History of Chemistry in

The Dow Chemical Company

Etcyl Blair
May 18, 2006

Presentation by Etcyl Blair, ACS Central Regional Meeting, May 16-20, 2006
Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this symposium. Today I would like to
share with you some history of chemistry in The Dow Chemical Company in
Midland, Michigan.
While I spent 35 years in Research and Development at Dow and witnessed some
of the events I will be discussing today, most I know by study and from stories told
by others. Dows research and development history is long and complex. For much
of my information I have relied upon Ned Brandts book, Growth Company - Dow
Chemicals First Century, and Robert Karpiuks book, Dow Research Pioneers. The
photos in todays presentation were supplied by The Post Street Archives in
Midland.

1
 Dow founder - Herbert H. Dow

Founded in 1897, The Dow Chemical Company has been a high-tech research-
oriented company. The first 50 years were dominated by Herbert Henry Dow, the
founder of the company, and his son Willard. Each was a strong and dynamic
leader. Each had research reporting directly to him. The second 50 years
witnessed the growth of research and development by a management team.
During the first 100 years of Dows existence its research evolved through several
eras. For the first 20 years Dow was primarily an inorganic chemicals company and
research was concerned with chemicals from brine. Twenty years later organic
chemistry was on the front burner, followed closely by polymer chemistry which
today still reigns supreme.

2
 Willard Dow expanding Dows
research capabilities

During the Depression in 1930, Herbert H. Dow died and his son Willard became
the president. Many industrial establishments were closing down their research
activities at that time, but not Dow. Willard Dow made the decision to expand Dows
research. Like his father, he believed in research and innovation. Top talent was
now available to Dow since other companies had greatly reduced their campus
recruiting.

3
 Development of Dow Labs

| Main Lab - 1909

| Indigo Lab - 1915
| Organic Lab - 1919
| Physical Lab - 1922
| X-Ray and Spectroscopy
Lab - 1928
| Metallurgical Lab - 1932
| Biochemical Lab - 1933
| Consulting Engineering
Division - 1936
| Central Research - 1980

Old Mill Lab - 1890

As manufacturing plants increased in number and in size in the Midland area,

research organizations sprouted and increased until the laboratories numbered by
the dozens.
Shown here are a few.
Laboratories Year Formed
Old Mill 1890
Main Laboratory 1909
Indigo Laboratory 1915
Organic Research Laboratory 1919
Physical Research Laboratory 1922
X-Ray and Spectroscopy Laboratory 1928
Metallurgical Research Laboratory 1932
Biochemical Research Laboratory 1933
Consulting Engineering Division 1936
Central Research 1980

After the death of Willard Dow in 1949, all research was placed under the control of
a Vice President for Research. In time, the number of laboratories decreased but
the number of scientists continued to increase.

4
 Global expansion

By the mid 1950s the company began its bold move toward global expansion,
establishing manufacturing plants throughout the world. In 1965, Dow set-up
technology centers, to insure that the newest and best technology was available at
each Dow location. These were repositories of know-how. As manufacturing
expanded, R&D expanded too.

Gradually R&D became more directed toward product lines and more aligned with
business activities. By 1980 most of the long range basic research laboratories in
Midland were consolidated into a core group called Central Research where many
of them are today.

In my remarks I will examine only a fraction of the thousands of research projects

involving Dow scientists. Likewise, time permits me to mention but a few of the
important laboratories that have come and gone over the years. I will also
recognize a small number of highly regarded Dow scientists and name a few
individuals who have passed through the Dow research organizations on their way
to other areas of importance.

5
 H. H. Dow Medal Award

The Herbert H. Dow Gold Medal Award was established in 1979 to recognize and
honor those scientists whose inventiveness and pioneering research in technology
have had an outstanding impact on the growth and well-being of The Dow Chemical
Company. A total of 23 awards have been presented to date with 17 scientists from
the Midland area.

6
 Dow R&D Broad Global Resources
Over 40 Major R&D sites; ~ 5,700 employees

EUROPE
2005 R&D employees: 1218
CHINA
NORTH AMERICA new R&D centers
2005 R&D employees: 77
2005 R&D employees: 3974

PACIFIC
2005 R&D employees: 165

SOUTH AMERICA
2005 R&D employees: 248

Dows Research and Development organization today includes world-class, state-

of-the-art facilities, staffed with over 5,700 highly talented scientists, engineers and
technologists; many of whom are located in Midland.

