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have been stimulated by the large oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Plock, which supplies a large part of the Polish requirements for petroleum products and chemicals. However, in an effort to make Poland largely self-sufficient in the production of chemical products by 1980, the country is acquiring licenses for advanced chemical technology from many foreign countries. Research on high polymers is underway at several locations, including the Technical Universities of Lodz and Wroclaw and the Organic Synthesis Research Institute at Blachownia Slaska, but Poland has made only modest contributions in this field. For some time, most polymer technology has been imported.
In physical and inorganic chemistry, there is a strong effort in catalysis and inorganic reaction mechanisms under Alfons Krause at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. Krause and his coworkers have accounted for a great number of publications on homogenous and heterogenous catalytic reactions, inhibitors of catalytic reactions, development of catalysts for commercial processes, and reaction mechanisms, both catalytic and noncatalytic. Considerable recent work by this group has been concerned with decomposition of hydrogen peroxide solutions in the presence of various metal ions. There is some fundamental research in electrochemistry at the University of Warsaw, including studies on polarographic reduction. Dr. Wiktor Kemula at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Warsaw, who has a permanent staff of about 20 persons, is recognized internationally for his work on polarography, chromatography, and potentiometric titrations. Much of his work has dealt with the hanging mercury drop electrode. He and his associates have developed many techniques in instrumental analytical chemistry, including a polarographic method of monitoring chromatographic separations. Most of the universities and technical universities engage in some inorganic chemical research. The Institute for Inorganic Research at Gliwice, under the Ministry of Chemical Industry, conducts research on artificial fertilizers, and several of the agricultural colleges are concerned with soil chemistry.
The Institute of Nuclear Research, Warsaw, has a considerable interest in isotope production. It does research on chromatographic separations, solvent extraction, and lanthanide and actinide chemistry. This institute is active in analytical research, including activation analysis studies. The Institute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow, engages in research on solvent extraction and partition chromatography and on organic analytical reagents for metal analysis. Scientists at this institute are capable in research on neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis.
Outstanding research in analytical chemistry is done by Prof. Zbigniew Gregorowicz at the Technical University of Silesia at Gliwice. He and his collaborators have cone extensive work in development of titrimetric, spectrophotometric, and gravimetric techniques, oxidation-reduction indicators, and methods for determining rare metals.
Research in biochemistry is increasing in importance but is less highly developed than other branches of chemistry. The PAN Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Warsaw, does research on nucleic acids, lipids, and protein biosynthesis. Investigators at the University of Lodz are doing research on protein and nucleic acid synthesis and on hemoglobin. Several of the Academies of Medicine engage in a variety of biochemical research projects. Among the East European countries, Poland has one of the most active programs in deterioration of materials, its causes, and preventive techniques. Researchers participate freely in a data exchange program administered through the Biodeterioration Information Center in the United Kingdom. Materials studied by the Poles for determination of their susceptibility or resistance to microbial attack include adhesives, leather, lubricants, paper, plastic, rubber (natural or synthetic), soaps, textiles, and wood.
Poland has an active well-balanced metallurgical research and development program. The metallurgical industry is a very important cog in the country's economy, and this is reflected in the breadth and scope of its metallurgical research. Although the bulk of the research is directed toward solving metals production problems, a significant effort is directed toward gaining a better understanding of materials behavior under various service conditions. The quality of Polish metallurgical research is excellent, especially their extensive work in applied areas, and the scope of the overall effort is about properly balanced between the applied and the basic or fundamental. A greater emphasis on fundamental research cannot be justified in a country of Poland's limited resources. Poland excels in research on corrosion and stress corrosion, foundry technology, and mechanical metallurgy. In overall quality and quantity, the program is above that in East Germany but below that in Czechoslovakia.
Poland has a long history as a metals producing area. A plentiful supply of coal combined with deposits of iron ore and certain nonferrous ores formed the basis of a metallurgical industry in the past and led
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070028-8
