to just under 10 million pounds. However, "just under 10 million pounds'' is probably the more accurate estimate of polycarbonate production for this year. The two major producers of polycarbonates—Mobay Chemical and General Electric's chemical materials department—are still convinced that, around 1968, production will reach nearly 50 million pounds. Pittsburgh Plate Glass has also made small amounts of polycarbonates in a pilot unit at Barberton, Ohio. But industry sources say PPG no longer makes the material. Injection molding resin accounts for the bulk of polycarbonate sales. But General Electric put new emphasis on film and sheet last year when it began to make these products itself. Apparently, the company hopes to inject some new life into a promising market that hadn't been growing as well as expected. Last year, only about 100,000 pounds of resin went into film and sheet. If both polycarbonates and epoxies live up to their growth expectations, these two outlets alone could support a demand for 150 million pounds of bisphenol-A by 1968. Meanwhile, the industry is watching development of phenoxy resins (C&EN, May 27, page 2 5 ) , the thermoplastic based on bisphenol-A. These materials are actually linear condensation polymers of bisphenol-A and epichlorohydrin in equal molar ratios. Shell, Union Carbide, and Ciba now
Bisphenol-A Has Only Two Major Outlets... Consumption (Million of Pounds) 19S2 1963 1968
Epoxy resins 55.0 Polycarbonates 3.5 Miscellaneous and inventory 3.6 Total 62.1
62.0 7.0
105 45
6.0 75.0
20 170
. . . And Four Producers Capacity (Milllions of Pounds per Year)
Dow, Midland, Mich. Monsanto, St. Louis, Mo. Shell, Houston, Tex. Union Carbide, Marietta, Ohio Total
30 15 45 25 115
C&EN estimates
36
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make these materials. They are being aimed at the film and coatings field. It may be that these materials will be considered epoxies. Regardless of what they are called, they will be a welcome third use for bisphenol-A. New Capacity Needed. Four producers of bisphenol-A have 115 million pounds of capacity among them. This is more than enough to handle this year's demand. By 1968, obviously, new capacity will be needed. Any of the present producers could expand, of course. It's possible that some epoxy .producers, like Ciba or Reichhold, could integrate backward into bisphenol-A. Still another possibility is that one of the companies that helped contribute to the recent popularity of phenolfrom-cumene plants (C&EN, May 13, page 93) may eye bisphenol-A production as a captive outlet for phenol.
American Metal Climax Eyes Brine Deposit Plans are afoot to produce power and chemicals from an underground lake of very hot brine in southern California. The Imperial Irrigation District there has amended the lease held by a Texas group to allow chemical production on 3000 acres near the southern end of the Salton Sea. At the same time, the Texas interests—O'Neill Geothermal and Ashmund & Hilliard, both of Midland—are negotiating an agreement with American Metal Climax, who may build an $8 million to $10 million plant to extract potash from the rich brine. Under the new terms of the lease, the IID will have first claim to the steam. It will get 2% of the gross sales of potash until 1976 and 4% for 10 years after that. Also, the Texas group, which has already drilled two deep wells in the area, agrees to drill another before Sept. 15 and a fourth one within the following six months. First Well. O'Neill Geothermal drilled its first well, near Niland, during the winter of 1961-62. It is 5232 feet deep. Company engineers were not able to measure the temperature in the lower half of the hole but estimate it is at least 270° C. and possibly 370° C. Besides potash, the brine contains copper, silver, gold, manganese, zinc, strontium, and other metals. Although potash is the constituent that may make commercial operations feasible, some of the other minerals
may be valuable by-products. During one three-month test run with a steamwater separator, an estimated 5 to 8 tons of a dark deposit were laid down in discharge pipes. About 20% of this deposit is copper; it also contains about 381 ounces of silver per ton. According to M. J. Dowd, executive officer of IID, American Metal Climax engineers are confident that they can solve the technical problems involved in getting the potash out of the complex brine. If the projected plant goes through, it will be a part of AMC's Southwest Potash division. Main interest of the IID itself is in generating power from the underground steam. Mr. Dowd says that IID hopes AMC will advance financing for the first steam power plant. If that one works well, the agency may build additional generating facilities. Other Interests. The unusual thermal and chemical properties of the brine lake are now attracting other developers. Western Geothermal (a subsidiary of Natomas Co., San Francisco) completed a 6900-foot well in April on a ranch five miles west of the Salton Sea. The company has capped the well and is now running extensive tests. Durand A. Hall, a company director and engineer, would not disclose the analysis of the brine but says that Western Geothermal is interested in the chemical content. Another interested party is Magma Power, Los Angeles, which has leases in the area. This company has not yet done any drilling, but it may get a program under way within the next three months. Observers expect Magma to team up with a large chemical company, but Magma declines to name any possible partners.
