January, 1926
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEiMISTRY
A large amount of space has been given t o the theoretical aspects of the subject, a feature which will tend to make this book one t h a t should not be entirely ephemeral. I t is a book dealing with underlying principles. It should prove of particular interest to students of colloid chemistry. The industrial application of pyroxylin is treated, but hardly in a way to be of great value to many American readers. The a r t of pyroxylin manufacture and application is much further advanced in the United States than is apparently the case in England, where the book was written, and technical articles which are constantly appearing in our journals may perhaps be of more direct application to our interests. It must not be thought, however, that this book is not valuable for the development of a broad viewpoint concerning pyroxylin, for it would be hard t o imagine one more educational in this respect. To the American reader i t constitutes a first-class work on cellulose acetate, for the (in the U. S. A.) lesser known acetate is treated together with nitrate. By this critical comparison one may proceed from the more familiar t o the less and secure an excellent working knowledge of the acetate. The writer has treated the subject in a novel manner and has added new material. He has been very successful in setting forth general principles underlying cellulose esters and in comparing the two commercial types. E. C. CROCKER
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their respective initial letters, although all these subjects receive adequate treatment in various parts of the book. The book is a distinct advance over the contact-process portion of the work claimed as its antecedent. It is, perhaps, as nearly up to date as is practically possible in its treatment of modem technical equipment. It gives adequate consideration to American practice, and will be valued as a reference work by all English-speaking chemists and engineers interested in the manufacture of sulfuric acid. ANDREW Irf. FAIRLIE Chemistry in Industry. Volume 11. A Cooperative Work Intended t o Give Examples of the Contributions Made to Industry by Chemistry. Edited by H. E. HOWE. 392 pages. The Chemical Foundation, Inc., New York, 1926. Price, 81.00.
The general reader who wants to keep up with the progress of the world finds the greatest difficulty in getting recent and reliable information as t o industrial processes. New materials suddenly appear as though by magic in his home, office, or shop, and he does not know where they come from or how they are made. The textbooks and encyclopedias are a decade or two behind time, and those who are intimately concerned in the The Manufacture of Sulfuric Acid (Contact Process). Vol. IV industries are apt to be unwilling t o make public the secret of their achievements. Particularly confusing is the fact that new of the Lunge and Cumming series on the Manufacture of materials for the most part appear in public a t first in disguise, Acids and Alkalis. BY FRANK DOUGLAS MILES. 427 pages. like the princes in fairy tales. Celluloid introduces itself in the 133 figures. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, guise of ivory, bakelite camouflages as amber, and rayon parades as silk. This habit of introducing new and unknown things $12.00. under the mask of old and familiar things is not so much the fault This work is virtually a new book-not a revised edition of of the chemist as it is of the public, which is unwilling t o credit Lunge. This is evident from the mere fact t h a t the fourth the chemist with the power to surpass nature in any respect, edition of Lunge disposes of the contact processes in 182 pages, and the education of the public t o the use of a new substance, whereas in this new’volume 408 pages, exclusive of the index, or even of a new word, is a slow and very expensive process. are devoted to this subject. Perusal of the work confirms the Consequently “Chemistry in Industry,” of which the second impression t h a t here we have a new treatise on the contact volume has just appeared, fills a very real need, and should take processes for the manufacture of sulfuric acid. The treatise its place a t once upon the open shelf o f any public and college is both theoretical and practical, and the scientific and technical library. aspects of the subject are evenly balanced and have received The editor, H. E. Howe, occupies a strategic position t h a t puts adequate treatment by a competent author. Much obsolete him in touch with scientific research and industrial progress in matter in the Lunge editions has been omitted, and modern all fields of chemistry, and the twenty-two chapters are written practice has received its full share of space. The importance by experts in each subject. Naturally they differ greatly in their of physical chemistry t o the subject is duly recognized. conception of what the reader knows, and wants to know, and The illustrations have been appropriately chosen, and the in their ability to present their subject in a vivid and attractive nomographic charts will be of real use to technical chemists way. But if there is any person who can run over the pages engaged in this field. Chapters VIII, IX, and X, devoted t o of this volume and not find anything that interests him, he must consideration of the Grillo, Tentelew, and Mannheim processes, be a n individual of exceedingly limited interests and a very unrespectively, present with commendable precision the points interesting personage himself. of difference between these several processes. For it is a marvelous story of chemical progress that is presented Appreciating the great labor and the profound study and in these snapshots of various factories, and the processes and thought involved in the preparation o f an authoritative work of products here described have entered into the common life of this character, one hesitates to criticize adversely a t all; but every person in the land. I t is impossible to understand modern to be fair some adverse criticism seems necessary, and is offered civilization unless one knows something of its foundations which in the hope t h a t it