Feb., 1922
THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
and with the public a t large through the issuance of bulletins. No opportunity will be neglected to make the researches conducted under the auspices of the Society as thoroughly practical and far-reaching as is humanly possible. Fundamental science investigations are just as practical and necessary as are factory or routine investigations. Neither should or will be neglected. Industrial corporations and research institutions will be consulted for the purpose of finding not only the problems but also the means for solving them. Standard methods and specifications have not in the past received the attention they deserve. The Society intends to promote the establishing of standards by securing the cooperation of all parties and agencies interested. The Society has joined as a member of the American Society for Testing Materials, and will have an official representation on all committees where the Society can give service. It is cooperating with all Divisions of the National Research Council that deal with problems of interest t o ceramists. A working relation has already been established with the Fabricated Production Department of the Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. of America. The trade associations recognize the desire of the American Ceramic Society t o cooperate with them in all matters of standards and researches pertaining to production. Contact is developing with the federal and state Geological Surveys, so that the Society can serve the Surveys in making their investigations the most practical. This research colloquium was not devoted altogether to planning. Some research problems were discussed in detail. At the public meetings of the colloquium, those attending obtained a much more clear and practical idea of the cause of plasticity in clays. The ultimate purpose for searching for the facts regarding plasticity is that this property may be developed in the white-burning kaolins. Ceramists have obtained several practical and applicable things from the studies which have already been made on this subject. The treatment of casting slips with salts to make possible the casting of intricate and heavy pieces is one of these, and increasing the bonding strength of clays is another. More refined methods of testing were discussed. Dr. E . W. Washburn described a method developed a t the University of Illinois for measuring porosity by determining the pressure caused by the air held in the pores of the test piece. The method he described is simple, accurate, and quick. President Pence described the problems incident to casting of clay refractories. The method he described produces better ware but requires considerable floor space if the production is a t all large. In a 50 per cent grog clay refractory 0.4 per cent of the weight of clay added as sodium carbonate would permit of the same degree of fluidity of the slip with one-half the amount of water. The U. S. Bureau of Mines, with consent of the Joint Research Committee of the Four Heavy Clay Products Associations, described the work on kiln firing which the Associations are financing in cooperation with the Bureau. This work is progressing and when other groups OF manufacturers learn of the results obtained i t would seem that surely all ceramic manufacturers would be anxious to make a similar study of their kilns. A 10 t o 15 per cent saving in fuel would soon pay all costs of the preliminary studies and all the equipment required to maintain the necessary control. We are learning that scientific control in manufacturing reduces costs and decreases dependence on experts. No research is worth while unless it carries through t o the introduction of materials, processes or equipment, alike satisfactory to employees and employer in the control obtained. It is believed that this meeting is only the first in the series of events which will bring a new era in ceramic manufacturing and keep this group of industries abreast with the ever-increasing requirements of the consumer.
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Chemical Engineering Group of the Society of Chemical Industry The Chemical Engineering .Group of the Society of Chemical Industry is the first of what have been termed "Subject Groups" of the Society, corresponding in a general way t o the Divisions and Sections of our American Chemical Society. It was organized in 1919 by a group of chemical engineers who felt the need of a n organization in England, charged with the task of endeavoring to promote the interests of chemical engineering and its development along sound and scientific lines.
Among the activities of the Group is the publication of data sheets and charts, one of which is printed herewith in greatly reduced form. These sheets cover a large field of interest t o the chemical engineer, and i t is planned to publish a whole series, uniform in size, for filing in loose-leaf books. The sheets are sold a t fifty cents per set. Membership in the Group includes the receipt of its publications. The headquarters of the Group are a t 24, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W. C. 2, England.
Calendar of Meetings American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical EngineersSpring Meeting, New York, N. Y., week of February 20, 1922 American Ceramic Society-24th Annual Meeting, St. Louis, Mo., February 27 t o March 2, 1922. American Chemical Society-63rd Meeting, Birmingham, .41a., April 4 to 7, 1922. American Electrochemical Society-4lst Meeting, Baltimore, Md., April 27 t o 29, 1922. . A German process for making gasoline, called the Burgess process, has been developed by the originators of the Haber nitrogen fixation process. By means of this process, hydrogen is passed over carbon a t 200 atmospheres pressure and a t a temperature of 700" C. It is understood that this process has been examined in operation by the engineer of one of the large American oil companies who has reported that it is actually operating and producing motor fuel on a small scale.
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