(normal and iso-) and mineral spirits. Under the present proposed rule hexane is exempt below 125° F.; mineral spirits is nonexempt because it usually contains branched paraffins or aromatics in nonexempt concentrations. The next most widely used solvents are the aromatic hydrocarbons, xylene (mixed isomers) and toluene, both nonexempt. Third are the alcohols, which are exempt below 125° F. Also used in large amounts are the halogenated hydrocarbons trichloroethylene (nonexempt) and perchloroethylene (exempt at any temperature). Such ketones as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone are consumed in con siderable quantities and are exempt below 125° F. Industry sees many problems with Rule 66 in its original form. Replac ing nonexempt solvents with exempt ones will increase costs. For instance, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons now widely used range from 18 to 30 cents per gallon. Costs of re placement solvents—ketones, esters, ethers—would be anywhere from two to five times higher. In the case of industrial paints, some base resins may have to be modified because for paints used over plastic, for example, replacement of xylene with an oxygenated solvent would not work. Most coated parts require an oven bake at temperatures above 125° F., at which point almost all sol vents become nonexempt. Also, it will take paint makers time to come up with suitable reformulations. For ex ample, replacing aromatics, such as xylene and toluene, with exempt sol
vents would be a big problem. Blends of η-paraffins and oxygenated solvents could be substituted but they would be costly. Limited uses. Some water-thinned industrial coatings are now available but their end uses are limited. Ex terior durability, gloss, wear and gloss retention, flexibility, and production line application properties of these systems still don't measure up to cur rently used industrial paints. And the raw materials costs of water-thinned paints are higher. The adhesive industry can use hexane as a resin carrier. Tire makers could go to 9 0 % - 1 0 % blends of hexane and aromatics in their rubber cements. Both are now using nonexempt hydrocarbons. Mineral spir its, used at room temperature in sol vent degreasing, can be replaced with η-paraffins to the extent that they are available. Now-exempt alcohols, gly cols, and glycol ethers could be em ployed as solvents in printing inks, but they would cost two to four times as much as the currently used aliphatic solvents. Equipment control. Under Rule 66 industries unable to switch solvents would have to use control equipment such as activated charcoal adsorbers or afterburners. The cost of operat ing adsorption equipment would be high, ranging from 1 to 5 cents per pound of solvent adsorbed, depending on the size of the system and other factors. And afterburners have an appreciable fuel cost. The after burner is simply an insulated chamber in which the solvent exhaust stream is
continuously heated, mixed, and re tained long enough for the combusti ble vapors to be oxidized and burned. This requires addition of heat by burning a fuel like natural gas. The CMA-APCD study was initi ated in late February. The plan was to review and analyze the data com piled by APCD and to conduct addi tional tests on some of the solvents affected by the rule. In its original smog chamber stud ies, APCD found that aromatics (ex cept benzene) and chlorinated hydro carbons (except perchloroethylene) contribute strongly to eye irritation and ozone formation. Except ben zene, perchloroethylene, and acetone, all of the solvents and solvent mix tures tested produced significant amounts of ozone by irradiation in the presence of oxides of nitrogen. The joint CMA-APCD study has in cluded chamber tests on a large num ber of solvents, including xylene, toluene, mineral spirits, normal and isoparaffins, isophorone, naphthenes, trichloroethylene, methyl isobutyl ke tone, and Stoddard solvent (a petro leum distillate). Based on the re sults of these tests, CMA has hopes of extending the amounts of nonexempt solvents which can be used in blends with the exempt solvents. Also, some of the nonexempt solvents may be moved to the exempt list, CMA says. Tests were also carried out on the 125° F. requirement to determine whether or not the temperature limit can be raised. Vapor emissions from bake ovens are being studied and it is very likely that a revised rule will cover effluent from ovens. A modified Rule 66 will probably be ready for review in May. The new rule must be submitted to the County Board of Supervisors who must give proper notice of a public hearing. Af ter the hearing, the board would vote on the proposed rule. Many feel that a modified rule will be adopted this year.
