A
T T H E time the Division of Industrial Chemists and Chemical Engineers was formed, chemical indust,rywas small and limited to a few basic materials of construction. Metals included cast iron, steel, a few alloy steels, nickel, copper, bronze, aluminum, tin, lead, zinc, and electroplated metals; nonmetals were wood, stone, concret,e, ceramic ware, enamel, rubber, mastics, graphite, and oleoresinous coatings. The intervening period, just short of a half-century, has witnessed tremendous growth, with improvements in the quality and fabrication of many of these materials, and with the introduction of new materials. Chemical science has had much t o offer rnet#allurgy,and the early activities of the division bear evidence of this. Ore sampling, analysis of ores and metals, furnaces, electrochemistry, cyanidation, structure of metals, inclusions, new alloys, corrosion of iron, steel, and other metals, and development, of new corrosionresistant metals were the subjects of papers before the Society. Duriron and Monel were receiving attention. Contributions appeared on aluminum and calcium, cerium, tungsten, radium, plating with cobalt, t’ant’alum,thorium, and vanadicm. There were two symposia in 1917: on the chemistry and metallurgy of zinc and on the formation of metal. I n 1919, there was one on refractories; 1922, 1923, and 1925 were heavily devoted to corrosion, and there were symposia on this subject and on materials of construct’ion. The monographs on LLCorrosion Tests and Materials of Construction” ( I ) and the “Chemical Resistance of Engineering Materials” ( g ) appeared in 1923. Shortly thereafter appeared a second and revised edition of “Chemistry of Engineering Materials” ( 4 ) , which first appeared in 1917. The demands of the war had great,lyextended knowledge as America built a chemical industry needing new mat’erials. This was a period when the physical chemistry approach was replacing classical metallurgy, and when new metals and alloys were being developed by nonclassical methods. The influence of the nen-er metallurgy began t o be felt in metal societies, while electrochemistry under the continuing faithful service of Fink and others created its own field. By the early twenties, these transitions began to be felt, and t,he interests of the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry became more limited in scope. This had been a period of developing the important scientific factors. In this period, which lasted t o World War 11, stainless steels, hard surfacing alloys, and some high temperature alloys ‘iyere among the developments. The nonmetallic materials were under rapid development from the period between wars. Engineering research under Duff Abrams, and chemical developments under R. H. Bogue improved the manufacture and utilization of cement,. Bsbestoscement products began t o find t,heir place as sheet and piping. Increasingly larger sizes of borosilicate chemical glass became available, and both it and silica ware were available for special plant requirements. Better enameling made possible larger and more durable enameled units. Improved compositions in refractories and better stoneware became available. Rubber cladding and electrodeposition of latex were developed. Neoprene found a useful place. Better carbon products and the carbon plastics extended the industrial value as inert heat transfer material. Reinforced resin structures, such as Haveg, were developed for strength and to avoid metallic corrosion. The past’decade has again witnessed t,he impact of war. Welding of metals became perfected as an industrial tool and made possible more tanks and ships; and in peace it has become a new tool for automobile and equipment fabrication. Magnesium and aluminum have assumed new- import,ance. Vacuum in met’al-
Old print of the Greenwood Iron Works, Orange County, S. Y . The Erie Railroad passes by
Continuous strip picklers in the I r v i n W o r k s of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp.
Huge sheet-rolling mill at Pennsylvania plant of the A l u m i n u m Co. of America
L. T. Work, Room 2118, Graybar Building, New York, N. Y. 300
lurgy has made possible the silicon-reduction reaction for pure magnesium, calcium, and other metals. Hydrides have become useful reactants in making the rarer metals. In the nuclear field, whole new techniques are still to be applied t o industry. The development of titanium has progressed rapidly from the early work of Kroll, and the metal gives promise of soon becoming available in tonnage quantities. Zirconium is likewise under development, though it was first offered as a product of thermal halide decomposition. The hard carbides, tantalum, and vanadium are new materials finding specific placesinindustry. Surface protection has been improved with the newer resins, including the furan and the fluorocarbon types; and anodic and chemical treatments of metallic surfaces have been extensively employed. Hard surfacing, by plating, welding, or metal spraying. has improved wear-resistant parts. Electroplating has been developing on a larger scale, as in tinning. Shortages and equivalents have been problems of our economy in the past decade; and the organic chemicals industry, growing apace, ever increasingly offers products to replace or supplement the metals. Notable among the current developments are the fluorocarbon, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the silicones. The industry stands today in the position where there are few problems that cannot be solved economically, and the quest still continues for better solutions t o the difficult problems of materials for chemical engineering. Recent symposia by the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, such as the Titanium Symposium and Packaging Symposium presented a t the September 1949 national meeting, the Organic Silicon Compounds Symposium a t the April 1947 meeting, and the program on electrical insulating materials a t the April 1946 meeting, illustrate that interest in materials of construction as a program subject is still a vital part of the division’s activities. The increasing importance of materials of construction is also reflected by the appearance in the October 1947 issue AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY of a series of annual of INDUSTRIAL reviews devoted to contemporary developments in the field ( 3 ) .
Forging a n armor plate in 14,000-t0n press ,forge at Bethlehem Steel Co.
LITERATURE CITED
(1) Calcott, W. S., Whetzel, J. C., and Whittaker, H. F., “Corrosion Tests and Materials of Construction for Chemical Engineering Bpparatus,” New York, D. Van Nostrand Co., 1923; Trans. Am. Inst. Chem. Engrs., 15, Part I (1923). (2) Hamlin, M. L., and Turner, F. M., Jr., “Chemical Resistance of
Corrosion-resistant drum dryer used in experiments on powdered milk i s built of stainless steel
Engineering Materials,” New York, Chemical Catalog Co., 1923. (3)
IND. ENG.CHEM.,39, 1193-264 (1947); 40, 1773-936 (1948);
41, 2091-154 (1949); 42, 1950-2076 (1950). (4) Leighou, R. B., “Chemistry of Engineering Materials,” New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1925.
THE
electrochemical industry includes the processes and products of the electrolytic cell and the electric furnace and is one of the most important segments of American chemical industry. I t s power requirements have increased more rapidly in recent years than those of industry as a whole, and it now consumes nearly 20% of the electrical power generated in this country. Products of this industry, such as chlorine, alkalies, and calcium carbide (the principal source of acetylene and cyanamide), are basic raw materials for a large part of the organic chemical industry. Abrasives and ferroalloys from the electric furnace are essential ingredients in the metallurgical industry. Industrial electrochemistry has had its tremendous development within the lifetime of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY and mainly during the past 50 or 60 years. It arose from inven-
These light-weight aircraft landing wheels are made of sand cast magnesium
R. M. Burns, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N. J.
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