I N D U S T R I A L AiL'D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
870
POISONING FROM CAXNED FOOD Dr. Zellner, of Berlin, tells of a case of this kind, which affected from thirty to forty persons one or two hours after eeting. He traces the poisoning to the fact that the cans contained arsenic, and suggests that tin cans used for the preservation or transportation of food be made only from very pure tin with a minimum arsenic content. On the other hand, it is pointed out that, even when free from arsenic, by the action of acetic or other organic acids, tin hydride can be formed on the iron exposed on the rusty places on the tin plate, and this, in turn, forming other tin compounds, can be the cause of the poisoning. June 25, 1924
Italian Letter
Vol. 16, No. 8
during the war, showed after the war a significant decline. It is possible for the domestic benzene production to produce 50,000 to 60,000 quintals yearly. This production will be not only sufficient for the domestic intermediate indusfkies but will also make a large amount of benzene available for motor fuel purposes.
THEBERGIUSPROCESS IN ITALY The Italian Government is giving special attention to the Bergius patents for liquefying coals and transforming heavy oils and tars into light oils, for which purpose there is at Heidelberg a n industrial plant capable of handling 100,000 tons a year. The Minister of National Economy sent samples of national tars and lignites to Professor Bergius for some hydrogenation tests. Professors Villavecchia and Levi were appointed to conduct these experiments. The results, based on a metric ton of treated material, are as follows:
By Carlo Padovani GTUGNO. ITALY NOTE.-In view of the rapid strides in the chemical industry which Italy has made in the past few years, we will from time t o time include a n Italian letter in this department. A brief summary of this progress is given in the first letter in order t o bring our readers up to date concerning t h e chemical situation in t h a t country. EDITOR'S
CHEMICAL PROGRESS IN ITALY FOR THE LAST TENYEARS The industrial chemical production in Italy in the last ten years shows a gradual increase. I n 1914 about 500,000 tons of sulfuric acid were manufactured in Italy; in 1923 the production was more than 700,000 tons. I n 1914 not 1 quintal of sodium carbonate was produced; in 1923 more than 50,000 tons of that fundamental commodity were distributed for domestic consumption. Ten years ago there were produced in Italy scarcely 8000 tons of caustic soda; today more than 18,000 tons of electrolytic caustic soda are produced, with the corresponding amount of chlorine and hydrogen, to which are to be added more than 10,000 tons from the carbonate. I n 1914 not 1 kilogram of synthetic ammonia was produced in Italy; now more than 100 tons of atmospheric nitrogen are fixed by the Italian Casale and Fauser processes, and several large plants are in preparation. According to the various plans, the Italian production of ammonium sulfate and nitrate from atmospheric nitrogen in the first half of 1925 will be up to 20,000 tons. The production of copper sulfate from 1913 to 1915 showed a deficit of near 22,000 tons; now, not only is the deficit largely covered, but domestic producers have begun to export. I n 1914 the Italian chemical industry produced no artificial dyestuffs or coal-tar dyes; in 1923 there were produced in Italy 2,400,000 kg. of sulfur black, calculated a t the standard concentration adopted by the German I. G. I n the same period there were produced 1,000,000 kg. of azo dyes, and more than 100,000 kg. of various basic and acid dyes, while domestic consumption of aniline and aniline salt is largely supplied from national production. About six-tenths of the national requirement of coal-tar dyes is now produced in Italy; and our establishments are also able to export some of the leading intermediates to France, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, etc. The artificial silk industry shows a remarkable increase. While in 1914 this industry produced nearly 800,000 kg. of artificial silk valued a t 10,000,000 lire, in 1923 our exports reached 2,726,000 kg. with a value of 160,000,000 lire, and in 1925 the national industry will be able to produce 8,000,000 kg., with a value of about 1,500,000,000lire. Summing up, ten years ago the Italian chemical industry had a capital of about $40,000,000; in 1922 this had increased to about $86,000,000, I n 1914 there were 456 Italian chemical works; in 1922, 822. The workmen employed in chemical industry were 50,000 in 1914; now there are more than 100,000. RECOVERY OF BEXZENE FROM ILLUMINATING GAS On the proposal of the Bureau of n'ational Economy, a recent ordinance of the Italian Government states that gas works producing more than a million cubic meters annually must recover from illuminating gas no less than 15 grams per cubic meter of light oils suitable for toluene and benzene production. Gas works, coke ovens, and t a r distilleries are forbidden to sell t a r before recovering and separating the light oils distilling below 170" C. The Italian benzene production, which reached 25,000 quintals
Gasoline Ke.
.. . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. . .. . ... .
Galicia petroleum residues, .. Peat t a r from gas producer plant a t Torre del Lago.. , . , , Valdarno while lignite.. . . . , Valrlarno brown lignite.. . , . .
Diesel Oil Fuel Oil
-
Ke. 326
KE.
340
201
210 80 140
335
288 280 220
..
..
Total Ke.
867 886 360 360
June 26, 1924
Paris Letter By Charles Lormand 4 AVENUEDE
L'OBSERVATOIRE.
FIFTHINTERNATIONAL
PARIS.
CONGRESS OF
FRANCE
CHEMISTRY
At the Fifth International Congress of Chemistry, which has just been held in Copenhagen, the following important resolutions of the various committees were adopted? The Committee on Inorganic Chemistry has regulated the symbols for columbium (niobium) and of beryllium (glucinum). The Committee on Organic Chemistry has defined the nomenclature of a saturated hydrocarbon. The Committee on Biological Chemistry has established the classification of glucides. The glucides are divided into glucoses and into another group. The glucoses are the nonhydrolyzable reducing glucides. The other group is composed of glucides giving on complete hydrolysis one or more glucoses (accompanied or not by other substances). The name by which this other group is to be designated (glucosides or a new term) will be adopted a t the next congress. The ending ine shall no longer be used except for the intermediate principles of basic nitrogen, with option, according to the country, of using the form in or m e . The names of glucosides shall be terminated by the ending oside, instead of ine as heretofore. The names given to the lipides shall have the ending i d e instead of ine. The nomenclature of the proteins and diastases or enzymes will be reported on next year. The Committee on Pure Products for. Research has decided to express the content of an impurity in milligrams per 100 grams of product, with the contingent utilization of negative exponents to designate powers of 10 by which the number oi milligrams should be multiplied for cases of very weak content. The Committee on Bibliographic Bureau of Raw Materials and Industrial Products has appointed a committee of three, Mil. Jean Gkrard, Donker Duyvis, and C. J. n'cst, to study the problems of thc bureau relating to chemistry and to be the means of realizing, b y one or more international conventions, a complete organization of this bureau. Thc Committee on Scientific and Industrial Ownershi11 has asked 1 ' that the diiferent Go\-cmments grant to authors of scientific t1il;coveries a right to receive profit on applications of thcir work; ' 2 , that the L-nion request the International Research Council to dcsignatc ior each country scholars and inventors to be added to the special jurists of industrial property, to iorm consulting committees which, under the protection oi the League of Satlons, will establish the new rights of scientist and inventor, and which will draw up the plan cif international agreement; (3: that organizations, preferably international, be formed to secure for scientists thc remunera1 A general report of the meeting of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry will be found on page 867 of this issue.
