Dec., 1912
T H E JOC-R-YA4L OF I.YD1’STRI.IL
f oani cells or analogous structures governing the crystallization of the metal. Beilby evidently finds the “foam cell” theory less attractive after close consideration. I t is likely that a n exhaustive report o n our present knowledge of the passage from the liquid to one solid state in metals, will be prepared under the auspices of a committee of the Institute of Metals; this will certainly be very welcome to metallurgists and chemists. SOLID OIL AS A MARINE FUEL. The question of a solid fuel for ocean liners in the shape of solidified petroleum is being taken up in Europe, and the outlook for this kind of fuel seems promising according to the Scientific A m e r i c a v , 107, 326. Tests have becn made in many countries x i t h spray fuel burners, but when it came to actually applying these on shipboard a n obstacle arose, as the new method mould lead to a radical transformation of the existing apparatus. Besides, great storage tanks are needed for the liquid, and the action of the latter upon the walls of the tanks would be strongly felt when the vessel is rolling a t sea. I t was decided quite recently a t a meeting of ship owners a t London to go into the production of solidified petroleum brickets on a large scale. These are obtained as follow: The crude oil is boiled and to it is added a certain amount of stearic acid with a n alcoholic solution of caustic soda. Upon cooling, there is obtained a transparent mass someTvhat resembling glycerine soap, and it has sufficient cohesion to allox of making it into square-shaped brickets. Such blocks have a slow and very regular combustion owing to their uniformity of structure. The weather does not seem to affect them, and they always remain clear. The heat production from them is such that a ton of solidified petroleum serves instead of 21/2 tons of coal. The great saving of space on shipboard is evident, and another point is the great all-round economy realized for producing an equal amount of steam. Some British naval engineers studied the question and concluded that for a single trip of a Cunard liner from England to New Tork and return the lowest figure for the saving would be $60,000. They also reported the following points in favor of the new fuel: I . No appreciable modification of the furnaces or bunkers is needed. 2. The brickets burn very well in open furnaces. 3. They have a very high calorific power. 4. No inflammable gas is given off under the action of heat in the furnace. 5 . They burn slowly without running of liquid, nor is there any crackling or explosion. N o ash is left. 6. Their regular shape facilitates storing, and there is no space lost. 7 . The brickets harden with time and reach a great crushing resistance. 8. The range of the vessel will be much increased, which is a capital point for war vessels. From another point of view, it is held that the navigation companies will be more inclined to increase the speed of the ocean liners, since they are able to obtain high steam pressure a t a much less cost for fuel than before. HIGH-PRESSURE GAS LIGHTING. At a meeting of the New York Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society, held on October I O , 1912, G. S. Rarrons presented for the authors, F. W. Goodenough, Oscar Klatte and R. N. Zeek, papers relating to high-pressure gas lighting. High-pressure gas lighting has been employed in Germany for the past ten years and has reached a high stage of development. The lamps employed have from one to fiye mantles and vary in candle-power from 500 to 4000. An indication of the growth of this kind of lighting is found in the city of Berlin, where, up to 1905, about 1 5 miles of street were lighted v i t h electric arc lamps. From 1905 to 1911 a mile of electric lighting was added. I n 190j about 4 miles were lighted ;\ith highpressure gas, but, during the period from 1905 to 1911, 3 2 miles of high-pressure gas lighting were added, and a further extension of 42 miles is contemplated. There are ‘several high-pressure
-4-YD E . Y G I S E E R I S G C H E X I S T R Y
915
gas-lighting installations in America, but thus far they have not passed beyond the experimental stage. Norman Macbeth claimed that the rapid development of gas lighting in Europe as compared n i t h America represents an indictment either of electric men abroad or of the gas men here. H e claimed that the gas manufacturers in this country do not appreciate the opportunities that exist in their own field. H. T. Owens called attention to the increasing interest aroused in high-pressure lighting, I\ hich doubles the efficiency as conipared with the methods in common use to-day. In closing the discussion, JIr. Barrows remarked that while the life of the incandescent mantles as first used for high-pressure lighting in this country was about ten days, impro\-ements in mantles have caused an increase in life to about fifty days. THE PROPERTIES O F MOTOR FUELS. Romberg (Ditzg. poZj.. .I., 327, 616) gives the properties of the motor oils on the German market as folloTvs: Setting point, C. USE. 1 Diesel motors
TITLE. Galician gas oil American gas oil Motor benzine
Density. 0,868 0 858 0 705/15
B. p , , C. 300”-380° 3OO0-38O0 60°-120”
“1-eloxin” Motor benzine I1 .4utomobile benzine Motor benzine I Motor benzine I1 .lutomobile benzine Jlotor benzine I Motor benzine “Heraklin” Motor benzine I1 Gas oil Gas oil I Austrian gas oil Petroleum
0.69, 70 0 75/76 0.69,’70 0 715/25
5 0 0-1 100
-20
9O0-16Oo
-20
O.i5/7i
+
-10 -20
60c-1000
..
