Local Sections
American Chemical Society 105TH MEETING. 12 to 16, 1943. 106TH
MEETING.
Detroit, Mich., April Minneapolis,
Minn.,
September 6 t o 10, 1943. ORGANIC CHEMISTRY SYMPOSIUM.
Boston,
Mass., December 2 8 to 30, 1943. National Symposium.
Tenth
O t h e r Scientific Societies ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY. Hotel Roose
velt, Pittsburgh, Penna., April 7 t o 10, 1943. OPTICAL
SOCIETY
O P AMERICA.
Pennsylvania, N e w York, March 5 and 6, 1943. P U L P A N D P A P E R INDUSTRY,
Hotel
Ν . Υ.,
TECHNICAL
ASSOCIATION. Commodore Hotel, New York, Ν . Υ., February 15 to 18, 1943. SOUTHERN SAFETY CONFERENCE.
Hotel
Peabody, Memphis, Tenn., March 1 and 2, 1943. Fifth Annual Meeting. 1
The list of the SOCIETY'S National Officers and Directors, Editors, members of Council, Divisional and Local Section Officers, Com mittees, and Chapters of Student Affiliates appears
in CHEMICAL
AND ENGINEERING
NEWS three times a year—usually February 10, May 10, and October 10. The latest list is printed on page 170 of this issue.
Officers of Chlorine Institute Π Ρ Η Ε Chlorine Institute, Inc., held its annual meeting and director's meetings on January 27, in N e w York, and elected the following officers for 1943: president, S. W. Jacobs; vice president, E. C. Speiden; secretary and treasurer, Robert T . Baldwin; directors, Thomas Coyle, W. I. Galliher, L. Neuberg, E. E . Routh, B. P. Steele, and Eli Winkler.
Undernourishment in Industrial Injuries Τ TNDERNOUHISHMENT, resulting from slighting breakfast or lunch, is prob ably a n important cause of industrial in juries, declared John H. Foulger, director of the d u Pont company's Haskell Labo ratory of Industrial Toxicology, in an ad dress January 15, jointly sponsored b y the Wayne County Medical Society a n d the Engineering Society of Detroit as one in a series on Nutrition in Industry. Dr.
178
SECTION A N D P L A C E
FEB.
SPEAKER
Akron, Women's City Club Alabama, Tutwiler Hotel, Bir mingham Central Texas, Room 15, Chem istry Building, University of Texas, Austin Chicago, Medinah Club, 505 North Michigan Ave. Columbus, Room 100, Chemistry Building, Ohio State Univer sity Dallas-Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex. Delaware, Auditorium, Y. M.C. Α., Wilmington Detroit, E . S. D . Auditorium, Rackham Memorial Building East Tennessee, Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Erie, Penna., Villa Maria College
16 20
R. H. Hobrock Gustav Eglofi
17
E . H. Northey
18
Robert J. Myers
17
Henry Blau
Florida, Chemistry Auditorium, University of Florida, Gaines ville Georgia, Banquet Room, Dining Hall, Georgia School of Tech nology, Atlanta Kalamazoo, Room 313, Science Building, Western Michigan College Kansas City, University of Kansas City Kansas State College, Chemistry Building, Manhattan Michigan State College, Kedzie Chemical Laboratory, East Lansing Midland, Mich. Nashville, Furman Hall, Vanderbilt UniversityOklahoma, University of Okla homa, Norman Panhandle Plains, Capitol Hotel, AmariUo, Tex. Philadelphia, Engineers' Club Pittsburgh, Mellon Institute St. Joseph Valley, Chemistry Hall, University of Notre Dam ft , Notre Dame, Ind. South Carolina, Coker College, Hartsville South Jersey, D u Pont-Penns Grove Country Club, Penns Grove Southeast Kansas, Science Hall, Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg Southeast Tennessee, Chemistry Lecture Room, University of Chattanooga * Southeastern Texas, Plaza Hotel Dining Room, Houston University of Illinois, 112 Chem istry Annex, Urbana University of Missouri, Room 103, Schlundt Hall, Columbia Western New York, Prospect House, Niagara Falls Wichita, University of Wichita Science Hall, Room 3 0 6 Wilson D a m
STJBJECT
Seamless IVIetal Tubing Substitute Fuels in a World a t War The Chemical Side of Chemotherapy Synthetic Resin Ion-Ex changers Heat Treatment of Glass
18
E . H. Northev
17
Beverly L. Clarke
The Chemical Side of Chemotherapy Electrographic Analysis
19
Francis M. Whitacre
Plastics
16
Gustav Egloff
Substitute Fuels World a t War
17
B . S. Garvey, Jr.
