VOL. 6, No. 3
OXIDATION-REDUCTION REACTIONS
485
showed in 1849 (11) The Electrolytic Oxidation of Acetate.-Kolbe that by the electrolysis of a concentrated solution of potassium acetate, considerable ethane and carbon dioxide were formed a t the anode. In the acetate anion, CHaCO.O-, the C bonds that are united to one another serve to neutralize the fourth valence of each carbon atom, possibly by sharing an electron, as Langmuir has suggested. The second C atom therefore has a polarity of +3 and is oxidized to COa with a polarity of +4. The reaction and the anode can be expressed thus: 2CHaCOn-
+
2t = CIHs
+
2COr
Summary The so-called "valence-change," "pole-reaction'' and "ion-electron" methods of balancing equations of oxidation-reduction reactions are merely modern versions of a method published by Otis Coe Johnson in 1880. The electron theory of the constitution of matter helps us to understand this method, which is so simple that a beginner can understand i t readily and so general in its application that all oxidation-reduction equations can be worked out rapidly in a single step. In balancing these equations, the oxidizer and reducer should first be balanced on the basis of the number of electrons accepted by the oxidizer and the number of electrons given up by the reducer. When this relation is established, i t is easy to assign the proper numbers to the formulas of other compounds that may take part in the reaction. The method should be taught to beginners and it is mistaken pedagogy to attempt to teach them any other more difficult method. When beginners have some idea of the ionization theory, as is the case with most high-school pupils of today, they find i t easier to work with ions than with whole molecules. To illustrate the application of the method a number of fairly complicated reactions are given, all of which can be worked out quickly in one step in much less time than i t takes to tell about them. The writer has been teaching this method for about twenty-five years.
The Indian Oil Industry. The increasing imports of oil-crushing machinery into India show that the oil mill industry is prospering. I n Bombay, a new company has been registered for oil-crushing purposes, and will begin operations within a short period with up-to-date machinery. The Tata Oil Mills have been showing continuous losses for some years past, hut as the Chairman of the Board explained a t the annual general meeting held recently, there are signs of improvement. The company sufferedloss during the past year, but this was mainly due t o the difficulty of getting rid of the coconut cake and the low prices of cake. Various alterations and additions t o the plant are being made, which, when completed, will materially increase the productivity of the mills.Cham. Age, 20,97 (Feb. 2,1929).
