to 0.10 revolution with data recorded on the oscillographs; two temperature indicators and two temperature limiters; four thermocouple amplifiers and four strain gage amplifiers; two cycleper-phase counters, r a n g e 0 to 400
brake applications; two counters for total or repeat cycles; cycle timers; a n d instrumentation for surface t e m p e r a t u r e pickup from an electronic cell. An electronic timer will "warm u p " t h e electronic components prior to tests.
Army POCl3 Surplus Halts Industry As a by-product of other operations. Chemical Corps will make phosphorus oxychloride needed by industry P R O D U C E R S of phosphorus oxychlo-*-ride, a n import it T C P intermediate, have agreed to suspend production temporarily to enable the Army Chemical Corps to complete work on a n undisclosed military project. Shutdown will come almost at once, it was reported after meetings at the Commerce D e p a r t m e n t with producers and consumers. Chemical Corps will make the comp o u n d as a by-product of operations a t Muscle Shoals, Ala. Early reports indicate production will equal quantity w h i c h would ye been m a d e b y civilian producers oaring the July-September period. Combined Army a n d civilian production would have resulted in troublesome surpluses. Major producers (Monsanto, Food Machinery, Victor, and Oldbury) have b e e n able to keep on top of demand for the oxychloride. T h e chemical is an intermediate in production of other phosphate esters in addition to T C P and also is used as a chlorinating agent with certain dyestuffs a n d acid chlorides. Storage and handling of the chemical constitutes a serious problem. The oxychloride is quite volatile at ordinary room temperatures and its vapors are very irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. It is also quite corrosive, attacking most metals (except nickel and lead) to yield hydrogen in the presence of water. Although the oxychloride is not flammable, it reacts with water or aqueous solutions (forming hydrochloric acid) to liberate an amount of heat which can ignite combustible materials nearby. With all the difficulties in handling t h e material, storage is not too practical. Violence of t h e reaction with w a t e r makes dumping at sea impractical also. Therefore the Chemical Corps felt that the best way to dispose of its surplus product was to have it used b y industry as i t is produced. Final details of the Army program have not been worked out as yet. Big problem still remaining is w h e t h e r Chemical Corps should sell the oxychloride directly to the usual civilian producers, who in turn would ship it to their customers, or whether t h e comVOLUME
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p o u n d should b e sold directly to consumers. Picture is complicated by fact t h a t Monsanto and Food Machinery are both producers and consumers in their normal operations. T w o meetings—one for producers a n d one for consumers—were called by Commerce at Chemical Corps' request. While no official statement was m a d e at the end of the meetings, it is understood that t h e industry has agreed to "take care of the problem."
tation is available as far north as Minneapolis. The plant is centrally located 92 miles from St. Louis and 2 7 0 miles from Chicago. While the industry is now operating at somewhat less t h a n the rated capacity for pentaerythritol, Hercules feels t h a t it must b e r e a d y to expand its production facilities before there is any real shortage of t h e material. Dunlop Building First C a n a d i a n Research C e n t e r D u n l o p Rubber is forming a research center in North America to b e closely associated with D u n l o p Research Centre at Birmingham, England. T h e new center will conduct research involving n e w materials, chemicals, processes, techniques, and e q u i p m e n t peculiar to the rubber industry on this continent.
