THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
E . S. Bauer, Monsanto, displays Shell molding process which is absorbing increasing quantities of phenolic resins
C&EN
REPORTS:
Chemical Market
Russel W . Sloan, Sharpies, presided at discussion on chemicals c o n s u m e d and p r o d u c e d by t h e metals industries
Research
Association
Shell M o l d i n g Process Boosts Phenolic Resin Consumption By 1957, 50-million pound foundry resin market Sikely . . . Chemical needs in metal industries start at mines P O C O N O S U M M I T , PA.—An outlet which absorbed only experimental qauntities of synthetic resins a few years ago, the Shell foundry m o l d i n g process, last year consumed some 3 million pounds of the resins. This year its u s e has bounded u p w a r d t o b e t w e e n 8 and 10 million pounds, a n d b y 1957 the foundries may absorb as m u c h as 50 million pounds of u r e a a n d phenolic resin for this purpose. This striking development in the resin field was discussed before the meeting of the Chemical Market Research Association here Sept. 18 b y E d m o n d S. Bauer, Monsanto Chemical Co. T h e Shell m o l d i n g idea is revolutionary but it was not readily accepted a t first b y t h e nation's 5 9 3 8 foundries who have b e e n casting m e t a l products with sand a n d unsatisfactory binders, more recently with core b i n d e r s using some resin. T h e real impact of chemicals o n this industry came with the introduction of t h e Shell molding process p a t e n t e d in 1944 by t h e G e r m a n inventor Croning, a n d which b e c a m e a w a r t i m e property of t h e United States and its allies. Sand a n d p o w d e r e d resin a r e intimately mixed, a n d a metal pattern of t h e p a r t to b e cast is heated t o about 450° F . , usually in halves. T h e resin-sand m i x t u r e is b r o u g h t into contact w i t h t h e h o t pattern, a n d t h e t w o halves in t h e form of a thin shell (Ve- t o Ve-inch), w i t h
VOLUME
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39»
cores inserted, are ready f o r t h e casting operation. T h e Croning process m o l d s are about o n e t e n t h the weight of t h e conventional molds. They use much less sand as well as finer sands which i m p r o v e t h e surface of the cast pieces. A foundry executive quoted b y Mr. Bauer said t h a t p a t t e r n d e tail is b r o u g h t out to t h e h i g h e s t degree, a n d t h a t the over-all m o l d i n g cost is reduced u p to 50%. The potential 50-million-pound market for phenolic resins in t h e Croning Shell molding process "will c o m p a r e very favorably w i t h other phenolic uses in 1952. Total u s e of the resin in 1 9 5 2 was, on a d r y resin basis, 250.8 million pounds. N e w resins have been developed as sand additives in conventional m o l d i n g methods to improve casting quality a n d reduce waste. Shell m o l d i n g is now b e i n g used for mass production of automotive and appliance parts, farm implements, p i p e fittings, and motor parts. Heavy investments in the process have been made b y Ford, General Motors, and International Harvester, to name a few. T h e CMRA meeting w a s given over to p a t t e r n s and trends of chemicals consumed a n d p r o d u c e d by the m e t a l industries, a n d was p r e c e d e d b y a p a n e l discussion on standardization of c h e m i c a l marketing costs. A good part of t h e two days at Pocono Manor, where the conference was
SEPTEMBER
2 8,
1953
held, was given over to golf a n d other recreational activities, a n d highlighted by a dinner at which the n e w CMRA president, Lawrence Flett, was the host. C a t a l y s t M a r k e t . T h e use of metals in catalytic processes was the subject of a paper by L. A. Latour of the Harshaw Chemical Co., Cleveland. Nine fixed bed "hydroformers" since t h e war require annual charges of preformed molybdena alumina catalyst amounting to 3.5 million pounds. Since this catalyst contains, typically, 1 0 % molybdenum trioxide, we find a market, h e said, for approximately 350,000 p o u n d s of this chemical in the form of molybdenum compounds such as ammonium rnolybdate a n d molybdic acid. New fluid reformers in the petroleum industry were seen as potential users of important quantities of molybdenum catalysts. A plant for processing 20,000 barrels of charge stock per stream day has an initial catalyst requirement of perhaps 65,000 pounds containing by extension 65,000 pounds of molybdenum oxide. Fluid reforming has been held by oil technologists to hold t h e greatest promise for the future. Microspheroidal catalysts, acid in nature, have become t h e workhorse of the oil refining industry, t h e speaker said. A survey b y t h e Petroleum Administration for Defense for 1952 indicated t h a t American and foreign requirements would b e 10,800 tons p e r months for fluid type