The Contributions of the Chemical Industry to Our Standard of Living

NUTRITION

Farmers cannot feed a hungry world without the use of chemistry. The main goal in increasing production within the global food industry is to meet the needs of the growing population. The first person to recognize this issue and describe it in his 1798 publication “Essay on the Principles of Population” was the English economist Malthus. Because global food production fell far below the pace of human population growth, he proposed birth control as a solution.

Without advanced technologies that use synthetic fertilizers and crop protection chemicals, it would be impossible to meet the rising food demand brought about by population growth. If crop protection chemicals were not used, one-third of global food production (one out of every three ears of grain) would be destroyed by pest-borne diseases.

This quantity is enough to feed nearly 2 billion people, which is more than the combined populations of China and India.

Pests still destroy stored crops in quantities sufficient to feed half of Africa.
Thanks to modern herbicides, it is possible to harvest two or three rice crops per year from the same field.
Asian farmers can protect their rice from rats for the price of four packs of cigarettes per hectare per season.
Through veterinary medicines, cattle plague is close to being eradicated. According to the WHO, 4,422 cases in 1971 decreased to 505 cases in 1980. In the 17th century, 25% of Europe’s population died from the plague.
Fungicides have eliminated diseased apples. Research in Germany (1967–1975) showed that untreated orchards produced 40% less yield, and fruit quality was 35% lower.
Today, consumers can buy foods with assured quality. Not long ago, finding worms in peas was common; now, even a single worm in frozen peas triggers consumer complaints.
Young animals gain weight faster thanks to enzymes that aid digestion.
A chemically enriched soil mixture means tons more yield.

HEALTH

Medicines are technological products of great importance for preventing diseases at both individual and societal levels. Thanks to pharmaceuticals—an indispensable part of treatment—human life expectancy has increased and quality of life has improved.

Reduction in child mortality and improved elderly care

According to the World Health Organization:

• Measles vaccination coverage increased from 13% in 1980 to 94% in 2008, reducing measles cases by 93%. Between 2000 and 2008, measles-related deaths declined by 78%.

• Polio vaccination reduced polio cases among children under age 5 by 99% between 1988 and 2008.

• Vitamin A supplementation has prevented 1.2 million child deaths since 1988.

• Pneumonia (the leading cause of childhood deaths) kills 1.8 million children annually. Early diagnosis and antibiotics could prevent 1 million of these deaths each year.

• By 2015, health interventions—mostly dependent on essential medicines—could prevent 10 million deaths annually.

Advances in medicine, such as antibiotics, cancer drugs, vaccines, and serums, have been major contributors to increased life expectancy. In Turkey, life expectancy at birth increased from 65 years in 1990 to 74 years in 2008.

CHEMICALS FOR CONVENIENCE, VARIETY, AND A COLORFUL LIFE

In a world without chemistry, completing two hours of daily tasks might take sixteen hours.
Women now perform chores more comfortably—detergents eliminated “laundry days” of the past.
Men can fix things like craftsmen; various adhesives in tubes replaced old glue-boiling methods. Houses can be painted easily and cleanly with modern paints.

You can follow the sun: lightweight bags and suitcases, various sunscreens, access to clean drinking water, comfortable clothing, and pleasant travel.

Food shopping is more convenient thanks to preservatives, suitable packaging materials, and supermarket display systems.

Clothing

Natural fibers are hard to modify and insufficient in quantity. Synthetic fibers, however, can be produced to meet demand. Natural fibers are not entirely “natural” anyway—raw wool cannot be used directly as clothing. Dressing a growing world population is possible only through synthetic fibers; producing enough natural fiber would interfere with feeding people.

COLOR

Chemistry also means color. Synthetic dyes and pigments are produced for printing, photography, and painting.

Without synthetic dyes, clothing would not have such a wide variety of colors. Natural dyes are expensive and lose their properties quickly under sun or rain.

Chemistry provides products for everyone—from everyday needs (clothing and perfume) to punk culture (hair dyes and gels).

CHEMICALS

Manufactured or modified chemicals are the foundation of the manufacturing industry.

The machinery industry is Europe’s largest industrial sector. Not a single gear can turn without chemistry.

• Machines cannot be produced without chemicals (degreasing, etching, surface treatment, hardening).

