Interstate Lectures New Strop to Keep Chemists Technologically Sharp
Dr. Richard Stein (above left), professor of chemistry at University of Massachusetts, lectures from Amherst, Mass., to scientists at Olin Mathieson in New Haven, Conn., and at Interchemical Corp. in Clifton, N.J. The
interstate lecture was an experiment sponsored by American Institute of Chemists as a potential method for combating technical obsolescence. Two American Telephone & Telegraph phone lines carried Dr. Stein's lecture. One carried two-way audio communication between Amherst and the two chemical companies; the other transmitted lecture notes as Dr. Stein wrote them on Comptometer Corp.'s Electrowriter.
AIC hopes to build up a series of courses designed to reach chemists who have been out of school for about five years to keep them up to date in new developments. The method has advantages over closed-circuit television, AIC says. It costs about one thirtieth as much as television and allows twoway speaking. It falls short of television in that the class does not see the lecturer speaking. Picture of Dr. Stein at right is a color slide.
says that the one core sample did not and could not provide sufficient information upon which to base any reasonable or logical conclusions as to the dimensions or extent of sulfide mineralization. The firm asserts that until rights to adjoining land were obtained and additional holes were drilled and evaluated, no responsible public statements could be made about the extent of mineralization or its commercial potential. Drillings. The firm did acquire rights on adjoining land by March 31, 1964, and commenced additional drillings. The first two additional holes were completed by April 7 and 11. Both holes showed mineral values, generally similar to those of the initial hole, but they didn't provide sufficient additional information to determine the extent of the deposit, according to TGS. Further, it was not possible to conclude by April 12, "contrary to the plaintiff's allegation, that a large body of commercially mineable ore of substantial value, had been established."
TGS says that it was at this point (April 12) that it felt compelled by rumors to make an immediate public statement and that the statement that it did issue on April 12, 1964, was the most responsible statement which could be made at that time. By April 15, six evaluation holes had been completed and three were being drilled at various depths down to 613 feet. These began to give some reliable indications as to the width, depth, and length of the mineralized zone. The company then made a public announcement after advising its board at the regular April 16 meeting. TGS denies the SEC charges that options were granted officers and key employees on Feb. 20, 1964, without supplying the board of directors with material information known to the management. "All members of the board of directors were at all times kept informed of the general progress of the corporate business of Texas Gulf consisting principally on the mining and sale of sulfur and other minerals."
More Molten Aluminum Trucked to Car Makers
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Truck-borne crucibles of molten aluminum may become a familiar sight on U.S. highways as Detroit's engineers continue to add aluminum components to their automobile designs. Aluminum producers are reaching out farther with direct shipments of molten metal to auto builders' casting operations. Chrysler's molten-metal contract with Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical (C&EN, July 5, page 9 ) , involving shipments over a record 300mile distance, could set off another round of molten-aluminum supply agreements. For large-volume production of aluminum castings, molten-metal contracts can put auto builders ahead on cost. The aluminum producer can offer price savings since casting and storing of ingots are avoided. The customer also saves the energy cost of remelting ingots. The long-term contracts associated with molten-metal
agreements assure a stable supply of aluminum. Aluminum producers gain advantages from long-term contracts (those now in force range up to 10 years) which, they hope, will foster penetration of aluminum into the auto castings market. Aluminum Co. of America now predicts that 750 million pounds of the metal will go into U.S. passengers cars this year. Castings will probably account for three fourths of this amount. The potential for aluminum engines, till now barely touched, could be 1 billion pounds per year. Location. Aluminum production, with its massive power requirements, is tied to sites where electricity is abundant and cheap. Accordingly, new foundries sprang up near the gates of aluminum plants where auto builders first contracted for molten metal. General Motors led the way in 1952, when its central foundry division put up a plant near Reynolds Metals' aluminum reduction complex at Jones Mills, Ark. Its products are permanent-mold aluminum castings such as transmission housings. Ford completed a foundry near Reynolds' Listerhill, Ala., plant in 1956. Under a 10-year contract, Reynolds delivers molten metal for casting transmission housings, pistons, and more than 60 other automotive parts. Preparing to use aluminum engines in its Corvair line, Chevrolet built facilities
