WASHINGTON NEWS BUREAU
Furfural Facts No.
5 of α Series
POTOMAC TOSTSCitlPTS
W^SS^^&i&^m^S^w^SÊÊ
"REACTIVE SOLVENTS" I T ib generally recognized that furfural and FA* (furfuryl alcohol) are excellent solvents for phenolic resins, forming l o w viscosity s o l u t i o n s at relatively l o w solvent concentrations. U n k n o w n to many is the fact that furfural and FA are reactive during the curing of numerous phenolics; losses of the solvent by evaporation are relatively small. T h e furfural and FA a p p e a r to become a part of the cured resin modifying and contributing to its properties. T h i s r e a c t i v i t y may be demonstrated by mixing furfural or FA with the phenolic, thoroughly curing by baking in shallow dishes, and comparing the retained weight with control samples. tor details ask for a copy of Bulletin 126. Consider how you can take advantage oj the unique "solvent reactivity" oj furfural and FA. " T r a d e Mark
7he Quaker O a * s (pmpany f^Jf
CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT
333P MERCHANDISE MART C H I C A G O 54, ILLINOIS EASTERN SALES OFFICE 1230P WHITEHALL BLDG., NEW YORK 4, Ν. Υ. In San Francisco: The Griffin Chemical Company In Australia : Swift & Company, Pty., Ltd., Sydney in Europe: Quaker Oats-Graanproducten N. V. Rotterdam, The Netherlands Quaker Oats (France) S. A. 42, Rue Pasquier Paris 8E, France In Japan: F. K a n e m a t s u &. C o m p a n y , L t d . Tokyo, Japan
634
ROBERT GIBBS, Associate Editor Almost 4 , 0 0 0 legislative items h a v e been e n t e r e d o n Congress* books in f e w w e e k s . . . M a n y proposed l a w s affect n a t u r a l resources a n d industry Λ LTHOUCH Congress has been in session ^ * only a few weeks, almost 4,000 bills have already been submitted in the House and Senate. Before the new 82nd Con gress completes its 2-year session this total will very likely exceed the 10,000 mark. At best only a few hundred of the bills will ever become law. Much of the proposed legislation, in cluding that of interest to the fields of science· and technology, duplicates that presented in previous Congresses but which never became law. A brief survey of pending bills shows the wide variety of subjects being con sidered which are of interest to chemists, the chemical and chemical process indus tries, and to science and technology in general. Natural Resources: W a t e r A large number of bills, relating to a wide variety of natural resources, indicate the emphasis placed in this area by Con gress. Concern over the growing need for water for agricultural, industrial, and municipal purposes is reflected in several bills. Some legislators, for example, would provide assistance for research into and development of practical means for the economical production of potable water from saline waters or from the atmosphere. Another proposal calls for amending the Water Pollution Control Act by in creasing the amount of loan money to states, municipalities, and interstate agen cies. These funds would provide for engi neering studies and for planning and con structing treatment plants. A related sug gestion would encourage prevention of water pollution by industrial plants. This proposal would permit an accelerated amortization, for income tax purposes, of amounts paid for industrial waste treat ment works or disposal facilities. Another bill, more general in character, would pro vide a comprehensive and adequate water resources basic data program. Some Congressmen feel that the Fed eral Government should assume an interest in the development and regidation of methods of weather modification and con trol. A related bill would permit the Sec retary of Agriculture to conduct research and experiments with respect to methods of controling and producing precipitation in moisture-deficient areas. Another Con gressman has requested .that a joint Con gressional committee b e established to study and investigate cloud nucleation. Natural Resources: Petroleum In the field of petroleum and related items, a wide variety of legislation has C H E M I C A L
been proposed. One controversial subject relates to title to oil-rich submerged coastal lands ( "tid-elands"). In essence, the Su preme C o u r t has confirmed t h e Federal G o v e r n m e n t ' s ownership of such lands off the coasts of California, Texas, and Louisi ana. However, many Congressmen feel that t h e title should be vested in t h e indi vidual states. At least 10 Congressmen have i n t r o d u c e d legislation granting title to the States. Related t o this matter are resolutions providing f o r continued private industrial operations under state-granted mineral leases for t h e s e areas with protection, how ever, of federal interests. Other bills of interest to petroleum preducers include one w h i c h would remove t h e import excise tax on petroleum, fuel oil, a n d other petroleum derivatives. A second provides for fuel allocations and priorities d u r i n g emergencies. A more general proposal, which relates not only to p e t r o l e u m , b u t other fuels, calls for creation of a joint Congressional commit tee to consider a national fuel policy. Congressional interest continues from year to y e a r in research and development of practical methods of producing econom ically l i q u i d fuels and gas from coal a n d