20
S. D. Kirkpatrick
Natural a n d Synthetic Rubber War Advances AJong t h e Chemical Front
18
S. D. Kirkpatrick
War Advances Along t h e Chemical Front
16
Francis M. Whitacre
25
Ε. H. Northey
24
Ε . Η. Northey
17
Francis M. Whitacre
18
Francis M. Whitacre
18
Gustav Egloff
20
Ε . Η. Northey
19
Ε . Η. Northey
Substitute Fuels in a World a t War The Chemical Side of Chemottierapy The Chemical Side of Chemottierapy
27 18 25
Social Night Pittsburgh Award Hugh Taylor
Catalysis i n Hydrocarbon Reactions
16
S. D. Kirkpatrick
16
Milton Harris
War Advances Along t h e Chemical Front Newer Concepts i n Textile Fibers
22
Ε . Η. Northey
The Chemical Side Chemottierapy
17
Gustav Egloff
Substitute Fuels World a t War
16
Ε . Η. Northey
of
16
W. A. Mosher
The Chemical Side Chemotherapy Terpenes
26
Ε . Η. Northey
of
18
D . S. l e Beau
The Chemical Side Chemottierapy Wartime FLubber
23
Ε . Η. Northey
19
Gustav Egloff
in
The Chemical Side Chemottierapy The Chemical Side Chemotherapy Anesthetics
in
a
of of
of a
The Chemical Side of Chemotherapy Substitute Fuels in a World a t War
Foulger showed how a more even distri bution o f food intake, plus extra daily rations o f vitamins C a n d Bi, had greatly improved the general health and efficiency of du P o n t workers and had reduced t h e risk of accidents.
CHEMICAL
A N D ENGINEERING
NEWS
Analysis • Chas· Pfizer & Co·, Inc. has always regarded the careful and intelligent examination o f all products as not only a necessary hut a l s o an important part of its manufacturing proc esses. W e b e l i e v e that the uniformity andl high purity of our products cannot be assured without t h o r o u g h e x a m i n a t i o n and that it in volves m o r e than just the routine checking of materials against certain specifications. T h e p e r s o n n e l o f o u r Analytical Depart m e n t is of t h e h i g h e s t caliber and every effort has b e e n m a d e to m a k e the most modern e q u i p m e n t available. T h r o u g h thorough and careful analysis it has b e e n possible f o r this department to m a k e many suggestions w h i c h have resulted i n improved products a n d im
proved m e t h o d s of manufacture. The research division of this department is constantly striving to i m p r o v e or devise new techniques for the examination a n d analysis o f our materials. New products, too, have always occasioned considerable analytical re search, it often having b e e n necessary to revise existing analytical m e t h o d s to a great extent, or even to devise entirely new pro cedures. Needless to say, all of this would be impossible if analysis were considered to be merely a routine matter. We f e e l that the reputation f o r dependa bility and high quality which o u r products enjoy is due in no small measure t o our Ana lytical Department.
MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS · ESTABLISHED
1849
Chas. Pfizer & Co., I n c . 8 1 MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK · V O L ΜΜ Ρ
9.1
NO,
3»
-FEBRUARY
10,
4 4 4 W. GRAND AVE., CHICAGO, ILL. 1943
179
Hearing on Proposal to Amend Cheese Standards Λ PUBLIC hearing i s announced March " ^ 2, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, upon a proposal to amend the definitions and standards of identity for soft uncured cheeses published in the Federal Register of December 2 3 , 1942. The hearing will start at 10 A. M. in Room 3046, South Building;, Independence Ave nue and 14th Street, Southwest, Washing ton, D . C . The proposed amendments relate to the standards for cream cheese, neufchatel cheese, cottage cheese, and creamed cot tage cheese, a n d would permit the use of sodium propionate a n d calcium propionate as optional ingredients. Affidavits m a y be submitted in lieu of oral testimony at t h e hearing. They should b e delivered to t h e presiding officer, Joseph L. Maguire, in care of the hearing clerk, Rooin 2242, South Build ing, on or before the d a y of the hearing. Simultaneously w i t h the notice of this hearing the Acting Administrator issued an order that t h e exclusion b y these stand ards of t h e use of sodium propionate and calcium propionate i n these cheeses shall not become effective until the 90th day after t h e final order on the proposed amendments i s published i n the Federal Register. Copies of t h e hearing notice a n d the order m a y b e obtained from the Super intendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C , at 10 cents each.
Frontiers in Chemistry T H H E graduate School of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, is pre senting a series of lectures o n "Frontiers of Chemistry" o n successive Fridays, begin ning February 19, 1943. T h e lectures are to cover advances i n nuclear chemistry and theoretical organic chemistry and major instruments o f science a n d their applications t o chemistry, and are to b e given b y H. C . Urey, H. S. Taylor, H. R . Crane, G. E . Kimball, Leslie G. S. Brooker, Worth H . Rodebush, L. H. Germer, L. Marton, M . L. Huggins, W. R. Brode, R . B. Barnes, and W . Bleakney.
Exhibit at N e w York Public Library T N K a n d paper ammunition in t h e tech nician's war will b e shown in a n exhibi tion opening in t h e New York Public Library on April 1. Some 500 current technical books and periodicals, photo graphs, posters, charts, and manuscripts, all illustrating vital war services, will b e brought together in t h e Main Exhibition Room of the Fifth Avenue and FortySecond Street building. Most of the books were published within the past t w o years. 180
The exhibition will make a compre hensive picture o f the many fields i n which science a n d technology aro furthering t h e war effort. Photographs donated o r lent b y research laboratories, government units, and manufacturing organizations will translate the printed pages into finished products, showing their development from test tube or tracing t o machines o f war i n action. The exhibition is being arranged by t h e Library's Science a n d Technology D i v i sion, principally to show t h e layman t h e scope a n d importance of technical books i n the war, but i t should also serve to g i v e engineers a broad view of technical work in fields other than their own. T h e e x hibition room will b e open on weekdays from 9 A . M. t o 6 P. M., a n d on Sunday afternoons from 1 to 6 .
Editor, Chemical œnd Engineering
News:
l THANK y o u for your letter of January 13, accompanied t>y a copy of Mr. Krister's letter on "Flash o f Genius—Serendipity". Replying to y o u r question, I feel that publication of the letter i s desirable for the reason that I believe i t will serve a s a reminder t o chessnists o f the "Flash of Genius" problem. Whether the adoption of the word "serendipity" in jpatent l a w nomenclature would aid matters is another question, it seems to m e . L o t us n o t forget that the "Flash of Genius* ' test s t e m m e d from the Court's effort t o define the apparently simple word "invention", Who can foretell t h e eventual j udicial interpretation of such a word as "serendipity"? THOMAS C I F E L L I , 1570 O A K A V B ,
EVANSTON, ΙΓΛ.
