after all. We certainly hope that the section authors who supplied the actual data likewise feel that their labors were justified by thk finished product.
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As
See
Bujlding Block Foundation. For thesecondsuccessivemonth the impressive expanse of buff-colored pages heralds one of our major review features. The second annual Materials of Construction Review, comprising 164 pages, is most definitely Exhibit A in this October issue. This year, we bit off a chunk of editorial project that nearly &rangled us before the job was completed. I n addition to review articles similar t o those published in the inaugural 1947 feature, we have undertaken to present a quantitatively informative tabulation of the properties of the significant chemical engineering materials of construction. What you see starting on page 1821 is the consequence of a year’s intensive effort on the part of the editorial staff and the review authors, and a very hectic two months a t the printers. Our files bulge with the correspondence that has passed back and forth on the subject, and a n even greater volume of material has been received from the authors than was used in compiling the tables you see. A foreword on page 1821 explains the specific method of organidation, the scope, and limitations of the tabulation. More pertinent for discussion here is a littie more of the background that Led t o the project. As is frequently the case, the original ronception was quite different. The first idea was promotion of advertisements arranged in such form that they could be clipped out, pasted on cards, and used directly through a mechanical sorting device to develop a file a t once convenient and comprehensive. . Unfortunately, when the detailed mechanics of this approach were considered it was not feasible, primarily because space did not permit coding or other classification that was detailed enough t o be of actual use and yet broad enough in scope to satisfy the needs of the majority of users. The realization gradually emerged that a tabular arrangement such as the one finally adopted was inherently better suited to a subject broad in scope and specific in detail. I n developing the details of the tabular plan finally adopted, the editors enlisted the active collaboration of C. S. Grove, Jr., R. S. Casey, and J. W. Perry, all of whom have had extensive experience with punch cards and other classification techniques. Their contribution has been invaluable in carrying the project through its formative stages. We believe the finished tabulation is an entirely suitable adjunct to the literature review sections. Each attempts to present a maximum of information in a minimum of space, with extensive literature citations that will take the reader back to the unabridged source article for any item t h a t particularly excites his curiosity and interest. If we had fully appreciated ahead of time the long and rocky path that had t o be traveled to develop the feature to a form suitable for publication it is not at all certain we would have proceeded. At this point, however, the finished result makes us feel that the efforts involved were worth while 85 A
Basic etaik. Appropriately, our staff-indus try collaborative report feature, starting on page 1762, also has been a refractory subject t o deal with. When you note the article, however, you will understand that this was unavoidable. The plant described is Harbison-Walker’s new basic refractories plant at Baltimore, which has brought the processing advantages of a continuous tunnel kiln to this particular segment of the refractories industry. The -plant is a particularly outstanding illustration of what can be gained in a modern large scale processing installation through use of intelligently chosen mechanical materials-handling devices. For those of the chemical persuasion whose manipulative problems are not solved by a pump and a pipe this paper should be especially noteworthy. And it is quite in keeping too that our materials of confitruction issue should contain, thanks t o thip article, a historical review of refractories manufacture in the United States. Acid Test. Concentrated nitric acid is an article of chemical commerce that gets hauled around and stored away over wide areas and for long times in our chemical businee- A committee of the Manufacturing Chemists’ Association updates the knowledge of what materials of construction can be ueed properly. The results, which are reported on page 1937, are thc result of tests of metal specimens, plain and in the fabricated form resulting when the metal sheet actually was made into a drum. Actual drums also were used for the extensive program of experiments that were carried out. Aromatic Plant* When petroleum naphthas are dehydrogenated over a catalyst such as alumina-supported molybdenum oxide a t about 900 F. and 200 lb. per sq. in., toluene is one of the products. Yule and Bennett describe on page 1995 a hydroforminp pilot plant in which this industrially potent process is tested O
Nuts and bolts
frequently prove to be the limiting factors in design of chemical process equipment. Brown devotes his column this month t o the development of improved designs for these small essentials that yield important benefits to the design engineer.
Operation is the obvious but sometimes forgotten ultimate purpose of plant control instrumentation. hilunch stresses the importance of following actual operations in a new plant to make sure the instruments get a fair chance to prove their worth. An idle instrument, a n opened by-pass, and a reliance on manual control quite often indicate a weakness in the human element rather than the mechanical one. $UCN!SSfUl
Titanium is yet a n infant on the chemical engineering materials of construction scene, but its potentialities are nearly unbelievable, Fontana considerately discusses its behavior in corrosive environments so that you may gain some specific knowledge of its capacities and limitations. Plant mishaps frequently can be prevented from becoming disasters through successful accident procedures. Von Pechmann points out some of the critical factors that should be taken into account if heavy casualties from panic or confusion are to be avoided following a fire or explosion.
