CHEMICAL INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES.
563
It is advisable a t the outset to become acquainted with the workings of the method, using a good commercial sample of tannic acid, before attempting to determine the tannin in oak bark, tea, or other tannin yielding materials. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, I A B O R A T O R Y OF THE COLLEGE O F
AGRICULTURE.
T H E CHEfilCAL INDUSTRY O F T H E UNITED STATES. BY HENRYBOWER.
T
H E chemical industry of the United States, in common
with the other leading branches of manufactures, shows a remarkable increase in the decade between 1880 and 1890, and this is accompanied, in some instances, by results of such magnitude as to become phenomenal. TOTALS OF PRODUCTIONS OF CHEMICALSIN
THE
UNITED STATES IN 1890. Value.
.......................... ...............................
Alum (94,174,008 lbs.) Coal t a r products Dyeing and tanning extracts and sumac.. ....... Gunpowder and explosives (108,735,980 lbs.). ... Fertilizers (1,818,552 tons) Paints, white and red lead colors, and varnishes Pharmaceuticnl preparations.. Potash and pearlash (4,874,439 lbs.) ............. Sodas (329,369,633 Ibs.) ......................... Sulphuric acid.. Wood alcohol and acetate of lime.. .............. Chemicals, including all acids, bases, and salts not heretofore enumerated.. .................. All other products..
...................... ..................
................................ ............................
$1,625,210 687,591 7,917,84I 10,So2,131
j4.038,452 52,434,690 I 6,486,643 185,247 5,384,400 6,522,591 I ,885,469 2j,140,425 12> 903I943 ~
$1 76,044,633
Szi@hui-ic Acid.-The most important of all chemical manufactures is sulphuric acid, which maintains its supremacy over any other known article in promoting the manufacturing interests of the world. T h e large increase in the number of establishments and in the quantity produced indicates the advance that has been made in general manufactures in the United States during the last decade. 1 Read
before the World’s Congress of Chemists, August
25,
1893
CHEMICAL INDI-STRY
OF THE UNITED STATES.
565
manures become the next in importance to sulphuric acid in the category of chemical productions. T h e total of I ,818,552 tons of these materials produced during the year ending June 30, 1890, indicates by no inaccurate analogy the extent of the farming interests of the country. When we consider that about 300 pounds of artificial fertilizer are commonly used to the acre, i t is seen that 12,123,680 acres were enriched by its use. T h e increase in manufacture and consumption over 1880 is ~ , o g ~ , o tons, g g or about I j o per cent. These figures show with distinctness that large areas of our country are becoming unprofitable to faiin without the use of these aids to fertilization. T h e existence of factories in the states of California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and %'isconsin, is indicative of t h e gradual exhaustion of soil that was virgin in character less than twenty years ago. These facts tend to show that the time is approaching with rapid pace when none of our unmanured soils will yield in remunerative quantity. They prove also that economies are gradually being practiced in the utilization of material that formerly ran to waste. I n this respect the farmer occupies a reversed position to that of the manufacturer of artificial manures. By prodigal wastefulness and culpable ignorance he permits immense quantities of manurial matter to find its way to the sea, while bemoaning his lot and sighing over the yield of virgin lands in comparison with that of his o w n ; whereas the manufacturer, by the aid of chemical skill and mechanical devices, converts refuse matter into valuable merchandise. T h e advance in this branch of manufacture should gi7:e encouragement to the farmers of the Atlantic slope. When the no distant time arrives for the extinguishment of an agriculture that is based on primordial soil, the lands of these regions will recover their lost value, for observation will s1io.i~how closel!. fertility is allied to the production of these manufactured manures, which can be carried on most profitably at those points where supplies of foreign crude material are obtained and where sea-board transportation can be made available. Soda.-The last decade is rendered memorable to the cheniical industry by the permanent establishineiit of the inanufacture
j66
c HE 31I c A L
ISI)I; STR I’ ( ) i?
’r11R rsI’rE i)
ST.\ T EX.
