Abstract
Before beginning a detailed discussion of the chemical industry, we should have a basic appreciation for the main sectors of a developed economy so that we may understand the role that this industry plays in the overall picture. Table 1.1 gives the major divisions of the U.S. economy along with their official designations or Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) by the U.S. Bureau of Census. A similar classification system is used in Western Europe, Japan, and other complex societies. These sectors are separate but interdependent. For example, manufacturing draws on mining to buy iron ore for steel manufacture. The manufacturing sector also converts steel to machinery to sell back to mining for its operations.
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Suggested Readings
Chemical and Engineering News, annual reports on various topics, especially “Fact and Figures for the Chemical Industry,” “Top 75 Chemical Producers,” “Global Top 50 Chemical Producers,” “American Chemical Society Salary Survey,” “Facts and Figures for Chemical R & D,” “Employment Outlook.”
Kent, Riegel’s Handbook of Industrial Chemistry, pp. 1–14.
Wittcoff and Reuben, Industrial Organic Chemicals, pp. 13–45.
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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Chenier, P.J. (2002). Introduction to the Chemical Industry: An Overview. In: Survey of Industrial Chemistry. Topics in Applied Chemistry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0603-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0603-4_1
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