Reichhold to Make Phenolic Molding Powder In a few weeks, Reichhold Chemical will have a 35 million pound-per-year phenolic molding powder plant on stream at Carteret, N.J. The company has plans for a second plant in the Midwest, possibly near Chicago. It will be about the same size as the Carteret plant. With the new plant, Reichhold will have a captive use for its phenol and formaldehyde output. The company has a phenol plant with a capacity of about 90 million pounds and four formaldehyde plants with a total capacity of about 140 million pounds
at Tuscaloosa, Ala. The new phenolic molding compound plant will use about 14 million pounds of phenol and 10 million pounds of formaldehyde per year, Reichhold says. Henry H. Reichhold, board chairman, says the Carteret plant will use a new, exclusive extrusion manufacturing process. Harry Kline, company vice president, phenolic plastic division, went on to say that the new .process gives a more uniform and higherdensity product than conventional tworoll mill methods now in use. He also points out that the new process reduces overcharge needed in cold powder compression molding. As a result, molders have reported raw material economies and fewer rejects. Mr. Kline adds that the usual accumulation of dust in the manufacturing process is practically eliminated, reducing the hazard of explosions. Reichhold has had a pilot plant operating for about 15 months, and a variety of molding compounds have been field-tested in molders' plants. Reichhold is at present making general-purpose molding compound (priced at 20.55 cents per pound in bags for truck-load quantities) but intends to turn out a complete line of phenolic compounds eventually.
Harshaw Reorganizes, Sets Up Six Divisions Harshaw Chemical has reorganized its top management and established six new operating divisions. This reorganization is a major step in the company's efforts to overcome the difficulties it has encountered with growing sales, decreasing profits, and product diversification. The reorganization groups together manufacturing, sales, and product development on the basis of product types. The new divisions are industrial chemicals, scientific (which involves distribution of reagent chemicals and lab equipment), catalyst and ceramic, crystal and solid state, pigments and dyes, and foreign. According to company president, W. A. Harshaw, II, the new divisional operations should result in a significant improvement of return on investment. "We feel we've reached the bottom of our profit decline cycle and look forward with confidence to reversing this trend by next year," Mr. Harshaw says. Since 1953, the company's net sales
have increased by 42%, from $51,029,098 in 1953 to $72,357,905 in 1962.. But profits haven't kept pace. In 1955, for instance, Harshaw's profits reached $2,501,087 on sales of $60,879,341. In 1962, despite the increase in sales, profits dropped to $1,652,014. Mr. Harshaw feels that this decline is the result of several factors. There has been a steady price decrease in some of Harshaw's significant lines of products; for instance, the prices of fluorides and hydrofluoric acid have been severely depressed during the past couple of years. The profit margins in nickel anodes and other nickel chemicals for the plating industry have narrowed considerably in the past few years. Other factors have been at work as well and these have also contributed in a large measure to decreased profits. For many years, the company didn't have a coordinated plan for getting into new areas of higher profitability. Older products had reached a plateau in their growth. New products didn't attain enough volume to overcome the low profitability. Under the new setup, managers of divisions will assume greater responsibility. Each general manager will check in depth on all products made by the division. If there are products that are unprofitable, he will deal with them in one of three ways—engineer a better price through process changes, raise the price to bring it into line with production costs, or drop the product entirely. Harshaw has five plants in the U.S. and the company is now in the process of reorganizing so that each division will have one plant. For instance, Harshaw has plans to consolidate all its pigment and dye work at its Louisville, Ky., plant. At present this work is done at two other locations. Some cadmium work is done at the company's Elyria, Ohio, plant and pigments and dyes for the plastics and paint industries are made at Hastingson-Hudson, N.Y. The company plans to diversify into new areas and to divest itself of those which it feels aren't operating profitably. Last year, Harshaw acquired a majority stock interest in Fermco Laboratories, Inc., Chicago, 111. This put Harshaw into the field of enzymes. The company is operating as a wholly owned subsidiary. Harshaw looks to future growth in this company in the next couple of years and is also look-
ing to diversify into other similar ventures. The company has a threeyear capital investment program amounting to $8 million. It expects to finance further acquisition primarily from retained earnings and depreciation or, if need be, from short-term loans.
