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THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY. The report, recently issued by the Aluminum Industrie Gesellschaft, which owns the large works a t Neuhausen, Switzerland, shows net profits for the year of $717,000,against $448,000 in 1911;dividends were zo’%, against 14% in 1911. The very low prices which prevailed for some time resulted in many new uses being found for aluminum, which favorably influenced the development of the industry and enabled the whole Swiss production to go into consumption. A new agreement has since been entered into by the various manufacturers of aluminum. The subsidiary industries conducted by the Neuhausen works, namely, the manufacture of calcium carbide and nitric acid, have justified expectations, arid extensions are being carried out in several directions. The present capital amounts to $ 2 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 and there are loans to the amount of J2,0;0,000. a s to the aluminum industry in the United States, it may he said that the market during the latter part of 1912 was brisk; later the demand hns exceeded the supply. The Aluminum Company of America has been making serious efforts for some time past to increase its production, hut has been confronted with difficulties in securing an adequate source of supply of electric power. It has, however, secured certain riparian rights in North Carolina and Tennessee. The development of this water power is contemplated. Until its own power development is completed, the Company will use power supplied by the Tennessee Power Company from their development on the Ocoee River, ncar Chattanooga; this new aluminum plant will, i t is planned, be in operation by the middle or latter part of 1913. In addition to its extensions in the South, the Aluminum Company is engaged on an extension to its Massena, N. Y., plant, which, when completed in 1914,will make that plant the largest of its kind in the world. A large supply of electricity will be brought to Massena from the development on the St. Lawrence a t Cedar Rapids. The Aluminum Company of America has recently embarked in the manufacture of puwdered aluminum, which is employed in explosives, lithographing and printing, and as a paint pigment; the concern has in operation a t New Kensington, Pa., one of the most complete aluminum bronze plants in the world. This plant was recently moved from Dover, N. J. Tanks, cooking vats, and similar vessels are also being made a t .the New Kensington plant ; a considerable extension has been made to the cooking utensil factory located a t this point, and a thoroughly modern boiler house is also being installed. The most notable growth in the industry during the past year has been in extruded forms, tubing and aluminum foil. The Aluminum Company is planning a considerable extension to its tubing plant a t New Kensington, and is erecting an aluminum foil plant a t Arnold, Pa. ELIANITE. The electrochemical works of Rossi in Legnano has, for some time, been conducting experiments on the production of acidproof alloys, and i t is now announced that it has succeeded in obtaining one cheaply. The new alloy-“e1ianite”-is produced in an electric furnace and is to be used in the manufacture of nitric acid from the air; it is said to differ from similar alloys known in that its resisting power is not limited to certain acids, and it is a good conductor of heat. The composition of “elianite” is kept secret. THE INDUSTRIAL USES OF CALCIUM CARBIDE AND ACETYLENE. In an address on the industrial uses of calcium carbide and acetylene, and their influence on the development of other industries, delivered before the Verein osterreichischer Chemiker (2.angew. Chem., 26, No. 36, 318), Fraenkel referred to a paper
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read by him before the same society five years ago. At that time, most of the calcium carbide was consumed in the production of acetylene for illuminating purposes, while very little acetylene was used for autogenous welding; now, however, as much calcium carbide is employed for the production of acetylene for welding purposes a3 for use as an illuminant. The latter application has nevertheless opened up new fields for the use of calcium carbide and acetylene, particularly in mining and on railroads and steamers. The development of the autogenous welding industry has led to a great increase in the consumption of oxygen. According to Linde, the German production of oxygen from liquid air amounted to 30,000 cubic meters in 1903,while about 2,000,ooo cubic meters were produced ill 1910;Vogel estimates that 5,000,ooo cubic meters were manufactured in 1912. The successful application of acetylene and hydrogen in autogenous welding led to the employment of a number of other compressed gases and liquids (illuminating gas, oil gas, Blau gas, ethane, benzol, benzine, alcohol, etc.) for the same purpose. Fraenkel considers, however, that the results obtainable are inferior. The production of cyanamide from calcium carbide induced the establishment of a