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NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE ASSOlCIATION OF BRITISH CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS The Second Annual General Meeting of the Association was held a t the Chemical Society’s Rooms, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, on Thursday, July 11, 1918,for the purpose of appointing scrutineers to examine the ballot papers, for the reception and adoption of the report and accounts, the election of auditors, and the reception of the report of the scrutineers. Dr. Charles Carpenter, D.Sc., M.I.C.E., occupied the chair. After the notice convening the meeting had been read by the Secretary, Captain G. Mount, D.S.O., and the scrutineers to examine the ballot papers had been appointed, the Chairman moved the adoption of the report of the Council of the Association. Dr. Carpenter in the course of his speech said that the Association had made satisfactory progress and that one indication of that progress was the increase in membership and the corresponding increase in capital. During the year the Association suffered loss in the death of Mr. R. D. Pullar, who had been a loyal and conscientious member of the Council, and of Mr. Thomas Tyrer, well known in the chemical trade for many years. In dealing with the item in the report referring to the Directory, the Chairman said that it was now well in hand, the bulk of it being in the printers’ hands. A good part of the work of translation had been done, that which was not complete being the translation of the Russian and Japanese sections. This portion had been delayed by reason of the great demand for translators of these languages. The Directory will be printed in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, and Japanese, and will thus provide for a very comprehensive circulation throughout the markets of the world of information relating to British manufacture in connection with chemical products. In the paragraph dealing with foreign trade there was described a very useful system which has been put into operation for placing a t the disposal of members of the Association information available a t the Department of Overseas Trade and the Foreign Office. Some fifty members had taken advantage of this machinery and expressed appreciation of it. In the matter of reconstruction, it was reported, the Council had done very useful work. The Chairman outlined what had been done from the setting up of the Committee appointed by Dr. Addison to advise as to the procedure which should be adopted for dealing with the chemical trade down to the present negotiations with reference to the establishment of joint industrial councils. He thought the Meeting would agree with him that in dealing with the question of industrial alcohol the Association had also been very helpful. When it was remembered how long it had taken to educate the Government on the technical questions connected with the use of alcohol in chemical manufacture, he felt that a great advance had been made in the acceptance of the recommendations of the Alcohol Committee of the Association. I n this connection he thought they owed something to the foundation laid by their late lamented friend, Mr. Thomas Tyrer. The Information and Statistical Bureau has been established with the view of avoiding overlapping and waste of time and energy in research and manufacture. The scheme for the formation of the Bureau has met with a large amount of approval and has given proof that the Council is a t any rate making an endeavor to do something substantial in dealing with what is one of the difficult problems facing chemical industry a t the present time.
The Council has supported the efforts of the Chemical Society in establishing a comprehensive library of chemical technology. The desire is not only to extend the library, but to extend the hours during which the library is available, and in financially supporting this scheme the Association is contributing to the future welfare of chemical work in the country. With regard to the difficult problem of the dye industry the speaker thought that the course followed in 1915 in developing the explosive manufactures of the country, vis., to use all and everybody, great and small, in order to get all working in the direction of making up the terrible shortage, was the right one, and the concentration of the work in the hands of only a few firms, as appears to be the present policy in dealing with the dye situation, would not produce such a measure of national success as if all the resources of the country were utilized. In conclusion, the Chairman referred to the appointment of Mr. W. J. U. Woolcock as General Manager of the Association, and to that of Captain G. Mount as Secretary. The appointment of suitable persons for these positions had been no easy matter, but he could assure the Meeting that in these two officials they had two men admirably suited in every way to carry out the particular duties required of them. The motion for the adoption of the report was seconded by the Vice Chairman, Mr. R. G. Perry, and after discussion was carried unanimously. Messrs. Feasey and Company were elected auditors for the ensuing year, and after the scrutineers had reported the result of the ballot the Chairman announced the constitution of the new Council and group committees and moved a vote of thanks to the Chemical Society for the use of their rooms. This was seconded by the Rt. Hon. J. W. Wilson, M.P., and carried enthusiastically. The Vice Chairman, in moving a vote of thanks t o Dr. Carpenter, stated that for two years Dr. Carpenter had been the mainstay of the Association. He had done more work than anybody else in connection with its formation and he had done the lion’s share of it since. The vote of thanks was seconded by Mr. Roscoe Brunner, who remarked that it might quite rightly and justly be stated that Dr. Carpenter had led the Council in all its work. The vote of thanks having been most heartily accorded, and Dr. Carpenter having replied, the proceedings then terminated.