iOo-1200 10Oo-14O0
..
..
0 692/98
4O0-11Oo
0.704/15
4Oo-12O0
0.734./i4
i5’-135’ iOo-1500 174°-3600 19O0-3OO0
O.i51/58 0.864/88 0.863 0.860 0.80
Automobile and small motors
-70 -70 -70 -40
.. .. ..
.......
100 ‘-300
0
Diesel motors
Petroleum motors
THE CONSUMPTION OF OXYGEN. Following the increase in thc cmployment of oxygen in the welding of metals (oxy-acetylene and oxy-hydrogen welding), etc., the consumption of the commodity has grown greatly in recent years. The Chemiker Zeitung, 36, No. 1 1 7 , 1128, gives the consumption of oxygen for 1911 in 1000 cubic meters as follow: Number of oxygen works. r -
Country. Germany.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . United States and Canada.. . . . . . . . . . Austria-Hungary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belgium and Holland., . . . . . . . . . . . Russia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South America.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spain and Portugal.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scandinavia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . China and J a p a n . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Balkans.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total..
.........................
Amount used. 4,000 2,000 1,100 1,100 600 600
500 250 230
ion 100 80 40
20 10,720
Lique- Electrofaction lytic of air. processes. 39 3 9 6 8 2 9 8 9 1 4 1 5 4 8 1 6 1 3 1 6 4 1 4
3
1
-
-
117
30
Altogether 145 factories are engaged in the manufacture of oxygen from the air, by means of condensation and distillation, and by the electrolysis of n-ater. There are, in addition, a number of plants employing other processes, but the oxygen is intended mainly for medicinal purposes. In France, the average
T H E JOZiRiVAL OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ElVGINEERIiYG C H E M I S T R Y .
9=6
price for I cubic meter of the compressed gas is from 1,50 to 2.50 francs, and in Germany from 0.80 to 1.60marks.
“PLUMBOX AN.” A t the meeting of Section 8 of the Convention “Deutscher Naturforscher und Aerzte in Munster i. W.,” in September, 1912, G. Kassner presented a paper on “A New Method for the Production of Oxygen by Chemical Means.” Tessie du hfontay showed that alkali manganates become soft on heating and that, on treating with steam, they decompose with the separation of alkali hydroxides. On mixing sodium manganate with sodium-m-plumbate in molecular proportions, Kassner obtained a smaragdine green compound, or solid solution, which he calls “plumboxan.” When steam is allowed to act upon this compound a t a n elevated temperature, oxygen is given off; upon passing air over the de-oxygenated “plumboxan,” oxygen is replaced in a very short time. 12gain, “plumboxan” can stand higher temperatures vithout becoming soft and losing its porosity than alkali manganates. It is a stable compound and forms a very good means for the production of oxygen. I t is necessary that all traces of carbon dioxide, as well as dust, etc., be removed from the air before it is passed over the “plumboxan.” The reaction occurs according to the following equations : Na,PbO,.Na,MnO, = Na,PbO, + MnO, 0: Na,PbO, MnO, Air(0 4N) = Na,PbO,.Na,MnO, $- 4N.
+
+
+
+
ALUMINUM ALLOYS.
