HEW Solves Wheat Contamination Problem Prompt action by representatives of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the U.S. Department of Agriculture averted a panic among midwestern wheat growers that might have topped last fall's cranberry crisis. An announcement by the Kansas City office of the Food and Drug Administration in mid-June that wheat containing a residue of the herbicide 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid) would be subject to seizure touched off a wave of apprehension among wheat fanners. But a joint decision by H E W and USDA officials to set safety tolerances for 2,4-D if residues are found seems to have solved the farmers' problems. In a speech on the Senate floor Sen. Carl T. Curtis (R.-Neb.) said that because of crop conditions this year many wheat farmers will have to spray their crops shortly before harvest to keep the weeds down. And, he said, although manufacturers suggest spraying 2,4-D 50 days before harvest, for a dozen years farmers have been using the herbicide shortly before harvest without apparent harm. No tolerance has ever been set for residues of 2,4-D on wheat although tolerances have been set for residues on some vegetables and fruits. If FDA is right about the danger of 2,4-D residues, Sen. Curtis said, it should have made the announcement in January. Said he, "Why did they do a thing like this on the eve of harvest?" He called for a meeting to clarify the situation. After the meeting, attended by a number of midwestern Senators, H E W and USDA officials agreed that there is little chance that late spraying would leave a residue of 2,4-D on the wheat crop. Although dissipation of the chemical by oxidation and weathering would be less in the case of the late application, this is balanced by a reduction in the possibility of translocation of the material through the plant in the ripening stage. Since the first use of 2,4-D, the department officials said, no residue has been found in wheat. However, the officials said, if residues are found, H E W and USDA will take steps to set a tolerance. Since a limit of 5 p.p.m. has been set for residues on fruits and vegetables, chances are the same tolerance would be set for wheat.
German Atomic Power Station Nears Completion West Germany's new atomic power station in Kahl r Franconia, will be completed this summer. The $9.5 million plant will have a capacity of 15,000 kw. Bulk of the plant was built by West German firms but the reactor and security systems were imported from the U.S. The reactor has a concrete cover 2.5 meters thick.
Users Pay More for Federal Services The Bureau of the Budget's steppedup program, started in 1957, to boost fees for services provided by government agencies to cover actual costs is beginning to show results. In a progress report just released, the Budget Bureau says that in fiscal 1959 federal agencies took 85 administrative actions to bring fees more nearly in line with costs. Government collections for miscellaneous services amounted to $440 million in fiscal 1959, up $28 million from the previous year. Some of this increase is due to increased volume, the Budget Bureau says, but a good part of the increase can be credited to the fee program. Under the new plan the Agriculture Department charges $100 a year for a cottonseed chemist's license; the old fee was $50. The Treasury Department has boosted charges for recording a trade name, trade mark, or copyright from $25 to $75. Tuition at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology has been raised from $1000 a semester to $2000. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has increased by
10% the fees charged for testing antibiotics, testing batches of coal tar colors, and testing drugs containing insulin. Fees for setting tolerances on pesticide chemicals have gone up 200%. And AEC now charges industry $385 to run a personnel investigation on an employee for secret clearance instead of $305; this service once was free. Where the law permits flexibility in setting user charges, government agencies are making "appreciable progress" in raising fees by administrative action, the Budget Bureau says. But where fees are set by law Congress must act to make changes. According to the Budget Bureau there has been little progress in this area. Now before Congress are 10 legislative proposals backed by the Budget Bureau to revise outmoded fee schedules. But, as the Budget Bureau puts it, "No significant user charges legislation has yet been enacted in this session of Congress." And with the drive; for adjournment in full swing there is little chance that Congress will approve these proposals. One item, a proposal to raise patent fees to bring in $3.7 million more revenue each year, has been the subject of hearings but chances are it will never get out of committee. JULY
4, 1 9 6 0
C&EN
23
lar to those produced in the U.S. and Europe. Any differences will be dictated by the needs of living customs and climate.
Estimated Cost Per Latin American Refinery, 1959-70, to Supply Increased Capacity Process
Bbl./Day
$/Bbl.
Total
Crude and auxiliary equipment Catalytic cracking, hydrocracking Catalytic reforming Hydrogen treating Alkylation Polymerization
10,000
$1,000
$10,000,000
13,100 6,500 6,700 1,500
340 300 200
4,510,000 1,950,000 1,340,000 1,800,000 400,000 $20,000,000
400
1,200 1,000
Total Estimates include processing unit plus usual auxili aries.