adjacent to Reynolds' Massena, N.Y., plant in 1959. Many automotive foundries, though, were located on the basis of shipping costs for castings to machining and assembly sites. Alcoa was first to reach out for these potential customers. Since 1960, the company's Warrick works, near Evansville, Ind., has supplied molten metal to GM at Bedford, Ind. Molten aluminum makes the 115-mile trip in insulated crucibles carried on highway trailers. Reaching farther, Kaiser began trucking molten metal the following year from its Ravenswood, W.Va., plant to GM's Defiance, Ohio, foundry—more than 250 miles. These shipments continued until 1964, when GM phased out the production of aluminum V-8 engines at Defiance. Kaiser's 300-mile shuttle between Ravenswood and Chrysler's Kokomo, Ind., die-casting plant will begin this fall, when the Chrysler unit is completed. Ploy. Should aluminum begin to supplant gray iron in engine design, over-the-highway shipments of molten metal could well be an important source of supply. The cost spread between gray iron and aluminum engines looms very large in Detroit's thinking, and the cost savings of molten metal is a ploy that aluminum companies won't neglect. If given a 300-mile delivery range of molten metal, the automotive foun-
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LADLES. Molten aluminum from Reynolds' Listerhill, Ala., plant is loaded for transportation to a Ford foundry. Each truckload consists of two 5000-pound ladles of the molten metal
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dries concentrated in the Midwest could be blanketed with shipments from aluminum plants ringing the region. Alcoa's Warrick works, for example, could ship molten metal to plants in Illinois, Indiana, and much of both Missouri and Ohio. Warrick's third 35,000-ton potline will go into operation in October. Foundations are in place for two more potlines, which could bring the plant's capacity up to 175,000 tons per year if need be. New York State and much of Ohio is within range of Alcoa's Massena, N.Y., plant, which also has partly completed potlines in reserve. A few miles along the Ohio River from Kaiser's Ravenswood plant, Ormet Corp. has a 180,000-ton aluminum complex at Omal, Ohio. Should Detroit give the nod, molten aluminum for its foundries won't long be lacking.
Wellman-Lord Strikes Back at Gulf Design
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Wellman-Lord has filed a counterclaim against Gulf Design and Engineering Corp. in their dispute over the Prayon wet phosphoric acid process (C&EN, April 12, page 31). Wellman-Lord's countersuit before the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., charges Gulf Design with patent infringement and unfair competition. It also names Philip J. Pedone & Co., Consumers Cooperative Association, and Gordon F. Palm as defendants in the counterclaim. Wellman-Lord, the exclusive licensee of the Prayon process in the U.S., charges Gulf Design with infringing this process (U.S. Patents 2,699,985 and U.S. 3,097,922) in building a phosphate fertilizer complex for Consumers Cooperative Association in Lakeland, Fla. Trade Secrets. Wellman-Lord also charges that several of its former employees are now working for Gulf Design and Pedone (the major contractor for the CCA complex). All of these former employees had knowledge of the Prayon process before they left, Wellman-Lord alleges. (Gordon Palm is a former employee of Wellman-Lord who has worked as a consultant for Gulf Design.) Wellman-Lord charges that these former employees unlawfully utilized knowledge of the Prayon process which they obtained while working for WellmanLord. The formal dispute started when
Fosindus Co., the European holder of the Pray on patents, wrote a letter to Gulf Design's president accusing Gulf Design of infringing the Prayon process by building the CCA plant. Gulf Design then filed a suit against Bird Machine (the U.S. licensee of the rotating pan filter used in the phopshoric acid process), WellmanLord, and Fosindus. The company challenged the validity of the Prayon patents, and charged unfair competition and conspiracy among the defendents preventing competition in the building of phosphoric acid plants.
Hydantoin Derivatives DANTOIN 684 DIMETHYL HYDANTOIN FORMALDEHYDE RESIN (DMHF)
Allied May Solve Nylon Flat-Spotting Problem The problem of flat-spotting tires made with nylon tire cord appears another step nearer solution. Allied Chemical believes its new fiber, E F 121 (a combination of nylon and polyester), may help. It's been making the fiber for the past three months on a semicommercial basis. Tire makers have been testing it for about the same period. In a further development step, Allied recently purchased pilot plant facilities from West Germany's Hans J. Zimmer, A.G., to make the polyester portion of the fiber (C&EN, July 12, page 3 9 ) . Chemstrand and Du Pont are also
working on the flat-spotting problem (C&EN, Aug. 31, 1964, page 19). But both companies are working with nylon in their antiflat-spotting testing. Allied developed the EF-121 fiber in its search for a tire cord fiber that would retain the strength of nylon fiber but be less subject to flat-spotting. According to Allied, the yarn properties required to minimize the contribution of the cord to flat-spotting are: High immediate elastic recovery (modulus), low primary creep (high glass-transition temperature), and low moisture regain. Allied found that EF-121 at room temperature has a higher tensile strength, modulus, and yield point than nylon (Allied's Caprolan nylon tire yarn was used for the comparisons). It also has a lower moisture sensitivity than Caprolan. The E F 121 modulus is less sensitive to temperature up to about 65° C , reflecting an increase in the glass transition temperature. The firm says the laboratory data indicating reduced tendency to flat-spotting were confirmed by tests of tires and by jury-ride trials.
