THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK INDUSTRY
Mathieson and Squibb Plan Merger via Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical firm to become division of Mathieson if stockholders approve Chemical and E. R. Squibb M ATHIESON & Sons last week offered their stockholders a plan for merging the two companies. Under the plan approved by directors of both companies, each five shares of Squibb common will be converted into three shares of Mathieson common. Special meetings of the stockholders of both companies will be called soon to approve the merger plan. If approved, Mathieson will b e the surviving corporation and the Squibb firm will become a separate division of Mathieson, retaining the Squibb name and policies. Carlton H. Palmer, who has been Squibb's chief executive officer and board chairman for many years, will sit on the Mathieson board of directors, acting in an advisory capacity until the merger takes effect. He will retire from active participation in management after the merger is complete. Lowell P. Weicker, president, and Theodore Weicker, Jr., executive vice president of Squibb, will also become Mathieson board members. The Palmer and Weicker families control Squibb and will place a substantial part of the Mathieson stock they receive in exchange for their large Squibb holdings in a voting trust. The voting trustees of these holdings will T. S. Nichols be Mr. Palmer, Theodore Weicker, Jr., Thomas S. Nichols, Mathieson president, and John W . Hane?, a director and officer of Olin Industries. Merger of the two companies will diversify Mathieson's interest still further. In the last four years, the company has been undergoing a program of expansion, integration, and diversification into organic chemicals and agricultural products. During that four-year period from 1948 through 1951, Mathieson doubled its investment in plant and equipment until at the end of 1951, total investment was about $137 million. In that same period sales tripled, reaching a total of almost $100 million in 1951. Mathieson was one of a few chemical companies that finished 1951 with sales and earnings both at
2994
record highs, despite the effects of increased taxes. Last year, Mathieson merged with Mathieson Hydrocarbon, acquiring the organic chemical plant at D o e Run, Ky., and the Saltville, Va., chlorine plant. Late last year, the company leased the Morgantown Ordnance Works, which is capable of producing 200,000 tons of ammonia and/or methanol a year. A possible chemical tie-in between Mathieson and Squibb could be through the Squibb tuberculosis drug—isonicotinic acid hydrazide. Mathieson produces hydrazine, the important raw material for this drug. Squibb is also a larger producer of penicillin, vitamins, anesthetics, sulfonamides, other pharmaceuticals, and it distributes a line jof household medical products. Sales of Squibb are currently running about $100 million a year, so the merger will double Mathieson's annual sales total.
C S C Plant f o r "Custom-Sized" Ammonium N i t r a t e A unique process for the production of solid ammonium nitrate fertilizer will be utilized by Commercial Solvents Corp. in a unit being built. A plant is being erected near Sterlington, La., where the basic materials, anhydrous ammonia and nitric acid, are already being made by the company. An area of 2200 acres has been purchased about 2 V 2 miles from the present ammonia production unit. The ammonium nitrate plant will be located in the center of this property. Production of ammonium nitrate fertilizer by Commercial Solvents will be in addition to anhydrous ammonia and nitrogen solutions which are already being marketed by the agricultural chemicals division of the company. Selection of the process was made after several years of experimental work. The process is patented and all rights have been assigned to the company. A pilot plant has been in operation at Sterlington for the past year and has been the basis for designing the commercial unit. The engineering department o f the company is handling the design and engineering requirements for the plant. Advantages claimed for the Stengel
CHEMICAL
process over conventional processes now being used are as follows: lower capital investment; reduced operating expenses; shorter time required to build the plant due to simplification of construction and process;, and -with the Stengel process, which was developed at the company's Tcrrc Haute, Ind., labs, the particle size cam be c h a n g e d and "custom-sized" to meet customers* needs. Field tests which have been conducted indicate that t h e product flows well in drills and spreading units. Design and engineering work on the plant are g o i n g forward and completion of the plant is expected b y July 1, 1953.