August, 1924
IhTDUSTRIALA N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
tions they deserve and which the introduction of a law of scientific ownership would not procure for them; (4) that preparatory work be done in the individual countries, and that the national committees of chemistry take the initiative in interesting the National Research Council in the question of international patent legislation, making the necessary applications to their Governments and even preparing, if possible, plans to be presented a t the next conference. The Committee on Ceramic Products has requested that its members have an agreement on the nomenclature of the different kinds of products made in their country. The Committee on Tables of Constants reports successful results obtained by collaboration with the American committee on International Critical Tables. The Committee on Foodstuffs has estimated that the only necessary preservatives are boric acid, benzoic acid, and sulfur dioxide. The presence of the preservative and the amount should always be mentioned on the label. At the next conference th,e committee will consider the effect of preservatives on vitamins. The committee will henceforth occupy itself with the preparation, properties, preservation, and analysis of food materials, and will take the name of the “Committee on Bromatology.” The Committee on Industrial Hygiene has adopted the suggestion of Denmark concerning the notation of the acidity of the smoke and gases from factories. This acidity will be expressed in gram equivalents, deduction being made for the acidity due to carbon dioxide. Each nation will strive to adopt the same figure as the maximum value. This figure will be 0.16 gram equivalent per cubic meter a t 0” C. and 760 mm. A t the next meeting the committee will study from the point of view of industrial hygiene the industries handling animal refuse (bone, skin, horn, blood) July 5 , 1924
London Letter By Hugh Griffiths 15 NEWBRIDGE ST., LONDON.E. C. 4. ENGLAND
871
fying to know that so much progress has been made in a short time, even though the development has taken place in secret. The company responsible for this plant-namely, Synthetic Ammonia Nitrates, Ltd.-is a subsidiary of Brunner, Mond & Co., Ltd. ALKALIWORKSINSPECTION Chemical engineers in other countries are not usually familiar with the annual reports issued by the Alkali Works Inspectors for Great Britain. These reports frequently contain valuable technical information, and are an indication of what is happening in alkali works on this side. The report for the year 1923 has just appeared, and includes all branches of alkali manufacture. Of most general interest, however, will be the details of the modified method of working a chamber sulfuric acid plant adopted by John Miller & Company, of Aberdeen. This firm has been making experiments in passing a small volume of water instead of strong acid through the second Gay-Lussac tower. This simple modification has proved successful in every respect. INTERNATIONALCONGRESS O F REFRIGERATION Some interesting papers were read a t the International Congress of Refrigeration, held in London last month. 0. Simonis read a paper on liquid air and its possibilities, and indicated methods by which it should be possible with a large plant to produce liquid air a t about 2 s. 8 d. per gallon, reckoning power a t 1d. per unit. A paper was also read by Dr. Fyleman on liquid oxygen explosives. In view of the interest in synthetic ammonia, a paper on various methods of manufacturing hydrogen by P. E. Raaschou was particularly useful. The paper gave a critical comparison of the different methods of producing hydrogen and nitrogen on a large scale, and estimates of costs were worked out. A paper on hydrocarbons and their uses in refrigeration was read by A. Henning, this dealing comparatively with the properties of the various hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives employed as refrigerating agents. DYESTUFFS LIST The Dyestuffs Industry Development Committee has issued a list of British colors with their foreign equivalents. The list contains only British manufactured dyestuffs that are known t o have different names in other countries. Wherever possible it gives reference to the Schultz and Julius tables or to the British Colour Index published by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. This list is of considerable importance to the color user and should be extremely useful to the chemist engaged in the dyestuffs industry. STANDARD METHODS OF ANALYSIS The standardization of analytical methods has been rather extensively carried out in this country, and for a vast number of materials standard methods are in existence, which are officially recognized and employed throughout the particular trades involved. It would perhaps be difficult to make a list of these, but various trade associations have from time to time given careful attention to this matter. So far as iron and steel analysis is concerned, it is common practice in the north of England t o employ special solutions and tabloids which are sold specificallyfor each analysis. I t is accordingly possible to reduce the amount of skilled labor in laboratory work. The latest contribution to this subject is a book of Standard Methods of Testing Petroleum and Its Products, published by the Institution of Petroleum Technologists. THEDYESTUFFS AGREE-
NITROGEN FIXATION It has been known for some time that a synthetic ammonia plant had been erected a t Billingham-on-Tees, but hitherto great secrecy has been preserved regarding these works and no hint as to the technical process conditions has been permitted to leak out. Information is now available that this plant is in working order and has been running since last December, the output being about 120 tons of ammonia sulfate Der 24 hours. It has been announced that very shortly a secbnd unit will be in operation, bringing the output up to 250 t o n s p e r day. The amount of technical information that has been published is naturally meager, but it is stated that the process employed a t Billingham is an improvement on the Haber process and that the autoclaves employed are of special design and are such that the walls are not subjected to a high temperature. Carbon dioxide is obtained by the oxidation of carbon monoxide from water gas, and is employed in the conversion of the ammonia into amm o n i u m sulfate. No sulfuric acid is used, but the conversion of the ammonia into sulfate is effected by double decomposition of ground anhydrite in the presence of carbon monoxide. This information comes as a mild surprise, and it is very grati- INTSRIOR OS THE PALACE O F ENGINEERING AT THE BRITISH EMPIRE E$XHIB;TIOK *
MENT
AT W & B L E Y
There is a tendency in many quarters to criticize very bitterly the proposed agreement b e t w e e n t h e British D y e s t u f f s Corporation
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