NEWSEDITION HARRISON E. HOWE. Editor
Published by t h e American Chemical Society NUMBER 14
JULY 25, 1940
VOLUME 18
Chemistry on Wheels
Air view of Ford Rotunda and Rouge plant ALTHOUGH the inception and early development of the automobile stand as a tribute to the genius of the mechanical engineer and to the faith of "patient-money" backers, its later perfection has been invaluably assisted by the chemist and the chemical engineer. At the 74th meeting of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL
SOCIETY in Detroit in 1927, the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry inventoried the contributions of chemistry to the motor car. T. A. Boyd, chairman of the symposium, keynoted the theme that as fast as new chemical products were developed and perfected in the course of methodical research, suitable ones were freely blended into the automobile by design engineers. H. C. Mougey voiced a truisin as characteristic of the automotive capital today as then when he said the industry habitually asked the impossible of the chemist—and got it. In the baker's dozen of years since, chemistry has become increasingly helpful in keeping the wheels rolling. New chemicals and processes have continued to find welcome places in the production of
successive models. Detroit has nurtured many of these ingredients within its own chemical industry. Visitors to the One Hundredth Meeting in September will find many opportunities to see these newer constituents incorporated into the motor car. On the assembly Unes of Detroit's principal industry occur the many operations that synthesize the automobile out of so many chemical ingredients. Metals of special composition, surface finishes of specific preparation, rubber formed into hundreds of products, glass, textiles, and plastics, all come together "on the line". Some of the materials are already finished chemical products, while others are chemically processed en route. Whether the visitor views the gigantic Ford plant at River Rouge, the highly efficient assembly units of Chrysler or General Motors, or the newly revamped layout at Packard, he will see many operations common to the industry- And in every instance the influence of chemistry can be traced upon the development of a particular product or process.
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Most conspicuous development of the past decade has been the all-steel body, stamped from metal sheets of a quality nonexistent before the application of the results of physicochemical equilibrium studies to the distribution of oxygen between metal and slag. The amazingly improved ductility of commercial openhearth steels has led to the design of four high mills rolling wide continuous strips of metal for body sheet. The 93-inch hot mill, largest in the automotive district, and the advanced furnace control of 200ton heats are operations awaiting the inspection of visiting chemists at the Great Lakes Steel Corp. plant. Smaller in capacity, the steel plant of the lord Motor Co. starts at the self-unloading ore boats and continues through the body-stamping presses efficiently coordinated into straightline production. Many another metallurgical achievement has centered in Detroit, abetted by the demands of the automobile. The partial substitution of domestic molybdenum for imported tungsten in high-speed tool steels has been demonstrated by the re-
614 searches of the Climax-Molybdenum Co. of Michigan. Small diameter steel tubing of exceptional fatigue strengths has displaced the copper tubing quoted in 1927 as meeting all requirements for the automobile. This product, copper brazed by the Bundyweld process, is made by the Bundy Tubing Co. Contributions from the nonferrous industry have facilitated cost reductions in the automobile. High purity zinc for die castings is used extensively for body hardware and radiator grilles. The oil-retaining properties of sintered powder bearings have advanced lubrication to a more certain stage of film thickness control. The protective efficiencies of elect roplates have been improved through intensive research and cooperation among the numerous producers. The production of hard chromium and bright nickel platings for automotive parts and plant equipment has made Detroit an important center of the electroplating industry. Die-casting and electroplating operations can be seen in most of the automotive plants, such as Packard or Plymouth or at the Ternstedt Division of General Motors. In addition to strengthening structure by improving the chemical properties of materials, chemists have contributed greatly to the beauty of the automobile through the medium of plasties and finishes. A recognized center of |iaint and varnish manufacture before the advent of the motor car, Detroit has experienced a concentration of automotive lacquer and enamel production during the past