CHEMICALS
S A THIEF
Chromyl ChIoride / Unique Chemical Mutual Chemical says chromyl chloride, once a laboratory curiosity, has many interesting possibilities A METHOD whereby chromyl chloride ·** can b e produced in pilot plant quantities and at reasonable cost has been developed by Mutual Chemical, division of Allied Chemical & Dye. The chromyl chloride offered contains over 98% C r 0 2 C l 2 ; small amounts of chlorine and S 0 3 are the principal impurities. T h e chemical is shipped in 85and 200-lb. lots, or in sample 400-gram lots, from Mutual's Baltimore plant. Mutual says chromyl chloride has physical and chemical properties suggesting many interesting uses. It is a mobile r e d liquid nearly twice as heavy as water; it boils at about 116° C. without decomposition. At ordinary temperatures its vapor pressure is nearly t h e same as that of water. It is a nonpolar compound, miscible in all proportions with carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethane, carbon disulfide, and similar solvents. It has a low conductivity and dielectric constant. Compound, in the degree of purity offered by Mutual, is stable indefinitely when protected from light and moisture. Chemically, chromyl chloride acts as an oxidizing and chlorinating agent; its miscibility with organic systems promotes rapid reaction. It has proved a valuable reagent for converting methyl groups attached to an aromatic nucleus
to aldehyde groups. In reactions with aliphatic hydrocarbons it yields chlorinated ketones. These oxidations and chlorinations can b e moderated by inert diluents such as carbon tetrachloride. T h e compound's volatility also suggests its use in vapor pluase oxidations w h e r e carbon dioxide or nitrogen is the inert carrier. Mutual says that the use of chromyl chloride for difficult oxidations has resulted in improved yields and predicts its future usefulness to the manufacturer of fine organic chemicals. Although its properties as an acid chloride have not been thoroughly investigated, it hydrolyzes readily to chromic acid a n d hydrogen chloride which break down further to chlorine and chromic chloride. Its use in producing organic chromâtes with oxidation-resistant organic molecules is another interesting possibility. Chromyl chloride is a convenient starting point for preparation of chromium ( I I I ) complexes because of its compatibility with organic solvents. Chromic chloride complexes with stearic, methacrylic, and fruoro-fatty acids have unique water-proofing and oil-repelling properties. Chromyl chloride can also be used to produce a group of chromiurn-metalhzed dyes and chelate derivatives such as chromic acetylacetonate.
Chromyl chloride has already been shipped in these 200- or 85-lb. stainless steel drums without diflSculty. It may be stored in plain or stainless steel with negligible corrosion
KILL Vw &/$ DOW œRRIIRIS ΑΗΎΐΨΦΑΜ
ΑΨ
EMULSION Now you're trie boss! Foasn no longer dictates productive capacity, output o r processing times a s witness these ex amples: • strawberry concentrate cooling time reduced : 2 5 % . β dairy saves 300-400 gallons of skimmed milk daily. • yield on textile vat dyes
doubled. •
vacuum concentration increased 60°/.
capacity
Effective a t remarkably low concen trations against the wides-1- variety o f foamers, Dow Corning ^Antifoam A and the more easily dispersed Antifoam AF Emulsion are physiologically harmless; pay for thems-elves many times over because they · eliminate the waste and fire hazard o f fco#7-overs • reduce processing times · save the space previously washed on foam in process equipment
s e e ffEr ^ W H i ® * s e ! i [ J mail
coupon
TODAY
for
bow SCCSHIRC·
ISIUÇONÊS ·
Dow C o r n i n g Corporation /Aidlarsd, Mich., Dept. 2802A I Please send me data and a f r e e sample of I Q Dow Corning AnHfoam A or • Dow Corning Antifoams AF Emulsion
COMPANYADDRESS• CITT
VOLUME
3 3, N O .
7
·
·
FEBRUARY
I 4,
I 9 55
ZONE—
trzrj 655
•CHEMICALS. In addition to its miscibility with or g a n i c solvents, chromyl chloride dis solves chromic anhydride ( C r 0 3 ) in substantial amounts. These solutions ;are very vigorous oxidizing agents, «causing ignition of hydrocarbons, par ticularly those containing olefins, al cohols, ammonia, a n d amines.
