rerns automotive vehicles, 15 p e r c e n t is devoted io tanks, 9 per cent provides s u n s and ammunition. Marine equipment accounts for 5 per cent a n d machine tools comprise 2 p e r cent. T h e Detroit of 1943 i s far different t h a n the Detroit of the 100th meeting of the AMERICAN
Solvents are recovered i n an ail-glass vacuum still at the plant of Parke, Davis and Co. Acid-resisting enamel lines the valves, still, and receiving chambers.
Detroit Chemists
at ^X^ar ROGER E. M A R C E Neilson Chemical Co., Detroit, Mich.
CHEMICAL S O C I E T Y
in
1940.
Companies that in t l i e past cordially invited visitors and p e r m i t t e d them to meander through their plants, must, because of wartime restrietions, eiose tfieir portals a n d take in the welcome m a t . Companies t h a t formerly would be m o r e than glad t o tell of the remarkable researches a n d progress which "they h a v e been m a k i n g must of necessity ' b u t t o n their lips". Many m o r e have p h o t o graphs of certain proeesses which they would release; but t h e s e pictures m i g h t also b e very interesting; to o u r enemies. Merely "getting inside" of o n e of the plants is now a lengthy routine o f sigrtingin, having a n appointment confirmed, a n d wearing a b i g lapel badge whicii is t u r n e d in upon exit. Never again will Detroit be p o i n t e d to as t h e "Automotive Capitol"- The romantic history of the l a s t generation of power transportation pioneers,, who c o n ceived the gas-buggy, nurtured i t through childhood, a n d matured i t to t h e luxurious conveyance of 1942, h a s merged with the future of three-dimensional transport. T h e production now diverted to gtzns, ammunition, and other war e x p e n d a t l e s must largely revert to cuvilian commodities after the war, but consumer demands will be very different from those of" 1940 sand aircraft will have displaced t h e automobile a s t h e *eiron h o r s e " relegated the stage coach. T h e flux for a fully developed war effort
which is supplying the c o m b a t a n t a n d production armies of t h e United States with every necessity, as well as furnishing; enormous quantities of planes, w e a p o n s , ammunition, and food to our allies, h a s largely come from chemical laboratories. It is t h e chemist's l o t to initiate processes of conversion, synthesis, substitution, a n d control, which has placed chemists i n key positions of t h e all-out w a r effort. Manufacturers have been quick t o place chemists, metallurgists, a n d members o f allied fields in p r o d u c t i o n supervisory positions. Progress records reveal t h a t the chemists were m o r e t h a n a d e q u a t e l y prepared for such s i t u a t i o n s . T h e m e m bers of the profession h a v e had solutions for m o s t of t h e chemical problems which have arisen during conversion or i n creasing production. Chemists w e r e p r e pared so well that n o special schools h a d to b e opened to fit them for w a r work. Before our active participation in the w a r the analytical chemists of the D e t r o i t Section
of
the
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY were organized. A t their meetings this group discussed methods o f analysis, problems of manufacture, a n d other questions which h a v e become pertinent since t h e declaration of war. T h e chemists were assigned t o find substitutes for vital m e t a l s wherever a n d whenever possible, s u b s t i t u t e s which could be manufactured w i t h varying physical properties depending largely u p o n their final use. Must widely used g r o u p o f substitutes h a s been plastics. A n amazing n u m b e r of companies a r e manufacturing these ideal replacements f o r wood, iron, and o t h e r metals. Many concerns have dedicated their research laboratories to t h e endless task of conducting experiments with plastics in furtherance of t h e
Controlling mating of digitalis purpurea (foxglove) is studied on Parke, Davis a n d Cofarms outside of Detroit. M a l e parts of the "mother*' plants are removed as the flowers open, and cellophane caps prevent pollination by a n y other than chosen ''father' plants.
