Mond, Ludwig (1839-1909), a German-born British chemist, was a founder of the chemical firm Brunner, Mond and Company. In 1926, that firm became a major component in the merger that formed the chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Mond’s discoveries made possible many advances in industrial chemistry. Mond invented a chemical process used to recover sulfur from wastes produced in the manufacture of alkali, an industrial chemical. He also invented chemical processes for manufacturing chlorine; producing a type of gas called producer gas for heating; and extracting nickel from certain ores.
In 1889, Mond and the German chemist Charles Langer coined the term fuel cell for a special type of device designed to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. They were trying to build a fuel cell that used air and industrial coal gas to generate electric power.
Mond was born on March 7, 1839, in Kassel, Germany. He was educated at the universities of Marburg and Heidelberg. Mond settled in the United Kingdom in 1862. He died in London on Dec. 11, 1909.
See also Chemical industry ; Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) .
