Anselme Payen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anselme Payen
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Anselme Payen
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| Born | 6 January 1795 |
| Died | 12 May 1871 (aged 76) Paris
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| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Discovered diastase and cellulose |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | École Centrale Paris CNAM |
Anselme Payen was a brilliant French chemist. He is famous for two big discoveries. He found the first-ever enzyme, which he called diastase. He also discovered and named cellulose, a key part of plant cell walls.
Contents
A Young Scientist's Journey
Anselme Payen was born in Paris, France. He started learning science very young, at just 13 years old. He studied Chemistry at a famous school called the École Polytechnique. His teachers were well-known chemists like Louis Nicolas Vauquelin.
Breaking a Monopoly
When Payen was 23, he became a manager. He worked at a factory that cleaned a mineral called borax. Borax was very important back then. It was used in many things, like cleaning products. Before Payen, all borax came from far away. It was imported only by the Dutch from the East Indies.
Payen found a new way to make borax. He used common materials like soda and boric acid. This new method was much cheaper. It allowed him to sell borax for a third of the old price. This helped break the Dutch control over borax.
Other Amazing Inventions
Payen didn't stop there. He also found better ways to refine sugar. He developed methods to get starch and alcohol from potatoes. He even created a way to measure nitrogen in substances. Payen invented a special tool called a decolorimeter. This tool helped analyze and clean sugar.
Discovering Key Substances
In 1833, Payen made a huge discovery. He found the first enzyme, which he named diastase. Enzymes are like tiny helpers in our bodies. They speed up chemical reactions. He is also known for finding and naming the carbohydrate cellulose. Cellulose is what makes up the cell walls of plants. It is a very important part of wood and cotton.
In 1835, Payen became a professor. He taught at the École Centrale Paris. Later, he became a professor at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers. He passed away in Paris in 1871.
Legacy
Anselme Payen's work was very important. The American Chemical Society honors him every year. They give out the Anselme Payen Award. This award celebrates new discoveries in cellulose and similar materials.
See also
In Spanish: Anselme Payen para niños