Latin America's Refining May Be Up 50% by 1970 Demand for refined products may reach 4.3 million barrels daily A fast growing population and an ever increasing number of motor vehicles will keep Latin America's demand for petroleum products increasing at an annual rate of 8.6% for the next decade. That is about twice the U.S. rate. By 1970, the average refinery's basic crude capacity will increase 25 % and the number of refineries will total about 90. compared to 73 now. These are the predictions made by S. W. Curry and W. E. Schnable of Universal Oil Products before the International Congress of Chemical Engineering in Mexico City. They figure that total refining capacity will rise to about 4.3 million barrels a day from the present 2.8 million barrels a day. Leading the rise in demand will be distillate fuels and gasoline, with product quality improving significantly. Octane number, Mr. Schnable says, will hit 92 or 93. Today's average is 86. Behind the growth will be a 40% increase in population (from 190 million to 267 million), an improving standard of living, and a 180% gain in motor vehicles (from 3.4 million to 9.5 million). To supply the expected market, Latin refiners will have to add more capacity to such processing units as catalytic cracking or hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, alkylation, and polymerization—all needed for higher octane fuels. Considering the average refinery, 24
C&EN
JULY
4,
1960
Mr. Schnable said increased capacity will cost each refinery the equivalent of over $20 million over the next nine years. Petrochemicals, too, will share the increase in product demand. Raw material requirements for petrochemicals will be as small as in the U.S., where 1 to 3 % of petroleum and natural gas goes into chemicals. Latin America's petrochemicals will be simi-
AEC to Give License to IWD The Atomic Energy Commission will license Industrial Waste Disposal Corp., Houston, Tex., to receive and store radioactive wastes, but has not decided to allow the company to dump the wastes in the Gulf of Mexico as it had originally proposed. The license, which will be issued in the near future according to AEC, will allow IWD to store up to 10 curies at one time at its Houston, Tex., plant, with a limit of 240 curies over a period of two years. IWD will be able to dispose of the material at either of the commission's underground waste disposal sites in Oak Ridge, Tenn., or Idaho Falls, Idaho. IWD's original application to AEC, in January 1958, requested that it be permitted to dispose of wastes in the Gulf of Mexico in addition to receiving and storing them at its Houston location. It had planned to collect low-
Pennsalt Producing Specialties in Atlanta Pennsalt's B-K cleaners and sanitizers are one of several lines of chemical specialties now being turned out at the company's new 34,000 square-foot blending, warehousing, and distribution center in Atlanta, Ga. The one-story plant will distribute products for the food, dairy, metal processing, laundry, cleaning, refrigeration, and aerosol packaging industries, as well as household products, throughout the Southeast.
level packaged wastes, add further packaging and concrete, and dispose of these concrete packages at depths of 6000 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of a difference of opinion concerning this license, AEC held a public hearing in Houston in January 1959 (C&EN, Dec. 7, 1959, page 39) to hear objections to this plan. The County of Harris (in which Houston is located), the County of Nueces (bordering the Gulf of Mexico), the City of Corpus Christi, and the Sportsmen's Clubs of Texas objected to this plan on the grounds that it might prove harmful to life and property in the area and also harmful to marine life. These protests were overruled at the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing an intermediate decision was issued by the hearing examiner to grant the license to IYVD to receive and store wastes. This decision was subject to the review of AEC. Now that the decision to grant the license has come, the only thing left to decide is whether or not IWD will be allowed to dump radioactive wastes in the Gulf of Mexico. AEC will soon be hearing arguments on this matter.
MCA Asks for Breather In Tariff Cuts A breathing spell in tariff cuts seems warranted now. So says the Manufacturing Chemists' Association in a statement to the government's Committee for Reciprocity Information. CRTs duty is to receive the views of the public on prospective trade agreement negotiations. MCA points to rapidly changing world economic conditions resulting from the resurgence of chemical production in Europe and Japan, the unknown effects of the Common Market, and the growing investment by U.S. chemical firms in overseas plants in stating its argument. Hitting at the issue of labor costs, it also points out that wage rates in the U.S. are 2.5 to nine times greater than those paid in other chemical exporting nations. And it argues that any consideration of tariff cuts should be on a product-by-product basis, rather than on "basket" categories or on an across-the-board basis. It complains about the "basket" categories in the long list of chemicals on which the U.S. may cut duties during the GATT negotiations beginning in Geneva, Switzerland, in September.