of soda salts in the United States. Hitherto :ill attempts to produce these articles s u c c e d u l l y from coiiiiiioii salt lia\.t: failed. Tlie causes that I ~ a v elet1 to repeated f:iiliire and the consequent loss of large sui115 of iiioiirt\. :w to i)i. iouiiti i n tliv high cost of labor, the alisence of custoriis duties 011 1)leacIiiiig powders, or cliloride of liiiic. aiitl the esceetiiiigly l o ~ v rates 01 freight tliat rule on this class of inercliatitlise. T i l e Solvay l’rocess Coiiip~i:i! , oi Syracuse, S e i v ’I’ork. lias been foundell 011 the experience arid skill of the iioted Solvay of Belgium. 13ut, holyever satisfactor!. the process may be, it has a defrct that enters into the production C J ~many articles in tlie I:tiitc.cl States, notably i i i Iileachiiig, paper-making, and chemin cal works, iiiasiiiuch as :dl tlic- cliloriiie of the c t ~ ~ i i i i i o salt employed is lost, passing ami!. as 1-alueless chloride (if calcium. Consequeiitlj~the ITiiited States still reiiiaiiis tlepeiidetit upo;i Great I$ritaiii for its suppl), of so iniportniit a11 :irticlc :is Ijleaching ponder. A question of tlie greatest interest ceiiters in this probleiii, Iiotv to ovei come this clciect i i i our iiiaiiufxturiiig .;).stem. The efforts of inventors Iiave for iiiaii!. \.ears 1)een directed ton-art1 the solution. ?’lieor!. lias inarketl out :i i i i i i i i her of paths, but practice has !lot yet succeeded i i i iollo~vii~g :in\. of these to a satisfactory result. It niay be added tliat, i i i addition to bleaching powders, the iniportaiit chemicals, alizariti, chlorate of potash, :iiitl chlorate of soda, are licit found among the salts produced i n this couiitr!- : am1 that these articles, so essential to t h e textile iiiterests, :ire free of customs tlut!.. / % ~ I . I I L ( ~ Z ~ . ( ~ J/>1,~~u1-~tioIzs.-”I‘lie ~C.UI Yiiiteti States is preeminent in the 1:iaiiufacture of pliarniaceutical preparations, which are produced i l l consequelice of tlie deinand b y physicians for more palatable or iiiore conipati1,le material for the inateria tnetlica. These articles cover a large field : the!. iiicludc. pills, lozenges, fluid extracts, aiid 3 great variety of elixirs. The title, ‘ ‘ elegant phariiiac!.,” conveys a correct idea of the position occupied b,y the iiidustrj.. Medicinal substances are associated in tlie niiiid with ntf mzxsruni doses. Tlie producers of pliar~riaceuticalpreparations have succeeded, iii most instances, in rnaskiiig or altogether obliterating the unpleasant properties
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES.
567
of drugs, which marks an advancement of no small moment within the past twenty years, inasmuch as this tends to inlproved health, greater security from disease, and a consequent reduction of the death rate. T h e cost of distilled spirits constitutes the largest outlay in the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations. A special investigation made by the census office of the United States showed that during the year ending December 31, 1889, 10,976,842 proof gallons of distilled spirits were consumed in the arts, manufactures, and medicine. Chcvticnls ana' Dye-stiifs Used in fhe Jna'zisfry of Dyei?g a n d Finishit~g Tc.rfiles.-In I S90 the value of chemicals used in independent dye works, bleacheries, and print works was $8,407,693. Much of the dyeing and finishing, however, is done by the manufacturers of the fabrics themselves, and the value of the chemicals and dye-stuffs is to be added to the amount named. There were used by these manufacturers during 1890 the following amounts of chemicals and dye-stuffs :
....................... .......................
W'oolen mills Cotton " Silk .........................
66,453,665 4,2663773 558,532 $1 1,278,970
Adding this $11,2iS,970 to the value of the articles used by the dye works, bleacheries, and print works ($8,407,693), we obtain as the grand total of chemicals and dye-stuffs used in nianufacturing, dyeing, and finishing textiles, the value of $19,686,663 ,-nearly twenty millions of dollars. Coqbvessea' A m n t o z i a G a s , OY Adzya'rous Anzmonia.-The use of this article has reached large proportions within the past few years, and it has proved an invaluable aid to the preservation of food, the refrigeration of malt liquors, and the manufacture of ice. T h e introduction of the use of anhydrous ammonia has given great impetus to the manufacture of the special machinery adapted to its employment in the departments named. T h e United States can rightfully claim the inauguration
565
C H E ~ I I C A I . INIXSTKT
OF THE CKITED STATES.
on a larg-e scale of these processes. which at this time yield profit convenience, and health to people throughout the ivorld. /.iccY.--Togetlier with tlie nietallurgical operations of smelting, rnelting, aiid heating. the chemical industry is a large consuiiier of iut.1, hence great interest attaches to its supply; it is R figure of great importance in computing the costs of these iiiaiiu f act ures . 11a n y fuel-saving devices are to be found in chemical works, ant1 \vitliin tlie past two or tliree years fuel oil has become of coiisidcral.)le importance. XLi!iierous devices have aided i n making it adaptable i n a n adiiiirable manner to furnace works. The replacenleiit of coal is likely to be quite niarked if tllc re1:itive prices c,f tlie t\\ o fuels shnll reniain :it the present rat i o . Satural gas also has been utilized in clieniical \vorks in localities ~atljaceiitto a suppl!-, antl its use has proved a great coiiveiiieiice. /.(?bo). u m ' I I h ~ ~ r s . - T h eeiiiployees of chemical manufacturers range iroiii the lowest order to tlie Iiigliest iii the scale, and the \\.ages paid \.ar!. in proportion. \Ian). operatioiis partake of the tlci111)le shift," or twelve hours. the work being coiitiiiuous, Iieiicc the :iverage paid per l i a ~ i c trewlies tlie high figure of $580 per year. I
