Scientific breakthroughs also pushed the country forward, creating new fertilizers, dyes, along with the production of versatile and cheap materials, such as Bakelite and rayon.
The surge in e-commerce and fashion derived from tree-based textiles likerayon and viscose is drivingthe destruction of climate-critical forestsand creating mountains of discarded textiles and packaging.
He focused on the development of explosives technology as well as other chemical inventions, including such materials as synthetic rubber and leather, artificial silk, etc. By the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents.