Calif., Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical at Bonneville, Utah, and Foote Minerals at Silver Peak, Nev., are currently working brine deposits. The world's most extensive highgrade potash reserves are in the Soviet Union, Dr. Adams reports. Ninety per cent of them are along the upper Kama River region in the Ural Mountains. These deposits, especially around Solikamsk and Brezhniki, lying close to the surface, are thickly mineralized and of high grade. Their exploitation could have profound effect on future world markets.
Polaroid develops new photographic process Polaroid Corp. has developed a new photographic process—solubilization by incipient development. The process is based on the fact that a developing grain of light-exposed silver halide can be made to contribute soluble silver ions to form a negative image on a receptor sheet. The process differs from the company's commercial one in which silver ions from unexposed silver halide grains form positive images on the sheet. In opening his two-hour talk to the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers in Boston, Polaroid's Dr. Edwin H. Land, chairman, president, arid director of research, commented: "This investigation has been a luxury for us because we have been able to bring to bear all the resources of our laboratories on a problem which may have no use at all. To do this," he continued, "you have to be a very prosperous company; and you have to be a research man who can push
around that prosperous company." Accordingly, Dr. Land suggested no plans for commercial development or application of the process. Instead, he outlined the theoretical chemistry of what, for more than 15 years at the company's research labs, has been a puzzling phenomenon—negativeimage formation on Polaroid film. "At the exposures where we get negative images," Dr. Land explains, "the exposed grains are developing and the unexposed grains are not developing. How is it though, that the exposed grains can contribute more silver ions to form the negative image than the unexposed grains contribute since these should be dissolving and ionizing during development? The answer to this question lies in the fact that during incipient development, or at the very beginning of development, the exposed grains are passing through a phase of solubilization before being reduced to metallic silver atoms." To control the diffusion of these silver ions, a specially formulated complexing system is added to the layer of developer and fixing chemicals. The complexing system causes a less soluble silver complex to form than that which usually forms with sodium thiosulfate (hypo). The system has sufficient complexing action to immobilize the unexposed grains of silver halide and yet allow development and solubilization of the exposed grains. The new process provides highquality transfer negatives with good resolving power and the high contrast required in x-ray applications. It is also possible to obtain a positive image by this new mechanism, and films may be designed to give either a negative or a positive.
Krypton-filled light bulbs enter consumer market
Dr. Edwin H. Land No use at all
Longer-lived, brighter light bulbs filled with krypton instead of argon are becoming commercially available. Duro-Test Corp., North Bergen, N.J., this month began marketing a krypton-filled bulb and Westinghouse Electric will enter the market this fall. Krypton reduces evaporation and heat loss from the tungsten filament, and thus the new bulbs have greater light efficiency and longer life than conventional incandescent bulbs. Krypton allows less filament evaporation than the usual argon, nitrogen, or argon-nitrogen mixture because of its higher atomic weight. Its lower heat conductivity reduces energy loss from the filament, allowing the filament to run hotter and the glass jacket to run cooler. Thus, the krypton-filled bulbs can be made substan-
tially smaller than conventional bulbs. Also, the new bulbs will have a different shape than that of conventional bulbs. The Duro-Test bulb resembles a household general-purpose light bulb, but is flattened at the top instead of being spherically shaped. Krypton's advantages as a light-bulb filler have been known for many years, but high cost has kept it from widespread use. Krypton is found only in the atmosphere—at a concentration of less than one part in 900,000. (Argon, in contrast, constitutes nearly 1% of the air.) However, the increasing use of oxygen, particularly by the steel industry, has led to giant air separation plants in which it is now more feasible to separate the krypton from the other inert gases. Still, krypton is much more costly than argon. Large volumes of argon cost less than 5 cents per cubic foot, while krypton costs about $14 per cubic foot. Despite the price difference, Union Carbide's Linde division, which is supplying krypton to Westinghouse, predicts that within several years as much as 30% of the gas used to fill light bulbs will be krypton. More than 1 million cubic feet of argon now goes into light bulbs annually. Argon is also used to sweep the air out of bulbs before they are sealed. Up to now the only bulbs using krypton have been some high-intensity, low-wattage bulbs such as miners' lamps and a few fluorescent lamps which use an argonkrypton mixture. The new bulbs will be a premium product. The suggested retail price of Duro-Test's krypton-filled bulbs is $1.29 each, and Westinghouse's new bulbs will cost 55 to 65 cents each. Duro-Test says its krypton-filled bulbs last 2500 hours, while Westinghouse says its bulbs will last 1500 hours. Conventional bulbs are rated at about 1000 hours. Duro-Test calls its new bulb the krypton bulb. Westinghouse hasn't selected a name yet. Perhaps recalling that Superman came from the planet Krypton, Westinghouse is unofficially calling it the "super" bulb.
