October, 1924
I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
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Some High Lights of the Past Year A Review By 19
D. H.
EAST24TH ST., N E W YORK,N. Y .
NTENSELY keen competition between American chemical manufacturers in supplying domestic consumers with their requirements left them little energy for pioneering during the first nine months of 1924. It is true that the present tariff had been in force long enough to bring no particularly new elements of foreign competition or lack of it into the situation, and it is also true that the year 1923 had been generally prosperous for the industry. Hence, as might be expected, the effort put forth during 1924 has been directed along essentially commercial lines. New discoveries of great importance are lacking, but in their stead we find the commercialization of recently perfected processes going forward rapidly and new data finding application. The period may justly be characterized as one of development rather than of originality. The effect of foreign affairs on the chemical industry has been less in 1924 than in any year since 1914. Although neither the rehabilitation of Europe nor the final settlement of the German reparations problem has been accomplished, yet the stabilization of the German mark on a gold basis has rendered much more accountable the value of goods which might be imported to this country or which might compete with our goods in the export markets. This has increased the security of the chemical industry, but it has suffered, as has all other American industry, from the general inactivity of domestic markets. Few plants have been forced t o suspend operations completely, yet with few exceptions all have been running under capacity. This situation has been particularly evident during the summer months, but the revival of buying, a characteristic of autumn, is expected t o bring a return to normal business. Already the trend of prices i:r upward and there is reason to believe that this will continue. A number of explanations have been put forward by eco~iomiststo explain the apparent lack of confidence which developed throughout business early in 1924. It was not to be explained by foreign conditions and, so far as agreement could be said to exist, apprehension regarding a further conflict between political and business interests, together with dissatisfaction with what Congress has done or has failed to do, depending upon the point of view, seemed to be the cause. Widespread economic distress among agriculturists and stockmen characterized the early part. of the year and no doubt -was largely responsible for a part of our difficulty. But with the coming of harvest a sharp advance in the prices of most farm products gave almost immediate relief and brought a rapid improvement in most markets. The trend of political affairs in the United States always has an industrial bearing. At the beginning of 1924 this country found itself industrially entrenched behind a protective tariff which has proved effective and which contains provisions allowing for flexibility of rates to cope with changes in economic conditions. It is interesting to know that only once, in the case of sodium nitrite, has this flexibility provision been applied. With the protection afforded, together with continued unsettled conditions in many of the chemical centers of the continent, the American dyestuff industry has developed in as satisfactory a manner as other factors would permit. Our chemical industry has actually begun and
I
Killeffer
should fairly be said to have been protected from foreign competition, which under pre-war conditions would have been ruinous.
PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY An outstanding event of 1924 has been the stabilization, standardization, and distribution of insulin. The original discovery of insulin was an achievement considered worthy of the Nobel Prize; yet the full value of this work could not have been realized but for the rapid commercial development that followed. It is a long step from a costly treatment which can be entrusted only to a few specially trained physicians to one that is cheap enough to be generally available and safe enough for application by the patient himself under proper direction. Yet this gap has been bridged in the case of insulin in little more than twelve months. At first clinics were established in important centers for the administration of a material tediously prepared in the laboratory. Here were gathered some of our best physicians, who sought and found safe means of application and who after repeated trials and extensive observation proved beyond doubt the usefulness of the treatment. Meanwhile in the laboratories, where at first small amounts of costly material were produced, chemists and biologists developed ways to prepare, to concentrate, and to stabilize the material on a large and economical scale, Progressive manufacturers brought their facilities to bear upon the problem and deserve much of the credit for the widespread use of this beneficial glandular material. One of those identified with the discovery of insulin a t one time doubted the possibility of using it in the *majorityof cases, for he could not foresee the possibility of so concentrating and stabilizing the material that sufficient doses could be given as required or the material made available at great distances from the laboratory. Both these difficulties have been overcome and the achievement is worthy of special note. In discussing insulin and its development, a statement made in July of this year by one of the large insurance companies may be of interest: For a year and a half the death rate from diabetes has been declining, reversing the tendency of the four previous years during which the rate rose uninterruptedly. The change in tendency has been coincident with the increasing use of insulin. At the present time, the rate is falling faster than ever as, apparently, the use of insulin is becoming more general. Certainly, the figures today justify the hope that the two phenomena are connected, even though there is no positive proof, as yet, that the reduction is a direct result of the increased use of this preparation.
Work on other glandular products has been proceeding apace during 1924, but in no other case has there been so marked a development as in that cited. The work on pituitrin, on organic mercury compounds, and on related medicaments has been discussed in other issues of THISJOURNAL.
VITAMINS The announcement of a method for the isolation of Bios, or vitamin D, in a crystalline form from yeast marked the 1
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.,N. Y . , SlalistzcaJ BuZlefin,July, 1924.
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INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
fist great success in the isolation of the vitamins and may lead to their early identification. With the increasing evidence of the importance of vitamins in nutrition, their isolation and identification, which may even lead to their synthesis, may be anticipated. Fortunately, the average American has available the necessary vitamins in his mixed diet, but there are instances where the availability of vitamin A, for example, in concentrated form and a t a price making application feasible is desirable. The reconstitution of a milk from dry skim milk and a neutral fat to which such a material could be added is an example. CHLORINE CLINICS From time to time isolated observers and the Chemical Warfare Service have conducted experiments with the use of chlorine inhalations for the treatment of colds and other diseases of the respiratory system. Early in 1924 these treatments progressed to a stage of more general application and several clinics were established. Even the President of the United States submitted to this treatment. Although sufficient data have not yet been collected to justify predictions, many believe that this is but the beginning of new methods in combatting colds, in themselves often serious besides being the forerunner of various complications.
IODINE The use of iodine and its compounds in the treatment and prevention of goiter has now progressed beyond the purely experimental stage and has reached the point where the utility of this element for the purpose is no longer disputed. At least one city, Rochester, N. Y., adopted a plan of adding a t regular intervals a quantity of iodine compounds to the domestic water supply, and various iodine-bearing materials have become established upon the market.
ETHYLENE PUTTO WORK Ethylene has been used as an anesthetic during the past year, with apparent success. However, in one unfortunate instance, its explosibility was apparently neglected, with fatal results. It is interesting to note that the anesthetic properties of ethylene were discovered through observations of so-called “sniffers” who became intoxicated by sniffing a t leaks in natural gas mains. Ethylene is being largely exploited as a substitute for acetylene for use with oxygen in torches for cutting metal. For this use it appears to be somewhat more economical to transport than acetylene and nearly as efficient in operation. It is also finding application in the citrus industryfor artificially coloring varieties of fruit which even when ripe do not have the color desired by the market. COLLOIDAL CHEMISTRY Colloidal chemistry, a field in which an increasing number of specialists are to be found, has received a great impetus during 1924-first through the Second Colloid Symposium, and second through plans to establish a National Colloid Institute. The Second Colloid Symposium brought together a number of informative papers soon to be published by the Chemical Catalog Company, of New York. That such symposia can have great influence upon the trend of scientific work is demonstrated by the movement to found and endow an institute to be devoted wholly to the solution of the countless problems presented by colloids and their application to the problems of chemistry and medicine. The relation of colloidal chemistry to those things with which the laity comes into daily contact may be expected to win
Vol. 16, No. 10
the financial support necessary to make the institute a reality, and the encouragement already received indicates to what a great extent. the appreciation of research is spreading throughout America. NITROGEN Interest has been focused on the nitrate question-fist, through the survey of the Department of Commerce; second, through the success of the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory’s research; and third, because of the political significance which has become attached to the disposal of Muscle Shoals. Beginning work in 1923, the Department of Commerce has now issued the first four parts of its report on the nitrogen survey and the remaining part is in preparation. This world-wide survey has made available in finished form a n extensive mass of data which will be important in determining the future policy of the United States in regard to this necessary element. In the fist part a general survey of the Chilean nitrate industry