THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK C&EN REPORTS: International Astronautical Federation
Chemistry Can Solve M a n y Space-Flight Problems Freight service to an artificial satellite would t a k e 1000 tons of rocket propellants per d a y STUTTGART, GERMANY.—Some 1000 tons of high-energy rocket propellants per day would b e required for daily freight service to an artificial satellite, G. V. E. Thompson, British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, told the third International Congress on Astronautics held here recently. Mr. Thompson, a council member of the British Interplanetary Society, discussed the cost and availability ot high-energy propellants at the meeting which was sponsored by the International Astronautical Federation. Thosnpson predicted that eventually liquid ozone and liquid nitrogen tetroxide will be cheap enough to compete with liquid oxygen. Although liquid fluorine, or one of its compounds, often have been proposed as oxidants for space-flight reserves of fluoride ores are not sufficient to permit exploitation on the scale envisaged. For fuel, both ammonia and hydrazine should become comparatively cheap, but liquid hydrogen will remain relatively expensive, according to Thompson. The potential availability of these fuels is excellent. T h e annual bill for providing propellants for such a daily freight service would b e of the order of $1 million or perhaps as much as $400 million if hydrogen were used. International Cooperation. In opening the congress, H. C . Seebohm, t h e Federal German Minister of Transport, stressed the magnitude of the problems involved, and the fact that only with international cooperation was space-flight likely t o b e achieved. Also stressed was the point that, although the work now being carried out under military supervision w o u l d be of the greatest value in forwarding space-flight, there were many problems of nonmilitary significance on which small societies and individuals could work. Much of the material contained in the two dozen technical papers w a s original work, and illustrated the usefulness of individual contributions to this young science of astronautics. All papers related to t h e basic scientific problems of space-flight and covered a very w i d e field, including such topics as the design of high-performance rocket components» the stability of artificial satellites, the calculation of spaceship orbits, and the biological effect of cosmic rays. Chemical Problems. Problems involving chemistry were reviewed by F. Hecht, professor of chemistry at Vienna University, in his paper "Chemical Problems of Space-Flight." One of the most impor-
4372
tant is that of rocket propellants. It s e e m s that more energetic propellants are needed, and such chemicals as fluorine as oxidant and the various borohydrides as fuels will bear investigation. At the same time, they will b e required in very large quantities and the production possibilities will h a v e to be kept under constant review. Another major problem is that of constructional materials, particularly for rocket combustion chambers. Ceramic liners are already in use, said Dr. Hecht, a n d as combustion temperatures rise, will undoubtedly b e c o m e more general. Carbides of silicon and aluminium have s o far proved satisfactory, but the silicides and borides of some of the rare earths might be of more use for extreme temperatures.
Low-temperature materials for use in outer space will also b e needed, and s o m e special requirements, such as transparent plastics for w i n d o w s for extreme conditions ( —20O to 2 0 0 ° C ) , will arise. Regeneration of the atmosphere in a cabin kept sealed for several m o n t h s , will undoubtedly b e accomplished by use of living plants and b y chemical means, Hecht noted. T h e provision of a balanced diet will b e of interest to biochemists. Weight must b e kept to a n absolute minimum and the use of concentrates wherever possible will be essential. Production of plants for hydroponic culture on a n other planet, using the planet's o w n a t mosphere will open up a "whole n e w field of study. One important problem facing t h e would-be space traveller is t h e effect o n t h e human organism of primary cosmic rays. It has already been shown, said D r . Hecht, that there is s o m e possibility o f counteracting t h e effect o f nuclear radiation by chemical means, and a similar p o s sibility might exist f o r cosmic rays. Finally, h e suggested that I A F should form a committee t o enumerate t h e outstanding chemical problems and collect together existing knowledge having a bearing on these problems.
C&EN REPORTS: Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association
Public Interest in Chemistry Aids Expansion Financing Six chemical companies now a p p e a r on list of blue-chip stocks N E W YORK.—The chemical industry's expansion program will require about $ 6 . 4 billion in t h e 1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 5 period, according to the predictions of Shelly Pierce, financial editor of the N e w York Journal of Commerce. Pierce told the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association here Oct. 8 that by the end of this year, $3.5 billion will have been expended leaving abovit $2.9 billion needed t o complete the expansion program. Money c o m e s fairly easy to the chemical industry for investment, Pierce o b served, because the industry has captured the imagination of the public, probably to a greater extent than any other industry. Even conservative insurance c o m p a nies are acquiring chemical company s e curities, though they are more interested in debt than in equity. In speaking of the public's interest in the industry, h e said that it i s d u e to the great amount of publicity i n connection with "miracle" drugs and "miracle" fibers. This interest in the chemical industry has percolated to the investment field and whenever a company, at least those names
CHEMICAL
well known to the public, has offered n e w securities they have b e e n snapped up. For instance, w h e n last March a n investment banking group acquired the stock of the German Schering Corp·, split it four for one, and m a d e a public offering, it w a s about three times oversubscribed. Partly because of publicity given t o cortisone, Schering stock has g o n e mostly to small holders, about 15,000 o f them. Chemical S t o c k s Favored. In the latest list of 5 0 stocks most favored b y investment companies, there are six chemical companies. This compilation, which represents the holdings of 5 5 closed-end trusts and over 100 mutual funds, shows that these funds own stock of t h e six c o m panies, worth around $140 million, or almost 1 0 % of the dollar value of t h e 50 listed. T h e chemical stock m o s t popular with investment companies is h e l d b y 63 funds. Only the stocks of o i l a n d natural gas companies have greater appeal t o in*, vestment companies. There were only three chemical companies o n this list in 1944. Pension funds look w i t h favor o n chemi-
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
V^l-i*
ir ri*
,
T IPf 4ï*?T5 fc
It's time we talked about 5 Money - Making Uses
for ION EXCHANGE!
