Oct., 1915
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
THE TRUMBLE OIL REFINlNG PROCESS According t o the Petroleum W o r l d , 1915, 178, the Trumble refining process, invented by blr. M . J. Trumble and formerly owned by the Trumble Refining Company, a $ 5 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 corporation controlled by the General Petroleum Company, has been purchased by the Shell Company of California for the benefit of the Royal Dutch and Shell group. The Simplex Refining Company with a n authorized capital of $z,ooo,ooohas applied to the Commissioner of Corporations for permission to issue $I,OOO,OOO stock t o Mr. 1%‘ hleischke-Smith in exchange for the rights t o the patents covering the Trumble process for refining petroleum. Mr. W. Meischke-Smith is the California representative of the Shell interests. The Trumble process was originally financed by the General Petroleum Company which bought a half interest for $7 5,000 and assumed certain obligations t o carry on the work. The payment for this half interest was used in securing patents in seventy-two countries. The General Petroleum Company was unable to fulfill the obligations toward the Trumble Company and finally consented to turn over its interests t o the Royal Dutch and Shell. The Trumble process thereupon sold for $I,OOO,OOO of which $ 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 has been paid and $IOO,OOO is withheld pending the final action on certain patent applications. Of this sum the General Petroleum Company receive one-half, less $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 owing t o the Trumble concern. I n other words, the General Petroleum Company has received $400,000 in cash for a n investment of $jj,OOO, and will receive another $jo,ooo upon the completion of the deal. I n addition the General Petroleum retains the right to use the process in the state of California. The special feature of the Trumble system is the tall towTer-like still, in contrast t o the usual horizontal still. It is claimed that this keeps the oil longer in contact with the heating surface and prevents the vapor from recondensing and falling in drops back into the oil that is being evaporated-A.
METAL CLOTHS AND FELTS FOR SWEDEN The Paper Maker (V. L. No. I ) states t h a t Swedish paper mills are getting uneasy with reference t o their supplies of machine wires and other metal cloths. Even in ordinary times the Swedish industry could not entirely meet the requirements of the domestic market in these articles, particularly in certain widths and finer numbers, while a t present the prohibition of exports from Germany and England interferes with trade. Some wires, it is remarked, might be imported from England under guarantee of not being re-exported to Germany. were the British wire works not so busy for the home market to replace the imports from Germany before the war. It has been suggested for the Swedish metal works t o make paper wires from phosphor bronze, b u t doubts have been expressed as t o the sufficiency of the demand t o absorb such production. Wool suitable for paper felts is reported scarce in Sweden, while German and English felts cannot a t present be obtained.--A.
889
it.
At present the capacity of the Anyox smelter is about tons per day. I n addition to these smelters, there are exceedingly important copper smelters a t Trail and Greenwood, B. C., each with big outputs and both actively employed, and also well-equipped smelters at Ladysmith, B. C., and one or two other points in the province which it is proposed t o put again into blast as soon as a steady tonnage of “customs” ore can be relied upon from the numerous copper properties awaiting or under development. The Pacific Coast province of the Dominion could probably keep going on with its own ores a zinc and copper refinery established at or near the coast, and would also draw some custom from the adjacent States of the United States. Unfortunately the zinc ores of Canada are usually highly refractory, but it is believed that, as the result of the attention paid to their reduction by the Dominion Department of Mines, a satisfactory solution of a difficult problem has been found. It is also noteworthy that early in 1914it was stated before the Vancouver Chamber of Mines by Mr. J. C. Nettel that the oldfashioned Swansea method applied to the British Columbian zinc ores would result in a satisfactory reduction of such ores. The “Coast” district of British Columbia, as well as some of the internal districts, are exfremely rich in copper and zinc ores, and coal for coking purposes is also abundant and near a t hand. It would not be surprising, therefore, if the proposed refinery were established near the coast of British Columbia.-A. 2,500
STORAGE OF CALCIUM CYANAMIDE According to the Chemical Trade Journal, p. 1475 ( 1 9 1 5 ) , manufacturers of cyanamide have adopted the practice of treating it with mineral oil, which surrounds the particles with a n oily film, and diminishes the loss of nitrogen which it undergoes when stored. Burgess and Edwardes-Ker have conducted experiments on this treated material, in order to determine the part played respectively by moisture and carbon dioxide in causing these losses of nitrogen. Weighed samples of cyanamide were exposed under various conditions and their nitrogen content tested from time t o time, with the following results: Nitrogen test per day Conditions under which sample No. of days Parts per 100 of stored original weight was stored 1 In the open air 25 0.0776 2 In moist air free from CO1.. . . , . , . . . . , . . 28 0.0077 3 In dry air containing excess of COz.. . . . . . . 2 5 0.0113
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.
0.025
5
In a corked bottle
0.0
While the sample exposed t o the air had lost nitrogen a t the rate of 0.07 per cent per day, the losses when the fertilizer was exposed in a closed vessel to the action of moist air, to that of carbon dioxide, or to t h a t of the combined effect of both of these factors, were always much smaller, showing that neither of the factors could be held responsible for the losses of nitrogen; nevertheless, as the nitrogen content of the sample kept out of contact with the air, in the corked bottle, underwent no change, i t would appear that some atmospheric agent, other than moisture or carbon dioxide, must be the cause of the nitrogen losses.-A.
COPPER SMELTING IN CANADA Arrangements have been completed for the refinement in Canada of Canadian-produced copper and zinc. The London Times Engineering Supplement, p. 490 ( 1 9 1 5). remarks that the coppersmelting industry of the Dominion is so great as long ago to have warranted the establishment of the necessary plant lor refining the metal within the Dominion, instead of sending it across the border into the United States. Apart from the importance of the copper industry in Ontario, it may not be generally known t h a t the Granby Smelter a t Grand Forks, British Columbia, is claimed t o be the largest copper smelter within the British Empire. It has a capacity of j,ooo tons of ore per day; but a new plant erected a t Anyox, B C., by the same company is intended to equal this capacity if not to exceed
DEVELOPMENT OF A TAR SAND REGION The Petroleum World, p. 179 ( 1 9 1 5 ) , mentions that i t is announced by representatives of Mr. D. A. Thomas, the Welsh coal magnate, acting for the Athabasca and Fort Vermilion Railway, t h a t a survey will shortly begin at Athabasca preliminary to actual construction of 300 miles of railway between the two points named. Mr. Thomas has spent considerable money in prospecting the region along the big waterways north of Edmonton and believes that coal is plentiful; the railway, when completed, will also facilitate to some extent development of the oil possibilities of the region north of Edmonton. It is in this area that the famous and extensive “tar sands” are found.-A.
