WILLIAM S. HILL 1l1"entber, E.~aminittg Corps, United State3 Patent Office
Pipet. No. 2,339,870. Waddy T. Mathis, Hamden, Connecticut, assignor to Clay Adams Company, New York City. There are some laboratory reagents for which the chemist never does acquire a taste. Furthermore, where a large amount of quantitative work is in progress, he may wear out both the end of a finger and his patience in endless pipetting operations.
i'
IS
most of the buds. Every year tremendous losses art sustained by fruit growers because of early spells cI warm weather but the condition is not usually as wide· spread as it was last spring. The present patent offers a method of retarding bud development in almost all types of plants. Some of the substances that retard bud development have the opposite effect on root growth, that is, they stimulate the growth of roots. Substances found especially effective were naphthalene substitution products of acetic acid. Naphthalene· acetic acid, naphthoxyacetic acid, and the alkali metal salts and the lower alcohol esters thereof are some mon specific examples of substances used. The substances may be dissolved in alcohol, added to water, and applied to the buds of trees, plants, and the like, by spraying. The exact time of application was found to be very critical and the concentration also affected the success of treatment. In general, bud growth could be reo tarded two or three weeks by a single application and could be further delayed by subsequent applications.
Method of Stimulating Plants. Re. 22,420. Robert N. Du Puis and C. W. Lenth, assignors to Associa· tion of American Soap and Glycerine Producers, Inc., New York City. It is often desirable to stimulate tbe growth of plants which have been transplanted. Large losses are often experienced in transporting tomato and other seedlings from southern growers to northern points. The patent describes a method of treating plant roots and tubers which greatly cuts down losses in transplanting and, in FIGURE I many cases, stimulates the growth of plants. The patent describes the operation and construction Tomato plants may be packed in bundles and the of the novel pipet illustrated in the figure. The rubber roots wrapped in peat moss wet with a polyhydric bulb, 12, fits snugly on the end of a pipet by means of alcohol solution. The concentration range may vary nipple, 15. A narrow frame, 22, holds shaft, 26. This from 0.1 to 10 per cent, and the alcohols found effective shaft is pressed by finger piece, 30, against the rubber include glycerol, sorbitol, diethylene glycol, and probulb. The shaft is threaded to allow nut, 32, to be set pylene glycol. at any desired position. 33 is a lock nut. Nut 32 may The roots of pepper, sweet potato, broccoli, and other be set at any desired place on the shaft so that any vegetable plants, as well as fruit trees, roses, or almost definite quantity of liquid may be drawn up into the any other plant subject to transplanting, may be pipet when the plunger is first pressed, then released. benefited. Treatment may be applied to the roots directly instead of wetting the peat moss. Treatment of Plant Buds. No. 2,341,867. Albert E. Glycerin-treated tubers such as potatoes, if soaked in Hitchcock and Percy W. Zimmerman, Yonkers, New the solution just before planting, are found to give York, assignors to Boyce Thompson Institute for appreciably higher yields. Plant Research, Inc., Yonkers, New York. Since concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent were The 1943 fruit crop in the eastern U. S. was largely a found to be effective, the stimulation is not believed failure due to early warm weather which started bud due to the water-absorbing properties of the liquids growth, followed by freezing temperatures that killed used. 228 11
229
MAY, 1944 Manufacture of Artificial Fibers from Protein Material. No. 2,340,909. David Traill, et al., Scotland, assignors to Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., of
Great Britain. It seems that useful fibers can be made out of almost anything. This patent describes the manufacture of either coarse or fine artificial fibers from the vegetable globulins separable from groundnuts or peanuts. These fibers are suitable for use in the manufacture of brushes. Protein derived from the nuts, as described in British patent No. 513,896, is ground to a paste in water. More water is added and an emulsion is formed wi th the aid of ammonia. The dispersion is then heated for 2 1/ 2 hours at 70°C. in a closed container. This results in an increase of viscosity ·to a jelly-like consistency. After cooling, the composition is extruded into a coagulating bath of 30 per cent sulfuric acid. The fiber is drawn from the coagulant without tension, treated with fonnaldehyde, and then stretched. The fibers next undergo washing and drying after which they are soaked in a solution of thionyl chloride for four days at 35°C.
