90
NEWS
very unfavorable to chemical enterprises when a t least a third of the total chemical production of Germany is directed to exportation. Facts concerning imports a n d exportation of German chemicals for the years 1929 t o 1931 are given i n the following table: GERMANY'S TRADE TJS CHEIKICALS MILLIONS OF DOUBLE CENTNERS IMPORTS 1929 1930 1931 Ammonium sulfate 0.45 0.54 Thomas meal 11.16 11-59 11.04 Potassium sulfate ) Potassium ohloride ) 0.47 0.43 Dyes, varnishes, lacquers 0.56 Other chemical raw ma 4.27 3.20 3.15 terials Miscellaneous chemical and pharmaceutical 2.23 1.S0 1.99 products 18.22 17.51 17.15 TOTAL EXPORTS 7.27 4.64 6.65 Ammonium sulfate 2.41 2.95 1.73 Thomas meal 10.82 9.95 5.41 Potash salts Potassium sulfate ) 3.96 4.26 3.13 Potassium chloride ) 1.84 1.81 1.76 Dyes, varnishes, lacquers Other chemical raw ma9.50 6.64 4.54 ^ terials Miscellaneous chemical and pharmaceutical 11.20 10.35 8.63 products TOTAL· 47.00 40.60 31.85
MILLION'S OF REICHMAKKS 1929 1931 1930 O.06 6.42 7.02 50.72 38.06 48.61 O.03 0.05 26.02 39.91 31.75 85.23
61.07
46.75
114.22 290.17
85.77 234.27
74.35 191.60
134.01 11.77 6T.01 61.69 337.96
86.49 12.75 60.23 67.21 312. S9
74.64 6.62 30.79 46.48 276.40
182.71
133.69
88.64
556.90 1352.05
486.71 1159.97
432.04 955.61
SlNTER-CoRUNDUM, A N E W C E R A M I C MATERIAL
The firm Siemens and lialske, Berlin-Siemensstadt, is now producing sinter-corundum (Sinterkomnd) from pure aluminum oxide a t a temperature of about 1800° C . T h e material is entirely crystalline like granite. I t s thermal conductivity, which a t 16° C. is about twenty times as high as t h a t of porcelain, is quite insensitive t o temperature change; its good electrical properties are also preserved up t o very high temperatures.5 A t 4 0 0 ° C. the specific resistance of this material is a b o u t 10 times t h a t of porcelain, and a t 700° C. it i s 10O times that of molten quartz. Sinter-corundum i s suitable as insulation for vestas, for motors used in aviation, a n d is also well adapted as a material for chemical apparatus (crucibles, dishes, etc.), since i t is not attacked by hydrofluoric acid, molten alkalies, seoriaceous fluxes, etc. Furthermore, on account of its hardness (9 according t o M o h s scale) it is suitable for cutting tools, whetstones, guides for wire or thread, and also as material for mill lining and grinding rolls. I t is also to b e recommended as a fireproof construction material. Sinter-corundum will be applied wherever its property of electric insulation at very high temperatures is needed; for example, as supports for the heating element in electrically heated apparatus, also in h e a v y current techndc a s arc insulating material, in electric furnace construction, etc. BERYLLIUM AND I T S ALLOYS
The only firm in Europe which has heretofore produced beryllium and its alloys is Siemens and Halske. Beryl, a silicate of beryllium, is converted b y chemical means into beryllium oxyfluoride and, from this, metallic beryllium is obtained in stick form b y electrolysis of the molten material a t a temperature of about 1400° C . Beryllium bronzes, alloys of beryllium with copper, can be transformed b y a process of quenching and an nealing from the original soft state into a ver}' hard, technically valuable material. When tempered, a 2.5 per cent beryllium, bronze attains a hardness of 360 Brineli and a tensile strength of 1 2 5 - 1 3 0 kg. per sq. m m . Beryllium bronze combines t h e thermal conductivity of light metals with t h e hardness o f hot cast ironI t is t h e ideal material for high quality springs, which until now h a v e been manufactured from other special bronzes. Where there i s danger of corrosion or magnetization, even steel c a n b e replaced advantageously with beryllium bronze. Alloys o f beryllium with nickel are characterized by their stability against sea water; o n tempering they become very hard, and are useful for hollow needles, cannulas, and surgical instruments. More over, special beryllium steels, which combine a high resistance t o acids with great hardness, have been produced from a chro mium-nickel base. R E M O V A L O F ILLUMINATING G A S P O I S O N S BY U S E OP BACTERIA
Franz Fischer and his co-workers, R . Lieske and BZ. Winzer, and a l s o E. Hofmann, reported recently on experiments i n t h e Kaiser-Wiihelm Institut fur Kohlenforschung, at Mtihlheim a. d. R.uhr, which dealt with the bacterial removal o f poisons1 from illuminating gas. According t o their published work, sewage sludge, a s it comes from the settling pools for c i t y sewage, contains bacteria which are able t o utilize carbon monoxide, ι Brennatotf-Ckem.,
1 1 , 208. 452 (1930); 12, 193 C1931).
