1088
T H E .JOL;RATdL O F I i V D l ’ S T R I A L A N D E X G I i V E E R I S G C H E X I S T R Y
r
V O ~8,. N O .
12
EDITORIALS THE NEW EDITOR
The editorship of t h e J O U R K A L OF ISDUSTRIAL ASD ENGIKEERISG CHELIISTRY passes with this issue t o Charles Holmes Herty. Every officer and councilor of the Society present a t the meeting a t which t h e future policy and management of the Industrial Journal were under serious consideration, mill remember with pride the genuine and deep-seated enthusiasm which greeted the announcement t h a t Dr. Herty would accept this important duty. The perplexing problems of t h e future of this publication and the relations it should hold t o those inside and outside of t h e great and growing chemical profession became clearly defined and t o o k form and direction r i t h his unselfish response t o the demands of the Society. Dr. Herty does not assume the duties of the editorship for t h e purpose of enhancing his personal reputation, b u t purely in a spirit of generous desire t o advance t h e interests of chemistry in America. His achierements in education, business, public service and t h e Presidency of the -American Chemical Society admirably demonstrate capacity for leadership. Such a record of distinguished service in the profession is a firm foundation upon n-hich t o build a useful and highly successful editorial career. In addition there is his charming personality, a wide and cordial acquaintance, a familiarity with the aims and needs of his fellow chemists, decision, action. the courage of his scientific and common-sense convictions. and a sincere desire t o do constructive service in the interests of his profession. These are priceless assets for an editor. A measure of credit is due those who have worked so faithfully, and a t times without a full appreciation of t h e difficulties involved. t o bring the Journal t o its present state of development. T o Dr. Richardson, who started the Journal from the nebulous suggestions which always accompany t h e launching of such a n enterprise, and who sifted out the meager supply of real building material and resources for development which were then available, t h e Society owes t h e greatest debt. A successful enterprise requires as essential elements of its success, a definite policy, a n organization, and ample resources. The most conspicuous characteristic of this enterprise during its early history was t h e absence of t h e two last-named elements. Our present state of progress has been due entirely t o t h e patient indulgence of the officers and members of t h e Society during t h e developmental stages of t h e Journal; the unselfish and often thankless task of t h e A s s o c i a t e Editors who have improved, b y their expert study and criticism, the original papers; t h e Assistant Editor who has standardized the management of t h e editorial office work; the d d o e r t i s i J t g M a n a g e r s , who have shown the Society how t o realize upon t h e advertising possibilities of its publications; t h e printer and his remarkable staff of expert technical compositors, proof-readers and printers; the regular staff writers; and most of all those investigators and
chemical engineers who publish with us t h e results of their observations and researches. This is an auspicious occasion for the American Chemical Society. A broadening business sense is discernible in the development of its publications. For the first time in its history the Industrial Journal is morking to a definite creed, formulated, considercd and adopted by the governing hody of the Society. The publication is now given financial support, an adequate office for the transaction of its editorial and advertising business, a permanent organization and a policy-all essential elements in building up a technical publication fittingly t o represent the interests of t h e A4mericanchemical profession. Under the guidance of Dr. Herty, so eminent-ly qualified t o direct its editorial policies into channels which will inure to the benefit of the chemical profession in its broadest sense, the future of the Industrial Journal seems assured. OUR NITROGEN DEMAND AND SUPPLY IN THE EVENT OF WAR T e have carefully followed the discussion of t h e nitrogen question, in n-hich general public interest has been intensified by the recent Nitrogen Bill appropriating $ 2 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 for a Government nitrate plant. The purpose of this legislation was t o insure the country a dependable supply of nitric acid for military explosives in the event of war. Public discussion of the question has developed so little in t h e way of a quantitative analysis of the relation between t h e nitrogen supply and demand, in t h e event of war, t h a t we believe our readers will be interested in a graphic presentation of this relat,ion under normal conditions, and a forecast of what may be expected in the event of war. The situation which Congress and the Administration planned t o meet is t h a t condition where, by reason of enemy attack a t sea. b y the scarcity of ocean craft, or for other reasons, the country is cut off from importations of nitrogenous materials. The accompanying diagram is for t h e most part self-explanatory: the sources of information are indicated for every figure given, while the few simple assumptions made are clearly set forth in the references. The figures show unmistakably t h a t in the event of war, t h e United States will face an imperative demand for over 309,ooo tons of nitrogen with a prospective supply of only 7 7 , 0 0 0 tons. Thus the demand is seen t o be four times as great as t h e supply. Our belief t h a t this condition mill not be radically altered b y development of by-product ammonia is based upon t h e published statements of recognized coke-oven authorities. Such estimates indicate t h a t t h e country’s annual production cannot exceed, within a period of time pertinent t o this discussion, I O O , O O O t o 140,000 tons of nitrogen. The obvious and available remedy is the establishment of an adequate air-nitrogen industry in t h e United States.
Dec., 1916
T H E JOURNAL OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
1089
/9/4 SUPPLY DrMA ND
INORGANIC N l TROGEIV DTMAAID AND SUPPf Y IN THE UNIT€D STATES
t
,,
TABLE I-PRODUCTlOX
AND
,
/ooooo
SO000
Tom of
REQUIREMENTS O F TITROGEN FOR Toxs OF NITROGEN
.\CRICULTURE
,IN
REQUIREMENTS Cottonseed Meal
1914 Ref.
. . . . . . . . . . . . 63.500 (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,400 ( 5 ) Other Organic Ammoniates Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000 (5) Fertilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,700 (22) Inorganic Ammoniates Nitrate of S o d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,600 ( 5 ) Sulfate of Ammonia. . . . . . . . . . . 30,900 (I) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,500 ( I )
___
1918
Ref.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,SCO
___
Total.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271,600 PRODUCTION Cottonseed M e a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163,500 ( 5 ) Other Organic Ammoniates.. . . . . 61,700 (25) Sulfate of Ammonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,600 (28)
, . .