may be helpful in the improvement of future lie in applied science, and particularly in chemical manufactures. editions. It is chemistry that is making history nowadays, and the political, Some data of doubtful value are included-for example, social, and international questions of the day are in many cases Winkler’s and Messel’s specific gravity tables on page 45. Some determined by some chemical factor, often unseen and unrealized important relevant matter is omitted; for instance, no detailed by the statesmen who consider themselves to be in control of the description was found of the electro-titrimeter or Wheatstone world’s affairs. bridge apparatus for continuous automatic indication of the For instance, aviation is commonly recognized as the destrength ot the acid circulating over the final absorber, by means cisive factor in national power. Yet few people realize in how of which the quantity of drip, or “feed,” acid can be readily far the airplane and the airship are dependent upon chemical controlled. Scant reference t o a similar apparatus was found materials, as is here explained by C. W. Seibel of the Helium on page 71, but even this could not be located by the index. Division of the Bureau of Mines. The same importance atDigests of patents encumber the text. They should have been taches to the chapter on Military and Industrial Explosives, relegated t o an appendix, especially as many of the patents by Charles L. Reese of du Pont de Nemours & Company. cited were useless and were never worked. This idea of grouping the subjects by industries instead of The reviewer noticed a number of errors, mostly oversights according t o chemical composition is a useful one, because i t of the proof-reader, which could be corrected in a subsequent brings together the varied chemical contributions to any branch edition. of business or human activity, and shows how materials from The arrangement of the component parts of the book is per- widely different sources may supplement and support one another. haps a question of taste. Chapter VI, on Gas Puriiication, For instance, one would hardly realize what a wide range of novel seems t o belong ahead of both Chapter IV, on Catalysis and and rare elements is utilized in the manufacture of incandescent Contact-Mass, and Chapter V, on Converters. Admitting lamps for illumination and radio, until he has read the chapter t h a t burners and burner gas received full treatment in Volume 1 on that subject by Mary R. Andrews, of the General Electric of this series, some brief mention of these topics, with references Company. t o the more complete discussion in Volume I, would seem useful Personally, the chapters that have interested me most are following Chapter 111. I n Chapter VI1 i t would seem logical those on Casein and on Glues and Gelatins, probably because t o place the discussion of the cooling of the sulfur trioxide gases they contain the most that I did not know, or a t least did not before the description of the sulfur trioxide absorbers, rather realize. The chapter on Paints, Varnishes, and Colors, by Henry not A. Gardner, will be a revelation to every one except those who are than at the end of the chapter. Apparently the index particularly good; for example, the words “Analysis,” Con- closely connected with the industry. Another of the amazing trol,” “Estimation,” and “Sampling,” do not appear under achievements of modern chemistry is the manufacture of syn-
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INDUSTRIAL AND EIZ'GINEERI~'GCHEMISTRY
thetic fibers rivaling silk, most of which are comprised under the name of "rayon." Within about ten years the textile industry, which is one of the oldest known t o man, has been revolutionized by synthetic chemistry in producing a form of fiber made from wood pulp which is rivaling the ancient materials-wool, silk, and cottonout of which the clothing of the human race has been woven for the last ten thousand years. EDWINE. SLOSSON Blacks and Pitches. BY H. M. LANGTON. Oil and Color Chemistry Monograph. 179 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $4.50. The scope of the book is not adequately covered by its title. It includes the organic black pigments, except dyestuffs, with the emphasis on bone black, carbon black, and lampblack. Graphite is given about equal consideration. Under Pitches the author describes bituminous materials in general, such as natural asphalts, asphaltites, and petroleum asphalts, as well as the real pitches from coal tars of various types, from the wood tars, and from fatty acid residues. There are also several chapters on the uses of blacks in paint, ink, and rubber, and the use of bitumens in roofing, waterproofing, paving, and paints. The book is rather unusual in that, written by a British author, it recognizes so fully the work done in the United States. The subject is a very broad one-too broad, in fact, t o be more than outlined in a book of some 173 pages. The author has merely assembled in readable form a bibliography of the most recent developments in the various fields, and the volume will prove useful t o the reader who wants t o get a very sketchy picture of the subjects treated, with the necessity of referring back t o the cited literature t o obtain any details a t all. As a bibliography the book is by no means complete. This is not a fault, as rather complete bibliographical references are available elsewhere for most of the matters treated, and t o have attempted a complete treatment of the individual subjects would have made each chapter a volume. The book is well indexed a s to subjects. The placing of literature references at the end of each chapter is, however, inconvenient, especially where a duplicated reference in a later chapter is found a t the end of a previous one. It would have been better had all references been collected a; one point. The book will be of value t o those in the paint, varnish, ink, and rubber industries as giving a general picture of some of the materials they use, but is not detailed enough t o interest the producing industries t o any great extent. J. M. WEISS First Report of the Pabrics CoBrdinating Research Committee. Made t o the Advisory Council