I N 1912 Permutit pioneered the use of ion exchange by applying it to the treatment of water. For over forty years now P e r m u t i t h a s continued to pioneer the development of this revoiu tioiiai y process. T h e result is t h a t today industry is finding many valuable new uses fox ion exchange other than the treatment of w a t e r s REMOVAL of impurities from solutions CONCENTRATION of v a l u a b l e s u b s t a n c e s to make their recovery commercially profitable SEPARATION of substances from each other SUBSTITUTION of specific ions for other ions in solution CATALYSIS of chemical reactions
Permutit Ion Exchangers 'are being used successfully in s u g a r m a n u f a c t u r i n g , organic compound recovery, metal recovery, organic chemical manufacture, antibiotic manufacture, plating waste treatment and other fields. These are only a few of the new developments. Many more ion exchange applications are on the way. Why n o t investigate the possibilities for your own industfji? For r^rUh·—details, write to T h e Permutit Compa: -- "^: CE-11, 330 West 42nd Street, Xew Ybric 36, * ' fY., or to Permutit Company !\ I ont real. of Canada
PERMUTIT ill"
, .K
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
Specialists in orgonic chemical plant design //
A few of SD's current projects Cumene . Ethylene O x i d e & Glycol C h l o r i n a t e d O r g a n î c s · Styrène V i n y l Chloride o Amines
SD handles c o m p l e t e project From basic economic evaluations to initial operation, SD takes full responsibility for chemical processing projects for y o u r process or o n e of our own—on a completely confidential basis.
an
Ua3Q¥S[u] •CD D ΠΠ3
SCIENTIFIC DESIGN C O M P A N Y , I N C . Executive Offices: 2 Park A v e . , N e w York 16, N . Y . Engineering Offices: Newark* New Jersey
Accurate BATCH METERING WITHNIAGARA VISIBLE DIAL
METERS
Just set t h e diol o n zero b e f o r e eoch delivery a n d qet h i g h l y accurate batch m e a s u r e m e n t of
liquids—with no fear of inaccuracies fttrougn errors in reading. Niagara Visible Dial Meters are avaifable in a wide range of sizes for liquids of all types. Choice of vertical
dial
with
hands
or
setback
figure rollers. Fill out t h e coupon w i t h your p a r -
IBSEMSaiSEffiEinr- &&· utj- &•. help y o u solve batch , m e t e r i n g problems 1 — t o d a y .
your
BUFFALO METER CO. 2898 MAIN STREET BUFFALO, N. Y. 4374
Pleasesendmefull i n f o r m a t i o n NiagaraLiquidMETERSf o r : ] Liquid ] Ί t mp ! 1 l o w r.if c M.IMIIIIIMI
i.
ΙΊ
on u s e of
ps,
; |
; ρ m H.iuh
j < οπφ.ιη>
I U> Ϊ A d , i n >'.