Oil Shale Venture Near Reality An attempt to produce oil from shale rock commercially in the U.S. may occur within the year. So says Hein I. Koolsbergen, president of the Oil Shale Corp. New York, N.Y. He says that the company has begun acquisition of Colorado shale reserves. Negotiations for operations and marketing arrangements are already "in advanced stages." No date for the beginning of construction was given. Oil Shale was formed in 1955 to develop patented methods for the retort extraction of crude oil from the shale deposits. The company owns world-wide rights to the Tosco process for extracting crude oil from shale. Mr. Koolsbergen claims that with the process the company can produce crude oil from shale rock at a cost ranging from $1.00 to $1.30 per barrel, depending on the scale of the operation and the oil content of the shale reserves. Buying Reserves. Mr. Koolsbergen also says that Oil Shale has begun acquisition of reserves, among them an option on 15,000 acres of shale-bearing property in northwestern Colorado. Oil Shale Corp. has applied to the Department of the Interior for a lease on 5100 acres of federal oil shale land in Colorado's Rio Blanco County. The application estimates a potential yield of about 30 gallons of oil per ton of shale in some parts of this area. As to the Tosco process, Mr. Koolsbergen points out that an inexpensive method of utilizing the carbon residue remaining after extraction of the oil has been developed. He adds that this will greatly reduce the mine's need for outside power and heat sources. At Oil Shale's annual meeting, stockholders approved an agreement with Southern Natural Gas Co. The agreement provides financial assistance of up to $4.6 million for Oil Shale Corp. Southern Natural Gas will have the right to purchase convertible debentures and common stock, as well as to participate in joint ventures with Oil Shale and others. JUNE
3, 1 9 6 3 C & E N
37
Gas Hills Partners for approximately $2 million in cash and royalties on certain "ineligible" ores should they later be mined. Vitro Minerals is jointly owned by Vitro Corp. of America and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Co. Federal Resources Corp., managing partner of Federal-Gas Hills Partners, says the acquisition is the first step in a consolidation of activities which will include the Susquehanna-Western mill at Riverton, Wyo. Federal will concentrate ores from the former Vitro Minerals' property at its Gas Hills, Wyo., mill.
Total turpentine production hit 653,060 barrels during the 1962-63 season, according to Department of Agriculture figures. Output was thus 3% ahead of the previous season's. USDA's annual report on naval stores also shows production of rosin from all sources reached 2,064,260 drums, up by 13,200 drums above the 196162 year. Gum rosin accounted for 24% of the total, steam-distilled for 53%, and tall oil for 23 r/c. Turpentine consumption during the 1962-63 year climbed 10% to reach 407,340 barrels. Rosin consumption totaled 1,425,020 drums, 18,010 drums less than in the 1961-62 season. Only the chemical and rubber industries increased their use of rosin during 196263.
Shell Development Branches Out Into Field Of Animal Health With New Lab in California
Small animals are raised under controlled conditions at Shell Development's new animal health laboratory in Modesto, Calif. The new facility is part of the company's agricultural research complex. In the one-story, reinforced concrete-brick building and adjacent barns and corrals, biochemists, microbiologists, parasitologists, and veterinarians will study the mechanisms of animal physiology and search for chemicals to cure diseases and regulate growth. This is a new field for Shell; its main agricultural products have been fertilizers and pesticides.
BRIEFS Dow's plastics department has formed a new engineering and service group to coordinate marketing and development of plastics used in refrigerators and other electrical appliances. R. G. Otting, presently head of polystyrene plastics development in the plastics development and service laboratory, will have product responsibility for the 38
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new group. W. D. H a m s , plastic development and service customer engineer, will coordinate technical service and development activities. J. L. Davis, plastics salesman, has over-all marketing responsibility for the new group.
Vitro Minerals Corp. has sold its Wyoming uranium properties to Federal-
NEW FACILITIES Morningstar-Paisley has started to operate its new plant at Newark, Calif. The plant makes glues, pastes, and hot melts, polyvinyl acetate emulsions, plastisols, starch products, water-soluble gums, and chemical specialties. The Newark plant replaces Morningstar's former Redwood City, Calif., plant.