C o n s i d e r D u Pont Tetrahydrof u r a n (THF) - a unique reaction solvent that can increase yields and reaction rates, direct new reactions Important producers of chemicals and drugs are finding tetrahydrofuran (THF) the most economical solvent for a wide range of commercial chemical reactions. Grignard Reagents: Preparation of Grignard reagents from aromatic chloro-, vinyl chloro- and vinyl bromo-compounds, impractical or impossible in diethyl ether, is easily accomplished using THF as the solvent. Reduction Reactions: THF promotes high yields in many reduction reactions. For example: L1AIH4 reduction of triphenyl acetic acid to 2,2,2-triphenylethanol is typical of reactions which do not proceed in diethyl ether but go readily in THF with good yields.
Metal Hydrides: THF can be used as a solvent to prepare lithium borohydride, sodium aluminum hydride, diborane and other compounds. Solutions of alkali metal borohydrides in THF provide a good means for reducing organo acids, esters, aldehydes and ketones to alcohol. Investigate THF: Its ether structure . . . its stability... its high solvent power for a wide range of organic materials . . . all make THF outstanding for many types of chemical reactions. Send for additional information on THF. We'll gladly work with you in developing your own application of this solvent. TETRAHYDROFURAN PROPERTIES
Raises Reaction Rates: Because T H F boils 30°C. higher than diethyl ether, it is possible to operate at higher temperatures and therefore speed up reactions without resorting to above-normal pressures. Complexes: THF is a good medium for reactions involving formation of complexes between sodium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as sodium naphthalene. It has also proved useful as a solvent in preparation of fluorohydrins from epoxides and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride.
Appearance Colorless, mobile liquid Odor Etherlike Molecular weight T2.10 Freezing point -108.52°C. Boiling range 65°-67°C. Specific gravity ( 2 0 0 / 4 ° 0 0.88S Weight, Ib./gal. (20°C.) 7.4 Flash point 6°F. (Tag closed cup) V a p o r pressure, mm Hg. a t : 15°C 25°C 35°C 45°C 55°C 65°C
114 17S 263 385 550 760
S u r f a c e t e n s i o n , d y n e s / c m . (25°C.) 26.4· S o l u b i l i t y . . . . Miscible w i t h water, soluble in most organic solvents
For more information, write: DU PONT ELECTROCHEMICALS DEPT. CHLORINE PRODUCTS DIVISION WILMINGTON 9 8 , DELAWARE
RES. M.S. PAT.OFF.
BETTER T H I N G S FOR BETTER
LIVING
THROUGH
Cr/EM/STKV
TETRAHYDROFURAN JULY
4, 1 9 6 0
C&EN
25
Jknnouncing ι? o u r m (br i r o m Acrolein FH
^
Glyceraldehyde
^
D1MERIZATION
Glyceraldehyde is the newest member of the Shell family of "G" derivatives from acrolein which includes glycerol, glutaraldehyde, and glycidaldehyde. Glyceral dehyde, the simplest sugar with one asymmetric carbon atom, provides the functionality and reactivity of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups in one simple molecule. In most of its reactions, glyceraldehyde exhibits expected diol or aldehyde behav ior. It forms the expected carbonyl deriva tives with hydroxylamine and hydrazines; with alcohols and mercaptans it forms acetals and thioacetals; alkalis catalyze its condensation to hexose sugars. Glyceraldehyde reacts through its hydroxyls with acyl chlorides and anhydrides to give esters; it forms dioxolanes with aldehydes and ketones. Glyceraldehyde crystallizes from aqueous solution as a dimer—a cyclic hemiacetal which reverts to monomer in aqueous solu tion. In some instances, its reactions lead to products retaining the basic dimer structure thus providing a source of inter esting 1,4-dioxane derivatives. USES:
Glyceraldehyde, in addition to its use as an
A OH OH CH2-CH-CHO
HO-HC HOCH2-HC
»
N
OH OH I I C H j - C H - C H O + ROH
*
OH OH OR 1 1 / CH2-CH-CH
\
R OH OH I I CH2-CH-CHO + R-CO-R'
7
Vc »
Q
'
OR
R'
S Q
CH2-CH-CHO
ESTERIFICATION OH OH I I C H 2 - C H - C H O + (RCO) 2 0
intermediate, is suggested for the prepa ration of polyesters with good adhesive properties; for condensation with phenols, ureas, and sulfonated aromatic compounds for use as adhesives and rubber tackifiers; and for modification of conventional poly mer types. It has been employed as a gelatin hardener in photographic applica tions and also may be useful as a cellulose modifier or cross-linking agent in the treatment of textiles and paper. The ready combination of glyceraldehyde with pro-
>
O-CO-R I CH 2
O-CO-R I CH CHO
teins indicates a possible use for leather tanning and related applications. AVAILABILITY:
Research quantities of glyceraldehyde (40% aqueous solution) are available. Your let terhead request will bring you technical information and samples you require. Please send your inquiries for literature and samples to: Shell Development Com pany, 4560 Horton Street, Emeryville, California.
