Book excerpt: The importance of industrial chemistry Chemistry is a challenging and interesting subject for academic study. Its principles and ideas are used to produce the chemicals from which all manner of materials and eventually consumer products are manufactured. The diversity of examples is enormous, ranging from cement to iron and steel, and on to modern plastics which are so widely used in the packaging of consumer goods and in the manufacture of household items. Indeed life as we know it today could not exist without the chemical industry. Its contribution to the saving of lives and relief of suffering is immeasurable; synthetic drugs such as those which lower blood pressure (e. g. /3-blockers), attack bacterial and viral infections (e. g. antibiotics such as the penicillins and cephalosporins) and replace vital natural chemicals which the body is not producing due to some malfunction (e. g. insulin, some vitamins), are particularly noteworthy in this respect. Effect chemicals also clearly make an impact on our everyday lives. Two examples are the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (polytetrafluoroethene Teflon or Fluon) to provide a non-stick surface coating for cooking utensils, and silicones which are used to ease the discharge of bread from baking tins. It should also be noted that the chemical industry's activities have an influence on all other industries, either in terms of providing raw materials or chemicals for quality control analyses and to improve operation, and to treat boiler water, cooling water and effiuents.