Supplies Tighten in Chlorinated Solvents
RECOVERY. Solvent recovery equipment, such as this vapor absorber made by VIC Manufacturing, would be needed to control solvent emission
The increased tempo of industrial ac tivity and the step-up in production of military equipment caused by the war in Vietnam have combined to create tight supplies and higher prices for chlorinated solvents. Methylene chlo ride and 1,1,1-trichloroethane are al ready in critical supply. Dow Chemi cal is selling both on allocation, and Diamond Alkali is meeting only con tract orders for methylene chloride. Trichloroethylene is also beginning to feel the pinch. Most other producers of methylene APRIL 18, 1966 C&EN 39
chloride are meeting present customers' orders but are not actively looking for new business. To compound the problem, imports of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which rose 16% in 1965 to 129 million pounds, are declining in response to strong demand in Europe. Several chlorinated solvents—perchloroethylene, chloromethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride—are in fair supply. But the shortage could affect them for two reasons. Chlorine is also somewhat tight, and sudden growth in demand could create a chlorine shortage for all chlorinated hydrocarbons. Second, some solvent plants can be switched to produce other chlorinated Cx and C 2 hydrocarbons. Producers might be tempted to sacrifice capacity in one product to relieve a shortage in another. Prices up. The shortages are already being reflected in higher prices. The industry-wide increase of 1 cent per pound on perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane went into effect April 1. Trichloroethylene is used as an industrial cleaning and degreasing compound; 1965 production was 436 million pounds. Perchloroethylene also is used in industrial cleaning, but its chief use is as a dry cleaning solvent. Production in 1965 was 428 million pounds. Production of both solvents early this year was more than 10% above the average 1965 rate. Consumption of 1,1,1-trichloroe thane, another industrial cleaner, was well in excess of 100 million pounds last year. Despite present shortages, there is not likely to be a rush of expansions. For one thing, expansions must be keyed to chlorine availability. Chlorine producers are expanding (C&EN, Dec. 13, 1965," page 3 3 ) , but plans announced so far aren't likely to be sufficient for 1970 demand. Another factor is uncertainty about the duration of the U.S. commitment in Vietnam. As one observer says: "The Vietnam crisis is not the type of thing you build a major expansion around." Also, expansions already planned may be sufficient. Ethyl Corp. is building $3 million worth of facilities, due on stream late this year, for trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene at Baton Rouge, La. Diamond is expanding in methylene chloride, with the new capacity due in 1967. Diamond also may build plants for trichloroethylene and 1,1,1-tri chloroethane, neither of which it makes now. Hooker Chemical has perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene expansions due for completion at Taft, La., in a few months. Frontier Chemical has expansions at Wichita, Kan., for methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform. 40 C&EN APRIL 18, 1966
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES DAVID M. KIEFER, Senior Editor Sometimes there's an advantage to being inconspicuous. Like now. Chemical producers are finding this to be the case. They have escaped so far the open wrath of a Government grimly set against inflation, despite the widespread round of price increases in recent, months for industrial chemicals. The chemical industry can make a case for higher prices, certainly. The over-all price of industrial chemicals, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' index of wholesale prices, still is up less than 1% from a year ago. And it is nearly 5% lower than what it was in 1960. (The BLS chemical index is likely to show a further rise this month as several of the increases of the past few weeks become effective. ) Thus the industry can—and does—argue that what it has done so far is hardly inflationary and that the upward tilt in its price structure is only modest. More to the point, though, the chemical industry makes such a vast array of products that none really dominates the industry's broad markets. As a result, scattered price rises for individual products or product lines go relatively unnoticed. Their impact is ill-defined, at least when compared with the direct, across-the-board effect of an increase in the price of steel or aluminum. A change in the price of these metals at once affects the price of numerous fabricated products—more so, at least, than a similar increase for phthalic anhydride, say, or benzene, or even sulfur. Nevertheless, if the current trend continues, the cumulative impact on over-all wholesale prices from a large number of price boosts for individual chemicals eventually will be as great as or greater than an increase in the price of any single more conspicuous commodity. Chemical executives have encountered none of the public arm twisting and lightly veiled threats which last winter jarred producers of aluminum, copper, or steel when they attempted to mark up their basic price tags. Unfortunately, it does not follow that headline victories over such clear-cut targets will win the war against inflation. The problem lies in trusting too much in voluntary and uncertain guideposts to restrain prices. Their application tends to be hit or miss, many businessmen fear, and may disrupt the normal responses of a market economy to changing forces of supply and demand. The guideposts for prices, as set forth by the President's Council of Economic Advisers, in general call for increased prices only in industries where increases in productivity are less than the national trend. Prices should remain stable where productivity is increasing at the same rate as the trend; they should fall where productivity is increasing faster. The guideposts served as a useful weapon against inflation in the early 1960's, when the prime restraints on prices were competition and unused capacity in the economy. The threat of inflation then seemed to stem more from the push of production costs underneath prices than from the pull of excess demand, as is now the case. The guideposts focus on the major industries and companies. An inflationary spiral, however, can spring as well from a host of small, unheralded, but persistent price increases for a thousand and one less obvious products and services. Such increases, the recent advances in both wholesale and consumer prices seem to indicate, probably are beyond the scrutiny or control of any government body—at least this side of arbitrary, rigid wage and price controls, which at this juncture probably would make nobody happy. What avails a rollback against steel or aluminum in the light of widespread price increases for chemicals, rubber products, glass, paper, and a host of other items? In an economy running close to full throttle, something more than advice and remonstration probably is needed to hold the lid on prices.
