INDUSTRY
Cosden's styrene opera-tions fit in very well with its others. I t has an ar rangement to pipe i t s mixed xylenes First p l a n t t o m a k e s t y r e n e b y d i r e c t r e c o v e r y o f to Phillips Petroleum's adjacent plant (actually operated by Cosden) where ethylbenzene reaches capacity at Cosden the p-xylene is fractionally crystallized out. T h e residual xylenes a r e returned to Cosden. Phillips' p-xyleoie plant h a s ( C O M M E R C I A L L Y IMPRACTICAL—at l e a s t this is the highest concentration of some other companies thought so. B u t ethylbenzene in any refinery stream. been in operation since l a t e 1953. Since 1946 Cosden h a s diversified Cosden Petroleum a n d Badger M f g . From it, Cosden is .able to remove didn't. They felt that extracting ethyl enough ethylbenzene to m a k e 20 mil considerably into petrochemicals. A t present about 10% o f its $80 million benzene from Cosden's mixed xylene lion pounds of styrene a year. stream would b e a practical start t o T h e ethylbenzene c u t from t h e frac a year sales come from petrochemicals. ward making styrene. T h e trick w a s tionating columns is then dehydro- Only about 3 % of the c r u d e oil charged fractionating a stream with a boiling genated to styrene a n d t h e styrene re to all its operations goes into petro point difference of only 2° C . Badger's covered a n d purified. Ordinarily, this chemicals. Besides selling p-xylene to Ultrafractionation columns could d o involves passing ethylbenzene at ele Phillips, Cosden also makers mercaptan this. vated temperature over a metal oxide odorants for sales t o Sharpies Chemical, Now these Ultrafractionation col catalyst, then v a c u u m distilling the re carbon black oils for sale to Cabot umns have been built a n d p u t i n t o sulting styrene in t h e presence of a Carbon, Continental Black, and Colum operation, providing r a w material for polymerization inhibitor. However, bian Carbon, resins for sale by Kenrich Cosden's n e w styrene unit a t B i g Badger has incorporated its own proc Corp., a n d polybutenes for sale b y Spring, Tex. By the end of t h e first essing techniques into the Cosden Cosden itself. day's run early in February, p r o d u c t plant. At present it prefers n o t to dis purity was 99.2%. Now t h e plant h a s close just -what modifications it h a s reached capacity operation a n d h a s m a d e in t h e classical techniques. AEC Contracts with PRDC been formally dedicated. Total cost ^ Competitive Design. Since Cos was $ 3 million; it took only 13 m o n t h s den does n o t h a v e t o make ethylben to build, in spite of a two m o n t h delay zene, being able to extract it instead, Research a n d development caused by t h e steel strike last year. it feels it is in a n unusually good com work on fast breeder will Cosden starts its styrene production petitive position. In fact, Cosden thinks be done of AEC facilities; with a mixed xylene stream from i t s its design is competitive with producers full use charges w a i v e d benzene-toluene-xylene plant. T h i s who have fully depreciated facilities. Udex unit is being operated to give While it is t r u e that price cuts last sum a xylene stream containing about 30 %> mer made t h e styrene picture less rosy, ethylbenzene. So far as Cosden knows, Cosden is still optimistic. A E C W I L L ASSIST i n de-veloping t h e $47 million nuclear powerr plant n o w under construction a t Monroe, Mich., under terms of a contract it h a s just signed with Power Reactor Develop ment Co. P R D C plans a sodiumcooled, fast breeder reactor. It will b e capable of producing sufficient beat to generate a minimum of 100,000 kw. of electricity. The contract calls for -AEC t o pro vide up to $4,450,000 i n assistance. This will consist of research and devel opment work at AEC facilities, con sultant a n d information services, a n d assistance in training, reactor plant oper ators a n d maintenance personnel. AEC will also waive its normal charge for use of special nuclear material for a period beginning \wth the contract date and ending five years after it issues a license to