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T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D EXGILVEERIXG C H E M I S T R Y
Comparing these meagre facilities with the magnificent equipments that every college laboratory has to-day, reminds me of Dr. Wolcott Gibbs, when one day in his research laboratory the inadequacy of the equipment came up and he said, whydo you know how the great Berzelius got his results? Why, all he had were some bottles, a sink and a cook stove. The present generation hardly realizes the huge advantages it enjoys. Away out in a field, in a lean-to t o a still building, Dr. Twitchell also had to create his opportunities, and there seeds of progress were sown. There were no fixed lines to work on; every step was capable of researches and these had to be made, in order t o find the ways in which the chemist could make himself valuable and gradually the structure grew. Twenty-four years ago next July, there was a meeting of the Society of Chemical Industry a t Liverpool. One morning while riding on the second story of a tram car, the two-story horse car affair that was a characteristic of English streets, reading the itinerary of the meeting, a party slapped me on the back and said: Are you a chemist? Yes. Oh! he said, you are from the States; where from? Chicago, but expected t o go back to Cincinnati to live. Well, he said, Cincinnati-why, do you know Mr. Twitchell? Yes; we went to school together. Well, he said, he has made the best contribution t o the chemistry of soaps that I know of. His method of determining the percentage of rosin in a soap is the only method that gives us the means of determining what
v01. 9 , N O , 2
a competitor had in his soap and then my party said, here is my card, I am Dr. Lewkowitsch and I had the experience of Mr. Twitchell’s method in a soap works a t Warrington. So our honored guest early in his career had made a valuable contribution t o chemistry and was known to every chemist that was in fat and soap lines. Only a few more years elapsed when Rlr. Twitchell was able to announce the working out of the Twitchell Process of Glycerine Recovery. The means employed were so novel that when the German Patent Office was asked to pass upon the patentability of the Twitchell Reagent, they doubted that a compound described by Mr. Twitchell could exist. It is needless for me to dwell on what the process has done. You have heard that told to-night . Just one more word. The young chemists will appreciate much more what Mr. Twitchell has done. His methods, employed in hundreds of factories throughout the world, have necessitated chemical control of operations and so have afforded just that many more opportunities for the employment of skilled chemists in those works. So what one man has done benefits one hundred or one thousand men through a new opportunity and this is only one example of where the opportunity has grown a hundred-fold. CINCINNATI,OHIO
CURRENT INDUSTRIAL NEWS VOLCANIC HEAT HARNESSED The idea of utilizing volcanic heat to drive an electric power house of 15,000h. p. might seem as being out of the realms of possibility, but Prof. Luiggi in an interesting article published in Engineering for Xovember 1 7 , 1916, shows that this has been realized in Italy. I n Central Tuscany, near Volterra, there are numerous cracks in the ground from which powerful jets of very hot steam spout high in the air with great violence and constancy, bringing up boric acid and other mineral substances. These substances were found to have a corrosive effect on the engines in earlier experiments and the difficulty has been overcome by applying the steam, not directly in the engine, but to a boiler instead of fuel. Steam is produced in the boiler and then passed to a superheater after which it is utilized in the steam turbine for driving electric generators. The undertaking has been financed by Prince Ginori-Conti and three large installations on this system have been made; one, of 3000 kw. units, was started in January, 1916, the second in April, and these seem to be giving satisfactory results. The third system has been started quite recently. These installations are said to be a great boon to the industries of Tuscany, where coal is scarce and very expensive and, since the region availahle is a large one, it seems likely that the system may be developed in such a way as to produce hundreds of thousands of horse-power.-A. MCMILLAN. RUSSIAN MANGANESE ORE The Board of Trade, London, is in receipt of a memorandum by a Russian mining engineer dealing with the subject of Russian supplies of manganese ore. The memorandum discusses the manganese ore industry in Russia, the production and exportation of the ore and the market values of the same. Tables are also given showing the production of steel in certain countries and the imports of manganese ore into these countries distinguishing the proportion of ore of Russian origin, etc. It is stated that the output of manganese ore in Russia has increased from 396,324 tons in 1904 to 681,424 tons in I909 and to 1,255,175 tons in 1913.
