Carl Bosch Biography

Carl Bosch was a well-known German chemist and industrialist. He is famous for the development of the Haber-Bosch process for high-pressure synthesis of ammonia for which he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. While working as a chemist for a large German company, he transformed a laboratory demonstration project into a practical and extensive manoeuvre. When Fritz Haber approached BASF, the company Bosch used to work for, he was assigned to solve the task of bringing Haber's proposal of commercial ammonia production into reality. Bosch succeeded in supplying raw materials and provisioning suitable catalysts easily. His most tricky challenge was designing the equipment that could endure the tremendous high pressures necessary for ammonia synthesis and sustain the acidic effects of hydrogen gas. He did this by substituting Haber's carbon steel reactor with alloyed steel. It made possible one of the twentieth century's most important industrial processes—Fritz Haber's method of ammonia synthesis. His other works included manufacturing synthetic fuels such as methanol and gasoline from coal and oil. Carl Bosch was also one of the founders of IG Farben, one of the world’s largest chemical companies. He, along with Fritz Haber were voted ‘The Most Popular Chemical Engineers Ever’ by readers of the TCE Magazine. Bosch had immense in astronomy as well and had a well-built private observatory.