September, 1929
I N D U S T R I A L AiYD E S G I S E E R I S G CHEMISTRY
S u m m a r y a n d Conclusions
1-In contact with catalysts containing ferric oxide, the gas CO 4 H2 a t 150 atmospheres pressure is converted into (1) liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, saturated and unsaturated; (2) aliphatic alcohols. 2-Industrial application of this process may be possible if it can be operated under conditions such that the ferric oxide is not reduced during use. Temperature control does not suffice to prevent this reduction, but by combining the iron with phosphoric or boric acids it appears that the reduction is prevented. The best catalysts are complex mixtures which have been arrived a t by trial. Although very interesting results have been obtained with them, it is practically certain that the best combination of the constituents has not yet been realized. 3-The organic liquid obtained has a heating value of about 9000 calories per kilogram, and two-thirds of it dis-
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tils below 180” C. It appears that suitable treatment of this liquid would yield valuable products. 4-Although the yield of organic liquid so far obtained is only about 15 to 17 per cent in weight and 25 to 30 per cent in heating value, nothing indicates that the yields could not be improved. As a matter of fact, the catalyst composition is so arbitrary and so little is known about the catalytic effect of the various constituents of the catalyst, that it seems probable that further work may lead to very important results. Literature Cited (1) Audibert and Raineau, A n n . o 3 c e natl. cornbusiibles l i q u i d e s , 1927, No. 4; Rev, i n d . mint?i.de, January 15, 1928; IND. ENG.CHEX, 20, 1105
(1928).
(2) Fischer, Series of papers in B r e n n r l o . f - C h e n i e and elsewhere. ( 3 ) Sabatier, “Catalysis in Organic Chemistry.” D. Van h’ostrand Xew York, 1922.
Co.,
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARIES Richard Newman Brackett
T
0 E N JOY so large a measure of the esteem and confidence In connection with the performance of the duties of these posiof one’s colleagues and co-workers as to be called on times tions he has carried out much important investigational work without number t o discharge tasks and assignments that and has published a number of interesting bulletins and papers, much of this work having been done in demand thoroughness and efficiency should collaboration with J. H. Mitchell, t o whom occasion a feeling of satisfaction and pride the writer is greatly indebted for material in the man whose friends so regard him. furnished for use in this sketch. Such a man is Richard h’ewman Brackett, A notable contribution to the program of director of the Department of Chemistry the Section of History of Chemistry of the of Clemson College, S. C., and chief chemAmerican Chemical Society a t its meeting ist in charge of state fertilizer control, whose capacity and ability to perform well the in Richmond in April, 1927, was his paper on “Thomas Green Clemson, The Chemvarious commissions delegated to him have ist,’’ giving some very interesting side lights led his fellow members of the Association on the character and achievements of this of Official Agricultural Chemists to draft distinguished South Carolinian, the son-inhim time after time for service in various law of John C. Calhoun, who donated the outstanding phases of the work of the association. old Calhoun estate to the State of South The subject of this sketch was born near Carolina as a site for the land grant college Columbia in Richland County, S. C , Sepwhich bears his name. tember 14, 1863. His early education was As a member of the Association of Official obtained in private schools of Charleston, Agricultural Chemists, Doctor Brackett has while his collegiate training was received been a constant attendant upon its meeta t Davidson College, N. C., from which ings for two decades and has contributed institution he graduated with the degree of much to the success and interest of its proA.B. i n 1 8 8 3 . His graduate work was grams, having served as referee in several pursued a t Johns Hopkins U n i v e r s i t y , divisions of the association work, including where he received the Ph.D. degree in 1887. the position of general referee on fertilizers From 1887 to 1891 he was chief chemR i c h a r d h-ewman Brackett which he filled most capably for a number ist of the Arkansas Geological S u r v e y , of years, while his reviews of the work of and in connection with the performance of the duties of that the association along several lines of investigation have proved position he accomplished some important work in the identi- most helpful and interesting to its members. He served as presification of minerals. In collaboration with J. Francis Williams, dent of the association in 1916 and has continued to be active in two new minerals of the kaolinite group, Newtonite and Rec- the furtherance of the objects and purposes for which that body torite, were discovered. In 1891 he came to Clemson College was formed. as associate professor of chemistry and assistant chemist of In addition to his membership in the A. 0.A . C., he has been a the South Carolina Experiment Station, serving in the latter member of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETYsince 1887, is a capacity until 1907, at which time the work of the Department fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Science, and a of Chemistry and of the Experiment Station was separated. In member of the South Carolina Academy of Science. 1911 he became director of the Department of Chemistry and As the head of his department and as an instructor he has chief chemist in charge of fertilizer control, and in 1920 he was rendered notable service to his institution and to the students who made chief chemist of the South Carolina Experiment Station. have sat under his teaching. To the latter he has proved, not
