Abstract
Research on high octane fuels carried out by some oil companies and UOP also branched out into research that could produce chemicals from petroleum fractions and natural gas liquids. Union Carbide, Exxon, Shell, and Dow became pioneers in early petrochemical R&D. All of this research proves immensely valuable as the U.S. is drawn into World War II and the synthetic rubber and aviation gasoline programs. The important relationship between Exxon and I.G. Farben is discussed. Commercialization of polyethylene, polystyrene and PVC as well as nylon and polyester fibers occurs just before or during the war.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Spitz (1988).
- 2.
J.N. Compton (1937) Informal Personal Observations on the history of the Carbide and Carbon Chemical Company.
- 3.
G. O. Curme, Jr. Industrial Toolmaker. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry 27. February 232–230.
- 4.
The West Virginia Encyclopedia.
- 5.
Robert L. Pig ford (1976) Chemical Technology: the past 100Â years. Chemical & Engineering News, April 6, 1976.
- 6.
P. H. Spitz op. cit. 81.
- 7.
Gornowski (1980).
- 8.
P. H. Spitz op.cit. 95.
- 9.
Popular Mechanics July 1949 125ff.
- 10.
Hounshell and Smith (1988).
- 11.
Ndiaye (2007).
- 12.
Hounshell op.cit. 207.
- 13.
Furter (1980).
- 14.
Howard (1947).
- 15.
Alan Gropman (1996) Institute for National Strategic Studies, Washington. Mobilizing U.S. Industry in World War II. 102.
- 16.
Howard (1947) op.cit. 187.
- 17.
Fair (1992).
- 18.
Ibid.
- 19.
Chemical Economics Handbook SRI International.
- 20.
P. H. Spitz op cit. 309.
- 21.
Chapman (1991).
- 22.
Frank Howard op.cit. 241.
References
David A. Hounshell, John Kenly Smith, Jr. (1988) Science and Corporate Strategy Cambridge University Press, New York. 481.
Edward J. Gornowski (1980) The History of Chemical Engineering at Exxon. Advances in Chemistry, Vol. 190. June 1, 1980. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.
Frank A, Howard (1947) Buna Rubber. D. Van Nostrand Company Inc. New York. 13.
Jim Fair (1992) Oral History Program. Chemical Heritage Foundation. Philadelphia, PA 187.
Keith Chapman (1991) The International Chemical Industry Blackwell, Oxford, UK. 75.
Pap A. Ndiaye (2007) Nylon and Bombs. DuPont and the March of Modern America. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. 92.
P.H. Spitz (1988) Petrochemicals. The Rise of an Industry.. John Wiley & Sons. New York. 70–82.
William F. Furter (1980) History of Chemical Engineering. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 291.
Bibliography
American Chemical Society. (1977) A Brief History of Chemistry in the Kanawha Valley. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
Beaton, Kendall (1957) Enterprise in Oil. A History of Shell in the United States. Appleton-Century-Crofts. New York.
Dietz, David (1943) The Goodyear Research Laboratory. Goodyear. Akron, Ohio.
Ellis, Carleton (1937) The Chemistry of Petroleum Derivatives. Reinhold. New York.
Gropman, Alan L. (1996) Mobilizing U.S. Industry in World War II. Institute for National Strategic Studies, Washington, D.C.
Morris, Peter J. (1989) The American Synthetic Rubber Research Program. University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, PA.
Popple, Charles. Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) in World War II. Standard Oil, New York.
Reisch, Mark S. (1998) From Coal Tar to Crafting a Wealth of Diversity. C&EN Northeast News Bureau.
Williams, Rever I. ed.(1978) A History of Technology, The Twentieth Century, c. 1900–1950. Vol. V. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Spitz, P.H. (2019). Fuels and Chemicals Research Helps Win World War II. In: Primed for Success: The Story of Scientific Design Company. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12314-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12314-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12313-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12314-7
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)