27: Salt of the Earth

We examine industrial inorganic chemistry of the 18th and 19th centuries, including sodium carbonate, focusing on the Leblanc Process and its replacement, the Solvay method. We look at production of the number one chemical in the world, sulfuric acid. We discuss the superphosphate process for fertilizer, and the invention of the match. Steel was a major factor in the Industrial Revolution, so we examine a variety of alloys. Aluminum's expansion with the Hall-Héroult process is mentioned. Finally we talk about the element fluorine and silicon carbide.

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