Chemical industry of the world

At present, the chemical industry has penetrated into almost all spheres of human activity. world chemical industry appeared long before the scientific and technological revolution ... Although it became a separate industry only with the beginning of the industrial revolution. Sulfuric acid plants were the first industrial plants in this area (1740, Great Britain). However, the rapid development of the industry began only in the second half of the 20th century.
Since the 50s of the last century, the chemical industry has been an important component of the economy of developed countries. Its products number about 70 thousand items and are widely used in other sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services. The products of the chemical industry in world consumption can be classified as follows: basic goods - 36%, life support products - 30%, specialty chemicals - 24%, consumer goods (10%).
Basic products include polymers, inorganic chemicals and mineral fertilizers, petrochemical products, synthetic rubber, varnishes and paints, turpentine and resins, explosives and industrial rubber goods. Consumer goods are detergents and cosmetics. The highest rates of development and growth are characteristic of the class of life support products. It includes biological, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and veterinary drugs, vitamins and pesticides.
The largest chemical companies in the world are: BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany (1st place), Dow Chemical, Midland, USA (2nd place), Shell Chemicals, Netherlands /UK (3rd place), Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany (4th place), INEOS, Lyndhurst, UK (5th place). The Russian chemical industry is in eleventh place in the world in terms of production. The share of the industry in the total industrial production of the country is 6%. Chemical enterprises account for 7% of fixed assets (fifth place after mechanical engineering, fuel industry, energy and metallurgy).
According to experts, by 2015 China will become the world's leading producer of chemicals, its share will be 12-14%. The United States will increasingly focus on innovation, process improvement and services. Production will shift towards pharmaceuticals, while the growth rate of basic chemicals and crop protection products will slow down.
Unfortunately, for the chemical industry of the world, the issue of pollution with toxic environmental wastes is urgent. Therefore, the main trends in the development of the global chemical industry are: tightening of environmental standards; transition to safe and efficient technologies, specialization of companies in products with high added value; rapid development of technology; increased concentration of production; change in the strategy of the largest companies; the growing importance of the petrochemical industry; increase in the proportion of gas raw materials.