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At the turn of the century,

the British chemist Sir William

Crookes delivers a lecture to the

British Association for the Ad-

vancement of Science in Bristol

titled The Wheat Problem. His

audience hears that the wheat

harvest depends on saltpeter

from Chile. This fixed nitrogen is

used as a fertilizer to increase

agricultural yields and produce

more food for the rapidly growing

population. But land reserves in

Europe in particular are depleted

and Chiles saltpeter reserves

are running out fast. Nitrogen is

therefore urgently needed as a

plant nutrient.

Nitrogen is available in Europe

huge amounts of it in fact but

only in the atmosphere. Neither

plants nor humans can make use

of this inert substance because

a technically feasible method of

fixing atmospheric nitrogen in

chemical compounds has not yet

been discovered.

The results of Wilhelm Ostwalds

investigations into the effect of

catalysts eventually pave the way

for an application based on

physical chemistry. Fritz Haber

and Carl Bosch subsequently

develop a process to fix atmo-

spheric nitrogen and produce

synthetic ammonia. In 1913,

BASF starts operating the worlds

first ammonia synthesis plant.

Mineral fertilizer production

begins, launching a new phase

in the companys history.

Whereas BASF has been exclu-

sively a dyes company until now,

it now becomes a supplier of

agricultural products. At the same

time, it moves into a completely

new area of chemistry high-

pressure technology.

The introduction of high-pressure

technology means a change

in methods. Equipment becomes

more complex. Chemists and

engineers now need to work to-

gether much more closely.

The German chemical industry

leads the world, and in some

areas even holds a global mono-

poly. Industrial growth seems

unstoppable. But the First World

War brings these promising

developments to an end.

The Haber-Bosch Processand the Era of Fertilizers

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Coal is not merely a source of

energy, it is also the chemical

industrys most important raw

material at this time. To secure

its raw material base, BASF,

along with Bayer and AGFA,

acquires the Auguste Victoria

mine in Marl, Germany, in 1907.

From the Annual Report 1907:

Always mindful of improving the

welfare of our staff, we launched

a non-contributory workers

pension scheme at the beginning

of this year which will pay inval-

idity pensions to workers based

on certain guidelines. We also

intend to grant workers a fully

paid annual vacation of one

week, including a holiday bonus

payment, after 10 years of

service.

1908: The work of Fritz Haber

(1868 1934, professor of

chemistry at Karlsruhe and

Berlin) suggests that the tech-

nical synthesis of ammonia from

nitrogen and hydrogen may be

possible. The process requires

high temperatures, high pressure

and catalysts. BASF starts

conducting intensive research

under the direction of Carl Bosch

(1874 1940, chemist, chairman

of BASFs Board of Executive

Directors from 1919 to 1925 and

of IG Farben from 1925 to 1935). Patent documentOctober 13, 1908:Process for Synthe-

sizing Ammonia from

the Elements

The inventors of ammonia

synthesis: Carl Bosch and

Fritz Haber.

The apparatus used by

Haber in the laboratory

looks deceptively simple.

19051902 1903 1904

BASF at the turn

of the century

Poster announcing

first provision of paid

holiday

1907 19081906 1909

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Carl Bosch wants fertilizers to

be tested as thoroughly as dyes.

Customers are to be given

proper instructions for their use.

This means extensive trials to

determine the effect of fertilizers

on soil and on plants. 1914 sees

the opening of the Agricultural

Research Station in Limburgerhof,

near Ludwigshafen, to investigate

fertilizers and plant physiology.

This paves the way for BASFs

worldwide activities in the field of

agricultural chemistry.

The First World War begins in

August 1914. Germany pours its

resources into the war effort,

putting an increasing burden on

the economy. For the first time,

the war makes the new industrial

society aware of the ambivalence

of many products, including

chemicals. Synthetic ammonia,

for example, was developed to

secure food supplies for a grow-

ing population. Faced with a

shortage of ammunition by the

end of 1914, the government,

however, assigns top priority to

ammonia. It is converted into

saltpeter at the Oppau plant and

then delivered to the explosives

industry.

Chlorine and phosgene, impor-

tant intermediates used to manu-

facture dyes and drugs among

other things, are used as poison

gas by the armies of both sides.

Fritz Gnther (1877 1957, chem-

ist at BASF from 1901 to 1938)

discovers Nekal, a textile auxilia-

ry, in 1916. It is the first synthetic

surfactant. It reduces the surface

tension of water and outperforms

the washing performance of the

soaps of the day. Such synthetic

wetting agents are still used to-

day in dishwashing and laundry

products and without them a no-

dry shine would not be possible.

Other surfactants are used to

manufacture emulsion paints

and shampoos.

After several expansions of the

Oppau ammonia facilities, the

government orders the construc-

tion of a second major produc-

tion plant. A site in eastern

Germany, away from the danger

of air raids, is chosen. After a

brief period of construction,

BASFs second ammonia plant in

Leuna near Merseburg starts

operating in April 1917. In Oppau,

construction work starts on the

Ammonia Laboratory, BASFs

second major research facility.

In 1910, after extensive experi-

ments, Alwin Mittasch (1869

1953, chemist and head of the

ammonia lab from 1912 to 1932)

finds the long-sought ideal cata-

lyst for synthesizing ammonia:

activated iron. The industrial

production of ammonia requires

extensive pioneer work:

New types of steel have to be

developed and tested, new

reactor designs tried out, and

special gas machines and

compressors built.

The launch of machine-based

data processing at BASF: In 1911,

BASF is one of the first custom-

ers of Berlin-based Deutsche

Hollerith-Gesellschaft AG and is

listed as client number six.

The technical implementation of

the Haber-Bosch process faces

failure. The new pressure vessels

and pipes encased in reinforced

concrete burst again and again.

