Mannheim of 1848, the city was a centre for political and revolutionary activity. In 1865, Friedrich Engelhorn founded the "Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik" (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, BASF) in Mannheim, but the factory was constructed across the Rhine in Ludwigshafen because Mannheim residents feared air pollution from its operations. From this dye factory, BASF has developed into the largest chemical company in the world. After opening a workshop in Mannheim in 1871 and patenting engines from 1878, Karl Benz patented the first motor car in 1886. He was born in Mühlburg (now part of Karlsruhe). The Schütte-Lanz company, founded by
Salsola soda of plant-derived soda ash) from saltwort plants. Similarly, Scotland had a large 18th-century industry producing soda ash from kelp; this industry was so lucrative that it led to overpopulation in the Western Isles of Scotland, and one estimate is that 100,000 people were occupied with "kelping" during the summer months. The commercialization of the Leblanc process for synthesizing sodium carbonate (from salt, limestone, and sulfuric acid) brought an end to the era of farming for soda ash in the first half of the 19th century. The Italian name "agretti" is commonly used in English to refer to the edible leaves