7
 Herbert H. Dow in the Lab

When one talks about the history of research at Dow one must start with Mr.
Herbert Henry Dow. The Dow Chemical Company exists only because of Mr.
Dows research, his ideas, his foresight, his drive and his perseverance. Mr. Dow
was a chemist - a most unusual, talented and determined chemist. His success is
based on research first done in 1888 on an idea he had for recovering bromine from
brine by electrolysis. Those early studies were done before he had finished his
university studies.
Bromine was of interest in those days because it was the main component of many
of the patent medicines, as a disinfectant, and as an ingredient in films for the
emerging photographic industry. Its availability was controlled by European cartels.
Mr. Dow graduated in June 1888 from the Case Institute of Applied Science (now
known as Case Western Reserve University) at the age of 22 with a solid
background in chemistry and engineering. His graduating class numbered six. The
school had seven faculty and 44 students. One of his professors, formerly of
Harvard, was renowned for his knowledge of petroleum and electro
chemistry. Another was noted for his determination of the ratio of the atomic
weights of oxygen and hydrogen.

8
 Albert Michelson - Nobel Prize
recipient in Physics

Dows physics professor, Albert Michelson, was the first to measure the speed of
light and in 1907 became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in
Physics. Albert Einstein once stated that it was Michelsons work that opened the
way for his theory of relativity.

Mr. Dows thesis Composition of Salt Brine in Northern Ohio with Special
Reference to Bromine and Lithium Content was presented as a paper at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1888. Over the years he
was a strong supporter of professional societies. He was a charter member of the
American Electrochemical Society in 1902, was awarded the Perkin Medal for
Chemical Achievement in 1930 and was awarded 107 patents and received an
honorary Doctors degree from the Case Institute in 1924.

9
 Brines in Saginaw Valley

| Brines were rich in

bromine, chlorine,
sodium, calcium
and magnesium

It was the composition of the brines in and around the Saginaw Valley that brought
Mr. Dow to Midland. The brines were rich in bromine, chlorine, sodium, calcium and
magnesium. With ample supplies of wood as a source of energy and the
Tittabawassee River supplying water for cooling, processing and transportation, Mr.
Dow developed his unique electrolytic process resulting in pure chlorine, bromine,
elemental magnesium and derivatives which would in time, become the building
blocks for a vast chemical enterprise.

10
 Bromides being shipped to Japan

Dows bromine process involved economy in energy by eliminating heat to

evaporate water from the brine and the heating of the mother liquor to volatilize the
bromine. His process was made continuous, by a controlled electrolysis of the brine
and with a never before used blowing-out step. The blowing-out step used air to
volatilize the liberated bromine from the brine; the bromine was then treated with
wet scrap iron to form ferric bromide.

Dows electrolytic process made him the most efficient producer in the bromine
business and his bromine cell of 1892 marked the first adaptation of electrolysis to
the preparation of an element in this country.

11
 Chlorine Cell

In addition to bromine, Mr. Dow was interested in testing his electrolysis technology
to produce chlorine. With chlorine he could manufacture bleach, a new product,
much in demand. Dow had experimented with electrolysis to produce chlorine as
early as 1895. His new chlorine cell constituted the first commercially successful
application in this country of electrolysis for the preparation of chlorine from salt
without the use of a mechanically interposed diaphragm. Dow started selling bleach
in 1899, but withdrew from the market in 1915 because of a declining market. He
could produce higher-valued products with his chlorine.

The chlorine cell that Dow invented was to be the foundation of The Dow Chemical
Company. When he tried to patent his cell, which was 16 feet long and had 70
anodes and 70 cathodes, he was told that it was visionary but before they would
grant a patent he had to take a small cell model to Washington, D.C. and
demonstrate it to them.

In 1983 Mr. Dow was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of
Fame for his patent on the production of bromine by electrolysis of brine and for his
blowing-out method. I was pleased to have been selected by the Company to
make a presentation at the award ceremony in Washington D.C. on behalf of Mr.
Dows achievements.

12
 The Old Mill Laboratory

Mr. Dow always had a passion for research, but in the early days he did not have
the money to build a laboratory, so he selected the Old Mill, a ramshackle building
situated on the site of an 1852 log cabin, one of the first structures built in Midland.

