August, 1924
I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(IO) Carbonization of New Brunswick coals (11) Constitution of caoutchouc (12) Food relation of certain minute organisms (Enlomoslraca) in the cultivation of fresh-water fish (13) Conservation of the sturgeon in Canadian waters (14) Researches on ultra sonics (15) Investigation into certain types of X-ray action (16) Researches in color vision (17) [nvestigation of the inheritance of sugar and starch in the endosperm of different varieties of Indian corn (18) Intensity measurements in spectra
Detailed reviews of the activities of the Council throughout the year and of its many associate committees, as well as a list of fellowships, studentships, and bursaries granted and researches assisted, are all given in the annual report of the Research Council. FOOD A N D DRUGS ACT REGULATIONS The marketing of foods and drugs in Canada is regulated by the Dominion Government, and the Department of Health has just issued a booklet in which the regulations made by that department, approved by Order-in-council, have been consolidated. A separate section is devoted to each of the following subjects: labeling, general instructions to food inspectors, exemption from misbrariding, tariff of fees for analysis, a list of the inspection districts, a long list of approved food standards and prescribed methods for making certain analyses referred to in the regulations. Under food standards there are nineteen subdivisions, each dealing with a particular food product. New regulations have been approved covering canned fruits and vegetables, the use of dyes and colors in food products, and the composition of products sold as mustard and cayenne pepper. A prescribed method is laid down for the determination of moisture in evaporated apples. The regulations on canned fruits and vegetables require that the product canned shall have been clean, sound, and properly matured, and that the container must be truthfully labeled. The use of copper sulfate for coloring peas is prohibited. The list of permitted food colors (the presence of which must be declared on the label except in certain prescribed instances) includes caramel, cochineal, saffron, chlorophyll, and innocuous vegetable color extractives. Certain coal-tar dyes when certificated by acceptable authorities may be used in quantities not to exceed 2 grains per pound (1 part in 3500). The names of these dyes with their Schultz and Julius number, are as follows: Red shades: 107 amaranth; 56 Ponceau 3R; 517 erythrosin Green shades: 435 light green SF Yellow shades: 4 naphthol yellow S ; 94 tartrazine; 11 Sudan 1; 16 butter yellow; yellow AB (benzeneazo-,%naphthylamine); yellow O B (o-tolueneazo-&naphthylamine) Blue shades: 692 indigo carmine bisulfonic acid Yellowish orange shades: 85 orange 1
These and no others may be used. The use of copper or copper compounds in coloring fruit or vegetable products is prohibited. The addition of any coloring matter is prohibited in or upon meat or meat products. The addition of caramel or other brown or amber coloring matter to spirit vinegar or any blended vinegar containing spirit vinegar is considered a contravention of the Food and Drugs Act. Preservatives are divided into three classes. Those shown in Class I may be used as required except in milk and infants’ or invalids’ foods. Class I1 preservatives may be used in certain instances, but the presence of the preservative must be declared on the main label and the limits prescribed in the act must not be exceeded. Foods intended for export may contain preservatives, provided that, both in specific character and in amount, such preservatives do not conflict with regulations in force in the country to which export is made. Class I11 includes preservative substances the use of which in food products is prohibited. Formaldehyde, 0-naphthol, abrastol, and fluorine compounds are named. Saccharin may only be used in medicinal foods. These Food and Drugs Act regulations apply to imported products as well as to those of domestic manufacture. CANADIAN CITEMISTS CONVENTION About two hundred chemists representing the industrial and academic chemical life of every Canadian province, with some representatives from industries in the United States, gathered in May a t Kingston, Ontario, for the Seventh Annual Convention of Canadian Chemists. The program was of a very high order, and the papers were discussed with more than usual interest. These papers dealt with a wide range of subjects, including a review of Canada’s chemical trade; a study of Canadian resources in natural gas, and of the utilization of its by-products; the cor-
869
rosion of containers by canned foods; the chemistry of some butter defects; the manufacture of hydrogen peroxide; the manufacture and application of some nitrocellulose lacquers and enamels; a resum6 of nitrogen fixation processes; the removal of carbon disulfide from coal gas by means of oil washing; Rosanoff’s classification of the monosaccharides ; the chemical examination of some rare Canadian minerals; and a review of the salt and sodium sulfate resources of western Canadian provinces. There was also a public lecture on the place of chemistry in the development of some Canadian industries. Industrial excursions and a boat trip through the Thousand Islands were also enjoyable features. June 24, 1924
German Letter By Walter Roth C ~ T H R NGERMANY ,
