Charles Fr̩d̩ric Kuhlmann (22 May 1803 Р27 January 1881) was a French
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chÄ“m(Ãa)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
who patented the reaction for converting ammonia to nitric acid, which was later used in the
Ostwald process.
[Note:
* Frédéric Kuhlmann, "Pour la fabrication de l'acide nitrique et des nitrates," French patent no. 11,331 (filed: October 1838 ; issued: 22 December 1838). Supplemental patent issued: 7 June 1839. See: ''Description des machines et procédés consignés dans les brevets d'invention,'' … escription of machines and methods recorded in the patents of invention, ... (Paris, France: Madame Veuve Bouchard-Huzard, 1854), 82 :]
160.
* Fréd. Kuhlmann (1838
"Note sur plusieurs réactions nouvelles déterminées par l'éponge de platine, et considérations sur les services que cette substance est appelée à rendre à la science"
(Note on several new reactions caused by platinum sponge, and reflections on the services that this substance is called to render to science), ''Comptes rendus'', 7 : 1107-1110. From page 1109: ''"1°. L'ammoniaque mêlée d'air en passant à une température de 300° environ sur de l'éponge de platine, est décomposée, et l'azote qu'il renferme est complétement transformé en acide nitrique, aux dépens de l'oxigène de l'air."'' (1. Ammonia mixed with air, upon passing at a temperature of about 300° over platinum sponge, is decomposed and the nitrogen that it contains is completely transformed into nitric acid, at the expense of the oxygen of the air.)
* John Graham Smith (1988) "Frédéric Kuhlmann: Pioneer of platinum as an industrial catalyst," ''Platinum Metals Review'', 32 (2) : 84-90.
He was both a research scientist and a professor at
Université Lille Nord de France. He promoted chemical engineering education for science graduates in
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
and supported the development of
École centrale de Lille
Located in the campus of Science and Technology (Cité Scientifique) of the University of Lille in Villeneuve-d'Ascq ( European Metropolis of Lille - Hauts-de-France); École Centrale de Lille is a renowned graduate engineering school, with roots ...
(IDN).
As an entrepreneur starting in 1829, he established his own chemical company producing sulfuric acid. This company later merged into
Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann group.
References
*
Bibliothèque numérique de Lillebr>
Frédéric Kuhlmann*
Obituary of Kuhlmann in ''La Nature'' 26 Feb 1881, scanned at google books
1803 births
1881 deaths
People from Colmar
19th-century French chemists
University of Lille Nord de France
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