CHEMICALS Up to 100% Hydrogen Peroxide Becco develops process for producing nearly anhy drous hydrogen peroxide— plant remains intact
Developers of the Corporal -Guided Missile
A . MYTH DIED on Nov. 2 2 w h e n Becco
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Active in all phases of propulsion and related materials research. The
nation's
foremost
guided-missile research and development facil ity,
established
1 9 4 0 , offers
in
excep
tional opportunities f o r engineers and research scientists
in a
range o f
broad
propulsion
and materials research p r o b l e m s . Special inter-
«Jtelpnclude p o l y m e r Λ
chemistry* sol id -state
phy«ci,%rteat" transfer, * t:prop^eUcirtt r e s e a r c h , ^*~„metallurgy, a n d hightempérature technology T h e L a b o r a t o r y -* offers a stimulating ^ 1^b.fend of academic a n d % "industrial environments. '* Attractive: salaries a r e
Becco's Bretschger,
A brochure describing opportunities and activities at the laboratory will be sent upon request.
il ΙΟΙΜ :ALIFORNIA
LABORATORY INSTITUTE OF T E C H N O L O G Y 4 8 0 0 OAK G R O V E
DRIVE
PASADENA 3, CALIFORNIA
5422
C&EN
DEC.
Chemical division o f F o o d Machinery and Chemical announced! the c o m m e r cial development of hydrogen peroxide solutions i n trie concentration r a n g e between 90 a n d virtually 1 0 0 % H 2 0 2 . When Becco, in 1946, offered 9 0 % H 2 0 2 , this w a s thougfcit to b e t h e practical limit of concentration. Most authorities felt that manufacturing dif ficulties in producing m o r e concen trated solutions w e r e insurmountable. Also, a t one time, prevailing opinion was that t h e e n d p r o d u c t w o u l d be too sensitive to be of a n y significant value. U . S . P a t e n t No. 2,724,640 issued Nov. 2 2 to G. G. C r e w s o n a n d J. R. Ryan a n d assigned to Becco covers the n e w process for concentrating hy drogen peroxide solution.. It d e p e n d s upon a continuous fractional crystal lization, such that a s o l i d p h a s e of progressively higher hycbrogen p e r o x i d e con ten ^ moves in one direction t h r o u g h the apparatus, while a Liquid progres sively poorer i n H 2 0 2 moves in t h e opposite direction. T h e n e w process, says Becco, is a n ideal c o m p l e m e n t to fractional distillation w h i c h is c o m mercially practical only u p t o a b o u t 9 0 % r l 2 0 2 . F e e d stock: for t h e crys tallization process of 90^? H 2 0 2 gives
12, 1 9 5 5
president, Max E . was borxi in Switzer l a n d in 1884. With a Ph.D. from t h e Uni versity of Zu r i c h in 1910, t i e spent sev e r a l years in various Euro p e a n chemical i n d u s t r ies, Later joining o n e of t h e first electrolytic hydrogen peroxide plants i n Switzerland. In 1925 h e came t o t h e United States to su pervise t h e construction of t h e Buffalo Electro-Chemical C o . , a n d
optimum results, says Becco. T h e take-off concentrations can b e regu lated t o s o m e degree, the practical maximum concentration being above 99.6% H 2 0 2 . Aside from the economical p r o d u c tion of nearly anhydrous hydrogen peroxide, Becco says trie crystallization process also rejects most of the impuri ties. Starting with feed stock (90%> H 2 0 2 ) which meets ACS specifica tions for reagent grade 3 0 % H 2 0 2 , Becco p r o d u c e s nearly anhydrous h y drogen peroxide b y t h e new m e t h o d with an impurity level much less t h a n t h a t allowed b y current ACS r e a g e n t specifications. T h e fractional crystal lization process operates best t o yield hydrogen peroxide of more t h a n 98%? H 2 0 2 , w h i c h can be diluted t o a n y desired concentration. Beyond a bulletin (No. 7 0 ) , a n d the patent, Becco is withholding a d d i tional details until 1956 when i t says technical articles describing properties a n d production of virtually 1 0 0 % H 2 0 2 will be released. Becco has designated its n e w peroxide a s S P 100. Becco's 9 0 % H 2 0 2 i s used in rocket propulsion. Becco doesn't say what, if any, n e w vistas it sees i n store for 10O9fc peroxide application.
later b e c a m e president of the com pany. Becco's original batch process p r o d u c e d a highly stable peroxide. In 1 9 3 5 t h e company installed a n e w continuous process a n d in 1943, through Bretschger s knowl e d g e of hydrogen peroxide chemis try Becco p r o d u c e d t h e first 9 0 % H 2 0 2 irL this country for t h e mili tary. Bretschger believed t h a t m o r e concentrated H 2 0 2 was pos sible a n d b y his joint endeavor with George G. Crewson succeeded in producing it. Bretschger says of the development, " T h i s is t h e e n d of t h e development. . . . It i s a milestone i n t h e history of t h e h y drogen peroxide industry."
