ranging from all-weather artificial surfaces for athletic tracks, football pitches and tennis courts to nylon strings for racquets and items like golf balls and footballs made entirely from synthetic materials。

Likewise the chemical industry’s contribution to transport over the years has led to majorimprovements。 Thus development of improved additives like anti-oxidants and viscosity index improvers for engine oil has enabled routine servicing intervals to increase from 3000 to 6000 to12000 miles。 Research and development work has also resulted in improved lubricating oils and greases, and better brake fluids。 Yet again the contribution of polymers and plastics has been very striking with the proportion of the total automobile derived from these materials—dashboard, steering wheel, seat padding and covering etc。

—now exceeding 40%。 So it is quite apparent even from a brief look at the chemical industry’s contribution to meeting our major needs that life in the world would be very different without the products of the industry。 Indeed the level of a country’s development may be judged by the production level and sophistication of its chemical industry。 4。Research and Development (R&D) in Chemical IndustriesOne of the main reasons for the rapid growth of the chemical industry in the developed world has been its great commitment to, and investment in research and development (R&D)。

A typical figure is 5% of sales income, i。e。 the total money received, which has to pay for raw materials, overheads, staff salaries, etc。, as well。 In the past this tremendous investment has paid off well, leading to many useful and valuable products being introduced to the market。 Example include synthetic polymers like nylons and polyesters, and drugs and pesticides。 Although the number of new products introduced to the market has declined significantly in recent years , and in times of recession the research department is usually one of the first to suffer cutbacks, the commitment to R&D remains at very high level。

The chemical industry is a very high technology industry which takes full advantage of the latest advances in electronics and engineering。 Computers are very widely used for all sorts of applications, from automatic control of chemical plants , to molecular modeling of structures of new compounds, to the control of analytical instruments in the laboratory。Individual manufacturing plants have capacities ranging from just a few tonnes per year in the fine chemicals area to the real giants in the fertilizerand petrochemical sectors which range up to 500,000 tonnes。

The latter requires enormous capital investment, since a single plant of this size can now cost $250 million! This, coupled with the widespread use of automatic control equipment, helps to explain why the chemical industry is capital-rather than labor-intensive。 The major chemical companies are truly multinational and operate their sales and marketing activities in most of the countries of the world, and they also have manufacturing units in a number of countries。 This international outlookfor operations, or globalization, is a growing trend within the chemical industry, with companies expanding their activities either by erecting manufacturing units in other countries or by taking over companies which are already operating there。