Project Gasoline plant now ready for operation With cyclones operating in the separation section, a major snag that has hampered operation of the Project Gasoline pilot plant has been bypassed. Although operation of the gasolinefrom-coal pilot plant at Cresap, W.Va., is still intermittent because of a cutback of funds, some successes have been achieved, according to the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Coal Research ( O C R ) . A full report on the pilot plant's first year of operation is JUNE 24, 1968 C&EN 15
Project Gasoline pilot plant Major snag has been unraveled
due out at the end of fiscal year 1968, probably in August. If operation gets under way as originally intended, the plant should in a few years prove the commercial feasibility of making gasoline from coal. Started up a year ago, it is designed to process 1 ton of coal feed per hour (and produce about 60 barrels per day of liquids). The pilot plant represents the final development phase of Project Gasoline, the Consolidation Coal Co. development supported financially by OCR. The project is one of four sponsored by OCR, all designed to produce gasoline and other liquids from coal (C&EN, June 12, 1967, page 9 6 ) . In the Project Gasoline process, coal feed is dried and crushed, then fed to an extraction section. There the coal is dissolved in a hydrocarbon solvent, part of the product stream. About two thirds of the coal dissolves. Before the extract can be hydrogenated—the main step in the process— undissolved solids must be removed. Originally, this was to be handled by continuous rotary filters. Special new filters were designed, but operating conditions are fairly drastic—high temperature and about 150 p.s.i.g. Apparently poor design of the filters delayed successful operation of the separation section. As a development project, however, the pilot plant was designed to try alternate methods of separation. It is now operating with cyclones. Specially designed centrifuges will be tested, and the ultimate use of filters hasn't been discarded. Following separation, undissolved solids are heated to recover solvent and are then discharged as char. Filtrate is distilled to remove part of the solvent, and the remaining extract, after it is washed with hot water to remove traces of ash, goes to the hydrogenation section. It reacts with hy16 C&EN JUNE 24, 1968
drogen, over catalyst, at about 800° F. and 4000 p.s.i.g. total pressure. The process is the result of benchscale studies begun in 1959 by Consol (now a subsidiary of Continental Oil) and Standard Oil Co. (Ohio).
Wanda Petroleum to build light hydrocarbons pipeline Wanda Petroleum, a subsidiary of Ashland Oil & Refining, will build a major pipeline from Breaux Bridge in south central Louisiana to Houston, Tex., to carry light hydrocarbons produced in processing natural gas and in petroleum refining. These hydrocarbons, or gas liquids, are important raw materials for numerous chemicals made in many plants along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf coasts. The line, which will have a diameter of 8 to 10 inches and a capacity of 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of gas liquids per day (depending on product), is cited by people concerned with
marketing gas liquids as a major change in the general flow of hydrocarbons on the Gulf Coast. Hydrocarbons have moved east and north from Texas and Louisiana. Now, production in Louisiana has begun to exceed demand significantly and the reverse flow of the lighter hydrocarbons will begin, as predicted more than a year ago by Robert L. Mitchell, a vice president of Celanese Chemical (C&EN, Feb. 13, 1967, page 15). The trend is likely to continue and accelerate as production of natural gas in on- and offshore Louisiana grows to as much as double present production within 10 years. Wanda Petroleum, headquartered in Houston, was a major independent producer, transporter, and marketer of gas liquids until Ashland purchased the company in April of this year. The company owns one third of a large gas liquids fractionating plant at Breaux Bridge. The other owners are Getty Oil and Placid Oil. Wanda Petroleum also has major and minor interests in an intrastate pipeline in Louisiana for gas liquids, and in other gas processing and storage facilities in Louisiana and Texas. The new 200-mile-long line will carry high-purity ethane, propane, iso- and normal butane, and natural gasoline (C 5 and heavier), according to the company. The line is scheduled to begin operation by mid1969. The pipeline will pass through or near Lake Charles, La., Port Arthur, Beaumont, and Mont Belview, Tex., and terminate at Houston. Refinery and chemical complexes cluster around each of these cities. Salt dome storage suitable for gas liquids is available at or near these cities. Major consumers of gas liquids will thus be able to obtain quantities of raw materials needed on both a contract and a spot basis, thereby taking possible advantage of price fluctuations in gas liquids.
Light hydrocarbons tine will run to the west, the reverse of most products lines now in use
Texas