It is Carl Bosch himself who

comes up with the solution:

a double pipe with an inner mantle

of soft iron and an external pres-

sure-bearing but perforated steel

casing. Nevertheless, further

expert advice is needed. In order

to solve the growing problems

posed by materials and related

safety problems, BASF sets

up the chemical industrys first

materials testing lab in 1912.

The main task of materials test-

ing, then and now, is to identify

and control problems in materials

for instrumentation and process

engineering.

A year after the groundbreaking,

the first ammonia synthesis plant

begins producing nitrogen fertil-

izers in Oppau in 1913 three

kilometers north of the Ludwigs-

hafen site. Annual output:

7,200 metric tons of ammonia to

be processed into 36,000 metric

tons of ammonium sulfate.

Ninety years later, BASF has

an annual capacity of 875,000

metric tons of ammonia in

Ludwigshafen.

BASFs clubhouse, the Vereins-

haus, today known as the

Feierabendhaus, is inaugurated.

It provides function rooms, a

library, a restaurant and a bowling

alley that workers can use in

their leisure time. The first edition

of the company newspaper is

published to coincide with the

opening of the building on

April 13, 1913.

Entrance to the

Agricultural Research

Station in Limburger-

hof and the first

greenhouse

Simplifying the

dyeing process:

Nekal reduces the

surface tension

of water and stops

yarn from floating

in the dye bath.

Installation of a high-

pressure reactor in the

ammonia plant.

1910 1911 1912 1913

The new Oppau

plant around 1914:

The Ludwigshafen

plants can be seen

in the distance.

BASFs Vereinshauslater

becomes the Feierabend-

haus, where workers go

to relax after work.

Interior view of

the materials testing

laboratory

19161914 1915 1917

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The lost war brings runaway in-

flation to Germany. One U.S.

dollar is worth 4.2 trillion marks.

In 1923, BASFs assets amount

to 65,733,583,748 million marks.

BASF tries to protect its work-

force from the effects of the de-

valuation. At the height of the

crisis in 1923, the company in-

troduces a new currency, the

aniline dollar. For a short time,

it becomes the most sought

after banknote in the region.

The Haber-Bosch process

means BASF becomes the first

company to begin working

on the many opportunities pre-

sented by high-pressure tech-

nology. It is this technology that

will now shape large-scale chem-

ical operations. In 1923, Matthias

Pier (1882 1965, chemist at

BASF from 1920 to 1949) suc-

cessfully synthesizes methanol.

Yet another of natures raw

material monopolies is broken:

Wood alcohol is dethroned by

synthetic methanol. A year

earlier, BASF had succeeded in

producing urea on an industrial

scale from ammonia and carbon

dioxide 100 years after

Friedrich Whler had first synthe-sized urea in the laboratory.

In his attempt to improve the

production of synthesis gas in

the manufacture of ammonia,

Fritz Winkler (1888 1950, chem-

ist at BASF from 1916 to 1950)

discovers the principle of the

fluidized bed in 1924. This pro-

duces an excellent combustible

gas during the process of coking

fine-grain lignite. The Winkler

principle is also the basis for the

process developed by BASF in

1950 whereby pyrite is roasted in

fluidized bed furnaces in the

production of sulfuric acid.

19241922

Fritz Winkler and

his sketch of an out-

standing invention:

The fluidized bed

principle for coking

lignite

The first shipment

of methanol leaves

the Leuna site on

September 26, 1923.

In October 1923,

BASF prints its

own money:

The aniline dollar

The Oppau site

following the 1921

explosion

By the end of the First World

War in 1918, German dye manu-

facturers have lost their leading

position on the worlds markets.

Production facilities, subsidiaries,

associated companies, and sales

companies abroad are confis-

cated, as are patents registered

abroad. Reparations imposed

by the victors hamper economic

recovery. BASF is occupied by

French troops for several months

and links to the eastern bank of

the Rhine are severed.

Representatives of BASFs senior

management, salaried employees

and workers found a joint com-

mittee for education in 1919.

This lays the foundation for to-

days broad program of cultural

events sponsored by BASF.

Symphony and chamber concerts

and a wide range of special

events as well as extensive sports

and leisure facilities are offered

not only to BASFs workforce, but

also to their families and to the

citizens of Ludwigshafen and the

surrounding region.

The creation of the first German

republic in November 1918

also leads to changes in the com-

panys charter. The previously

paternalistic approach to rela-

tions between the company

and its employees is replaced by

mandatory codetermination

rights. The first collective wage

agreement in the chemical

industry is signed in July 1919.

It guarantees the eight-hour

working day long demanded by

labor unions. BASFs first works

council is elected in 1920;

its representatives are admitted

to the companys Supervisory

Board in 1922.

On September 21, 1921, the

new Oppau site is rocked by a

huge explosion that claims

more than 500 lives and causes

considerable damage to the

site and neighboring community.

The accident occurs during

blasts carried out to loosen am-

monium nitrate sulfate fertilizer

stored in a warehouse.

At the memorial service, Carl

Bosch says: The disaster was

caused neither by carelessness

nor human failure. Unknown

natural factors that we are still

unable to explain today have

made a mockery of all our efforts.

The very substance intended

to provide food and life to millions

of our countrymen and which

we have produced and supplied

for years has suddenly become

a cruel enemy for reasons we are

as yet unable to fathom. It has

reduced our site to rubble. But

what is that compared to the

victims whose lives this disaster

has claimed. We stand here

today helpless and powerless,

and whatever we can do to

comfort their grieving families

and the injured is nothing com-

pared to what they have lost.

The Leuna site

near Merseburg

around 1920

1918 1919 1920 1921

Wartime emergency:

BASF distributes

food supplies to its

employees.

1923