was made, with particular reference to determining the quantity of supplies and the lowest price a t which natural nitrate can be furnished to American consumers under conditions of maximum efficiency or production and minimum charge and profit. The investigators found no reason to anticipate any shortage of raw material and, while there is little reason to anticipate any considerable or general reduction in cost in the immediate future, it was evident that a material reduction could be made and doubtless would be made before the industry would be allowed to disappear. Mining appears to be as economical as Chilean conditions permit, but there is opportunity for improvement in the treatment of the caliche and something might be gained from larger operations a t centralized plants. The largest element in production, however, is a flexible one-an export tax from which the Chilean Government derives the larger part of its income. The investigators believe that “in considering the price a t which Chilean nitrate may come to b e sold ex-ship in United States ports, account must be taken of a possible price as low as $30 for periods depending as ta length upon exchange and marine rates. For a long period a higher price, of the order of $35 per ton, may be taken.” However, the whole situation depends largely upon the competition of nitrates from other sources. The second part of the report deals with the nitrogen situation in the United States, and emphasis has purposely been throun upon the agricultural phase of the problem. This report gives in some detail statistics relative to the utilization and requirements of nitrogen for agricultural purposes and then devotes careful consideration to the nitrogen from coal, fixed nitrogen from animal and vegetable sources, the air-nitrogen industry in the United States, the place of Chilean nitrate in the American problem, and the nitrogen requirenzents of our .military establishments. The third part of the survey report discusses the various air-nitrogen processes, including the arc, cyanamide, direct synthetic ammonia, and miscellaneous nitrogen-fixing processes. The interrelation of these processes and products is given attention, The estimated production of nitrogen by the arc, cyanamide, and synthetic ammonia processes is estimated as follows: Metric tons 10,000 55,000 375,000 455,000 496,000
Year 1910 1913
1917 1920 1923
The fourth part of this important work-namely, the relation of European conditions to the nitrogen problem in America-discusses the probable result of increased competition,
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in Europe between synthetic nitrates and Chilean nitrates upon the American market for the South American product.. The rapid growth of the fixed nit.rogen processes in Europe, with the announcement by some of the manufacturers that they are prepared to meet any and all demands for their products, cert.ainly tends to eliminate many of the compet.itors for the Chilean production and to change the market from a seller’s market, which it has been almost from thc birth of the industry, t,o a buyer’s market in the near future. The Department of Commerce is to he congratulated upon this work and also upon its decision to issue as the fifth part of the report a well-indexed bibliography of world literature on nitrogen. This will contain about ten or twelve thousand references and will be invaluable to the increasing number of those concerned with fixed nitrogen. The outstanding commercial development of the year has been the completion of the Rrunner-Mond plant in England where, according to report, 25 tons of fixed nitrogen is the daily production. The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory announced early in the year the perfection of a synthetic ammonia catalyst having an efficiency nearly twice that of previous catalysts. With 70,per cent of the cost of synthetic ammonia chargeable to the preparation and necessary purification of gases largely because of the characteristics of the cat,alyst, the value of the reported achievement is obvious. The perfection of a catalyst giving a high yicld, and yet rugged and less susceptible t.o poisoning by moisture or carbon compounds, is one of the problems in this industry. Other projects in the research program of t,lie laboratory have made substantial progress, and it has become recognized that whatever policy may be followed with regard to Muscle Shoals or other nitrogen fixation enterprises in the United St,ates, the Fixed Nitrogen Rosearch Laboratory must be maintained and conducted at high efficiency. Muscle Shoals, fundamentally a unit in our national defense, has heen made something of a political football. It is hoped that the quest.ion may be settled during the short term of Congress to convene in December. Lengthy hearings have been held and various offers more or less seriously considercd, although the Ford offer has been the center of interest. The national interest still demands that in the use or disposal of Muscle Shoals provision must be made to safeguard the original purpose of the development. The project was conceived because nitrogen compounds are important in both peace and war, and was developed to its present state t o supplement the supply of Chilean nitrates in a war emergency. There is now an insistent public demand that the installation play a part in p r o ~ d i n gfertilizers. However, those interested in the purchnse or lease of the