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FLUORIDE
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12,
1955
C&EN
\
5423
HOW T O / C U T COSTS OIM DETERGEMTS More and more consumers are making substantia! savings o n t h e i r purchases of alkyl aryl sulfonates b y specifying Atlantic U l t r a w e t s i n bulk quantities. Bulk purchases call f o r storage facilities. A t l a n t i c has developed suggestions to help y o u . They include alloys, coatings^ equip ment, piping layout, and estimated costs. Atlantic is ready t o offer on-the-spot assistance to help you with your bulk storage problems. W r i t e for information on your company letterhead regard
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ing suggested bulk storage facilities for liquid Ultrawets. The Atlantic Refining Company, Dept. B-1 2,Chemical Products Sales, 260 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia 1 , Pa.
Philadelphia, Providence. (Charlotte. Chicago tn the W e s t . L. H. Butcher Co. In Canada : Naugatuck Chemicals Division of Dominion Rubber Company, Lt'd. In Europe Atlantic Chemicals SAB, Antwerp, Belgium In South America:
Atlantic Refining
C o m p a n y of Brazil, Rio d e Janeiro The ULTRAWETS
wet,
ΙΠ9» WÊÊÉÊË. liHliiPil
penetrate, clean, emulsify
DEC.
12, 1955 C & E N
5425
CHEMICALS
Frequent success has resulted from ^« investment in use research based on ^*| QO furfural. The return on the | investment has been derived through creation of new products, as well as through better methods for processing existing products. There are well over fifty commercial uses for QO furfural, with the list still growing at a healthy rate. Some of the principal useful properties of furfural are:
Β USE m g RESEARCH I I
POLAR SOLVENT A N D E X T R A C T I O N - F u r f u r a l
is useful in separating mixtures by solvent ex traction or extractive distillation. Excellent selec tivity, good phase separation, stability of the solvent, as well as ease and completeness of re covery are important features.
for new aiiu
-
improved .applications,
CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF THE ALDEHYDE CROUP—Furfural is an economical source of aldeliyde for the preparation of phenolic resins- The furan ring exerts a modifying effect on the re sultant resins and improves flow and deep draw properties, chemical resistance and wetting. REACTIONS OF THE RING—Many cyclic and open chain compounds are readily and econom ically obtainable from furfural. Here is an example of one reaction route that has opened up an entire new field.
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REACTIVE SOLVENT-—Furfural is not only a pow erful solvent but in some cases actually may be reacted with the solute, thus becoming a part of the final product. A good example of this is with phenolic resins. This property is valuable to manu facturers of abrasive wheels, brake linings and other products where wetting, solubility, and minimum production of volatiles are important.
cto CHEMICALS
A request on your letterhead for a sample and Bulletin 204 "Current Uses of FiirfuraT will re ceive prompt attention, and may be the start of a sound investment for you.
The Quaker Qafe Company
ffl[«™ 5426
C&EN
DEC.
12.
1955
333M The Merchandise Mari, Chicago 54, Illinois Room 533M r 120 Wail St., New York 5, Ν. Υ. Room 433M, P. O . Box 4376, Portland 8, Oregon In the United Kingdom: Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., Billingham, England In Europe: Quaker Oats-Graanproducten N. V . , Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Quaker Oats (France) S. Α., 3, Rue Pillet-Will, Paris IX, France In Australia: Swift & Company, Pry., Ltd., Sydney In Japan: F. Kanematsu & Co., Ltd., Tokyo
Wax. Raid kills flying and crawling insects in both house and garden and is harmless to humans and animals when used according to directions, says company. In addition, it does not injure foliage or blossoms of plants and is nonflammable. CS 3 h Di-isodecyl phthalate plasticizer is being produced commercially by OhioApex division of Food Machinery and Chemical. The compound is a primary plasticizer for most resins imparting permanent flexibility, good low tem perature flexibility, heat and light sta bility, low migration, low water extrac tion, and good hand and drape. CS 4 • Arapahoe Chemicals has the follow ing chemicals available in research and pilot quantities and says it can offer commercial quantities upon short no tice: cyclopentene, cyclopentyl pro pionic acid, succinyl choline chloride, cupferron, potassium metaperiodate, thioacetamide. CS 5 • Mann Research Labs is offering an amino acid kit. The kit priced at $85 contains 17 chromatographically pure DNP amino acids in 17 vials of 100 mgm. each. CS 6 • National Aniline has introduced three new dyes: National Solantine Brown 4RLVF is a nondusting direct dye which produces moderately bright shades of red-brown on cotton and rayon. It is said to possess good light fastness in direct dyeings and to retain fairly good fastness when aftertreated with crush proofing resins. It exhibits good fast ness to washing, acids, rubbing, water and sea water bleeding, and excellent fastness to perspiration, water spotting, and hot pressing, says company. Na tional Solantine Orange EGL is a nondusting direct dye producing on cotton and rayon moderately bright shades of yellow-orange. Company says it is practically unaffected by presence of metals in dyebath, leaves nylon and acetate practically unstained, levels well, and may b e applied at low tem peratures. National Carbenthrene Navy Blue G Double Paste is an anthraquinone vat dye producing green ish-navy blue shades on cotton and rayon. Company says outstanding characteristic is its excellent fastness to water spotting, and also its fastness t o light and to most wet fastness tests in cluding washing and chlorine. CS 7
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Further useful information on keyed Chemicals mentioned is readily available . . . Use handy coupon on page 5434
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