Bosch, Carl (1874-1940): German industrial chemist

Bosch, Carl (1874-1940)
Bosch was a German industrial chemist. His development of high pressure chemical plant enabled the laboratory Haber process to be translated into the immensely important industrial Haber-Bosch process. He was awarded the 1931 Nobel Price for Chemistry.

The son of engineer, Bosch began his career in a foundry, before being allowed by his father to pursue a formal education at the University of Leipzig. After gaining his PhD in 1898, Bosch joined the research staff of Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (BASF) in Ludwigshafen. There he became involved in the major task facing German industry: the synthetic of ammonia, for use in both agriculture and the armaments industry.

In 1907, Fritz Haber had demonstrated that, with high temperature and pressures and appropriate catalysts, ammonia could be synthesized from atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogen. The Haber process, however, then was restricted to the laboratory. Bosch was assigned the task of transforming the process into an industrial plant: he did this at Oppau, where BASF’s first high pressure ammonia plant opened in 1909.

By 1930 well over 2 million tons of ammonia were being produce annually. Remaining at BASF, Bosch rose to become chairman of its successor, IG Farben, and continued to hold the position until his death.
Bosch, Carl (1874-1940): German industrial chemist