Packaging New Dehydration Packaging M e t h o d R. L. HOCKLEy, V i c e President The Davison Chemical Corp. Baltimore 3, M d .
Editor's Hole. Ther« follows an extremely interesting article on dehydrated packaging by R. L . Hockley, vice president, Davison Chemical Corp. This: has been a real contribution to our war effort. It is probable that many postwar uses will be found for the method.
E war THchanges
has brought about outstanding in all phases of industry, and packaging is no exception. Previously almost the exclusive concern of t h e shipping department, packaging now requires the attention of the research chemist and engi neer. Manufacturers have been called upon to ship metal and nonmetallic parts and assembled equipment, to and through all sorts of climates under the roost adverse conditions. The item must arrive factoryfresh, free from rust and corrosio>n, and ready for immediate use. There is no time to remove corrosion-preventive compounsd such as oils and greases that might have been used as preventives. Our organization pioneered in, and de veloped a method of preventing corrosion by dehydrated packaging t h a t proved the answer. When war came, this part played by Davison was the logical outcome of its interests in silica gel. At the close of World War I, we took over the development and manufacture of silica gel in an effort to find peacetime uses. Davison's Protek-Sorb and the now well-known Method I I , dehydrated or air-conditioned packaging are the direct results of these efforts. The principle behind Davison's method of rust, corrosion, mildew, and mold-preventive packaging is simple, bui, perfection required years of extensive research. I t had been demonstrated b y authorities t h a t corrosion would not OCCILT a t relative humiditiea of less than 30% at normal tem peratures. Therefore, the protection of any equipment or part would be certain so long as the humidity in the package was held be low t h a t figure. Silica gel is a prepared form of silicon di oxide having an extremely porous structure. I t is made by mixing predetermined concen trations of an acid, such as sulfuric, and a soluble silicate, like sodium silicate (water glass), and allowing the mixture, known as t h e hydrosol, to set t o a jellylike mass called hydrogel. After setting, the hydrogel is broken into small lumps a n d thoroughly washed to remove excess acid arid the salts resulting from the reaction. The washed hydrogel is then dried, crushed, and screened to the desired particle size and given a fina; activation. 2 1 32
Above. Protek plugs are inserted in place of spark plugs in engines of Thunderbolt Re public P-47 when airplane engines are shipped for storage o r t o fighting front. M a d e of transparent moisture impervious plastic, filled with dehydrating agent, ProtekSorb, and impregnated with cobalt chloride, they are deep blue, fading to pink as mois ture is absorbed. They have been designed to eliminate corrosion of engine parts. Right. Showing carburetor repair parts kit. Below. Carrier and Proiek-Sorb dehydrant.
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Packaging serve as moisture-vapor barriers. T h e prin cipal part played by an effective barrier is one of confining t h e space to be "dehydrated" or air conditioned . . . " a barrier shall have a maximum moisture-vapor transmission rate of 0.25 gram/100 square inches/24 hours with a vapor pressure differential of 42 mm. of mercury and 100° F . " Protek-Sorb will always protect, if the barrier functions properly. This Davison method has been used ex tensively by all the Armed Forces and is known as Method I I packaging. I t is being successfully used for packaging complete airplanes, tanks, motors, and engines, arc welding machines, radio and radar equip
ment, bomb sights, switch or control panels, delicate fire-control instruments, propeller hubs, grins, automotive and aircraft spare parts, tool kits, railway signals, films, tools, typewriter and business machines, and a host of other items. Davison's method is a specific assurance against rust, corrosion, and mildew. More than half a century ago, F . S. Barff, of Christ's College, Cambridge, England, asked, "Can science conquer rust?" The cutlery manufacturers of Sheffield, England, found that knives shipped to Zanzibar rusted in transit very rapidly. T h e only method known then to combat rusting was to coat the parts heavily with oils and greases. This method of attempting to shield metal sur faces from corrosion and rust remained the only procedure known until Davison de
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veloped the preventive method of dehydrated packaging. Not only does the cold metlhod of slushing parts with rust preventive coirnpounds entail special floor space and equipment, b u t laborious time-consuiming de^slushing at t h e destination. I n the matter of fire control subassemblies, the paa-ts f o r -the Wizard gun> pointer that tracks down airplanes in the sky with deadly results, thae îust p re-ventives were found to have a serious fcfïec t on insulation. This is best explain.ee] i n quioting from the Ordnance Packaging Instructions—for Method II Packaging;—FXS G8fr, 5-10-43: Included in the extra parts required for fire control equipment are many parts, including, complicated subassemblies, which because of their designare not susceptible to complete pro tection from corrosive actiori bs' the application
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Packaging of ϋ. corrosion preventive. These parts, never theless, a r e jvist as vulnerable t o corrosive action as other parts and therefore must be protected in a special manner. Included in this category are electrical e q u i p m e r ' : parts which include rubber fabric, or other organic material, or composition which might be affected b y corrosion preventive; and complicated subassemblies whose proper functioning might be affected by t h e application of a corrosion preventive. T o protect such items as mentioned above a dehydrated package is used. This consists of sealing t h e part, together with a dehydrating agent, in a barrier impervious to rnoisture-vapor transmission which keeps tha relative humidity within thfî package at 3 0 % or less. The de hydrating agent absorbs moisture which is crapped with the air κι the package as well as such moisture as might pass through t h e barrier during a siven time.
