《化学工程与工艺专业英语》课文翻译(12)

(4) Applications development. Clearly the discovery of new applications or uses for a product can increase or prolong its profitability. Not only does this generate more income but the resulting increased scale of production can lead to lower unit costs and increased profit. An example is PVC whose early uses included records and plastic raincoats. Applications which came later included plastic bags and particularly engineering uses in pipes and guttering.

（4）应用开发。显然发掘一个产品新的用处或新的用途能拓宽它的获利渠道。这不仅能创造更多的收入，而且由于产量的增加使单元生产成本降低，从而使利润提高。举例来说，PVC早期是用来制造唱片和塑料雨衣的，后来的用途扩展到塑料薄膜，特别是工程上所使用的管子和排水槽。

Emphasis has already been placed on the fact that chemicals are usually purchased for the effect, or particular use, or application which they have. This often means that there will be close liaison between the chemical companies‘ technical sales representatives and the customer, and the level of technical support for the customer can be a major factor in winning sales. Research and development chemists provide the support for these applications developments. An example is CF3CH3F. This is the first of the CFC replacements and has been developed as a extracting natural products from plant materials. In no way was this envisaged when the compound was first being made for use as a refrigerant gas, but it clearly is an example of applications development.

我们已经强调了化学产品是由于它们的效果，或特殊的用途、用处而得以售出这个事实。这就意味着化工产品公司的技术销售代表与顾客之间应有密切的联系。对顾客的技术支持水平往往是赢得销售的一个重要的因素。进行研究和开发的化学家们为这些应用开发提供了帮助。CH3CH3F的制造就是一个例子。它最开始是用来做含氟氯烃的替代物作冷冻剂的。然而近来发现它还可以用作从植物中萃取出来的天然物质的溶解剂。当它作为制冷剂被制造时，固然没有预计到这一点，但它显然也是应用开发的一个例子。

3.Variations in R&D Activities across the Chemical Industry

Both the nature and amount of R&D carried out varies significantly across the various sectors of the chemical industry. In sectors which involve largescale production of basic chemicals and where the chemistry, products and technology change only slowly because the process are mature, R&D expenditure is at the lower end of the range for the chemical industry. Most of this will be devoted to process improvement and effluent treatment. Examples include ammonia, fertilizers and chloralkali production from the inorganic side, and basic petrochemical intermediates such a ethylene from the organic side.

3．化工行业中研究与开发活动的变化

化学工业的不同部门所进行的R&D的性质与数量都有很大的变化。与大规模生产的基础化工产品有关的部门中，化学产品和技术变化都很慢，因为流程已很成熟。R&D经费支出属于化工行业中低的一端，而且大部分的费用是用于过程改进和废水处理。无机方面的例子有氨、肥料和氯碱的生产，有机方面的如乙烯等一些基础石油化学的中间产物。

At the other end of the scale lie pharmaceuticals and pesticides (or plant protection products). Here there are immense and continuous efforts to synthesize new molecules which exert the desired, specific biological effect. A single company may generate 10,000 new compounds for screening each year. Little wonder that some individual pharmaceutical company‘s annual R&D