T
HROUGH mechanisms of conversion. synthesis, substitution, and control t h e industries centered in t h e Detroit area h a v e changed the city's pseudonym from ? ' T h e Automotive Capitol" t o " T h e Arsenal of Democracy". A large part of the Yankee ingenuity responsible for these changes has been provided b y chemists. Conversion of industry which had barely started prior t o Pearl Harbor, proceeded so rapidly t h a t production jumped, in about a y ear's time, t o a total output of nearly three times that of the previous year. M a n y industries today a r e doing work in fields in which they h a d no p r e vious experience. I n t h e Detroit area, 49 per cent of the manufactured products are involved in constructing aircraft.- Of t h e remaining 51 per cent, 20 per cent con228
C H E M I C A L
A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
N E W S
Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., manufacturers of synthetic resins, sums, a n d plastics, recently announced production o n a commercial scale of A g r i p o l , a synthetic rubber from soybeans.
war effort and in preparation for the "Plastics Age" which will undoubtedly follow the war. Metallurgists awoke t o find that they were running controls, not on steel but on aluminum or one of the other light metals or alloys. Through the aid of other metallurgists and chemists who had worked w i t h light metals for many years these problems were quickly dispersed. However, i t was only because the steel chemists, through years of experience in analytical work, had learned to cope with the production problems, that the high records of war output were obtained. In addition to relearning familiar procedures applied to unfamiliar materials, a tremendous drive has been responsible for constant improvement in the composition and use of alloys and in methods of fabrication. World W a r II is a glib phrase, totally unequal t o description of the fantastic event. I n the North Africa expedition 700,000 different items were assembled, loaded, and taken 1,500 t o 4,050 sea miles. More remarkable was the orderly unloading into immediate u s e from 500 cargo ships which arrived on schedules within an hour at points designated months previously. Three hundred and fifty naval ships guarded the 500 w i t h burdens. Of the 700,000 items, each i n huge quantities, probably 9 0 per cent were from new "war production" which had made only puny advances prior to Pearl Harbor. It would be a rare item which did not show a chemist's handiwork, either in its substance or its packaging. I n the cargoes the tanks, trucks, planes, a n d thousands of spare parts produced by t h e ex-auto industries wrere accompanied b y buttons, thread, medical supplies, shoe laces, blankets, clothing, printing presses, typewriters, traffic signs, laundries, and delousers. In the seemingly incongruous assortment
not a needed item missing, nor one unneeded. Every American shared in this expedition, by producing or g o i n g without. And chemistry made much of it possible. The paint industry was hard hit by the curtailment of certain raw materials, resins, pigments, vehicles, etc., which came from abroad or were so v i t a l to other phases of the war effort that they were allotted to other industries. For some time chemists h a d been studying synthetic resins and their suitability i n paints. The results showed t h a t synthetic resins could be used with equally good results, and in many cases produced superior products. Substitutes for imported pigments were also being prepared in the laboratory and similar successes are being achieved with these. Manufacturers of solvents had m a n y solvents ready which could be used as substitutes for the vehicles of prewar paints. One of the essential requirements of the armed forces i s that all m e t a l surfaces on all kinds of fighting equipment, from flying fortress t o the shell of a rifle, be properly prepared. T h i s area was in splendid position to supply t h e need for the cleaning of all types of metal surfaces. All kinds of metal cleaning materials were available—acid, alkali, emulsion, and solvent cleaners—each cleaner having its place in the war effort. A rubber tire manufacturing company was well on t h e way to manufacture of puncture-proof gasoline tanks when the war came. When the acute shortage of natural rubber arose, results of studies by the company's chemical research laboratories on methods of working reclaimed rubber were so excellent that what had been earmarked for civilian commodities was diverted to war use. Some chemists who previously had been in charge of rubber research suddenly found themselves in charge of t h e manu-
facture of magnesium. Here was a product far different in chemical and physical properties than that with which they had been accustomed to work. Although there are many hazards in the processing of this metal, there has y e t to be a casualty, notwithstanding there have been several fires in the early stages of production. T h e chemist has been responsible for changes in many industries other than those which produce the lethal materials of war, and has cooperated with technical specialists from every field. Detroit's Gelatin Products Co., which in 1940 was producing over 90 per cent of the elastic capsules used in this country, is now forming millions of special capsules for the armed forces and for the food industry. In addition to literally billions of vitamin and drug capsules for fighters and civilians, this compairy now produces such enclosures as the elastic "egg" of chicken fat enclosed with dehydrated soup ingredients and has provided the substitute package for ointments, such as calomel, which formerly used metallic tubes. T h e transfer of huge numbers of Americans to new climates, hot and cold, has created many problems in the supply of foods and medicines. Hazards of transport over deserts, oceans, and jungles have greatly increased the requirement for emergency rations and stimulated the development of food concentrates. De- ' hydrated foods permit longer intervals of active service for submarines and conserve space on cargo ships and small combat craft. Many drug sources are among the "critical" materials of this war. On a huge farm just outside Detroit, Parke,
Ergot is injected into the breast muscles of this white leghorn rooster to determine potency, indicated by comb discoloration.
