The Origins of the Synthetic Alkali Industry in Britain

Abstract

Heavy chemical industry in its modern sense originated with the linking together of the manufacture of sulphuric acid and the synthesis of soda alkali from common salt. This integration did not come suddenly into being with the emergence of Nicolas Leblanc's classical process, but took place hesitantly alongside anciently established procedures for extracting alkali from the ashes of land and maritime plants. During the latter half of the eighteenth century, and particularly following the American War of Independence, alkali synthesis by various routes became increasingly important as an auxiliary source of an essential technological material. The beginnings of heavy chemical industry inevitably depended upon developments in the manufacture of textiles, hard soap and glass, the three main consumers of alkali. As production in these industries gathered momentum, the natural sources of alkali-barilla, kelp and potash-gradually failed to keep pace with the demand put upon them. Any investigation of the origins of the synthetic alkali industry is, therefore, dependent upon quantitative considerations, in terms both of the consuming industries and of the natural alkali which was available. So far, however, no historians in this field have adopted such a line of approach.'