CHEMICAL
cal securities. As to insurance companies, the biggest transaction in this field was the $300 million loan which Union Car bide arranged with the Prudential Insur ance Co. of America and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. last November whereby each will advance $150 million on 100year 3 . 7 5 % notes. T h e chemical industry is noted for its good management, a reason it has at tracted such a large institutional interest. Some smart investors scrutinize t h e "sec ond t e a m " of a company, t h e young fel lows w h o will succeed the present suc cessful managers. For financing expansion the chemical industry can issue debt securities, either through public offerings or private place ments with institutional investors, or it can sell common or preferred stock, or a combination of both debt and equity. Also there are several internal sources, in cluding retained earnings, which at one time were sufficient to supply the hulk of expansion funds. Another source is funds coming from depreciation, which is grow ing larger with the installation of new, more expensive plants and with acceler ated amortization. A third internal source, not found in most industries, consists of funds utilized for research, averaging 3 % of the annual sales dollar. Many new products are corn ing from this and a major research de velopment can at any time mean new ex pansion and represents additional earn ing power. Debt Versus Equity. Some feel that t h e chemical industry has relied too much un debt financing for expansion. In 1951 t h e industry raised over a billion dollars through public offerings and private1 place ments, with ratio of d e b t to equity four to one. Supporters of more equity financing hold that an excessive amount of debt in capital structures may become oinbarassing in case of business recession. How ever, Pierce questioned t h e validity of th. argument of too η inch debt incurred by e industry. Since interest payments arc* tax exempt and dividends come alter taxes, debt financing is much cheaper. Carl Cerstacker, Daw's treasurer, re cently figured i! out this w a y : Assuming that a company with only common stock outstanding makes 20*% before tax on its capital. At the old tax rate of .*W, . it had 12.-KÎ. left after tax. At the 7Π'', rate, t h e company has only β'ν left alter tax. Vet, if half of tli.· capital is debt, with a net cost of only 1 7 . ' ; after taw the < οι , pnration will still h a \ e 10.."'/, left on iP| common stock after a 7 0 ' ; tax. Hem»· the cast; is fairly eonelusive lor debt. At the same time, Pier., e Mated, the chei deal industry lia»» characteristics which make it different horn other industries, hence the same financial rules cannot be applied. Some etimpnuies -el t h e maturi ties too short. Thus a railroad put out a 20->'r;ir issue in 100 I and had trouble t e h m d h m it, ,-sp. «jally as it came in 10*?. 1 donne; a iveessjnu. At the other exlleme
A N D E Ν G I N E E R I N G ΝEW S
More new developments
in
AMERICAN
ANODE
materials
"*•*?
V 1*
^S/ i
y
* ,y
é*
k
/
I
Two handy ideas for new sales ! Controlled
viscosity
P IACmTeUrRi cEaDn
here are two new Α n ο d e m at eria 1s which can open up new sales fields for you. On the left you see A niera n CV-G (controlled viscosity gel). Putty-like in form, it can he handmolded like modeling clay. N o warmup o r heating is required. Articles are fused after removal from the mold — leaving the mold ready for imme diate re-use. Ameran CV-G can he molded» cold dipped, cast, extruded o«* spread.
gel and plastisol
simplify
T h e picture on the right shows Ameran CV-P (controlled viscosity plastisol) heing used for cold d i p p i n g household gloves. It may be used on vertical forms for d i p p i n g plastisol, without heat treatment of the form. Flow characteristics permit close con trol and uniformity of film thickness. And you get a uniform film with good elongation. Ameran C V - P may he used for cold dipping, coating, mold ing or casting. T h e viscosity of both Ameran CV-G
production!
and A m e r a n CV-P is controlled — does not change in storage. Both c o m p o u n d s can be made resistant t o oils, greases, most chemicals and acids. N o solvents are needed, elimi nating fire hazard. N o recovery system. Wide range of colors possible, in cluding white. You'll think of many sales-making uses for these versatile materials. For technical information, p l e a s e w r i t e D e p a r t m e n t A A-11 A m e r i c a n Anode, 60 Cherry Street, Akron, O h i o .
AMERICAN ANODE A Division of The B. F. Goodrich Company
CRUDE A N D AMERICAN RUBBER LATICE5, WATER CEMENTS A N D SUSPENSIONS, A M E R A N RESIN PASTES, COMPLETE MANUFACTURING FACILITIES •ΠΙΜΙ
3 0,
I i O.
4 2
Ο C 1 Ο Β Ε R 2 0, 1 9 5
4375
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK are issues with no maturity and noncallable, the danger being that if contracted when interest rates are high there is no way of refunding it when money becomes cheaper. Tax Cushion. T h e chemical industry has a cushion in t h e excess profits tax so that if business slumps, the effect on savings will not be marked, the speaker noted. If a company earns $100 before taxes, pres ent rates could take up to 7 0 % of this or $70, leaving $30 after taxes. Shook, the pretax figure drop to $65, the regular 5 2 % rate would apply, plus a smaller excess profit impost, leaving 27 cents net income out of each dollar of pretax profits. T h e excess profits tax expires automatically J u n e 30, 1953, meaning a boost of 6 0 % in net income for chemicals. T h e speaker advocated stock purchases plans for employees among chemical com panies, pointing out that if the price of a stock declines there is a b a d reaction among holders. However the value of such programs outweighs disadvantages. Stock ownership in the same company gives workers an a d d e d incentive to work well.
