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Today's news of the chemical world likely to influence the happenings of tomorrow
K r i l i u m — C h e a p e r a n d Sooner
Monsanto's much-publicized soil conditioner, Kril ium, is being sold on a nationwide basis for t h e first time this week, instead of in early 1953, as originally announced. Instead of retailing at about $2.00 a pound, as previously estimated, product will b e sold in 5-pound packages at $6.95 each, plus mailing charges. Initial sales are being handled directly b y mail order from Monsanto's St. Louis office (only one package to a family) while dealers stock up. Latest announcement is welcome news to home gardeners plagued with poor, clay-type soils. N e w Field f o r C y a n α m id
American Cyanamid will inaugurate large-scale pro duction of acrylonitrile for its research infant, Fiber X-51, at a $50 million plant being built near N e w Or leans. Plant p u t s the company in this branch of chemical business in a big way. In addition to acryloni trile, Cyanamid will use natural gas to produce am monia, acetylene, hydrocyanic acid, ammonium sulfate, and acrylonitrile derivatives. New installation is getting an assist from Uncle Sam in the form of a rapid taxwrite-off. At first, new plant, being built with help of Cyanamid's subsidiary, Chemical Construction Co., will require some 400 employees. Strike Repercussions
Steel strike, which sent nation's output plummeting to 4 9 % of capacity, resulted in an estimated 2-millionton loss in steel production. Strike also caused an ap proximate one-week loss in coal chemicals production. However, decline in coal chemicals output is not ex pected to have serious repercussions. Because, for months, stocks of many of these materials have been running high, it is doubtful whether any manufacturer, as a result of strike, suddenly found himself without needed supplies of coal chemicals. Recent dropoff in over-all business activity a n d the marked expansion of productive capacity have done much to cushion the effects of latest walkout. Isotopes in I n d u s t r y
While debate continues on subject of atomic energy as a potential power source, by-product isotopes quietly go about establishing themselves in industry. Tech nique of determining thickness by means of beta-ray measurement has now thoroughly proved itself in rubber and plastics industries. After a year's evaluation, says Industrial Nucleonics Corp., one plastics plant reports savings of $30,000 per month. Economies result from improved uniformity of continuous-production sheeting, allowing smaller safety factors and fewTer rejects. Strontium-90, with a 25-year half-life and nearly ideal energy V O L U M E
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spectrum, is choice as beta emitter. As sheet passes between radiation source and ionization detector, dif ferences in sheet thickness are automatically recorded. Since absorptioxi is very nearly independent of sheet composition, equipment can b e calibrated to read di rectly in weigbit per unit area, providing density is known and constant. G a s P u m p s Run D r y
Strike of CIO, AFL, and various independent unions in petroleum industry snarled u p gasoline distribution on nationwide scale last week. About 50 out of 369 U. S. oil refineries were shut down b y walkout that slashed nation's gasoline o u t p u t more than 3 0 % . Workers demanded a 25-cent-an-hour wage hike, plus increased shift differentials. Meanwhile, Government ordered a 30% cut in civilian use of aviation gasoline. Last week gas stations in m a n y parts of the country instituted rationing or went dry for t h e first time since World W a r II. Effect on Petrochemicals
Oil walkout played havoc with petrochemicals indus try last week. For example, shortage of ethylene forced Diamond Alkali's plant on Houston Ship Channel to cut production of organics. Monsanto at Texas City re duced its outp-ut b y about 3 0 % . Synthetic rubber plants of U. S, Hubber and Goodrich prepared to shut down for laci of butadiene. As a result of cutback in rubber industry styrene ( a GR-S raw material obtained, to a large extent, from coking of coal ) is in surplus now for first time in months. N e w Antibiotic
Pfizer announces a new antibiotic isolated from a species of Streptomyces. Preliminary data indicate that compound has a low order of toxicity and possesses a high and selective activity against several species of Mycobacteria, C o m p o u n d , as yet unnamed, has formula C 9 H 1 5 0 3 N S . Pfrzer researchers have succeeded in syn thesizing antibiotic from fairly available raw materials and expect to distribute small quantities soon for labora tory testing. Lead Price Drop
Price of lead îkeeps gliding downward. Figure of 19 cents a pound, established on Oct. 3, 1951, dropped to 18 cents late last month' (C&EN, May 5, page 1831). Several days later, price fell still further to 17 cents. This situation won't last very long, however. According to law, if price falls below 18 cents a n d stays there for 30 days, it is automatically boosted once again to 18 cents. This measure is designed to protect domestic producers against a market collapse, should foreign sup-
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conCSSJSftrutes pliers suddenly decide to d u m p their lead on U. S. shores. For time being, lead compounds and fabricated products are definitely cheaper than usual. National Lead Co., for example, has cut price of its white lead to $18.50 a hundredweight ( a drop of 80 cents ) and red lead to $19.75 (a drop of 90 cents). In addition, sheet and pipe lead fell 1 cent a pound to 22 cents. Mainly, price declines have resulted from increased domestic and foreign supplies, the cessation of government stockpiling of lead, and a general buying resistance on the part of storage battery industry, which has been expecting a price reduction all along. A l c o h o l Breaks A g a i n
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals, large producer of ethyl alcohol from ethylene, slashed its price last week from 75 to 57.5 cents per gallon, tank cars. Last winter, industrial alcohol price was up as high as 90 cents a gallon. Latest price slash in synthetic alcohol was immediately followed with price reduction b y fermentation producers. Commercial Solvents cut fermentation alcohol price to the synthetic level, also effected deep slashes in prices of its proprietary Tormulas. Other companies are expected to follow the lead, although the high price for Cuban molasses, 20 cents a gallon, has made things tough for fermentation distillers, even at 75 cents for alcohol. Of no help to alcohol industry is report that there are from 70 to 75 million gallons of alcohol on the "free" market and some 6?S million gallons in government hands.
