It was in 1921, exactly 100 years ago, that the famous chemist Ernest Beaux created the classic Chanel No. 5 - the first perfume of the modern era combining natural and synthetic elements. Since then, chemistry has helped make the perfume industry more sustainable.
The high environmental costs of using fossil fuels are raising the potential of hydrogen. In Portugal, there are those who are investing in this clean energy, which is economically becoming more and more competitive.
Light, malleable, long-lasting and inexpensive. The invention of plastic revolutionised modern society, contributing to the development of humanity. But the abuse of disposable plastics has become a huge and serious environmental problem, calling for new measures and new approaches. And the chemical industry is part of the solution.
In the periodic table it is identified as Cl 17. It is known to the world as chlorine and is recognised as an important disinfectant. But the history of this natural chemical element has much more flavour to offer, not least because there is salt involved.
When Otto Bayer synthesised Polyurethane in 1937, he was far from imagining the potential of his discovery.
Man’s use of fertilisers, to improve soil quality, is as old as the practice of agriculture, dating back to the Neolithic period, more than twelve thousand years ago.