Davison Starts Construction Of Triple Superphosphate Plant Construction of a plant for the production of triple superphosphate has been started at Ridgewood, near Lakeland, Fla., by the Davison Chemical Corp. of Baltimore. Davison, a producer of phosphate rock and normal superphosphate, as well as mixed fertilizers and general industrial chemicals, will for t h e first time become a producer of triple superphosphate when the new plant is completed. The target date for completion is Oct. 1, 1953. X h e project I s part of a program under which the company will devote $25.4 million to n e w and expanded production facilities. Another major project in the program is a plant for production of petroleum cracking catalyst at Lake Charles, La. (C&EN, F e b . 2 5 , page 7 7 0 ) . T h e plant w i l l produce sulfuric acid, needed in the manufacture of triple superphosphate. T h e Dorr Process for triple superphosphate production will b e used, and the Dorr C o . , of Stamford, Conn., are architect engineers for the plant, with the Consolidated Engineering Co. of Baltimore as general contractors. O f $25.4 million i n funds for the expansion program, Davison will devote 7 3 % to the cost of major plant additions, the principal items of which are the triple superphosphate facilities and the cracking catalyst plant, a n d 2 7 % t o expansion and. modernization o f facilities at existing plants, the purchase of additional phosphate rock mining lands, and other capital outlays.
Conoco Buys Stepan Detergent Plcnf Continental O i l C o . has purchased the synthetic detergent plant of Stepan Chemical Co., Chicago. T h e plant w i l l be operated b y Conoco's petrochemical department, and will continue to manufacture industrial synthetic soaps for sale i o the rnidwestern market. Stepan Chemical Co. will continue its other manufacturing operations at its plant recently completed in Chicago (C&EN, June 9, page 24:08). X h e Chicago plant purchased by Conoco is ont" of the largest producers of bulk synthetic detergents in the Midwest.
AND E N G I N E E R I N G
NEWS
Where industry had th^Tfl^v Oronite Chemicals s^p^lil^f^^way
ORONITE COMPANY
THE; NAME
TO
WATCH
IN
A partial list of ORONITE PRODUCTS Detergent Alkane Detergent Slurry Detergent D-40 Detergent D-60 Wetting Agents Lubricating Oil Additives Cresylic Acids Gas Odorants Sodium Sulfonates Purified Sulfonate Naphthenic Acids Phthalic Anhydride Ortho-Xylene Para-Xylene Xylol Aliphatic Acid Hydroformer Catalyst
W H E N synthetic detergents began to revolutionize the nation's washing habits, the soap industry needed huge quantities of the basic chemicals from which detergents are made. Oronite became, and still is, a major supplier of these chemicals. \
Our specialty is mass-producing needed chemicals for industry^ Oronite products meet the highest standards of purity, uniformity and dependability. Perhaps we already have the chemical t o improve your product or process.. Possibly we can put a chemical you t needin mass oroduction* A letter or telephone call will place our experience and facilities at your disposal.
Most ORONITE PRODUCTS are available nowsome are in short supply Please inquire
New ev 38
SANSOME
ST., SAN
3 0 ROCKEFELLER
FRANCISCO
PLAZA, N E W
YORK
MERCANTILE
4, CALIF. 2 0 , N.Y.
Text ICAi\ ki STANDARD O I L BLDG., LOS ANGELES 15, CALIF. 600
S. M I C H I G A N
AVENUE, CHICAGO
5, ILL.
S E C U R I T I E S BLDG., DALLAS 1, T E X A S
New Text VOLUME
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29
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2 1,
1952
2995
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK Acquisition of the chemical plant gives Conoco a fully integrated operation for manufacturing synthetic detergents for the soap industry. The company's present petrochemical plant in Baltimore, Md., produces synthetic detergent ingredients. It will n o w supply the Chicago plant with raw materials for the finished product. Continental is currently enlarging its Baltimore plant, which produces raw materials for industrial synthetic soaps, to three times its present size. Its petrochemical expansion plans also call for the construction of a $ 2 million plant in Ponca City for t h e manufacture of lubricating oil additives. In addit i, the company is part owner of a plant at Lake Charles, La., producing high abrasive carbon black for use in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.
