"“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.” "


Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009


""We have a financial system that is run by private shareholders, managed by private institutions, and we'd like to do our best to preserve that system."


Timothy Geithner US Secretary of the Treasury, previously President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.1/3/2009

Friday, April 14, 2006

150 years of synthetic dyes

It seems remarkable when Airbus have launched an aircraft that can seat 800 people and fly them 8,000 miles and the bearded loony Branson will take you to the edge of space, that synthetic dyestuffs were discovered only 150 years ago.

William H Perkins was a student at the Royal College of Chemistry under A.W.Hoffman (himself a student of Justin Leibig) . Just 18 he spent his Easter holiday (Good Friday was 23rd March in 1856) attempting at Hoffman’s suggestion to produce synthetic quinine, a known cure for malaria. (2 months later George Bernard Shaw was born, and James Clark Maxwell became Professor of Philosophy at Aberdeen when he started his revolutionary work on electricity and magnetism and on the kinetic theory of gases.)

Perkin’s first attempt , was to change allyltoluidine, which is an amine produced from coal tar, into quinine by oxidative condensation. On his first attempt he used the sulphate salt of allyltoluidine and potassium dichromate. From this reaction he obtained a reddish brown sludge.

On his second attempt he used the salt of aniline, after oxidative condensation, Perkin had obtained a black sludge.

Perkin started to inspect this black sludge that he had created and he found that when he dissolved this black precipitated in ethanol (or methanol depending who tells the story) it gave a rich purple colour. Perkin soon realised that he had synthesized a solution that had the properties of a dye, he called this product mauvine. A name derived from the Mallow flower or Malva. ( the molecular structure of mauveine was not known with certainty until 1994. It is a mixture of 2 closely related compounds, mauveine A, and mauveine B, which has one additional methyl group.)

History tells that strips from his sister’s silk dress became the first fabric to be died using this exciting new product – history also records she was none too pleased about it.

After obtaining a Patent, Perkins opened the factory Perkins & Sons that was built at Greenford Green near Harrow. Despite numerous of initial problems such as aniline not being readily available (although it was a waste product of the coal tar business) and therefore it had to be synthesized at the factory from benzene. But by the end of 1857 the factory was mass-producing mauvine, the first synthetic dye.

When both Queen Victoria and Empress Eugenie graced their wardrobes with mauvine, or mauve as it became known, the rest of the fashion world followed, confirming a demand of aniline dyes. It was however (PR , advertsing copywriters and marketing departments thriving then as now) called “Tyrrenhian Purple as the famed Tyrian purple of Regal imperial purple of Rome (as every fule kno) from as early as 1600 BC obtained exclusively from a gland of the Murex brandaris, a marine mollusk.)

In 1862 Queen Victoria (pic) appeared at the Royal Exhibition in a mauve silk gown – a very powerful product placement and endorsement. (However Perkin waited until 1895 to be knighted TB not being around then)

It is worth recording that when Condileezza Rice graced Blackburn recently the gutter press referred to her elegant trouser suit on day one of her Garnd Tour as “Mauve” – the BBC fashionistas were happy however to assure us all it was “dusky plum”.

At the ago of 35, Perkin sold his factory and then retired as a wealthy man. He then devoted the rest of his life to research in pure science.

Many new aniline dyes were introduced over the next few decades, including methyl violet (1861) and methylene blue (1876), paving the way for the introduction of copying pencils in the late 1870's Methyl violet was the most common aniline dye used in copying pencils, though methylene blue and the other soluble blue anilines were also common. (Remington makers of guns and sewing machines didn't produce the first commercial typwriter until 1873 and copy presses were used until well into the 1930's)

Elswhere, on the continent the there was rapid growth of the German dye industry CIBA 1860 & 1884, Chemische Industrie Basel (Swiss),Friedrich Bayer & Cie. 1861,Hoechst 1862,BASF 1865, Badische Analin- und- Soda- Fabrik, Aktien Gesellschaft für Analin Fabrikation AGFA 1867. In 1869. Graebe & Lieberman of BASF synthesized alizarin, a red dye to compete with natural "madder. " Perkin tried, but failed and then BASDF in 1880 produced synthetic indigo , mainstay now of the global jeans industry.

It also had an enormous impact on the Indian agricultural indigo industry which declined from. 1896 - 641,000 hectares to 1909 - 114,000 hectares. A loss of a cash crop worth US$13 MN a year. (qv polypropylene taking over from Sisal grown in Africa in 1960’s onwards).

There were of course spinoffs, mainly the development of synthetic drugs of which the greatest success was in 1899 when Bayer produced (acetylsalacylic acid) marketed very aggressively as Aspirin. In a special celebration at the World Cup this summer a 20 tonne, 10 metre circular Aspirin oberlisk will be displayed as part of a display of German inventions. . ( Aspirin =Acetyl + Spirsäure ( Spiraea Ulmaria -the plant they derived the salicylic acid from)

Aspirin was first sold as a powder. In 1915, the first Aspirin tablets were made. Interestingly, Aspirin ® and Heroin ® were once trademarks belonging to Bayer. After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up both trademarks as part of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

This organic research also led to other spinoffs, . Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, inventeda "safe" form of TNT (Tri-Nitro-Toluene) called dynamite. Nobel convinced his inventions made war so dangerous no sane person would undertake it. When proved wrong, established Nobel Peace Prize. (qv MAD)


The giant 20 tonne , 10metre high sculpture entitled “Milestones in Medicine” on the Friedrich-Ebert-Platz in Berlin (near the Reichstag building) is one of 6 sculptures symbolising the richness of ideas and the spirit of invention which characterise Germany’s composers, writers, scientists, engineers and perfectionist and welcomes visitors to the World Cup 2006.

Haber-Bosch (hydrogenation) was invented by Fritz Haber and Karl Bosch who developed a successfully commercial process to Hydrogenate atmospheric nitrogen to make ammonia, then convert to nitrates needed to make explosives. A direct result from that was the Bergius process in 1916 to Hydrogenate carbon chains enabling the manufacture of margarine (Ugh!) and synthetic gasoline.

Bosch headed Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie (IG Farben) which was a wartime consortium of BASF, AGFA. Bosch was personally anti-Nazi, but Hitler's economic policies were hugely beneficial to IG Farben. (Synthetic gasoline to fuel German tanks. ) After Bosch's retirement. IG provided Hitler with necessary technology for war, such as tetraethyl lead additives for aviation fuel, synthetic rubber, foodstuffs.

In it’s turn this resulted in IG Auschwitz a joint project with SS. Plan to work inmates to near death in synthetic rubber plant an estimated 300,000 Jews enslaved.

Centaura nigra L., Black Knapweed, Danish Sorthoved-Knopurt German Schwarze Flockenblume Swedish Svartklint Norwegian Svartknoppurt Finnish Mustakaunokki
Czech Chaber czarny Spanish Centaura negra

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(C) Very Seriously Disorganised Criminals 2002/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 - copy anything you wish