CHEMICAL “CONTINUATION” COURSES It has been suggested in Chemiker Zeifung that, in view of the great changes in theory and practice which have taken place in the past few years, chemical “continuation” courses be established. Such courses would give chemists in factories and research laboratories, as well as professors, an actual survey of the present condition of the various branches of industry and in their own special field. Other professions have already introduced courses of this kind with success, but they have not yet been tried by chemists to any great extent. The various societies that meet for discussion from time to time have quite a different object from these courses, which are intended to be for real instruction. DISCOVERERS O F GERMANIN HONORED The meeting of the Verein Deutscher Chemiker recently held in Rostock honored the chemists, Bernhard Heymann, Oskar Dressel, and August Kothe, of Friedrich Bayer & Company, who after laborious work for a year have discovered the remedy “Bayer 205,” which is to be introduced into general therapy under the name “Germanin.” The discoverers were awarded the Adolf $ayer Medal by the chairman of the society. INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY AND PATENT LITERATURE Dr. Sulfrian recommends the study of patent literature as an important item in the training of the chemist. He shows how it is possible, from a study of the patents granted for a certain process, to get a very vivid picture of the industry built up from the patent. He suggests that lectures on industrial chemistry begin with a very brief outline of patent law, and follow with a study of the patent literature on the processes. “HYDROTORF” The cheap production of fuel from peat is a problem of great importance to Germany, which has extensive peat bogs. In the last six or seven years the so-called “Hydrotorf” process has been developed by the Russian engineers, Klasson and Kirpitschnikow, and since i t has also been introduced into Denmark and Finland, i t has recently been tried out by a German company in the Schwaneburg peat bog in Oldenburg. By this process, a complete decomposition of the bog is accomplished by means of powerful streams of water, and by a good centralization of the operation and the use of automatic machines a hard peat which does not crumble is obtained. The peat is worked in so-called “mashers” to a homogeneous, amorphous mass, and the more vigorous the mashing the better the peat. The pulpy mass of peat is easily worked updn chemically, and the peat coagulated by chemical means is dehydrated mechanically to a water content of 60 to 65 per cent. Finally, the peat cakes are torn apart in wolves and dried. The peat in powdered form is then ready to burn under boilers. LIGHTALLOYSFOR AIRSHIPS The principal subject a t the last meeting of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, in Hannover, was airships. Dr. Schultz pointed out the importance of light metals and alloys for the building of airships. The chief metal is, of course, aluminium, besides which magnesium and, as a nonmetallic material, wood come into consideration. Schultz described the properties of pure aluminium, aluminium alloys such as Duralumin, Aludur, Skleron, Lautal, Silumin, Elektrometall, and especially the advantages of Duralumin, which through heat treatment has a resistance to stress and strain which is not less than that of ingot iron.
I N D U S T R I A L AiL'D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
870
POISONING FROM CAXNED FOOD Dr. Zellner, of Berlin, tells of a case of this kind, which affected from thirty to forty persons one or two hours after eeting. He traces the poisoning to the fact that the cans contained arsenic, and suggests that tin cans used for the preservation or transportation of food be made only from very pure tin with a minimum arsenic content. On the other hand, it is pointed out that, even when free from arsenic, by the action of acetic or other organic acids, tin hydride can be formed on the iron exposed on the rusty places on the tin plate, and this, in turn, forming other tin compounds, can be the cause of the poisoning. June 25, 1924
Italian Letter
Vol. 16, No. 8
during the war, showed after the war a significant decline. It is possible for the domestic benzene production to produce 50,000 to 60,000 quintals yearly. This production will be not only sufficient for the domestic intermediate indusfkies but will also make a large amount of benzene available for motor fuel purposes.
THEBERGIUSPROCESS IN ITALY The Italian Government is giving special attention to the Bergius patents for liquefying coals and transforming heavy oils and tars into light oils, for which purpose there is at Heidelberg a n industrial plant capable of handling 100,000 tons a year. The Minister of National Economy sent samples of national tars and lignites to Professor Bergius for some hydrogenation tests. Professors Villavecchia and Levi were appointed to conduct these experiments. The results, based on a metric ton of treated material, are as follows:
By Carlo Padovani GTUGNO. ITALY NOTE.-In view of the rapid strides in the chemical industry which Italy has made in the past few years, we will from time t o time include a n Italian letter in this department. A brief summary of this progress is given in the first letter in order t o bring our readers up to date concerning t h e chemical situation in t h a t country. EDITOR'S