B a r r e t t Opens Applications Research L a b o r a t o r y A laboratory, specially designed to develop and test materials and processes used in the manufacture of plastics, rubber products, paints and varnishes, paper, laminates, insulating materials, and a w i d e range of other products has been opened at Edgewater, N . J., by Barrett Division, Allied Chemical & D y e Corp. The laboratory will be k n o w n as the Shadyside Applications Research Laboratory. Containing extensive testing and actual production equipment, including mills, presses, calenders, extruders, molding machines, and other special purpose facilities, the laboratory will b e used to develop, test and evaluate, under simulated production conditions, materials used in the manufacture of plastics, paper, and other products. These products include coal-tar derivatives such as phenolic resins, plasticizers, benzene, toluene, phthalic anhydride, naphthalene, niacin, and others.
P l a t f o r m e r s Due f o r Early O p e r a t i o n
existixig products. It will include a prodtact (development section, an analytical section, an. entomology section, and a servOne Universal Oil Products Platforrning i c e aind supply unit. unit has recently gone on stream andi Tike process division is divided into three others are scheduled for start up three primary sections. T h e first of these, this month. refinery processes, will concern itself with A 3800-barrel-per-day unit was placed refiniliig methods and technology and the on stream June 30 for Canadian Oil Re- operation of large scale pilot plants. T h e fineries, Ltd., at Froomfield, Ont. Other jsecomd, a new processes section, will e n units scheduled to go into operation within gage in t h e development of n e w refining the next few weeks include a 4400-barrel- processes. The third, a petrochemicals per-day unit fox* Atlas Processing C o . at section, will direct its attention to further Shreveport, La.; a 1500-barrel unit tor reseaurcl) i n this field. Bitumen & Oil Refineries, Ltd., at All activities of the n e w divisions will Matraville, N e w South Wales, Australia, b e under the general supervision of Jerry and a 900-barrel unit for Petroleum ^lcA_fec, assistant director of research. H . Specialties, Inc., at Flat Rock, Mich. A . Ambrose is director of t h e product The 900-barrel unit for Petroleum division. C. W. Montgomery is director Specialties is the world's smallest Plato f t h e process division; W. C. OfFutt is forming unit, although at least one 500assistant director. barrel unit is projected. The Canadian Oil and Bitumen units are the first units to go on stream outside Canadians Training a t the continental limits of the United States, Celanese Texas P l a n t although six others are scheduled, includTemporiirily transplanted Canadians are ing five being designed for Anglo-Iranian learning ridw the chemical division of t h e Oil Co. Of these, two will b e built i n the United Kingdom, one will be built in Cela-iiese Corp. of America makes chemiFrance, one in the Aden area, and. the cals from petroleum products at its Bishop, fifth will b e built in Australia (C&EN, Tex. 9 plant. These 2 0 men will b e t h e unit superintendents, laboratory techniJune 2 3 , page 2 6 1 6 ) . Four of these units will have a design capacity of 6 0 0 0 barrels cians, and instrument men at the Canadian Chemical Co. plant near Edmonton, per day, and the fifth will b e designed to Alta. Tliis Celanese affiliate is building charge 12,000 barrels per day. a cellulose plant that uses w o o d fibers t o produce acetate, a yarn mill t o spin t h e acetate i n t o cloth, and a petrochemical Gulf Reorganizes plantt to supply both the needs of t h e Chemistry Division acct-atc plant and other companies. The chemistry division of Gulf Research Vince A n w y l l and Ken Busch, both oriand Development Co. at Harmarvelle, Pa., ginally o f the Bishop plant, will b e t h e has been divided into a product division plamt manager and production manager of and a process division. the chemicals division, respectively, of t h e The activities of the product division Canadian plant. will be devoted principally to t h e development of new products and to improving all
A portion of Barrett's elctrical testing lab shows a 150,000 volt transformer within an enclosed wire screen. This unit is used for determining the dielectric strength of insulating materials. Other equipment is available for measuring power factor, dielectric constant, v o l u m e resistivity, and insulation resistance
Borate Compounds A d d e d By American Potash
Sodium pentaborate and potassium p e n taborate have been added to American Potash a n d Chemical C o r p / s line of chemicals for industry and agricultxire. Both compounds are manufactured at the company's plant at Trona, Calif., from raw materials derived from the brine of Seaarles L a k e . Sodium pentaborate is a soluble borate used for w e e d killing, cotton defoliation, and fireproofing compositions. Potassium penitaborate is used in the manufacture of products requiring high boron oxide and. potassium oxide content, particularly where sodium oxide is objectionable.