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS DIVISION Atlanta · Chicago · Cleveland · Detroit · Houston · Los Angeles · Newark · New York · San Francisco I N CANADA: Chemical Division, Shell Oil Company of Canada, Limited. Montreal · Toronto · Vancouver
C&ΕΝ
o/
ACETALIZATION
SHELL CHEMICAL CCMPANY
26
CH-CH2OH CH-OH
BRIEFS Atomic Energy Commission has offered for sale uranium-contaminated residues located at its Robertson, Mo., storage site. The residues are made up of pitchblende raffinate, Colorado raffinate, barium sulfate cake (unleached), and barium cake (leached).
Fisher Scientific Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., has acquired Industrial Scientific, Inc., Fort Worth, Tex.
Archer-Daniels-Midland has changed the name of its chemical products manufacturing operations to the Industrial Chemicals Division. The division produces fatty acids and glycerides, fatty alcohols, fatty nitrogen compounds, and vegetable fatty acids for a variety of uses.
Miami Copper stockholders have approved company plans to transfer its operating assets to Tennessee Corp. and then liquidate its remaining assets (C&EN, March 14, page 2 5 ) . Tennessee Corp. will pay 151,157 shares of its common stock plus over $3 million in cash for Miami's Arizona copper operations. Tennessee Corp. stockholders also have approved the deal.
Lithium Corp. of America has moved its executive and sales offices from Minneapolis, Minn., to New York, N.Y.
C&EN PROGRESS REPORT
Technical service and production facilities have moved to Bessemer City, N.C., and research and development will be moving there this month.
Britain's plastics industry hit a new sales high of 146,400 tons in 1960's first quarter. This was 33,000 tons (or 29%) higher than sales in the same period of 1959. Highest expansion rate continued in thermoplastics, with total sales running at 92,000 tons (up 3 3 % ) . In volume, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride made the biggest expansion in the thermoplastics group.
Department of Commerce is planning its "Medicine U.S.A." exhibit to be shown at the 19th International Fair at Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Sept. 18 to Oct. 2. It will show progress made by the U.S. in medical technology and will be one of several exhibits coming from both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Atomic Energy Commission has selected Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif., to operate a 50,000 kw. prototype nuclear power plant. General Electric has been chosen by the commission to build the reactor at a site in San Francisquito Canyon, Calif. The two cities, besides providing the site, will operate the facility for at least five years, buy the steam produced by the reactor, and provide the turbogenerator facilities. The nuclear por-
tion of the plant will cost $12.5 million and is scheduled for completion in mid-1963.
General Atomic Europe has been set up with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, to handle projects and products in the field of nuclear energy abroad. It is affiliated with General Atomic Division of General Dynamics Corp.
NEW FACILITIES Chemetron's Cardox Division has put on stream a carbon dioxide plant at Gibbstown, N.J. The plant has a capacity of 150 tons of liquid and solid carbon dioxide per day.
Dow is building a small-scale exploratory inorganic chemical research laboratory in Ygnacio Valley, 30 miles south of San Francisco, Calif. Dow says it may eventually become a 500man research center.
