July, 1913
T H E JOCRS.$L OF I S D L - S T R I A L .4SD E . Y G I S E E R I S G C H E M I S T R Y
much more easily than in a n electric furnace; that the reactions occur quickly without any change in the modus ofierandi usual in steel-making; and that the fusion time is reduced one-half and a furnace can double its output. Some trouble has, however, been experienced in maintaining the furnace walls, owing to the high temperatures. THE STORAGE OF INFLAMMABLE LIQUIDS At the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, held in New York, May 13-15, 1913, about one-half of the report of the Committee on Laws and Ordinances was devoted to a suggested complete ordinance to regulate the use, handling, storage and sale of inflammable liquids, etc. I t was explained that this was the completed work of several former committees and that the ordinance vias much desired throughout the United States. Inflammable liquids were classified in accordance with their flash-point. Class I , the most dangerous, included ethyl ether, carbon disulfide, gasoline, naphtha, benzole, collodion, “hydro-carbon’’ (“gas-drips”), and liquefied petroleum gas. Class z embraced acetone, alcohol, amyl acetate, and toluol. Class 3, the least dangerous, included kerosene, amyl alcohol, turpentine, whisky, and brandy. Severe restrictions were placed on the storage of Classes I and 2 , although in a few minor ways Class 3 was to be treated similarly to Class 3. Strong objection to the classXcation on the basis of flashpoint alone was raised by those interested in the manufacture and sale of alcohol for commercial use. I t was claimed that the actual fire hazard was not in proportion to the flash-point, which placed alcohol in Class I , but that it was greatly reduced through the lightness of alcohol vapor and its rapid diffusion in air to a non-inflammable and non-explosive mixture, together with its miscibility, which prevented the burning and raporizing liquid from being scattered by water. The4e disputed points are to receive investigation by the committee. [ I t may be stated on the authority of von Schwartz (“Fire and Explosion Risks,” 1904,p. 270) that “in point of general fire-risk, alcohol is far below ether, benzol, carbon disulfide, and similar liquids.” Alcohol between 60 and 99.j70 strength is more inflammable than ordinary petroleum; but the vapors are far less explosive, since. in order to attain this condition, they require to be Strongly heated and placed in contact with a flame or spark. Special danger attaches to alcohol by reason of its high diffusibility; the stronger the alcohol, the more rapid is the dispersion --W. A. H.] FUEL BRIQUETTING I N THE UNITED STATES Fuel briquetting in the United States in 1912 is discussed by E. W. Parker in an Advance Chapter from Mineral Resources of the United States .for 1912 (U. S. Geological Survey, 19x3). Although the quantity of briquetted fuel manufactured in the United States in 1912 did not show- any material gain over the preceding year, the industry may be considered as passing out of the experimental stage and assuming more of a substantial and permanent character. The total quantity of hriquetted fuel made in this country in 1912 was 220,064 short tons, valued a t .$9j2,261, as compared with 218,443 tons, valued a t $808,721, in 1911. There were nineteen plants which contributed to the production in 1912; of these, 9 in the Eastern States produced 107,181 tons, 7 in the Central States produced 89,711 tons, and 3 on the Pacific Coast produced 23,169 tons. Seven plants used anthracite culm, 9 used bituminous or semibituminous slack, I used carbon residue from gas manufactured from oil, I used mixed anthracite culm and bituminous slack, and I used peat. Two plants, I a t Detroit, Mich., and I a t Point Breeze, Philadelphia, Pa., which were constructed for the purpose of principally utilizing coke breeze, were not operated in 1912,
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the abrasive action of the coke dust being so destructive to the molds and machinery that the plants have been closed. Among the indications of the interest taken in the briquetting industry as promising future development are the following: I . The organization of the Malcolmson Briquet Engineering Co., of St. Louis, Mo., for the purpose of designing, building, and equipping briquetting plants, but not for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture of briquets. 2. In contemplation, the construction of a plant for the manufacture of boulets by the Devillers or Belgian process a t Grafton, 1%’. Va., which shall utilize bituminous slack from the mines of the Grafton district. 3. I n contemplation, the construction of a plant a t Cambridge, Mass., by the Atlas Coal Briquet Co., with headquarters in Boston. I t is reported that the contract has been closed for the construction and equipment of a plant similar in design and character of output to the one in Brooklyn, N. Y. 4. Under construction, the plant of the Northern Briquetting Co., a t Jlinot, N. Dak., for the purpose of utilizing lignite, of which ample supplies are available. The plant is expected to be in operation in August, 1913. 5. I n contemplation, the Pacific Coast Coal Co., Seattle, Wash., expects to have a plant completed by October, 19x3. The character of the fuel and the binder to be used are iiot stated. “PAROL” -4 new fuel for use in internal combustion engines has recently attracted attention in Johannesburg, South Africa. This gasoline substitute, now being marketed under the name of “Parol,” is said (Chem. Cl’orld, 2, I 75) to be made from paraffin by a chemical process and without the use of heat. I t is claimed by the manufacturers that, by means of the chemical process employed, the property which creates carbon in the cylinders and forms soot around the sparking plug is eliminated; the paraffin used in all the tests so far is of I j o o fire test. The manufacturers contemplate going to England in the near future to compete in the tests to be conducted by the Royal Automobile Club for fuels other than petrol.
SOLID ALCOHOL The methods used in the preparation of solid alcohol may be classed in three categories (Chem. News, 107,257). The first consists in fabricating a solid soap into which alcohol is mechanically incorporated; in this manner a translucid product is obtained containing 60 per cent of alcohol. Instead of employing soap as a vehicle, the alcohol may be enriched with collodion; the process is more expensive than the preceding one, but it gives a more satisfactory product, because of much easier combustion and of a more engaging exterior aspect. Usually alcohol soaps are delivered by trade in the form of a paste enclosed in a metal box made in one piece, which can be used as a warmer, the cover of which has openings that can be regulated, so as, if need be, to act as moderator to the flame; on the contrary, the collodions of alcohol are arranged for sale in the form of pills or ovals, almost transparent. Both soaps and collodions are too expensive to be practically utilizable as industrial combustibles; their employment is restricted to applications of luxury, such, for example, as being burned in toilet-lamps, traveling spirit lamps, etc. However, it is not the same for the little bricks of sawdust impregnated with alcohol and agglutinated with coal-tar that are just now being brought out in trade a t a low price, and which may turn out to be a practical combustible. BENZOLE AS A MOTOR FUEL We learn from The Chemical Trade Journal, 52, 569, that the committee appointed by the Automobile Club and kindred