Westinghouse
Scholarships
F^our teen-age sons of Westinghouse Electric Corp. employees have been awarded $2000 War Memorial Scholarships by the firm to do undergraduate study in engineering or physical science. T h e scholarships, w h i c h entitle each "winner to e i g h t semester payments of $ 2 5 0
2996
CHEMICAL
AfMD
ENGINEERING
NEWS
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§i^«^^**^ H e r e are the basic characteristics of N a l c i t e H C R w h i c h m a k e i t the ideal cation e x c h a n g e material for w a t e r s o f t e n i n g and many types of ion e x c h a n g e in p r o c e s s liquids: © ® ® © ®
Styrene type resin. Either salt or acid regeneration. Up to 3 2 , 0 0 0 grains per cubic foot capacity. Full capacity a t temperatures up to 250°F. Efficient operation over entire pH range.
Technical Data on NALCITE HCR Complete i n f o r m a t i o n o n capacities, characteristics,
and
regeneration
d a t a in the s o d i u m cycle. Physical d a t a includes rates of f l o w , b e d
W r i t e , t o d a y , for the technical bulletin described at r i g h t . . . It m a y g i v e y o u valuable ideas for use o f Nalcite H C R as a solution to your processing problems.
expansion,
regeneration
n i q u e and
packaging.
/.
tech-
/
Single
copies sent f r e e upon request.
,%**#?*« ^
&*Hk *w?
i3!S
When you use Nalcite resins, you take advantage of Nalco's long and broad experience in water and process technology. Wzt%_ 6199
West
66th
Place
In Canada: V O L U M E
3 0,
NO.
29
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JULY
2 1,
Chicago
Alchem Limited, Burlington,
1952
38,
Illinois
Ontario 2997
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
The Cover • . •
Astin Takes Over at NBS
&SM \*M*%vy^*^^
ERVICE t o science and service to Sgovernment—that's the role of the
'*& • 3 ^
:^A>-
containing... 247- page table of binary systems 17-page table of ternary systems 41-page formula index 107 charts ^«?\
U>-'>'~ !f?"
