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T H E J O C R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
to have many advantages, since, calculating on ammonia values, a n d on present prices of acid, labor, etc., it can easily be shown t h a t the manufacture of strong ammonia is more profitable. There are, however, many objections t o it, and the most import a n t of these is that the demand is limited. Strong ammonia is used principally for certain trade purposes; and if the supply is increased t o any extent, the price will certainly fall, and then the profit is such t h a t sulfate making will pay better. Then, too, t h e trade ’in strong ammonia is almost entirely in the hands of one or two large firms, who, if necessary, could easily squeeze o u t a smaller and less powerful competitor. In the writer’s opinion, with acid a t $19 per ton, sulfate making is by far the safer proposition. I t is not unlikely t h a t one result of the scarcity will be to encourage the owners of large coke-oven plants t o put up their own sulfuric acid plants, and, moreover, to supply their own sulfur requirements largely, if not entirely, by purifying their gas from sulfuretted hydrogen by means of oxide of iron.
A GASHOLDER WITHOUT A WATER TANK Early this year a description was given in the Journal f u r Gasbeleaichtung of a type of gasholder having no water tank, which has been designed by the Augsburg-Xuremberg Engineering Works (generally known in Germany by the initials “hI. A . N.”). The difficulty of keeping a dry seal in sound condition is very great; it does not follow, however, that because a waterseal equal t o the holder pressure of 4 to 8 in cannot well be
Vol. 7, No. g
of the seal escaping through the intervening fissure, or a t least reduces the loss t o trifling proportions. Any such loss of water from the seal is made good by water flowing from the feed tank E, which again is filled up automatically from the annular receiver G by the pump H and the rising main I. As there is no loss of the liquid used for the seal, any suitable liquid may be employed in place of water; ordinary gas tar has been found very good for the purpose, and has the advantage that it is unnecessary to warm it to prevent freezing in winter time. Tar and similar liquids pass only to a very slight extent through the very na row slit, especially as the pressure is kept nearly the same on both sides of the holder partition. Measurements have shown that, with a holder of 880,000 cubic feet capacity, the pumping of the tar used as a sealing material would entail an expenditure of only 0.1 H. P. on the average, when it has been calculated that with power costing $0.022 per B. T. U. the annual expense of pumping would be only 3 per cent of the customary expense (in Germany) of heating a gasholder having water-sealed cups The cost of erecting the new type of holder on unfavorable ground is very much lower than t h a t of a holder with water tank, as the load on the foundations is comparatively trifling. S o inside painting of the holder is required, since the walls on the inside are protected by the tar. The outside also is not exposed t o the ill effects of tank-water, and is dealt with in the same way as any exposed iron structure. The holder may be enlarged a t any time by merely extending upwards its wall A. In appearance it is better than an ordinary telescopic gasholder. An experimental holder of t h e new type has been erected a t the Gustavburg works and one of 45,000 cubic feet capacity is in course of erection a t the Augsburg works, the contract price being the same as t h a t of a n enclosed holder of the ordinary type of half the capacity. ~~
AMERICAN COPPER The smelter production of primary copper in the United States last year was I , I 50,137,192 lbs., as compared with 1,224,484,098 lb. in 1913, showing a decrease of rather more than 6 per cent. The total value of last year’s output, taking a n average of 13I/a cents per lb., was SI52,968,246, as compared with $189,795,035 in 1913. The greatest State production last year was effected in Arizona with 382,449,922 lbs.; Montana came second with 236,805,845 lbs.; Utah third with 160,589,360 lbs.; and Michigan fourth with 158,009,748 lbs. New Mexico had a production cf 64,204,703 lhs. last year, and Xevada produced 60,122,904 lbs. California turned out 29,784,173 lbs., and Alaska 24,985,847 lbs. No other state reached a production of 20,000,000 lbs. in 1914. Refined copper was exported from the United States in I914 to the extent of 748,902,137 lbs.; the corresponding exports in 1913 were 817,911,424 lbs.