of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1925. Price, 1 s. 9 d. net. This report covers a period of about three years from the time of the appointment of the committee in 1921 t o July, 1924. The significance of this report t o chemists does not lie in the light t h a t has been thrown on the problems involving textile chemistry, but rather as an example of the recognition of the value of industrial research and the need of cooperative effort embracing a wide field of related endeavor, and the necessity of covering the related fields with completeness and at the same time with a minimum of overlapping and otherwise wasted endeavor. The committee is essentially a government service committee for coordinating the research work on fabrics used in the government service, and is composed of two members from the War Office, two members from the Air Ministry, one member from the Admiralty, and one each from the British Research Associations for Cotton, for Woolen and Worsted, for Linen, and for Rubber and Tyre Manufacture, and one from the National Physical Laboratory; and in the subcommittees are members from the Rothamsted Experimental Station, the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Testing House, the Bradford Conditioning and Testing House, and other members of special knowledge as consulting members. The titles of the Special Reports, covering about fifty pages, indicate the kind of researches which the committee has attempted t o coordinate through these various agencies. These reports are given as appendixes numbered as follows: (1) Deterioration of Fabrics by Light; (2) Deterioration of Fabrics by Microarganisms; (3) Mechanical Testing of Fabrics ; (4) Fire
Vol. 18, No. 1
Proofingof Fabrics;and ( 5 ) Summary of Report of the War Office Committee on Tentage and Textiles on Specially Treated Linen and Cotton Duck Exposed under Different Climatic Conditions. The textile interests in this country would do well to give this example careful study as a n illustration of the possibility of coardinating all the research work in the various textile branches by having a directing body of competent men with expert knowledge, and also t o discover whether the textile interests in this country can afford t o drift along as individuals while other countries forge ahead by developing the cooperative spirit and mass action.
W. F. E. Autoclaves and High Pressure Work. BY HAROLD GOODWIN. Chemical Engineering Library. Second Series. 166 pages. 27 illustrations. 5 X 7.5 inches. Ernest Benn, Ltd., London. Price, 6 s. net. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $2.00. This is a practical book for the chemical engineer and has real values for any one not fully familiar with autoclave work. Indeed, many of us who have had much experience in such work can no doubt derive worthwhile hints from its pages. The book treats of autoclaves, from those of laboratory size up through the semi-works scale t o the large ones needed for tonnage manufacture. The feature of the book consists of the detailed directions for the design of autoclaves and their accessories, as well as how to carry on autoclave reactions. For example, the necessity of having a carefully designed furnace for the autoclave, as well as proper emergency and working tanks, is emphasized. Besides listing t h e details of the engineering connected with autoclaves, the economic task of getting t h e most production out of a dollar invested in plant is recognized and emphasized. A better index, referring in much more detail to both the mechanical and chemical subjects treated, would have made the book more usable. R. NORRISSHREVE Bacteria in Relation to Soil Fertility. BY JOSEPH E. AND ETHELYN 0. GREAVES. xviii 239 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $2.50.
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The aim of this most interesting book on soil bacteriology can best be stated by a quotation from t h e preface. This little book is an effort to present in nontechnical language the fascinating story of the class of micro8rganisms which inhabit the soil. It is hoped that it will prove valuable not only to the high-school student but also to the general reader, and especially to the agriculturist. If to these it furnishes a faint glimpse into this wonderful realm and creates interest for knowledge in this vital subject, the authors will feel that their labors have not been in vain.
As one reads the book he feels t h a t these aims will be fully attained. The first eight chapters, or 70 pages, are devoted t o general bacteriology and the remaining thirteen chapters, or 157 pages, t o soil bacteriology, with a n index of 11 pages. By reading i t t h e layman, young student, or intelligent farmer can get a very excellent conception of the meaning and methods of bacteriology and t h e contribution this science has made t o human welfare. The book is just as interesting as a novel and much more instructive. It would be fortunate if all our sciences were written up in a similar way and the books were put into the hands of laymen generally. Such books would go far toward accomplishing the much needed education of t h e public on the significance and methods of science. Although the book is elementary, it contains an enormous amount of exact information. This is made possible by its simple, direct style. Many of the technical terms of the science are also introduced and accurately defined, but this is done in a way to make them an essential part of t h e interesting story. The book is full of human touches that will increase its interest to the casual reader, of which the following quotation is an illustration: PIGMENTS-All have heard of the miracle of the bleeding host. The consecrated bread left overnight in the moist bacteria-laden air of the chapel appears on the morrow besprinkled with bright red drops. What could it be? Blood! From whence did it come and what did it indicate? Various were the interpretations placed upon it, and numerous the lives and homes which were sacrificed through this delusion. The mystery, romance, and tragedy disappear when one sees a tiny organism, Bacillus prodigiosus, in the laboratory growing in tubes of starchy food and producing a blood-red pigment.