Commerce Industrial Chemicals, Inc., a distributor of petroleum solvents, alcohols, and other chemicals, is building a new bulk storage terminal in Chicago. Initial storage capacity at the new supply point will be 633,000 gallons.
Humble Oil & Refining will lease new Chicago offices in Oak Brook, 111., from Collins Tuttle & Co., a realty firm. The new office building, on a
Start with 15 ppm inhibited methyl or ethyl acrylate
for smoother processing, lower cost, improved polymers A shortcut to improved processing and upgraded polymers is built into Rohm & Haas 15 ppm MEHQ* inhibited methyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate. With the small amount of inhibitor present, polymerization can be started with a minimum amount of catalyst. Induction time is short, and polymerization proceeds rapidly and smoothly. The reaction is controlled and uniform. There is little tendency for color development due to inhibitor. In fact, the
low inhibitor content is a distinct advantage in all processes which might in any respect be sensitive to inhibitor. Many manufacturers are already using these 15 ppm inhibitor grades of methyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate in full-scale
production work. These monomers may be used "as shipped"— with no distilling or caustic washing to remove inhibitor. Storage stability of the monomers has been well proved by elevated temperature tests. *MEHQ: monomethyl ether of hydroquinone
ROHIV1
HvafAS
PHILADELPHI
Write to Dept. SP-6 for monomer samples and technical literature
A 5 , P A •
C&EN
39
three-acre site, should be completed this October. Brown & Mathews has the construction contract. Humble Oil, whose Chicago offices are presently located in the Borg-Warner building, will occupy all of the new building.
C&EN PROGRESS REPORT
Baxter Laboratories has started to build a $2 million drug plant at Mountain Home, Ark.
M. W. Kellogg Co., a subsidiary of Pullman, Inc., will build a new re-
search and development center at New Market, N J . The center will house 30 laboratories, 50 administrative offices, a library, and an auditorium. It will also contain facilities for 30 to 35 pilot plants. It should be completed in the summer of 1964.
WSHM'WM CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Here are companies making news last month, adding to the chemical process industries by . . . PLANNING... Company and site
Plant or Unit
Remarks
Monsanto Chemical Co. Site not yet selected Philip Morris, Inc. Polymer Industries, Inc. Greenville, S.C. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. Circleville, Ohio Puerto Rico Chemical Co. Arecibo, P.R.
Sodium and calcium cyclamates Specialty polymers for the textile industry
Expected to be in production by early 1964 To double present capacity of synthetic resin emulsions
Polyester resins
Union Carbide Corp. Union Carbide Chemicals Co. division Seadrift, Tex.
Styrene monomer
Expanding new plant (see below) to turn out polyesters Will use o-xylene feedstock.' Capacity: 50 million pounds a year. Due on stream in mid-1964 Capacity to be 300 million pounds a year
Alkyd molding compounds
Production to begin by mid-1963
Benzoyl chloride
Expansion and modernization to be completed late this year Expansion to more than 40 million pounds a year. To be completed in the fourth quarter of this year First product will be ethylene glycol monomethyl ether. To begin production in the fall Adding 700 ton-per-day unit to augment 400 ton-per-day unit for fertilizer facility. Leonard Construction is building the Monsanto-designed unit
Phthalic anhydride
STARTING CONSTRUCTION Allied Chemical Corp. Whippany, N.J. Hooker Chemical Corp. Niagara Falls, N.Y. Humble Oil & Refining Co. Enjay Chemical division Baton Rouge, La. Jefferson Chemical Co., Inc. Port Neches, Tex. J. R. Simplot Co. Pocatello, Idaho
Ethylene Glycol ethers
Sulfuric acid
STARTING PRODUCTION . . . Chemetron Corp. National Cylinder Gas division Barberton, Ohio Heyden Newport Chemical Corp. Fords, N.J. International Minerals & Chemical Corp. San Jose, Calif. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. Circleville, Ohio Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. Carteret, N.J. Union Carbide Corp. Linde Co. division Huntsville, Ala. 40
C&EN
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Ultrapure hydrogen Phthalic anhydride Monosodium glutamate
Acrylic, melamine, and ureatype resins Crystal melamine Liquid oxygen and nitrogen
New unit at existing plant uses improved version of palladium-alloy diffusion process New unit at existing plant Ups capacity to 15 million pounds a year from 12.5 million. Process switched from extraction to fermentation Expanded plant Expansion adds 190 tons per day to capacity, more than doubling it