.k GERMAN .G.4SHOLDER
WITHOUT A W A T E R
TAAK
A-\V‘all of Holder B-Partition Travelling Vertically C-Liquid Seal D-Sliding Block E-Liquid Feed-Tank F-Feed-Pipe G-Receiver H-Pump I-Rising Main for Liquid
dispensed with, it is necessary t o retain a tank having a depth of 30 feet or more. In the tank described the depth of the waterseal is merely slightly greater than the gas pressure. The illustration shows the design of the new holder, for which a German patent has been obtained. The water-seal C travels with the disc or ring B, and keeps the holder gas-tight in t h a t direction, while the traveling slide or block D prevents the water
T H E GALICIAN PETROLEUM INDUSTRY About 80 per cent of the aggregate production of petroleum in Galicia comes from the Drohobys, Broyslav, and Tustanowice concerns, and, perhaps owing t o the fact t h a t a great deal of English, French, and Belgian capital is invested in these undertakings, they have not suffered much during the Russian OCCUpation [Engineering, 99 (191j ) , 6891. Considerable stocks, stated t o amount t o about I,OOO,OOO tons, which were intended for railway fuel, were found in the stores of the naphtha companies. Some of the petroleum refineries, which, all told, number about sixty, situated in Central Galicia and on the slopes of the Carpathians, notably Limanova and Mariampol, belonging t o the Galician Carpathian Petroleum Company, have been entirely or partly destroyed by fire. The mining department of Petrograd recently despatched a commission of experts to Galicia in order t o investigate and report on t h e country’s petroleum industry, its value for Russia, and its position, as
A S D ELVGILITEERILVGC H E M I S T R Y against the Baku petroleum industry. Fears had been entertained t h a t more especially Southern Russia might expect a keen competition from the Galician petroleum industry, on account of which protests were already raised against Galician petroleum being imported into Russia free of duty. Although the Galician petroleum industry shows a decreasing yield since the year 1909, the production during the year 1913, the last year of normal working, amounted t o 1,063,283 tons, and the exports t h a t year of the different petroleum products were: Tons Lighting oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . 244,072 Benzine.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,772 Light o i l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,373 H e a v y oils.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 154,697 Refined paraffin.. , , . . , . . 42,655
Value 54,800,000 2,200,000 685,000 4,160,000 3,810,000
R-hile formerly only part of the export went t o Germany, this country now reckons upon being able to control the entire quantity available after the home demand has been supplied. T H E MINERAL PRODUCTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA BziLLelifz No I , 191j , on t h e mineral production of British Columbia, give? figures covering 1913 and 1914, those for 1914 being estimated The value of t h e gold output in 1 9 1 3amounted to Sb,137,490,arid in 1914 t o a n estimated total of Sj,628,126. Thi\ I < stated first, then come in the follouing ordtr Silvcr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lead.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copper.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zinc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coal a n d coke. . . . . . . . . . Building materials, e t r . . . .
1913 51,908,606 2,175,832 i,O94,489 324,421 9,197,460 3,398,100
1914 $1,768,666 1,834,866 5,845,910 309,288 7,802,164 3,000,000
From these figures it will be seen t h a t the value of the output of coal and coke in the province far exceeded t h a t of gold, and the extraction o f coal and manufacture of coke probably gave work t o a larger number of men than the extraction of gold. The gold (jutput probably forms a maximum which is limited either b y the labor available, by the extent and richness of t h e gold-bearing strata, or by both conditions combined. The table also shows t h a t the value of the copper worked in the province also Tsceedeci the x-alue of gold during both years under consideration. I n regard t o coal, the Bulletin states t h a t a much larger quantity than the estimated total for 1914, 2 , I 7 2 , j 3 0 tons, could have becn produced had there been a demand for it. The right classirication. therefore, would seem, in this particular case, t o be t h a t which would place coal first on the list, followed by copper, then by gold. With reference t o other minerals, the Bulletin adds that some prospecting for, and development of, bodies of iron had been carried out recently, b u t no iron ore had been used or shipped. A small quantity of crude placer platinum had been recovered, estimated a t less t h a n $1000 in \value; this was obtained from prospecting workings now being carried on, and t h c results were considered encouraging. I t is very satisfactory t o note t h a t molybdenite has been discovered in British Columbia, in what seem t o be commercial quantities, "the deposit appearing t o he of considerable size." Seeing the very great eagerness with which this mineral was sought after during the greater part of last year, the province should be able to derive a n important revenue from its working and concentration.