decade. On their last visit in 1927, chemists observed that varnish base enamels —literally hangovers from the horse-and-buggy era— had been completely displaced by the quick-drying nitrocellulose lacquers. In 1940 they will see the ascendant position of the all-synthetic type of enamel, in which alkyd resins have been substituted for natural products, while jietroleum solvents have partially replaced aromatic hydrocarbons and esters. Not only have lower materials costs been gained, but costs of application have been reduced. At the same time, finishes superior in gloss and luster retention, durability, abrasion resistance, and life have been developed. The bulk of production, centered in Detroit to assure uninterrupted deliveries, is furnished by Rinshed-Mason, Acme White Lead and Color Co., Ditzler Color Co., and Dibble Color. The du Pont factories in near-by Flint and Toledo and the paint department of Ford Motor Co. are also major producers. Advanced practice in mixing and blending of automotive finishes can be seen at the Ditzler plant, noted in the industry for its good hor,*ekeeping. I'nique finish application techniques include the infrared lamp drying tunnels of Ford Motor Co. and the complete cycle of
NEWS
EDITION
blending, piping, and spraying of finishes at Packard Mot'T Car Co. Several raw material producers supplying the paint and varnish industry in the Detroit area are noteworthy. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., manufactures a complete line ol synthetic resins, including phenolic resins, alkyd resins, the modified resins, processed natural gums, and urea-formaldehyde resins. This company also markets intermediate resits which are used by producers of finished enamels to meet varied and exacting specifications in largescale production. Kthyl cellulose», produced by Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, finds considerable use in specialty lacquers. Dow phenol and phenol derivatives enter into synthetic resin intermediates, which in turn are used in automotive finishes. A substantial part of the solvent requirements are met by producers located in Mctro|>olitan Detroit. Aliphatic hydrocarlnms prepared from Michigan crude oils come from the stills of the Trenton units of Socony-Vacuum. Aromatic hydrocarbons and derivatives, by-products of the coke ovens at Great Lakes Steel and the Ford Motor Co., supply benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol, and cresol. Specializing in amyl derivatives, Sharpies Solvent* Co. utilizes light gas petroleum fractions and liquid chlorine prepared from the salt lied* beneath its plant. The Sharpies products include chlorine, alcohol, ester, and amine derivatives of pentane. By no means the least ini|>ortant operation i' finishing has been based on the perfection of rust-inhibiting and bonding layer treatment preparatory to spray application of the finishes. The original phosphating treatment put in production shortly after the 1927 meeting has since been replaced by the sprayed solutions in use today. Tank immersion has been superseded by spraying tunnels, shortening the reaction cycle between iron and free acid from over 30 minutes to less than 1 minute. The continued long life and adhesion of enamel to metal supply proof of the effectiveness of these prêtreatments. Parker Rust-Proof Co., pioneer in ι h is field, continues dominant in research on metal preparation prior to finishing. Constantly intrigued with attractive materials, the automotive designers are enthusiastic users of plastics. Decorative panels of normal strength requirements are widely used in the interior trim, steer ing wheels, and instrument panel housings. Bakélite and other plastics of high dielectric properties are advantageously used in the ignition circuits. Laminated papers insulate automobile bodies against vibration noises. Rubber, a product of great versatility, finds over 200 applications in the automobile, utilizing the wide range of properties made available by chemists and rubber
Vol. 18, No. 14 technologists. The long list of contributions to safety and riding comfort has been extended with the sponge rubber cushion seats introduced on the 1940 models. Adoption as standard equipment now awaits consumer acceptance. Motor mountings and body shims of rubber deposited anodically directly on metal part* have reduced vibration and noise very materially during the past decade. Road lierformance and life studies of low-pressure tires have shown a doubling of mileage since 1927, gains effected through constant research in materials, design, and constriction. Antioxidants and accelerators have contributed heavily to these tire improvements. Rubber manufacture in Detroit, |»ced by Γ. S. Rubber Co. and by the Ford Motor tire department, consumes 12 per cent of the total crude rubber used by all unite of the American industry. From