Flash of Genius—Serendipity Editor, Chemical and Engineering
J a n u a r y 21, 1943
News:
I F THERE is space for further discussion o n the "Flash of Genius" 1 , I believe i t would be of interest t o call attention to t h e word "serendipity" which covers more precisely t h e phenomenon under examination. Miss Muriel Hukeyser, i n her biography of Willard Gibbs, tells t h e story of t h e word, and the following is a direct quotation from Miss Rukeyser's book: In 1751, Horace Walpole proposed a word which never came into use. In a letter t o Horace Mann, he suggested t h e word, "serendipity", taken from a fairy tale about the three princes of Serendip, that is Ceylon. " A s their Highnesses travelled, the old t a l e went, they were always making discoveries b y accident or sagacityy of things t h e y were not i n search of". T h e word is a possibility, a word for luck. I t means the luck o f finding n e w proofs o r relations which were n o t looked for; it i s a word for induced sensitization, as one writer h a s shown, a luck that is a luck of use, a deftness in using good for tune; a n d t h e good fortune is nothing more t h a n one's own prepared awareness. This quality, serendipity, is the luck of t h e discoverer, and those who find n e w appli cations have it. As M i s s Rukeyser points o u t , " t h e knotted myth of t h e voyages o f Gibbs* ideas is a myth of this quality". And so it is of the chemists 1 . T h e modern research chemists are like those Highnesses of t h e ancient tale—always making discoveries of things t h e y were not seeking. It is proposed that the word "serendip ity" be used i n the future i n place of t h e test phrase, "Flash o f Genius" t o cover invention. Surely, "induced sensitiza tion", "luck of use", "prepared awareness" are all important in testing whether an idea merits t h e distinction of being classi fied as a n invention. C. J. K R I S T E R E . I. DU P O N T D E N E M O C B S & C o . , I N C . G R A S S E L I CHEMICALS D E P A R T M E N T CLEVELAND, OHIO J a n u a r y 1 1 , 1943
Gas Defense Organization Plan T ) ECOMMENDATTONS for
the
guidance of
state and local defense councils i n the organization of g a s defense programs have heen issued by tb,e Office of Civilian D e fense, Washington, D. C , through its Medical Division,, in Operations Letter 91 (Supplement 2 t o Operations Letter 42). Training for s t a t e g a s consultants and senior gas officers i s being provided b y the Medical Division in gas specialist courses at t h e War Department Civilian Protec tion Schools in collaboration with the Office of Civilian Defense: Amherst Col lege, Loyola University, Purdue Univer sity, University o f WasbtL .on, Stanford University, and Occidental College. A course on "Medical Aspects of Chemi cal Warfare" was presented a t the North western Universrty Medical School from January 1 4 to I S , primarily f o r represen tatives of 15 mict"westera. medical schools, who will organize courses in their own schools for the instruction of practicing physicians. It was attended b y 71 physicians from the Sixth a n d Seventh Civilian Defense TLegions. ®e sent t o the extremes of temperature a n d humidity represented by the froz-en Arctic, dark tropics, and parched desert- It m a y be tossed overboard from a landing barge and hauled ashore through salfey wavess. The remarkable accuracy of American bombing has been due not o n l y to t t i e much publicized American bomb—sight butt also t o the accuracy built into t h e fin i*> self. If the fin is warped or t e s t e d in
transit, the course of flight m a y be affected and the bomb m a y miss its target.
'i&EEi^>£mMEM:Mi, Bomb fin shipping case made of Presdwood submitted to U. S. Army Ordnance Department and exhibited at the National Chemical Exposition in Chicago last November. The present standard shipping container for bomb fins is made o f metal throughout, spot-welded or riveted in all joints below t h e lid, and painted as a protection against t h e effects of weather and corrosive action o f salt water. T h e standard shipping case for larger sized fins contains more metal than t h e fin itself.
S A R G E N T H I G H SPEED "Enclosed Head" MICRO AND SEMI M I C R O CENTRIFUGES No externally moving parts no possi- S-46SQ1 Semi-Micro Centrifuge—Takes bility for injury from accidental contact standard 3 ml centrifuge tubes or 10x7 5 with an exposed, revolving head. Spce
/4^
'^4.·:;.,
>>^.
Surface Active Even in Sulphuric Acid 10%
T i s a tough specification t h a t calls for maintained effectiveness of surface active Iagents in a ten per cent sulphuric acid solution.
a r e virtually free of soap and inorganic salts. They are non-electrolytes and are neither sulfates nor sulfonated products.