catalysts and 3440 tons of pelleted catalysts. PAD has also estimated that installed fluid cracking capacity would increase 7 2 % b e t w e e n 1951 and 1955. Synthetic catalysts required certain basic materials such as sodium silicate, aluminum sulphate, and sulfuric acid. Nickel maintains its leading position in catalytic processing outside of petroleum. T h e Raney nickel catalyst, normally prepared by the caustic digestion of powdered nickel-aluminum alloy, is extremely active at low temperatures. Nickel is also used as a catalyst in the hydrogénation of fats and oils. Since 1911, when Procter and Gamble produced t h e first vegetable shortening, t h e shortening industry has grown enormously. Production of alkylated aromatics is achieved in t h e presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride. Copper is an important catalytic metal. Vast quantities of sour crude oils are processed through a coppersweetening procedure to oxidize the contained mercaptans to disulfides. Catalysts for methanol, synthetic anhydrous ammonia, heavy organic alcohols, vinyl chloride monomer, sulfuric acid, and butylène and butadiene, also take large amounts of chemicals. Chemicals in Metal Industry. Metal fabrication requires important tonnages of chemicals, said E d w i n M. Ott, head of sales research for Pennsylvania Salt Mfg. Co. In 1939 there were 28,000 such plants. T o d a y there are more t h a n 56,000. T h e industry's physical output at the same time has doubled, while dollar volume has grown from $19 billion to $100 billion.
4007
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK This announcement is neither buy any of these Securities.
Stauffer
Chemical
$15,000,000 Dated September Interest
an offer to sell ivor a solicitation The offer is made only by the
15, 1953
payable
Company
Year 37Λ%
Twenty
of an offer to Prospectus.
Debentures l.r>, 1973
Due September
semi-annually JVIarcTz 15 a?id September in iVew York City
Price 100% and Accrued
32by000 Shares
16
Interest
Common
stock
{$10 par value)
Price $25 a
Share
Copies of the Prospectus maij be obtain ed from only such of the undersioncd as may legally offer these Securities in compliance with the securities laws of the respective States. MORGAN STANLEY
& CO. BLYTII
DEAN WITTER & CO. Η ARM MAN RIPLEY & CO. Incorporated. KIDDER, Ρ Ε ABO D Y & CO. SMITH, BARNEY & CO. September 16, 1953.
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ALBEREME STOME Branches in Principal
Cities C Η Ε ΜI
Acid pickling is the operation that con sumes the largest tonnage of chemicals, Mr. Ott observed. Sulfuric is used in the greatest volume, followed by hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric, and hydrofluoric acids. The latter acid is used mainly in pickling stainless steels. Alkaline cleaning of metal surfaces provides a substantial outlet for causae, soda ash, phosphates, silicates, wetting agents, and others. Solvent and vapor degreasing have in creased rapidly in importance. In this technique a volatile solvent is used as a soak, spray, or vapor, or in combinations of the three, to remove oil and grease. More than 90% of all trichloroethylene produced goes to the metal fabricating industry, and its output last year was about 270 million pounds. The speaker de scribed his company's new Foscoat process which combines metal cleaning, phosphate coating, and organic lubricants into a new vital shaping method (see page 4014). Current market for phosphates in paint bonding was placed at around $6 million, excluding ordnance, and of which some 52.6% is used by autos, trucks, and buses. Zinc and iron phosphates are commonly used. More than three quarters of the present market uses zinc phosphate, but the trend is toward the iron salt. Steel Chemicals. Data on the consump tion of various raw materials by the steel industry was presented to the meeting by John W. W. Sullivan of the American Iron and Steel Institute. The amount of ammonium chloride entering galvanized sheets is 13 pounds per net ton of sheets; dolomite in pig iron 195 pounds; chromite refractory in steel ingots 2.5 pounds; hy drofluoric acid, 33 pounds in steel plate and 13.7 pounds in steel sheet; magnesite as refractory 3.4 pounds; sodium chloride, 5 to 8 pounds in slabs, 2 pounds in plate; sodium fluoride 0.06 pound in ingots; sul furic acid 12.1 pounds in ingots; and zinc chloride 0.20 pound in tin plate. Trends in the consumption of chemicals both consumed and produced by the metals industries were taken up in an address by R. W. Forsythe, Dow Chemi cal Co., Midland, Mich. Largest consumer of chemicals is the froth flotation process, and these uses were discussed by the speaker in some detail. Major metallic minerals being concentrated today through froth flotation were copper, lead, zinc, tin, and nickel, with gold, silver, and molyb denum as common by-products. "Collectors," either anionic or cationic, most commonly used in metal recovery are xanthates, which are anionic. They are reaction products of caustic soda or caustic potash, carbon disulfide, and an alcohol. Another major class are the dithiophosphates which are the reaction products of phosphorus pentasulfide with caustic and various phenols, alcohols, and mercaptans. Heavy dependency of the chemical in dustry upon iron and steel and corrosionresistant metals was emphasized by O. B. J. Fraser, International Nickel Co.
