Abstracto

Opportunities for innovation in chemical Industry

Anil Rajaram Oroskar

 After the discovery and development of crude oil in the early 1900s, the chemical industry began to take off. The transition from coal to oil sparked advances in both fuels and petrochemicals. Innovative processes and products grew rapidly, improving the quality of life for everyone on the planet. Regrettably, by the turn of the century, this breakthrough had slowed. By the year 2000, the chemical industry had matured into a brick and mortar business with few process and product breakthroughs. In the last two decades, the focus has largely been on enhancing information and expertise, which has resulted in more automated chemical processes. Fortunately, there are still many prospects for major chemical industry innovation. These opportunities exist because the world in which we live has tremendous needs. These possibilities can be categorized as follows: Improved resource use, such as seawater as a source of drinking water and natural gas as a source of olefins, etc. It improved process efficiency by, among other things, improving petroleum, cracking catalysts, and an improved aluminum electrochemical process. This presentation will include an overview of chemical industry innovation growth and slowing over the last century, as well as unique opportunities for spurring innovation in products and processes that could play a key role in the chemical industry's renewal this century.