Milan Schwuger

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Milan Johann Schwuger (* 1938 ) is a German chemist . At Henkel KGaA, he and Heinz-Gerd Smolka (* 1940) invented the first phosphate- free detergents in the early 1970s .

Schwuger studied chemistry at RWTH Aachen University and received his doctorate in physical chemistry from Werner Peters in 1966 . In 1966 he joined the physical chemistry department at Henkel, which he headed from 1977. In 1984 he completed his habilitation in Düsseldorf and in 1989 became full professor for applied physical chemistry at the University of Düsseldorf . In 1989 he was also appointed director of the Institute for Applied Physical Chemistry at Forschungszentrum Jülich , where he worked until his retirement in 2003.

Because of the environmental pollution of the phosphates used as water softeners in detergents ( algae bloom and overturning in lakes, etc.), Henkel started looking for substitutes from 1966, and Schwuger found them in 1972 in the form of zeolite A (a sodium aluminum silicate) and developed it with Heinz- Gerd Smolka ready for the market. In 1973 Zeolite A was registered for a patent. It came onto the market in 1977 as Prodixan (at that time still with a slight yellow tinge). In Germany, phosphate-free detergents eventually replaced all phosphate- containing detergents thanks to the laws of 1975 ( Law on the Environmental Compatibility of Detergents and Cleaning Agents ) and 1980 (Maximum Phosphate Quantity Ordinance, limited to 20% from 1984).

In 1979 Schwuger was awarded the Theodor Steinkopff Prize of the Colloid Society . In 2001 he was honored with the Thomas Graham Prize of the Colloid Society for his life's work. In 1995 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Clarkson College in Potsdam (New York) . In 2001 he received the Medal of Honor from the Universidad Católica de Chile . From 1991 to 1999 he was chairman of the Colloid Society.

He has written 173 scientific publications, 23 book chapters and registered 73 patents.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Peters, born in Rheine in 1921, since 1963 private lecturer for physical fundamentals of fuel chemistry at RWTH Aachen, 1967 to 1980 adjunct professor.
  2. ^ Deutsches Museum Bonn, Zeolite A, pdf .
  3. ^ Colloid Society, Prices
personal data
SURNAME Schwuger, Milan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schwuger, Milan Johann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist
DATE OF BIRTH 1938