CAL AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
Sulphur
Thousands
of tons
mined daily, but where does
it all go?
L
O O K A R O U N D Y O U and let your glance fall on any object. The chances are 1 0 0 0 to 1 that sulphur played an important role in its manufacture, either as a component part of the finished product or as a processing element.
Take, for example, the very magazine you a r e reading. If it's average size it weighs about 1 pound. M a d e largely of sulphite pulp it required about 0.1 pounds of sulphur in its manufacture. Multiply this 0.1 pounds of sulphur by the thousands of magazines turned out every d a y a n d you'll get some idea o f the tremendous tonnage of sulphur required for this single division of industry . . . the sulphite pulp manufacture. Sulphur has long been called O n e o f the Four Pillars of Industry. Today's need emphasizes this fact more than ever. Sulphur producers are making every effort to get maximum production from existing mines and to develop new sources of sulphur as ^uickl^ as n ossib!e.
Texas Cull Sulphur Co. 75 East 45th Street, N e w York 1 7 , Ν . Υ. Mines: Newgulf a n d Moss Btuff, Texas V O L U M E
3 1,
N O . 3 9 » SEPTEMBER
2 8, 1 9 5 3
4009
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4010
C H E M I C A L
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK T h e two industries overlap considerably o n t h e production side, he said. As an example, Dow Chemical manufactures m a g n e s i u m a n d its alloys -while Union C a r b i d e p r o v i d e s various types of alloy materials. On t h e other hand, there are a number of metal companies who are engaged in the chemical business to an ex tent. T h e y are producers of acids, coal tar chemicals, m e t a l compounds, and fer tilizers. Mining Requirements for Chemicals. Opening u p of a n ore deposit and carrying it t h r o u g h ( d u r i n g its production life) calls for large Quantities of nitroglycerin, nitric a n d sulfuric· acids, and lesser amounts of other chemicals. Timber preservation for underground mining struc tures makes u s e of large quantities of zinc chloride t h e most widely used treatment for this p u r p o s e . Some formulations also contain dichromates, sodium fluoride, a n d phenol. M r . Fraser said t h a t creosote treatment of m i n e timber was not popular because of the fire h a z a r d . This is a matter of some concern i n mining circles. A satisfactory method of fireproofing mine timber would be a welcome contribution from the chemi cal industry. F i n e grinding and flotation milling call for the use of a wide variety of chemicals in considerable quantity. T h e s e include 31 promoter chemicals, 11 frothing a g e n t s , and 3 5 modifying agents. S t a n d a r d C o s t s . T h e panel discussion as t o whether standards could b e devel o p e d for chemical marketing costs took up such m a t t e r s as selling, advertising a n d promotion, order processing and transpor tation a n d ^warehousing. The panel moderator, L y m a n C. Duncan, petro chemical division, American Cyanamid, in his talk o n distribution expenses, said these could be defined roughly as total costs in volved in the selling and the physical movement of a product from the point of manufacture t o the consumer. I n the m a t t e r of appraising market pos sibilities, the speaker said that with t h e help of accountants one could approxi m a t e a m a n u f a c t u r i n g or plant cost, which is a n important factor in determining t h e possible price and t h e potential gross profit. At some stage in the process, h o w ever, before a n y n e w project can become a reality, funds must b e appropriated and therefore the project must come u p before a financial officer or, in most cases, before a finance committee. These personages develop the skeptical attitude characteristic of the banking fra ternity. The question they ask with monotonous regularity is, " W h a t is the rate of r e t u r n on the proposed investment?" An answer to this question, the moderator said, involves estimating all those intang ible costs entering into distribution ex penses. But t h e r e w e r e few reliable yard sticks w i t h w h i c h to measure such ex penses, a n d h e felt that they h a d all b e e n guilty a t times of roughly approximating t h e m by applying a percentage figure to gross sales.
