ANTILIA |
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REVISTA ESPAÑOLA DE HISTORIA DE LAS CIENCIAS DE
LA NATURALEZA Y DE LA TECNOLOGÍA |
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Historia de la Biología. Facultad de Biología. |
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DL: M-34954-1995. |
ISSN: 1136-2049. |
1998. Vol. IV.
Abstract:
In this article will be to briefly describe the traditional saltwort attainment
procedures of burning barrilleras plants. This process had great importance
in Spain until the beginning of the XIX Century, long period characterised
by the treatment of the native sulphate of sodium. Finally it will be seen
the Solvay method was used in the first Spanish saltwort plant, established
in 1908 in Torrelavega. It can be said, as regards the attainment of saltwort
changed from aeotechnique phase to a very unique paleotechnique phase and
changed again to another neotechnique. Nearly a century went by, between
the disappearance of the first in the XIX Century and the settlement of
the Solvay factory in Torrelavega and the development of the Leblanc method,
in between. As will become evident later the chemical industry in Spain
was very weak, and the few factories existing could not compete with the
big number of them established in England, where the chemical industry was
born. Spain even had to import saltwort from other countries. The closure
of the industries established in Spain was determined by the low price of
the saltwort imported, in relation to the one produced in Spain, during
the last decades of the XIX Century. However, lot of the raw materials used
in the production, either in the Leblanc method or in the Solvay, were easily
got in the Spanish deposits. The causes of the lack of chemical industrialisation
in Spain must be sought in the new historic queries that belong to the Spanish
Economic History
Key Words: Barrilla. Saltwort Manufacture in Spain. Leblanc's Process. Solvay's Process.