crude petroleum the chemist has extracted a wide array of fuels and lubri cants for the automobile. Studies of the utilization of fuels have naturally made Detroit the testing ground for the motors of the world. The best known contribu tions have emanated from the General Motors Research Laboratories, starting with the antiknock compounds of Midgley and Boyd discovered in the early twenties, and progressing through the later work of Lovell and Campbell who, by finding for hydrocarbons the relationships between chemical structure and freedom from knock, showed just what kinds of fuel compounds the gasoline engine likes best. Continuation of combustion mechanism studies has fostered equipment of unique design and yielded fundamental informa tion on the detonation and the efficiency of fuels. Diesel fuels for the power plants of modern trucks and motor busses have also evolved from the results of research by the several automotive manufacturers. Collateral research in the petroleum in dustry has simultaneously produced fuels of higher antiknock ratings through closer control of chemical processing. The latest of the cracking methods, the Houdry re formation of hydrocarbons, may be seen at the White Star Refinery in near-by Tren ton, where two unite have been in produc tion since late 1939. This same division of Socony-Vacuum has been uniquely successful in producing high-grade gaso lines from the Michigan crude oils. The Ethyl Gasoline Corp. maintains its chemical research laboratories in Detroit, continuing investigations of antiknock and related compounds, particularly tetraethyllead. Another important contribu tion of petroleum chemists to the automo bile has been the variety of specific purpose lubricants now available for manufactur ing and operating uses. Particularly vital to the adoption of hypoid gears, the ex-
J n f.A* K *' C A * CIIEIIICAL SOCIETY m u m » no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by contributor· to iu publications. Published by the AMBUCAM CBEMICAL SOCIKTT,Publication Offiee. 20th ft Northampton Su.. Easton. Penna, Editorial Office. Room 706, Mills Building. Jr jhin«ton. D. C.; Telephone. National 0948; Cable. Jiechem (Washington). Advertising Department. 332 West 42nd St.. New York. N. V.: Telephone. Bryant 9-4430. Entered as second-class matter a * the Post Office at Easton. Penna.. under the act of March 3. 1879, as 24 times a year on the 10th and 25th. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103. Act of October 3, 1917. authorised July 13. 1918. Annual subscription rate. 82.00. Foreign postage to countries not in the Pan American Union. 80.60: Canadian postage. 80.20. Single copies. 80.15. Special rates to members. No claims can be allowed for copies of journals lost in the mails unless such claims are received within 60 days of the date of issue, and no claim· will be allowed for issues lost as a result of insufficient notice ot change of address. (Ten days' advance notice required.) "Missing from files" cannot be accepted as the reason for honoring a claim. Charles L. Parsons. Business Manager. Mills Builciing. Washington. D. C., U. 8. A.
Above. Tires meet vulcaniser presses at United States Rubber Co. Right. Camshaft grinding.
Left. Experimental automatic still for fractionation of hydrocarbons at the General Motor» Laboratories. Below. A small setup for experimental work with means for closely controlling all the possible variables which enter into electroplating at the General Motors Research Laboratories* The operator is regulating the electric current flowing into the bath. Lower left-hand corner. Single cylinder engine for fuel research at the General Motors Laboratories·
616 treme pressure lubricant* resulted from a thoroughgoing investigation of additive* and "oiliness" comjjounds. Frequently overlooked but nonetheless typical of the chemists' achievement* in working with associated technologist* are such items as glass, textiles, and spark plugs. No producer, but certainly a major consumer of woven textiles, De troit's major industry quickly recognizes and welcomes the newer offerings of tex tile chemistry. The recently observed strength advantages of rayon cord in tires provide an enormous consumption of a truly synthetic chemical product. Pro duction of nonshattering plate glass, insti tuted through the demand for safety in the automobile, was limited to the windshield at the time the last A. C S. meeting was held in Detroit. The celluloid sandwich filler then in use could be readily recog nized by its rapid yellowing after ex()osure to ultraviolet radiation. Chemists are familiar with the successive improvements that led to the polyvinyl acetals, instantly accepted as cementing layers. Spark plugs, combining ceramic and metallurgi cal technical advamrs with those of chemistry, may be seen in manufacture at the Champion Spark Plug Co.
