VOL.6, No. 1
APPLICATION OP PH CONTROL
43
Ammonium Sulfate: Modified French Method of Production. According to the Chemiker-Zeitung, the erection of factories in France for the production of ammonium sulfate and cement by the Leverkusen process has been held up, as it is thou& possible t o convert -sum . . .~. into ammonium sulfate as in the method of the Badische company, together with the simultaneous production of cement. M. Baud, the discoverer of the new method, carries out the reaction between gypsum and ammonia under a pressure of about one atmosphere in the presence of carbon dioxide and loam, which, by reaction with calcium carbonate, gives a sludge. This, after complete washing out of the ammonium sulfate, is heated t o 1500°C. whereby cement clinker of normal composition is formed. The solution contains 27-28 per cent. of ammonium sulfate. The German account states that a c o d i d is a t present in progress between the producers of ammonium sulfate (who regard this as the best nitrogenous fertilizer) and the producers of calcium nitrate, who oxidize synthetic ammonia by the BamagParsons methad.-Chem. Age, 19,282 (Sept. 29, 1928). Atmospheric Effects on Textiles. The influence exerted by excessively dry household atmosphere on the color and texture of rugs and other textile materials commonly used in homes will be the subject of study by the Holland (U. S. A,) Institute of Thermology, according t o an announcement from the Holland Furnace Co., of Holland, Mich. The Institute of Thermology was established only recently. One of its chief objects is t o make homes healthier places to live in and t o improve the relative humidity in them so that fabrics. furniture, and other gaods are not adversely affected. A prominent research engineer will be appointed t o direct the investigations and tests, and the results will be placed before the public from time t o time in the form of reports of findings. The science of domestic heating and ventilation will constitute the principal field of investigatim-Chem. Age, Dyestuffs Ma. SufiPZ., 19, 26 (Oct. 13, 1928). Reduction of Magnetite by Iron Sulfide. An investigation of the rate of reduction of magnetite by ferrous sulfide has been completed by the United States Bureau of Mines. The results show that pure magnetite is reduced t o some extent by ferrous sulfide a t temperatures as low as
[email protected] that the reduction may become almost complete in two hours' time a t 1300°C. if there is a considerable excess of sulfide and if sulfur dioxide, sulfur trioxide, and elemental sulfur reaction products are removed as fast as formed. When these products are allowed t o accumulate, the rate of reduction is lowered.-Chem. Age, 19, 375 (Oct. U), 1928).
