Article ID: CBB389030217

Bonnington chemical works (1822–1878): pioneer coal tar company (2019)

unapi

Established in 1822 to process the coal tar and ammoniacal liquor residues of the Edinburgh gasworks, the Bonnington Chemical Works was an early and unusual facility in an era when coal gas residues were generally regarded as a burden. Its special place in the history of fossil fuel chemical manufacture has gone unnoticed and its operations have not been analysed previously, despite there being considerable source material. Here the lifecycle of the plant is explored in detail to understand its instigation, subsequent growth, and why it later closed, with emphasis on the ongoing evolution of its product range and corresponding manufacturing methods, production scale and prices. A key element in its extended success – the integrated scientific, technical and commercial skill of the various managers – is illustrated, as are interrelationships of the Bonnington works with the gradual development of the overall coal tar sector and broader industrial, political and social influences.

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Authors & Contributors
Reed, Peter
Solar, Peter M.
Fitsanakis, Joseph
Fernández Paradas, Mercedes
Kat Jungnickel
Mary Mills
Concepts
Technological innovation
Chemical industry
Management; administration
Industrial revolution
Technology
Coal Gas
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century
20th century, early
Enlightenment
21st century
Places
Great Britain
United States
Birmingham (England)
London (England)
Spain
France
Institutions
Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (Great Britain)
Royal Society of London
Royal Institution of Great Britain
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