• Machines cannot operate or stop without chemicals: all fuels (gasoline, diesel, natural gas) are chemical products, as are hydraulic oils and brake pads.

• Improving production begins with chemistry.

• Lighter—replacing metal with plastics.

• Stronger—reinforcing with fibers.

• Safer—fire retardants and chemical fire suppressants.

• Less waste, lower cost—paper recycling and de-inking.

• More reliable—cleaning electronic components.

STRIKING EXAMPLES

1. AUTOMOBILES

Fuel

• Unleaded gasoline and catalytic converters rely on chemistry.

• Alcohol and methanol are used in biofuels.

Fuel Economy

• Using plastics allows more kilometers with the same amount of fuel. Today, 4 million tons of plastic are used in European vehicles; this may double within five years.

• Vehicles can stay outside garages longer due to improved durability.

• Tire lifespan has increased 400 times since cars first appeared, thanks to advances in rubber chemistry.

• Special antifreeze protects engines from freezing.

• Various oils and lubricants extend machine life.

• Every liquid in your vehicle is a specially formulated chemical.

To be a leader in production or cost, you must first be a leader in chemistry. (CEFIC)

2. AIRPLANES

Fuel Economy

• The secret is lightening aircraft through chemistry. Composites can reduce an aircraft’s weight by 30%.

• Today, you hardly see metal inside an airplane—plastics dominate.

Safety

• Chemicals extinguish engine fires instantly. All jets have chemically based automatic fire suppression systems.

3. INDUSTRIAL GASES

• Producing gases from air (oxygen for medicine and welding, refrigerant gases, inert gases, neon gas for lamps).

4. COMMUNICATION INDUSTRY

Without chemicals, we would return to communication by carrier pigeons or horseback messengers.

• Electricity is generated through chemical processes.

• Cables that transmit electricity are chemical products.

• Special sodium-borosilicate glasses enable fiber optics; they are so transparent that looking through kilometers of them is like looking out a window.

• Electronics—cables, connectors, chips, printed circuits—are chemistry.

• Without chemicals, printing and photography would not exist.

Chemistry is dominant in communication technologies.

5. ENVIRONMENT

Pollutants released from various sources accumulate in air, water, and soil, causing environmental pollution. To prevent environmental pollution from threatening human health, the following are necessary:

• Clean production technologies

• Reduction of waste

• Recycling as much waste as possible

• Disposal of waste in environmentally safe and economical ways

All of these are possible only through chemistry and its methods.

WITHOUT CHEMISTRY

THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

CHEMISTRY IS EVERYWHERE IN LIFE

Without chemistry in the universe, could chemical reactions occur in the Sun? Could it heat us, illuminate us? Could the ozone layer that protects us from the Sun’s rays form? Many more examples could be given. More importantly—could life exist in the universe, and therefore on Earth?

CONTINUATION OF LIFE: ENERGY

From the smallest organisms (autotrophs) to the most developed (heterotrophs), all living beings convert chemical substances (nutrients), with the help of sunlight or oxygen, into the energy required to sustain life. Without this energy, life cannot continue. Human breathing, walking, growing—are all powered by energy produced through chemical reactions. In other words, humans (like all living beings) are walking reactors that generate energy.

Human bodies and chemical factories do the same things:

• Break down substances (nutrients)

• Combine them

• Produce new substances

The only observable difference is scale.

CHEMISTRY WORKS FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY

Chemistry is one of the scientific fields that most benefits humanity—in nutrition, clothing, health, hygiene, and more. With household products and personal care items, it raises our standard of living.

CHEMISTRY CAN PRODUCE TARGET-ORIENTED DISCOVERIES

Two types of research are conducted in chemistry:

1. Fundamental research with advanced scientific goals, not always immediately applicable

2. Applied research aimed at solving real-world problems and improving living standards

Most importantly, chemistry is a science that develops new disciplines and long-term solutions for problems that may arise from itself.

CHEMISTRY IS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL AND SELF-RENEWING SCIENCE

Chemistry has operated for 200 years, offering useful discoveries to humanity. What began long ago with glass and soap has now advanced to genetic engineering.

CHEMISTRY IS A SCIENCE

Knowledge and developments in chemistry increase geometrically, as seen in patent numbers. Chemists not only produce valuable results but continually study how things work, how to improve them, and how to advance them further.