D I T I 0 N
Vol. 10, N o . 7
either in t h e pure state o r in gas mixtures, such as water gas and illuminating gas. In t h i s process carbon monoxide with water is changed into carbon dioxide, setting free hydrogen from the water according to t h e equation, C O -f- H 2 0 = C 0 2 + H 2 . The carbon dioxide t h e n reacts with the nascent hydrogen and that already in the gas mixture to form methane a n d water, the equation being CO2 + 4 H 2 = CH 4 -f- 2 H 2 C Experiments o n a technical basis were started in connection with a g a s plant only a month ago. However, as the result o f a s t u d y of this depoisoning process, W. Bertelsmann, 2 t h e famous Berlin gas chemist, comes to the conclusion that a practical application of i t seems very doubtful, because the requirements i n surface area and invested capital would be extraordinarily high. In all biological reactions the expense of time i s very great, and the area requirement is certainty dependent upon t h e time necessary for t h e reaction. According to calculations of Bertelsmann the production of a gas plant, o n account of t h e loss i n heating value incurred by this process, would have to be increased 1.32 times, if the present demand were t o be supplied with depoisoned gas. Translation b y W. L. H I L L
March 4 , 1932 »(?as- Wass&rfach, No. 7 (1932).
Off the Press BRITISH PLASTICS YEAR B O O K , 1932 T H E 1932 VOLUME: o f the British Plastics Year Book is the second edition, considerably larger than its predecessor, and contains 364 pages, plus a 1932 diary. T h e book i s divided into five sections: editorial; names and addresses o f those interested i n t h e plastics industry; proprietary names; lists of manufacturers and dealers in materials, equipment, a n d products, c o n version data and tables of equivalents, and information concerning associations, institutes, consultants, etc.; and a diary for 1932. The editorial section consists of eighteen chapters d i s cussing such subjects a s asbestos, bitumen plastic compounds, casein, celluloid, cellulose acetate, Grilsonite, ebonite, glyptals, urea-formaldehyde synthetic resins, shellac, etc. The book is well illustrated and is available at 7 s . 6 d . net from the Plastics Press Limited, 19/23 Ludgate Hill, London, E . C- 4, England.
CHEMICAL SURVEY
OF THE BIRMINGHAM
DISTRICT
A CHEMICAL SURVEY of the Birmingham District, comprising
roughly t h e territory within a radius of 7 5 miles from t h e city of Birmingham, Ala., has been made b y Stewart J. Lloyd, of the University of Alabama, for the Birmingham Industrial Board. This i s a 94-page booklet, giving an interesting a n d very complete survey of the district under consideration. Beginning with an account of the natural raw materials occurring sufficiently near t o be available, i t goes on to discuss secondary raw materials, such a s manufactured gas, benzene, slag, etc. T h e n follow statements of t h e chemicals consumed in t h e district, chemicals manufactured, and a general view of the chemical industry i n the district, ending with a discussion of future developments and of some chemical industries which logically belong i n or near Birmingham.
ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL U N D E R THE T I T L E "The Properties and U s e s of Petrohol (Iso-
propyl Alcohol)" a 48-page booklet has been issued b y Stanco Distributors, Inc., 2 Park Ave., N e w York, Ν". Υ. T h e booklet discusses properties of pure isopropyl alcohol and o f its mixtures with other organic liquids, its pharmacology, i t s uses as a solvent, an antiseptic, in perfumerv, and as a precipitant, i t s derivatives and their uses, and detection and analysis of isopropyl alcohol. Numerous tables and formulas are given, with frequent references to t h e technical literature. T h e booklet will be found of value to those interested in d a t a relating to this material.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR DENATURING M E T H A N O L R E V I S E D T H E B U R E A U OP INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL has approved changes
in specifications for denaturing grade methanol, to provide a minimum quantity of impurities instead of a maximum. T h e changes also apply t o methanol used i n m a k i n g proprietary solvents.
