Ideas
Exchange Column
l/EC's features bring in lots o f f a n mail. Readers want information, a n d they pass along ideas. Column is a careful screening o f this correspondence. This is not a place f o r praise o r criticism; technical questions a n d their f a c t u a l answers.
New Contact Process DEAR S I R :
In the August
1960 edition of
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEM
ISTRY (International Edition) a short paragraph appears mentioning a new contact process developed by Prof. R. H. Buchanan of New South Wales. I am interested in learning more of this and would be grateful if you could supply me with his address, or failing this, a reference to a description of the process. D. L. PERRYER, Constructors John Brown Ltd., C J Β House, East bourne Terrace, PaddingtonLondon W 2 Editor's Reply: You may address Dr. R. H. Buchanan at: School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, P . O . I , Kensing ton, New South Wales, Australia. Complete details of Professor Buchanan's process are being con sidered for publication in I / E C in early 1961.
Turbulence Reduction DEAR S I R :
In the August 1960 edition of your publication, INDUSTRIAL AND ENGI CHEMISTRY, we noted on page 32A an article concerning a turbulence and drag-reducing rubber skin for surfaces over which there is liquid flow. The article is signed with the initials J. B. P. and it states that a new material under the tradename of Lamiflo has been developed by the U. S. Rubber Co. to accomplish this turbulence reducing action. We are most interested in the application of this rubber coating to airhandling equipment; and ac cordingly, we would greatly appreci ate it if you would forward this inquiry to the interested parties at the U. S. Rubber Co. Of course, we are most anxious to make use of any new data ob tained as rapidly as possible and so NEERING
we will greatly appreciate your expeditious handling of this matter. We often have cause to go through your publication for such ideas, and we are very grateful that we receive it monthly. D.
M. SOLZMAN, Vice President, The Gallagher Co., 4108 Dodge St., Omaha, Neb.
Reply by D. Lorin Schoene, U. S. Rubber Co., Research Center, Wayne, N. J.
In answer to your recent inquiry about Lamiflo, I am enclosing a copy of our press release and a reprint of Dr. Kramer's publication which will provide a little more in formation than the article you saw in INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY.
AND
ENGINEERING
You will note that this product is still in the development stage and we are not yet ready to recommend it for testing outside this company. Not all of the practical use questions have been answered, but our research is continuing. We have every hope that Lamiflo will become a commercial product in the future. When it does, we will make sure that you hear about it. In the meantime if you have any specific questions, we will be happy to answer them if we can.
Fluorocarbons DEAR S I R :
With further reference to the article about Chemistry and Re frigeration, which appeared in I / E C [52, No. 10, 42A, (October I960)] we were struck with the statement that 90% of new installations in the commercial and industrial field use fluorocarbon refrigerants. It was our impression that about one half of the jobs are still using ammonia and that ammonia is now staging a comeback. If you can tell us on what basis or authority the statement was made about 9 0 % use of low pressure re
Ideas Exchange it is a source o f
frigerants, we should be interested to hear about it. MITCHELL, Asst. Manager, Sales Promotion & Advertising Dept., Frick Co., Waynesboro, Pa.
TERRY
Editor's
Reply.
The statement, "Today, over 90% of all new equipment for industry or commercial refrigeration uses one or more fluorocarbons," came from the article "Fluorocarbons," Chemical & Engineering News, July 18, 1960, page 95. Their information source was a bulletin issued by the Public Relations Dept. of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Wilmington 98, Del. We quote (in part) from this bulletin: "So far as industrial and commercial refrigeration is con cerned, about 90 to 95 per cent of all new equipment is being designed around use of the fluorinated hydro carbon refrigerants, and it is expected that the percentage will increase in the future because of the safety characteristics of such refrigerants, the extremely wide range of boiling points (about 400 degrees) available with such compounds with a conse quent wide refrigeration temperature range, and their adaptability to use in any type of compressor, whether it be centrifugal, reciprocating, or ro tary. About three to five per cent of current new industrial refrigeration equipment utilizes ammonia as the refrigerant. Principal uses of am monia equipment today are in breweries, ice-making plants, meat packing plants, cold storage locker and warehousing plants, and ex tensions to dairy process installa tions."
Polyhalo Oils and Waxes DEAR M R . EHRENFELD:
I refer to your very interesting paper on polychlorotrifluoroethylene oils and waxes ( I / E C , 52, No. 2, VOL. 52, N O . 12
·
DECEMBER 1960
87 A
IDEAS E X C H A N G E 53-4A, February 1960). Would you please inform me whether these products are resistant against bromine at normal temperature and pressure, and what is their solubility in chlorinated solvents as carbon tetrachloride and chloroform. I would very much appreciate if you could also favor me with some experimental samples. PROF.