V Ο LU ME
3 1,
NO.
Canadian a n d U. S. representatives of t h e AIBS panel on cooperative biological re search in the Western Hemisphere—B. B. Bayles (left), USDA, Beltsville, Md.; K. W . Neatby, director of science services, D e p a r t m e n t of Agriculture, O t t a w a ; O . S. Aamodt, chairman of t h e symposium; X i . A. Rodenheser, USDA, Beltsville; M. T . Jenkins, XJSDA, Beltsville; a n d W . F. Hanrta (standing), Department of Agriculture, O t t a w a — t a k e time out on a terrace of the Union Building at the University of Wisconsin C&EN REPORTS: American I n s t i t u t e of Biological Sciences
Progress Requires That F u n d a m e n t a l Scientists Mot Neglect Teaching P r o b l e m of penicillin sensitivity m a y b e solved with the r e c e n t l y developed Ο form of the antibiotic MADISON, W I S . - E v e r y laboratory is a potential training ground for young scien tists and fundamental scientists should not neglect their teaching responsibilities, ac cording to Ε. Β. Fred, scientist president of t h e University of Wisconsin, who wel comed the 2000 biologists meeting at the university c a m p u s here Sept- 7 to 10. Dr. Fred warned the members o f the Ameri can Institute of Biological Sciences that continued progress in science requires that the fundamental scientist m u s t also b e a teacher. With the discussion of teaeriing responsi bilities he also advocated a.n increase in the allotment of basic research contracts for the colleges a n d universi-ties at the ex pense of private research centers. Ac knowledging that the problems of develop mental and applied research are the prov ince of the industrial researoh centers, he warned against the dangers of research centers divorced from teaching. In discussing t h e distribution of govern ment research funds, D r . F r e d said that he thought increasing amounts of the basic research budgets should eitHer be alloted to the universities' or the Government's own research laboratories,
39 » SEPTEMBER
2 8,
1953
For it is the universities' job, he said, to train young scientists in the fundamentals of science and not the applications of sci entific discovery. New Developments in Antibiotics. T h e unparalleled development of t h e antibiotic industry in the United States, from a labo ratory curiosity in 1942 to a $152 million industry 10 years later, was the topic of Robert D . Coghill's address before the So ciety of Industrial Microbiology. Dr. Coghill, director of research at Abbott Labora tories, opened t h e symposium on mycological production of penicillin. H e emphasized the importance of t h e development of t h e antibiotic industry in comparison with other drug products.. To^ tal production of all antibiotics in t h e U. S, in 1952 was 1.32 million pounds, more than twice the production of all sulfa drugs and only slightly less than t h e total pro duction of aspirin w h i c h was produced at the ι ate of 1.34 million pounds. T h e fantastic g r o w t h of t h e antibiotics industry, according to Dr. Coghill, h a s probably resulted in a capital investment for production facilities of about $200 mil lion. However, h e warned that t h e future is not complacently secure for the antibiot-
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