I n spite of its reactivity, chromyl chloride presents n o storage or handling difficulties. T h e purified product is generally inert t o metals a n d has been shipped from coast to coast i n stainless steel drums a n d stored for periods of over a year. CS 1
Versatile Vinyls Take Up Art Vinyl a r t medium produces paintings similar in a p pearance to oils but with some superior qualities •XJYSYL plastics are n o w t h e basis for
to this fine 'catch'
of mom
ΒΦΜ&Ν COMPOUNDS In a l l t h e w i d e f i e l d of B o r o n c h e m i s t r y tfciere a r e n ' t m a n y known c o m p o u n d s that we're not working on. I t naturally follows that (1) T r o n a research is in the forefront of B o r o n development, and (2) through o u r long experi ence with Boron compounds we might have t h e answer t o o n e of y o u r o w n specific p r o b l e m s in m a n u f a c t u r i n g e c o n o m i e s or product uniformity. That is why we suggest y o u ask Trona's Boron e x p e r t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n your earliest e x p l o r a t o r y discussions. write to: Safes Development
Department
American Potash & Chemical Corporation •
303O WEST SIXTH STREET
LOS ANGELES 54, CALIFORNIA • 9? PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK 16, NEW YORK
656
* a new art m e d i u m which gives paintings similar in a p p e a r a n c e to those done in oils, b u t said to b e superior in some respects. Just unveiled by Good rich Chemical, t h e n e w material, named "Vasco," was used for 32 can vases now on display at trie W o o d stock, Ν. Υ., art colony. The vinyl art paints are t h e result of a year's experimentation b y chemical engineer Ralph Koester a n d artist Albert J a c q u e z . Koester, technical representative for Goodrich i n the N e w York-New E n g l a n d area, says Vasco remains workable even w h e n exposed on the palette for weeks at a time. A mixture of Geon vinyl resin, plasticizer, and pigment, t h e p a i n t can b e fused on the canvas b y a temperature of 350 de grees for t w o to five minutes. W o o d stock artists have found that t h e kitchen oven, heat lamps, or a n electric iron applied to the b a c k of t h e canvas will do t h e trick. T h e brief drying time is said to b e a great advantage, since oil paintings sometimes take more than a d a y to dry. T h e n e w medium thus makes it possible to build up areas of a painting in bas-relief b y heating t h e area until the pigments fuse, and then applying another layer of paint. This can b e done a s m a n y times as desired. Either conventional brush or palette knife may b e used w i t h t h e n e w m a t e rial. T h e vinyl-based color must b e mixed on a metal or glass palette, how ever, and applied t o a nonabsorbent surface. Otherwise t h e plasticizer will b e selectively absorbed a n d the plas tic will n o t set. Goodrich also supplies vinyl-coated canvas a s a base for p a i n t ings. When properly fused a n d bonded t o t h e base, t h e thermoplastic paints form a tough film which c a n b e w a s h e d with soap a n d water a n d which resists weathering, according t o Koester. Canvases done in t h e n e w m e d i u m a r e not damaged by folding a n d crumpling
and are reported to b e easy to h a n d l e in shipment a n d storage. P r i c e d to compete w i t h oils, the vinyl paints will b e distributed through lead ing art s u p p l y stores. CS 2
Carbide Offers 10th Member Of Polyethylene Glycol Series Carbowax polyethylene glycol 2 0 M with an estimated molecular weight of 15,000 t o 20,000 is offered b y Carbide & C a r b o n Chemicals in carload q u a n t i ties. P r o d u c t is a water-soluble, w h i t e solid w i t h t h e binding, suspending, a n d lubricating properties typical of t h e polyethylene glycol compounds. Both melt viscosity a n d aqueous solution viscosity of Carbowax 20M are con siderably higher than those of C a r b o wax polyethylene glycol 6000, a n d c o m p a n y says films formed with 2 0 M are stronger a n d harder than those formed with other solid polyethylene glycols. Suggested uses for 2 0 M are i n colored pigment suspensions, aqueous based inks, a n d other preparations where m i l d thickening action combined w i t h suspending power is desired. I t is also of interest as a water-soluble binder i n paper a n d textile starch sizes a n d as a b i n d e r for ceramics, carbon p r o d u c t s , a n d synthetic detergent cakes. CS 3
l· Agricultural p e s t i c i d e , Vapam, of fered b y Stauffer Chemical, consists of sodium N-methyl dithiocarbamate. Field t e s t e d during t h e past two years, V a p a m is said t o control practically all types o f soil-borne diseases, nematodes, g r o w i n g weeds a n d weed seeds, as w e l l as certain species of soil infecting i n sects a n d related pests. CS 4· • Two a l k y Ian i lines, offered i n pilot plant quantities, h a v e b e e n added t o Monsanto Chemical's group of nitro g e n petrochemicals. N e w c o m p o u n d s
CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
