INTERNATIONAL Since World War II, Chemical Construction has also designed other plants in Japan for production of sulfuric acid and urea, as well as ammonia.
Potash Refinery Under Way Potash Co. of America expects that construction on its potash refinery at its Patience Lake site, 10 miles east of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, will begin early this summer. To cost an estimated $20 million, the new refinery will have a capacity of from 4000 to 4500 tons of ore per day, or approximately 1.5 million tons annually. The company is currently sinking a mining shaft on its property; early in December the shaft was down to a depth of 850 feet. The potash beds to be mined lie at a depth of some 3400 feet. Cost of sinking the shaft has been estimated to be in excess of $3 million. The company expects that work on the mill will proceed through the summer and fall of 1957, to be picked u p again in spring of 1958 when weather conditions permit. Actual production from the refinery is anticipated by November 1958. T h e mill will be designed to permit expansion when sales warrant increased capacity. S teamsRoger, engineers and contractors of Denver, Colo., are currently working on engineering details of the mill. When production starts, it will mark the beginning of Saskatchewan's and Canada's first potash industry. Some 13 companies hold large acreage in the 340-mile-long potash belt and, with extensive exploration work going on, some of these are also moving closer to the development stage. The Saskatchewan potash resources are currently estimated at 100 billion tons.
Ammonia Plant for Japan Japan's rapidly growing heavy chemicals industry is to have a new ammonia plant. It will be designed by Chemical Construction Co. for the Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., and will be located at Noboeka, Miyazaki-ken on Kyushu Island. Capacity will be 50 metric tons per day utilizing the Texaco oil gasification process. Asahi, one of Japan's Lading chemical manufacturers, produces synthetic fibers and explosives and employs some 16,000 people in 10 Japanese plants. Ammonia from t h e n e w plant will be used by the company in the manufacture of rayon, ammonium fertilizers, plastics, explosives, and other products. 50
C&EN
JAN.
14,
1957
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• U, S. stands ready to provide an Asian nuclear center with about $20 million, according to Walter S. Robertson, Assistant Secretary of State. Speaking to officials of Colombo Plan nations recently, the Assistant Secretary said the money would be used for capital expenditures and initial operating costs of the center to be established in Manila. U . S . aid pledge results from a study of the financial implications of the Brookhaven National Laboratory's recent report. • Petrochemical plant of Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Australia), Ltd., at Silverwater, New South Wales, is now producing gas for domestic-supply to Sydney as a by-product of oil processing. The plant incorporates a Semet-Solvay high B.t.u. oil gas plant. From Silverwater, the gas by-product is fed through a main to the ..plant of Australian Gas Light Co., where it is handled by fine tolerance blending and control equipment. Outstanding features of the installation include a Didier-Kogag final tar dehydration unit and tower-type purifiers, claimed to b e first of their kind in Australia's local gas industry. • New castor oil factory planned for Fort Victoria, Southern Rhodesia, will initially handle only the first stage in the production of oil—the husking of t h e bean. Later, however, it will c a n y out the whole process, exporting the oil in concentrated form. Fifteen tons of a hybrid seed have been imported from the U. S. and this seed will b e distributed to farmers in the area. Site for the factory to be built this year has been purchased. • Japan's Chemical Fiber Association
says that the Japanese Ministry of Trade will approve imports from the U. S. of over 1 million pounds of high tenacity rayon yarn for use in tire production. The decision followed requests to the ministry b y the Japanese industry for approval of the importation of 1.2 million pounds to relieve an acute shortage in the country. • Nuclear
Development
Corp.
gium to design and develop Belgian Reactor II ( B R - I I ) , an engineering test reactor scheduled for initial operation by mid-1959. NDA's participation in the project will continue through the construction and test operation phases, which will be carried out by CEAN and Belgian industry. Already in operation at the center, 50 miles northeast of Brussels, is Belgian Reactor-I, a 3-megawatt, air-cooled uranium-graphite research reactor completed in May 1956. • Cuban firm of Papelera Pulpa Cuba, SA, will construct pulp and paper mill using bagasse as raw material at Central Trinidad, adjacent to port of Trinidad. To cost from $12 to $14 million, plant is expected to be in operation by mid-1958 with daily output of 100,000 tons of pulp a n d paper. Firm has contracted with U. S. company of Parsons & Whittemore who will supply equipment for a fully integrated plant. Production of new mill will include bleached papers and a variety of paperboards. It will not include newsprint or some other specialized papers. The company expects eventually to develop a bagasse pulp export business. • Indian government is to launch a project to exploit newly discovered lignite deposits, estimated at around 200 million tons, at Meyveli, in the state of Madras. Commercial mining is expected to start in 1960. T h e project is expected to b e a major step in bringing industrialization to southern India. • Consolidated Mining a n d Smelting
Co, of Canada has plans for a modernization program at its zinc department at Trail, B. C , to cost around $1.6 million. Changes will be made in section of the plant where high purity zinc cathode sheets are melted and cast into slabs for shipment. Job will involve installing newly developed techniques and equipment and will take an estimated year and a half to complete. Work will start early this year. T h e plant now recovers 520 tons of the metal per day by electrolysis. • Imperial Chemical Industries will soon begin work to increase production of its Terylene polyester fiber to 30 million pounds a year by extending sections of its plant at Wilton, North Yorkshire. The additional quantities of Terylene will be available early in 1959. Expansion is an interim measure to keep pace with increasing demand for Terylene, particularly for production of skirts, trousers, suits, ties, curtains, stockings, as well as for industrial uses.
of
America has been selected b y Centre d'Etudes pour les Applications de l'Energie Nucléaire ( C E A N ) of Bel-
• C&EN Foreign Correspondent Contributing to This Issue:
A. P. SOM, India
