Rlarch, 19Sl
I N D UXT RI ,1L A A-D ENGINEERING CIIE'JII ST R I'
Chemistry and the Tariff TI312 construction of tlie tariff schedules applied to sugar, ItliatSregulations have been based on the previous experience a solution of sugar containing less than 50 per cent of the carbohydrate could not be kept long without fermentation. Duties liai-e been reckoned with reference to the percentage of sugar. .I little nliile ago it was found tliat solutions polarizing 48 tl(1grecbor so could be prevented from spoiling by chlorination. Sugar n-hich ordinarily would pay a duty of $2 in this form pays only 30 cents. Several cargoes in tankers have come into the country. Solutions transferred by pumps offer economic advantages over the handling of bagged sugar. Moreover, t h y offer no difficulty in refining. And there is now b ~ ~ i ndiscussion e as to whether carbon dioxide may not also be an efficient presen-ative for such use. The practice, if widely followed, would mean a n annual decrease in tariff revenues estimated a t $165,000,000. Of course, domestic producers are vitally interested in the outcome of the case now before the Customs Court based on this new development. The point seems to be a matter of equity and fraudulent intent. The tariff is manifestly designed to apply to sugar itself rather than the form in which it may enter the counbry, and these sirups are not offered as such to the consumer, but are used exclusively as raw material by the refiner. Botli parties to the suit seem equally certain of ultimate victory. Other sirups, real invert sirups, are imported and used as such, for example, in the preservation of certain fruits. h duty of ' 1 4 cent per gallon is enjoyed under present lams and , since the sirups are used without processing, i t is difficult t o see just what can be done about it. Here we have one inore example of the swifter race run by scieiice when pitted against politics.
Fly Ash V THE geiieratioii of power, tlie last few years have seen Iconsumed - a n important improvement in the ratio between coal and power generated, due in no small measure to
devices tvliich enable the efficient use of pulverized coal. Today so iiiucli has heen accomplished with powdered fuel tliat one coiiteinplating the generation of electric energy, and having a choice between hydroelectric development and the installation of a modern heavy-duty plant employing steam, TT ill need to make a careful investigation to determine the most economic procedure. I n some places i t has been tlernonstrated that ellxtric energy generated with steain is actually cheaper tlian the average hydroelectric development. Tlie conibiiiatioii of powdered fuel with high-pressure stcain to drive turbines, and then a t reduced pressures to be used in a chemical process, has served to cut pon.er and process steam costs and to conserre a natural resource. All of this is on onc side of the ledger. On thc other side iiiust be placed fly ash. Those two words mean a problem and an opportunity The average man in the street has 110 conception of the quantity of fuel that can be Fiut through the modern giant power stations in 24 hours. Of course he lias no idea of n h a t this means in tonnage of as11 or, if you will, in acre-feet of fly ash which might be distributed in tlic atinospliere but for modern engineering devices. Fortunately by electric precipitation and other methods fly ash can be kept out of the air. But this is only the beginning of the problem. T l i ~material is extremely light and fine and convquently ( J f great bulk. When tons per hour niust 1)c Ii:tn(llrd i n a singlt plant, the disposition of this glasslikf, ash becollies a serious problem. Not only is i t hard to handle,
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but it iz hard to u\e as a raw niaterial in any process of manufacture so far deviqed. The stuff can be pumped for some di.tance and undoiibtedlj liandled in other n a y s b u t merely to move it cannot be considered tlie final solution. We should make something from it. LTnlike some other waste problems, wc have in fly ash a concentrated material of practically no coqt. Indeed, Soiiie power plants might be willing to pay to have it removed. Some one will find what to clo with it. W c won(ler who he nill be and what he nill niake.
An Obstacle Removed HE famous and longstanding suit familiarly known as the DubLs-Burton patent litigation came to a peaceful end n itli tlie purchase of the Universal Oil Products Compaiiy, the plaintiff in the case, by the Shell Union Oil Company and the Standard Oil Company of California. The comments in the technical and daily press have varied with the impressions made upon the several groups affected. A large share of the purchasers' price n-ent to the estate of the late J. Ogden drmour and has been cited as a reward of faith in a n inventor and a process. T o us the important thing is the restriction upon research in the petroleum industry which the settlement of this suit reinoves to so large a n extent. The Patent Club controlled so many of the cracking processes that the method based upon the work of Carbon Petroleum Dubbs found the markets so completely closed to it t h a t many suits charging infringement were instituted b y the Dubbs interests It was rapidly taken u p particularly for the treatment of the California type of crudes. Work continued in the various laboratories on refinements in cracking processes; but not only were large amounts of nioney invested in lawyers which might have been invested in chemists, but in many instances given lines of development met the definite obstacle of possible legal trouble. Tlie industry is manifestly in a n improved position as regards tlie pursuit of this type of research as a result of the settlement of this case. If some of the money heretofore invested in litigations can now be added to appropriations for research and development. far more rapid strides can be made toward the ideal utilization of our petroleum resources as raw material for a n ide variety of merchantable products.
What Have You Done? ERTXIS manufacturers, notably those the electrical C field, issue annually extensive, n-ell-illustrated publications devoted to their acliieveiiicnts during the previous calendar iii
year. These announceinents are impressive. They give pictorially and in words concrete evidence of industrial progress and show how the discoyeries of the laboratory are continuously being translated into factors in the market place. They must go a long way toward creating a better understanding, not only among the stocbliolclers, but by the public at large, in regard to the operations, the activity, and tlie progress of the industry. X a n y units in the clicinical industry could issue equally important and intriguing information but it has not been tlie practice of tlie iiidustry to iiidulgc in such wholesome publicity. Each two years there IS a n opportunity to show something of what lias been done in the interval by nieaiis of the Chemical Exposition. The technical press offers a colitinuous opportunity to record such information. Severtheless, annual summaries should be compiled in such a way :is lo rcwli our l)iil)lir,u l i i ) ~$3 riilixtlictic i n t c w y t wvc iiiiiil continue to eiijoy.