The Old Mill became the center for many of the early research projects. The first
work in the Old Mill was inorganic chemistry based on products from brine.
Magnesium metal was first extracted from brine in 1916. At that time Dow employed
41 chemists and chemical engineers. The company employed 1,225 workmen.

Military needs for incendiary flares, during World War l, provided the incentive for
Mr. Dow to move forward to produce magnesium metal. His first magnesium cells
were constructed of welded boiler plate, lined with slabs of soapstone. Experiments
with various forms of magnesium chloride as cell feed, produced only small globules
of magnesium, which failed to coalesce. But with the proper uses of fluxes he was
able to produce an ingot weighing 100 pounds. In 1917 Dow constructed a 3,000
pound per day production plant, without taking the process through a pilot plant.

13
 Pouring Magnesium

Research on magnesium continued for the next 20 years. After Willard Dow
became president, he realized that if magnesium was to have a future, the company
must provide incentives for its use against other metals. Dows magnesium was
given the name Dowmetal and studies were undertaken in fabrication techniques
and alloy compositions. Eventually new uses were found in the automobile and
aircraft industries.

14
 Piccards Balloon

Dowmetal was used in the construction of the gondola that was displayed as a part
of Jean Piccards balloon at the 1933 Worlds Fair. Later, the balloon, with a
Dowmetal gondola, made the stratospheric flight record of 57,579 feet.

15
 Dr. William Hale

Mr. Dow and his technical personnel were predominantly inorganic chemists and
engineers. By 1917 Dow had become interested in organic chemistry and
organized the Carbon Club. He asked Dr. William Hale, Professor of Chemistry at
the University of Michigan to come to Midland to present a series of lectures on
organic chemistry. The lectures were popular, so Mr. Dow asked Dr. Hale to join
the Company and lead it into the field of organic chemistry. Dr. Hale joined the
company as Dows first organic chemist.

16
 Organic Research Laboratory

In March 1919, Dr. Hale established the Organic Research Laboratory. It was a 5
foot by 25 foot corner of the minor bromides plant. It was the first basic research
laboratory in Dow. Over time the laboratory would expand to become one of Dows
most famous laboratories. Dr. Hale worked by himself for over two years.

17
 Dr. Edgar C Britton

In October 1922 he recruited Dr. Edgar C. Britton, his former assistant and acting
head of the chemistry department at the University of Michigan to come to Midland
and assist him in building an organic research department.

Dr. Hale organized the Midland branch of the American Chemical Society. The first
meeting of 20 to 30 chemists, was held December 2, 1919 with Herbert Dow as the
first chairman.

In 1922 Mr. Dow became interested in producing phenol by a new process. By a

Dow process he would say. The standard industry process was the sulfonation of
benzene followed with hydrolysis, whereas Dow used the hydrolysis of
bromobenzene. But with the high cost of bromine Mr. Dow wanted a new, less
expensive and different process. The Organic Laboratory took up the challenge.

18
 Chlorobenzene - Phenol
The Hale-Britton Process

What was to be known as the Hale-Britton process was the high temperature/high
pressure hydrolysis of chlorobenzene by a very dilute aqueous solution of alkali.
The hydrolysis was conducted as a continuous process at 2000-3000 psi, by flowing
the reactants through a coiled pipe line system capable of maintaining the required
temperature and pressure of suitable length (about one mile) to provide the time
period required for reaction (about 20 minutes).
With this unique process, Dow would dominate the phenol business for years to
come. With chlorine and bromine cells producing the respective halogens and the
by-product sodium hydroxide for use in the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene, Dow now
had the blue print for expansion.

19
 What self-respecting nation
would permit its fuel problem
to be laid in the hand of
foreigners?

Dr. William Hale, 1936

Dr. Hale remained laboratory director until 1932. He was an early advocate of the
utilization of agricultural waste products and proposed that alcohol be used for
automobiles in place of gasoline. He invented the term Chemurgy, which is part of
our language today. You might say that he was Dows first green. In 1936 he
wrote, What self-respecting nation would permit its fuel problem to be laid in the
hand of foreigners?