Murgatroyd's Salt & Chemical Co., Ltd., plans to increase chlorine production at its Elworth, Cheshire (England), works by 50%. The jointly-owned subsidiary of Fisons, Ltd., and Distillers Co., Ltd., will spend $4.2 million on the new plant, which is scheduled for completion in the last half of 1961. Continued on page 30
EXPANSION IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Here are companies making news last month, adding to the chemical process industries by . . , PLANNING . . . Company and Site
Allied Chemical Corp. General Chemical Division Baltimore, Md. American Metal Climax, Inc. Pyron Corp. Niagara Falls, N.Y. Collier Carbon & Chemical Corp. Tidewater Oil Co. near Wilmington, Del.
ttemartos
fiant or unit
Soil sterilants
Cost: $300,000
Hydrogen-reduced iron powdi
Will double present capacity of 7.5 million pounds per year
Naphthalene
Capacity: 50 million pounds per year. Construction will start before year's end, should be completed by the end nf 1Q61
Continued on page 28 JULY
4, 1960 C & E N
27
EXPANSION IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. CONTINUED Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Vinyl resins
Hooker Chemical Corp. South Shore, Ky. Humble Oil & Refining Co. Baytown, Tex.
Phenol
Pennsalt Chemicals Corp. Houston, Tex. Shell Chemical Corp. Stauffer Chemical Co. Western States Chemical Corp. Dominguez, Calif. Sinclair Oil Corp. Sinclair Petrochemicals, Inc., Houston, Tex.
Alkyl mercaptans
$1 million expansion will add 20 million pounds per year to plant's total capacity. On stream: early fall Capacity: 60 million pounds per year. Completion set for late 1961 Will up capacity by 20,000 long tons; to be on stream by second quarter of 1961 Cost: $750,000. On stream: early 1961
Solid nitrogen, phosphate, anc potash fertilizers
Jointly owned company, as yet unnamed. Capacity: 50,000 tons per year
o-Xylene
Capacity: 66 million pounds per year. To be completed by mid-1961. Will export all of output through four Japanese companies Cost: $8 million. Capacity: 100 million pounds per year. On stream about the end of 1961
Butyl rubber
Sun Oil Co. Toledo, Ohio
Naphthalene
STARTING CONSTRUCTION . . . Allied Chemical Corp. National Aniline Division Moundsville, W.Va. Chatham-Reading Chemical Corp. Houston Chemical Co. Beaumont, Tex.
I
Isocyanates
I I I
Tetramethyllead, tetraethyllead, and ethylene oxide and its derivatives
Diamond Alkali Co. Belle, W.Va.
I
Chlorinated products
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Richmond, Va. Michigan Chemical Corp. St. Louis, Mich. Monsanto Chemical Co. Anniston, Ala.
I
Nylon fiber
I I I I
Fine chemicals and organic and inorganic intermediates Parathion and methyl parathion insecticides
I
Vinyl plasticizers
Tennessee Products & Chemical Corp. Nashville, Tenn.
Multimillion dollar plant; construction begins immediately and completion set for mid-1961 TEL and TML plant should be completed early in 1962. Ethylene oxide plant due on stream late next year. Cost: $20 million Cost: $500,000 initially, probably double that when expansion program is complete 100 million pounds per year of 840 denier nylon yarn by fall of 1961 Cost: $300,000 Will boost capacity to 18 million pounds per year. Contractor: Catalytic Construction Co. Completion: November Completion set for early 1961. Increases present plant capacity by a third
STARTING PRODUCTION . . . Allied Chemical Corp. General Chemical Division Near Los Angeles, Calif. Delhi-Taylor Oil Corp. Corpus Christi, Tex. Koppers Co., Inc. Oil City, Pa. Mobay Chemical Co. New Martinsville, W.Va. Monsanto Chemical Co. Monsanto, III. Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical Co. Neville Island, Pa. Shell Chemical Corp. Wallingford, Conn.
28
C&EN
JULY
4, 1960
Liquid aluminum sulfate o-Xylene
Capacity: 70 million pounds per year
Alkylated phenols
Dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone
Capacity: about 5 million pounds per year Expansion will double present capacity
Sulfuric acid
Boosts company's capacity by 7 0 %
Polystyrene
Turning out 35 to 40 million pounds per year at plant Shell is leasing from American Cyanamid
Polycarbonate resins
Up-to-date scientific equipment, like this gas chromatography instrument, at Ultra Chemical's P a t e r s o n laboratory, is extremely useful in ferreting out the causes of customers' processing problems, and contributing to their solution.
THESE WITCO MEN WORK
Carbon black compounded in rubber is tested to assist Witco-Continental customers . . . in meeting* their product specifications... in improving' rubber products with specific types and grades of blacks.
