Erik Rotheim's aerosol can
Bote aerosol de Erik Rotheim
- Date
- 1927 · confidence high
- Place
- Oslo, Norway
- Credited to
- Erik Rotheim
- Field
- Tools
What it is
The Norwegian engineer patented in 1927 a container with a liquefied pressurised gas that forces out the contents when a valve is opened. It was the origin of the aerosol can for paints, lacquers and disinfectants.
Rotheim's patents date from 1926-1927; he did not commercialise the invention and the mass-use aerosol was developed in the US by Goodhue and Sullivan (1941).
What it led to
- 1940s insecticide bombs with Freon propellant (USA)
- aerosols for paint, hairspray, whipped cream and foams
- the CFC ban under the Montreal Protocol (1987)