POTOMAC POSTSCRIPTS W P B Activities T P o SALVAGE approximately 100 million pounds of essential chemicals, WPB has asked manufacturers of war equipment to start immediately programs for the re covery and reclamation of wasted spray paints. Most of the things that come off war industries assembly lines must be mass-painted by spray-painting processes. This is where waste, usually called "overspray", occurs. It is known that about 30 per cent of the paint and finishings used in these processes can be recovered by tested and effective measures according to S. Donald Pearlman, director of the Chemical and Textile Units of the Con servation Division. Among materials which can be salvaged through widespread adoption of reclamation measures are pigments, phthalic anhydride, glycerol, oils, zinc yellow, glycerol phthalate resin, phenol formaldehyde, damar gum, alkyd resins, chlorinated rubber, ethyl cellulose, nitrocellulose, and plasticizers. On the basis of available information, it is believed that a saving of approxi mately 100,000,000 pounds of these es sential chemicals could be realized in the next year and a half through adoption of a salvage program. It is estimated that available facilities for reclamation of wasted spray paints are sufficient to handle all of the present requirements. Fourteen major paint and other companies have facilities available. Aniline. Control of the distribution of aniline is taken under Order M-184. Con sumers must file requests on Form PD-583 and producers and distributors must report monthly on Form PD-584. Restrictions of the order do not apply to use b y the armed services of aniline produced by them, or t o the use by any person of less than 500 pounds of aniline in a month. Antimony. Control over antimony is revised in amended General Preference Order M-112. Supplies of antimony have become relatively more plentiful, and the order as amended will encourage the substitution of antimony for tin. Chemi cal derivatives with the exception of anti mony oxide and sulfide, which are the re sult of primary processing, are removed from control of the order. Frit is included in the items covered, by definition. T o encourage the fullest production of do mestic ores, the amended order frees from restriction deliveries up to 50 tons per month of ores or concentrates by United States mines. Deliveries of 25 pounds or less of contained antimony are permitted t o amy one person in one month without an allocation. Nonceramic coatings m a y use u p to 2 per cent antimony, and antimony
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m a y now bo used in ceramic coatings only when t h r y an» designed t o be· arid-tvsiMant.
Arsenic. Procedure by which users of arsenic in quantities of loss than 500 pounds per calendar quarter may place purchase orders is simplified by Amend ment 1 to General Preference Order M-152. The supply or control situation is not changed by this amendment, but simply t ho procedure. Blackplate. Use of black plate for cans is limited to a small list of essential prod ucts in Conservation Order M-136, which follows closely the pattern of Order M-81 concerning cans made from tinplate or terneplate. The first of two classes of products permitted to be packed in blackplate consiste of products necessary for various military and civilian operations. Blackplate cans for these products are limited t o 100 per cent of the combined area of tinplate, terneplate, and black plate used in the calendar year 1940. The other group includes those products permitted to be packed under the terms of Order M-81, limitations for which are also specified. The new order, together with Order M-81, will result in an annual saving of about 1,000,000 tons of steel compared with 1941 consumption. Cotton Linters. Delivery of cotton linters and hull fiber, essential raw mate rials used in making chemical cotton pulp for explosives and plastics, is forbidden except to designated makers of chemical cotton pulp by General Preference Order M-12 as amended July 22. The previous order, which expired on August 1, con trolled only 80 per cent of the production of cotton linters. No person now mayuse cotton linters or hull fiber produced after July 31 for any purpose other than the manufacture of chemical cotton pulp. Under the amended order, all producers of cotton linters must accept all orders from pulp manufacturers and must fill them in order of receipt without regard for preference ratings. Importers of linters are likewise covered in the same manner as producers. The Director General for Op erations may specify how linter producers' mills shall be operated, so that each pro ducer will turn out the maximum amount of the type of linters and fiber most ur gently needed in chemical cotton pulp manufacture. Producers of cotton linters, hull fiber, and motes are required to file Form PD-110 (revised August 1, 1942) with WPB on September 5 and the fifth of each month thereafter. Lithium Compounds. A complete allo cation system for lithium compounds will
15 » » A U G U S T
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1942
be instituted, starting September 1. Order M-191 provides for monthly re quests for lithium compounds on Form PD-585 and reports from producers on PD-586. Deliveries of 25 pounds or less in any month are exempted from restrictions of the order. Xylol anil xylol range aromatic materials derived from coal tar are brought under control of General Preference Order M-150 by Amendment 1. The original order, re stricting sale and delivery of xylol and xylol aromatic materials to orders bearing preference ratings of A-2 or higher, origi nally defined these products as* 4 . . . of pe troleum origin". T o remove the resulting commercial inequalities that arose between the petroleum and coal-tar producers, the definition of aromatic petroleum solvents in the original order is changed by this amendment to include the xylol and xylol range aromatic materials made from coal tar as well as the petroleum derivatives.
