M a r . , 191j
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 CHEMISTRY
Since the demands of the roofing-felt industry have fallen off by j o per cent, and export of crude tar rom Germany has been prohibited, it will be impossible, the German Journal remarks, to prevent a considerable drop in the market value of tar; but the writer of the report considers that a reduction of more than 15 per cent should not be entertained by gas works. High prices are ruling for sulfate of ammonia-&., in the vicinity of the Elbe and west of it, for lots of 5 tons and upwards, from about $67. j o per ton for ordinary grade ( 2 j per cent ammonia) to $68.7j for the 2 j . 5 per cent grade; east of the Elbe about $I .25 per ton above these prices. COKE-OVEN GAS FOR BALTIMORE Some time ago The Iron Age contained particulars of two new batteries of by-product coke ovens which have been installed at the works of the Maryland Steel Company, and from which gas is piped to Baltimore for lighting purposes. The work was designed and installed by the Koppers Company. About 5)800 cubic feet of rich gas per ton of coal carbonized, having an average heating value of about 620 B. t. u., are delivered to Baltimore, and about 4,450 cubic feet of lean gas, of about 490 B. t. u., are used for coking. So of the total quantity of 10,250 cubic feet of gas produced per ton of coal, only a little more than 43 per cent is used for carbonization, while nearly 57 per cent is surplus gas. Reduced to the B. t. u. basis, the requirements for coking are only 38 per cent, while 62 per cent of the total heat value of the gas is available for outside purposes. At the present time, with only one battery in operation, the total surplus gas is furnished to Baltimore. Provision is made, however, for future use of a portion of the surplus gas in the steel plant. To this end a gas by-pass is installed between’ the mains for rich gas and lean gas after the final coolers. This bypass is equipped with a gas seal to permit the gas to travel only in one direction, so that rich gas may flow into the leangas main while it is impossible for lean gas to find its way back intp the rich-gas main. This feature serves to provide an automatic adjustment of the quantity of rich gas furnished to Baltimore according to the demand. Since the by-pass is located between the final coolers and the benzol washers, the benzol is extracted also from the portions of the rich gas which, owing t o reduced demand on the part of the city, enters the lean-gas system through the gas seal. LABOR CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND The effect of the war on the labor market in England-particularly that produced in some .cases by the shortage of men due to enlistment-is OF interest for comparison with the winter condition of the labor market in this country. Engineering, 99 (1915), 102, quotes details from the English Board of Trade Labor Gazette on “The State of the Labour Market in December.” Trades affected by war contracts, such as engineering, shipbuilding, .cutlery, woolen, worsted, hosiery, boot, saddlery, and wholesale men’s clothing, continued very busy, with much overtime. In several industries a shortage of male labor, especially of skilled labor, was reported. The cotton trade showed a further improvement, and there was also an upward movement in the other textiles, and in the coalmining and iron and steel industries. The building trades were, on the whole, well employed for the time of the year, especially carpenters, plumbers, and laborers. There was little change in the pig-iron, tin-plate, printing, furnishing, pottery, and glass trades. The tailoring, dressmaking, and hat trades continued to be adversely affected. Compared with a year ago, when employment was good generally, there was an improvement in the building, engineer-
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ing, shipbuilding, boot, woolen and worsted, hosiery, and wholesale men’s clothing trades-all of which were more or less busy on Government orders. The cotton, lace, linen, tin-plate, pottery, brick, and slate trades showed a marked decline. The changes in rates of wages reported as taking effect in December were all increases, and amounted to nearly $IS,joo per week on the wages of 50,000 work-people. The most important changes affected j5oo coal miner:$in the Forest of Dean, 20,000 iron workers in the Midlands, 17,000 work-people in engineering works a t Birmingham and Leicester, and 3800 laborers, etc., in ship-repairing establishments a t Cardiff, Barry, and Penarth. The number of disputes beginning in December was 17, and the total number of work-people involved in all disputes in progress during the month was 306j, compared with 8061 in November, 1914, and 59,026 in December, 1913 The estimated total aggregate duration of all disputes in progress during the month was 49,200 working days, compared with 84,500 in November, 1914, and 907,700 in December, 1913. Cases dealt with during the month included cotton operatives, Lancashire, boot and shoe operatives, Kettering; iron fitters, Falkirk; armature winders, London County Council Tramways ; and tinsmiths, Edinburgh. The average weekly number of vacancies notified to all Labour Exchanges for the four weeks ended December 11, 1914, was 32,088, as compared with 31,932 in the previous four weeks, and with 22,147 in the four weeks ended December 12, 1913. The average weekly numbers of vacancies filled for the same periods were 23,822, 24,220, and 17,168 respectively. GASOLINE SUBSTITUTES Data on the calorific value of several liquid fuels gathered from various sources by the Journal f u r Gasbeleuchtung and specifications for substitute fuels printed in the same journal were published in the J . Gas Lighting, 128 (1914), 727. The efficiency or consumption per horse power developed is approximately proportional to the calorific power of the fuels. The net calorific power (water as vapor) in B. t. u. per pound is given by Mohr for various fuels, as follows: Petroleum spirit (benzine), 18,000 to 18,900; pure benzene, 17,208; commercial 90 per cent benzol, 17,100 to 17,280; pure alcohol, 11,452; 95 per cent alcohol, .1o,j7j; pure naphthalene, 16,722. T.he following are the specifications for substitutes : I-Benzol-Spirit. ( a ) 95 per cent methylated spirit, 70 parts; benzol, 30 parts. The benzol is poured slowly into the spirit with agitation-not the spirit into the benzol. ( b ) 90 per cent, or ordinary, methylated spirit, j o parts; commercial acetone or acetic alcohol, 2 0 parts; benzol, 30 parts. The spirit and acetone are .first mixed, and the benzol added gradually to them. 11-Benzoline-Spirit. ( a ) 95 per cent methylated spirit, 70 parts; Benzoline, 30 parts. The benzoliiie is poured slowly into the spirit with agitation-not the spirit into the benzoline. ( b ) go per cent, or ordinary, methylated spirit, j o parts; commercial acetone or acetic alcohol, 2 0 parts; benzoline, 30 parts. The spirit and acetone are first mixed, and the benzoline added gradually to them. 111-Spirit-Ether. ( a ) 95 per cent methylated spirit, 90 parts; sulfuric ether, I O parts. (a) 95 per cent. methylated spirit, 90 parts; sulfuric ether, IO parts; naphthalene, I part. IV-Acetone-Spirit. ‘(a)95 per cent methylated spirit, 70 parts; commercial acetone, 30 parts. ( b ) 90 per cent, or ordinary methylated spirit, 50 parts; 6ommercial acetone, 50 parts. V-Petroleum Mixtures. Petroleum and benzoline (petroleum spirit) mixed in the proportion of two to one; or petroleum 3 parts, acetone I part; or petroleum 90 parts, ether I O parts, with I part of naphthalene dissolved in it.