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nitrate plants made statements which are believed to be overdrawn, both as regards the power available and t.he part that the operation of the plant will play in fertilizer manufacture. There seems nothing to justify the popular belief that the operation of existing plants at Muscle Shoals will make substantially cheaper fertilizer immediately available. Nitrogen is the most expensive of the three basic ingredients of commercial fertilizers, and any material reduction in its cost is important, especially where it. is used in high concentrations, Rnt the cost of nitrate at the fertilizer factory is, after all, a small part of the price paid by the consumer for the average mixed fertilizer, so there may be a wide variation in the cost of nitrate without having a large effect on the retail price of commercial mixed f e r t i l i z e r s . T h e existing plants a t Muscle Shoals consist of No. 1, constructed as an experimental plant to operate on the synthetic ammonia process and having a rated capacity of 8000 tons of fixed nitrogen annually, and No. 2, based upon the cyanamide process and having 8. rated annual capacity of 40,000 tons of fixed nitrogen. No. 1 was not satisfactory in operation, but the experience gained led to the erection of America’s first successful commercial plant. No. 2 is complete and trial runs indicate that it can operate a t capacity, which is about 20 per cent of :lie country’s present agricultural uses. However, the progress of scientific work since the completion of Plant No. 2 has rendered the cyanamide process, the only one upon which it can operate without unprofitable rebuilding, commercially obsolete for the manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizer. The trend is steadily away from large power requirements and toward more strictly chemical processes. Furthermore, electric power, required in large blocks for the cyanamide process, is a factor of importance in the synthetic ammonia process only when it can be had cheaply enough to be used for the electrolytic production of hydrogen. While if given power at a sufficiently low rate the prescnt plant a t Muscle Shoals might possibly be adapted to produce a variety of fertilizers on a commercial scale, the demand for power for other industrial u w s would Seem to render unlikely the realization of necessarily low power costs. If the nitrate plants should be leased for fertilizer production, we should face a long period of education before our methods of using fertilizersiiould be changed t o the application of so-called concentrated materials. American methods of agriculture differ materially froin those practiced abroad and there is a considerable step to be taken in practice, first from the familiar fcrt,ilizer of today t,o those termed “concentrated” by manufacturers and carrying, say, 15 to 18 per cent of plant food, and then on to a really concent,rat,edmaterial which might contain 50 per cent or more of plant food.
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INDUSTRIAL A.VD E..\TCIXEERING C H E MISTBY OCHERFERTILIZER DEYGLOPMEXTS
A discussion of po\w utilization in fertilizer nianufacturc also inrolves thr production of plrosplloric acid by eleciric or fnel-fired furnace methods direct from ptiosphntc rock. The gre%test.production of pla~splioricac5d by these processes has thus far been electrotlit:rmal, the acid being used in various foods. Encouraged by this sue hare heen c.ontinued, not only with ele:!tric furnaces, hiit with fuel-fired equipment, in the hope that cost,s may be so reduced as to makc pliosphorir acid aviiilahle for direct combination witli arnmoniti, the ammrxiium phosphate then being available as a plant, food of high concentrat,iun. This past season should be noted as the first since tlie war in which Arneri~an-prod~r~~.e~l potash has had serious consideration at the hands of the fertilizer concerns. At tlie t,ime contracts were made for the 1Y23 season, in the fall of 1923, the quantity of pot,asb to be produced in America was deducted from the total requirements of the country and orders were placed in Europc only for that required in excess of domest,ic manufacture. This satisfactory state of affairs was bhe result of improvements in domestic manufacture aiid the production of a pot,ash found t,o be of high quality and purity. M O T O R FUEL
.