ADULTERATION OF COD-LIVER OIL I N NORWAY According to an article in the Oil and Color Trade Journal, 50 (1916), 1815, the oils of exotic fishes used for the adulteration of cod-liver oil by some merchants are mostly those obtained from the so-called “coal-fish,’’ “cusk” and haddock. It is asserted that the Lofoten merchants do not practice adulteration during winter fishing and that the oil then made is extracted exclusively from cods’ livers because no other fish is caught a t that season there. Chemicals are not used for purposes of adulteration as far as is known, excepting perhaps a very small percentage of sulfuric acid during the steaming process in order to facilitate the extraction of the oil. If cod-liver oil be mixed with oils from the livers of fish akin to the cod (such as mentioned above), the mixture is never more than I O per cent or less. I t is very difficult t o prove this adulteration by methods of analysis. Medically pure genuine cod-liver oil is of a bright yellow color with a slight odor only. The adulteration of this oil is said to have started in Norway just about ~goo.-M. ON SOYA-BEAN EXTRACTION BY TRICHLORETHYLENE During recent years, says Nature, 98, 2 3 5 , trichlorethylene has been used to a limited extent for the extraction of the oi1 of soya beans. The residual meal has been disposed of as food for stock and, as trichlorethylene is not poisonous when given in comparatively large doses to cattle, little risk would appear to be involved in the use as food of the extracted meal. Cases of poisoning of cattle attributed to soya meal have, however, been brought to the notice of the Board of Agriculture and the results of their investigations which are summarized in the October number of the Journal, throw strong suspicion on the meal obtained by the use of trichloroethylene. The cases of poisoning, both on the farms and in the investigations, were limited entirely to cattle and, in no case, was a sudden effect produced. Experience with soya extracted with naphtha makes i t very imprpbable that the poisonous principle could have been inherent in the meal. It would appear more probable that it was either a non-volatile impurity present in the trichlorethylene, or a product of interaction between the trichlorethylene and some ingredient of the soya beans.-M.
Feb., 1917
T H E JOC‘R,VAL O F I S D L S T R I A L A N D E -VGI S E E RI &VG C H E illIS T R Y
BRITISH DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH A numerous and influential deputation was received by Lord Crewe on Friday, December I, in connection with the work which is being done by the Committee for Research appointed some time ago. An important announcement as to the Government policy was made in the following terms: The Government has decided to establish a separate Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for Great Britain and Ireland under the Lord President of Council and with President of the Board of Education as Vice-president. They have also decided, subject t o consent of Parliament, t o place a large sum of money a t the disposal of the new department t o be used as a fund for the conducting of research for the benefit of national industries on a cooperative basis. To enable the department t o hold the new fund and any other money or property for research purposes, a Royal Charter has been granted t o the official members of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research under the title “The Imperial Trust for the Encouragement of Scientific and Industrial Research.” The Trust is empowered t o “accept, hold or dispose of money or personal property in furtherance of the objects for which it has been established, including money voted by Parliament.”-M. BRITISH BOARD OF TRADE During the month of December the British Board of Trade received inquiries from firms in the United Kingdom and abroad regarding sources of supply of the following articles. Firms which may be able t o supply information regarding these articles are requested t o communicate with the Director, Commercial Intelligence Branch, Board of Trade, 73 Basinghall St., London, E. C.: Advertising novelties such as treasury-note cases Amethysts, rough Brushes, paint CHF,Z?lCAI.S: F a t t y acids, especially linseed and palm kernel Formaldehyde, commercial 40 per cent in barrels Toluidine Zinc oxide Naphthol yellow
CHINAASD EARTHRNWARE: General earthenware T o y china China marbles Fancy pottery Combs, amber Cork, agglomeratea Dental sumlies DRUGS: Cimicifuaa Fenngreek
DYES: Powdereo color for soap a n d confectionery manufacture
GLUES: Adhe.?ive, similar t o “Syndetikon” Gramophone accessories Kapok for filling cushions Lemon and egg tints for coloring Italian Pastes MACHINERY A N D P L A N T F O R : Cutting veneer out of blocks Cutting and perforating toilet paper Making block bottom paper bags Cutting fiber for trunks Cutting and planing whalebone Making buttons from celluloid, horn, vegetable ivory, a n d similar composition Small horizontal three roller mill lor crushing lime Magnets, permanent Mirrors Porcelain. lining, hard Push-buttons Pens, fountain Paints, dipping paints for papier m%ch&articles Paint, luminous Wagons. pedrail
-M.
