Friedrich Karl Rudolf Bergius (German pronunciation:[ˈfʁiːdʁɪçˈbɛʁɡi̯ʊs]ⓘ, 11 October 1884 – 30 March 1949) was a Germanchemist known for theBergius process for producingsynthetic fuel fromcoal,Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1931, together withCarl Bosch) in recognition of contributions to the invention and development of chemicalhigh-pressure methods. Having worked withIG Farben duringWorld War II, his citizenship came into question following the war, causing him to ultimately flee toArgentina, where he acted as adviser to the Ministry of Industry.[1][2]
During his habilitation, techniques for the high-pressure and high-temperature chemistry of carbon-containing substrates were developed, yielding a patent on theBergius process in 1913. In this processliquid hydrocarbons used assynthetic fuel are produced byhydrogenation oflignite (brown coal). He developed the process well before the commonly knownFischer–Tropsch process.Theodor Goldschmidt invited him to build an industrial plant at his factory theTh. Goldschmidt AG in 1914. The production began only in 1919, after theWorld War I ended, when the need for fuel was already declining. The technical problems,inflation and the constant criticism ofFranz Joseph Emil Fischer, which changed to support after a personal demonstration of the process, made the progress slow and Bergius sold his patent toBASF, whereCarl Bosch worked on it. BeforeWorld War II several plants were built with an annual capacity of 4 million tons of synthetic fuel.
The hydrolysis ofwood to producesugar for industrial use became a hard task for Bergius. After he moved to Heidelberg he started to improve the process and planned an industrial scale production. The high costs and technical problems nearly led him to bankruptcy. Abailiff followed Bergius toStockholm to get the money from hisNobel Prize in Chemistry in 1931.
Theautarky movement before theWorld War II boosted the process and several plants were built. Bergius moved toBerlin where he was only marginally involved in the development. While he was inBad GasteinAustria, his laboratory and his house were destroyed by anair raid. The rest of the war he stayed in Austria.
After the war his citizenship was called into question because of his collaboration withIG Farben, resulting in his departure from Germany to work as an adviser inItaly,Turkey,Switzerland andSpain. He emigrated toArgentina, where he worked as an adviser to the Ministry of Industry. He died inBuenos Aires on 30 March 1949, and is buried in the Cementerio Alemán next toLa Chacarita Cemetery.
Dietrich Stoltzenberg (1999). "Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch und Friedrich Bergius – Protagonisten der Hochdrucksynthese".Chemie in unserer Zeit.33 (6):359–364.doi:10.1002/ciuz.19990330607.
Robert Haul (1985). "Das Portrait: Freidrich Berguis (1884–1949)".Chemie in unserer Zeit.19 (2):59–67.doi:10.1002/ciuz.19850190205.
