CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING HARRISON
E. H O W E ,
PUBLISHED
BY
VOLUME 20
Editor
THE
A M E R I C A N
CHEMICAL
J A N U A R Y 2 5, 1 9 4 2
SOCIETY
NUMBER 2
Industrial Research in Foreign Countries
during 1941 WILLIAM A . HAMOR M e l l o n Institute, Pittsburgh, Penna.
Canada
O
F 19 projects in the $105,000,000 prograin administered by Allied War Supplies Corporation, 14 are in production; not less than 12 types of chemicals and 8 explosives will be included in the final output. T h e staff of the National Research Council's laboratories at Ottawa has been almost doubled since the war began. T h e funds at the disposal of the council for 1941 have been some fivefold greater than for the last prewar year. In addition, other projects will involve about twice or three times as much again and a trust fund set up by the industries of well over $1,000,000 is available if needed. Research Enterprises, Ltd., is a wholly owned government corporation established by the Ministry of Supply to produce for the armed forces and for the industries devices developed by the council. Optical glass and instruments and radio gear are being manufactured; a new de-icing fluid for aircraft propellers has also been evolved by the council. Aeronautical laboratories have been constructed outside Ottawa. About 1,000 laboratories are being maintained by industrial establishments; close to 225 laboratories are in operation in universities. A Wartime Bureau of Technical Personnel has been set up in the Department of Labor to recruit competent persons for scientific work in the war industries.
Minerals and Metals War minerals are being sought widely, and numerous discoveries have been made. Efforts toward the commercial production of graphite in Labrador are progressing. In Newfoundland exploration for fluorspar has been going on for over three years; the production of this mineral is about
War wears mechanical garb, and every opportunity is being sought to apply mechanisms to multiply the strength and speed of man and to conserve his energies for direction and control. Physical efficiency and intense research and technologic development characterize the present conflict. There has also been much investigational activity the world over because, whatever the outcome of the war, there will b e heavy debt and it is generally realized that the only certain road to recovery is to increase industrial power. That less is heard about chemistry in Great Britain and Germany than during the first world strife—less regarding chemical industry, shortage of this or that chemical, need for chemists and chemical engineers—is principally attributable to the prevision of the chemical profession and the chemical manufacturing field and to their prewar organization in those countries. These nations are equipped for offensive and defensive chemical combat.
15,000 tons annually. A large deposit of barite has been found near Windsor, Nova Scotia. Deposits of magnesite, tungsten, cobalt, antimony, and chromium were reported in British Columbia, where prospecting for manganese and bauxite was also conducted. Chromite deposits on the Fox Island River in Newfoundland were examined. The production of radium ore has been suspended because there is a two years' stock. The National Research Council has investigated extraction of radioactive substances other than radium from Great Bear Lake pitchblende, which contains 53 different elements. Ionium should be applicable in the preparation of luminous paints, but, like polonium, it is lost in the present Port Hope 77
refinery process. The gypsum industry was further developed. A new type of gypsum wallboard is being manufactured in New Brunswick. The annual consumption of refractories is about $3,000,000. Refractory products are being made from the dolomite of Kilmar and from the brucite of Wakefield, P. Q. ; silica is losing ground to magnesite brick in metalsmelter roof service; special types of basic and neutral refractories are under investigation by the National Research Council. Despite the reported development of a type' of ceramic aviation plug to replace satisfactorily mica plugs, the latter still continue in use. A group of cast-iron enamel ground coats containing 80 per cent nepheline syenite and 20 per cent flint was shown to approximate an allfeldspar coat. Steel production is expected to reach an annual rate of 2,500,000 tons early in 1942. Research on the production of pure uranium metal and the ferroalloy has been continued. Steel parts of airplanes are cadmium-plated before painting. The Arvida plant of the Aluminum Co. of Canada has been producing about 1,000,000 pounds of aluminum daily; the annual output was expected to increase to about 500,000,000 pounds by „ae end of 1941 and this production is to be doubled by 1943, when one sixth of all the electrical energy generated in the D o minion will be used in producing aluminum. By the close of 1942 sufficient aluminum will be made for 80,000 aircraft annually. Silver hardens aluminum; lead reduces the hardness of aluminum-silver alloys. The war demand for nickel, copper, and zinc is keeping the pertinent mining, smelting, and refining industries working at peak levels. Consolidated Mining & Smelting announced the production of tin on a semicommercial basis at its Kimberley plant.