94, Order. from: SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS DEPARTMENT
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 1155 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6 , D. a
2998
''id
National Bureau of Standards as viewed b y its new director, Allen V. Astin. To his friends, those few words probably sum u p Dr. Astih's life work also. H e has served science through his development of improved methods for measuring dielectric constants and his pioneering work on radio telemetering, a technique that makes studies of the upr)er atmosphere possible. His biggest contribution to government was work on the proximity fuze, a weapon that Vannevar Bush says is s e c o n d only to the atomic bomb in dec i d i n g the outcome of World War II. A top secret matter, the whole story of Dr. Astin's research on the proximity fuze i s still to b e unraveled. Ur. Astin brings to his new post 20 years of experience with the bureau and over L0 years of experience in ordnance research. W h e n he joined the bureau in 19:32, to work in the heat and power, and electricity divisions, he had already completed four years of research on dielectric materials. In 1940 he was asked to join the NBS group that was starting to work on the proximity fuze, advancing t o chief of the optical fuze section in 1943, assistant chief of the ordnance development division several months later and, i n 1948, chief of the division. During the fall and winter of 1944-45, h e \vi*.s in Europe, working on proximity fuze problems with the National D e fense Research Committee. By 1950, Dr. A stin w a s promoted to associate director of t h e bureau, in charge of the ordnance development, missile, electricity, and electronics divisions as well as the office of basic instrumentation. Wraen E . U. Condon resigned his directorship last year to join Corning Glass, Dr. Astin became the acting director, and in May was appointed by t h e President as director of the National Bureau of Standards. Dr. Astin's background fits in with t h e direction NBS research has been taking in recent years. Weapons research and ordnance development took t h e b-ulk o f the $45.5 million worth of research N B S did last year for other agencies. The bureau's total business last year amounted to $54 million. Dr. Astin says the bureau is straining its resources t o do research for other government agencies, such as guided missile research*for the Navy and special work forAEC. Still important, but less spectacular, is t h e bureau's traditional function of de-
CHEMICAL
veloping physical standards. To keep up with the rapid growth of science and its need for improved measuring techniques and more precise values for physical constants and standards, Dr. Astin feels that NBS must maintain its large basic research program. Born in Salt Lake City in 1904, Dr. Astin took his B.S. degree from the University of Utah in 1925. In the summer after graduation, Dr. Astin took his first job—as a chemist with American Smelting & Refining. Physics claimed him eventually, however, and he started graduate work at N e w York University, taking his M.S. there in 1926 and his Ph.D. in 1928. In 1927 he married Margaret Linnie MacKenzie and they now have two sons, John A., now doing graduate work in speech and drama at the University of Minnesota, and Alexander W., who is majoring in music and psychology at Gettysburg College. The Astins live in a Maryland suburb of Washington. Gardening is Dr. Astin's chief outdoor pastime, although he once played golf, which he has now abandoned because he doesn't have the time it takes to become a good golfer. He does play occasionally and describes his own game as Civil War golf (out in 61 and back in 6 4 ) . Bridge seems to be his favorite hobby. Every other week, he plays tournament bridge with seven of his friends, most of whom are scientists. One of the most interesting games he ever played, Dr. Astin recalls, was in an igloo. It happened during a visit to Fort Churchill in Canada, where the Army tests effects of cold weather on its equipment. He and four others spent the night in an igloo and before turning in, someone wondered aloud if bridge had ever been played in an igloo. The question provided the impetus, so the cards were dealt in a temperature of 20° F. (outside the temperature was —40° F . ) . How did the weather affect Dr. Astin's game? He won. Dr. Astin has received the Navy Ordnance Award for exceptional service, Army Ordnance Award for outstanding service, the Presidential Certificate of Merit, and His Majesty's Medal for Service in **he Cause of Freedom (awarded but not received in accordance with the Constitution). He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington Academy of Sciences, and the American Ordnance Association.
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
9^
*c,
$t o'i t
Jt
^ei®* 0 **
of ^P e e '
in the famous Quiet Room at Bell Laboratories, this young volunteer records speech for analysis. Scientists seek to isolate the frequencies and intensities which give meaning to w o r d s . . . stripping away nonessential parts of word sounds to get the basic "skeleton" of speech.
time 0.6 seconds
XTL child or an adult . . . a m a n or a w o m a n . . . an American or a n Englishman—all speak a certain w o r d . T h e i r voices differ greatly. Vet listeners u n d e r s t a n d the word at once. W h a t arc the c o m m o n factors i n speech which convey this information to the hearer's brain? Bell scientists are searching for the key. Once discovered, it could lead to new electrical systems obedient in new ways to t h e spoken word, saving time a n d money in telephony. Chief tool in the research is t h e sound spectrograph which Bell T e l e p h o n e Laboratories developed to m a k e speech visible. M a n y kinds of persons record their voices, each trying to duplicate an electrically produced "model"" sound. W h i l e their voice patterns are studied, a parallel investigation is m a d e of the w a y h u m a n vocal cords, m o u t h , nose a n d throat produce speech. Thus, scientists at Bell Laboratories d i g deeply into t h e fundamentals of t h e w a y people talk, s o t h a t tomorrow's telephone system m a y carry your voice still more efficiently—offering more value, keeping the cost low.