The supplly of fuel for tlie ever-increasing number of automobiles becomes a more serious problem as known reserves of petroleum are drawxi upon. Three methods of attack on the motor fuel problem lrave yielded fruitful results within tlie period under discussion. Gasoline production has been inmcased by two methods and conservation through more efficierrt utilization beegun. Cracking processes are being improved and yields from crude oil gradually increased. While various new methods are being introduced, there is coming to he general appreciation that after all what is seriously needed is more fundamentnl research upoii petroleum itself. It, seenrs certain tliat. Tvit,li additional dltta in liaiid upin t,he factors involved in the prodiictiiin of motor fuel from petroleum, great improvonient,s could he made w c r the best methods of tlie day. An important source of gmoline is tliat ohtained from natural gas, s o m e t i m e s called casinghead or iiatural gasoline. Tlie usual process of recovery consists in compression a.nd absorption of the gasoline COIIstibuents in a pctroleum oil of liigiier boiling point. In o. few plants absorption in a special cliarao:~l is employed. Subsequently the volntile hydrocarbons are distilled ont of the solvent arid condensed or removed from the absorbent charcoal, the result hciiig a gasoliire of very Iiigli vqmr pressure. This is due t o ihe dissolved permarrent gases, siicli as methane, ethane, arid prop:tne, and l.hese must he remo\.eil t o i n s u r e s a f e t y i n Bnndling. Formerly dhis gasoline was allowed to weather-that is, to stand in a tank provided wit,h R safety valve set at the required vapor pressure. This allowed t,he dissolved gases to mcupe, but they carried with them considerable quantities of valuable
VI11
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liyrlrocarl~ons. This waste has now heen largely stopped by the introductiiiii of an cEcient wintinnous coluintr still designed after a careful study of the 1iydr11corl:onsinvolved. Tliis permits the fractionation of methane, ethane, and propane \vit,liout great loss of the higher members of the series. T l i e pc:reentage samd by this method when applied to the entire prtxlnttion of cnsinghcad gasoline, wliich runs into t,lie hundreds of millioris of galloris, will eqnal the total 11r8went proririctiorr iii this country of all gasoliiie substibutes. Conservatiirn tbrougli increased efficieucy in tlie utilizatiou of gasoline involves the use of niltiknock compounds and with tlicm of higher compression motors. Reports of
work on t,liis subject and the results acliieved in treading gasoline to prevent knocking of the motor under load and under high compressionmereannounced in Tim J o u n ~ some a~ time ago, but initial steps in commercial development and the use of aniiknock cornpounds over a wide area have come about during the period under consideration. One of tlicse treatments consists in adding to the gasoline as used a comparatively small amount. of a solution of tetrLiPthyl lead. The use of this niaterial by thousands of motorists should demoxistrat,e something of tlie grea,ter efficiency claimed in the operation of esisting gasoline motors and hasten thc use of motors operating at considerably higher compressioirs and with greater economy. For our present purposes, the most interesting feature of the commercial introduction of this inaterial has been its effect on a field apparently widely removed from it. In tlie manufacture of tetraethyl lead, bromine compounds are used; and in the finished produce ready for application, bromine compounds appear. The produetioil of such a material on the enormous scale required by automobilists lias resulted in a serious disiurbasice of the market for bromine and for bromides. Such a load placed suddenly upon an industry whose market previously had consisted of a limited demand ior bromides for medicina1 purposes, a compartitivdy steady demand for pliotograpliic purposes, and iniscellant?aus smaller demands elsewhere, i m r n e d i a t e l v absorhed the dielit domestic surplus production and iorccd prices to advance. The situation calls for research I I ~ O I I other methods involving substiiutes for bromine or means of recovering the larger part of this reagent in the cours~of manufacture. Ttnis far progrr:ss has heen made, hot tlie god not acliiered. Severtliclcss, there appears t o be aii inimiis:: iir the permanent demand for lwomiiic v+iicli will necessitate either a mnrked ineremi? in domestic production or impor%ationof consideriible quaiitities, ~
&AlVtL
GLASS
Several years ago we were iiitrodiiced to both dear and opaque fused quarto offered as substilutes for plsiinmri and other hhoratory devices, but it lias rernained for 19% to rive us clear fused quarts in varioiis shai’es and sizes at a price to enlarge greatly its field of applieation. The ralue of tlir productiom lies chiefly in its transp;treney to ultra-violet light and low coefficient of thermal expansion. The availability of such quartz for large lenses for disks having a size and a horno-
October, 1924
I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
geneity satisfactory for lens purposes offers a new tool for research, while rods and plates are already in demand for a variety of scientific instruments and industrial applications.