SANDALWOOD OIL The action of the Mysore Government has resulted in the price of this indispensable oil being forced up t o $10 per Ib. and within a month the price may reach $ I j . There are hardly any sellers. According t o a report in the Madras Weekly illail, the hlysore Government are preparing to distil the whole of the wood produced and may also, in the near future, take over the supplies from Coorq and LLIadras. The Oil and Color Trade Journal, 5 0 (1916), 1965, states that the Germans, who had a large share in the industry, have selected a neutral country, Spain, t o continue their operations and that Schimmel & Co., Leipzig, are said t o have started a factory there and are offering Spanish sandalwood oil a t I O I fr. per kg. The report has not been confirmed, but it would seem that representations have been made in the Government as t o the propriety of the wood being able t o be so treated in Spain in behalf of German interests.--?\I.
I99
BOLIVIAN MINERAL EXPORTS The following taken from the report issued by the Minister of Finance t o the Bolivian Congress, gives the quantity and value of the mineral exports of Bolivia in 1915 as compared with 1914: -1914-----Kilograms Value T i n o r e . . . . . . . ... , 37,259,617 ,916,142,168 Copper ore . . . . . . . . . 4,793,166 1,821,403 Copper b a r s . . . , . . , , 3,874,277 1,472,223 Wolfram.. . . . . , , , . 276,316 105,000 Lead ore.. , , . , . . , 1,554,570 590,736 ,. 186,077 70.709 Antimony ore.. Bismuth ore.. . . , , . 437,751 166,345 Molybdenum ore. . . . ... .. . . .. .
. .. . .. . . .
..
-1915Kilocrams Value 36,492.235 $17,056,471 11,944,954 3,661,082 5,267,844 1,672,335 192,511 569,181 2 , 2 0 i ,753 144,230 17,923,048 5,108,068 662.547 1,394,772 5,191 I ,279
It will be seen that owing to the high price, the value of the exports of tin increased in spite of a decrease in quantity. In I 9 14 the consuming countries were the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Belgium, but last year new markets were found in the United States, Argentina and Uruguay. The large increase both in the quantity and value of wolfram is due t o the war conditions which have caused a demand for tungstic acid in the Xew York market. The increase in antimony export is continued in the present year. Molybdenum appears in the list for the first time. I t is being obtained from the Illampu Range.-M. BURMESE MYROBALANS AS TANNING MATERIAL The Chemical Trade Journal, 59 (1916), 508, quoting from a report on Burmese myrobalans as a tanning material, which has been drawn up by the chemical adviser to the Forest Research Institute, states that Burmese myrobalans are different from the Indian chebulic myrobalans in points of tanning and nontanning content and color. I n the air-dried Burmese material the tannin varies from 16 t o 32 per cent; the general average may be taken to be 20 t o z j per cent, which is about one-half the tanning content of the Indian myrobalans. The nontanning content ranges from 2 5 t o 34 per cent and the general average may be taken t o be 2 7 t o 30 per cent, which is three times that of the Indian myrobalans. The color is high. The maximum red and yellow recorded for the Indian product is z . 5 red and 7 . 4 yellow while the Bitrmese myrobalans in general have 4 9 red and 18.35 yellon. The excess of nontanning material is a disadvantage and all tanning substances having non-tanning constituents in excess must be classed as somewhat inferior, although they give fairly good results. To form some opinion as t o actual tanning properties of Burmese myrobalans, experiments were undertaken which disclosed that leather made with this material alone is spongy and tough like the leather produced by the Indian product, that Burmese myrobalans can be used in the preparation of butts for making army boots and shoes and also for making black uppers of inferior quality and, further, that they will be useful in conjunction with babul bark for making sole leather.-M. JAPANESE LACQUER INDUSTRY It is reported that a Japanese Economic Committee has recently considered measures for promoting the lacquer industry in Japan. The demand for this product in Japan is increasing each year and has attained a n annual average of 2,150,ooo lbs. during the last three years. I t is estimated that the total requirements of the country will soon reach 2,500,000 lbs. annually. The aggregate output of lacquer in Japan in 1915 was valued a t about $4,3.jo,ooo and this is expected t o be increased after the war. Thirty per cent of the quantity of lacquer consumed in Japan is produced a t home, the remainder being imported from China. The Government is urged t o make further investigations with a view t o promoting the industry in Japan.-M.