FOR YOU They're the men on Witco's technical service staff. And, if you have ever called upon them ? yon know that Witco offers truly customer-oriented service* Our highly-trained technical men a r e on the road and in customers' plants as often as our salesmen. With themf they bring a willingness to work for you and a knowledge of Witco^s products and how best to use them to help solve problems...improve products or processes.
Witco technicians check the cell struct u r e of rigid and flexible f o a m s . . . often a r e able to recommend production techniques or Witco Fomrez Resins® which make c u s t o m e r s ' foams more suitable for specific applications.
WITCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, Inc. 122 East 42nd Street, New York 17, New York Sales Offices in: Chicago · Boston · Akron · Atlanta · Houston • Los Angeles · San Francisco · Toronto and Montreal, Canada London and Manchester, England · Glasgow, Scotland · Rotterdam, Holland · Paris, France
QUALITY AND SERVICE-A ORGANIC CHEMICALS DIVISION
RUBBER CHEMICAL? j DIVISION
WITCO TRADITION
PIONEER PRODUCTS DIVISION
ULTRA CHEMICAL WORKS
FOR 4 0 Y E A R S , SODEN CHEMICALS DIVISION OF WITCO CHEMICAL CO., CANADA, LTD.
COMMENT . . . A good manager today can afford little time with the present and still less with the past. His concern must be for the future growth and success of the business or institution in his charge. He must make decisions every day—decisions affecting the future, and to some degree involving forecasts. We who have responsibility for decisions hope that they are right decisions. But we seldom know. One of our troubles, or should I say blessings, is that the consequences of most decisions remain obscure—and short of going into bankruptcy, toe hardly ever find out hoio bad our decisions sometimes are. We can never have all the facts to cover all contingencies in a forecast. A decision to act or not to act must always be partly rational and partly visceral. There will always be a last step involving personal courage, personal commitment, and personal responsibility. Sometimes we attempt to buttress this last step by consulting a committee. It is sometimes thought that if enough facts are assembled, and varied consideration given, a conclusion will evolve almost by itself. But a decision is more than a procedure or a set of facts or a certain amount of consideration. It is an election requiring individual will. Over the years, managers have not been wanting in courage, but nevertheless they have always felt the need to fortify themselves ivith as much certainty about the future as possible. . . . In modern business, reliance on facts has reached proportions of a virtual explosion of research—in technology, operations, and marketing. Research and development investment is note at the level of $9 billion and may rise to $18 billion over the next 10 years. We can consider this expenditure as investment in management decision-making—to help determine the future environment for a particular course of action, or to indicate the superiority of one course of action over another. Marion Harper, Jr., president and board chairman of McCann-Erickson, Inc., recipient of the 1960 Charles Coolidge Parlin Memorial Lecture Award sponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Marketing Association. 30
C&EN
J U L Y 4, 1960
British American Oil will build a $2.5 million aromatics extraction plant at its Montreal East refinery. Prime product of the plant will be benzene but provisions will be made for future production of xylene and toluene. Construction is set to begin this fall and the plant is scheduled for production before next July.
Buckeye Cellulose's Foley, Fla., plant has boosted chlorine dioxide capacity to 6 tons per day. Contractor for the expansion, which doubled capacity, was Triangle Construction Co.
Turex Plastics, near Nasonville, R.I., has started production of polyethylene film for the packaging of produce, textiles, and other products. The subsidiary of Rexall Drug and Chemical can produce either polyethylene or polypropylene film.
Union Carbide Metals has increased production capacity of electrolytic manganese metal by 207c at its Marietta, Ohio, plant.
Hysol Corp. is expanding its production and laboratory facilities at Olean, N.Y. Hysol produces epoxy resin compounds.
Pittsburgh Plate Glass is adding a new wing to its paint and brush division's research and development center at Springdale, Pa. Crump, Inc., Pittsburgh Pa., will build the wing which will house the paint division's household and consumer finishes laboratory. Completion is set for December 1960.
Universal-Cyclops Steel Corp. has started producing refractory metals at its new InFab fabrication plant (C&EN, Dec. 15, 1958, page 27) at Bridgeville, Pa. The plant will produce mill products of molybdenum, columbium, tantalum, tungsten, and their alloys for hypersonic aircraft and aerospace weapons.