BELL
TELEPHONE
Spectrograms of young girl's voice (right) and man's voice making "uh" sound as in "up." Horizontal bars reveal frequencies in the vocal cavities at which energy is concentrated. T h e top of the picture is 6000 cycles per second. Pictures show how child's resonance bars are pitched higher than man's.
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—J ——Man "j Girl
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ratio bar 1 to bar 3
The word "five." Graph shows ratio of frequency of spectrogram bars. The solid line is for a girl and the dotted line is for a man. Note the similar patterns despite pitch differences. Human hearing extracts the speech sounds from this sort of pattern in the identification of words. Scientists aim at machines that can do the same.
LABORATORIES
Improving telephone service for America orovides careers for creative men in scientific and technical fields.
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THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
• NOISY OPERATION • • • •
MANOMETER WOBBLE FATIGUE—LOST TIME INACCURATE/READINGS INCONVENIENCE
SAY HELLO TO THE NEW ROTARY
each, were established to honor Westinghouse employees who served in World Wars I and II. They are granted each year to sons of employees or to junior employees of the company. This year's scholars were selected from 9 3 applicants. They are: William Grassmyer, w h o plans to study chemical engineering at Princeton; Elmer Hanks, w h o will study aeronautical engineering at MIT; William Minkier, who plans a course in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Tech; and Charles West, who will stud> engineering at Yale.
NEWS BRIEFS
WARBURG APPARATUS Y o u just c a n ' t b e a t this n e w l y d e s i g n e d a p paratus for s m o o t h , q u i e t p e r f o r m a n c e a n d operating convenience. In a d d i t i o n to superior p e r f o r m a n c e , y o u s e t exclusive n e w features that g r e a t l y increase e f f i c i e n c y b y savins the l a b o r a t o r y workers time and e n e r g y . For instance: Any manometer can be operator while he remains
Rotatable
gassing
manifold
brought before the in the same position.
available.
Manometers can be stopped merely twisting a knob. Manometers
individually
by
can be easily read while in motion.
Manometer holders lease mechanism. Flask oscillation amplitude.
easily
adjustable
removed
by new
re-
as
speed
and
WRITE F O R BULLETIN
to
2168-A
Illustrated: Heated Model Rotary Apparatus; conventional rectangular type and refrigerated models also available.
AMERICAN 3000
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture has just accepted dieldrin for registration for control of first brood plum curculio on peaches. Experiments conducted in several peach growing states have proven that plum curculio damage to peaches is sharply reduced as a result of early season applications of dieldrin, nor was flavor affected or phytotoxicity observed. Nitrogen Division, Allied Chemical & Dye Corp., has awarded a contract for construction of an oil unloading dock on the Ohio River at South Point. Ohio ( about 2 0 miles from Huntington, W . Va.). to the contracting division of Dravo Corp.. Pittsburgh. Tidewater Associated Oil C o . has ordered an all-electric a.c.-d.e. drilling rig for use in its Ventura Field, near Los Angeles, Calif. Westinghousc will supply the electrical equipment for the rig, which is designed for drilling to depths of more than 15,000 feet. Continental Can Co. will open a fibre drum plant in Pittsburg. Calif., in the Spring of 1953. This plant in Pittsburg will b e the first Continental plant of its kind west of the Mississippi, and will supply manufacturers on the West Coast with light-weight drums. R. S. Aries & Associates, N e w York. have established a regional office at 211 Brightwood Place. San Antonio, T e \ . Heyden Chemical Corp., Philadelphia branch sales office formerly located at 1700 Walnut St., moved on July 8 to quarters in the Lincoln-Liberty Building at the corner of Broad and Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia 7, Pa. Hammond Iron Works of Warren and Bristol, Pa., and the Vulcan Iron & Engineering Co. of \ \ iimipeg, Man., have made arrangements to make available in Canada all Hammond designs of conservation storage tanks as well as standard API oil storage tanks. Vulcan will fabricate and erect tanks of Hammond design throughout Canada. Vidcan maintains branch offices in Toronto, Port Arthur, and Edmonton. Galvanic Products Corp. of N e w York City has completed a plant at Valley-