Ν ΕW S E D IΤ ΙΟΝ merous points of interest in and around Detroit. Many will desire to spend a va cation among the famous Michigan resort « Ijefore returning home or to travel lei surely and luxuriously over a new or mon· scenic route back to their desks. Add to these advantages the fact that the new automobile owner receives his car undriven except from the end of the "line" to the delivery' yard - i t is absolutely new, has not been standing on the floor of a sales room—and he is assured that he himself is breaking it in according to his own sys tem. No wonder inquiries have been made about this attractive possibility for pnis|)ective car buyers. It's simple: merely see your dealer and insurance agent; they will attend to the details. When you get your car in Detroit in Sep tember, take the opportunity to see it made. You will be fascinated by the ex perience and you will know more about your high-powered vehicle. e^®
Appropriate Names l i ΟΥ F. LAB, chief chemist of the Copperweld Steel Co., Warren, Ohio, has been nominated for inclusion among the chemists with appropriate names. 1 1
Vol. 18, No. 14 Advance Registration for Detroit Employment Clearing House Ι τ HAS been decided to accept advance registration for the Detroit Employ ment Clearing House. The vitae filed by mail will be checked and classified in Washington, thus relieving congestion at the time of the meeting. However, these records will not be cleared for employers until after the arrival of the registrants, since all users are assured that everyone whose vita is on file is available for inter view. It is hoped that those planning to regis ter in the Detroit Clearing House will write to the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY,
Mills Building, Washington, D. C , in the near future, requesting the proper forms. Bear in mind that the Employment Clear ing House is open only to members and paid student affiliates of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY present at the meeting
and so available on short notice for inter view. For further details concerning this ac tivity, see page 511 of the NEWS EDITION
for June 10. &+®
R ECALLING that long before the United States entered the first World War, industry was hampered and often harmed by subversive activities, Edgar M. Queeny, president of the Monsanto Chemical Co., in a message sent to employees of Monsanto's thirteen American plants at their homes, recently stressed the im portance of their allegiance to the Nation and its policies and loyalty to the com pany in a time when the infiltration of spies and saboteurs into neutral coun tries is considered a proper war activity. Q^e>
Gustav Bgloff, director of research of the Universal Oil Products Co., Chicago, 111., received the degree of doctor of science from the Armour Institute of Technology on June 6 in recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of petroleum refining, particularly the development of the cracking process.
New Car Deliveries in Detroit FOR many chemists, the One Hundredth Meeting of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL
SOCIETY in Detroit, September 9 to 13, will furnish an opportunity to purchase a new car, effect a significant saving in its cost, and derive increased satisfaction by taking delivery in the Motor City. Every local dealer is equipped to handle orders calling for factory delivery. Insurance agencies will arrange to cover the new car from the hour of delivery. In addition to providing a reduction in transportation costs to attend the meeting, purchasers will be able to save time by go ing vo Detroit by rail or air and still have a brand new car to use in visiting the nu
Above. Inspection of C h a m pion Spark Plug insulators by shadow projection. Insulator's shadow is magnified 20 times and projected onto a screen. Insulator image as it is re volved must fall between two outlines on the screen t h a t represent 0.004 i n c h . T o get enlargement»*, the shadow is cast on mirror and reflected back onto the glass screen.
Above. Λ body stamping press at the Packard Motor Co. Γ μ per left-hand corner. Coming down the line. Body hardware being plated at the Packard .Motor Co. Below. Grinding line of a glass plant. I^ower left-hand corner. Automobile bodies en route for spray t r e a t m e n t , called Spra-Bondertzing, applied prior to c n a m r H n g , at the Parker Rust-Proof Co. Ix>wer righthand corner. M a k i n g plastic part*.