LIQUIDCHLORINE us. BLEACHING POWDER In inorganic chemistry an interesting development has been the increasing use of liquid chlorine to replace bleaching powder. The difficulties that formerly hampered the shipment of liquid chlorine for any considerable distance from the point of manufacture made it impossible for this material to compete successfully with bleaching powder where any considerable freight haul was involved. However, bleaching powder of standard strength contains only 35 to 37 per cent available chlorine a t the time of manufacture, the remaining 65 to 63 per cent being lime and calcium salts incidental to the manufacturing process. The mere mixing of ordinary hydrated lime, obtainable in almost any locality a t very low prices, and chlorine produces a bleaching powder that is perfectly serviceable. However, as long as it was necessary to pay freight on the extremely heavy cylinders in which the chlorine was shipped, there was very little choice between the two and the slight advantage lay with the bleaching powder, in spite of its tendency to decompose on storage. A tank car was then developed for handling liquid chlorine, built after the usual style with a single large tank, and thus freight charges were reduced for large consumers. The disadvantages of this arrangement soon became apparent, for it was necessary either to empty'the car immediately or to pay demurrage on it, in either case inconvenient or expensive; moreover, the danger of damage to the car in transit and of resulting fatalities was a serious factor. The next step in t,he development, and the one which gives the chlorine shipper the advantage, consisted in building a tank car of multiple small units which were readily removable. [n this way a consumer of chlorine receiving a car simply removed the full tanks to his warehouse, replaced them with empties, and returned the car complete to the shipper. The advantage here lies in the fact that railroads charge no freight on the transportation of cars, of which the cylinders are a part, either going loaded or returning empty. In this way the consumer of chlorine receives his material in units small enough for convenient use, but pays freight only on chlorine. This development became serious in the market early in 1924 and brought on a price war between makers of chlorine and bleaching powder which for a time threatened extermination of the latter. However, an apparently equable agreement was finally reached, and business is proceeding with the advantage apparently on the side of the chlorine sellers.
DOMESTIC MENTHOL Synthetic menthol and menthol prepared from domestic peppermint oil appeared for the first time in the American markel! during 1924. The situation that made possible the appearance of these products goes back to the Japanese earthquake of a year ago. As Japan has been our chief dependence as a source of this material, the disturbance of conditions there caused a sharp rise in price which was naturally reflected in the market here. At that time one of the large Japanese exporters sold large quantities of menthol for delivery this year a t a price considerably below the market, hoping to cover himself by later purchases. Whether it came about through the operation of natural economic causes or through a speculative corner of the market secured by rival Japanese firms in an effort to bankrupt the short seller, is beyond the present discussion; but nevertheless prices remained high, so high in fact that domestic growers of pep-
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permint oil found it profitable to freeze out the menthol in their oil before marketing it. Similar causes enabled English manufacturers to put on the American market a synthetic menthol, said to be inferior to either the Japanese or the American natural product but still serviceable.
ARTIFICIAL SILK Artificial silk production in this country has been increasing rapidly and production is still behind demand. There has been marketed during the year a product composed of artificial silk in sheet form to replace paper for wrapping products subject to evaporation and deterioration, such as scented soaps and cosmetics. One vital problem of this ifidustry remains to be successfully solved. It has so far been impossible to produce an artificial fiber of either the fineness or the strength of natural silk. This may be accomplished when more is known concerning the cellulose molecule, for
OF CONNECTING U N I T TANK$ CHLORINE TANKC A R , SHOWING METHOD TO A C O M M O N H E A D E R . ANY OR ALL OF THE S M A L L TANKSMAY BF$ REMOVEDINDIVIDUALLY FOR STORAGE UNTIL IVEEDED
with such information many of the empirical steps in the artificial silk process may be reduced to scientific procedure. Perhaps the weaving of sheer fabrics for which the finer fibers are essential may be accomplished with the help of sizing and finishing materials, but that is also a field for future development. Meanwhile, the producers of natural silk report applications of chemistry in the use of chloropicrin rather than steam for the treatment of cocoons and an effort to improve silk culture by scientific methods in the selection and cultivation of the silkworm.
XITROCELLULOSE LACQUERS A new lacquer finish to replace oil varnishes, which consists of a greatly improved nitrocellulose solution, made its appearance in 1924. The problem involved was that of dissolving a sufficient amount of nitrocellulose in the solvent to cover properly without unduly increasing the viscosity of the product. While this problem appears to have been solved, it is understood that still further improvements are soon to be announced. On account of its quick drying properties, the use of this lacquer has resulted in a considerable reduction in the time required for applying the necessary finish to automobile parts. The effect of this innovation can be noted in the way it has been emphasized by the manufacturers of automobiles who have used it on their more recent models. Another interesting feature of this
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development has been the alarm as to the future expressed by varnish makers generally through their insistent calls during the year for employees having experience with nitrocellulose lacquers.
