May 20, 1929
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
ports of minium increased from 1000 quintals to an average of 25,000 quintals in t h e period 1925-27, and in the same period the imports decreased from 5200 to 1000 quintals. Imports of miscellaneous colors increased from 8500 to 10,000 in 1927, whereas there was a decrease in imports from 20,000 to 6000 quintals. PRODUCTION OF GRAY A S B E S T O S
The Italian production of asbestos, which in 1913 was only 175 tons, has within recent years made notable strides, reaching 2160 tons in 1925, 2900 tons in 1926, and 3840 tons in 1927. Most of this is furnished by the Balangero mine; other deposits are found in Valtellina. The Balangero mine has increased its output very markedly. I n 1925 it produced 2000 tons of asbestos fiber, in 1928 it reached 5000 tons, and it is estimated that as a result of new plants it may reach an average production of 10,000 to 12,000 tons. The Balangero asbestos is gray and is especially valuable on account of the absence of talc. I t is comparable in quality to the Canadian, but is inferior t o it for spinning. I t is used exclusively for the manufacture of artificial stones and is classified into four groups, ranging in price from $73 to $150 a ton. The deposits of Valtellina furnish amphibolic, white, long fiber which is resistant t o acids and almost infusible. The production of these mines was 100 tons in 1925, and 240 tons in 1927. The mines are public property and are leased to private interests for operation. The output consists of approximately one-third firstclass fiber 2 cm. long, one-third second-class with fibers 0.5 to 2 cm. long, one-fourth of third class with fibers less than 0.5 cm., and the remainder i s powder. The first two grades are exported principally t o England to be used for cartons, filters, stopcocks, etc. T h e fiber is rather rough and therefore little adapted .for spinning. The third class and the powder are used in Italy for the manufacture of papers. In addition to t h e two establishments that use asbestos in the production of Eternit, there are in Italy three large plants and other smaller ones devoted to the manufacture of various articles such as threads, cords, cartons, textiles, etc. However, Italian asbestos, which is mostly short fiber, is n o t well suited for textiles, and asbestos for this purpose is imported. Since 1924 the exports of gray asbestos have increased enormously, jumping from 5670 quintals valued at 891,558 lire in 1924, t o 49,404 quintals valued at 7,956,404 lire in 1928. Translated by PETER MASUCCI
South Indian Letter B Y K. R. NATARAJAN 99 Lloyds Road, Royapettah, Madras, India SULFURIC A C I D INDUSTRY
A very interesting article on the manufacture of heavy chemicals in India appeared in the Indian Industries and Trade Supplement Number of the Calcutta Capital. One of the chief impediments to t h e expansion of this industry is the fact that the important raw material, sulfur, has to be imported either from Japan or Sicily. Pyrites, which is very often used in many of the continental plants, occurs scattered in various parts of India, and in one place, near Kalabad in the Indus, it is sufficiently large in shales. India also possesses an almost unlimited supply of gypsum, containing 16 to 2 0 per cent sulfur, and it may be found possible to recover this sulfur for use in the manufacture of sulfuric acid and alkalies. But, unlike the United Kingdom and other places on t h e Continent, the scattered position of the industrial centers in India has been a serious hindrance t o the progress of this industry. During the last three years sulfur to the value of $23,000,000 has been imported annually into this country. Allowing the margin for the use of raw sulfur, this would mean that the present manufacture of sulfuric acid is about 20,000 tons. For a country like India the demand is obviously small. The imports of sulfuric acid for t h e past three years, though not steadily decreasing, show about 5000 cwt. of t h e acid. This imported acid is either the chemically pure or t h e oleum fuming sulfuric acid, which has n o t been placed on t h e market by the Indian manufacturers. The manufacture of sulfuric acid is of immense importance in view of the expanding condition of the industries in India, although with foreign competition involving the application of new processes, it is doubtful whether sulfuric acid from imported sulfur can ever provide a steady supply of acid at a sufficiently low price. I t is therefore highly desirable that the acid should be manufactured by the modern contact process, since a much purer acid is obtained in this way, and acid of any concentration can be prepared, including the oleum, the supply of which is essential for the coal-tar industry- I t is also possible t o make liquid sulfur dioxide by this process. T h e initial price of installing t h e catalytic process is greater than that of the chamber process, but the cost of the upkeep is lower and no nitrates are required. The Indian Tariff Board in its supplementary report recom-