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W o o d s and Fibers With the exception of Spanish cedar, useful woods of the Amazon Valley forests are often inaccessible and widely scattered. The principal commercial plantings of black acacia are in Rio Grande do Sul. There are at least 200,000,000 eucalyptus trees in the entire country. Gasogenio is a fuel for trucks obtained by the use of wood or coal: eucalyptus has been found to make the best wood for the generation of gas. A firm in Sào Paulo produces from Pau bark a material resembling corkboard. A National Pine Institute has been established. A cellulose plant is being erected in the southern Parana pine region; another company has been formed to make newsprint. A study of technical methods used in processing agricultural materials has been undertaken for Brazil by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The cultivation of plants suitable for large-scale production of fibers to substitute for imported jute is under
JAMES SAWDER»
Sorting room in the Brazilian Government's experimental station for the growing of tobacco
way, the Agricultural Development Serv ice in the State of Sao Paulo has started a campaign t o increase the production of various fiber plants, particularly sisal and ramie. Kfforts to cultivate Indian jute are said to b e successful in the Amazon Valley. Guacimo mixed with jute fiber is used to some extent in the manufacture of bags. Experimental plantings of sisal in Sao Paulo are yielding satisfactory results; the production of ramie fiber is still in the preliminary stage. The first fiber _ 3 ^ ^ classified and ri -> I
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standardized is caroa; five grades have been defined. Attempts are being made to increase t h e output of caroa, which has proved satis factory for admixture with jute for the manu facture of twine and cordage; caroa has also been combined with jute and other fibers in yarn for s u i t i n g s . Notices were sent out regarding the commer cial production of fibers from pineapple plant in Parahiba.
Vegetable O i l s and Rubber
JAME8 8A.WPER8
This A m a z o n V a l l e y worker is bleeding a rubber tree.
80
Brazil has approxi mately 20 varieties of vegetable oils. Stimulated by the short
CHEMICAL
age of tung oil and by assistance of the Bank of Brazil, the oiticica oil industry has advanced. Bahia was expected to main tain the 1941 castor-bean production at about the same level as 1940 (40,000 t o 45,000 tons). Leaf wax of the palm Cocos coronata resembles carnauba; the nut oil of the same plant @icuri oil) is simi lar to coconut oil. An effort is being ex erted to utilize cashew nuts; the oil is being produced. A division on rubber was formed in the Instituto Naçional de Tecnologia. Rubber plantations in Sâo Paulo are receiving favorable reports from the experimental stations. Farmers are said to be recognizing the possibilities of rubber plantings for providing shade for other plants, for the production of a drying oil from the seeds, and for utilizing the residue in animal feeds and fertilizers. Amazonas is the largest producer of rubber, having an output close t o 7,000 tons; the second largest is Acre, yielding 5,000 tons, and Para produces about the same quantity. It has been repeatedly affirmed that the hard-fine Para rubber from the islands and the Territory of Acre has special qualities of resistance and elasticity attributed to the smoking process which makes use of the oily nuts of the urucuri palm, said to contain iodine. Ford's 2,500,000-acre rubber plantation near Belém began tapping trees on the original 22,000 acres developed over the past 12 years a t a cost of $12,000,000. Firestone has large experimental rubber plantations in Colombia and .Guatemala; Goodyear has done similar work in Colombia and Peru. Chicle Development of N e w York is reported to be purchasing Massaranduba latex.
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
O t h e r Plant Products
Other American Countries
T h e cultivation of wheat is becoming urgent in t h e agricultural development scheme. Since compulsory u s e of alcohol with gasoline was begun, alcohol production h a s been growing from year to year and t h e control organization for alcohol has recommended t h a t the increased output of anhydrous ethyl alcohol be used as motor fuel. Reports show t h a t 1,178,963 tons of sugar and 101,865,190 liters of alcohol have been produced during t h e current crop year. A new cassava mill has been built in Sâo Pedro. Oil is to be produced from t o m a t o seeds and the residual cake utilized in fertilizers and animal feeds. E q u i p m e n t has b e e n instal'ed for m a k i n g by-products of citrus fruits, such as oil and juice concentrates. A process has been evolved for vitamin A extraction from urucu. Caffein is being produced from m a t é . Brazil will be a most i m p o r t a n t source of n a t u r a l caffein if CafTelite is manufactured on a large scale: from t h e planned annual consumption of 5,000,000 bags of coffee, t h e r e will b e an o u t p u t of 2,500,000 k g . of caffein. O t h e r by-products of t h e CafTelite i n d u s t r y are to include coffee oil a n d furfural. Government authorities are trying t o find local outlets for CafTelite, especially for use in wall a n d floor coverings, furniture p a r t s , small electrical accessories, b u t t o n s , and novelties. Fifty thousand b a g s of coffee can b e treated annually in t h e pilot p l a n t in operation. E s t i m a t e s are t h a t CafTelite can b e sold in t h e United S t a t e s for 7 t o 10 cents a pound. P y r e t h r u m cultivation is a comparatively recent development, mainly by small farmers. F i v e p l a n t s in P a r a are engaged in milling t h e Amazonian woody vine timbo.