CHEMICAL PROGRESS IN ITALY FOR THE LAST TENYEARS The industrial chemical production in Italy in the last ten years shows a gradual increase. I n 1914 about 500,000 tons of sulfuric acid were manufactured in Italy; in 1923 the production was more than 700,000 tons. I n 1914 not 1 quintal of sodium carbonate was produced; in 1923 more than 50,000 tons of that fundamental commodity were distributed for domestic consumption. Ten years ago there were produced in Italy scarcely 8000 tons of caustic soda; today more than 18,000 tons of electrolytic caustic soda are produced, with the corresponding amount of chlorine and hydrogen, to which are to be added more than 10,000 tons from the carbonate. I n 1914 not 1 kilogram of synthetic ammonia was produced in Italy; now more than 100 tons of atmospheric nitrogen are fixed by the Italian Casale and Fauser processes, and several large plants are in preparation. According to the various plans, the Italian production of ammonium sulfate and nitrate from atmospheric nitrogen in the first half of 1925 will be up to 20,000 tons. The production of copper sulfate from 1913 to 1915 showed a deficit of near 22,000 tons; now, not only is the deficit largely covered, but domestic producers have begun to export. I n 1914 the Italian chemical industry produced no artificial dyestuffs or coal-tar dyes; in 1923 there were produced in Italy 2,400,000 kg. of sulfur black, calculated a t the standard concentration adopted by the German I. G. I n the same period there were produced 1,000,000 kg. of azo dyes, and more than 100,000 kg. of various basic and acid dyes, while domestic consumption of aniline and aniline salt is largely supplied from national production. About six-tenths of the national requirement of coal-tar dyes is now produced in Italy; and our establishments are also able to export some of the leading intermediates to France, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, etc. The artificial silk industry shows a remarkable increase. While in 1914 this industry produced nearly 800,000 kg. of artificial silk valued a t 10,000,000 lire, in 1923 our exports reached 2,726,000 kg. with a value of 160,000,000 lire, and in 1925 the national industry will be able to produce 8,000,000 kg., with a value of about 1,500,000,000lire. Summing up, ten years ago the Italian chemical industry had a capital of about $40,000,000; in 1922 this had increased to about $86,000,000, I n 1914 there were 456 Italian chemical works; in 1922, 822. The workmen employed in chemical industry were 50,000 in 1914; now there are more than 100,000. RECOVERY OF BEXZENE FROM ILLUMINATING GAS On the proposal of the Bureau of n'ational Economy, a recent ordinance of the Italian Government states that gas works producing more than a million cubic meters annually must recover from illuminating gas no less than 15 grams per cubic meter of light oils suitable for toluene and benzene production. Gas works, coke ovens, and t a r distilleries are forbidden to sell t a r before recovering and separating the light oils distilling below 170" C. The Italian benzene production, which reached 25,000 quintals
Gasoline Ke.
.. . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. . .. . ... .
Galicia petroleum residues, .. Peat t a r from gas producer plant a t Torre del Lago.. , . , , Valdarno while lignite.. . . . , Valrlarno brown lignite.. . , . .
Diesel Oil Fuel Oil
-
KE.
340
201
210 80 140
335
..
..
Ke. 326
288 280 220
Total Ke.
867 886 360 360
June 26, 1924
Paris Letter By Charles Lormand 4 AVENUEDE L'OBSERVATOIRE. P A R I S . FRANCE
FIFTHINTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS OF
CHEMISTRY
At the Fifth International Congress of Chemistry, which has just been held in Copenhagen, the following important resolutions of the various committees were adopted? The Committee on Inorganic Chemistry has regulated the symbols for columbium (niobium) and of beryllium (glucinum). The Committee on Organic Chemistry has defined the nomenclature of a saturated hydrocarbon. The Committee on Biological Chemistry has established the classification of glucides. The glucides are divided into glucoses and into another group. The glucoses are the nonhydrolyzable reducing glucides. The other group is composed of glucides giving on complete hydrolysis one or more glucoses (accompanied or not by other substances). The name by which this other group is to be designated (glucosides or a new term) will be adopted a t the next congress. The ending ine shall no longer be used except for the intermediate principles of basic nitrogen, with option, according to the country, of using the form in or m e . The names of glucosides shall be terminated by the ending oside, instead of ine as heretofore. The names given to the lipides shall have the ending i d e instead of ine. The nomenclature of the proteins and diastases or enzymes will be reported on next year. The Committee on Pure Products for. Research has decided to express the content of an impurity in milligrams per 100 grams of product, with the contingent utilization of negative exponents to designate powers of 10 by which the number oi milligrams should be multiplied for cases of very weak content. The Committee on Bibliographic Bureau of Raw Materials and Industrial Products has appointed a committee of three, Mil. Jean Gkrard, Donker Duyvis, and C. J. n'cst, to study the problems of thc bureau relating to chemistry and to be the means of realizing, b y one or more international conventions, a complete organization of this bureau. Thc Committee on Scientific and Industrial Ownershi11 has asked 1 ' that the diiferent Go\-cmments grant to authors of scientific t1il;coveries a right to receive profit on applications of thcir work; ' 2 , that the L-nion request the International Research Council to dcsignatc ior each country scholars and inventors to be added to the special jurists of industrial property, to iorm consulting committees which, under the protection oi the League of Satlons, will establish the new rights of scientist and inventor, and which will draw up the plan cif international agreement; (3: that organizations, preferably international, be formed to secure for scientists thc remunera1 A general report of the meeting of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry will be found on page 867 of this issue.
