New Research Laboratory, Columbia Chemical Division of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company
T
HE continued expansion of the research activities of the Columbia Chemical Division of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. made imperative an increase in space and facilities. Therefore, an addition to the laboratory, considerably larger than the original building, was erected. The older building consisted of three floors, one floor being below the surface of the ground a t the front but above ground a t the rear because of the sloping surface. Four floors were desired in the new building, and in order to preserve the architectural integrity of the combined building it was necessary to place one of the new floors partially below ground. Viewed from the street, therefore, the building appears to consist of two stories. The construction is of brick, colonial in effect with its limestone trim. The reinforced concrete floors are carried on steel I-beams. All glazing is plate glass. The main entrance leads to a foyer on the second floor partitioned in Lumite glass block. Besides clerical offices, this floor has the research director’s office, the library, a smaller laboratory, and the analytical laboratory. The library and the research director’s office have ceilings covered with acoustic tile to diminisli extraneous sound. The floor above, divided into two large rooms, houses the inorganic and physical section, the organic section, and a smaller room for the microanalytical laboratory. The large rooms have a series of alternating laboratory tables and equipment racks.
The laboratory tables are divided along the center by a waste trough, shelving, and service lines, and have Alberene stone sinks a t each end, Table tops are of treated birch. Services a t each table include hot and cold water, 90-pound compressed air, 110-volt alternating current, and 220-volt direct current. Except for the lead fittings a t each desk, all waste lines are of Duriron for corrosion resistance. The equipment racks are provided with a stainless-steel rod system and steam lines in addition to the other services. I n the new building the laboratory floors are of resilient mastic cement and office floors of asphalt tile; in the older part of the building the floors are of painted concrete with rubber mats, backed with sponge rubber in much-used places. The new building has matt-glazed ivory tile as the wall surface. Luminaries are recessed flush with the ceiling and utilize 3OO-watt lamps. The microanalytical laboratory is separated from the main laboratory room by glass partitions, so that the required standards of dustlessness can be maintained. Air coming in from the outside is heated by a thermostatically controlled radiator unit and filtered through glass wool before entering the laboratory. The laboratory is of the standard Pregl type, utilizing a Kuhlmann balance and equipped for the usual microchemical determinations. The balance is mounted on a rubber ball suspension1 which has proved very satis1
Kirner, IND. ENQ.CHEX.,Anal. Ed., 9, 300 (1937
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGIXEERISG CHEMISTRY
factory. K h e n excavations were being made for the newer building, a retaining wall, an integral part of the older building, was battered down by a 4-ton steel ball s m n g by a steam shovel with concussions that made the whole building tremble. It was possible, however, to carry on the microweighings with no noticeable aberration while the pounding wa5 going on. The firct floor, also equipped with racks and laboratory desks, is reserved for industrial projects requiring the handling of materials on a slightly larger scale. This floor holds
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t I w i1i:iin storeroom, with a fireproci, ipecially ventkited ruoiii for solvents and other inflammable material. ;iny illcrease in ternperature i t 1 this room actuates controls that A u t the fire I h J I J t unll ?elea.e carbon c h i c l e . The technical servicc laboratury, ecluippecl for. rubber compounding and similar testing xork, i.q also located here. .I physical testing 1:ilmatory is equipped for pH tleterixination (colorimetric, glass. nntinioiiy, and hplrogrn electrodes) and identification hy reirwtive index (.-lbhe reiractometer). Other items include :Llirrl1t- R l l i l dark-ficld niicror-.cope, petrographic microscope icir it Icntification n-ork, an\l pliototiiicrographic arid photog r a p h i c equipment. A tool room on this floor contains a lathe, drill press, work bench, and glassblowing table. The basement, extending only under the newer section of the building, is devoted to pilot-plant work. Part of it has a ceiling height of 15 feet, as coinpared with 9 feet for the rest of the building, to accommodate larger pieces of equipment. This floor is equipped with a high-pressure (25-pound) gas line for furnacing o p e r a t i o n s , 440volt a 1t e r n a t i n g current, and 140pound steam. The attic of the building is used for storage purposes, but the building is so constructed that the roof may be raised and another floor added when expansion is indicated. All floors are connected by an elevator, and much of the equipment is mounted on wheels so that it may be taken to any part of the building via the elevator without any trouble. A large centrifuge and a motor-generator set prov ding lowvoltage high-amperage current for electrolytic work are included in the equipment of this type. Nuch special equipment, such as high-pressure autoclaves and bombs designed in this laboratory, is in use. Ventilation throughout the building is accomplished mostly through the hoods, which are of the open-face type. Fifteen to twenty air changes of the entire building an hour are exhausted through the hoods and auxiliary louvres by blowers in the attic operating through a Durimet duct system. Fresh air enters the building through louvres in the outside wall, and is passed through finned-tube heating units before entering the building. Full use of many of the modern forms of glass are made throughout the laboratory, including, besides the uses mentioned, such things as tempered glass for special hoods and safety laminated glass shields, bound with metal edges, for surrounding hazardous operations. These shields, easily supported by laboratory clamps, are also used for the walls of thermostats housing potentially hazardous experiment~,
