G . E. New
Introduces Power
Distribution
System
\ NEW electric power distribution sys•^^ tern for industrial plants which will save the Nation many tons of vital copper and other strategic materials and enable defense plants t o make speedier installations of power equipment was announced by the General Electric Co. at a meeting of business paper editors in N e w York, January 2 3 . The new system, named the load-center power distribution system, would save the Nation upwards of 5,000,000 pounds of copper and steel if it were installed in all expansions proposed and underway for 1942. On a medium-size factory with a power demand of 3,000 kv.-amp., using its voltage at 480 volts supplied from two utility 13,200-volt lines, it has been estimated that 7,800 pounds of steel, 11,500 pounds of copper, and 1,300 pounds of other materials can be saved—all vital t o the war program. This means a saving of $12,000, or 21 per cent over the more complicated, outmoded systems. T h e load-center power distribution system is characterized by the distribution of electric power directly t o the production area, or load center, and is there stepped down to the voltage at which it is used. Short secondary cables then feed power to motors, lamps, and other equipment. Other distribution systems usually employ a large substation to transform power from high voltage, ranging from 2,300 to 15,000 volts, down to the voltage at which it will be used. Long, heavy, low-voltage power cables then distribute the power throughout the factory to where it is to be used. With the new system, a plant in which the total power load exceeds 1,000 kv.amp. has several small load-center unit substations distributed throughout the plant, each near the center of its load area. This arrangement does away, largely, with the high cost and the voltage drop incidental to long, heavy, lowvoltage circuits. The t w o outstanding fundamental principles of load-center power distribution therefore are: Power is distributed at high voltage to the load centers. There it is stepped down to utilization voltage and distributed to the load via short secondary feeders. When the total load exceeds 750 to 1,200 kv.-amp., several small unit substations are used rather than a single large substation. Each small substation is located near the center of the load area, thus 436
Top. O l d substation design, such as this installed outside industrial plant, frequently requires Ions secondary feeders of heavy copper originating at a considerable distance from the load center. Center. Load-center unit substation installed in an ordnance plant. Easily removable draw-out type secondary air circuit breakers are shown. Bottom. Even in outdoor installations, compactness of equipment has i m portant advantages, as in the case of this 150-kv.-amp. load-center unit substation. C H E M I C A L
A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
N E W S
center equipment, units can be placed right on the production floor where needed and additional units added when and where wanted disturbing the operating system. The load-center unit substation can be moved easily from one location to another to cope with changes in electrical demands which accompany changes in manufacturing technique.
Savings in Material with Load-Center Distribution APPARATUS CABLE TOTAL
Steel Copper Others
4,800 400 -1,200
3,000 11,100 2,500
7,800 11,500 1.300
Total
4,000
16,600
20,600
Savings in Cost with Load-Center Distribution LOAD CENTER
LOAD CENTER SAVINGS
S13.100 27,500 3,900
- S I , 100 6.900 6,200
Total S56.500 S44.500 Includes primary cable
812,000
OLD
Primary switchgear $ 12,000 Substations 34,400 Cable* 10,100 1
Substitute for Chlorinated Solvents D e v e l o p e d
largely eliminating the high cost and voltage drop of long, heavy, low-voltage circuits. Though load-center power distribution a s such is not new, having been used successfully in the utility field, the recent development of standard fully enclosed a n d protected substation equipment, specially designed for installation in production areas, has opened the w a y for industrial use of this flexible, materialsaving system. Several factors combine to effect material savings. Because the low-voltage feeder runs are short, less secondary cable is needed. The transmission of power from a large substation to the production area by low voltage, as in the old system, requires many times the copper needed t o supply the same amount of power by high voltage to the load-center unit subV O L U M E
2 0,
N O .
7
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stations. Since the smaller transformers of the load-center unit substation need less secondary short-circuit current, smaller feeder breakers can be used. Instead of an outdoor switching station, a small, compact, metal-clad structure is used. In times of rapid plant expansion, as characterized today, it is often necessary for the power system to be in and working before expansions or new plants are completed. In the new system unit substations are completely wired and built in the factory and reach installation sites practically ready for operation. The old power systems require accurate forecasting of the location and magnitude of the load, to determine the best location for the large outdoor substation. I t is also necessary to provide a ''cushion" for future load growth. With the new loadA P R I L
10,
1 9 4 2
A N IMPROVED wetting and emulsifying *^^ agent, Dresinate, for use with all types of alkaline metal cleaners has been developed by the Research Department of Hercules Powder Co., Wilmington, Del. The new material assists aqueous alkaline solutions in certain applications to replace some of the chlorinated solvents, now scarce because of the chlorine shortage, and is cited by the company as a possible response to WPB's recent request that metal fabricators investigate cleaning methods which use no chlorinated solvents. The penetrant, a finely divided, uniform powder, is available in practically unlimited quantities at a lower cost than the common emulsifying agents used by the metal cleaning industry, the company says. Addition of 3 t o 15 per cent of Dresinate to an alkaline cleaning solution, while it reduces the alkalinity slightly, nevertheless increases the detergency of the solution. The material can be mixed with alkaline cleaners without special equipment since it is a dry powder, readily and completely soluble in water. Alkaline solutions containing the material are rapidly rinsed from metals, speeding the time required for the cleaning operation, according to Hercules.