Argentina. Production of beryllium oxide by a new process, utilizing native beryl, was initiated. In Argentine a n d Venezuelan petroleums, v a n a d i u m w a s found if the oil contained asphalt; t h e highest a m o u n t of vanadium occurred i n t h e less soluble p a r t s of the oil and residues. These facts are taken as confirmatory of the theory t h a t vanadium is t h e principal factor in the formation of t h e asphalt. Government Oil Fields opened a research laboratory in the Province of Buenos Aires. Investigation has shown t h a t unrefined sugar caramelizes more rapidly t h a n pure sucrose because of the presence of mineral compounds. G o v e r n m e n t officials a r e urging the chemical utilization of corn; only one concern is producing alcohol from this cereal. Two companies a r e starting to manufacture acetic acid by t h e oxidation of acetaldehyde from the catalytic dehydrogenation of fermentation ethyl alcohol. Steps have been taken t o encourage olive cultivation and to make soybean products. A committee has been appointed to s t u d y possibilities of d e veloping the paper industry; a company has completed experiments in mixing wheat straw with bamboo pulp for making newsprint and also has succeeded in using domestic wood and wheat pulp. T u n g trees are being grown. Medicinal herbs are getting much commercial attention. Chile. A company has been formed t o t u r n out 30,000 tons of potassium salts annually. There is governmental interest in establishing an industry for producing iodine derivatives. T h e question of addi-
tional cement plants is being studied. A Chilean steel factory will use a process employing finely ground iron ore mixed with charcoal, calcium carbonate, and alunite. T h e government is investigating a project for the manufacture of aluminum from aluminum sulfate, which is plentiful. A rayon factory has been erected a t Quillota, using eucalyptus. T h e I n s t i t u t o Médico-Técnico Sanitas is manufacturing some aniline dyes. An olive oil plant has been built. Fennel a n d boldu oils can be produced if markets are found. Colombia. Undeveloped beryl deposits exist in Cundinamarca. A soda plant is t o be constructed a t one of t h e government-owned salt mines. Abarco, a hardwood, is said to be a practical substitute for teak. Tanners are seeking a subs t i t u t e for formaldehyde as a pigmentfixing agent in the production of shoe leather. Cuba. T h e Minister of Agriculture announced the establishment of a Laboratory of Mines, equipped t o make analyses a n d experiments and t o serve as a source of d a t a on domestic mineral deposits. A c o m p a n y was organized for deriving motor fuel and other products from asphalt. T o aid farmers and to test new varieties of seeds, a horticultural demonstration station was founded at E l Cano. Sugarcane research has brought o u t t h a t difficult clarification results if t h e nutrition of t h e plants is unbalanced. T h e government is encouraging the production of textile fibers, particularly ramie. Guatemala. The government is investigating cultivation of cinchona, derris, guaiac, paprika, and valerian. P l a n t a tions of cinchona trees have been set out, provided by American capital. T h e t e a plantations are capable of much expansion. Mexico. T h e problem of building a n a d e q u a t e iron and steel industry has been studied. At present one company is producing pig iron; two other concerns are making steel from scrap. T h e Governments of Mexico a n d t h e United States h a v e been cooperating in a survey t o determine prospects for expanding t h e outp u t of Mexican crops. Coyol n u t s are cracked mechanically to provide a subs t i t u t e for coconut oil; a similar replacer for the l a t t e r is Costa Rican royal palm oil. T h e Mexican production of candelilla wax ranges from 1,500 t o 2,000 tons annually. A shark-liver industry has been started in Lower California.
ARGENTINE
State oil wells on the eastern Argentine coast
V O L U M E
2 0,
NO.
2»
- J A N U A R Y
2 5,
1942
INFORMATION
BUREAU
P e r u . T h e employment of river shells in t h e manufacture of buttons and other articles has been considered. A pilot electrolytic zinc refinery was started a t Oroya. Peru has joined t h e ranks of fiber flax raisers, with a crop of about 500 tons. E n e r g y is being devoted t o methods t h a t 81
