Herman
Frasch
P E C U L I A R L Y fitting is some recognition this year of the 90th anniversary of the birth of Herman Frasch. Probably there is no chemist who does not know of the sulfur-mining method he invented and developed, which has established this country as the world's foremost producer of this most important chemical raw ma terial. Our chemical industry would be in a sad plight today were it still dependent on Sicily for sulfur as it was previous to the work of Herman Frasch. Yet another reason for reviewing the life of this great inventor is the current attack on the American patent system by many who do not seem to understand that the purpose of the patent system is to call forth and develop new processes and products enriching life and ensuring our independence. As a 24-year-old pharma cist in Philadelphia, Herman Frasch pat ented a process for refining paraffin wax. Sale of this process to the Cleveland Petro leum Co. was the beginning of his career as a chemical engineer. His native curiosity led him into many diverse fields where his ingenuity resulted in many inventions for which he obtained patents. With the in come obtained in this way he was enabled some 15 years later to solve successfully the problem of mining Louisiana sulfur, a project which has probably never been surpassed in the history of American chemical engineering for its technical and financial uncertainties. Herman Frasch came to America from Germany at the age of 16, having had a high school education as a pharmacist's ap prentice. He spent several years with Professor Maisch at the Philadelphia Col lege of Pharmacy and at the age of 22 established his own laboratory. Work with paraffin wax took him into the petroleum industry where he became affiliated with the Standard Oil Co. at Cleveland. While at Cleveland he made a number of important inventions, including the de velopment of waxed paper and an im proved oil lamp. In 1885 Mr. Frasch went into business for himself, purchasing a small refinery in Ontario where he worked out the process known among petroleum chemists as the Frasch process for desulfurizing oils by agitating and distilling the oil with copper oxide. It was immensely successful in treating high-sulfur crude oils of Ohio and Ontario and resulted in salvaging millions of dollars worth of oil previously unusable. The process was used on a large scale in refineries from Bayonne, N . J., to Whiting, Ind., for over 25 years. Mr. Frasch sold his petroleum business in 1888, but his interest in oil refining and production still continued as is evidenced by the patents he took out in this field, among them one for acidizing oil wells in 1890. Not until
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Chemical
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recent years was the real value of this method of oil-well treating f u l l y appreciated. Today many thousand barrels of oil are recovered by this method using hydrochloric acid. A more recent devel opment is the use of corrosion inhibitors to retard the attack of the acid on the well casing and equipment. Many other phases of the chemical scene in the latter part of the 19th century also interested Herman Frasch as shown by his patents on such widely diverse subjects as the manufacture of white lead from galena, ammonia soda process, mining and manufacture of salt, mining of gold and other metals, extraction of lin seed oil, and improvements in thermal elec tric generators. It was in 1890 that Mr. Frasch applied for his patents on the sulfur-mining process, which was to be his greatest work, and between that time and 1905 he applied for 10 patents on that process. It is not necessary to describe to chemists how the geological structures overlying the sulfur beds in Louisiana made it impossible to mine the sulfur by ordinary methods nor how the Frasch process obtained the sulfur by pumping down vast quantities of super heated water, melting the sulfur in the beds, and raising it with an air lift. Years of arduous work were required to develop the method. A single experiment required 20 boilers of 150 horsepower each to produce the amount of superheated water necessary at 335° F. N o t until 1903 was the success of the sulfur-mining process assured, and in that year Frasch's company produced 35,000 tons. Imports that year, mostly from Sicily, were 188,000 tons. B y 1907 im ports had dropped to 20,000 tons and ex ports reached 35,000 tons. In one test extending two months six w e l l s produce 122,000 tons! Since that time the Ameri can sulfur industry has been in a position to control the world market by the use of the Frasch process. For his inventions in oil refining and sulfur mining Frasch was presented with the Perkin medal in 1911, and his address given at that time can be found in Indus trial and Engineering Chemistry, Febru ary 1912. His retirement was spent in France where he died in Paris on May 1, 1914. Although he was born abroad and died abroad, most of his life was spent in America. He never received any formal engineering training, and yet he undoubt edly ranks as one of America's greatest chemical engineers.
CHEMICAL
Western Reserve Schedules Two Defense Training Courses INDUSTRIAL electrochemistry and synthesis and use of strategic organic chemicals are two defense training courses in progress at Western Reserve Univer sity in the nation-wide effort to train men and women for scientific positions in the Government and war industries. Both courses started May 26 a n d require as a prerequisite one year of chemistry or its equivalent in practical experience. In formation on defense training courses may be obtained from Ε. Τ . Downer, Cleveland College, Western Reserve "University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Grants for Research in Nutrition T Η Ε Nutrition Foundation, Inc., has awarded 36 grants totaling $125,000 for independent research i n the science of nutrition. Recipients included universities and research agencies throughout the United States and one i n Canada, with awards ranging from $250 t o $7,000. Each graut has been earmarked for a specific project, chosen from 81 applications by an advisory committee headed by Charles G. King. Founder companies which contributed $50,000 each to make the scientific pro gram possible are the American Can Co., Beech-Nut Packing Co., California Pack ing Co., Campbell Soup Co., Coca Cola Co., Continental Can Co., Corn Products Refining Co., General Food Corp., H. J. Heinz Co., Libby, McNeil and Libby, National Biscuit Co., National Dairy Products Corp., Owens-Illinois Glass Co., Quaker Oats Co., Standard Brands, Inc., Swift & Co., and United Fruit Co.
Research Fellowship A
NEW research fellowship in chemical engineering has been established at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., by the Tennessee Products Corp. The work will pertain to development of prod ucts from wood distillation tars, under E. E. Litkenhous. William K. Lautner has been awarded the fellowship.
Who Makes It? T Η Ε National Registry of Rare Chemicals, Armour Research Foundation, Chicago, Ill., has had several requests for chemicals which have not been registered with it. It seeks sources for "the following chemicals : oxy-cellulose com pounds, 3-pyridine acetic acid, metanicotine, nornicotine, dioxyphenylalanine, bulbocapnine, very pure chlorophyll, and phosphorus tetrasulfamide.
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