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plantations which would soon rival the present cultivated areas in the Far East. Fortunately, the attitude of the various republics in South and Central America toward the Department of Commerce investigators was one of extreme cordiality and a desire to assist, and where existing laws MERCURY VAPORBOILER appeared to be in the way careful consideration was given to During the period under discussion the first commercial the possibility of enacting laws that would encourage the application of mercury vapor to power purposes in America establishment of any process of great magnitude. From the has been announced.. The standpoint of transportation, plan upon which this operlabor supply, and governates consists in the boiling of mental cooperation, it would mercury, the use of the vapor seem that in the Western u n d e r . comparatively low Hemisphere are to be found pressures to drive a turbine, favorable opportunities for and the use of the heat in American industry to engage the turbine exhaust to proupon rubber production. duce steam. The scheme The introduction of rubber has been in operation suflatex preserved by ammonia ficiently long to demonstrate and used in place of rubber a much more efficient,utilizasolutions for many industries tion of heat from fuel than or dried by spraying has had the usual superheated steam further development during installation. 1924. I n rubber products the wide adoption of soSYNTHETIC PHENOL called balloon type tires has Phenol synthesis has again been an innovation which been put into domestic prospeaks well for progress not duction following the disonly in rubber compounding m a n t l e m e n t of war-time but in the production of plants, the exhaustion of surtire fabric and in tire design. plus stocks from their operThe changes in the comation, and the increasing depounding of rubber have been mands of the radio industry very gradual and it is diffifor p h e n o l f o r m a l d e h y d e cult to trace the development resins. as distinguished from the natural developments in rubRUBBERDEVELOPMENTS ber compounding in the last Another activity of the Defew years. Soft rubber vulMERCURY VAPORB O I L ~ R partment of Commerce initicanized a t lower temperatures ated in 1923and reported in 1924 is the investigation of the rub- and for shorter times has been the recent trend and the change ber situation. This was begun following the passage of re- from high-pressure to low-pressure tires involves mechanical strictive laws by Great Britain in November, 1922, when it was rather than extensive chemical changes. realized that, while America is the world’s greatest conCHEMICAL POLICE WEAPONS sumer of crude rubber, she has thus far been wholly a t the mercy of foreign countries as regards her supplies. The The activities of the Chemical Warfare Service during the Department of Commerce organized a number of investigating parties, which visited the various rubber-growing coun- year have resulted in placing a nontoxic tear gas a t the distries of the world as well as those areas in which it is believed posal of police departments throughout the country for the there might be favorable opportunities for the cultivation dispersal of mobs. Its action is immediate and efficient, of rubber under American auspices. It has been reported yet it results in no permanent injury to the subjects. I n that the Philippines and parts of South and Central America addition to this and experiments leading to the use of chlorine provide regions where the soil and climate are suitable for for treating colds, previously mentioned, this important rubber plantations of the best type over practically unlimited organization has been conducting important researches on areas. There are economic and legislative factors which the use of toxic gases for the control of insect pests and toxic must be carefully considered, however, before plantation compounds for the protection of marine structure. Many projects could be started to compete with the large areas new types of gas masks for industrial uses, as well as several now under cultivation in the Far East, where 95 per cent of new types of smoke screens for war uses, have been devised, the world’s output is now produced. At the present time and studies of the effects of various toxic gases have been American capital invested in the East is estimated a t $32,000,- fruitful of results of value for war use. During the past year, toxic gas was used for the first time 000, whereas Great Britain has $489,000,000, Holland $130,000,000, Japan $40,000,000, France and Belgium $27,000,000, in the execution of a criminal. Another interesting application of chemical warfare methods was the unsuccessful effort and other European countries $47,000,000 invested. to force a n adjournment of the Rhode Island legislature by I n the Philippines the uncertainty of the present political releasing in its chamber quantities of bromine. situation and the lack of encouragement toward the introduction of large American or other investments seem to disTANTALUM DEVELOPNENTS courage great rubber developments in the islands. The Tantalum, until recently a curiosity among metals, has aggregate area of desirable land in tropieal America, however, is believed to be sufficient for the development of rubber found wide application in chemical rectifiers for charging
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IiVDDCSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
storage batteries from alternating current supply lines. Tantalum rectifiers are being used by the great army of radio enthusiasts throughout the country. During the summer several methods of applying alternating current directiy to the operation of vacuum tubes used in hroadcast receivers were a.nnounced, hut the practical application of such devices is handicapped by the fact t,hat the storage batteryrectifier system is already so well established. Thc valuable property of tantalum, to permit the passage of current through a solution from a n electrode of tantalum to one of another metal in one direction only, has made its use for rectifiers .entirely practicable.