Clinton Chemical Co., Phillipsburg, N.J., has started up a new anhydrous aluminum chloride plant at Sarnia, Ont. The plant, operated by St. Clair
Chemical Ltd., a subsidiary of Clinton, has a capacity of 4 million pounds of anhydrous aluminum chloride per year.
Chemetron Corp's. chemical products division has put on stream a sodium xylenesulfonate and sodium toluenesulfonate manufacturing unit at Newport, Tenn. The products will be marketed as 40% solutions under the trade name of Crestwood Chemicals. Both are used in detergents.
Armco Steel and Air Reduction have put on stream (Airco's) on-site liquid air separation plant at Butler, Pa. The electronically controlled, multimillion dollar plant has a capacity of 120 tons of high purity oxygen per day, plus nitrogen and argon. Armco will use the oxygen in its electric and open hearth furnaces.
Sherwin-Williams is planning a multimillion dollar paint factory and distribution center at Morrow, Ga. The plant will have an annual capacity of about 7 million gallons of paint products.
Armour Industrial Chemical Co. has started construction of a research laboratory and pilot plant at McCook, 111. New organic chemicals and improved processing techniques are the aim of the facility being built by H. F. Campbell Co. of Detroit. Completion is expected by late this fall.
A. E. Staley Mfg. Co., Decatur, 111., has started up a new pilot plant for the development of modified starch products for the paper, textile, and other industries. The pilot plant has a capacity of up to 12,000 pounds daily.
Standard Oil (Ind.) has started up a new vapor recovery unit that will process 18 million cubic feet of refinery gases daily at its Whiting, Ind., refinery. Included are eight main distillation towers and two fuel gas pressure storage vessels. The multimillion dollar unit will replace several older units. Prime contractor was Arthur G. McKee Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
FINANCIAL Spencer Chemical has split its common stock two-for-one by declaring a 100% stock dividend. The dividend was declared in accordance with Spencer's agreement to acquire the assets of Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Co. (C&EN, June 6, page 3 6 ) .
Glidden Co. sales were up 1% from a year ago to $145.9 million for the nine-month period ended May 31, but profits dropped to $4.4 million from $5.2 million last year. Increased profits from Glidden's food division were more than offset by reduced earnings of the paint and chemicals divisions. Bad weather is blamed for poorer paint business. Profits of the chemicals division were affected by start-up expenses of a new synthetic menthol plant and titanium dioxide ore processing facilities . and by costs of developing a new ilmenite ore property in New Jersey, the company says.
RELIABLE ANALYTICAL BALANCE m. m m
long time favorite HERE'S W H Y . . . Stable: Steady even in poor locations. Versatile: No zero drift from temperature or air density changes. Permits taring, overloading, and counterpoising to eliminate air buoyancy effects. Proved Value: Economical, long life. Fairly fast, particularly for small changes in weight.
Eagle-Picher's net sales for the half year ended May 31 hit an all-time high of $62.3 million, up 3 % from 1959's first half. Profits of $3.0 million (including $900,000 of nonrecurring earnings) compare with $2.4 million a year ago.
All Mechanical: Explosion-proof. No electricity. No optical adjustments. Null Reading: Chainweight used to restore beam to balanced position so sensitivity variations negligible. Beam arm ratio under 10 ppm., also ordinarily negligible.
Kimberly-Clark's earnings for the year ended April 30 totaled $31.3 million, topping fiscal 1959's earnings by 19%. Sales were up nearly 10% to $403.8 million.
Trouble Free; Cleaning is only service usually required for first 5 to 10 years. Available: From your favorite laboratory supply house. Call them.
Carter Products' sales and net earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31 totaled $58.9 million and $8.9 million respectively, equal to $3.44 per share. In the previous year sales were $48.1 million and net earnings $7.0 million, equal to $2.72 per share.
American-Marietta reports sales for the six months ended May 31 increased 13% over a year ago to $160.9 million. Net income, however, dropped 2% to $9.2 million. The company blames poor construction weather during the past spring for lower earnings.
Other fine Ainsworth
balances: MICRO
ONE PAN TWO-PAN
RECORDING
CHAINWEIGHT
VACUUM
KEYBOARD
PELLET
Made in U.S.A. by
WMI. AINSWORTH &-S>ONI$, INC. 2151 LAWRENCE
STREET
·
DENVER
5 , COLORADO
JULY
4, 1 9 6 0
C&EN
31
