As We See It
• • •
Silicates and Silicones.
This month org>J.llic silicou comp.ounds turn up in the spotlight I>osition. A two-session symposium at the ALlantic City A,C.S. meeting last, spring, presented on the program of the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, is the source of the article's. Nine papers passed the review trial and make' their appearance in the lead-off location. The first (our arc slanted toward industrial applications of the compounds. Cogan and Setlcrstrom appropriat(')y 81 art the series on page 1364 wit h a paper on the uses of ethyl silicates, which were the first organic silicon compounds to become commercially important. i\liner, Bryan, Holysz, and Pedlaw (page 1368) describe several terl-alkoxyaminosilanes and their utility in making materials water repellent. Docde and Pa1l3grossi discuss silicone C'hUliomers and Lheir many interesLing capabilities (page 1372), and on page 1376 Patterson discuss('s the usc of silicone resins in pl'otective and decorative finishes. The remaining articles are somewhat more specialized in scope. Bcr and Pinkney (page 1379) describe preparation of polysilicic acid esters; IIer alone authors a second paper (page 1384) discussing some reactions of butoxychlorosilanes; Hunter et at. (page 1389) report proJX'rtics of silicones on glass; Atkins, Murphy, and Saunders on page 1395 discuss the stability of silicone fluids; and Fox, Taylor, and Zisman describe surface active properties of thl' silico:les on page 1401. With the symposium but not a parI of it is the papel' by Konkle, Selfridge, and Servais. It describes the resislavce of a. silicone rubber to aging and appears on page 1410.
Boiler feed water is also tbe central subject of the article by Tanzola, Reed, and ~laguit1'. The current shortage of soda ash, the chemical normally used for softening raw water, has inspired their discussion of alternative methods for accomplishing the same result. The usc of caustic soda, internal chemical treatment. hot-process lime-soda softeners, zeolite beds, and barium carbong,tc arc discussed in turn, and the conditions favoring or militating against their usc at & given plant are enumerated. The article appears on page 1440. BUl'kardt and Imhoff report on page 1427 the results of a sl.udy of one type of d!\mage that occurs when boiler water is not ideal in comj>osit,ion. In this instance the undesired result is a deposit on the blades of steam turbines. Shccn contribut.es a usefultreatisc on page 1433 on the practical requirements in setting up an automatic pH control system. Flow shccts are given for a number of systems for water -treatment, waste disposal, and process liquor control. ndi olved solids in water and process liquors present another variant on our general theme of water I>rocess problems which is treated by liominek in a discussion of the industrial applications of diatomite filters (page 1413). A satisfying number of data arc given on com!}tl.rative filtration rates and costs.
Water, Waler, EveryWhere.
The ,hi"" of many an industrial process for just plain water is as great as that experienced by any poor shipwrecked sailor; bul, as in the ease of the s!\ilor, the water readily available sometimes is a long way from being plain. Five papers this month discuss various aspects of the problems thus created for the process enginccr. Bauman, Eichhorn, and Wirth (page 1453) tell of the several chemical methods that can be used to permit silica removal from boiler feed water by the ion excha.nge method. They find that cost of silica removal varies as :\ straight-line function of the silica content, and conclude tlU\1 t.he method is economic only where the tlilica content is \0 parts pcI' million 01' less. Cost. at this upIX'r limiL is approximately 50 dollars pel' million gallons for the required fluoride I rell.1 mont and resin regeneration.
Debut at 79. In the organic chemical field, publication of a pair of essentially introductory papers about a compound originally prepared seventy-nine years ago is nearly as unusual as the Il com ing out" of a debutante that age would be. However, Lawlor docs just that in this i ue. The explanation is re:t.SOnable, howcverj only recently has the compound become available in commercial quantities. The first of his two papers (page 1(19) describes its reactions and uses, and the second (page 142:1) reports its properties and solubilities. TelracWorophthalic anhydride or il-S various derivatives are already suggested in the literature for use as laxatives, chemical indicators, pharmaceuticals, plastics, flameproof resins, plasticizers, dyes, lubricnnts, fillers fol' dusting powders, and as a component in a coating composition for motion picture screens!
Owr Mey 19.47 jUlie on IMI",strill wldes ,.celved • lop IWlrd In InJu.trlQI Mgr~lln,·. 1947 .dilorill IChi....e· ••nt cOllpetition. W. ecknowl.d!t wllh .PPl'tcl~on Ihe .bl. work of Ihe _ny contributors who mede thll ItsVl pOlsibl•.
THE COLUMNS
feature, first, Brown's oppreciative notice of the plant maintenance man, a frequently undervalued employee. ~tuncb reports the recent convention of the Instrument Society of America. and describes three new controllers. Fontana's column describes stress corrosion and includes illustrative photograph.s. Von Pechmano discusses principles and techniques of the industrial enginccr in selling the plant employee on operating improvements.
69A