CHEMICAL
Stream, Long Island. The building, already in operation, contains all of the equipment and facilities—chemical, mechanical, and electrical—required for manufacturing selenium rectifiers. According to present schedules, laboratories and production lines should be operating at capacity before the end of this year. Monsanto Chemical Co.'s organic chemicals division has established an industrial preservatives section. It 'will be concerned with product development particularly in the general field oF wood preservatives. Apex Smelting Co. has acquired 2 0 acres within the Los Angeles industrial area where it will construct a plant which is expected to he producing aluminum alloys by late Fall. Archer-Daniels-Midland C o . opened a sales office at San Francisco July 1. The office is located at 1495 Custer Ave. Warren Steam Pump Co., Inc.. manufacturers of a complete line of pumps have appointed Process Industries Engineers, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., as their representatives on industrial sales for the Cleveland, Ohio area. General Controls C o . has opened an office at 410 Asylum St., Hartford, Conn. The company makes automatic pressure, temperature, level, and flow controls. American Petrochemical Corp., jointly owned by Cities Service and Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., recently received a certificate of necessity for construction of a large petrochemical plant at a site on the Gulf Coast yet to b e selected. Engineering plans have been under 'way for several months and are near completion. The plant's production will ultimately encompass the broad fields of plastics, synthetic rubber, anti-freeze and many high volume petrochemicals. Data Engineering, Inc., is a company that has been formed for the designing and manufacturing of data recording instrument equipment. Facilities at 4608 Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, consist of a fully equipped engineering department, an electronic laboratory and a complete model shop. G. S. Ziegler & Co.. 99 Church St., N e w York City, has purchased Utah Gilsonite Co. of St. Louis, Mo. The purchase by the Ziegler Co. includes their name, mining properties, stocks on hand, machinery, and the trade mark name Brilliant Black Gilsonite. The mines are located in the Uintah Basin in Utah. Edward Valves, Inc., East Chicago, Ind., has appointed Reed & King, Inc.. Joshay Tower, Minneapolis, Minn., as its sales representative for Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Northwestern Wisconsin. Edward Valves has a line of cast and forged steel valves for power plant, petroleum, and other industrial and technological service. Dow Chemical Co. has named Parham Industries, Inc., Detroit, as a Michigan area distributor for Styrofoam.
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
It turns cellulose acetate into
t h e shiniest
6>X$£iJ&*^&
sheet m e t a l you ever saw T p h e product is more spectacular than pictures on this page •*• could ever show. Yet the process i s not complicated and profit prospects appear to be substantial. We make the equipment and it works like this: You degas the surface of a roll of high quality plastic sheeting (Kodapak Sheet, for example) by automatically rolling it back and forth many times ac high speed under moderate vacuum. Then you transfer the roll to a machine like the one shown above. The big steel jar comes down and w i t h i n a few minutes your sheet is under high vacuum. Inside, a set of crucibles, each containing a few ounces o f aluminum, flash to white heat. Under the high vacuum, the heat vaporizes the metal to a gas which hits the area o f sheeting passing above the crucible and condenses o n i t as a film a few millionths of an inch thick. As soon as the roll has run through, y o u release the vacuum, raise the jar, and load in the next roll. The metallized sheet then goes to a conventional rubber roll coater for a protective coat of clear lacquer. With y e l l o w lacquer, the metal looks like gold. Or, you can impart almost any other color desired. For costs and more details, write Distillation Products Industries, Vacuum Equipment Department, 741 Ridge Road West, Rochester 3, N . Y. (Division o f Eastman Kodak Company).