487
Sulfuric A c i d Used W i d e l y b y Industries of Ecuador
Business Statistics
w
E ARE indebted to the Manufacturing Chemists' Association, 608 Woodward Bldg., Washington, D . C , for the following figures showing business conditions. M o n t h l y Statistical Report on Business Conditions SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
WITHOUT ADJUSTMENT
Feb. 1942
Jan. 1942
Feb. 1941
Feb. 1942
Jan. 1942
Feb. 1941
Industrial production** Chemical production Steel production Pig iron production Freight car loadings
173* 157* 210 187 136
171 154 208 189 140
144 124 187 176 124
168b6 157 210 187 126
165 153 208 189 129
140 124 187 176 115
(BASE 1923-25 = 100) Construction contracts, residential All o t h e r D e p a r t m e n t s t o r e sales, v a l u e
916 128& 125*
82 147 138
76 118 103
SI 6 109h6 99
68 119 108
68 100 82
(BASE 1935-39 = 100)
I n d e x of factory e m p l o y m e n t * : All m a n u f a c t u r i n g Chemicals Drugs Fertilizers C o m p r e s s e d gases I n d e x of factory p a y rolls*: All m a n u f a c t u r i n g Chemicals Drugs Fertilizers C o m p r e s s e d gases ( B A S E 1926 =
Feb. 1942
Jan. 1942
132.9 b6 187.S 154.56b 163.9 151.1*
132.4 185.9 151.6 124.8 147.9
117.8 155.1 119.3 113.2 128.0
176.9 b 277.l b6 186.4 6 159.5 203.3 6
173.5 275.7 187.4 120.9 194.4
126.8 193.9 136.4 92.8 143.9
94.9 96.3 126.5 79.3
94.6 95.3 126.3 78.6
84.4 85.7 96.9 70.4
Feb. 1941
100)
W h o l e s a l e price indexes: All p r o d u c t s (except farm p r o d u c t s a n d foods) Cheminftli D r u g s and p h a r m a c e u t i c a l s Fertilizer m a t e r i a l s P u r c h a s i n g p o w e r of t h e d o l l a r : All p r o d u c t s (except f a r m p r o d u c t s a n d foods) Chemicals Drugs and pharmaceuticals Fertilizer m a t e r i a l s
$1,053 1.039 0.790 1.261
SI.058 1.049 0.792 1.272
SI.185 1.168 1.032 1.420
°6 Source of statistics in first seven items: Federal Reserve Board. Preliminary figures. c U. S. Department of Labor.
Cuba Exports Crude G l y c e r o l , imports Refined I^TTBA exports crude glycerol to the United States and imports the refined product from this country, Argentina, and Mexico. The largest consumption in Cuba i s in toothpaste manufacture. Although no official Cuban import figures on refined glycerol are available, exports of the crude product to the United States showed an annual average of 1,272,600 pounds for 1937-40. In 1940 such imports from Cuba by the United States amounted to 2,950,700 pounds valued at $219,600, while for the first nine months of 1941 imports stood at the same figure as for the whole of 1940 and had a value of $223,100.
CHEMICAL imports valued a t $275,000 were reported from the Gold Coast of Africa for the first eight months of 1941, compared with $288,700 for the same period of 1940, according to t h e U. S. D e partment of Commerce.
use of sulfuric acid in the industries of Ecuador is reported by trade advisors in that country, who add that formerly Germany and the United Kingdom supplied all imports. T h e acid is used in tanning, shoe manufacture, bleaching and dyeing cotton cloth, dyeing woolen yarns, drug manufacture, deoxidation baths for metal plating, and manufacture of small tin and other metal objects. U . S. Is British Kenya's T o p Pyrcthrum Customer I^WENYA, British African colony, shipped 620 tons of pyrethrum flowers in October 1941. Only about 40 tons went to destinations other than the United States. Shipments during July through October amounted t o 2,246 tons, of which 1,880 were exported to the United States.
N e w Plaskon Laboratory TVTEWEST among laboratories in the plastics industry, the research and engineering building of the Plaskon Co. was formally dedicated in Toledo on February 27, in the presence of 165 leaders of the industry. E. R. Weidlein, director of Mellon Institute, made the principal opening address. The laboratory, which is under the direction of A. M. Howald, sets several new standards. The proportion of its space, 42.5 per cent, which is devoted t o engineering and pilot plant is unusually large. Separate laboratories all open directly off t h e central engineering space. Special accommodations have also been built for engineering on customer problems. Pure research will be prosecuted in its own department. The technical library of many thousand volumes is the only one in its field in this region. The laboratory has 15,000 square feet and 250,000 cubic feet. Twenty-five technologists will staff it.
A HE board of directors of the Swedish Norrbottens Jarnverk A B has recommended erection of a basic slag plant to produce approximately 10,000 metric tons annually.
488
CHEMICAL
AND ENGINEERING
NEWS