But this "was exactly t h e requirement of one large organization that consulted Atlas. And, from out o f the series of new t y p e Atlas Spans and Atlas Tweens, came t h e surface active agent that filled the bill. Consequently, every month thousands of p o u n d s of this surface active agent are used successfully in ten per cent sulphuric acid solutions.
T h e y possess amazing versatility — a nearly unlimited number of modifications a n d combinations are possible. For example, t h e series offer an almost universal compatibility since the members range from completely oil soluble to completely water soluble. And, they include emulsifiers for water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions of either the quick-breaking or stable types.
Here is t h e reason why. All Atlas Spans and Atlas Tvveens a r e surface active. M a n y are chemically stable in the presence of strong electrolytes. Because they have several like functional groups (they are two series of simple and modified long chain partial fatty acid esters of thehexitol anhydrides) i t was possible t o synthesize a special compound in the series that met all requirements.
Atlas Spans and Atlas Tweens are used in m a n y fields of industry where mixtures of oils and water are wanted. Their special properties challenge the attention of all interested in surface active materials. A card will bring samples and technical literature.
Such special effects are possible with Spans and Tweens because they are different. They
T$
^â^m^&ÊB^à^i Li...
I
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT i.Ja
ATLAS POWDER COMPANY, Wilmington, Bel. · Offices in principal cities '-Cable Address—Atpowco Γ" ·· ':';i?^^li^tf/-,*I y'&.'.i.^ .^zur-' 7,7 :. vi^l^Sff^ ~7 7"~ .1":""'™ 777 "T7"~.·"" ••v\:'....r-^^iS V O L U M E
2 1f
NO.
3»
« F E B R U A R Y
10,
1943
185
New Process for Aviation Gasoline
New Catalytic Process for Aviation Fuel
A N E W process for manufacture of neo"^^ hexane for aviation fuel was announced January 2 7 by the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. The process resulted from further work by the company's research staff on the naphtha isomerization process announced a year ago, for converting ordinary naphthas into an improved product. The neohexane process gives a product of still higher octane number, and can also be utilized for the manufacture of isopentane. It offers the promise of increasing economically the quantity and quality of high-octane aviation fuels.
T ^ E V E L O P M E N T of a n e w catalytic process which will produce increased quantities of a superior high-oetane aviation fuel was announced January 18 b y Eugene J. Houdry, president o f Houdry Process Corp., Wilmington, D e l . Comprising an adiabatic catalytic cracking method, the process produces from heavy naphtha an aviation fuel of higher octane equivalent than has ever been produced. For the time being i t s chief v a l u e will be to raise the octane rating of aviation fuels, By utilizing heavy naphthas, in large quantities a drug on thte market, increased
A n Unusual Advertisement Addressed to Scientists T h i s is one o f America's three largest organizations engaged in conducting research for industrial corporations and governmental agencies. Even w i t h constant expansion it has had t o work at peak capacity to meet normal demands. N o w , war and post-war development requires additions to a staff o f 200 people. Regular sources for new personnel h a v e become inadequate so this means is being u s e d to locate research-minded engineers a n d scientists who can maintain this organization's h i g h standards. Particularly needed are: PHYSICS Physicists electronic
with general experience.
experience
and
Physicists
with
EH Gl NEE RING Mechanical Engineers with a flair for development Engineers experienced in engineering mechanics.
and
METALLURGY Physicists or Chemists with metallurgical Metallurgists with research experience.
and
CHEMISTRY
Chemical industrial
Engineers and Chemists experience.
experience
with Ph.JD. degrees
and
Such men and women can be assured salary and opportunity commensurate w i t h ability. And, future commitments promise post-war permanency. I f you can qualify and are not engaged in essential war work please write immediately.