nitrogen industry. Nitrogen is obtained from liquid air by the ~ i o c e s sof Linde and Claude. Fraenkel discussed the production of cyanamide, and predicted still further development to the production of ammonia with the simultaneous manufacture of formic acid (a suggestion from Sulzer). He further anticipated development of the processes of Hubou, Machtolf and Morani, for the decomposition of acetylene into carbon and hydrogen, and of the method of Frank and Car0 for the preparation of carbon. Machtolf’s process is being operated by the Carbonium Gesellschaf t in Friedrichshafen, the pure hydrogen obtained being used by the Zeppelin Gesellschaft and the carbon in the manufacture of inks and varnishes, especially in Russia. Fraenkel touched upon the production of chlorine derivatives of acetylene and appeared to be enthusiastic concerning the future of trichlorethylene as an industrial solvent. He pointed out that the technical solution of the problem of producing acetaldehyde from acetylene by the action of water appeared to have been successfully accomplished by the GriesheimElektron A.-G. and Griinstein. The reaction *is accomplished best in sulfuric or phosphoric acid solutions, mercury salts serving as catalysts. The aldehyde-paraldehyde must be quickly removed from the solution in order to avoid polymerization. The aldehyde may be oxidized to acetic acid or reduced to alcohol. In order to obtain cyclic compounds from acetylene, Fraenkel recommended the Richard Mayer modification 0: Berthelot’s pyrogenic condensation; he also commended the process of Steinkopf for the preparation of thiophene. Finally, he predicted that acetylene would be employed in the synthesis of caoutchouc: a mixture of acetylene and ethylene may be condensed a t a red heat into butadiene, which can be transformed, by methylating, into isoprene.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF LIQUEFIED GASES IN MINING AND METALLURGY It is reported in Echo des Mines, 1913,476, that liquid air and liquid oxygen are being experimented with in Germany as mine explosives. Liquefied oxygen, mixed with aluminum powder, and detonated, forms, it is said, an explosive about 2’/* times as powerful as black powder, from which there is no production of deleterious fumes. The same journal comments favorably upon the use of liquid air to attain high temperatures in metallurgical operations. It is stated that a Thomas furnace is being worked a t OugreeMaripaye by injecting liquid oxygen, under pressure, into the hearth, where it raises the temperature to 2000~ C. The claim is made that large quantities can be treated, as with coal or coke,
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much more easily than in a n electric furnace; that the reactions occur quickly without any change in the modus ofierandi usual in steel-making; and that the fusion time is reduced one-half and a furnace can double its output. Some trouble has, however, been experienced in maintaining the furnace walls, owing to the high temperatures. THE STORAGE OF INFLAMMABLE LIQUIDS At the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, held in New York, May 13-15, 1913, about one-half of the report of the Committee on Laws and Ordinances was devoted to a suggested complete ordinance to regulate the use, handling, storage and sale of inflammable liquids, etc. I t was explained that this was the completed work of several former committees and that the ordinance vias much desired throughout the United States. Inflammable liquids were classified in accordance with their flash-point. Class I , the most dangerous, included ethyl ether, carbon disulfide, gasoline, naphtha, benzole, collodion, “hydro-carbon’’ (“gas-drips”), and liquefied petroleum gas. Class z embraced acetone, alcohol, amyl acetate, and toluol. Class 3, the least dangerous, included kerosene, amyl alcohol, turpentine, whisky, and brandy. Severe restrictions were placed on the storage of Classes I and 2 , although in a few minor ways Class 3 was to be treated similarly to Class 3. Strong objection to the classXcation on the basis of flashpoint alone was raised by those interested in the manufacture and sale of alcohol for commercial use. I t was claimed that the actual fire hazard was not in proportion to the flash-point, which placed alcohol in Class I , but that it was greatly reduced through the lightness of alcohol vapor and its rapid diffusion in air to a non-inflammable and non-explosive mixture, together with its miscibility, which prevented the burning and raporizing liquid from being scattered by water. The4e disputed points are to receive investigation by the committee. [It may be stated on the authority of von Schwartz (“Fire and Explosion Risks,” 1904,p. 270) that “in point of general fire-risk, alcohol is far below ether, benzol, carbon disulfide, and similar liquids.” Alcohol between 60 and 99.j70 strength is more inflammable than ordinary petroleum; but the vapors are far less explosive, since. in order to attain this condition, they require to be Strongly heated and placed in contact with a flame or spark. Special danger attaches to alcohol by reason of its high diffusibility; the stronger the alcohol, the more rapid is the dispersion --W. A. H.] FUEL BRIQUETTING I N THE UNITED STATES Fuel briquetting in the United States in 1912 is discussed by E. W. Parker in an Advance Chapter from Mineral Resources of the United States .for 1912 (U. S. Geological Survey, 19x3). Although the quantity of briquetted fuel manufactured in the United States in 1912 did not show- any material gain over the preceding year, the industry may be considered as passing out of the experimental stage and assuming more of a substantial and permanent character. The total quantity of hriquetted fuel made in this country in 1912 was 220,064 short tons, valued a t .