20
 Dr. Britton in lab

As the Organic Research Laboratory reputation grew, Dr. Hale took on other
responsibilities and Dr. Britton became the laboratory director in 1932. Britton
worked in the Organic Research Laboratory for 42 years and became the
companys most renowned organic chemist. He was always called Doc. In 1932
he was named director of the laboratory and by the time he retired he had 366
patents - the largest number of patents by any Dow scientist to date. Im proud to
say that my name appears as a co-inventor on seven of his patents!
Over time the laboratory expanded in size to nine laboratories each staffed with
eight men. Each laboratory was dedicated to a specific type of research: bio-
products synthesis, organic phosphorus chemistry, bio-mechanisms,
pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer and surface chemistry, phenol chemistry and
catalysis, alkylene oxide chemistry, organic polymer chemistry, exploratory organic
chemistry, and with an engineering department, a pilot plant and an instrument
group.

21
 Organic Laboratory Accomplishments

| Cellulose Ethers

| METHOCELTM
cellulose ethers

| ETHOCELTM
ethylcellulose
polymers

Brittons work led to an astonishing variety of products, ranging from plastics, dyes,
pharmaceuticals, synthetic rubber, and silicone products to weed killers,
insecticides, fungicides, and preservatives. His insecticides and herbicides opened
up a new era in agricultural chemicals. The first tank car of pure butadiene shipped
during World War ll was manufactured by a process his scientists invented, making
possible the manufacture of synthetic rubber. The foundation built on phenol and its
derivatives during Brittons early years at Dow gave rise to many
compounds. Thousands of organic chemicals were synthesized and
evaluated. Many were sold to other companies for their studies.

CELLULOSE ETHERS went into production and became the basis of the Cellulose
Products Department in 1935.
METHOCEL often called the invisible product, used as a thickener, binder and
suspension agent. It is used in adhesives, agricultural chemicals, ceramics,
chemical specialties, foods, paper products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and latex
paints.
ETHOCEL Dows first plastic was developed just in time to be used extensively
during World War II. It was used for telephone headsets and mouthpieces, control
knobs, dust goggles, and airplane parts. When sprayed on tents, sleeping bags,
and clothing it made them water and chemical resistant.

22
 More Organic Lab
Accomplishments. . .
| DOWICIDES
| Cliffs Dow Cheimcals
| Glycols, glycol amines
and ethers
| Silicones
| Butadiene
| Udex Process
| Amino Acids
| Pesticides

DOWICIDES: phenolic materials for use as preservatives and sanitizing agents.

Cliffs Dow Chemicals
By the destructive distillation of wood, obtained from Cliffs Dow Chemical,
Marquette, Michigan, Organic Laboratory chemists produced acetic acid, acetic
anhydride, ethanol, etc.
Glycols, glycol amines and ethers
In 1931-34 processes were developed for the production of ethylene glycol,
propylene glycol, ethanolamines, etc.
Silicones
Britton was involved very early in silicone chemistry. The relationship between him
and Corning Glass Works helped bring about the formation of the Dow Corning
Corporation. Some of the early chemists and managers in Dow Corning were from
his laboratory. Britton served as a member of the Board of Directors of Dow Corning
for 18 years.
Butadiene
Dr. Lee Horsley, one of Brittons key scientists in the 1930s and 40s, developed a
critical catalyst for the production of butadiene, an important component of synthetic
rubber. The first tank car of butadiene shipped from Dow was made in the Organic
Laboratory pilot plant.

23
Udex Process
Horsleys studies of azeotropic distillation led to the development of the Udex
process for purifying benzene, now used by many oil companies. Horsleys
azeotropic distillation data are used throughout the world. Horsley did original work
on ethanolamines and polyglycols.

Amino Acids
Britton pioneered the synthesis of eight of the essential protein building blocks but
only methionine became a widely used product, as an additive to poultry feed.

Pesticides
Novel products came from the Bio-Products Synthesis Laboratory and the Organic
Phosphorus Chemistry Laboratory based on chlorinated pyridines, substituted
phenols and heterocyclic compounds such as Korlan and Ruelene for the systemic
control of parasites in animals, Coyden coccidiostat for use in poultry and Dursban
insecticide. Dursban, for many years was the worlds largest used
organophosphate insecticide. Ray Rigterink was awarded the H. H. Dow Gold
Medal for his synthesis of Dursban.

24
 ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award

Three scientists formerly of the Britton Laboratory, including me, were among seven
Dow chemists and engineers who received the Heroes of Chemistry award at the
1999 ACS meeting in New Orleans, for our pioneering work in developing seven
agricultural products based on pyridine derivatives that have resulted in sales to
Dow in excess of $1 billion per year.

