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NARMCO RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DIVISION/ CHEMICAL SALES 3540 Aero Court, San Diego, Calif. 92123 (714) 277-3040 40 C&EN MAY 2, 1966
bath containing a conventional crosslinking agent (dimethylqlethylene urea), a catalyst, and tetramethylene sulfone as a swelling agent. After curing for 10 minutes at 120° C , the swelling agent is rinsed out. The fabric is then rep added with catalyst, dried, and cured again at 170° C. for 10 minutes. Since the fiber is swollen following the first cure, the process can be easily combined with such treatments as polymer deposition for increased abrasion resistance of the fabric. Cotton mountain. Charles R. Sayre, president and general manager, Staple Cotton Cooperative Association, voiced some of the cotton industry's concern about its future in his opening remarks at the meeting. He says that there is a "mountain of cotton now on hand." With the influx of synthetics into the textiles business, there is an atmosphere of urgency among cotton people to push developments in cotton. "Cotton is slipping away to synthetic fibers," Mr. Sayre says, even though the price of cotton is decreasing. In the past 20 years, cotton's position has depended, paradoxically, on man-made contributions. Cotton's future will continue to rely on "man-made developments," Mr. Sayre says. Although he believes that there is some justification for pessimism about cotton's future, he points to a number of factors which will help cotton: population increases, quality gains, precision marketing, the price of cotton, accumulated research information, and shortening of the production chain. He believes that complacency and inertia among some cotton people will be pushed aside. As evidence of the effort that is going into promoting cotton, Mr. Sayre mentions the legislation before Congress which would provide a uniform method of raising funds to expand cotton markets. The legislation, H.R. 12322, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Harold D. Cooley ( D . - N . C ) , chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, provides that upon approval by two thirds of farmers voting in a referendum or two thirds of production of farmers voting, producers would be assessed $1.00 per bale for research and promotion. Producers not desiring to participate could obtain refunds on request. Currently, synthetic fibers producers are spending about $135 million a year for research and about $70 million a year for promotion. The cotton research effort by all agencies (including the Government) is $26 million a year and the cotton producers' promotion program is about $4 million a year.
Sulfur shortage seen for next four year's There will be a sulfur shortage worldwide for at least four more years, Harry C. Webb, president of Pan American Sulphur, told stockholders at the company's annual meeting. Although most producers have expanded their efforts to increase sulfur output, demand will continue to increase and will partly offset larger supplies. Prices of sulfur will continue to rise, Mr. Webb says. The increase will come primarily because consumption will exceed production as it has done world-wide in the past two years. But higher sulfur prices will also be needed to offset spending by sulfur companies in exploratory work to discover and make available more sulfur. World supplies of sulfur fell short of demand by about 1 million long tons in 1965. Shortages during 1966 may reach 1.5 million long tons, Mr. Webb predicts. In addition to increasing prices for its sulfur to $33.50 per gross ton at Tampa, Fla., and $36.25 per gross ton on the East Coast, Pan American Sulphur also has raised most of its world contract prices to about $35 per ton for dark sulfur and $36 per ton for light. Pan American shipped its quota of 200,000 metric tons from Mexico during the first quarter of 1966. It also sold more than 26,000 long tons of sulfur in Mexico during these first three months. Mr. Webb declines to predict the company's exports from Mexico for this quarter and for the rest of the year beyond the 830,000 total tonnage of its 1966 quota. So far the company has received permits to export 150,000 metric tons for the second quarter. The company expects additional permits. These will include the rest of its quarterly quota of 210,000 metric tons and increases equal to 10% of the new reserves found by the company in Mexico during the period of Nov. 1, 1965, to March 16, 1966, and certified by the Mexican Ministry of National Patrimony. Customers will continue to be on 50% allocation, at least until the export permits are issued. Pan American Sulphur's production rate has increased during the past two months to about 3500 long tons per day. This is the result of effective mudding processes in the wells and more uniform heating and bleedwater recovery. Above-ground sulfur inventories in Mexico should increase 400,000 long tons during 1966, Mr. Webb estimates.
