SAVING THE WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 100, 2 May 1929, Page 17

SAVING THE WORLD

FROM STARVATION

FUTURE OF CHEMISTRY

In 1849 a druggist of Pittsburgh, in the United States, collected a few pints of "rock oil," or petroleum, from a brine well and sold it as a "natural remedy celebrated for its wonderful curative powers"; at thn present time more than 10,000 million gallons of petroleum aro being produced per annum, and this, after being distilled and refined by chemical processes, yields petrol for use in motor-cars and aeroplanes, paraffin' and lubricating oils, and wax for candles, writes S. Glasstono, D.Sc, in the "Daily Chronicle." About forty-five, years ago Chardon- | net, a-Frenchman," developed a practical method for making an artificial silkliko fibre, by chemical means; during 1928 the world production of artificial silk reached a total of nearly 300 million pounds, and the whole of this material was made from cotton or wood by chemical processes. This great development has not only meant tii&t a. fabric of 3/tfcmotive 3ppearanee is now available at a reasonable price, but there are important economic implications; it is stated that for every worker directly engaged in the manufacture of artificial silk, ton others are employed in allied processes. Just over a hundred years ago, in 1827, the metal aluminium was first extracted from its ores, but for many years it was regarded as a chemical curiosity with no practical importance. Between 1886 and 1890, however, processes were developed which made it possible to extract aluminium on a large scale at a fairly low price. CHEMISTRY AND METALS. The result of these chemical discoveries is that the cost of the metal is now about a shilling per pound, and the world's output is, roughly, 170,000 tons per annum. Aluminium and its alloys are widely used for motor-cars, aeroplanes and airships, and also iv the home for kitchen utensils. A consideration of these examples, chosen at random, will show that the chemical discoveries of the past century have profoundly, although at first sight not obviously, affected our daily lives; it is natural, therefore, io ask: What of the future'/ It is always safe- to prophesy for the distant future, but this is not very helpful, and so we will restrict ourselves to the nearer future and to developments which at the moment seem probable. As it is impossible iv the course of this short article to cover all the aspects of chemical progress, three of importance have been chosen: food, clothing, and fuel, for these aro the essentials of life to-day. ' The population of 'the earth is increasing so rapidly that famine has been foreshadowed unless better use is made of the land. Already the chemist has obtained fertilisers from the nitrogen of the air, and from other sources, so that the farmer is independent of natural manures to a great extent. In this way the fertility of the soil and its yield of crops has been increased. SYNTHETIC FOOD. Further increases arc, however, probable. It is known that a green plant. can only grow in sunlight and in" the presence of carbon-dioxide gas derived from the air, and both these factors can be affected. Artificial light will, iv duo course, supplement sunlight, and car-bon-dioxide gas will be supplied- artificially, so that plant" growth will occur more rapidly. Moreover, it has been found recently that small traces of certain materials can stimulate plant growth. Tho addition of a small amount of iodiuo to the soil, for example, makes pens grow more rapidly. Discoveries of this kind 'will, obviously, have a profound influence on the crop production of the future. It. hiis often been faucifullv suggested that .synthetic food in tablet form will eventually replace our natural diet. This is exircmely improbable, for two reasons. In the first place an average person needs 21 ounces of concentrated food each day to supply the energy required by the body, and in tho second place our digestive systems are so constructed as to bo unable to work on concentrated material only; a certain amount of undigestiblc " roughage" is always required. It is unlikely that we shall obtain all this in a few"tablets! With regard to clothing, the only progress which seems probable is the improvement of artificial silk. At the present time this material, although attractive in appearance, is not very strong when wet, neither does it keep the body warm; these disadvantages will be overcome in the future and we j shall have a very valuable clothin" I fabric. " Although wood and cotton aro now I the sources of artificial silk, in due course grass and leaves may be used as the raw materials. The chief fuels of modern times arc coal and oil; the world resources of the latter cannot, as far as we know, last more than 100 years. Coal supplies howevor, are not likely to be so soon exhausted; at tho present rate of consumption the coal in Great Britain I should last another 600 years, although tho World supplies may last for 6000 years.

In the more immediate future coal will be used as a source of oil; attempts to achieve this end have already met with partial success. The discovery of an economcial method of converting coal into a petrol-like oil would save the industrial position of this country. Not only would tbe coal industry be stimulated by an additional demand of nearly 100 million tons per annum, but the vast sums of money, about £80,----000,000 each year, paid for imported oil would not leave the country.