THE SULFURIC ACID INDUSTRY’ By C. J. GOODWIN
The report recently published by the Departmental Committee on Sulfuric Acid and Fertilizer Trades is already bearing fruit in steps taken to form a National Association of Sulfuric Acid Makers, and it is to be hoped that the other recommendations made by the Committee will also lead t o a more complete examination of manufacturing details. War conditions did much to arouse inefficient manufacturers from their former lethargy, and led t o the gradual introduction of more efficient plant and methods by means of individual trial and error, k h t the Committee’s conclusion that in the majority of cases scientific cost-keeping is usually conspicuous by its absence, is well founded. The strict control of output and prices, and especially profits, has since caused a partial return t o this lethargic attitude, but the probability that only the more efficient works will be permitted to survive on account of reduced post-war requirements should now result in well-directed ef
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forts in regard to scientific management and the elimination of waste. While the Committee recommend that the information regarding cost-keeping, etc., collected at Government establishments, should be placed a t the disposal of private manufacturers after the war, it would seem a more obvious and satisfactory course to do SO now in order that manufacturers may put their houses in order forthwith. This also applies to the cost data upon which the Committee base their conclusions in regard to the relative advantages of the available systems for the manufacture of different strengths and grades of acid. By thus fostering not only scientific cost-keeping and management, but also the spirit of competition, the process of ultimately eliminating inefficient works will be facilitated, as the necessary data will be available over a sufficient period of time. It is clear that pre-war data of manufacturing costs are no longer applicable, and, indeed, very little has been published in this country regarding them since Guttman’s paper.’ The position is further complicated, not only by the arguments adduced by the Committee, but by many other considerations. Among these may be mentioned: ( I ) That it is now possible to install and operate contact plant either without the payment of royalties or, a t any rate, with reduced royalties; ( 2 ) the present and future increased freight charges and other dues on imported pyrites and sulfur; (3) the crude sulfur position; and (4) the cost and de-arsenication of acid from the lead-chamber process. Taking these in order, the conclusion of the Committee that the Grillo process, or a modified form of the Grillo process, is the most likely competitor of the chamber or tower systems will find general acceptance. In comparing the value of Grillo acid with chamber acid, allowance must be made for the fact that it is free from arsenic, iron, and other impurities. The Committee also make no mention of the possibilities of a “mixed” system of contact and chamber plant such as has been introduced in America. As regards pyrites and crude and recovered sulfur, the cost of these will be interdependent, and the post-war situation will naturally depend largely on available tonnage, freight rates, the attitude of the sulfur-producing countries and companies, and the position of the metal market. The dominating factor will be the cost per unit of available sulfur after making allowance for residual ore values, arsenic content, and extra cost of additional fuel for ores of low sulfur content, and as crude sulfur only requires about ones much tonnage as pyrites, and a still smaller proportion pared with zinc or the like concentrates, the question of t rates, available tonnage, etc., will be important factors, and give rise to continual controversy. At present, mainly owing to difficulties in importation, sulfur is increasingly displacing pyrites in America and elsewhere, and as a result great been effected in the design of rotary and r burners. Apart from the prime cost per unit of available sulfur, such plant leads t o more intensive working as a richer gas results. Economies also result in labor and running expenses, and in the cost of purifying plant for the burner gases. When all these factors have been taken into account, it is not improbable that the use of crude and recovered sulfur will be introduced in this country to a greater extent than a t present, especially if freight rates remain high. As regards de-arsenication, it seems desirable to place comparative costs also at the disposal of manufacturers, both as regards plant in which the arsenic is removed prior to entering the Glover tower by methods similar to those obtaining in contact processes, and also those in which weak acid is treated by sulfuretted hydrogen and the like prior to concentration or sale. Naturally, the whole output of a given works does not, as a rule, require de-arsenication, and in cases where the output 1
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is intended solely for superphosphate and certain other processes, de-arsenication is unnecessary. For such plants it is unlikely #that the chamber or tower processes will be superseded, and the aim of the largest works will be t o cater for all branches of the trade, and to install and operate the various types of sulfuric acid plant in such proportions that the output of each grade of acid can be regulated to correspond with current sales. If the National Association of Sulfuric Acid Makers is to justify its title, the component parts of that body will, i t is hoped, sink all trade differences and jealousies, and pool information, trade, and results in the fullest sense of the word. In addition, a Central Information or Intelligence Department, combined with a properly conducted Industrial Experiment Station attached to one of the larger and more efficient works should be organized and supported by all the individual members of the Association, who would draw upon it, not only for cost and experimental data, but for all information regarding the future development of the industry. Such a Central Intelligence Department would, without interfering with individual enterprise, try out and report on improved plant an processes; it should be a self-supporting institution earning dividends by results, but would require a guaranteed minimum income in the first instance. These notes are not intended as a detailed criticism of the Committee’s Report, but are written to stimulate investigation, discussion, and correspondence, through the medium of this JOURNAL, and otherwise. Much could be written regarding manufacturing methods, details of plant, and new processes, but this would be outside the scope of the present article. Among such topics may be mentioned the pre-drying of air supply to burners, etc.;i the cost of storage of acid for contact and tower systems; the relative advantages of the different kinds of filling material for towers; pyrites and fuel storage; drying and conveying plant; concentration plants; with special reference to packed concentration towers; electrical fume and dust precipitation; burners for spent oxide and low-grade ores;2 use of ammonia and Ostwald process instead of nitrate of soda; leadless Glover and Gay-Lussac towers, in acid-proof masonry; and, last, but not least, the scientific control of the chamber process. The latter point was not dealt with by the Committee, and proposals of investigators like Fairlies merit further attent It is to be hoped that the authorities will give further material and individual support to these problems.
CHEMISTRY FOR THE PUBLIC Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: I have arrang-d with a local paper to contribute a weekly article on various phases of industrial chemistry in relation to the war. I have undertaken this because I am anxious to do what I can in this community to advertise chemistry and give the layman a more intelligent conception of what industrial chemistry is. The paper, which is the largest in the district, has taken very kindly t o the idea and has given me a column on the editorial page. I would be glad to have any suggestions for material which the Publicity Committee might be able to give, and your permission t o make occasional use of ideas or phrases from your edi I believe that if someone could be found in each community who is willing to do something of this kind, a great deal of good could be accomplished. TERRE HAUTE,IND. RAYMOND D. COOKE July 8, 1918 British Patent No. 16,981, 1915. I b i d . , No. 108,986, August, 1917. a T r a m . A m . Inst. Chem. E n g . , p. 319, et seg. 1 2