25
 Edgar C Britton Laboratory

To acknowledge Brittons contributions to The Dow Chemical Company a new

organic research laboratory was constructed and dedicated as the Edgar C. Britton
Laboratory, on May 18, 1953. Dr. Britton served as the national president of the
American Chemical Society in 1952 and was awarded the Perkin Medal in 1956.
And today I am very pleased to share with you that a current Dow scientist, Dr.
James Stevens, is this years recipient of the Perkin Medal. Dr. Stevens is a
Research Fellow in Performance Plastics and Chemicals and has worked in the
polyolefin catalyst field since joining Dow in the 1970s in Central Research. He has
been involved with the discovery and commercial implementation of Dow's
INSITE Technology and Constrained-Geometry Catalysts, which are used in the
production of approximately 2 billion pounds of polyolefins per year. He is one of
the primary inventors of a number of commercial catalysts and plastic products
including a variety of INSITE catalysts. Dr. Stevens will receive his award in
September. Congratulations to him!
A scientist who got his start in the Organic Laboratory was Dr. Don Tomalia, the
father of Starburst Polymers. He joined the lab in 1962. After various assignments,
he left Dow and formed Dendritic Nanotechnologies.

26
Another person I want to acknowledge today is Harold Moll. He joined Dow in 1937
and spent most of his time in the Organic Lab. If any of you have questions
concerning the early activities in the Organic Lab, I suggest that you visit with
Harold. Harold is 92 years old and is here today. Harold, please stand and be
recognized.
Harold has two sons, Norman, who is a retired Scientist from Dow, and David who
is currently a chemist at Dow. Had the event planners known of Harolds history
and availability, they could have asked him to speak today. The Moll family could
have spoken on their 70 years of service with the company. I have only 35 years!
Thank you, Harold.
The success of the Organic Research Lab prompted Herbert Dow to establish a
number of independent laboratories based on disciplines.

27
 John Grebe

Just as Edgar C. Brittons name was linked to the Organic Laboratory, John Grebes
name was linked to the Physics Laboratory. Upon graduating from Case with a
degree in Physics in 1924 he caught the eye of H.H. Dow who was at Case to
receive an Honorary Doctorate. Dow hired Grebe on the spot. Dr. Dow was always
on the lookout for the top students. .

28
 Physics Laboratory

Grebes first assignment at Dow was to examine Applications of Automatic Control

to Chemical Reactions. John Grebe became the Companys idea man and Dr.
Dow gave him free rein from the beginning. Grebe soon set about developing a
multidisciplinary laboratory and for the next 20 years products poured out from the
Physics Laboratory.

29
 Physics Lab Accomplishments

Ethylene Cracker

Ethylene
The first ethylene produced in the company was by the dehydration of ethyl alcohol.
This was not a cost effective method and by the early 1930s the Physics Lab had
developed a cracking process for the production of ethylene from
hydrocarbons. Frank Ford was the first scientist in the petrochemical industry to
produce ethylene commercially from crude oil.

30
 Styrene Plants

| STYRONTM Polystyrene Dows second

plastic product and the companys #1 sales
item for half a century

Styrene monomer
Prior to 1930 styrene and its polymers were laboratory curiosities.
In the mid 1930s, Driesbach and coworkers invented the Dow styrene process by
passing ethybenzene vapors into superheated steam to bring about partial
dehydrogenation of ethybenzene, using special low inventory stills.

During World War II, Dow designed plants produced over 90% of the styrene
monomer that was used to manufacture GR-S rubber which was considered critical,
when natural rubber supplies were cut off by the Japanese

STYRON--polystyrene plastic
STYRON, developed by the Physics Laboratory, was to become Dows second
plastic product and the companys number one sales item for half a century. Dows
high impact polystyrene, also was a great success and was the first commercially
successful tough polystyrene on the market.
Later acrylonitrile/ butadiene/ styrene and other co and terpolymers were
developed.

31
 More Physics Lab Accomplishments

| Butadiene
| Styrene/Butadiene Latex
TM
| STYROFOAM

| Monomers

Butadiene
While the Organic Laboratory developed the process for making butadiene, the
Physics Laboratory developed the sulfur dioxide process for purifying butadiene. It
would become the purest butadiene available.