... ... ...
... 7’1,500 (23) 178,000 (24) _ _ I
249,500 123,500 (26) 6i,OOO (27)
*
237,800
IMPoRrs ( S e t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
, . .
TOTAL SUPPLY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271,600
190,500 DEPICIENCY which must be supplied as inorganic nitrogen., . ,59,000 Tons
* .4ssumed
3qOW
25QOOO
(12) Basic T o t a l Fertilizer Consumption as follows in tons: 1914 1915 1916 S o r t h e r n States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,742,133 2,833,829 3,120,000* 3,036,854 2,828,000 Southern S t a t e s . . . . . . . . . . . 4,887,095
___
...
.,.
Nii’rogeo
2m000
_-
Total.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,629,228 5,870,683 5,948,000 Estimated normal 10 per cent increase from 1915 forward.
, . .
Summary:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,100
I
/50000 lnoryonic
all used in arts. REFEREKCES
(1) ‘:purean of Commerce Census of hlanufactures-Fertilizer Industry, released July 6, 1916. (2) “American Fertilizer Handbook,” 1916, p. 31. (3) Ibid., p. 43. (4) Ibid., p. 42. ( 5 ) “Federal Trade Commission Report on Fertilizer Industry,” issued August 19, 1916, pp. 29, 30. ( 8 ) “Mineral Resources of the U. S., 1914,” p . 408. (7) Total consumption less amount used in refrigerating industry(Ref. 6). ( 8 ) 1 9 1 5 4 5 300 Ref. 2, P. 42, plus 8,300 increase for 1916, W. H. Childs, M e t . EP C h i z . ’ E n g , July 1, 1916, p. 39. (9) Basis 21,950 short tons sulfate of ammonia imported during fiscal year ending June 30 1916. See Foreign Commerce Reports-quoted, The American F e r l i l i a i ~ September , 16, 1916. (10) 1,200,335 short tons nitrate of soda imported fiscal year ending June 30, 1916. See Oil, Paint b’ Drug Reporter, August 26, 1918. (11) Basis production of 64,000 tons cyanamid a t 18 per cent nitrogen.
See also U. S. Dept. of Agric., dfontlily Cro$ Repovl, July, 1916, and,Ref. 2 , p. 41. Assume 191B Nitrate of Soda consumption in agriculture is t o 1914 consumption a5 total fertilizer tonnages in these years, or 78 per cent. This gives 200,000 tons nitrate of soda consumed in agriculture in 1916. Regarding latter assumption see M o n t h l g Crop R e p w t e v , October, 1916, P . 100. (13) Imports minus consumption in agriculture, Refs. 10 and 12. T h a t consumption in the arts is a t least a t this rate is substantiated by t h e export statistics on explosives, aud by private information on t h e rate of nitric acid consumption by munitions manufacturers. (14) Assume sulfate of ammonia consumption in agriculture proportional t o total fertilizer consumption in 1916 and 1914, respectively, as in Kef. 12. 78 per cent of 149,924 equals 115,500 tons sulfate of ammonia for agriculture in 1916. (15) Ref 6, assuming 1914-1916 increase same per year as from 1909 t o 1914. U . S. Census of Manufactures, 1910, p. 646. (16) Imports plus production, minus consumption in agriculture and refrigeration. (17) 1916 consumption (Ref. IF), plus average annual increase 19091914 (E. S Census of Manufactures, 1910 and Ref. 7) of 1300 tons of nitrogen per annum for 2 years. (18) R e f . 15 plus two years average annual increase 1914-1916. (19) Germany’s requirements a t the outbreak of t h e war, as determined by the U. S. War Department: now very greatly increased. ( 2 0 ) W. H. Childs, J l e l . b Chem. E n s . , July 1, 1916, p. 39, (21) Assuming all imports c u t off. (22) Consumption organic ammoniates, excluding cottonseed mea1 (Ref. 1). Tons Value Tankage a n d ammoniates not elsewhere specified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887,934 $20,131,141 Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250,110 3,111,991 Bone, raw, ground, steamed, etc.. . . . . . . . . . 148,191 3,410,545 Guano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,128 445,416 -4ssurne average value of $3.20 per unit of ammonia including PzO; present (Ref. 5 , p. 147)
1,406,363 Per cent h4.95
$27,099,093 Units NH3 8,460,000 Tons N , 6 9 , 7 0 0
(23) Assumed same as in 1914. (24) Ref. 12, assume 10 per cent increase per annum from 1916 in IGorth, as before war, and assume 1918 war basis same as 1915 in South, or total 6,780,000 tons = 89 per cent of 1914. (26) Ref. 22-deduct for imported organic ammoniates a value of $6,200,000 (Ref. 2, pp. 21, 24, 26, 32) 1,950,000 units of amnionia=16.000 tons nitrogen. Add 8,000 tons for feed. Ref. 5 , p. 73. (26) Taken same as 1916 (Ref. 2, p. H-6). (27) Ref. 26 plus normal annual increase (Ref. 1). (28) Consumption in agriculture (Ref. 1) minus imports, Ref. 2, p. 43. (29) 1mpot;fs of agricultural nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, cyanamid and other organic ammoniates,” minus exports of cottonseed meal.