Method of Treating Cereal Grains. No. 2,340,313. Theodore Earl, assignor to Continental Baking Company, Wilmington, Delaware. Vitamin- and mineral-conscious America has been eating polished grain from which practically all of the vitamins and minerals have been removed. To make up for this, Americans have been buying carloads of well-advertised vitamin and mineral preparations. Why not eat the unpolished grain and save money and time? This should now be possible with less discomfort. The patent describes a method of removing the outer woody bran coats of certain grains without hanning the inner coats which contain the vitamins and minerals. Rice, oats, rye, and wheat may be so treated. Usual methods of preparing cereal grains result in removing the entire bran coat, the genn of the berry, and a percentage of the endosperm. This is done in order to insure removal of the undesirable bran-coat material. The process described here begins with agitating the whole grains in a water bath to pennit soaking, softening, and wrinkling of the outer bran coat. This loosens the outer coat from the underlying laminations. The next and most important step is the circulation of the conditioned grains in contact with rubber-lined surfaces. This causes moderate rubbing and progressive peeling of the laminations. By froth flotation, air, or liquid currents, the flaky material is floated to the top of the container and removed. The process may be continued to any extent desired. In this way the germ is preserved along with the desired number of inner bran laminations. Synthesis of Wound Hormones. No. 2,339,259. James English, Jr., et at., assignors to California Institute Research Foundation, Pasadena, California. There are certain honnones which are capable of evoking cell division and cell enlargement in undam-
aged cells of mature plant tissue. These honnones are normally secreted by the plant and are used to close wounds in the plant. They may also be extracted from one plant and applied to another for repair purposes. The patent describes the synthesis of one of these plant hormones, namely, l-decene-l,lO-dicarboxylic acid. In one example of the method, undecylenic acid methyl ester (b. p. 119-120°C., 10 mm.) is oxidized by ozone in acetic acid solution to the half aldehyde of methyl sebacate (b. p. l24--l25°C., 4 rnm.). To 13 g. of this product are added 15 g. malonic acid and 15 g. dry pyridine. The mixture is heated for four hours under reflux. The clear solution which results is acidified, poured into water, and extracted with ether. The pyridine is removed by extraction with dilute hydrochloric acid, the ether is evaporated, and the crude product hydrolyzed with 3 N sodium hydroxide for two hours. Upon addition of acid, the l-decene-l,10carboxylic acid precipitates. Recovery of Molybdenum and Tungsten from Ores. No. 2,339,888. George S. Smith, Uravan, Colorado, assignor to United States Vanadium Corporation. )...'[odern metallurgy has greatly increased the demand for alloy steels. Building of tanks and armorplated ships has also skyrocketed requirements for these products. lVlolybdenum and tungsten, which are needed for the compounding of many alloy steels, often occur together in ores. Separation of the two metals is then necessary. This may be a real problem in ores such as the ScheeIites because a substantial proportion of molybdenum is present as an isomorphic replacement of tungsten. The patent describes a commercially practicable method of treating the Scheelites to recover most of the molybdenum and tungsten. The finely ground ore is digested with sodium hydroxide. The amount of alkali used should be about 3 to 5 times the theoretical amount required by th~ equations:
+ CaMo04 + CaW04
+ Ca(OHh ~a~Mo04 + c;.a(OHh
2NaOH
~ ~a~W04
2NaOH
~
The digestion is continued for five hours at 130°C. The solution resulting from the digestion step is diluted with water and vacuum-filtered. The filtrate containing the molybdate and tungstate is then treated with sodium sulfide. This precipitates the molybdenum according to the equation: 3~a~
+
8Hel
+
NatMo04
~
MoSs
+
8NaCI
+
4H t O
If 1.8 times the theoretical amount of sodium sulfide is used, about 99.9 per cent of the molybdenum precipitates as sulfide. The temperature is raised to at least 70°C. and the pH adjusted to between land 5 in order to suppress precipitation of tungsten. The higher the concentration of molybdenum in the solution the higher is the allowable pH. The molybdenum sulfide is remo\'ed by filtration and may be further treated to obtain a commercial product. The filtrate, which still contains the tungstate,
230
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EOUCATIO,'
may be oxidized with sodium chlorate. The tungsten may either be recovered by crystallization or precipitated as calcium tungstate upon addition of calcium hydroxide. Electrolytic Production of Alloys. No. 2,341,244. W. W. Shropshire and A. L. Frohman, assignors to International Smelting and Refining Company, New York City. Lead containing small amounts of higher-melting metals has many commercial applications. The patent describes an electrolytic method of alloying metals such as copper and molten lead. The method is described with the aid of'the accompanying figure, in which 8 is a heated iron pot containing molten lead, 3,
copper anode. The chlorine is not lost as a gas but a continuously to regenerate the electrolyte. The copper ions become uniformly dispersed throughout the lead The process is claimed to be an improvement over prior methods of melting the two metals together or tht addition of salts to the molten lead. The presenl method is further stated to be applicable to manl metals other than copper.