$9j2,261, as compared with 218,443 tons, valued a t $808,721, in 1911. There were nineteen plants which contributed to the production in 1912; of these, 9 in the Eastern States produced 107,181 tons, 7 in the Central States produced 89,711 tons, and 3 on the Pacific Coast produced 23,169 tons. Seven plants used anthracite culm, 9 used bituminous or semibituminous slack, I used carbon residue from gas manufactured from oil, I used mixed anthracite culm and bituminous slack, and I used peat. Two plants, I a t Detroit, Mich., and I a t Point Breeze, Philadelphia, Pa., which were constructed for the purpose of principally utilizing coke breeze, were not operated in 1912,
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the abrasive action of the coke dust being so destructive to the molds and machinery that the plants have been closed. Among the indications of the interest taken in the briquetting industry as promising future development are the following: I . The organization of the Malcolmson Briquet Engineering Co., of St. Louis, Mo., for the purpose of designing, building, and equipping briquetting plants, but not for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture of briquets. 2. In contemplation, the construction of a plant for the manufacture of boulets by the Devillers or Belgian process a t Grafton, 1%’. Va., which shall utilize bituminous slack from the mines of the Grafton district. 3. I n contemplation, the construction of a plant a t Cambridge, Mass., by the Atlas Coal Briquet Co., with headquarters in Boston. I t is reported that the contract has been closed for the construction and equipment of a plant similar in design and character of output to the one in Brooklyn, N. Y. 4. Under construction, the plant of the Northern Briquetting Co., a t Jlinot, N. Dak., for the purpose of utilizing lignite, of which ample supplies are available. The plant is expected to be in operation in August, 1913. 5. I n contemplation, the Pacific Coast Coal Co., Seattle, Wash., expects to have a plant completed by October, 19x3. The character of the fuel and the binder to be used are iiot stated. “PAROL” -4 new fuel for use in internal combustion engines has recently attracted attention in Johannesburg, South Africa. This gasoline substitute, now being marketed under the name of “Parol,” is said (Chem. Cl’orld, 2, I 75) to be made from paraffin by a chemical process and without the use of heat. I t is claimed by the manufacturers that, by means of the chemical process employed, the property which creates carbon in the cylinders and forms soot around the sparking plug is eliminated; the paraffin used in all the tests so far is of I j o o fire test. The manufacturers contemplate going to England in the near future to compete in the tests to be conducted by the Royal Automobile Club for fuels other than petrol.
SOLID ALCOHOL The methods used in the preparation of solid alcohol may be classed in three categories (Chem. News, 107,257). The first consists in fabricating a solid soap into which alcohol is mechanically incorporated; in this manner a translucid product is obtained containing 60 per cent of alcohol. Instead of employing soap as a vehicle, the alcohol may be enriched with collodion; the process is more expensive than the preceding one, but it gives a more satisfactory product, because of much easier combustion and of a more engaging exterior aspect. Usually alcohol soaps are delivered by trade in the form of a paste enclosed in a metal box made in one piece, which can be used as a warmer, the cover of which has openings that can be regulated, so as, if need be, to act as moderator to the flame; on the contrary, the collodions of alcohol are arranged for sale in the form of pills or ovals, almost transparent. Both soaps and collodions are too expensive to be practically utilizable as industrial combustibles; their employment is restricted to applications of luxury, such, for example, as being burned in toilet-lamps, traveling spirit lamps, etc. However, it is not the same for the little bricks of sawdust impregnated with alcohol and agglutinated with coal-tar that are just now being brought out in trade a t a low price, and which may turn out to be a practical combustible. BENZOLE AS A MOTOR FUEL We learn from The Chemical Trade Journal, 52, 569, that the committee appointed by the Automobile Club and kindred