Moreover, there is little danger t h a t a na tion whose industries are owned by a large body of stockholders will go Com munist. Dow h a s gone far in employee ownership; others should e m u l a t e t h e m . G e n e r a l Business C o n d i t i o n s . As to business generally, Pierce said, t h e r e has been a marked i m p r o v e m e n t t h e past few weeks though e a r n i n g s will s h o w a lower net income than for t h e same 1951 period. T h e r e has been s o m e reductions in divi d e n d s , while extras and year-end dis tributions will b e smaller than usual. Should a s l u m p arrive in t h e next sev eral m o n t h s it s h o u l d b e on the pattern of t h e 1937 and 1 9 4 6 recession, h e declared. A full-scale d e p r e s s i o n does not seem likely. There a r e indications that t h e Democrats are w i l l i n g to let t h e excess profits tax expire and this would greatly emcourage business a n d v e n t u r e capital might take up s o m e slack which t h e eas i n g of the defense p r o g r a m will create. Effects of a R e p u b l i c a n victory would be largely psychological and could serve as a stimulus to b u s i n e s s . Of course t h e m e n in Moscow call t h e t u n e , Pierce concluded.
C&EN REPORTS: American Pharmaceutical Association
APhA Given Complete L a b o r a t o r y During Centennial Celebration Future p r o g r a m calls for licensing procedures reforms in nomenclature W A S H I N G T O N , D. C . - O c t . 7, 1952, 100 years to t h e day from the establishment of t h e American Pharmaceutical Associa tion, was marked by a centennial celebra tion held here. The program included speakers w h o traced t h e development of the pharmaceutical profession, its present status, a n d t h e challenges of the future. A symposium was held on the question of modifying the code of ethics to prevent misunderstanding with the medical pro fession a n d t h e drug industry. A high light of the meeting was the presentation by Chester G. Fisher, Fisher Scientific Co., of several complex elec tronic laboratory instruments for use in APhA's research laboratory. 100th A n n i v e r s a r y . A feature of the APhA m e e t i n g was the transmittal of the centennial anniversary dinner speeches over a closed telephone circuit to an esti mated 12,000 members in 56 cities. "Din ner speakers w e n · Admiral II. L·. Pugh, Surgeon General, U. S. Navy; Theodore C. Klumpp, W i n t h r o p Stearns, inc., and Robert P. Fischelis, APhA. Adm. Pugh paid tribute to the pharma ceutical profession ior its efforts in na tional defense. Foreign wars, he said, have posed serious problems in the form of new diseases whose cures tax the re search abilities of this nation. The chal lenge is being met as evidenced by the
4376
pharmacists'
progress m a d e in fighting intestinal dis ease, malaria, s c r u b t y p h u s , g a s gangrene, tuberculosis, a n d r h e u m a t i c fever. Devel o p m e n t of synthetic narcotics a n d plasma
substitutes extenders are other n o t a b l e developments. O t h e r evidence of progress is t h e greatly reduced fatality rate of a r m e d forces per sonnel injured in Korea. This is b e i n g accomplished with the aid of p h a r m a ceutical services m a n p o w e r a n d p r o d u c t s of t h e p h a r m a c e u t i c a l industry. D r . K l u m p p said that a l t h o u g h A P h A is one of the oldest professional organiza tions in the U. S., it is o n e of t h e most progressive. T h e association a n d its m e m bers have h e l p e d this nation attain its present high health levels. H e noted, for example, t h a t life expectancy is n o w 6 8 years c o m p a r e d with 49 years at t h e t u r n of t h e century. H e also noted t h a t costs of medical c a r e h a v e actually b e e n r e d u c e d w h e n it is realized t h a t progress m a d e in this field of science h a s elimi nated m a n y diseases, devised t r e a t m e n t s to shorten t h e duration of others, a n d r e d u c e d crippling effects. Contrasting t h e progress m a d e in this nation in research a n d d e v e l o p m e n t lead ing to improved conditions of p u b l i c health with t h e slow gains m a d e in nations w h e r e medicine is socialized, D r . K l u m p p con cluded that socialized m e d i c i n e is not t h e means by w h i c h unsolved p r o b l e m s will be resolved. For t h e F u t u r e . Dr. Fischelis outlined the future p r o g r a m of APhA. Major items, lie said, include a need for h i g h e r stand ards for t h e profession, licensing p r o cedures of pharmacists b y state agencies which assure practical experience, im provements in the publications p r o g r a m , reforms in n o m e n c l a t u r e a n d terminology, close cooperation with g o v e r n m e n t a n d n o n g o v e r n m e n t groups interested in this field, and m a i n t e n a n c e of statistics a n d information for government and industry. T h e m a n y d e m a n d s b e i n g m a d e on t h e
Ernest Little ( l e f t ) , A m e r i c a n P h a r m a c e u t i c a l Association, receives p l a q u e from Chester G. F i s h e r , Fisher Scientific Co., for t h e APhA laboratory. T h e p l a q u e c o m m e m o r a t e s the gift of l a b o r a t o r y e q u i p m e n t t o APhA from the F i s h e r c o m p a n y
Ί -*
// j /
,/
CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