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
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OIL PRODUCTION FOR JAPAN According to the annual report, the production of crude oil in Japan was 3,0Ij,327 barrels in 1915, an increase of 272,807 barrels over that of the preceding year. The following table shows the production by districts in 1915 compared with 1914: PREFECTURE
...................................
Echigo Akita ....................................
Enshu ...................................
Y a m a g a t a ................................ Nagano Hokkaido ................................ Taiwan (Formosa)..
..................................
.......................
TOTAL (barrels). ........................
1915 1914 1 , 9 7 5 , 4 4 3 2,009,603 1.008.863 706.588 ’ 2’098 2:455 47 1 425 195 148 9,287 5,987 18,970 17,314
-.
_
_
3,015,327
_
2,742,520
-M. WATTLE EXTRACT MANUFACTURE I N NATAL The manufacture of extract from wattle bark grown in Natal has become an accomplished fact. One firm is already treating 50 tons of green bark daily. -4 first consignment of extract was recently sent t o the United Kingdom. Another company expects to commence work in a few months’ time. The utilization for extract of a proportion of the bark grown in Katal will considerably improve the market position of this material. During 1915 the total quantity of wattle bark shipped was 40,027 tons, which, owing to difficulties as t o cargo-space, was some 18,000 tons less than in the previous year.-M. TRANSPORT OF HOT FLUID PITCH FOR BRIQUETTE MAKING The Zeitschrift fuiir angewandte Chemie, 29 (19161, 549, has an article dealing with the transport of hot fluid coal-tar pitch in The factory mentioned tank-wagons for briquette making. is a t a Silesian colliery that obtains a supply of pitch direct from a neighboring coal-tar distillery. The pitch is delivered in fluid form and is conveyed in tank-wagons. The system has already been tried a t Bochum, where wagons holding 15 tons each are filled direct from the retorts with pitch a t 250’ C. I n this instance, the rail distance is 4 km., the time between filling and emptying is 7 hrs., and the pitch in the fluid state is readily discharged by compressed air. It is intended t o work this system in conjunction with the Fohr-Kleinschmidt method of briquetting. The pitch is brought into a mobile condition by heating t o 130-170’ C. and then sprayed by a steam-heated atomizer worked with steam or compressed air in a mixing drum where the pitch spray solidifies while still in the air to a very fine sootlike dust. I t is then passed t o the kneading apparatus by suitable transporting arrangements nnd finally pressed into briquettes a t j o t o 80’ C. By this process the proportion of pitch in the briquettes is reduced by fully I per cent and the costs of manufacture are decreased by the tank-system; the wagons can be emptied in 15 minutes and the necessity of handling, breaking and melting the pitch is avoided.-M. NEW JAPANESE ANILINE DYE FACTORY According t o Oil and Color Trade Journal, 50 (19161, 1903, the Japanese Government having decided t o grant state aid to the color industry, an enterprise has now been started in Japan under the title of the Japan Dye Manufacturing Company. As, so far however, no agreement has been come to between this group and the government as to the exact interpretation of subvention law (which fixes the subvention a t 8 per cent of the paid up capital), it has not yet been possible even to commence the erection of the factory building. Apparently the project has been carelessly handled and the great difficulties have been disregarded as well as the question whether Japan possesses sufficient experience t o enable her to take up this branch of industry and compete successfully with Germany in the dye trade after the war.-M.