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INDUSTRIAL ALVD EAVGIXEERIXG CHE-VISTRY
only the experienced and able teacher, but also the wise and helpful counselor and friend. At a recent commencement where there were a number of class reunions, the writer had the opportunity of noting the esteem and regard in which Doctor Brackett is held by his former students, t o whom he is affectionately known as “Dicky Brackett.” While his work in the field of chemistry demands the largest share of his time, he has given much attention to the work of his church and of the college Y. M. C. A. The son of a Presbyterian minister, he is a loyal and devoted member of that Church and has given much time and effort t o the restoration of the “Old Stone Church” of Oconee County, S.C , and has written a history of this notable old church as well as a historical sketch of the old Fort Hill Church, located near the college. He has taught a Sunday School class for many years and was active in the organization of the movement t o erect a handsome Y.M. c . A. building
Vol. 21, s o . 9
a t Clemson, being chairman of the advisory board which directed the project t o a successful conclusion. He is a habitual reader, and on visiting his den in his home you will find his table piled high with books and magazines, and in the midst of them Brackett, with a good cigar in his mouth, presents a rare picture of contentment. As a writer, he wields a most facile pen, and his diction is admirable, as is evidenced by some of his memorial sketches of departed colleagues, whose virtues and achievements he has so well portrayed. He is fond of music and is himself a performer on the piano, while as an outdoor diversion, motoring is one of his favorite pastimes. Although to the stranger he seems reticent and reserved, he has a keen sense of humor and is an adept as a punster. T o those who know him best, he is a loyal friend, a delightful companion, and all-around good fellow, for whom his associatcs wish many more years of service and of usefulness to his college, his state, and his profession. B. B. Ross
NOTES A N D CORRESPONDENCE In Behalf of the Patent Office Editor of Industrial and Engineerang Chemaslrj: I have been much interested in several of your recent editorials and letters to the Editor concerning the work and operation of the Patent Ofice. That office has been called, among other things, a “kindergarten for patent attorneys,” and a recent correspondent assures us that “the Patent Office is in a very bad condition and is constantly getting worse ” The impression given by the letter from F. W. Harris which appeared in your June issue is so misleading that I am undertaking t o present a more favorable view of the situation. Mr. Harris overlooked several important facts. He plotted the cases awaiting action on January first of each year, the plot showing an unprecedented total of 106,000 cases on January 1, /70,004
‘
I
I
o Aph/icafons f o r letfers p a t e n i l 0 letters p a t e n t issued Apblicaiions o w u ~ f i n qa c t i o n June30 -. of e a c h uear
x
I03 00
h‘
caused t o fall behind about three months in its work, on the average. Where formerly an applicant could wait a year before replying t o an office action and could obtain a second action within three months, he must now reply within six months and can obtain a second action only a t the end of another six months, on the average. The net result is a speeding up of the final action on those cases in which the applicant has waited the full statutory period before replying to the office actions and a corresponding delay in those cases in which a prompt response has been made. Hence, although the Patent Office is apparently further behind, the average time required t o obtain a final action is about the same. The principal hardship is placed on the applicant who wishes t o obtain quick action, but the law will undoubtedly tend to correct the frequent abuse of the privilege of waiting the full statutory period before replying to the office actions. From the fact that the above-mentioned “piling-up’’ of cases caused the office t o fall behind three months, on the average, or about 65,000 cases, it can be deduced that nearly one-third of the applicants were in the habit of taking longer than six months before replying to the ofice actions.
60 %
50% 40%
I913
I /9/5
/9/7
/9i9
/92/
/923
/S25
/927
/929
1929. (The corresponding plot for the cases awaiting action a t the end of the fiscal year, June 30, is shown in Figure 1.) He assumed that this proved that the office was further behind in its work than ever before. The reason for the recent sudden increase in these cases awaiting action is largely t o be found in the new law requiring a response t o office actions within six months, instead of a year as formerly. This law became effective May 2, 1927, and has caused both the cases t o “pile up” and the office to fall behind in its work. The first effect culminated during the six months’ period prior to May 2, 1928. The office finished acting on these “piled-up” cases only within the past five months and has been
300
200
/9N
/9/5
l9/7
.
I I919
1921
x o/desSamended rube o f each y e a r I /923
I925
IS??
,
June 30 /929
That conditions are not so serious as it would appear even from the above statements is shown by Figure 2. In this figure are plotted the number of days which the oldest new case and oldest amended case had awaited action prior t o June 30 of the corresponding years. This plot shows that prior t o 1921 the
