684
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y .
tried various materials made up into the form of discs with perforations for the circulation of oxygen. The best results were obtained with a disc about ”/,,I’
TOP
Sept., 1 9 1 2
is preferable, but requiring a completely filled, fragile capsule, is somewhat troublesome. A modification of this, having proved successful with a class of engineering students in this laboratory, seems worthy of more general use. The capsule is made from a piece of 5 mm. tube sealed off a t one end and drawn out to a capillary a t the other. I t is filled to the neck only, bent as shown, and sealed a t the tip of the capillary. It is hung in the vaporizing tube instead of being supported in the usual manner from below. For this
CLAY DISC, thick, of such diameter as to completely cover the No. 00 Royal Berlin porcelain crucible, perforated with slanted holes, leading from the periphery of the upper side of the disc, slanting toward the center on the bottom of the disc, as shown in the illustration. They are best made of china clay. The clay is mixed with water t o the proper consistency, moulded into shape, carefully dried, burned and annealed. One of these discs with proper care will last for I O O determinations, which is also the average life of the porcelain crucible. With a little care these discs can be made easily in the laboratory. The above work has been carried on by the writer in conjunction with Dr. Shimer. 35 FIRSTAVENUE,
PA. BETHLEHEM,
A MODIFIED VICTOR MEYER APPARATUS. B Y HAROLD CANNINGCHAPIN.
Received June 24, 1912.
The customary way of introducing a liquid to be vaporized in a Victor Meyer vapor density apparatus is to drop, by some external means of control, a capsule previously supported in the cool upper portion of the tube. This capsule then automatically releases its contents by bursting, expulsion of a glass stopper, or melting of a Wood’s metal plug. The first method
I
purpose the ordinary form of tube will serve, but the right angled form here illustrated is preferable because it is more compact, holds the capsule more securely, and allows this to be placed in position more easily through the short neck. A twist of the rod with its flattened end breaks the capillary and drops the capsule. WALKERLABORATORY, RBNSSBLAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, TROY, NEWYORK.
ADDRESO
I
losses frequently exceed the profits. To a large extent these losses are caused by improper chemical control B y J. S. BROGDON. or the lack of it. Received July 15, 1912. The days of large profits and splendid dividends in There is no subject of greater importance in the the fertilizer world are over. A new era has dawnedECONOMY. fertilizer world to-day than t h a t of CHEMICAL The chemical units of phosphoric acid, nitrogen and a time of keen competition and close margins-a time potash in the fertilizer factory are the same as and when i t is necessary that the smallest savings be are equivalent to dollars in the bank. I n all the effected. The wasteful methods of the past cannot nation you will not find a single bank which for one be continued and the standard of the quality of the moment would think of doing business without an product must be maintained. There is no greater efficient and adequate method of keeping account of avenue t o prosperity for the fertilizer manufacturer the money, or without a banker to direct the policy than that of applied chemistry. The question naturof the bank. Yet in fertilizer factories, systems for ally arises, who shall apply the principles of chemistry keeping account of the income and the outgo of chem- in the fertilizer industry? Fertilizer managers are occupied with the matter ical units are not common, and many factories are not under the direction of a chemist. As a result, in the of sales and credits: frequently they are men who have average fertilizer factory, there is a most wanton waste risen from the ranks of the sales force and their training of phosphoric acid in the manufacture of acid phos- has not fitted them to handle the intricate chemical phate and in the manipulation of mixed fertilizers the problems of the factory. On account of this they are accustomed to rely on fertilizer superintendents to 1 Read before the Convention of The National Fertilizer Association look after such matters. The superintendent most at Atlantic City, July, 1912. THE ANALYST VERSUS THE CHEMIST.’