Price Regulations Antifreezes. A separate maximum re tail price of $1.00 per gallon for Zerone, an antifreeze liquid manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., has been established by the Office of Price Administration in Amendment 1 to Maximum Price Regulation 170. The amendment also broadens the definition of type Ρ antifreeze as contained in the regulation. The regulation limited this type, which is permanent, to antifreeze containing at least 85 per cent of ethylene glycol. The amendment permits the t y p e Ρ designation to be applied where part of the ethylene glycol is replaced by ethylene glycol homologs or poly ethylene glycols, so long as the ethylene content is not less than 60 per cent by weight. Certain posting and marking requirements are also changed. Color Pigments. Maximum prices for chrome yellow, chrome green, molybdate orange, and zinc yellow, color pigments, which were reduced by amounts varying from 0.25 to 0.5 cent per pound by the General Maximum Price Regulation, have been allowed to return to the levels of April 1, 1942, in Maximum Price Regu lation 180. Core Oil, a binding component in sand molds used for making castings, is excepted from provisions of the General Maximum Price Regulation in Amendment 17 to Supplementary Regulation 1. Manu facturers were finding it difficult to con tinue under the price ceiling on core oil, and the product is an absolute essential to the war effort. Major ingredients of core oil—linseed oil (50 per cent) and naval stores (25 per cent)—are already excepted from price control. Thus, core oil manu facturers have found it increasingly
969
difficult to continue operation under the maximum prices. Fats and Oils. In a sweeping revision of the fats and oils price structure, Price Administrator Leon Henderson has takc»n four steps to facilitate orderly and normal marketing of imported vegetable oils, tallows and greases, and marine animal oils and for adjustments in contracts with the United States or any of its agencies. This establishment of dollars-and-cents ceilings will not affect the consumer level on fats and oils. The four steps were as follows: (1) Fixed specific maximum prices on 19 different imported vegetable oils. (2) Adjusted price differentials be tween various grades of tallow and greases; then "rolled back" these newly adjusted prices on inedible tallow and greases about 1 cent per pound t o relieve the raw material squeeze on soap manu facturers, who previously had voluntarily cut their soap prices. (3) Set dollars-and-cents maximum prices on six different marine animal oils and one processed marine animal oil. (4) In order not to impede the war program, made provisions for adjustments in maximums established by Revised Price Schedule 53, where contracts with the United States, or any agency thereof, or a subcontract under such contract, are in volved. These changes are made in Amendment 6 to Revised Price Schedule 53. Pre viously, imported vegetable oils—on which dollars-and-cents maximum prices now are set—were covered by the schedule at the individual seller's top price as of October 1, 1941, or 111 per cent of his November 26, 1941, price. Pine Oil. Prices for natural and synthetic pine oil have been rolled back to the levels prevailing in October 1941. There has been a substantial gap between the supply and the demand for pine oil, which has exerted a tremendous upward pressure on the pine, oil market. As a re sult, according to Price Administrator Henderson, a minority of producers ad vanced their prices prior to March 1942 to uneconomically high levels. Therefore, it was found advisable to establish prices for most grades of pine oil by a specific regulation. The specific dollars-and-cents maximum prices established by the regulation— Maximum Price Regulation 179—apply t o three classifications of pine oil: basic pine oil, natural alpha terpineol, and light gravity pine oil. The ceiling prices established for these grades is t h e price at which 80 per cent of them sold during October 1 to 15, 1941. Although specific maximum prices are established for the various grades, it is also provided that no one may sell pine oil for more than his maximum price established by Section 1499.2 of the General Maximum Price Regulation. B3 reagent grade of pine oil manu
970
factured by the Hercules Powder Co., and synthetic beta pine oil manufactured by Newport Industries, Inc., are specifi cally exempted from the schedule and continue under the provision of the General Maximum Price Regulation.
dicted production of 500,000,000 pounds of dry milk solids in 1942, a gain of 26,000,000 pounds over 1941.
WPB Appoints Chemical Advisory Committee
Λ MERICAN consumers have been given "^^ a guarantee by Price Administrator Leon Henderson that the $500,000,000 they will spend this year on soap will buy a t least as much as it does at present a n d that the quality will not be debased. In t h e first ΟΡΑ regulation dealing exclusively with size and quality of a commodity, the Price Administrator set the types of soap now being sold in different parts of the country as minimum standards for t h e manufacturers. All forms of household soaps are covered, and no reduction in t h e size of cake or package, or deterioration i n the quality, or "serviceability", can b e made. The regulation, Commodity Practices Regulation 1, applies only to manufac turers, but the benefits carry through t o householders since the prices t h a t retail stores can charge for soaps are controlled by the General Maximum Price Regula tion.
