I N D U S T R I A L AND EXGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
198
Vol. 18, X O . 2
PERKIN MEDAL AWARD At a meeting of the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry on January 15, 1926, the Perkin Medal was presented to Richard B. Moore, general manager of The Dorr Company of New York City, in recognition of his work on radium, mesothorium, and helium. Following introductory remarks by Harlan S. Miner, chairman of the section, Herman Schlundt gave his impression of Dr. Moore, the man, and S. C. Lind gave an account of the
medalist’s work. The medal was then presented by William H . Nichols and accepted by the medalist. The Perkin Medal is awarded “annually to the American chemist who has most distinguished himself by his services t o Applied Chemistry.” It was founded in 1906 a t the time of the Perkin semicentennial celebration of the coal-tar discoveries, the first medal being awarded to Sir William H. Perkin himself. The previous Perkin medalists are given below.
DATEOF AWARD AWARDED TO 1907 Sir W. H. Perkin 1908 J. B. F. Herreshoff 1909 Arno Behr E. G. Acheson 1910 1911 Charles M. Hall . 1912 Herman Frasch
D A W OF AWARD
*
1913 1914 1915
James Gayley John W. Hyatt Edward Weston
1916
I,. H. Baekeland
1917 1918
Ernst Twitchell Auguste J. Rossi
1919
Frederick G. Cottrell
PRINCIPAL FIELDSOF INVENTIOXS Discoverer of first aniline color Metallurgy; contact sulfuric acid Corn products industry Carborundum; artificial graphite Metallic aluminium Desulfuring oil and subterranean sulfur industry Dry air blast Colloids and flexible roller bearings Electrical measurements; electrodeposition of metals; flaming arc Velox photoprint paper; bakelite and synthetic resins; caustic soda industry Saponification of fats Development of manufacture and use of ferrotitanium Electrical precipitation
AWlRDED TO
PRINCIP.4L FIELDS OF I N V B i i T I 0 h . S
1920
Charles F. Chandler
1921
Willis R. Whitney
1922
William 31,Burton
Noteworthy achievements in almost every line of chemical endeavor Development of research and application of science t o industry Achievement in oil industry, efficient conversion of high-boiling fractions into low-boiling fractions Great constructive work in field of applied chemistry Process for extraction of rare metals from ores; manufacture of calcium carbide; processes for reduction of rare metals and alloys Electrochemical processes for caustic soda, soda and chlorine, production of wood pulp, hydrogenation of oils, ctc.
1923
Milton C. Whitaker
1924
Fredrick hI. Becket
1922
Hugh K. Moore
.. ..
Commercial Production of Radium, Mesothorium, and Helium By R. B. Moore
Radium
T
HE element uranium is very widely distributed through the earth’s crust, although it is usually found in relatively small quantities. In only a few localities is there sufficient concentration to give rise to commercial deposits. Since uranium is the mother of radium, radium also is very widely distributed in nature. The amount in ordinary sandstone, limestone, granite, etc., on account of the extremely sensitive methods of detection, can be quantitatively determined with ease. Uranium minerals may be divided into two classes, primary and secondary. In the first class the radium is in equilibrium with the uranium, and therefore the mineral contains a maximum amount of radium in proportion to the amount of uranium. Secondary minerals are derived from the primary by solution and redisposition, and in many of these the radium is not in equilibrium with the uranium. Pitchblende is perhaps the best example of the first class and carnotite, autunite, and torbernite illustrate the second. Pitchblende, an impure uranium oxide carrying traces of a number of metals as impurities, is found in Cornwall, Gilpin County, Colo. ; St. Joachimsthal, Czecho-Slovakia; the Belgian Congo, etc., etc. It is soluble in sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids, and the mineral is readily decomposed by fusion with sodium carbonate. Carnotite (a potassium uranyl vanadate) is found mainly in Colorado and Utah, where there are large deposits of low-grade material. These deposits have been the source, up to date, of more than 160 grams of radium element. The mineral is readily
soluble in acids and is decomposed by boiling with sodium carbonate solutions or fusing with the solid. Autunite, a calcium uranium phosphate, is found mainly in Portugal and Australia. It is soluble in acids and may be decomposed with sodium carbonate. Torbernite, copper uranium phosphate, is frequently found associated with autunite and is very similar to that mineral in its properties towards reagents. C p to 1912 the principal sources of radium were the pitchblende of Joachimsthal and the autunite of Portugal. From 1912 up to a few years ago the carnotite deposits of Utah supplied most of the world’s radium. In 1922 the radium ores of the Belgian Congo were developed to the point of production. These consisted of pitchblende, curite (2Pb0, juo8, 4 H ~ 0 ) , dewindtite (4Pb0, 8U03, 3P205, 12H20), kasolite (3Pb0, 3uo3, 3SiOZ, 4H20), soddite (12U03, 5Si02, 14H20), becquerelite (U03, 2H20), stasite, and schoepite. These deposits are extremely rich, the selected ore which is sent to Belgium averaging nearly 50 per cent U308. On account of the extreme richness of the ore the Belgians have been able to compete favorably with producers dependent upon other sources of supply, with the result that only a relatively small amount of radium is now extracted outside of Belgium. The carnotite deposits of Colorado and Utah were considered extraordinary in the early stages of their development. In writing of them in 1913l the present writer said: “The United States possesses unique deposits in these carnotite ores. They constitute a t present the largest supply of radium minerals in the world.” Uxidoubtedly the radium deposits of the Belgian Congo are not only richer, 1
Bur. M i n e s , Bull. 70.
