INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
6
Specifications for Stearic Acid and Red
SINGLE-PRESSED STEARIC ACID
126° to 127° F. (52.2° to 52.75° C.) Not over 12 Needle point crystalline DOUBLE-PRESSED STEARIC ACID
128° to 129° F. (53.3° to 53.9° C.) Not over 8 Needle point crystalline
Melting point Iodine value Construction
T R I P L E - P R E S S E D STEARIC ACID
130° to 131° F. (54.4° to 55° C.) Not over 6 Needle point crystalline
Melting point Iodine value Construction
DISTILLED RED
Titer Unsaponified Moisture and insoluble Iodine value
Regular 7-?0° 5% or under 0.5% 90 or under
OÏL
Medium 15-20° 5% or under 0.5% 84 or under
Kea vy 30-35° 5% or under 0.5% 70 or under
DOUBLE DISTILLED RIÎD10-13° OIL
Titer Unsaponified Moisture and insoluble Iodine value Color
5% or under 0.5% 90 or under Not over 3 N. P. A.
SAPONIFIED R E D O I L
Titer Unsaponified Moisture and insoluble F. F. A. Iodine value
Regular 18-20° 3% or under 0.5 or under 84 or over 80 or under
Medium 14-16° 3% or under 0. 5 or under 84 or over 84 or under
Edition
Oil
The following specifications for stearic acid and red oil have been adopted by the National Association of Stearic Acid Manufacturers. F. F. Jordan of the Emery Candle Co., Cincinnati, is the secretary of the association and will be pleased to give further information on these tests. Melting point Iodine value Construction
News
Heavy 30-32° 3% or under 0. 5 or under 84 or over 70 or under
Industrial Transition in Japan The Japanese Society of New York City and the Division of Industrial and Engineering Research of the National Research Council have made available as an attractive little brochure a discussion of the Industrial Transition in Japan by Maurice Holland, director of the division. Mr. Holland treats briefly the interesting facts and tendencies in pearl culture, fisheries, civil aviation in Japan, the silk industry, and what is being done by the Japanese in industrial research. The industrial map of Japan is interesting as showing the distribution of the commercial life of the nation. It is evident that in general the trend of re search in Japan is "toward an economical utilization of natural resources and a refinement of industrial processes. . .rather than an organized effort to produce original processes or technic through scientific research." Mr. Holland places Japan in the fourth position in the organization of industrial research among the industrial nations of the world.
Chemical Engineering Catalog Available It is the practice of the Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., 419 Fourth Ave., New York, Ν . Υ., to distribute to the various schools and universities copies of the pre\ T ious year's Chemical Engineering Catalog, which are returned to them upon the ap pearance of the current issue. Professors in technical and other departments have found it advantageous to use these catalogs as supplementary textbooks for students in chemical engineering. This year there is a fair number of these catalogs available and it is the company's desire to distribute them as promptly a s possible, t h a t they may be of the maximum use. Those in terested in obtaining copies of the 192G catalog for the purpose indicated will do well to communicate at once with the Chemical Catalog Company.
N'·'-·' Orleans a Growing Industrial Center T h t v ·ν Orleans Association of Commerce has issued a compih .»- ~f new improvements under way or definitely pro posed for Ν Jrleans within the next few years, the estimated cost being more than $2S6,000,000. This does not include many millions now being spent in developing the New Orleans Gulf Coast and additional investments for residential purposes in t h e city. T h e condensed outline tabulates details as to bridges, power utilities, the port of New Orleans, construction in connec tion with drainage, railway terminals, and produce markets, hospitals, banks, a long list of construction work incident t o public works, projects of the state and of the government, a n d details as to a considerable number of industrial plants, including new establishments as well as enlargements. Public and parochial schools, universities, hotels, apartments, and office buildings, together with an extensive miscellaneous list, complete the outline. T h e data are issued as evidence of the growth of New Orleans and its growing importance as an industrial center.
