‘monoculture’ and a grotesque overcapacity. Bosch therefore now insisted that
the government—who of course precipitated the war—carry the burden and
pay for any further expansion. The subsequent negotiations dragged on
through the summer and became acrimonious, especially so as Nikodem Caro
entered the arena and offered to expand ammonia production using the
cyanamide process. But with Haber embedded at the government’s tables in
Berlin
22 the BASF was kept informed of progress and the developing government consensus was that only the Haber-Bosch process was capable of
providing the necessary tonnage of fixed nitrogen. As a consequence of this
‘insider’ knowledge, the BASF held a firm negotiating line.
By April 1916 the government acceded to Bosch’s demands and they
provided a loan of 12 million Marks for the new ammonia plant, but by now
the ‘goalposts’ had shifted once again and Bosch had to promise an annual
capacity of 38,500t NH 3 (31,700t fixed N or 192,500t NaNO 3 )—over three
times the original saltpetre ‘promise’—simultaneously guaranteeing a reasonable fixed price for the product. The new plant, modeled on Oppau, was
eventually built at Leuna in central Germany far away from the increasingly
frequent French air attacks
23 that were beginning to plague Oppau as the
Allies finally realised the extent of Germany’s fixed nitrogen production.
Leuna lay in the heart of Germany’s ‘lignite’ (brown coal) mining region in
Saxony-Anhalt near the town of Merseburg. The river Saale lay nearby and
provided water whilst a local mine provided gypsum (CaSO 4 Á 2H 2 O) to help
replace the sulphuric acid needed for ammonium sulphate fertilizer. Leuna
was carefully chosen by Bosch, not only to serve Germany in wartime but also
to facilitate a conversion to fertilizer production after the war, and construction began there on 19 May 1916. But by December 1916 the continued pressures of the war ratcheted up the capacity once again and a
decision was made to build a plant that quadrupled the previously agreed
annual production to 130,000t fixed N—entirely vindicating Bosch’s insistence on the government taking responsibility for the funding of any
expansion. On 27 April 1917 the first converter came ‘on line’ and produced
ammonia a day later. The plant was therefore viable just eleven months after
construction began, an amazing feat of engineering considering the strictures
of war. Further expansion to 200,000t fixed N per year was proposed in July
1918 but this was only achieved post-war in 1923. Soon after, Leuna became
the largest chemical plant in the world (Plate 13.1).
250
D. Sheppard
the government—who of course precipitated the war—carry the burden and
pay for any further expansion. The subsequent negotiations dragged on
through the summer and became acrimonious, especially so as Nikodem Caro
entered the arena and offered to expand ammonia production using the
cyanamide process. But with Haber embedded at the government’s tables in
Berlin
22 the BASF was kept informed of progress and the developing government consensus was that only the Haber-Bosch process was capable of
providing the necessary tonnage of fixed nitrogen. As a consequence of this
‘insider’ knowledge, the BASF held a firm negotiating line.
By April 1916 the government acceded to Bosch’s demands and they
provided a loan of 12 million Marks for the new ammonia plant, but by now
the ‘goalposts’ had shifted once again and Bosch had to promise an annual
capacity of 38,500t NH 3 (31,700t fixed N or 192,500t NaNO 3 )—over three
times the original saltpetre ‘promise’—simultaneously guaranteeing a reasonable fixed price for the product. The new plant, modeled on Oppau, was
eventually built at Leuna in central Germany far away from the increasingly
frequent French air attacks
23 that were beginning to plague Oppau as the
Allies finally realised the extent of Germany’s fixed nitrogen production.
Leuna lay in the heart of Germany’s ‘lignite’ (brown coal) mining region in
Saxony-Anhalt near the town of Merseburg. The river Saale lay nearby and
provided water whilst a local mine provided gypsum (CaSO 4 Á 2H 2 O) to help
replace the sulphuric acid needed for ammonium sulphate fertilizer. Leuna
was carefully chosen by Bosch, not only to serve Germany in wartime but also
to facilitate a conversion to fertilizer production after the war, and construction began there on 19 May 1916. But by December 1916 the continued pressures of the war ratcheted up the capacity once again and a
decision was made to build a plant that quadrupled the previously agreed
annual production to 130,000t fixed N—entirely vindicating Bosch’s insistence on the government taking responsibility for the funding of any
expansion. On 27 April 1917 the first converter came ‘on line’ and produced
ammonia a day later. The plant was therefore viable just eleven months after
construction began, an amazing feat of engineering considering the strictures
of war. Further expansion to 200,000t fixed N per year was proposed in July
1918 but this was only achieved post-war in 1923. Soon after, Leuna became
the largest chemical plant in the world (Plate 13.1).
250
D. Sheppard