D R . HALDUN
CIVELEKOGLU,
Head of the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine of the Ege University, Bornova-Izmir (Turkey). Mr. Ehrenfeld's Answer: Polychlorotrifluoroethylene oils, greases, and waxes are inert toward bromine. However, bromine is soluble in these compounds and they will absorb some bromine when used—for example, stopcock greases in bromine containing systems. Chlorinated solvents including CC14, CHCI3, C2HC1?, C2H3C13 are miscible with all of the polychlorotrifluoroethylene oils. As the molecular weight of the polymers rises into the wax fractions, the solvent solubility drops. We arc enclosing our brochure describing the various polychlorotrifluoroethylene oils wc produce and some of their properties.
Uniform Cost Codes DEAR S I R :
I have read several articles of C. H. Bauman on costs which appeared in your journal, and I have noted that the author has frequently stressed the importance of uniform cost codes of accounts for projects. I would appreciate knowing if your journal has published some article on the best way to set up a cost code either in the chemical industry or other industries. In addition, I would appreciate learning if some book on this matter has been published in the United States. A.
MARTONE, Consulting Engineer, Via Soresina 12, Milano, Italy
Mr. Bauman's Answer: To the best of my knowledge I / E C has not yet published a com88 A
plete article on the best way to set up a cost code. However, a suggested cost code for industry has been published in the Bulletin of the American Association of Cost Engineers, Vol. 1, dated November 1958. Although most companies which design and construct industrial plants use their own standardized cost codes, apparently no standard cost code practice exists for all industry. At the present time the Cost Records Committee, of the American Association of Cost Engineers, is exploring the possibility of establishing a standard check list to be used as a basis for a standard code of accounts. The numbering system applied to such a standard can then be at the discretion of the individual company using the check list. It is believed by the Cost Records Committee that a uniform definition of terms used in the check list will be a more important step toward standardization than the application of a standard group of numbers designating each code item. The forthcoming Fourth Edition of the "Chemical Engineer's Handbook," to be published by McGraw Hill in 1961, will contain in Chapter 26 a suggested check list of code items as well as samples of two types of cost code identification. The writer is presently engaged in preparing a book for publication expected to be ready within 12 months which will contain a complete chapter on the method of setting up cost codes. Most cost codes used by major American companies are designed for use with modern high speed data processing equipment. For commercial reasons, I am sorry I cannot, at this time, send you a copy of our own company's cost code. However, samples of the manner in which it is set up have been presented in I / E C , 50, No. 4, 55A (April 1958) and 50, 65A (June 1958).
"Who Knows What . . . about Chemical Safety" I would like to add to the extensive and excellent list of information sources compiled by Mr. H. H. Fawcett [I/EC, 52, No. 6, 65A (85A Domestic), No. 8, 57A (75A Domestic) (I960)] the following publication: "International Direc-
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
tory of Institutions Engaged in Study, Research and Other Activities in the Field of Occupational Safety and Health," International Labor Offices, Geneva 1958, 2 volumes. M. HAVATSELETH, Engineering Dept., Documentation Services, P. O. Box 7050, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Retardation Resins DEAR D R . R O S E :
I was rather puzzled with regard to a reference which appeared on the inside cover of I / E C [52, No. 4, fold-out cover (Apr. I960)] mentioning the use of retardation resins. I must admit that I have never heard of the use of these resins before, and I wonder if you would be kind enough to let me know where I could find out more about them. In addition, I would be particularly interested if you could give me any information on the work which Dr. Rose or any others have carried out on the use of these resins for demineralization. R.
M.
ELTRINGHAM,
Engineering
Div., Richardsons, Westgarth & Co., Ltd., P.O. Box 2, Wallsend, Northumberland, England. Dr. Rose's Reply: The retardation resins you inquired about are sometimes referred to as amphoteric resins. In the United States, materials of this kind are made by the Dow Chemical Co., among others, and we used their Retardion. A paper entitled "Exploratory Research on Demineralization," in which we describe the essentials of our work with these resins is soon to appear (we have already returned proof on it) in the report on Saline Water Conversion to be issued as one of the Advances in Chemistry Series by the American Chemical Society. Further details could be obtained by applying to the Office of Saline Water of the U. S. Department of the Interior for a copy of our report on their contract 14-01 001-167. ARTHUR ROSE, Technical Director,
Applied Science Laboratories, Inc., 140 North Barnard St., State College, Pa.