An eiopirica) formula, which has proved very satisfactory v a s evolved for t h e calcu lation of the amount of silica gel such as Protek-Sorb necessary to ensure an atmos phere of les3 than 3 0 % relative humidity, with a moisture vapor barrier having the maximum moisture vapor transmission rate previously mentioned. Pounds of silica gel = 0.08 A + Where A = area in square feet of ing surfaces—i. e., area of the barrier V = volume in cubic feet space enclosed
0.02 V enclos surface of the
Where hygroscopic dunnage, or similar surrounding materials are included in the enclosed space, an amount of silica gel equal in weight to this material Î3 added. From the above provisions it will be seen that t h e ordinary flexible barriers p.re not
absolutely moisture-vapor proof, and the factor 0.08 A ta.kes this into account. However, an. absolutely moisture-vapor proof barrier is possible without any leakage». This is a mota.1 or glass container. If a metai part is sealed in a container of this kind, cogethcr -with a sufficient amount of Protek-Sorb, thae cointents of t h e can will "keep" indefinitely, a s long as t h e oontainer exists and thosealis not broken. This has bee=n do»ne in Method I I I de hydrated packaging, "used for packaging very fine parte b y t h e Sorvice Departments of the United States acid Gr-eat Britain. In Method 113, the factor 0.08 Λ drops out of the empirical formula, for i.ha obvious reason chat tlieire cam be no barrier leakage. Owing to the s1horta..ge of tin cans, Method I I I of dehydrated packaging cannot be ex tensively used toda.y, and for most pur poses the flexible barriers are highly satis factory. iJowe^ver, ΪΛ the future Method III will proHbl^y bo widely used. We were tho Srst to develop a humidity in dicator guide con tainLng our especially treated silica gel known as Telltale Gel. We impreg nated a specially prep ared silica gel with cobalt chloride. Theoretically this was simple, but it requirod long research to arrive a t a technique of rrianufacture that would con stantly assure a. silica gel indicator t h a t was dependable and -that would change color at the relative humidity at which corrosion begins. There is overy indication that this new dehydrated pa-ckaging Method II is not merely proving itself effective under war con ditions, b u t is rather a method of insurance against rust, corrosion, mildew, and mold, that will revolutionize packaging in the world of tomorrow.
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C u r r e n t l y w e a r e a c t i v e in fitting-out college l a b o r a t o r i e s t o m e e t t h e influx of s t u d e n t s under the Army-Navy war training program. W h e t h e r y o u r e q u i r e a few a d d i t i o n a l pieces of e q u i p m e n t , or m u s t m o v e t o n e w q u a r t e r s , or a r e p l a n n i n g a c o m p l e t e n e w l a b o r a t o r y , w e a r e e q u i p p e d t o serve you. A l b e r e n e Stone's d u r a b i l i t y a n d e c o n o m y h a v e b e e n p r o v e d for m o r e t h a n 5 0 y e a r s in t h e country's l e a d i n g educational, industrial a n d research laborato ries. O u r specialized, t e c h n i c a l e x p e r i e n c e in t h e design* fabrication a n d installation of t a b l e t o p s , f u m e h o o d s , sinks, t a n k s , shelving, is a t y o u r i m m e d i a t e service. R e a s o n a b l y p r o m p t deliveries can b e m a d e .
M a n o m e t r i c A p p a r a S u b - Z e r o C a b i n e t for t u s for M i c r o r e s p i r a Low-Temperature tiori S t u d i e s Testing For methods of Warburg, For testing materials to de Barcroft and others, Tem perature range, —20° to termine their performance, e 50 C. Constancy as close durability, etc., at low tem Range, 0 to as ±0.005° C. Embodies im peratures. proved features suggested by -100° F. and 0 to 220° F. Constancy, ± K°F. leading research workers. Catalog NP-41 Bulletin A-2120
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Lehigh V a l l e y Section 50th Anniversary (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20S9)
engineering students in the five colleges of the valley (Albright, Cedar Crest, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Muhlenberg). These prizes consist of junior memberships in the AMERI CAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY and a year's sub
scription to two of the SOCIETY'S journals. I n addition, the section maintains a library of chemical educational films for free -use by chemistry teachers of the colleges and t h e high schools of the valley. Since 1918 the Lehigh Valley Section aas issued The Octagon, containing chemistry news. T h r first editor was E. C . Bingham of Lafayette College, who continues as one of the most active members. At present it is edited by t h e business manager, R. D . Billinger. A special enlarged edition is being prepared for the Fiftieth Anniversary of t h e Lehigh Valley Section.
Salesmen's Association of the Chemical Industry Officers of the Salesmen's Association^ the American Chemical Industry are: presi dent, Frank G. Fanning, N. I . Malmstrom & Co.; vice president, Charles F . Alexander, L. Sonneborn Sons, Inc.; treasurer, James Mclnnes, Jr., Commercial Solvents Corp.; secretary, James E. Ferris, Niagara Alkali Co.; executive committee members, 1944—46, Frank J. McHugh and Charles V. Douglas.
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