Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

===Chemicals===
Large-scale production of chemicals was an important development. The first of these was the production of [[Sulfuric acid|sulphuric acid]] by the [[lead chamber process]], invented by [[John Roebuck]] in 1746. He was able to increase the scale of the manufacture by replacing expensive glass vessels with larger, cheaper chambers made of [[rivet]]ed sheets of lead. Instead of a small amount, he was able to make around {{convert|100|lb|kg|-1|order=flip|abbr=off}} in each chamber, a tenfold increase.

The production of an [[alkali]] on a large scale became an important goal, and [[Nicolas Leblanc]] succeeded in 1791 in introducing a method for the production of [[sodium carbonate]] (soda ash). The [[Leblanc process]] was a reaction of sulfuric acid with [[sodium chloride]] to give [[sodium sulfate]] and [[hydrochloric acid]]. The sodium sulfate was heated with [[calcium carbonate]] and coal to give a mixture of sodium carbonate and [[calcium sulfide]]. Adding water separated the soluble sodium carbonate from the calcium sulfide. The process produced significant pollution, nonetheless, this synthetic soda ash proved economical compared to that from burning plants,<ref name="Clow52"/> and to [[potash]] ([[potassium carbonate]]) produced from hardwood ashes. Soda ash and sulphuric acid were important because they enabled the introduction of other inventions, replacing small-scale operations with more cost-effective and controllable processes. Sodium carbonate had uses in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. Early uses for sulfuric acid included [[Pickling (metal)|pickling]] (removing rust from) iron and steel, and for [[Textile bleaching|bleaching cloth]].

The development of bleaching powder ([[calcium hypochlorite]]) by chemist [[Charles Tennant]] in 1800, based on the discoveries of [[Claude Louis Berthollet]], revolutionised the bleaching processes in the textile industry by reducing the time required for the traditional process then in use: repeated exposure to the sun in fields after soaking the textiles with alkali or sour milk. Tennant's [[St Rollox Chemical Works]], [[Glasgow]], became the world's largest chemical plant.

After 1860 the focus on chemical innovation was in [[dye]]stuffs, and Germany took leadership, building a strong chemical industry.<ref>Lion Hirth, ''State, Cartels and Growth: The German Chemical Industry'' (2007) p. 20</ref> Aspiring chemists flocked to German universities in 1860–1914 to learn the latest techniques. British scientists lacked research universities and did not train advanced students; instead, the practice was to hire German-trained chemists.<ref>Johann P. Murmann, ''Knowledge and competitive advantage: the co-evolution of firms, technology, and national institutions'' (2003) pp.&nbsp;53–54</ref>