C&EN's REVIEW e n d PREVIEW
Wmgm Push on Process Development . . . . . . brought n e w products and lower costs, as industry faced production cutbacks JL ROIH ( HON ci ι H.\( KS liKui;1 headlines
during 1958*s lean months. But there was little slowdown in pilot plants and process development labs as chemical companies pushed their search for \ \ a \ s to chop production costs. A survey by the National Industrial Conference Board bears this out. XICB found that b u d g e t e d spending for research in 1958 was u p 1 0 ' ' over the previous year. And the greatest proportion of these funds went toward applied research a n d development. Some new processes developed in 1958 brought with them new products. In many cases, though, new ways were found, and modifications were m a d e to existing methods, to make products al ready on the market. Cost-cuttinn was perhaps the most obvious objective. T h e reasons for this were twofold: First, there was t h e never-ending at tempt to lower production costs in a highly competitive field. Secondly, the recession's sting underscored the need for economy all along t h e line. Several industry spokesmen actually refer to the recession as a blessing in disguise. They explain that in main cases chemical companies were con tent to rest upon their laurels, oblivious to the inefficiencies which h a d crept into their production methods. F o r in stance: wasted manpower, inefficient use of equipment, poor yields, and overly expensive r a w materials, to name a few. Many process improvements were p u t into use in 1958—in time to help plants' "belt-tightening" measures. Others, still in the development stage, will come into play in 1959. some per haps still later. • MeteIs Get α Polish. Metals, from iron ore to uranium, were t h e subject
Strategic Materials successfully proof-tested its Strategic-Udy process for direct reduction of iron ore in a semiworks plant at Niagara Falls, Ont., in 1958. This is the electric furnace at the prototype; slag tap is at left, metal tap at right
of much process study in 1958. Strategic Materials p u t its StrategicUdy process into a prototype plant at Niagara Falls, O n t . Aim: to make iron by direct reduction of iron ore. T h e method is n o t yet economically feasible b u t could b e ii coking, power, and capital investment costs continue to rise. Strategic-Udy may well find a niche in the steel capacity expansions slated for the mid-1960*5, with possible savings in capital costs cf u p to 5 0 % . Last year, Goodrich Atomic revealed how it recovers $1.5 million worth of
uranium from waste solutions at its gaseous diffusion plant in Portsmith. Ohio. T h e process, which recovers uranium as uranium hexafluoride, is also used by Union Carbide Nuclear at its Oak Ridge and Paducah gaseous diffusion plants. W a t c h for high purity metals m a d e by electron bombardment melting. Such a process was developed jointly by Stauffer, Mallory-Sharon, a n d Temescal Metallurgical. Niobium, tantalum, titanium, and molybdenum are some metals which can be m a d e JAN.
5,
1959
C&EN
43
NITRIC REFLUX NITRIC L CONDENSER
NITRIC
SALT FEED
ACID
NITRIC I STORAGE]
S2\, plant. This is simple, but National also de veloped a high pressure briqueting machine which molds the oxide par ticles into stable briquets without us ing a binder. Here are a few more of the many other process development highlights of 1958: • Procter and Gamble switched from sodium reduction to catalytic hydro génation to make long chain, fatty alcohols. Its high pressure process, which reduces esters rather than acids, residts in "considerable savings/' says P&G. • Another new money-saver is "Maggie," Hercules Powder's nitric acid concentrating process. With it, Hercules switches from sulfuric aciu to magnesium nitrate as dehydrator. changes from packed to tray distillation columns, and eliminates costly sulfuric acid concentrators. • Hooker Chemical cut cost coiners with its new process to recover hydrogen chloride and chlorine. Its continuous two-zone solvent extraction process eliminates the need for costly anticorrosion equipment. Claims fcr the new method: initial ouday halved, operating and maintenance costs sliced more than 50'
