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Bromine Extraction Process
Herbert Henry Dow's name is synonymous with chemical research
due to the global success of the company he founded in 1895,
the Dow Chemical Company. Born in Ontario, Canada on February
26, 1866, Dow studied chemistry at Case School of Applied
Science (now Case Western Reserve University), where he received
a B.S. degree in 1888. While working on a thesis project there
he was analyzing brine samples in sites around the country
when he discovered that at some sites, particularly those
located near oil wells in the Midland, Michigan area, the
brine contained high concentrations of bromine, a chemical
used primarily at the time in medicines and photographic chemicals
Dow researched the ways that bromine was extracted from brine
and found existing procedures inefficient and expensive: the
liquid would be evaporated, then the sodium chloride that
crystallized would be removed, followed by adding an oxidizing
agent to the remaining liquid. Finally the bromine would be
distilled. The biggest drawback to this process was that it
required costly fuel such as lumber for the evaporation step,
and it also meant that other useful substances in the brine
would be discarded.
Dow's method was to oxidize the brine first, so that the bromine
was formed in the brine. Then burlap was dipped in the brine,
and a current of air would be passed through the material to
carry bromine off in gas form. Next the air would be mixed with
an iron or alkali solution, and the bromine would be extracted
from the air as alkali bromines.
For this process Dow earned his first patent in 1889. In 1890,
he formed the Midland Chemical Corp., where he continued to
refine his bromine extraction process, producing an electrolytic
method that year that came to be known as the Dow process. Next
Dow modified his technology to diversify into chlorine chemicals,
magnesium metal, and some organic chemicals. He was able to
make a large variety of profitable products from the substances
naturally found in Midland's brine, including iodine, sodium
compounds, and calcium. He supplied consumer products as well,
such as Epsom salt. In 1895, he reorganized his business into
the Dow Process Company. In 1897, the company officially became
The Dow Chemical Company, where Dow would serve as president
and general manager until the end of his life.
After World War I, Dow invested in research into the automotive
industry, creating a Metallurgical Laboratory, Dowmetal. The
division produced pistons and other parts for many types of
vehicles, working mainly with lightweight magnesium metal.
Dow also worked with General Motors in order to produce a
new type of gasoline. The result was a fuel additive called
tetraethyl, which was rich in bromine. Since production of
this substance would require enormous amounts of bromine,
Dow knew he needed to turn to the ocean as a source.
After earning more than 100 patents and numerous awards including
the 1930 Perkin-Elmer award, Dow died on October 16, 1930.
His son, Willard H. Dow, subsequently took over the Dow Chemical
Company and completed the project of extracting bromine from
seawater. The first plant built to extract bromine from ocean
water opened in North Carolina in 1934. Today, the Dow Chemical
Company is the fifth largest chemical company in the world
and sells more than 2000 varieties of chemicals and plastics
products.
[November 2003]
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