How Biotechnology Helped Maintain the Supply of Acetone for the Manufacture of Cordite During World War I

IF 0.2 Q4 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology Pub Date : 2014-07-01 DOI:10.1179/1758120614Z.00000000043

Alan William Bunch

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引用次数: 5

Abstract

Abstract Cordite was the main propellant used for ballistic weaponry at the start of the twentieth century. The Royal Navy required high quality specific types of this propellant in order for its ordnance to operate most effectively. Acetone was needed as a gelatinizing agent to incorporate the chemical components during cordite manufacture. At the start of World War I the United Kingdom’s reserve of acetone was very limited. Traditionally, acetone was obtained from wood distillation. An alternative method for making acetone was essential. Chaim Weitzmann (the first President of Israel) was instrumental in formulating a bacterial process that could make a significant contribution to the supply of acetone needed to keep the guns firing. Many problems relating to the efficiency and scale of production had to be overcome. Holton Heath in Dorset became the site where the process became one of the first examples of biotechnology working at an industrially useful scale.

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在第一次世界大战期间，生物技术是如何帮助维持生产Cordite所需的丙酮供应的

摘要20世纪初，火药是弹道武器的主要推进剂。皇家海军需要高质量的特殊类型的推进剂，以使其军械最有效地运作。在冰芯制造过程中，需要丙酮作为糊化剂来吸收化学成分。在第一次世界大战开始时，英国的丙酮储备非常有限。传统上，丙酮是由木材蒸馏得到的。另一种制造丙酮的方法是必不可少的。查伊姆·韦茨曼(以色列第一任总统)在制定一种细菌过程中发挥了重要作用，该过程可以为保证枪支射击所需的丙酮的供应做出重大贡献。有关生产效率和规模的许多问题必须加以克服。多塞特郡的霍尔顿希思(Holton Heath)成为了该过程成为生物技术在工业上有效规模工作的第一个例子之一的地点。

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International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

CiteScore

0.60

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0.00%

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