The roll of cellulose acetate sheeting is conditioned under moderate vacuum in this machine. Sheet thicknesses as high as .0075" and as low as .0015" work out very well. In the thinner gauges the roll can be of several thousand feet. Maximum roll width to date has been 26 inches.
DPI
high vacuum research and engineering A l s o . . . vitamins A a n d E . . . distilled m o n o g l y c e r i d e i . . . more than 3 5 0 0 Eastman Organic Chemicals for science and industry
THE C H E M I C A L W O R L D THIS WEEK Tube Turns, Inc., celebrated its silver anniversary on July 19. This Louisville, Ky., firm makes forged seamless welding fittings for directional changes in piping systems. Quaker O a t s Co. has announced plans for the construction of a $600,000 addition to its Memphis chemical plant. Tinnew unit will produce furfuryl alcohol.
GOVERNMENT Pauling Receives Limited Passport For T r a v e l t o Europe
Koppers nyl Phenol One of a Series o f Koppers A l k y l a t e d Phenols Suggested for use in the production of a number of chemical products which require a mono-alkylated phenol of relatively high boiling point and molecular weight. The properties of Nonyl Phenol indicate usefulness in the production of detergents, modified phenolic resins, non-ionic surface active agents, dispersing agents and wetting agents, lubricating oil additives and corrosion inhibitors, rubber chemicals, plasticizers, plastic stabilizers, germicides, insecticides, fungicides, oil soluble resins, tanning agents, dyestuffs and pharmaceuticals.
# KOPPERS N O N Y L PHENOL is produced in commercial quantities. I t is a slightly viscous, clear liquid; o n l y very slightly soluble in water, but miscible with c o m mon organic solvents.
REACTIONS T w o o f t h e three normally reactive nuclear positions are u n s u b s t i t u t e d in this alkylated phenol; t h e y are
subject t o such reactions as acylation, and condensation w i t h aldeh y d e s . I t is a mixture of m o n o n o n y l phenols, predominantly s u b s t i t u t e d i n the para-position. The unhindered phenolic hydroxyl group undergoes s u c h reactions as etherification, esterification, vinylation, e t h y l e n e oxide condensation, and f o r m a t i o n of n o n y l phenoxyacetic acid.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION write to Koppers Co., Inc., Chemical Division
KOPPERS C O M P A N Y , I N C . Chemical Division, D e p t . C E N - 7 - 2 1 Koppers Building, Pittsburgh 1 9 , P a .
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C H E M I C A L
Receipt of new evidence and a recvaluation of the case, plus receipt of a nonConinmuist affadavit, have led the State Department to reverse its prior stand in refusing to grant a passport to Linus Pauling, California Institute of Technology. The State Department has issued a "limited passport" valid until Oct. 1, which will permit Dr. Pauling to go only to France and Britain to attend .scientific conferences at which he has been invited to lecture. The new evidence, it is reported, w a s received by the department after it first denied Dr. Pauling a passport last February. Dr. Pauling had requested a review or hearing. DP A Initiates Program of Industrial Conservation Lack of self-sufficiency in 2 9 out of 38 important industrial minerals has focused attention on the need for modern industrial conservation. The Defense Production A d ministration considers industrial conservation so important that it has formed a conservation division staffed with specialists. Initial activities are being centered in one general area—industrial in-plant conservation. Backbone of the program will be the dissemination of information on a nationwide basis of the possibilities in this area. DPA's initial publication, "Industrial Conservation—a Guide to Conservation Engineering Practices." is now available. Separate bulletins, each covering a specialized conservation technique for individual plants will b e issued. Typical subjects to b e covered include power house practices, reclaiming cutting tools, and savings through standardization, simplification, substitution, and specifications. The success of the program will be measured by the degree to which the fallacy of inexhaustible supplies is overcome and the idea that material savings is of extreme importance is accepted. Industrial conservation, DPA states, now has a broad philosophy and application. It includes materials substitution, handling, control and utilization, standardization and simplification, improved manufacturing methods, improved specifications, more frugal design, and salvage and reclamation. A N D
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