N'
NETY-SIX per cent of the natural rubber used in the United States comes (came!) from the Far East. The per capita use of rubber in the United States is (wad) 10 5 pounds per year It is estimated that the supply of scrap ruhher available is about twice that reclaimed annually. Thanks to manufacamem who have kept reclaiming processes up to date, we now reclaim tonnage equivalent to about one-third of our annual consumption of natural ruhher. The annual production of latex from two or threeruhher trees is required for the average tire containing about 10 pounds of ruhher. The Defense Plant Corporation is to fhum, build, and wntrol two new p h t s for the production of chemicalsfor synthetic ruhber Carbide and Carbon ChemicalsCorporatioU, Charleston, West Virginia, will operate one of these in the production of hutadiene, and Monsanto Chemicals Company will operate the other, to he built a t Galveston, Texas, to pmduce other necessary intermediates in the synthesis of ruhher. Ameripol soles and heels are now in production. Bccording to the B. F. Goodrieh Company of Aknm,Ohio. A m a i d is particularly resistant to oils, greases, gasoline, apd naphtha. Tires with a million times the wndudivity of o r d b r y tires have been designed for trucks, so as to eliminate Spark hazards from the accumulation of static electricity. Breathlessness, fainting spells, fatigue, ahd djshirbance of pulse rate, somewhat common in British soldiers, may he attributed to lack of pantotheuk acid, acecad'tng to studies conducted by G. C. WppIee of the biological and chemical laboratories of the Borden Company. The Ford upholstery engineers have developed a latex-9prayed cactus fiber "which will not become matted, will keep its set and resiliency throughout the life of a car, and will remain extremely tough and strong." It is estimated that the use of plastic eraser holders on pen& will release about 160,000 pounds of metal for other purposes. Chlorine, one of the defense materials, may now be produced in almost d i m i t e d amounts by treating sodium chloride with sulfur trioxide and subjecting the mixture to fusion. The pmducts of the reaction are chlorine, sodium sulfqte, and sulfur dioxide, the reaction being: 2NaCI f 2S01 (above 330°C.) + Clr
+ NaGO.4-
S%
The sulfur trioxide is obtained by burningsulfur, whichisanexot h e p i c reaction; hence the heat required for the fusion of the mixture may he ohtained in part a t least from the heat of the reaction. The process has been developed by A. W. Hixon and A. H. Tenney, of Columbia University. Copper, likeiron, is reported to he a constituent of all plant and animal tissues. Fortunately, however, copper deficiency severe enough to produce nutritional anemia is rarely found in adult human - -heinm ----That the spider is making its contribution to our war preparations is =videnced by one phase of the work of Mm. Nan Songer, spider who is the manager of industry in s u t h e m Calif-. webs are extracted from their producers far use in the manufacture of camera view finderS, -ge findwS, sumesing i n s h e n t s , and target sights The Institute of Biochemistry a t Moscow, Russia, reports that the soft outer shell of unripe walnuts may he extracted, t m t e d to remove the bitter taste, and the resulting solution evaporated to give a concentrate of vitamin C. T h e total installed and planned production capacity for magnesium now amounts to 4M).000,000 pounds per year. Sodium vapor lighting may he utilized in homes and officesand factories, during blackouts, if the windows are painted blue. This permits ample interior lighting during the day. Concentrates of vitamin B,, according to P. R. Burkholder, of Yale U n i d t y , have been found in the buds of elm, horse chest-
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52
nut, oak, red maple, sycamore, and white pine trees. "This finding may offer a clue to the source of essential vitamins for manv forest animals." ~~~~.~~~~ One hundred pounds of sawdust may he used as the raw material for the production of about eight dollars worth of vital chemicals, such as methanol, acetic acid, formic acid, and oxalir acid. Saran tubing is now available to industry as a substitute for certain uses of wpper and other metal tubing. Thick lubricating oils may be made from animal, fish, or vegetable oils, by passing the oils over boron fluoride. An 18-foot torpedo canies 11 cubic feet of air under a pressure of 2259 pounds per square inch, and 2 gallons of alcohol and 4 gallons of fresh water for the generation of steam. This threequarter ton weapon will travel a distance of 3000 yards a t about 40 miles per hour. Its pow- in the water is the equivalent of a modem V-8automobile engine, and its cost is about $lO,MX).
.
~~~~
--ED.F. DBGERING
D
URING the last week of December, the Division of P h y s i d and Inorganic Chemisw held its sixth annual symposium in Columbus, Ohio, on the topic. "Recent Developments in the Chemistry of the Non-Metals." Some of the topics discussed were: Sulfur dioxide remvery from dilute smelter gases is practiced to reduce the destruction of vegetation in the region of the plant. Emnomical methods of converring the SOI to useful products are now practiced, a t a cost comparable with that based on pure SO2 from Texas sulfur. Large quantities of free sulfur are produced from waste gases by reduction of the SOn by means of hot coke. and hv catalvtic reduction with natural nas SO, is converted as a scl& to CS1, andcarbony1 sulfide, COS. U* of li&d tive extrachon fluid, for processing petroleum and vegetable oil products, was described. Sulfamic acid, HSOINHZ,has become available in large tonnage in the last four years and has many industrial applications. It is prepared by treating urea with oleurn and is an inexpensive, non-hydrascopic, non-toxic. crystalline acid which is nearly as highly dissociated in water solutions as sulfuric or phosphoric add. The acid has advantages in nitrite removal in diawtization reactions, in tanning leather, and inlaundry sours. The salt. a m m d u m d a m a t e , is one of the most effective weed killen and has wide application in the removal of poison ivy in orchards It is free from fire hazards, attendant upon the use of chlorates, and leaves a residue in the soil which serves as a fertilizer. One pound of NH&OaNH2in a gallon of water is s d c i e n t for 100 square feet, and should he applied in the summer and early fall. When sprayed on the leaves of poison ivy or wild cherry, it kills the entire plant, hut paisans the surrounding soil far only a very short period. A second important application of N&S08NH2 is in flameproofing fabrics and paper, with no alterations of the surface characteristics. Pure uystalline sulfamic acid is a highly satisfactory standard for acidimetry. When sulfamic acid is used in electroplating baths, a smoother plate results. Amillion pounds of selenium and two hundred tkousand pounds of tellurium are produced annually in the electrochemical purification of Copper blister. The modern photographic exposure meter is an improved selenium type photoelectric cell, and selenium finds extensive use in rectifiers. Rubber containing 2 per cent of tellurium has superior ahra*on-resisting characteristics and finds use, for example, in coating am-weldiw cables. Stainless steels containing 0.1 or 0.2 per cent of selenium or tellurium are free-machining. Magnesium alloys are protected from corrosion by means of elementary selenium and the coating serves as a bond for paints as well. Large quantities of selenium are used in producing ruby-colored and black glass. The familiar ~
~
(Co&nd
ed-
fire 79.)