ing out new product on small scale at Chattanooga and in recently completed plant at Fort Worth. F o r the present, output is going exclusively to commercial bakeries, although company is toying with idea of releasing it to home users. World Rationing
Even though world supplies of key raw materials are on the upswing, International Materials Conference in Washington intends to continue in operation. Conference, an international organization that plans the distribution of strategic materials among nations of free world, says that rationing for time being will still b e necessary on cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, sulfur, tungsten, and zinc. Newsprint has already been tentatively scratched off the rationing list, and zinc may follow suit later this year. Lithium f r o m M i x e d Ores
Bureau of Mines has developed a new process for extracting lithium sulfate from two sources at once. Since two of the four commercially significant mineral sources of lithium—amblygonite and spodumene—frequently occur in same ore, a single process for treating mixture would simplify handling and improve over-all yields. Bureau says its new process gives yields ranging from 66.7 to 97.3 % of lithium in ore mixtures. Process can be employed with either mineral separately or in mixtures. Commercial techniques currently used for recovery of lithium from spodumene yield 85 to 9 9 % of contained lithium.
N e w D a y for Ebonite
After decades of giving u p markets to thermosetting plastics, ebonite (a black, vulcanized hard rubber) is attempting a comeback. Basis is availability of ebonite in new latex form, an outgrowth of postwar research. Development program at Rubber Stichting in Delft, Holland, indicates that a plant designed to produce hard rubber items from latex can be built for about 2 0 % of capital cost of conventional "dry" rubber processing plant, since much heavy machinery (calenders, masticators ) is eliminated. Made by latex route, hard rubber can again promise serious competition for phenolics, which, like "dry" rubber, involve greater capital outlay and processing costs. With pressures only 10 to 2 5 % of those required for molding phenol-formaldehyde resins, ebonite can be made to match these resins in flexural strength, surpass them in impact resistance. Better Lard
Over the years, researchers in meat industry have succeeded in improving the keeping qualities of lard, whitening it, deodorizing it, and enhancing its many other properties. Purpose: to win the favor of home bakers who have been shifting away from lard, in favor of vegetable shortenings, which have proved superior to ordinary lard for cake baking (cakes are lighter, fluffier). Now Armour & Co. has come up with a process to make the hog product much more like its vegetable competitor. Process involves molecular rearrangement of lard by heating in presence of à sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide catalyst. Currently, Armour is turn1944
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Pesticides, Please
Word from Department of Agriculture is that pesticide requirements of U. S. farmers in crop year 1951-52 (ending Sept. 30, 1952) will be about 9% higher than in 1950—51. For various individual pesticides, however, requirement increases will be very much greater: 2 5 % for parathion, 3 0 % for toxaphene, 5 3 % for 2,4,5-T, 78 % for Aramite, and 244 % for Dieldrin. Needs for all synthetic chlorinated pesticides this crop year will b e up an average of 2 5 % over 1950-51. On the other hand, scarcities of such basic raw materials as copper and sulfur will mean reduced consumption of pesticides containing these materials. Chilean C o p p e r
Chile put an end last week to its year-old agreement to sell 8 0 % of its copper to U. S. at fixed price of 27.5 cents a pound. As producer of one fifth of world's copper, Chile is source of about one third of U. S. supply of this strategic, extremely scarce metal. Chile hopes that by putting all of its copper, without restriction, on world market, it can boost its income appreciably. Industry men in U. S. are exceedingly skeptical. They say that Chile will not be able to command premium prices for substantial tonnages of its copper in world markets, where, in recent months, prices have declined from about 54 to 36.5 cents a pound. Meanwhile, Chile is attempting to get U. S. to agree to pay 33.5 cents a pound for its copper—a price that looks none too appealing to leading U. S. importers. CHEMICAL
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