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CONCENTRATES
TECHNOLOGY Fuel cells could be combined with rechargeable batteries to power electric automobiles, Union Carbide's electronics division president, Robert A. Charpie, pro posed at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the electric car. Such a hybrid power system would combine the high energy-density of hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells with the peak power capability of nickel-cad mium batteries. Technological advances and mass-production economics, he says, will reduce the capital costs of the fuel cells, batteries, and hydrogen to an economical package. General Electric and the East Central Nuclear Group will study steam-cooled reactors to determine the feasibility of designing and operating a 50,000-kw ( e ). steam-cooled nuclear plant. Philip Sporn, chairman of ECNG's research and development committee, points out that steam-cooled reactors would be economical systems because they would use by-product plutonium from commercial reactors. They would, however, be intermediate sys tems between present reactors and the high-performance breeder reactors ( liquid sodium- or gas-cooled ) which are likely to be standard in the late 1980's. GE will do its part of the $1.2 million study at its nuclear energy division's advanced products operation in Sunnyvale, Calif. American Electric Power Service Corp., New York City, will design the plant. Fuel-cell systems that will generate 2 kw(e). for 2500 hours are the goal of a $3.4 million program by Allis-Chalmers for the National Aeronautics and Space Ad ministration. A-C will design, fabricate, and deliver to NASA five of the extended-life hydrogen-oxygen systems by early 1968 for use on Apollo missions. The work will be the last step of an A-C program for NASA under which the company has performed research and development on fuel-cell system packages that fulfill space flight requirements. More than 20 such systems have been tested by A-C and NASA, including a system that has an operating life of 1500 hours. Rohm and Haas's Kydex is being used in Beech Aircraft's titanium chemical milling system. The acrylic-polyvinyl chloride "alloy" was the only material to withstand seven days at temperatures from ambient to 115° F. during an etching cycle, according to Beech. Solution concentrations were from zero grams per liter when not in use to 50 grams per liter of titanium metals during milling; etchant was a mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acids (plus addi tives). Kydex also withstood a 90-day production test without adverse effects, according to A. H. Barnett, foreman of Beech's chemical milling department. In this test, the plastic was used to reline a tank which was shut down because of failure of the original liner. Kydex is now used as a liner for two 10 X 4 χ 4 foot tanks in Beech's new titanium etching facility at Wichita, Kan. One tank holds the etchant, the other contains a combination spray and immersion rinse. A dry-cleaning solvent that contains detergents is being sold by Dow Chemical. The solvent, called Dow-Per C-S, is blended with several different detergents, eliminat ing the need for adding detergent and periodic testing for concentration at the dry-cleaning location. The perchloroethylene solvent can be used in both coin-operated and large commercial equipment, Dow says. DowPer C-S doesn't change methods used for mothproofing, waterproofing, or sizing. It can be added as a makeup solvent to a dry cleaner's present sol vent system. MARCH 27, 1967 C&EN
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