Styrene/Butadiene Latex
The styrene/butadiene latex plant for the manufacture of Styraloy was idle after
World War II, when Dr. L.L. (Zip) Ryden conceived the idea to replace the binders,
starch in paper coating and casein in water based paints with a modified latex. The
research solved the difficult compatibility problem with the paper and paint
emulsions, as well as determining the optimum styrene/butadiene ratio for effective
binder. The resulting commercial S/B latex revolutionized the water base paint
industry, paper coating industry and later the carpet backing industry and is still one
of Dows greatest businesses worldwide.
In time Dr. Ryden was known as the father of latex. After he had polio he
continued directing laboratory experiments from his iron lung. His laboratory was
renamed The Zip Ryden Laboratory.

32
STYROFOAM - expanded polystyrene
Ray McIntire and colleagues attempted to copolymerize styrene with
isobutylene to make a flexible, low loss dielectric for early radar
applications. However, the styrene polymerized to a high molecular weight
solid and the isobutylene remained as an unreacted, low boiling
solvent. When the reactor pressure was released, the isobutylene vaporized
inside the gelled mass of polystyrene causing rapid expansion into a rigid
cellular product. This was the beginning of Styrofoam.

Monomers
Divinyl benzene, methyl styrene, and chlorostyrene were monomers used to
manufacture special rubbers, considered critical to the war effort in World
War II by the War Production Board.

33
 SaranTM Resins and Films

| SARAN Wrap
| Vinyl Chloride/Vinylidene Chloride monomers

SARAN - vinylidene chloride/vinyl chloride copolymer

In 1933 while working on perchloroethylene for use by the dry cleaning industry, Dr.
Ralph Wiley and co-workers noticed a white substance had formed on the inside of
a distillation flask. Curious about the material, some was scraped off for
analysis. Subsequent research showed it to be a vinylidene chloride/vinyl chloride
copolymer.
It should be noted that this was in the early 1930s and only wet chemical analysis
techniques were available. Mass spectrometric and chromatographc analyses were
not known and infrared spectroscopy was just being tested. Polymer chemistry was
in its infancy and there were no polymer experts at Dow.
In time these copolymers became known as Saran resins. Saran resins have found
many uses in pipes, tubing, belts, handbags, seat covers films, filaments, etc.
Ralph Wiley became known as the father of Saran.

34
Saran Wrap
The company developed an air balloon expansion technique for making
Saran Wrap from a hot Saran resin. Saran Wrap was Dows first consumer
product.

Vinyl Chloride/ Vinylidene Chloride monomers

The Physics Lab developed methods for making these two monomers for
marketing to those manufacturing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and for its
internal use. Dow became a major world supplier of vinyl chloride monomer.
Methods were also developed for vinylidene chloride.

35
 More Physics Lab Accomplishments

| Ethafoam | Chlorinated
| Dowex exchagne solvents
resins | Dowtherm products
| Polyacrylamides | Bromine from
seawater

ETHAFOAM is an expanded cellular polyethylene, used extensively in furniture

cushions, mattresses, as a floatation material in the buoyancy field and for shock
mitigation packaging to prevent damage of high value fragile equipment such as
electronic devices. Louis Bud Rubens, the father of Ethafoam, was awarded the
H. H. Dow Gold Medal in 1979.
DOWEX-exchange resins
Dr. William Bill Bauman (1937) is the father of the Dow ion-exchange resins
(DOWEX-30). Dowex-30 and related resins are used to purify water, liquid foods
and other materials. Dr. Bauman received the H. H. Dow Gold Medal in 1979.
Polyacrylamides are used in the development of absorbent beads, in diapers and in
electro conductive paper. Much of the original research was done by Dr. Griffen
Giff Jones.

36
Chlorinated solvents
By the direct chlorination of hydrocarbons Dow was able to make carbon
tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, for use as metal cleaning
solvents, for dry cleaning of clothes, as paint removers, etc.
Dowtherm products are eutectic mixtures of diphenyl and diphenyloxide, used as
heat exchangers for high-temperature heat transfer.
Bromine from seawater
By 1924 Mr. Dow begins to think of mining the ocean as a source for bromine and
for magnesium. With Ethyl gasoline under development, there was a need for
bromine to make ethylene dibromide. The quantities needed were far more than
Dow was capable of making. Dow at that time was producing 90% of the nations
bromine. By 1929 Dow was actively planning to extract bromine from seawater and
set about to design plants. Shortly after Mr. Dows death in 1930, Willard Dow, the
new president, moved rapidly to complete his fathers dream and in 1931 the Ethyl-
Dow Company was formed and in 1940 a large ethylene dibromide plant was built in
Freeport, Texas using bromine from seawater.