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Salt Threat Eases in Delaware River Most of the chemical and oil companies along the Delaware River below Chester, Pa., are less worried now as the danger of salt contamination decreases. The danger of salt encroachment resulted from severe drought in the area. The chemical companies, such as Atlas and Du Pont, and the oil companies, Sun Oil and Tidewater Oil, had already either salt-proofed their cooling equipment or converted to city water for cooling and process water during periods of increased salinity. With the exception of possible higher corrosion rates, the salt front is not now a threat to their operations. The major concern to these companies still is the effect of the prolonged drought (since 1961) on tributaries and ground waters adjacent to the Delaware. Orders. Several events were responsible for halting the upstream movement of the brackish water. The Delaware River Basin Commission (composed of the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, and a Presidential appointee) ordered New York City to release 200 million gallons of water per day into the Delaware from its reservoirs in the Western Catskills. Also, the commission ordered Penn30
C&EN
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sylvania Power and Light Co. to release water from Lake Wallenpaupack (Pa.) and the Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., to release water from its reservoirs in the Mongaup River basin (N.Y.). These ordered releases, added to a rainfall of over 2.5 inches earlier this month, stopped the encroaching salt front at Paulsboro, N.J. (opposite Essington, Pa., and north of Chester). Companies above Chester, thus above the normal brackish water front, are not as well equipped to handle high saline concentrations in their cooling systems. Also, many of these companies use the Delaware as a source of process water. Scott Paper Co.'s Eddystone plant, for example, uses the Delaware for both cooling and processing. The salt water encroachment (which is now above Eddystone) could result in an altering of production and a transfer of some of Scott's plant operations to other locations. Testimony. Scott was one of four companies to respond to a public request by the commission for companies to testify on the effect of the salt movement. The other companies which testified were Atlas, American Viscose, and Atlantic City Electric Co. And Sun Oil Co. presented a written statement.
BRIEFS Chesebrough-Ponds has received Food and Drug Administration clearance for a microencapsulated aspirin product. Using National Cash Register's microencapsulation process (C&EN, June 7, page 28), Chesebrough-Ponds coats aspirin particles with an inert material. When swallowed, the aspirin is released over an eight-hour period. Another delayed-release aspirin-based drug, made by Abbott Laboratories, will be sold by Lever Brothers within a year (C&EN, May 31, page 21).
Lithium Corp. of America has sold a 49r/c interest in its land and certain mineral rights at Great Salt Lake, Utah, to Salzdetfurth, A.G., Hanover, West Germany, as planned (C&EN, March 15, page 27). Following a development program, the two companies will form a new corporation to build facilities near Ogden, Utah, for producing potash, sodium sulfate,
and magnesium products. Lithium Corp. will retain all rights to lithium, bromine, borax, and trace minerals.
Ludlow Corp., Needham Heights, Mass., has bought a majority interest in Puritan Aerosol Corp., Berkeley, R.I. Puritan's sales last year were $6 million. Its aerosol packaging plant in Berkeley, completed last year, is being doubled in size. Ludlow's sales last year were $81 million. It makes jute and synthetic textiles, and paper and plastic products.
Eberbach & Son, Ann Arbor, Mich., and its subsidiary, K & L Scientific, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, have merged with Will Scientific, Inc. Both Midwest laboratory supply houses will operate as subsidiaries of Will.
Electronic Films, Inc., is the new name of Mallory-Xerox Corp., a Burlington, Mass., wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox Corp. Electronic Films makes thin-film resistor boards for custometching by users.
Upjohn Co. has developed a feed supplement to control the breeding cycles in cattle and sheep. The company has filed tissue residue data with the Food and Drug Administration. When cleared, the additive will be introduced to feed manufacturers in Montana and Iowa. Each manufacturer must get individual FDA clearance before using it, however. The product, called Repromix, contains a substituted progesterone. Other breeding synchronizers have been developed by Eli Lilly and Searle (C&EN, June 21, page 23).