operate the facility. T h e value of this waiver is estimated at $5 million b y AEC. The contract says that either AEC or P R D C m a y cancel t h e contract if t h e company is unable t o obtain necessary licenses a n d regulatory approvals. ( A E C h a s issued only a. provisional construction permit for t h e reactor—one conditional on both financing a n d safety Cosden's styrene plant at Big Spring, Tex., was formally dedicated April 3 i n considerations. ) T h e contract may also joint ceremonies with Badger Mfg., designer of the Ultrafractionation columns b e cancelled if t h e company i s unable used t o separate t h e ethylbenzene starting materials from t h e mixed xylene stream to obtain satisfactory liability insurance
The Plant That Couldn't Be Built
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Industry is switching t o
INDUSTRY
NEW DRY-ÂCID CLEANERS
coverage (see page 3 0 , this issue). Under a supplemental agreement, AEC will perform chemical processing services for recovery of source a n d spe cial nuclear materials contained in spent fuel elements or blanket materials from t h e P R D C reactor ( C & E N , March p a g e 2 2 ) . These services will be available to P R D C until commercial facilities are set u p to d o t h e workPublic hearings were resumed this week on t h e safety of t h e P R D C reactor a n d the company's financial responsi bility. These a r e being h e l d as a result of protests b y labor unions in the De troit area (C&EN, March 1 1 , page 3 0 ) .
GE Resin "Strong as Steel" ' f Uncon ventiona 1 ' ' poly este r combines physical toughness with g o o d electrical p r o p erties V J E N E B A L ELECTRIC'S Lexan, termed
O n e 400-pound drum of dry-acid cleaner based on Du Pont Sulfamic Acid usually does the j o b of "7 carboys of hydrochloric acid. Sulfamic Acid is safer to personnel and equipment, t o o .
Cleaners based on Du Pont SULFAMIC ACID are safer, easier to handle, more convenient Today, there's a trend to dry-acid cleaners and scale removers based on Du Pont Sul famic Acid for a wide range of household and industrial cleaning jobs—from kitchen pans to industrial vacuum pans. Dry-acid cleaners are much safer and more con venient than hydrochloric acid. They per form quickly and efficiently . . . have low corrosive action. And they're easy to pre pare, non-fuming and safer for personnel. Du Pont Sulfamic Acid is also being used for nitrite removal in pigment manu facture and developed color dyeing of tex tiles, in the electrodeposition of nickel, in the sulfonation of monyl phenol polyglycol ethers, as a curing agent for thermoMAIL
COUPON
setting resins and i n pH control. Sulfamic Acid is available in granular and crystal forms. Cleaners compounded with i t can be packed in lightweight, dis posable fiber drums that eliminate break age and special handling problems. Write today for new general informa tion bulletin describing Du Pont Sulfamic Acid a n d its application, or for sources for dry-acid cleaners based on Sulfamic Acid.
JflLPQHt Better Things f o r Better Living. . . through
C&EN
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Chemistry
TODAY!!!
I E. I . du P o n t de Nemours & Co. (Inc.) Chemicals Department—Room N-2533 I Grasselli ΛΎ/.Μ„: . no Wilmington 98, r»_! Delaware j Π Please send m e Sulfamic Acid general information bulletin. j • Please send n a m e s of companies offering!: dry-acid cleaners based o n Sulfamic Acid. { Name, Position, | Firm I Address ! City_ _Statc_
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a "polycarbonate" resin, is not yet out of t h e laboratory. But G E calls this new thermoplastic a m e m b e r of a new family of synthetics. Lexan is tough e n o u g h to replace even metals in some applications, says GE, although its specific gravity is only 1.20. Even hollow-molded parts can be p o u n d e d with a h a m m e r to n o ill effects; nails and-spikes driven through
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Exceptional impact strength a n d rigid ity of parts molded from G E ' s Lexan i s demonstrated by W . F . ChristopherRods can be h a m m e r e d into w o o d