\PPOINTMENT
of
a committee of
dis-
tinguished American chemists and chemical engineers to advise the Govern ment on technical processes has been an nounced by Ernest W. Reid, chief, Chemi cals Branch, W P B . Work of the committee will be to pass upon the relative merits of competing chemical processes involved in the war effort. The basis upon which the findings will be made will be (a) which process can be placed in production soonest and (b) which uses the smallest amount of critical materials. It is difficult under the present war economy, Dr. Reid explained, to obtain unbiased, factual testimony as to which of a number of proposed chemical methods is best. Each new process has its adher ents and in most instances each has its own good points. The advisory committee will evaluate each process in the light of the war program and will recommend adoption of one or another. The committee is headed by D o n ald B . Keyes, head consultant to the branch and professor of chemical engineer ing at the University of Illinois. Members are: Marston T. Bogert, Joel H. Hildebrand, S. C . Lind, Frank C. Whitmore, Gustavus J. Esselen, Carl S. Miner, Foster D . Snell, Charles C. Brown, Charles R. Downs, Sidney D . Kirkpatrick, and Fred H. Rhodes. The committee includes three past presidents
of
the
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY, four Councilors, and two Direc tors. All are recipients of honors in the chemical field.
Treatment of Ores for Maximum Recovery Studied Q E E K I N G the most efficient method of treating ores t o obtain maximum re covery of precious metals and minerals, the U. S. Bureau of Mines has completed tests on 21 ore samples from nine states. Because many of the samples were complex and did not respond to standard testing methods, the bureau supplemented stand ard methods with microscopic and spectro scopic examinations.
Dry M i l k Plants "POTJRTEEN new factories for th** production of dry milk are to be built as soon as the W P B gives clearance on ma terials. Agriculture officials have pre
CHEMICAL
Ο Ρ Α Announces First Commodity Practices Regulation
Plant Planned for Liquid Fuel and Lubricants from Coal Λ FAR-REACHING study of practical and "^^ economical methods for producing liquid motor fuels and lubricants from coal will be undertaken b y t h e U. S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Penna., a s soon as a new experimental plant just a u thorized b y Congress can b e erected a n d equipped. An appropriation of approxi mately $85,000 has been made available. The Fischer-Tropsch method will b e investigated with a view to developing means to produce gasoline from t b e coals of Alaska and the United States. T h e bureau h a s been studying a modification of the Bergius process for several years. T h e experimental plant will have a capac ity of about 100 pounds of gasoline per day and will include chemical engineering equipment such as catalyst chambers, pumps, charcoal scrubbers, distillation columns, cracking units, and control in struments. Future plans call for a pilot plant to handle about 10 tons a d a y and a small plant which can b e m o v e d and erected in a short time at little cost.
N e w Process for Making Butylène Glycol Developed Λ SHORT and economical process for *^^ making butylène glycol, a relatively rare chemical with several important c o m mercial uses, has been announced by t h e U. S. Department of Agriculture. T h e new method, being developed at the department's Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, 111., involves t h e
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
fermentation of plentiful farm crops, such as corn and wheat. The laboratory is now producing butylène glycol o n a pilot plant scale. I t m a y be used in making antifreeze for automobile radiators and in production of commercial solvents. It has a number of industrial chemical applications for war industries. T h e laboratory* is also studying butylène glycol as a possible link in production of butadiene for synthetic rubber. Considerable interest h a s been shown b y industry in t h e fermentation process for producing butylène glycol. T h e major problem remaining is conversion of butylène glycol to butadiene on a commercial scale. Chemists a t the Peoria laboratory have succeeded in producing excellent yields of pure butadiene from corn-made butylène glycol in the laboratory, b u t they have not a s yet developed the process t o a pilot-plant scale and are n o t making any definite predictions.
the bureau to expand its helium-producing program, not only for the Army and N a v y b u t for medical a n d scientific uses.
Government Program Enlarged Τ ESSE J O N E S ,
Secretary
of
Commerce,
has announced that the Metals R e serve Company, upon recommendation of t h e War Production Board, is enlarging i t s program for t h e purchase of domestic mercury on the basis of $192 per flask, f. o. b. warehouse N e w York area, b y making purchases not only in N e w York but also at Ore Purchase Depots already established at numerous points in many western states a n d b y conditionally e x tending the program to December 31, 1943.