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Insoluble Polymers Derived from Styrene. N. 2,341,175. Edgar C. Britton, et al., assignors to till Dow Chemical Company. This invention relates to new types of copolymen derived from styrene. Because of their characteristX appearance and feel these substances have becom~ known as the "popcorn" polymers. In fonning the new polymers. styrene is polymerizet with minor proportions of substances which may b divided into three groups: 1.
2. 3. FIGURE 2
and 1 is a copper anode suspended about 1 inch above the level of the molten lead and surrounded by an electrolyte. fused lead chloride, which may contain some alkali metal or alkaline earth or other metal chlorides which both lower the melting point of the lead cWoride and increase its electrical conductivity. The confining cylinder. 6, is of metal lined with refractory concrete. Cathode connections are at 4 and 5, the real cathode being the molten lead, 3. The lead is stirred from time to time by stirrer, 7. At the anode, copper ions are fonned which react with chloride ions from the fused electrolyte to form cuprous chloride. The cuprous chloride dissociates immediately.to form copper ions which migrate to the lead cathode, and chloride ions which migrate to the
Neutral unsaturated. acid esters of unsaturatel" alcohols, e. g., allyl cinnamate. Neutral saturated polycarboxylic esters of WI saturated alcohols, e. g., diallyl oxalate. Neutral esters of unsaturated acids with poly hydric alcohols, e. g., ethylene dicrotonate.
Sixteen examples of preparation are given in th patent, one of which follo,vs: One hundred parts of stryene and 20 parts of aliI cinnamate were polymerized by heating at 70 to 80'0 for six days. The completely polymerized product WI a fluffy, white mass having a small amount of a glasslill resin interspersed throughout. The two types of pol, mer were separated by being passed through a sienThis may be done because'the opaque white materiali readily crushed to a fine powder. The powder was in soluble and nonswelling in acetone, alcohol, benzene toluene, dioxane, carbon tetrachloride, etc. These new polymers are stated to have excellenl molding properties. When molded they become clear transparent, and glasslike with higher strength an: better resistance to\vard distortion by heat than moldei polystyrene.
POSTWAn JOBS IN ELEcrnoNIcs Students, teachers, librarians, counselors, parents, war workers, returning soldiers, and others interested in postwar jobs will find helpful information in a six·pagefolder on HOccupations in Electronics" by Forrest H. Kirkpatrick of Bethany College, and John E. Crawford of the Radio Corporation of America, plLblished by Occupational In(lex, Inc., at New }'ork University, New York 3, N. Y. Single copies are 25 cents, cash Idth order. This i,s one of a new series of lcnflets describing opportu,nities in. ficlds which are expect.ed to expand when the UXlr ends. Each covers the nature of the work, abilitics find training required, earnings, ,nethods of entrance and advancen'tent, geographical ~/i."'tribu tion of employluent, postwar /Jrospects, undother advantuges and disadvantuge.'l.