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NEWS
EDITION
Vol. 18, No. 14
Our Readers' Famous American Scientists
Abbott Laboratories Fellow ships in Chemistry
Funds for Research Grants Available
IVTEWS EDITION readers have compiled their own lists of five scientists they think mort» worthy of the distinction than those selected by the Postmaster General for the "Famous Americans" stamp issue. As announced on page 400 of the May 10 NKWS KDITION, John James Audubon, Crawford \Y. Long, Luther Β urban k, Walter Heed, and Jane Addams were officially honored. Now unofficially our readers nominate:
FOR the academic year 1940-41, Abbott Laboratories has established fellow ships in several universities with important departments of organic chemistry and bio chemistry. The fellowships, carrying sti pends of $650 per year, will be available to graduate students in the last or next to last years of graduate work leading to the doctorate degree. The recipients, who are to be selected by the universities in which their work is being done, are not limited as to the subjects on which they will work. The object of the fellowships is to pro vide the means for carrying on addi tional scientific work in American uni versities. The future progress of chemical developments in this country will depend upon the availability of well-trained and qualified men, and in establishing these fellowships it is the intent of Abbott Laboratories to lend encouragement in these general fields. Grants will be made as follows: in or ganic chemistry, Cornell, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern; in biochemistry, California, Columbia, Cornell.
T H E American Pharmaceutical Association Committee on Pharmaceutical Research announces the availability of certain limited funds for research grants. These grauts are to be made by the Council of the American Pharmaceutical Association on the recommendations of the committee and on the following basis: the extent which the award will serve to promote pharmaceutical research; whether the award supplements the A. Ph. A. laboratory program; the qualifica tions of those who will perform the work for which the award is made and the facilities of the laboratory where the re search will be conducted. Preference will be given to applications wherein the award will supplement a contribution from the institution or laboratory in which the research will be conducted. Those interested should make applica tion promptly to the Chairman of the Committee on Pharmaceutical Research (Francis E. Bibbins, 150 West 64th St., R. It. 16, Box 728-B, Indianapolis, Ind.) and include all details which will enable the committee carefully to evaluate the projects listed in the application, par ticularly giving in detail the data men tioned in the above paragraph. These applications should be forwarded so that they can be considered before the opening of the college year this fall.
John James Audubon William Beaumont J. Willard Gibbs Joseph Henry William James
Othniel C. Marsh Albert Michelson Walter Reed Ira Remsen Theodore Richards Henry A. Rowland
Are your favorite five leading American scientists who are no longer living in cluded? If not, send your list to the NKWS EDITION.
Merck Employees Present Flag to Company CELEBRATING July 4 and its especial significance to America this year, 1600 employees of Merck A Co., Rahway Division, held exercises in Rahway, N. J., and gave a giant American flag to the company. In presenting the flag to George W. Merck, president, the employees' repre sentative, Anna M. Meyer, who ha* worked for the company 45 years, the longest service record at Rahway, said, 4 May we all continue to prove to the world what can t>e accomplished when Management and Personnel, shoulder to shoulder, work together in the American way." The flag was brought forward by a color guard composed of representatives from each of the six major departments. Expenses of the meeting were met by nickel and dime contributions and dona tions from organization- in the plant. Extra money was given to the Red Cross.
Civil Service Examination for Ordnance Inspectors A PPMCATioNs for examination as inspec• ^ tor, ordnance material ($2300 a year), .«»nior ($2600), associate ($2000), assistant ($1800), and junior ($1620) will be re ceived until further notice by the United States Civil Service Commission, Washing ton, D. C. Applicants must have had a high school education, and experience in inspection and testing, to determine com pliance with specifications of ordnance materials, such as armament, armor plate, demolition bomb bodies, etc., or of raw materials such as metal shapes formed with dies, sheets and bars, and machined parts, including castings or forcings of steel or nonferrous metals.
Abstracts of Detroit Meeting Papers Y o u will want a set of Detroit meeting abstracts eventually, so why not order now and assure your self early delivery? The A. C. S. News Service, 706 MUls Bldg., Washington, D. C , will supply abstracts of papers presented at the Detroit meeting as hereto fore. Sets are not guaranteed to be complete, but contain abstracts from all divisions as submitted by authors. The abstracts will be mailed as soon as possible after receipt of order, beginning about September 4, and will also be on sale at Detroit. This enterprise is undertaken in a spirit of service and not for profit. Sets are offered on the following terms: To members of divisions who for ward receipt for divisional dues with remittance and order, 60 oenw. To those without receipt for divisional dues, who remit with order, $1.00. To those who fail to enclose remit tance with order, necessitating cor respondence· $1.26. To those who require bills to be rendered, $1.60.
Flag given to Merck & Co. by its employees