Hercules S t a r t s Ammonia Production in Missouri Production of anhydrous ammonia has been resumed at Missouri Ordnance Works, Louisiana, Mo. T h e difference is t h a t Hercules is operating the plant as lessee not as government contractor. Hercules built the plant and h a d option to meet the highest bid submitted on it w h e n it was p u t u p for sale or lease. Its option called for lease with option to b u y for $3.6 million. Capacity of the plant is 42,000 tons of ammonia per year. O n e ammonia fine is now operating and the remaining two lines will be brought in within the next few weeks. Hercules is studying possibilities for production of various other chemicals at the former ordnance plant. Production of methanol, formaldehyde, and pentaerythritol, as well as other chemicals, is economically feasible at the p l a n t s Company officials say they are studying the facilities with these chemicals in mind. Additional capacity for pentaerythritol in this Middle W e s t location would supplem e n t Hercules* present pentaerythritol production at Mansfield, Mass. Hercules also says that one of the three ammonia lines could b e very readily converted to the production of methanol. T h e process for pentaerythritol used at Mansfield could also be used at Missouri Ammonia. Buildings with full service facilities are available at the Missouri plant for a pentaerythritol and formaldehyde plant of substantial capacity, Hercules says. Mississippi River barge transpor-
» » JULY
5,
1954
N. S. Grace
J. A. Carr
Headquarters of the n e w center are at Dunlop-Canada's Toronto Works where technical facilities for t h e n e w center are n o w b e i n g installed. These will include labs for research involving polymer and organic chemicals and a physics d e p a r t m e n t for raw material tests and low t e m p e r a t u r e studies. M u c h of the n e w center's activity will be concerned with products of the petrochemical and synthetic rubber industries. It will keep Dunlop's scientists at Birmingham abreast of developments in C a n a d a and t h e U. S. H e a d of the n e w center is Norman S. Grace, former chief chemist a n d technical superintendent of Dunlop Tire and Rubber Goods, host to the n e w center. H e will b e assisted by J. A. Carr who has been with Dunlop since 1940. Six Killed. 96 Injured in Four S e p a r a t e Chemical Fires Four explosions and fires over the nation recently h a v e taken the lives of six chemical company employees and injured or sickened 96 others. Most serious of the explosions was in St. Louis w h e r e six workers in the pharmaceutical plant of Wilson Keith were killed, including F r e d R. Layton, Universal Match chemist w h o died several days later. T h e plant itself was demolished and 3 9 people were injured, including employees of an adjacent firm. There are five separate inquiries 2681
INDUSTRY.
being conducted as to the cause of the blast. At the time of the explosion a mixture for use in Army flame throwers was being made into pellets in the plant. Trie pharmaceutical firm sup plied a machine for processing the ma terial but actual operation was the re sponsibility of Universal Match, accord ing to Wilson Keith's president. On the West Coast toxic fumes of the nerve gas type were loosed when the chemical warehouse of Charles E. Druggan Co., North Pomona, Calif., was completely destroyed by fire. T h e warehouse reportedly contained from 3 to 4 tons of parathion dust in paper bags and two 25-gallon drums in liquid form. While five firemen became seri ously ill, a major disaster was averted by the treatment of 55 persons with at ropine after symptoms of parathion poisoning were noted in victims. T h e five most seriously ill were hospitalized; one who h a d been spattered with para thion as well as inhaled it was in a serious condition b u t all were released within five days. At the Armour plant in Chicago another major disaster was avoided during a fire which destroyed a fivestory building containing some 700 tons of animal feed. This building was sepa rated by a thick fire wall from the chem
ical labs - and storage area. Most danger came from three hydrogen tanks and the exposed pipeline connecting them with National Cylinder Gas across the street. These were cooled with streams of water while they were being emptied. Also removed from the danger area was an 8000-gallon tank car of methyl chlo ride. At Humble's Bay town, Tex., refinery two employees were seriously injured in an explosion which destroyed a small laboratory building in the Butyl rubber area. The lab was used to test rubber reactor solutions and lab milling sam ples. One of the two employees is not expected to live. Columbia River Chemicals Ammonia C o n t r a c t to Fluor Construction and design contracts for Columbia River Chemicals' $12 mil lion chemical and fertilizer plant have gone to Fluor Corp. T h e plant (C&EN, May 17, p a g e 1965) will be located on a 50-acre site under lease from the Walla Walla Port Commission. The property is 13 miles from Pasco on the Columbia River—28 miles from Walla Walla. First major project of its kind in the Northwest, the plant will produce 160
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CARBIDE AND CARBON