In the Engineering Section of the British Association meeting at Dundee, Ernest Wilson presented a report on “Exposure Tests of Light Aluminum Alloys.” Investigations made during the last ten years have shown that alloys of commercial aluminum with copper only were not satisfactory. Wilson investigated alloys in the form of wire, 0 . 1 2 6 inch in diameter, to ascertain the effect of exposure on electrical conductivity. The addition of iron, nickel and manganese to the lorn-copper alloys was found to increase both the tensile strength and the resistance t o deterioration. With specimens containing, respectively, 1.16per cent. of iron, 2 . 2 5 per cent. of nickel, and 1.78per cent. of manganese, the electrical resistance had only increased about g per cent. in eleven years. “Duralumin” was a copper-manganese-aluminum alloy, plus about 0.5 per cent. of magnesium, and after a n exposure of one year a specimen 80 feet long had increased 5.15 per cent. in electrical resistance. Wilson asked, was this due to the comparatively high percentage of copper or was the manganese too low? This alloy could, by suitable treatment, be obtained with a very high breaking load, b u t its specific resistance was about twice t h a t of commercial aluminum. I n the discussion, Lupton pointed out the well known destructive action of salt on aluminum and its alloys. Petavel called attention to the fact that “duralumin” at its best might have the lightness of aluminum with the strength of steel, but, unfortunately, it was extremely sensitive to heat treatment. I n this connection, see W. Roberts-Austen, Third Report of the Alloys Research Committee, wherein the melting points of the iron-aluminum alloys are given; and E. F. Law, Faraday Society, June, 1910.
METALLURGIE. Beginning with the October number, the German journal Metallurgie was divided into two independent publications. One, iMetall. u n d Erz, is to deal with the mining, concentration a n d metallurgy of ores, with the exception of those of iron, and will be edited by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Metallhutten- und Bergleute; the other, Ferrum, will deal with the metallurgy of iron and steel, mechanical testing, metallography, etc. Ferrum is edited by Dr. Wust, of Aachen. Metallurgie attained a
Dec.,
1912
high position in technical literature, and it is to be expected that the two new journals will cover their respective fields comprehensively and will prove of more direct service to their readers who are specialists in the metallurgy of the ferriferous and non-ferriferous ores.
A NEW TYPE OF CONTINUOUS FURNACE. The oil-fired furnace illustrated herewith is the invention of P. J. Gordon and R. T. Prall; it is being used at the Youngstown, Ohio, plant of the Republic Iron and Steel Co., for heating rods in the manufacture of railroad spikes, but the idea may be capable of extension to glass and sintering furnaces.
In principle, the construction consists in having a number of reverberatory hearths in tandem. The furnace a t Youngstown is 9l/, inches wide, 1 2 inches high a t the burners, and 5 inches high a t the “verbs.” Either gas or liquid fuel may be used, and, when fired, the furnace has the appearance of a n incandescent tube. ARTIFICIAL SILKS. Artificial silk is fast coming to be a very important textile material and is being used in ever-increasing quantities by the trade. It is employed as a n adjunct not only t o the silk industry itself but is also being used in connection with wool and cotton in the preparation of a great variety of fabrics. I t is even being used largely in knot goods and hosiery in combination with cotton andflercerized cotton. The dyer, therefore, is meetingmore and more with this product, and as there are three different kinds of artificial silks in general use and as these different varieties possess certain differences in structure and quality, i t really becomes a question of consideraable importance to the dyer to know one variety frbm another. This is more especially important because one silk may stand a treatment which would be fatal to another. The three artificial silks now to be met with on the market are described in a recent issue of the IVool and Cotfon Reporter as follows : I . Collodion silk, known also as Chardonnet, or nitrosilk. It is prepared from nitrated cotton. 2. Cuprate silk, known also as Glanzstoff, Pauly, Elberfeld silk. It is prepared from a solution of cellulose in cuprammonium solution. 3. Viscose silk. This is prepared from a solution of cellulose in a mixture of caustic soda and carbon disulphide. I n their outward appearance the three forms of artificial silk are so nearly alike that it would not be possible to distinguish between them. Even a microscopic examination by a n experienced observer does not lead to any positive conclusion as to kind of silk. A fairly simple test, however, and one which may be easily carried out b y the average dyer is the following: A sample of the silk to be tested is placed in a small porcelain dish, and concentrated sulphuric acid is poured over the fibers. If the sample consists of collodion silk no coloration appears until about a n hour has elapsed, when the acid solution will acquire a pale yellow color. I n the case of cuprate silk the acid becomes yellow immediately and the color becomes deeper on standing. In the case of viscose silk the acid immediately develops a reddish brown color, deepening to a rusty bromm after standing for a n hour.
s