December 1st Issue Twenty-five titles will make up t h e editorial section of In dustrial and Engineering Chemistry for December 1. T w o papers deal with fundamental questions in soldering; another with the conversion of rubber into thermoplastic products. Electrical heating equipment for chemical works is discussed, as is also hydroelectric fuel. The fifth in the series of experi ments in wood preservation is included, as is a study of autoignition temperatures. The results of an investigation on t h e germicidal efficiency of certain sodium salts a t the same hydrogenion concentration are presented, Preparation of pyrrole, protective tubes for thermocouples t o be used in determining heat penetration in processed foods, slowing of bentonite and its control, and the formation of hydrogen sulfide by t h e n a t u r a l reduction of sulfates are other titles. There is a group of three papers on improved apparatus, and a number of brief papers dealing with various determinations, ranging from the microdetermination of carbonate carbon dioxide to the volatility of gasoline and the testing of finished lacquers. The issue concludes with the second set of recommended specifications for analytical reagent chemicals, issued this year by the Society's Committee on Analytical Reagents.
Fusing Caustic Soda with Electric
Heat
The General Electric Company announces the installation of electrically heated pots for the fusion of caustic soda a t t h e plant of the Riordon Pulp Corporation, Temiskaming, Quebec. T h e Riordon Corporation estimates t h a t it saves more than ten thousand dollars annually with the electric process. Each pot is approximately ten feet in inside diameter a n d six feet in depth and holds approximately 2600 imperial gallons. T h e pots are set in brickwork consisting of 4V2 inches of red brick outside, 9 inches of insulating brick, and a 4 1 / 2 -inch fire brick wall inside. T h e heating elements have a connected load of 500 kilowatts a t 550 volts, 3 phase, there being 2 cir cuits of 250 kilowatts each. Automatic temperature control is provided and Leeds & Northrup a n d Brown control pyrom eters are employed. When t h e current is turned on at t h e cold fusing kettles, t h e temperature rises to 1200° F . in 5 t o 6 hours. This tempera ture is maintained in the chamber outside the p o t a n d a t 1200 ° t h e heat is conducted through the p o t to the liquid as fast a s it is generated. This temperature remains a t about 1200° during the first 40 hours of the operating cycle. Liquid is r u n in over a 50-hour period and during this time a total of 75,000 pounds of solution from the evaporators h a s been r u n into t h e p o t a n d 45,000 pounds of water evaporated. At the end of 50 hours the caustic is sufficiently concentrated to permit an increase of temperature and a t the end of a 56-hour period from the start of the cycle the 30,000 pounds of caustic in the p o t reaches a temperature of approximately 800° F . and fuses into a solid state. The heat is then t u r n e d off and the caustic pumped out into steel barrels where i t solidifies. T h e Riordon Pulp Corporation has its own water power plant and figures its electricity a t 0.25 cent per kilowatt hour. Based on a pro duction of 60 pounds of caustic soda per week, requiring 1350 kilowatt hours per ton, the annual cost of electricity for t h e process is $10,400. For the same production using coal a t $7 per ton and labor a t $30 per week, the cost would be $21,200 per year.
Bakélite Corporation The Bakélite Corporation, 247 Park Avenue, New York, Ν . Υ., through its contact with manufacturers, is discovering constantly new and interesting developments in industry which it presents through "Bakélite Information." If you desire prints or cuts of the illustrations in this issue or if you w a n t to communicate with us concerning any of the information published herein, T h e Bakélite Corporation will gladly cooperate in every way possible with anyone desiring to receive "Bakélite Information" or to prepare material from it.
Heavy Current Electrode Holder T h e Lincoln Electric Company of Cleveland, Ohio, h a s perfected a heavy current electric holder for which many improvements are claimed. I t has replaceable copper jaws, four-line contact for t h e electrode, all copper path for welding current, and is made of structural steel providing light weight with good balance. The handle is cool insulated a n d a shield is provided for the operator's hand.