Sept.,
1912
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y .
frequently is a man who has been promote; from the manufacturing department and often has not given the subject of chemistry as careful consideration as he has the matter of efficiency of machines and the control of labor. It matters little whether this knowledge which we call chemistry is obtained a t the fountain head in the factory or through the canned source of text books. I t is very important that if a man possess this information, it be harmonized and organized. "Science is organized knowledge." The science of chemistry offers two fields for investigation: analytical chemistry, which takes things apart, or separates them into their component parts, and synthetic chemistry which takes substances and puts them together to form new substances. The man who understands the principles of analytical chemistry and synthetical chemistry and has the ability to apply these principles in a fertilizer factory is a man most worthy of the name of chemist. The trouble in the application of chemical principles in the fertilizer industry can most frequently be a t t r b u t e d to the fact that managers and superintendents confuse the services of a n analyst with those of a chemist. A man who possesses certain chemical information and who is skilled in the manipulation of fancy pieces of glassware and who can perform certain cook book operations, as furnished him by the government, is a n analyst. He is capable of disintegrating substances and can express the relation of the component parts in terms of percentages. I n other words, a n analyst is a man who undoes things; a chemist is a man who does things. I t would be well if all chemists were analysts and i t is a deplorable fact that all analysts are not chemists. If you have samples to be analyzed, send them to an analyst, but if you have chemical problems t o be solved or dividends to be saved, consult a chemist; let him apply the principles of chemistry. Under the head of Applied Chemistry perhaps there is no question of greater importance in the fertilizer factory than the manufacture of acid phosphate, and it is in an instance like this where the chemist does not receive credit for his labors. A pile of acid phosphate may run 2 per cent. insoluble and look exactly like another pile which runs only l / z per cent. insoluble. Yet the loss in this case would be I I / ~per cent. or something like 75 cents a ton. The work of the chemical engineer is not appreciated because it is intangible. A chemical engineer can produce profits which frequently are not audited. A certain fertilizer factory installed a chemist in their acid phosphate department and at the end of the first year he effected savings which amounted to $ 2 0 , 0 0 0 ; a t the end of the second year the auditor credited this department with savings of $40,000 over the old system, and a t the end of the third year he was credited with savings of $60,000 over the old system. I n the meantime, the quality of the product which a t the first had been none too good, had now become recognized as the best on the market. This was the work of a chemist. A careful and systematic analysis of all raw materials
'
685
and mixed goods is an advantage that is not appreciated by every manager. Again, the chemical units can be compared to money. Any man will count his money regularly and systematically, yet the same man does not think i t necessary to count or audit his chemical units systematically. The matter of 2 5 cents per ton profit is not to be scorned. If there is a variation in the quality of the materials, i t is usually practical and possible to vary the formulae accordingly. This varying of formulae, however, becomes confusing and impossible if the materials have not been properly stored intheshed. Many manufacturers consider that all that is necessary is to unload the material. This is, indeed, a very poor way to handle the matter. Where large quantities of fertilizer materials are being handled, some one should be delegated t o know a t all times how these materials are stored in order that they can be used t o their highest chemical efficiency. The chemical control of the manipulation of mixed fertilizers is a subject which has been sadly neglected and which amounts to losses of many thousands of dollars per annum. In no other industry is the custom prevalent to give 37 inches for a yard as in the fertilizer world, and frequently the manufacturers of commercial fertilizers are not satisfied with giving away their goods, but they actually throw them away. A loss of $1.50 a ton in averages in a fertilizer factory in the city of Atlanta was reduced to 44 cents per ton through the agency of chemical control. This saving amounted t o about $rg,ooo in one season. This was the work of a chemist. The packers and the large interests have long since realized the importance of chemical economy and have delegated these responsibilities t o a chemist. The independent plants frequently employ a chemist, or rather they maintain a laboratory and pay a man a salary to make chemical analyses, preferring that he occupy his time in this way. Unless there is some one in the factory to interpret the certificate of analysis and apply the principles, the whole procedure becomes a farce. Frequently fertilizer managers fail to consider their chemist in the light of a professional man as they do their lawyer, and superintendents look upon the chemist as a kind of necessary nuisance whom they tolerate rather than seek. From the early days of Liebig to the modern times of Cameron and Whitney, the devotees of the pure science of chemistry have applied themselves t o the study of the nutrition of plants. The chemical engineers have done all in their power to foster the fertilizer industry and have met conditions nobly. I refer to such men as the elder Grasselli who conceived, built and operated the plants of the firm that bears his name. The splendid results of Mr. Herrescholl attest t o his interest and ability. All over the South are modern plants which were designed and built by Nathaniel P. Pratt, and a t all times the chemical profession has met conditions and now stands ready t o meet this new condition, the necessity for chemical economy. 6S1/2 NORTHBROADSTREET, ATLANTA,GEORGIA.