Vol. 9 , KO.z
ELECTROLYTIC DISINFECTING FLUID -4n interesting reference, says the Chemical Trade Journal, 59 (19161, 482, to the development of the application of electrolytic disinfecting fluid on board hospital ships is made in the second annual report of the Medical Research Committee. A suitable electrolytic cell, under Dr. Dakin’s instructions, has been made by Messrs. Mather and Platt, Manchester, which was found to furnish disinfecting fluid a t a cost of less than 6 cents per IOO gallons and could be operated by an unskilled attendant. The first test of the method was made on the ~ “Aquitania” with highly satisfactory results, no significant damage to any of the ship’s structure following the free use of the suitably diluted solution. The hypochlorite solution from sea-water was used as a general disinfectant and deodorant and also with good results for the purification of the ship’s water and as an antiseptic dressing for infected wounds. It should be mentioned that the saving of expenditure upon carbolic acid and cresol during this experimental trip was estimated to exceed the whole cost of the manufacture and maintenance of the electrolytic cell. In consequence of the results, the War Office has caused the installation to be made in various . capacities.-PI. MAGNETO APPARATUS A method of testing magneto apparatus is described in a recent issue of La Rewe glectrique. The magneto to be tested is caused to produce sparks between platinum points in an atmosphere of nitrogen enclosed in glass bulbs across which also extends a resistance wire in an independent circuit. The expansion of the enclosed gas due to the heat generated by the sparks is measured by the movement of a mercury column in a U-tube, one end of which opens in the bulb a t the bottom. The apparatus is calibrated by means of the resistance wire. The results of experiments are given showing the variation in the energy per spark. This rises to a maximum and then decreases as the speed of rotation is increased.-M. TURBO-ELECTRIC PROPULSION In the United Kingdom, says the Electrician, 78 (1916), 306, there are two vessels being built to Lloyd’s classification in which the Ljungstrom turbo-electric propelling plant will be fitted; one, a single screw vessel in which the power will be I, joo shaft h. p., and the second, a twin-screw vessel with a total shaft h. p. of j,40o. In the Ljungstrom turbine, there are two stationary blades and the steam passes across two sets of blades which revolve with equal speeds in opposite directions so that the effect is similar to that which would occur with one set of blades stationary and the other set moving a t twice the velocity. Each half of the turbine is directly coupled to its own alternator producing a three-phase current of about 50 alternations per second with a voltage of 800. The alternators of each set are electrically locked, ensuring exactly equal speed and consequently equal power on each rotating half of the turbine. I n each vessel there will be two turbo-alternator sets so that the stoppage of one will not disable the vessel. The two alternators of each set work in parallel. They have each only one pair of poles and supply current to two motors each having five pairs of poles which will, therefore, rotate a t one-fifth the speed of the turbines. These motors are connected to pinions with spiral teeth which gear, in the ordinary way, with a large gearwheel secured to the screw-shaft. The combination of electrical and mechanical reduction gear will enable a speed of turbine of 3,600 r. p. m. to rotate the screw a t 76 r. p. m. The reversing of the screw is effected by the motor, the steam always running in the one direction. Reduction of speed is effected down t o about 80 per cent of the fuel speed by varying the steam supply to the turbine and for slower speeds, resistances are interposed in the circuit.-M.