The Synthetic Rubber Situation For immediate release Friday, July 17, 1942 T3 U B B E R COORDINATOR Arthur B. N e w -
Pilot Plant for Sponge Iron Production Planned 1 3 L A N S for an immediate study of the methods of producing sponge iron, an acceptable substitute for scrap iron in manufacturing steel, and for t h e erection of pilot plants to guide future operations in this field have been launched b y the U. S. Bureau of Mines. Funds totaling $600,000 have been made available b y Congres, s under the head of "war prosecution" activities, t o develop methods of utilizing untouched iron ore deposits and to assist in alleviating t h e shortage of scrap iron. Sponge iron is produced directly from iron ore without going through the liquid stage, such as that employed to produce pig iron in a blast furnace. It is adaptable t o smaller and less expensive plants than t h e standard blast furnace installation and produces an iron that is low in carbon. Many sponge iron reduction processes are known t o b e workable, but none has been applied commercially on a large scale t o United States iron ores because the standard reduction methods have produced enough iron in t h e past.
Helium Production to Be Expanded TLTBLIUM will be produced in greatly increased quantities to meet expanding wartime needs under a program recently inaugurated b y the U . S. Bureau of Mines. Millions of additional cubic feet will flow from the enlarged plant a t Amarillo, Tex., being processed from gas produced from government wells n o w in operation. I n addition, a new helium production plant a t a n unannounced location will b e supplied with helium-bearing natural gas from an existing gas line transporting g a s for fuel markets. A new congressional appropriation of $4,000,000 to b e made available from N a v y Department funds will enable
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hall has sent out t h e following letter o n t h e synthetic rubber situation in response to many inquiries about t h e present status of the program: As a result of recent publicity given tin» synthetic rubber program b y radio a n d press, considerable correspondence has come t o this office, both direct and for warded from other departments of t h e Government. The inquirers have asked a wide variety of questions. I n the following summary w e have attempted to answer these ques tions in a nontechnical way, with t h e thought that such a summary m a y give each inquirer a fuller understanding of the problem than answers t o his own particular questions might furnish. T h e Government is building plants based o n a program for the production of synthetic rubber as follows:
sideration. Our principal crude supply w a s cut off. An increased synthetic pro gram was entered into. This program embraced all available alcohol which could be released from other war needs at t h a t time and a s more alcohol became available, because of domestic wartime measures, the proportion of alcohol to be used in t h e program w a s increased. Thirty per cent of the butadiene included in the present program is being made from alcohol and most of t h e remainder from petroleum. When you start a new industry naturally rapid changes take place. This has been particularly true with synthetic rubber a n d important changes are still going on. As a n illustration, a t t h e outset, in spite of its ultimate increased cost over petroleum, the alcohol process required less strategic material for the building of new plants: that is, unless y o u had to go back a n a build a distillery to g e t t h e alcohol. Already, however, a new and better method has been devised in the use of petroleum, and today the amount o f strategic material, whether we start with petroleum or alco hol, is practically on an equal basis. We hope we have cleared u p the matter in your mind. T h e picture is changing almost daily, b u t we are satisfied that all who have a part in the undertaking are doing their best to accomplish the one thing in which we know the American people are interested—to be sure that enough rubber i s made available, regard less of its source, for carrying on the war effort and supplying essential civilian needs. In closing, m a y w e leave this thought with y o u : Today t h e program i s s e t as we have outlined. Tomorrow some pos sible improvement i n process or material may appear. If we can use the new, we always will, b u t we cannot take on the new if to do so would slow u p the program. Speed is essential. Sincerely yours, A R T H U R B. N E W S A L L
Coordinator for Rubber
700,000 tons per year of buna S 60,000 tons per year of butyl 40,000 tons per year of neoprene T h e present program has been fixed a t this amount, n o t because w e are still searching for methods or processes b u t because t h e amount of raw material re quired t o build plants t o use a n y of t h e processes is limited a n d the amount al lotted is all that can be spared a t this time t o be taken away from other critical needs in t h e war program. Confusion arising from the public statements of different proponents of different processes has not in the least detracted from the general policy of going forward with this program t o completion at the earliest possible moment. Buna S, which is a general purpose rub ber, is made b y a chemical combination of butadiene and styrene. Butadiene c a n be m a d e from either alcohol or petroleum, and many of t h e questions regarding t h e >resent program arise on account of this act. Prior to the declaration of war, petro leum was chosen as the base material from which t o manufacture synthetic rubber for three reasons: t h e more advanced experi mental development of the process in this country; the substantially lower cost of production; a n d t h e apparent lack of increasing defense demands. After the declaration of war, compara tive costs were not important. Rubber was essential, and speed was the first con
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Blackout Aids Tenite strips act as tracks permitting the easy raising and lowering of blackout shades and preventing the escape of light around the edges. The strips, extruded of Tennessee Eastman Tenite b y Extruded Plas tics, Inc., are designed for use in indus trial plants as well as in homes. They are distributed by Plastic Products Engineer ing Co., 500 Fifth A v e . , N e w York, Ν . Υ. 971
