Märkische soap industry

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The Märkische Seifenindustrie was a company in Witten for the production of soaps . After several changes of name, today's production facilities belong to Evonik and Cremer Oleo GmbH & Co. KG.

history

The small soap factory , also abbreviated to MSI, served from 1905 to support the local church community. Clemens Stallmeyer and Arthur Imhausen acquired the company in 1912 after their commitment to the production of detergents in Gelsenkirchen-Buer (Chemische Fabrik Buer GmbH) had failed economically. Imhausen became the technical director of soap production, he expanded the chemical laboratories and facilities. In addition to soap production, new areas of work were continually opened up. Among other things, MSI produced water glass as a stabilizer for detergents containing sodium perborate and medical preparations on a colloidal basis.

During the First World War, raw materials for the production of explosives such as dinitrobenzenes and hexanitrophenyl phosphate were produced. This prevented closure during the war, but also led to dismantling after the war. In the following years the company expanded the soap production again. The brand name "Warta" became known in Germany, which is why the production site was also called Warta-Werke . In 1922 the company changed into an open trading company (OHG). From 1926, the focus of production was on fat chemistry , in order to produce the raw materials for the soaps in high quality.

German fatty acid works

In the 1930s, Imhausen, together with the chief chemist of the Märkische soap industry, Werner Prosch, resumed Eugen Schaal's research in the field of paraffin oxidation . By using manganese salts, he succeeded in oxidizing paraffins to fatty acids with atmospheric oxygen . After initially experimenting with lignite tars as raw materials, he later, on the advice of Wilhelm Keppler, used the paraffin fractions, so-called paraffin slack, that occur in gasoline synthesis according to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis . As early as 1937, large-scale production was started in the "Deutsche Fettäuren Werke GmbH", which was founded together with Henkel . IG Farbenindustrie AG's patents were also incorporated into this company .

After only soaps were initially produced, the first synthetic edible fat in the world was developed through the esterification of purified synthetic fatty acids . Large-scale production of this product started in 1941, with a monthly capacity of 250 tons. In addition, lubricating oils for the Navy and Air Force as well as plasticizers for Buna and other plastics were produced. The Second World War was the driving force behind the switch to synthetic edible fats and lubricants. Imhausen, who had a Jewish mother, became an important business leader thanks to his support for the National Socialists' self-sufficiency policy (closing the “German fat gap”).

post war period

After the war, production was changed again. Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) as an important raw material for polyester and thus for the clothing industry could be produced by a new process that no longer required saltpetre. The area of ​​oleochemistry was also continued. In 1958, Imhausen-Chemie became the owner of Dynamit Nobel AG, and in 1988 the area then known as “Chemische Werke Witten” was transferred to Hüls AG .

sale

The polyester production area later became part of Evonik-Degussa , and oleochemicals, with the production of more than 250 oleochemicals for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food, were sold to Condea (RWE) and later joined Sasol . Both plants in what is now the “Witten Chemical Park” work closely together due to the flow of materials. The raw materials no longer come from the liquefaction of coal, but from renewable raw materials such as coconut or palm kernel oil .

At the beginning of 2012 it became known that the Sasol production area would be sold to Cremer Oleo GmbH & Co. KG, which belongs to Peter Cremer Holding.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Ralph Klein: Arthur Imhausen (1885-1951) . In: Wolfgang Weber (Hrsg.): Engineers in the Ruhr area (=  Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiografien ). tape 17 . Aschendorfer Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, Münster 1999, ISBN 3-402-06753-6 , p. 344-372 .
  2. ^ Plastic Museum: DMT manufacturing process. Retrieved March 27, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Sasol sold to Hamburg. January 11, 2012, accessed March 27, 2015 .

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