CHEMISTRY
mended t h e abolition of the 15 per cent ad valorem import duty o n sulfur. Owing to the high freight rate in India, sulfur will always cost more in this country than in America or elsewhere. I t is hoped that the removal of the duty will favor the development of t h e Indian chemical industry. There a r e about ten factories in India which manufacture sulfuric acid. Most of these are situated near the t w o most important industrial centers, Bombay and Calcutta. The Madras Presidency has only one plant, under t h e management of the leading manufacturing firms in the country. Ranipet, about 60 miles from the metropolis of the Southern Presidency, boasts of possessing a n up-to-date factory for the manufacture of sulfuric acid, under t h e management of Messrs. Parry & Co. This i s one of t h e principal factories in India and h a s been progressing in importance and expansion. T h e old chambers have given place to a new and improved factory of lead chambers, and there nave been other improvements as well. Judging from the present manufacture of sulfuric acid, it would appear t h a t India is strangely backward in her consumption o f the acid. Imported sulfur can never produce an acid at a sufficiently low price to render economy possible for certain other industries dependent thereon. This industry, like the I^eblanc soda industry, is chiefly dependent on its by-products for being undersold. In the early stages of the acid manufacture in Ranipet, Messrs. Parry & C o . experienced considerable difficulty in importing earthenware containers. The transportation problem is a serious impediment to progress. They have now overcome this difficulty b y installing a pottery works which makes jars comparing very favorably with t h e imported variety. T h e white^clay they are using is obtained from places like Cuddappah and other distant centers. T h e chief by-products they are making are Glauber's salt, H p s o m salt, green copperas, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. T h e main adjunct t o the factory at Ranipet, however, is the Presidency Manure Works, where superphosphates, nitrogen fertilizers, and other fertilizers suited t o different soils and different plants are produced. I n the conversion of bones to superphosphates large quantities of sulfuric acid are required, and therefore t h e weak chamber acid is very largely used in this industry. The fertilizer works have high-pressure autoclaves, capable of taking a charge of a few tons of bones at a time, and a regular battery of bone-crushing mills, with t h e necessary equipment for a n up-to-date bone-crushing fertilizer industry. Indian capitalists still hesitate t o install new processes, such as the c o n t a c t process of acid-making, which depends very largely on t h e nature of the catalyst and the methods of keeping it in the optimum condition. I^ack of expert supervision in the early stages of t h e development of the industry is likely t o cause considerable l o s s to t h e investors. Therefore the government should help t h e Indian capitalist in the promotion of these k e y industries.
Obituary Nagayoshi Nagai Nagayoshi Nagai, emeritus professor of the Imperial University of T o k y o and member of t h e Imperial Academy, died on February 1 0 , at t h e advanced age of eighty-four. Doctor INagai studied chemistry and pharmacy at Berlin University from 1870 t o 1877. After four years a t the Home Office in Japan, he returned to Berlin in 1881, and was soon appointed assistant professor at his Alma Mater. Since 1883 h e h a s devoted his life to the Imperial University. H e has been a member of the Central Sanitary Committee of the Home Office and president of the Japan Pharmacological Society. H e made many important researches i n pharmacology, one of the most notable being the synthesis of ephedrine. Doctor Nagai has done a great deal t o impart a new spirit and new methods in scientific departments in Japanese universities, especially in the field of pharmacology. His appreciation o f his early education in Germany crystallized into a strong feeling of good will toward the German people, and he devoted himself unreservedly t o the cultivation of ties of friendship between t h e two nations.
N e w F r e n c h Fertilizer Sulfonitrate T h e manufacture of a new fertilizer known a s Sulfonitrate —anxmoninm calcium sulfonitrate—has been undertaken b y the nitrogen plant a t Toulouse owned by t h e French Government, according t o t h e Department of Commerce. T h e output of Sulfonitrate at Toulouse is now about 500 metric tons per m o n t h , m o s t of which is being sold i n the northern part of France directly through the Toulouse Nitrogen Office.
