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Description
The 19th century alkali industry makes today's chemical industry look like a model of cleanliness and safety. It was one of the filthiest, most dangerous activities in British industrial history. I...n the 19th century, the manufacture of soda (alkali) and chlorine by the Leblanc process caused iimense pollution in Tyneside, Widnes and St. Helens and Glasgow. alec Campbell traces the rise and fall of the Leblanc industry and its replacement by the more efficient, safer Solvay and electrolytic processes for making alkali. He explains the demand for the industry, its processes, its products, its siting and its consequences. The programme includes location footage of many early processes, including traditional salt manufacture in Cheshire, together with a wealth of material unearthed from ICI's film archive.
The 19th century alkali industry makes today's chemical industry look like a model of cleanliness and safety. It was one of the filthiest, most dangerous activities in British industrial history. I...n the 19th century, the manufacture of soda (alkali) and chlorine by the Leblanc process caused iimense pollution in Tyneside, Widnes and St. Helens and Glasgow. alec Campbell traces the rise and fall of the Leblanc industry and its replacement by the more efficient, safer Solvay and electrolytic processes for making alkali. He explains the demand for the industry, its processes, its products, its siting and its consequences. The programme includes location footage of many early processes, including traditional salt manufacture in Cheshire, together with a wealth of material unearthed from ICI's film archive.
| Module code and title: | A281, Technology and change c.1750-1914 |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A281; 04 |
| First transmission date: | 24-03-1984 |
| Published: | 1984 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:25:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Neil Cameron |
| Contributors: | Alec Campbell; Haydn Jones |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Alkali industry; Chemical industry; Electrolytic processes; ICI; Industrial pollution; Industrial revolution; Leblanc process; Salt manufacture; Solvay process |
| Master spool number: | HOU4450 |
| Production number: | FOUA176L |
| Videofinder number: | 2549 |
| Available to public: | no |