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3 0 E. 42nd St., New York 17, Ν. Υ. Offices in Principal Cities In C a n a d a : U n i o n C a r b i d e C a n a d a L i m i t e d , T o r o n t o
2682
C H E M I C A L
tons of anhydrous ammonia a day, 110 tons of urea, and 140 tons of ammonium sulfate. Of this amount 50 tons of ammonia and 15 tons of urea will b e for industrial use; the balance for agricul tural purposes. T h e ammonia plant will be designed to generate hydrogen from bunker " C " fuel oil for combination with nitrogen from the air to produce anhydrous am monia. T h e fuel oil will b e shipped by barge on the river. The plant will also be designed to use natural gas as a raw material w h e n it is available in the area (see p a g e 2669 for story o n natural gas pipeline t o the Northwest) . T h e urea plant will be t h e first in the West and will produce both ferti lizer and industrial grades. Raw prod ucts are ammonia and by-product car bon dioxide from ammonia production. Process design has been u n d e r way in Fluor's Los Angeles offices for past two months. Field work will start in the fall and construction is expected to be com pleted and the plant in operation during the latter part of next year. ADL^to M a k e Industrial Survey of W e s t Virginia An industrial survey o£ West Vir ginia is being undertaken b y Arthur D . Little for the state. Objective of the survey is to find industrial opportuni ties that will create employment and expand income. As a first step in this study A D L will review h u m a n and material resources of the state to determine t h e factors that would b e most important to in dustrial expansion. Included in the re view will be such aspects of t h e state's economy as: mineral a n d water re sources, power and fuel, labor force., available industrial materials, transpor tation and communication, agricultural raw materials, forest products, indus trial sites a n d plant facilities, avail ability of finance capital, access to mar kets, a n d . t h e effects of taxation on business development. A second stage of the investigation will involve screening of industries, in the light of available resources and eco nomic conditions, to find those of great est promise and of greatest over-all value to the state. This screening will b e based on analysis of t h e technical and economic characteristics of the in dustries and on the identification of growth trends. As a third step A D L will investigate specific opportunities within t h e indus tries that are already well established. Possible expansion of industries using wood as a raw material will b e brought under investigation. Some study will also be m a d e of the opportunities for establishing smaller industries in rural AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
Celite's d i a t o m i t e structure steps up p e r f o r m a n c e in paints-plastics —polishes . . . hundreds of other products M I C R O S C O P I C PARTICLES of Celite*
do a man-size job of stepping up per formance for many of America's lead ing products. Here is h o w the unique structure of Celite Diatomite Powders may add more beauty, longer life, greater efficiency xoyour products, too. For example, the spiny, irregularly shaped particles contribute surface characteristics which make them the outstanding flatting agent in paints. Again, because of their structure, Celite particles are widely used as a
mild, non-scratching abrasive in finest quality auto, silver and glass polishes. Or consider molded plastics, where the strength and durability of Celite particles add life and beauty to sur face finish. Moreover, Celite particles in mass have great bulk per unit weight, so they are invaluable for extending, dispers ing or fluffing up dry powders. They have high absorptive capacity, too, s o they keep powders free-flowing, they serve as a medium for shipping
or storing liquids in a dry form. Which of the many Celite advan tages can you use to build product performance or cut production costs? AJohns-Manville Celite Engineer will gladly discuss your problem, without obligation. For his services or more information, simply write JohnsManville, Box 6 0 , N e w York 16, Ν . Υ. In Canada, 199 Bay Street, Toronto 1, Ontario. * Celite ts Johns-Manville's registered Trade Mark for its diatomnceous silica products.
JOHMS'MAWVItta
SJÛÎ Johns-Manville C E L I T E PR.OOU
INDUSTRY'S MOST VERSATILE MINERAL FILLER
C T S
VOLUME
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» JULY
5, *» 9 5 4
2683
INDUSTRY localities where labor is currently avail able. Recommendations from the investi gation will be made available to all parties interested in industrial develop ment in West Virginia.
VOLAN® W e d s Fiber G l a s s to Plastics For IMaivy N e w l u s e s Normally, glass fibers cand plastic resins have little usse for each others when the going gets tough, particularly wh*en v/et. But when Du Pont "Volan" methacrylafo chromic chloride is used as a bonding açgent, a chemical union of gre^-atly improved strength takes place. T o d e s i g n e r s , this unique bond is the key to nevs* reinforced larrfeinated structures such as sport car bodies,
airplane parts, boat
hulls, a n d even woshimg machine tubs. They are exceedingly stro*ng f o r their weight, won't