37
 Magnesium from the Sea

Magnesium from seawater

For Willard Dow, one of the high points of his presidency occurred January 21, 1941
when the first ingot of magnesium made from seawater was poured in Freeport,
Texas. It was one of the greatest chemical engineering feats of all time and after
many years of preparation, much of it in Midland, The Dow Chemical Company
under Willard Dows leadership had finally pulled it off. For the first time man was
mining the ocean. It was a historic event and with war looming the need for
magnesium was about to multiply. His fathers dream was becoming a reality, for
since 1924 Herbert Dow was always thinking about using the ocean as a mine.

38
 Dr. Sylvia Stoesser Dows first
women researcher

DOWELL, Inc.
In 1929, the year of the stock market crash, Dr. Sylvia Stoesser became Dows first
woman researcher. Her first assignment was to study the stability of high-
temperature lubricants from fractions of diphenyl oxide. She also did research on
styrene monomer and chlorinated solvents. Before long she was involved in inhibitor
studies which played an important role in the formation of DOWELL.
In 1932 the Pure Oil Company was operating oil wells in the Midland area and had
heard that scientists in the Physics Laboratory were experimenting with acidizing
brinewells to improve their productivity. By such a system Dow could extract
chemicals from the underground brine and later return what was left back to the
well. New and better inhibitors were needed which would prevent acid from eating
away the iron well casings.

39
 Dowell Truck

Arsenic acid and copper salts were originally used as inhibitors, but Dr. Stoesser
directed her research towards organic compounds, in an effort to develop a
substance that would form an organic film on the surface of the metal pipe with
which the acid came in contact. Organic inhibitors, particularly mercaptans were
found to be far more effective than the inorganic inhibitors used. Dr. Stoesser was
the co-inventor listed in five key Dowell patents.
Such procedures were tried on oil wells with spectacular success. Overnight the
demand for oil well servicing skyrocketed. Dowell was incorporated in 1932 as a
service company to increase the productivity of gas, oil, and brine wells. Later it
was headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

40
 Dow helps to fluoridize water

| 1944: Midland was the first city in the

USA to fluoridize public drinking water

In 1944, Midland became the first city in the United States and fourth in the world to
fluoridize its public drinking water. This came about because of the development of
an electron microscope in the Physics Lab and their working with the Dental School
at the University of Michigan, the Midland County Dental Association, the State
Health Department and the U.S. Public Health Service.
If you have questions about the Physics Laboratory, I refer you to Eldon Graham.
He joined the Lab in 1947 and is here today. In 1970, Eldon left Dow to set up the
Engineering Department at Saginaw Valley State University which was just being
formed.

41
 Analytical Lab (circa 1940)

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY
The analytical laboratory grew out of the control labs in the various production
departments, which ran quality checks on the products being made. Water and air
pollution studies were initiated in the lab. The glass fabrication lab came from the
main lab and grew to 35 artisans in glass. The X-ray and spectroscopy group were
first located in the main laboratory as was the Indigo lab. The Indigo section
operated from 1915 until 1930.

The analytical laboratory was also the springboard for many who moved into other
areas of Dow such as sales, business, and manufacturing or into other areas of
research and development.

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 Analytical Lab - Today

In 1987 the new $15 million Analytical Sciences Laboratory was built. It brought
together under one roof the Main Laboratory, the X-Ray Spectroscopy Lab, the
Radiochem Lab, the Chem-Physics Laboratory and the Instrument Applications
Laboratory. The facility accommodates over $30 million of highly sophisticated
equipment and 200 analytical scientists.

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 Measurements of dioxins

| Year dioxins
1950 parts per thousand
1964 parts per million
1976 parts per billion
1980 parts per trillion
1983 parts per quadrillion
I in 1,000,000,000,000,000

In the early 1950s, chemists were able to measure accurately to parts per
thousand. By 1964, Dr. Warren Crummett and his associates in the Analytical
Laboratory were measuring dioxins in parts per million. Dioxins were just coming to
national importance resulting from the Love Canal incident, a plant explosion in
Seveso, Italy and with the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam. By 1976
measurements of dioxins were parts per billion, in 1980 in parts per trillion and in
1983 in parts per quadrillion.

