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Most Important Chemical Inventionst Water, Petrol and Antibiotics – These are the Top–Ten Chemical Inventions

Editor: Dominik Stephan

Energy, food and medicine – our modern society wood not be possible without the discoveries and inventions of the chemical age. But what are the most important chemical inventions ever? IChemE asked professionals for their favourites - and here are the winners...

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IChemE - Institution of Chemical Engineers
These innovations are the most important chemical inventions ever, says the IChemE
These innovations are the most important chemical inventions ever, says the IChemE
(Picture: PROCESS)

In a new survey, published by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), chemical engineers have voted for what they consider to be the most important chemically engineered inventions and solutions of the modern era – with drinking water, petrol and antibiotics topping the poll.

With a global population of over seven billion people, chemical engineers provide many of the foundations for the modern world by producing a vast array of products and solutions on an industrial scale including energy, healthcare, water and food production.

Drinking Water, Petrol and Antibiotics Top Poll of Best ‘Inventions’

From a shortlist of over 40 inventions, chemical engineers have voted for their most important chemically engineered solutions over the past century. The ten inventions, considered to have made the biggest impact on society, were:

  • 1. Drinking or potable water
  • 2. Petrol or gasoline (and other fuels including diesel)
  • 3. Antibiotics
  • 4. Electricity generation (from fossil fuels)
  • 5. Vaccines
  • 6. Plastics
  • 7. Fertilizer
  • 8. Sanitation
  • 9. Electricity generation (from non-fossil fuels)
  • 10. Dosed medications (such as tablets, pills and capsules)

Some notable inventions which didn’t make the top ten included biofuels (11th), contraceptives (12th), batteries (13th), the catalytic converter (14th), adhesives (28th), pneumatic tyres (39th) and photographic film (41st).

David Brown, IChemE’s chief executive, said: “Chemical engineering is a remarkable profession. It can take the smallest of discoveries in laboratories – from all fields of science and technology – and replicate them on a mass scale, consistently and economically.

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