ARMOUR RESEARCH FOUNDATION Dearborn, Address
Federal
replies
and 33rd
to 54 West
33rd
Streets Street,
CHICASO, ILLINOIS
1*6
CHEMICAL
production of aviation fuel will result without increasing the need for crude oil production or placing a further drain on crude oil transportation facilities. Refineries embodying this process, because of its adiabatic catalytic feature, will be simpler to construct than presentday catalytic cracking units. They will require less critical material, especially less highly complicated fabricated material, in which bottlenecks exist. The Houdry adiabatic process was developed early last year in the search for an economical, certain method for making butadiene, main ingredient of Buna S synthetic rubber. T h e principle was thoroughly tested in a semicommercial butadiene plant built several months ago by the Sun Oil Co. This was the first plant to be completed demonstrating the feasibility of producing butadiene by a catalytic process on a reasonably large scale, with perfect control and without operating difficulties. Houdry scientists thereupon turned their attention to adapting this adiabatic principle to the production of aviation fuel by catalytic cracking, and developed the process on a pilot plant scale. Engineering and construction of commercial units are under way. This method converts the carbon deposit on the catalyst into heat necessary to rearrange the hydrocarbon molecules into the desired product—in this instance, super aviation fuels—without the use of materials for equipment to handle extraneous heat exchange. During the past year 16 Houdry catalytic crackers, operated by four major oil companies, produced better than 90 per cent of all the catalytically cracked aviation base stock produced in this country. Eleven more units are under construction. I n addition, nine Thermofor catalytic crackers, embodying a catalytic cracking process also licensed by Houdry Process Corp., are being rushed to completion. Immediately after Pearl Harbor, Houdry's petroleum chemists and engineers concentrated their efforts on finding a method for producing synthetic rubber in quantities sufficient to offset the loss of the Malaya and Dutch East Indies crude supply. Out of that came the Houdry butadiene dehydrogenation process, the basis for four plants being built by the Government. The first of these plants is scheduled to b e completed early this spring. Houdry scientists for almost a year have conducted extensive experiments into methods of producing other rubber intermediates besides butadiene. Work also has been done, in cooperation with the engineers of Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., in adapting the Houdry process to the production of ethyl benzene and on the dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene to styrene, the other important ingredient of Buna S rubber. During 1942 the Houdry Process Corp. doubled its facilities for the production of a synthetic catalyst. A MP
E-N G I N F P R I N C i
NEWS
Catalytic Gasoline Plant in Operation f}^*
JANUARY 1 8 the Standard Oil Co. of
^^^ New Mersey put in full operation a larg-e new catalytic cracking plant for producing Large quantities of 100-octane gasoline, thfce first to be built i n the eastern seaboard region. The $6,000,000 plant was- dedicated to the service o f the country b y IRalph "W. Gallagher, recently elected president o>f the company, i n the presence of neprcsennatives of t h e Army and Navy, employees, officials, and guests. T w o oth^r plants using this process are in operational, one in Texas a n d another in Louisiana, and 3 3 units are scheduled for operation i m the near future. These plants w i l l produce not only 100-octane gasoline b u t also la-3-ge quantities of raw materials for synthetic rubber and T N T . The process, worked out b y the Standard Oil Development C o . after years of research, w i l l prodn.ce this year 600,000 tons of s y n thetic r—ubber ingredients.
nounced plans t o build an extraction mill in the guayule area i n the State of Coahuila, Mexico, where about 20,000 acres are to be planted this spring.
Norepol in Commercial Production T P H E United States Department of Agriculture has announced t h a t approxi mately 100 tons of Norepol, a rubber sub stitute made from vegetable oils, have been manufactured. Two companies making it have given t h e product trade names of their own, others are turning o u t a finished product under t h e name of Norepol, and some are making an intermediate material
Butadiene from Grain Alcohol
Guayule Harvest in California T 1 HE firs*; crop of guayule from 550 acres near Salinas, Calif., is n o w being harv e s t e d by O h e Government. I t is expected t h a t abou-fc 600 tons of milled rubber will be produoed here during t h e next three months, T h e program calls for planting as much a . s 500,000 acres i n guayule and it Ls expected t h a t two years from now the harvest \vmil provide 21,000 tons of rubber a n d after that an annual production of 80^000 torfcs. Salinas is the only region in t h e Unite
