^eaùtd tâe 'Tft&iaeta, >l? HARRY STENERSON
Despite t h e u s e o f inferior grades o f coal, p r o d u c t i o n of coke oven a n d coal tar c h e m i c a l s s h o w e d a s l i g h t g a i n l a s t y e a r over 1947. . . C r e o s o t e oil, w i t h a 1 6 % l o s s , e x p e r i e n c e d t h e s h a r p e s t s e t b a c k S T A T I S T I C S provide either very dull reading or vital information depending on the extent to which t h e y affect the activity in which one is engaged. T h o s e for coke, coal tar, a n d their derivatives, however, probably h a v e a wider interest t h a n a n y other chemical d a t a owing t o t h e universal dependency of industry upon t h e s e products. T h e preliminary d a t a of t h e Bureau of Mines on t h e coke i n d u s t r y for 1948 have nothing very startling to reveal, perhaps, considering that the industry was kept informed throughout t h e year with monthly reports. T h e annual s t a t e m e n t nonetheless does mention some developments in connection with yields of coke and chemicals in 1948 which should be of interest to processors. T h e bureau points out t h a t inferior coal which had been stocked during t h e first half of t h e year had a m a r k e d effect on yields. T h e yield in large coke per ton of coal charged at coke-oven plants dropped
~.ç>
from 7 0 . 5 8 % in 1947 to 6 9 . 6 8 % in 1948. As against this, of course, was a marked improvement in t h e supply of coking coal during the year. Inventories a t coke-oven plants increased from a low of 20 days' supply a t t h e end of April to a high of 43 days' supply a t t h e end of the year. Chemical
Yields
Coal qualities (from t h e standpoint of yields) improved during the latter part of 1948, b u t coking plants as explained above, had t o work off inferior coal stocked earlier.· As to chemicals, the yield of ammonium sulfate, a nitrogen fertilizer much in dem a n d , declined from 19.66 lb. per ton of coal in 1947 to 19.06 lb. while crude coal t a r dropped in yield from 7.78 gal. to 7.57 gal. per ton of coal. Aside from yields a n d poor quality coal, it is a fact t h a t t h e production of all coal chemicals continued a t high levels, as t h e bureau points out. Space does n o t permit
^
^
*»
TOWER PACKING
publication of the entire list, but some of the highlights of 1948 coal chemical production merit mention: Benzene outputs underwent a slight increase t o 158,455,610 gal., all grades, of which t h e industrial and nitration types again scored increases at t h e expense of motor benzol. Our prewar production of t h e m o t o r grade was important, p a r ticularly for t h e export market. T h i s outlet is evidently vanishing. Crude naphthalene increased 7.2%, a gain which was welcomed by the industry but which probably did not fully satisfy our needs for phthalate intermediates, plasticizers, and insecticides. T h e t o t a l crude o u t p u t was 98,378,875 lb., t h e far greater p a r t of which consisted of n a p h thalene solidifying a t 70° C . and a t less than 79 ° d Ammonium
Sulfate
A m m o n i u m sulfate production amounted to 1,661,876,327 lb., a n increase of 2 . 7 % exclusive of t h e a m o u n t made from purchased ammonia. Sulfate from t h e latter incidentally showed a substantial increase d u e to action taken by t h e Government last year to channel more a n h y drous ammonia into ammonium sulfate plants. O u t p u t of t h e latter from p u r chased ammonia, in addition to t h e cokeoven t o t a l above, was 61,651,106 lb., compared w i t h 22,139,230 lb. in 1947. T h e great bulk of ammonium sulfate produced in this country enters into mixed fertilizer. T h e Coke Oven Ammonia R e search B u r e a u showed some time ago t h a t 37 eastern states which consumed 7 8 . 3 % of all nitrogen during the 1946-47 fertilizer year used only 3 % of ammonium sulfate for direct application to the soil. Creosote oil production last year experienced a 1 6 % decrease, amounting t o 1,575,245 gal. as compared with 1,002,014
C h e m i c a l Price T r e n d s Advances CURRENT
BULLETIN
U. S. S T O N E W A R E Akron 9, Ohio
558
CHEMICAL
PREVIOUS
A c e t a n i l i d e , lb. Oil, r a p e s e e d , l b . Silver, bullion, 0 2 . Turpentine, gum
S0.22 0.24 0.71 0.40V* Decli nes
SO. 19 0.23 0.701/4 0.40
Acid, stearic, lb. $0.18 A l c o h o l , d e n a t u r e d , gal. 0.36 Alcohol, ethyl, gal. 17.45 A l u m i n u m stéarate, l b . 0.35 B a r i u m s t é a r a t e , lb. 0.35 B u t y l stéarate, lb. 0.39 C a l c i u m s t é a r a t e , lb. 0.37 D e x t r i n e , 100 l b . 6.56 M a g n e s i u m stéarate, l b . 0 . 4 0 Menthol, lb. 8.60 Oil, c o c o n u t , l b . 0.13V< Oil, n e a t ' s foot, l b . 0.17 Oil, r e d , l b . 0.15V4 Oil, s o y b e a n , l b . 0.103A Q u e b r a c h o extract, solid, l b . 0.1071 Rutin, gram 0.12 S h e l l a c , v a r n i s h , white,*, gal. 2.75
$ 0.201/* 0.38V2 17.471/2 0.38 0.42 0.431/2 0.39 6.81 0.43 8.65 Ο.141/2 0.18 3 0.16 A 0.121/2
AND
ENGINEERING
0.12 V4 0.161/2 2.85
NEWS
gal. during 1947. T h i s loss was unusual considering t h a t t a r output increased al m o s t 2.5 million gallons over the previous year. Creosote oil a n d t a r acid oil a r e two principal " m o n e y products" obtained by coke-oven operators. Roughly, 6 0 % of t h e crude t a r processed remains as pitch, a n d because i t represents ε, disposal problem i t is usually employed as a fuel. Creosote oil, a tar distillate with a boil ing range of 200° to 355° C. finds i t s chief application in t h i s country for t h e impreg nation of wood against decay. In t h e past, it h a s accounted for a s much as 5 5 % of the income derived from all t a r derivatives. Chemicals
and
CH3
CH3-C-CH2-C-