forefront. Detroit has long been a leader in t h i s chemical field. Today, one of the largest groups i n the local section is en gaged in research on fuels a n d lubricants. T h e largest single group of Detroit chem ists is involved -in t h e manufacture of pharmaceutical and allied products. Other leading industries of which Detroit m a y boast, where chemists a r e helping to pusL· the assembly lines of t h e "Arsenal of Democracy" are plastics, paper, paint, varnish, a n d protective coatings, rubber, ceramics, salt, a n d metallurgy. Detroit chemists are well aware of the German coined word "ersatz". However, to them "ersatz" does not mean t h e sub stitution o f inferior materials, but rather the production of superior substitutes. Detroit is very conscious t h a t y o u can in a short space of time turn a chemist into a soldier, sailor, or a marine, but n o one as y e t has been a b l e to reverse the reaction.
H o t e l Reservations , Α . C. S. Meeting, Detroit April 12 to 16, 1943 THE following
suggestions
are
- 1 - made made to to those those planning planning to LU not -*attend
t h e A. C . S. meeting in Detroit D o not s e n d reservation request to t h e hotel; it will be forwarded to t h e committee; result—extra work and delay. D o not send duplicate requests to several hotels; it will not gain anything; result—extra work and delay. D o not make a reservation for yourself a n d a fellow chemist without first being certain that the fellow chemist has n o t already made a reservation for 3rou; result—extra work and delay.
il^~tt~>::^^,~r^^
- - - ^ ^ - - ^ ^ τ - ί — ^ ^ T ^ W U ^ ^ ^ ^ V ^ ^ ^ ^ - . " ~ - - ^ - :.^^^·;.·ί; "i
Laboratory of American Brakcblok Division of American Brake Shoe and Foundry Co. Davis and Co., chemists and botanists are developing independent sources of •supply for digitalis, belladonna, and other essential botanicals. T h e farm also main tains stables for hundreds of horses used to produce serums; chicken houses for the white leghorn roosters whose combs turn red after injection of ergot and indi cate its potency; and quarters for thou sands of other animals used to test and standardize other drugs. Despite the more than 50 per cent in crease in membership of the Detroit 230
Section
of
the
AMERICAN*
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY since the 100th convention of that body there in 1940, it is difficult for an employer to find a qualified chemist in this area. This battle for the preserva tion of democracy is an all-out war. It is the scientific application of materials to not only the destruction of the enemy, but the preservation of ourselves in the process. In World War I, chemistry centered around coal and its by-products; World War II has brought the chemistry of petroleum and its by-products to the C H E M I C A L
All members of the committee a r e engaged in war work. Do not g i v e them needless extra burdens. Delays caused by failure to follow printed instructions may lose y o u a room. While your request, sent t o the hotel, is being forwarded to t h e committee, those w h o mailed forms a s directed will b e assigned space. Adequate housing facilities are available for those planning to attend the Detroit meeting but only if You— D o make every effort t o arrange for double occupancy. D o cooperate with t h e Detroit Housing Committer by trans mitting reservation request to the Housing Committee, Arthur Rautenberg, Chairman, 1005 Stroh Bldg., Detroit, Mich., using the form printed on page 77 o f the January 2 5 issue of CHEMICAL NEWS.
AND
ENGINEERING
Please cooperate.
A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
NEWS