Mobay Chemical's patent on a process for preparing polyurethane plastics (C&EN, June 21, page 28) is U.S. 3,188,296. It is particularly concerned with blowing agents used in making foams.
Union Carbide has sold its equipment for making round, nested containers to Lily-Tulip Cup Corp. Lily-Tulip will remove die equipment from a Union Carbide plant in Fairlawn, N.J., and will modify the equipment for its own use.
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CHEVRON RESEARCH COMPANY (Formerly California Research Corporation) Oneof thenation's leaders in research,we serve thegreat group of worldwide Chevron Companies. Our scientists and engineers effectively supply the required technology to keep these Companies in the forefront of today's competitive markets. They include experts in all fields of science and engineering. Their efforts result in new methods of finding and producing oil, new petroleum and chemical products, process design of new manufacturing plants, and a worldwide licensing program.
Chevron Research Company Part of the great group of companies serving under the Sign of the Chevron: symbol of excellence in products of petroleum. 200 Bush St., San Francisco, California
NEW FACILITIES Leonard Construction Co. is building a contact sulfuric acid plant for Texaco at Port Arthur, Tex. The 264 tona-day plant, designed by Monsanto and engineered by Leonard, is scheduled for completion early next year.
Air Products & Chemicals has received a contract to supply nitrogen for the new float-glass facility being built by Pittsburgh Plate Glass at Crystal City, Mo. (C&EN, Feb. 22, page 19). An on-site plant to make 99.999% nitrogen will be built, owned, and operated by Air Products. The plant is scheduled for completion in September.
Amoco Chemicals is planning to build a new petroleum additives plant at the American Oil refinery at Wood River, 111. The new unit will replace present facilities there for making inhibitors and detergents, and will double the plant's capacity for these chemicals. American Oil will operate the plant for Amoco Chemicals. Both companies are subsidiaries of Standard Oil (hid.)- Construction will be completed late next year.
Allied Chemical will double the capacity of its polyethers plant at Baton Rouge, La. Work on the expansion of the plant, which is operated by Allied's Solvay process division, will start immediately and will take several months to complete.
Eastman Kodak has begun excavation work for an addition to its research facilities in Rochester, N.Y. Construction will begin next spring and be completed in January 1968.
Great Lakes Chemical Corp. has begun full production of bromine and bromine chemicals at a new plant near El Dorado, Ark. The company also has new ethylene dibromide and methyl bromide units there.
American Can has started making blown-plastic oil containers at its plastic container pilot plant in Addison, 111. The quart containers are now being market tested.
Hercor Chemical Corp. has awarded a contract to Fluor Corp. for the design, engineering, procurement, and construction of its 100 million pound-ayear p-xylene plant near Ponce, P.R. (C&EN, Feb. 8, page 17). Construction will begin in August and be completed in mid-1966. The $10 million contract is for the first in a series of plants to be built near a $41 million aromatics complex Fluor is building on Guayanilla Bay for Commonwealth Petrochemicals, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Oil Refining. Commonwealth Oil and Hercules Powder own Hercor Chemical.
This is two L electrodes
Crown Central Petroleum Corp. has
begun operation of a new alkylation unit at its refinery on the Houston Ship Channel. The unit is producing about 3400 barrels of alkylate a day from mixed butane-butylene and propane-propylene refinery streams using hydrofluoric acid as catalyst. Phillips Petroleum licensed the process and Foster Wheeler built the unit.
Georgia-Pacific Corp. will increase the capacity of its papermaking facilities at Crossett, Ark., from 850 tons of pulp a day to 1550 tons. The additional pulp will be used to make bleached papers, tissue products, and bleached foodboard. Engineering studies for the $50 million expansion will be completed late this year.
Union Carbide has begun production of Linde molecular sieves at its new Mobile, Ala., plant. The facility triples the company's capacity for the sieves, which are used for drying, purification, and bulk separation of liquids and gases.
Reserve Oil & Gas Co. has started up its new anhydrous ammonia plant near Hanford, Calif. (C&EN, July 27, 1964, page 17). Initial production rate will be 60 tons a day.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has awarded a contract to Catalytic Construction Co. for the engineering, procurement, and construction of an expansion at its Point Pleasant, W.Va., polyester plant. Scheduled for completion next year, the expanded facilities will make resin for fabric and tire cord.
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19, 1965
C&EN
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