Year dioxins
1950 parts per thousand
1964 parts per million
1976 parts per billion
1980 parts per trillion
1983 parts per quadrillion
I in 1,000,000,000,000,000

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 Measurements of dioxins

| One part per

quadrillion is the
length of 1 inch in
100 round trips
around the sun

For example. one part per quadrillion is the length of 1 inch in 100 round trips
around the sun.
Using GC Mass Spectroscopy, Crummetts group was the first to find dioxins in
urban dust, automobile mufflers, cigarette smoke, wood fires, sewage sludge and
many other places. They were the first to determine the 2,3,7,8-TCDD specifically
and the first to separate the 22 isomers of TCDD. They were the first to prove de
novo syntheses of the chlorinated dioxin in fire and published their Trace Chemistry
of Fire hypothesis.

Dr. Crummett has been recognized throughout the country for his work in analytical
methodology near the limits of detection and as the result of his management of
Dows analytical studies of dioxins, was awarded the H.H. Dow Gold Medal in
1980.

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A most interesting book by Dr. Warren Crummett, Decades of Dioxin: Limelight On
a Molecule discusses the difficulties of the scientist as he attempts to explain his
findings to the public, to the environmentalist, to the media and to regulators.

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 Dow labs and people - Today

TOWARD THE NEW CENTURY

Dow continues to innovate in the Chemical Sciences. Dow scientists developed

metallocene homogeneous catalysts for the solution polymerization of olefin
polymers, and launched the new technology, INSITE, which I referenced earlier.
Products from these new polymers are globally used by Dow and other
manufacturers to make light weight athletic shoes, medical tubing, swimming
equipment, automobile bumpers, truck bed liners, electrical wire insulation, soft
foams and other items for commerce. With INSITE, Dow has been able to develop
polymers that meet customers specific needs. As one of the largest global suppliers
of plastics in the industry, Dow is committed to expanding markets and transforming
technologies to help customers innovate, differentiate and create value.

These new polymers were so outstanding that the board of intellectual property
owners selected the Dows inventors to receive the 1994 Inventor of the Year
Award. The award was presented by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on patents, copyrights and trademarks in Washington, D.C. And in
recognition for Dows innovations, the Company was awarded the prestigious
National Medal of Technology by President Bush in 2002.

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Today, Dow continues to apply its science and technology acumen to the
development of a range of other products. To name a few:
New adhesives for bonding automotive body panels, enabling more crash-durable
and more rigid vehicles.
The use of soy bean oil as feedstock for the production of polyol, which is used in
polyurethane foams for bedding, furniture, car seats, and other applications. The
soy oil is renewable, and production of polyol from soy is performed with half the
energy of the traditional scheme and there is no CO2 net emission.
Advanced ceramic materials for the removal of soot from diesel exhaust, enabling
cleaner vehicles.
To ensure quality water for life, Dows FILMTEC membranes are used to produce
billions of liters of water per day in industrial, municipal, and residential systems
around the world. Desalination is one way FILMTEC membranes are helping to turn
oceans into fresh water. At the same time, Dow recently introduced ADSORBSIA
media to address new legislation in the United States targeted at removing naturally
occurring Arsenic from drinking water.

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 Dow is a Knowledge Industry

| Science launched this enterprise.

| Science has led us to greatness.

| Science will lead us to further heights.

Robert Lundeen, Dow Chairman of the Board, 1983

Dow scientists and researchers continue to work toward developing new products,
processes and technologies that meet the needs of customers in a variety of
markets while reducing the impact on human health and the environment. I am
confident that the Dow R&D organization will continue to provide innovative
products that will make a lasting and positive impact on the world.
So, that is a brief history of chemistry at The Dow Chemical Company in Midland
and I am proud to have been a part of such an exciting time at the Company. In
closing I would like to quote Robert Lundeen, a former chairman of the board of The
Dow Chemical Company, who in 1983, when speaking at a luncheon ceremony
honoring Dow scientists called the chemical industry a knowledge industry. He
stated:

Science launched this enterprise.

Science has led us to greatness.
Science will lead us to further heights.

Thank you.

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