XXI. NAVAL STORES RESEARCH BRINGS RESULTS* L. N. BENT,HmcaEs POWDER COMPANY, W I L ~ G T O DELAWARE N. An industry faced with overproduction and a limited market for its products has two alternatives if it desires to correct the situation without waiting for the ultimate economic solution, which is "survival of the fittest." One alternative is the purely artificial and difficult method of curtailing production to meet the demand, which can be accomplished only if the industry is controlled by a limited number of interests or with governmental aid. This policy is sound only if the restriction of output will in the long run result in conservation of natural resources to meet the normally increasing demands of a growing population. The other alternative is actually to increase the demand for the products of the industry and to create new products for which there is already an established demand. This can only be accomplished through research. Research is expensive and sometimes slow in getting results; but any industry, the development of which is based on the right kind of research, will eventually find itself in a position to meet any economic condition without disaster. The naval stores industry for years has been suffering from overproduction and a limited outlet for its products. This condition has given rise to many kinds of speculative and artificial trade practices which have been responsible for direct loss to producer and consumer alike. This condition has been generally recognized and much discussion has taken place in an attempt to amve a t some solution of the problem. Curtailment of production has been proposed and various schemes have been suggested whereby this could be accomplished. Concerted advertising has been suggested and research through the Pme Institute of America has been started. In view of the general interest in the present and future problems of our industry, it may be timely and of interest to outline briefly the endeavors and accomplishments of the Hercules Powder Company since its advent into the naval stores industry about ten years ago. The Hercules Powder Company confmed itself entirely to the production and sale of naval stores produced from wood by the steam and solvent process and very soon realized that a very limited demand existed for the products made in this way. Production capacity far exceeded the market,
* Reprinted from American Paint Journal, September 2, 2365
1929.
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costs were high, and a very decided prejudice was held hy the consumer against wood rosin and wood turpentine. To meet this situation a very definite policy was decided upon: first, to cut production commensurate with sales, and then to embark upon an extensive research program having as its object improvement of process and quality of products and the development of new markets and new products which could be sold. Following this program, one of our plants was immediately shut down and later abandoned, and the other plants were operated at reduced capacity. Research laboratories were established in the South and in the North. The southern laboratories were designed to work on improvements in process and products and the northern laboratories were to work out the more fundamental chemical problems requiring special and intricate laboratory apparatus and to establish and maintain contacts with other industries. I t was recognized very early in this work that very little real progress could be made unless we knew more about the materials with which we were dealing. Nobody knew exactly what rosin was and what impurities in rosin caused different results when used in different industries. Pine oil and its constituents were more or less of a mystery, and the constituents of turpentine and their properties were little understood. Much time has been spent in purely fundamental research with the idea that, once having real facts to work on, development of new products would be much more rapid. Our laboratories in the South instituted strict chemical control of operations, with the result that the cost of manufacture was materially reduced and finished products, uniform in character, were consistently turned out. Consumer's Needs Must Be Met
It is useless to make products for sale unless they meet the requirements of the consumer, both from the standpoint of quality and cost. To get the viewpoint of the consumer, we established a so-called Technical Service Department made up of highly trained chemists and engineers, each possessing special knowledge of some basic industry consuming naval stores. This department serves as the contact between consumer and research laboratory and between consumer and production department. Knowing both consumers' requirements and conditions and the possibilities of our plants and laboratories, it is largely responsible for ideas from which new and useful products originate. Besides this, the members of the Technical Service Department have many times been able, out of their experience, to show customers how to use our products more economically or perhaps how to replace some other product with a naval
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stores product to advantage. The work of our Technical Service Department is market research of a very practical and necessary character. Typical of the economies resulting from Hercules men working closely with the consumer is the shipment of rosin in tank cars with its consequent saving in package, freight, and handling; the manufacture of special kmds of limed rosin designed to save the consumer the cost of an added operation, but accomplished a t our plants without extra cost; and many other special grades of rosin made to meet conditions where solubility, meltingpoints, and freedom from crystallization are necessary. Years Required for Research Work of our research laboratories is so basic in its character that many years must elapse before its real value to the industry will be completely apparent. However, already much of commercial importance has been accomplished and mention of the more outstanding developments will perhaps be interesting. The most important development from the standpoint of the steam and solvent industry is undoubtedly the production of refined wood rosins. These rosins make possible and desirable the use of wood rosin in all classes of industry using rosin. These new rosins are enabliig consumers to produce superior products a t lower cost. They have been made possible by chemists working in Hercules laboratories, and the products and processes have been patented. Varnish and Lacquer Materials "B" wood rosin is a new naval stores product. It is a low-cost material, but with unique properties; and is attracting the attention of many industries, some of which have never used any k i d of rosin before. Rosin esters, prepared from practically every available alcohol, are now available, makiig it possible for the naval stores industry to find an outlet for some of its products in the rapidly expanding lacquer and thermoplastic industry. These processes were developed by Hercules chemists and many of the products are patented. Research has made naval stores of particular interest to gloss oil and varnish manufacturers. By a low-temperature method of liming rosin, it has been possible to procure greater capacity from existing installations, decreased fire hazard, and a better quality of hished product. In the turpentine field great progress has been made. Steam-distilled turpentine has been developed to a point where it is now superior to most other turpentine on the market. This has been accomplished by eliminating heavy end or high-boiling constituents which cause slow drying or tackiness, and by elimination of aldehydes and other foreign bodies.
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New Developments An entirely new chemical with distinctly valuable properties has been added to the naval stores industry with the development of dipentene. This product was first put on the market by Hercules in the form of solvenol. Its ultimate possibilities are as yet far from being realized. Terpene chemicals, heretofore known mostly as chemical cnrios'ities, are now available in commercial quantities a t reasonable prices. These include fenchyl alcohol, fenchone, alpha terpineol, borneol, and other terpenes and terpene alcohols. These products, or their esters or other derivatives, are interesting on account of their high molecular properties. They may serve as the starting point in the manufacturing of an almost endless number of other chemicals. Polymerized and condensation products, as well as hydrogenated and ozonized terpenes, are other terpene chemicals which possess very interesting characteristics and should occupy an important place in the industrial world. Unlimited Possibilities Other special products have also been produced in our research laboratories and are now being tested to determine their properties and possibilities. These developments have been conducted on the basis of rosin, turpentine, and pine oil being potentially valuable organic chemicals whose derivatives offer almost unlimited practical application. I t will be noted that many of the products and processes discovered in Hercules laboratories are covered by patents. This is a practical and necessary culmination of research work, whether conducted by an individual producer or by a united industry. Protection by patents implies monopoly; but such monopoly properly administered means stabilization and progress to the whole industry, at the same time benefiting the consumer, without imposing a penalty on those whose expenditure of time and money has made such progress possible. Looking back over the past few years, we believe some real progress can be shown resulting from our advertising, technical service, and research work. The terms "wood," as applied to rosin, and "steam-distilled," as applied to turpentine, no longer indicate inferiority to the customer; on the contrary, they now indicate reliable, uniform raw materials, especially adapted to meet the varying requirements of the consuming industries. How Individual Effort Benefits Industry Our work, of course, has been primarily to increase the demand for Hercules products and to enable us to meet this demand in the face of increasing and destructive competition. However, the results of our work
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will, undoubtedly, be of value to the naval stores industry as a whole; and rosin and turpentine producers are bound to share in the new markets for our products which are continually being developed as a result of our research work.