1001
Possibly a few who have purchased such degrees have heen gullible enough to believe themselves to be equally qualified with the holders of earned diplomas, hut as has been pointed out previously, the proof of fraud in such eases is difficult, since he who purchases the diploma is perhaps t,he one who practices deceit rather t,han those who offer them for sale. Out of the whole experience comes the definite conviction that we need througliout ihe states uniform laws governing the granting of charters to schools with powers to give degrees, particularly in those fields such as medicine where human life and happiness are so directly affected.
A FEWDEVELOPMENTS OF QUESTIONABLE MERIT
It is interesting to note the increasing use of such words as “industrial,” “research,” “engineering,” and “scientific” in the names of firms formed for all sorts of purposes. Certainly it is manifest that the general public is acquiring a greater appreciation of the thin@ with which these words are ordinarily connect.ed, when every new charlatan adopts one or more of them as part of his firm’s name or the name of his product. We cannot help being aintised a t such efforts. We have become accustomed to think of cosmetics and the like as “achievements of engineering chemistry,” but it is carrying things rather far when we hear of an “industrial engineering research” organizat.ion formed for the purpose of markcbing an adhesive tape to replace the druggist’s hall of twine! Some of the more palpable fakes which have come to light during the year cannot he uninteresting. One of the most glaring of t,hese was a perfume, sold under a name which might be paraphrased “Prince Bait,” and said absolutely to attract t.o any woman as many beaux as she might wish. It appears that the stuff-an extremely cheap perfume built upon a synthetic musk-sandalwood base-was to be applied to the lady’s person in the proper grade to attract the kind uf men she most desired, blond, brunette, or what not, and that results would follow forthwith. The growth of diploma mills in various sections of the country suffered something of a check during 1924, when the laxity of laws governing the granting of charters to schools as well as those concerning the licensing of physicians was brought prominently to the fore. These investigation9 have not ceased and already mucli good has been accomplished.
DIACXAX os MERCVZYH O I L ~ R
Following t,he widespread discussion of carbon monoxide in exhaust, gases from internal combustion engines, there was foisted upon an unsuspect,ing public a prepmadion for spraying on garage walls which was supposed to do away entirely -mith any danger from this source. I n the meantime, despite occasional frauds, the Americarr public is corning more and more to appreciate the important place occupied by the chemist and his industry in the national economy. Research is being more freely endowed, and its constant results arc rendering existence easier every year. Certainly, there is much of which our nation may he proud in the work of its scientists.
Gorin Addresses Ilye Manufacturers Ncw York City, stated that the Chetnical Warfare Service in on;
the luyman, a study of the trend of
thk wozd-wide de;elopment
warfarc manufacturing potential is two to one over our present lncilitics. Germany does not possess an Edgewood Arsenal, with stand-by eouiument and active combat tmons such as we
color markets. A CIIISOTY glincc at Germany’s dye export stalistics paints this picture very clearly, in that in 1913 she ex-
ported ncarly 240 million pounds of color, xrhile in 1923 her loreign sales amounted t o less than 74 million. The United States dye industry stands today second only to Germany in chcmical warfare strength. England is ncat and is followed at some distance by Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan, and Czechoslovakia, in the order named. It is of interest to know that Japan’s pi-csent chemical warfare potential is lcss than one-filth that of the United States, whereas Russia and Spain have establislied chrmicai wariare units in theirariniesalllioiigb this fact is only worthy of passing notice because, in the abseiice of anywhfrc near self-iuflicicnt dye and chemical industries, they are not in thc same category with the other world DOWPTS. Regret was eapressca that thc great good f i r the country which has resulted from the Tariff Act of Scptcm!xr 22. I W L , is not inorc i.eiierallv kiiowii. Tlic iiidnstrv has kent faith with Coiirress and tlie uronle, as indicated by the census statistics for
ixing second only to-Germiny in cliernicd warfar; strcngth. When this accomplishment. nhich is the rcsult of eight years’ effort, is comparcti with a fifty-year period of Gcrmandevclopment, it is little short of astounding.