oil shale. Pending bills of a general nature w o u l d permit production a n d stock piling of s y n t h e t i c liquid fuels. Others are more specific. O n e , for instance, calls for t h e establishment of an experiment station in the coal region of Ohio to conduct re search a l o n g those lines. A second would authorize construction and operation of experimental facilities to conduct under ground gasification studies in coal, lignite, oil shale, a n d other carbonaceous deposits. This latter bill emphasizes t h e potential value of t h i s research as a source of chemicals a s well as energy. Natural Resources: Metals a n d Fibers Some Congressmen, w h o desire to re duce t h e n a t i o n ' s d e p e n d e n c y on foreign sources of manganese, h a v e introduced hills to p r o m o t e acquisition of domestically produced ores and concentrates for use of the a r m e d forces. Another proposal relating to mineral production would provide for t h e estab lishment a n d operation of a mining re search station in Montana. This station would investigate methods of mining ores a n d other mineral raw materials located in the Northwest. T h e ever-increas'ng need for many basic metals has lead to a renewed effort to remove certain existing import taxes on copper. T r i e law suspending import duties on this m e t a l expired during 1950. AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
In the fiber field, some interest has b e e n noted in providing for d o m e s t i c expansion, production, and processing of such soft Sbers as ramie a and kenaf. Many Bills Woiild Affect Business A wide variety- of proposed laws would have a definite impact on every industry in the nation. Included under this h e a d ing are extension: of the Reciprocal T r a d e Act, a m e n d m e n t s to t h e antitrust laws, price controls, tajriff act amendments, ac celerated amortisation of emergency fa cilities for income tax purposes, encourage ment of small business, and renegotiation of defense contracts. Of current interest is action on exten sion of the Reciprocal T r a d e Act. T h e House has approved and sent to the Senate a bill extending t h e President's authority for t h r e e years. T h e House bill, however, restricts the President's authority, AS it includes b o t h the "peril-point" a n d "escape" clauses. It further prohibits the granting of trade reductions or con cessions to Russia and Soviet-dominated countries. One other a m e n d m e n t is de signed to bar imports of agricultural com modities when s u c h items a r e being s u p ported by the United States Government. A number of ^proposals h a v e been intro duced to a m e n d existing antitrust a n d antimonopoly laws. Several bills, for instance, would allow both the Federal Government a n d private persons to insti tute treble d a m a g e actions under certain sections of the Clayton a n d S h e r m a n Anti trust Acts. Another would provide a uni form period of limitation within which such treble actions might b e instituted. Legislation has also b e e n proposed which would increase the criminal penalties under the Sheridan Act. Among bills relating to discriminator) price practices i s one w h i c h would protect sellers from charges of price discrimina tion under the Rohinson-Patman Act, ii the seller can sl>ovv that price differentials were made in g o o d faith to meet the lowprice of a competitor. A bill relating to cooperatives calls for a transfer from the Secretary of Agricul ture to the Attorney G e n e r a l jurisdiction for determination 'of u n d u e price increases of cooperative associates monopolizing or restraining trad^». In the field o f small business legislation, the most comprehensive proposal calls for creation of a Small Defense Plants Corpo ration to help preserve small business. Related to this act is a House resolution which requests a study and investigation of t h e p r o b l e m s of small business b y a select committee of t h e House of Repre sentatives. A series of frills h a s also been intro duced to a m e n d the F e d e r a l Food, D r u g , and Cosmetic A c t . One would enlarge the definition of t h e act to remove t h e excep tion m a d e in t h e case of soap; others would require labelling of soaps, deter gents, household! cleansers, a n d bread and milk. One moire affects t h e use of nonnutritive ingredients in foods. V O L U M E
2 9,
NO.
8 .
HYDROPHILIC
ALGIN COLLOIDS vELCOSQV
™Τί13£Μ*ί KEVtEX KEVO^* '...ifÉtGlN.l.V;
K*VG*H^
Have a wide Viscosity Range Uniform, water soluble colloids—these sodium and ammonium algi nates of the K e l c o algin family provide a wide choice of viscosity . . . making them particularly suitable for thickening, stabilizing, binding, gelling, film forming and suspending. N e w uses for K e l c o algin products are constantly being developed. Chances are there's a place for effective use of K e l c o algin in your particular application. For detailed information fill in coupon b e l o w .
* FEBRUARY
KELCO
COMPANY
20 N. Wacker Drive 31 Nassau Street 530 West Sixth Street Chicago 6 New York 5 Los Angeles 14 Cable Address: Kelcoalgin—New York Kelco Company Dept. G
31 Nassau Street New York 5, N.Y.
Please send me free copy of your booklet, "Algin At Work* NameCompany and Position Address City and State-
19,
1951
635