A HUGE BAKING-OVEN FOR RAILWAY CARS
-1recent bulletin issued by the Pennsylvania Railroad states that a Inammoth oven has been constructed into which the 1arge.t car newly painted can be run. The doors are tightly closed and the temperature is raised above the boiling point of water In three hours the paint is completely dry and hard and the car ready for service This process has reduccd by g j per cent the time required for drying and by j o per cent the time 2 car is held out of service for t h e entire operation of repainting. The first tests of oven-drying paint were made about two years ago. The present condition of the paint on
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the cars used in the tests indicates strongly t h a t the artificially dried paint is more durable than t h a t dried in t h e ordinary manner in the open air. BRITISH BOARD OF TRADE During June and July the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the British Board of Trade received inquiries regarding sources of supply for the following articles. Firms who may be in a position t o supply a n y of the articles asked for should communicate with the Director of the Commercial Intelligence Branch, Board of Trade, 7 3 , Basinghall Street, London, E. C. IKQUIRIES DURING Acetate of lead Adhesives, gums, etc. Aluminum seals Antimony salt A n.. n.. a.. t. to ... Aniline hydrochloride Aniline oil Asbestos cement sheets Asbestos cloth Brass sheets a n d tubes Bronze figures, small Bichromate of potash Clasps for leather purses Calcined magnesia Chamois leather Celloidin D y e d grasses a n d raffia Fabric gloves Ferrules, brass Gambier in cakes Gutta-percha powder Glass eyes for dolls Haematite burnishers Hyposulfite of soda KaDok LaGquer for boots Lead seals Lysol Palm kernel oil Pale gas oil Phosphate o f soda Pins, n-hite metal Pyrophosphate of soda Stearine, m. p. 170 Sunflower oil
I\-ax matches
JUNE
Agates for scientific balances Asbestos powder for filtering wine Binoxalate of potash celluloid, non-inflammable celluloid tips (round pieces, 9Vr" o r 91/2" diam.) for soldiers' caps Coconut oil for making margarine Cork spiral holders for cigar and cigarette tubes Enamelled hollow-ware Glass tubinn, 0 16-0.18 external diameter Graphite staiks for pencils H a r d f a t s such as substituted for cocoa butter Insulated brass conduit-tube t o compete with t h e Bergmann tube Machines for glass polishing Machines for making confetti Machines for stamping names on combs Machines for coating ferro-prussiate a n d ferro-gallic paper Machinery for corn grinders hlachinery f o r braid machines (similar t o Guido Horn patent) Metal plates, 18 G . full pickled steel 18" X 24" Mica discs for talking machines Mirrors, wood a n d metal frames, for Kaffir trade Nails, makers of a special form of nail fastening for galvanized corrugatrd sheets Onion skin f o r paper flower making Paper making machinery Pitch paper, or paper t h a t is tarred on both sides with either coal-tar pitch or bitumen Paints f o r enamelling iron plates Quebracho bark a n d extract Reconstructed sapphires Spools for typewriter ribbons Vulcanite beads flat (for West Africa) \Taxed cloth, double faced for hospital purposes Zinc d u s t for sherardizing Zinc rodding from b'' t o j 8'' in diameter I N Q C I R I E S D U R I N G JCLY
Acetone Acetate of lead Aluminum olates Beta naphthol Bleaching powder Blow pipes Borate of manganese Carbonate of potash Caustic potash Casein Commutators Core gum D y n a m o armatures Gelatine sheets-clear Glasq wool Laundry charcoal 11agnesium chloride Nitrated castor oil Nitrocellulose Potassium bichromate Picture mouldings Press buttons Sodium silicate Sodium hydrosulfite Sodium sulfate Thorium nitrate Thermometers, clinical \Taste rock crystal Wire nails Wire for bookbinders Washers for insulation ~~
Agricultural implements-special forms of soil drills and seed drills Aluminum bronze wire of fine sizes Boot lace tagging machines Braiding machines for boot laces Calcined sugar of lead Corozo nuts f o r b u t t o n making Gas burners, incandescent (cheap) Gold foil a n d gold paper Machinery ior making fibre-cement board l l a c h i n e r y for glass bottles a n d small chemical bottles Machines for sugar factory Rlachinery for bevelling small mirrors Machinery for cutting spirals o n vulcanite tubes Machinery for niatch making l l a c h i n e r y for preparing the leads lor lead pencils l l a c h i n e r y for polishing terrazzo marble floors Plant for t h e manufacture of resin Perforated nickeline spindles for cop dyeing "Presspahn" o r insulating cardboard Springs for clockwork motors Steel strip, cold rolled Steel for aviation engines "Trapping" machines for turning ebonite rods Tinsel cloth f o r scouring purposes Venezuelan lingo1 shells for b u t t o n niakinp: -D. G. . \ N D r S R S O S
SAWDUST A S A FIRE EXTINGUISHER As an extinguisher of small fires of oil or grease, sawdust is considered t o be much superior t o either sand or water [ J . Gas Lighting, 130 (1915), 4491. Sawdust, wet or dry, thrown on a blazing liquid has a blanketing action, floating on the surface and keeping out the air, so t h a t it actually smothers the flame. Sand is less effective, as i t sinks through the liquid. The efficiency of sawdust may be increased by mixing it with sodium
