CANADIAN by S. J. Cook
CHEMISTRY
join with t h e trans-Canada line that goes east to Duluth, Minn.
A l b e r t a Sands Yield O i l a t Last A method developed b y Gordon R. Coulson of Calgary has been tried out by the Can-Amera Co. for extracting oil from the rich tar sands of Alberta. T h e company says the method has solved the long-standing riddle: " H o w can the oil from this potentially great oil field be extracted economically?" T h e process calls for adding light oil to the sands and applying centrifugal force a n d pressure to the diluted body of oil, sand, a n d water so as to cause t h e oil to free itself from t h e solids and the water. First 40,000 p o u n d s of sand w e r e shipped to Poughkeepsie, Ν . Υ., w h e r e a plant for t h e extraction process was built and tested. T h e plant was moved to Bitumount, in northern Alberta, a n d has begun operation there. If it con tinues to be successful, the way will b e opened to immense resources. Can-Amera plans call for the build ing of a $ 3 5 million to $50 million p l a n t that would include mining e q u i p m e n t , separators, a n d a 10 3 / 4 -inch pipeline to E d m o n t o n , where it would
TEL and Sodium Ethyl Corp. is planning construction of a $10 million plant for t h e first pro duction of tetraethyllead in Canada at Sarnia, Ont. Present imports of TEL,, chiefly from U. S., run about 18 mil lion pounds annually, a t a cost of $11 million. R a w material, pig lead, will b e purchased from domestic producers. Announcement of t h e Ethyl Corp. almost coincided with publication [Can. Chem. Processing, 38, 56 (1955)] by C. R. Graham of m a r k e t research studies on t h e possibility of producing metallic sodium and derivatives in Canada. H e said " T h e sine qua non of sodium production in Canada is the initiation of T E L production here." H e estimates that by 1957 such a plant might be producing 30 million pounds per year and using 7.5 million pounds of sodium. Sodium requirements for t h e present Canadian sodium cyanide market are estimated at about 3.3 million pounds and for sodium peroxide at 320,000 p o u n d s . Encouraging is t h e growing
importance of sodium peroxide as a bleaching agent for wood pulp, its only competitor in this field being the h i g h e r p r i c e d hydrogen peroxide. Graham anticipates that the Canadian s o d i u m peroxide m a r k e t will expand t o s o m e 7 million p o u n d s annually by 1960. Polymer C o r p . Plans Expansion Polymer Corp. is planning $6 million worth of improvements in plant a n d equipment this year. Last year first shipments were made b y Polymer of synthetic latex in bulk to E u r o p e a n customers. Sales h a v e doubled since 1946 to more t h a n $50 million annually a n d net profit now approximates 109fc of sales. Sale of U. S. government-owned synthetic r u b b e r plants to private i n dustry is unlikely to lead to similar a c tion in C a n a d a . T h e Polymer C o r p . p l a n t in Sarnia operates as a C r o w n company b u t with a financial set-ixp like that of a private company. It p a y s all ordinary taxes a n d depreciation is charged against earnings at rates c o m p a r a b l e to those allowed in private i n dustry.
• Alaska Pine & Cellulose, Ltd., will enlarge a n d improve its plant at P o r t Alice, B. C , t o the t u n e of about $ 8 million. Company has also set up a n e w silvichemical manufacturing u n i t to produce a new chemical bark ex tract, Rayflo (product of p a r e n t com pany, Rayonier), n o w in demand in t h e oil-drilling industry. Unit will b e t h e first of its kind in Canada.
m.€ËC£/te. POLYETHYLENE WARE 65mm Funnel, 6 0 ° Angle EXCLUSIVE FILTER STEP DESIGN Results in increased speed and completeness of filtration. Price e a . — 4 5 * ; 1 2 — 4 0 * e a . ; 36—36* ea.; 72—32* ea.
• P r o p a n e g a s p i p e l i n e will b e biiilt from Tioga, N . D., through Saskatch e w a n and Manitoba towns by Winni p e g and Central Gas Co. at a n esti m a t e d cost of $20 million. Enough p r o p a n e will b e transported t h r o u g h t h e Une t o supply 10,000 homes in Winnipeg. • I n t e r n a t i o n a l Nickel Co. of C a n a d a Cat. No. 2830
COASTER for 5 0 0 ML Reagent Bottle 1 " Rim for Firm Holding. Inert a n d Unbreakable. Price e a . - 6 5 * ; 12—600 e a . ; 36—50* ea.; 72—35* ea. FOR POLYETHYLENE FOLDERS— WRITE ÙEPV
PW-Β
ACE G L A S S INCORPORATE» VINELAND
φ
NEW
JERSEY
LOUISVtUfc KY„ 639-41 SOUTH HANCOCK ST.
972
h a s launched a n exploration project in t h e Mystery Lake area of northern Manitoba. • Base M e t a l s M i n i n g Corp., Ltd., a
Canadian corporation which controls exclusive oil a n d gas exploration license to t h e island of Jamaica in t h e Carib b e a n and land within its territorial waters, is about to begin drilling for oil a n d / o r gas there. According t o a company spokesman, recent major dis coveries of oil in C u b a , just 7 5 miles away, strongly emphasize possibility of obtaining oil in Jamaica, where geo logical formation is strikingly similar. CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
