THE JOURNAL O F INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY 111.
VOL.
NOVEMBER, I g r i .
T H EJ O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A I L A N D E N G I N E E R I NCGH E M I S T R Y I
PUBLISHED B Y
THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. Published monthly. Subscription p n c e to non-members of the American Chemical Society $6 00 yearly.
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CONTENTS. EDITORIALS: Facilities for Industrial Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ORIGINALPAPERS: Transformation of Other Forms of Carbon into Graphite. By W . C. Arsem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A .Method of Analyzing Some Commercial Gold Alloys. .Metals Present: Gold, Silver, Copper, and Occasionally Zinc and Tin. By Jas. 0.Handy Cupellation. By Raymond C. Benner and Miner L.Hartmann Heat Radiation. By Harold P. Gurney The Effect of Added F a t t y and Other Oils upon the Carbonization of Mineral Lubricating Oils. B Y C. E. Waters . . . . The Fluorescent Test for ,Mineral and Rosin Oils By Percy H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walker and E W . Boughton Nitric Nltrogen in Mixed Fertilizers. By S . S. Peck . . . . . . . The Oil af Douglas Fir: A Preliminary Study of I t s Composition and Properties. By H. K . Benson and Marc Darrin. A Study of the Bromine and Iodometric Methods for the Determination of Resorcinol. By C M . Pence A New and Accurate Method for Determining the Tryptic Value of Pancreatin. By Clarence F. Ramsay. . . . . . . . . The Accelerating Action of HC1 upon the Starch-Converting Properties of Pancreatin and Malt. BY A. Zimmerman . . . . . . Determination of Malic Acid. BY P B . Dunbar and R . F. Bacon The Effect of Phosphorus Manuring on the Amount of Inorganic Phosphorus in Flat Turnip Roots. BY B u r t L. Hartwell and Frederick S. Hammett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tin Salts in Canned Foods of Low Acid Content, with Special Reference to Canned Shrimp BY W. D Bigelow and R . F. Bacon . . ....................... The Use of Spices as Preservatives. BY Conrad Hoffmann and Alice C. E v a n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Determination of Gliadin or Alcohol-Soluble Protein in Wheat Flour. By Ralph Hoagland ............... The Detection of Benzoic Acid in Coffee Extract. By Herman C. Lythgoe and Clarence E. Marsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PLANTS AND MACHINERY: The Thomas Gas Meter B y H. N Packard . . . . . . . . . Design of a JO-TOn Induction Electric Furnace. By Albert Hiorth ADDRESSES : Some Problems in Chemical Engineering Practice. By F. IV. Frerichs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. 804 . . . . . . . . . . . . 805 807
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812 816 817 818
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822 823 826 83 1 832 835 838 842 842 849 856
Report of Committee on Standard Specifications . . . . . . . . 860 American Institute of Chemical Engineers-Report of Committee on Chemical Engineering Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863 Report of the Committee on Quantitative Methods. . . . . . . . 866 Report upon the Third National Conservation Congress . , , . 868 Meetings of the Chemical Societies in New York . . . . . . . . . 869 National Academy of Science 869 Ohio Society of Mechanical, Electrical and Steam Engineers, Annual Meeting. . ...................... 870 New Jersey Sanitary Association, Annual Xeeting . . . . . . . 870 American Public Health Association, Annual iMeeting 870 Association of American Portland Cement Manufacturers, Annual Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Annual Meeting . . 870 .National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Annual Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870 OBITUARIES 870 NOTESA N D CORRESPONDENCE: Note on the Determination of the Specific Gravity of Ethyl Ether. U S P . ...................... 872 A Method for Filtration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872 General Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872 CONSULAR AND TRADENOTES 873 BOOKREVIEWS ............................. 874 NEW fUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875 RBCENTINVENTIONS .......................... 876 MARKETREPORTS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878
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No.
EDITORIALS.
11
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FACILITIES F3R INDUSrRIAL RESEARCH.
Much has been said and written of late about men qualified b y training and experience to conduct industrial research, but what would seem to be a matter of equal, or even greater importance, is the question of the facilities available for the study and solution of these industrial problems. Industrial Research is the great basic principle upon which we develop our manufacturing and engineering industries. The results of this research must not only precede the establishment of manufacturing enterprises, but such study must continually accompany, supervise and direct any manufacturing operations which assume to be intelligently managed. Makeshift solutions and “fixing” will keep a plant going for a time, but the final result of such unscientific management is cumulative and leads t o a condition requiring drastic action, usually in the form of reorganization, refinancing or insolvent liquidation. The list of manufacturing plants which have been led to oblivion by footless management is long, and is still growing. We have all seen perfectly good manufacturing enterprises slowly crowded out of the competitive field while other concerns with equal, but no greater commercial advantages in the identical line of manufacture, prospered. A careful examination into the basic causes of the failing concerns will usually disclose a “tinkering” and unscientific policy, or no policy a t all, in the study and solution of factory problems. Managers who would submit every point involving a question of law to their attorney regardless of cost, and act strictly within his instructions in reaching a decision, will pump barrels of expensive compounds into their boilers without a particle of knowledge as to its probable action or effectiveness; will adopt new oils or lubricating solutions for their costly machinery without knowing anything about their value for the purpose intended; or will buy a formula or a “secret mixture” to make ashes burn, all on the strength of an advertisement, a “scientific” article in a subsidized press, or on the “advice” of a salesman. There are times when the whole future of a business depends upon selecting the right process, method or machine to prepare a piece of work. Some managers, however, will be contented under such a stress to render a “snap” decision; others will make a few “cut and try” experiments; others will spend much money t o find out what the “other fellow” is doing or using, or send a man to Europe to pick up a few ideas. On the other hand. the concerns with the scientific
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foundation and scientific habits of thought and management develop with assurance and permanence. Their products have sound scientific merit. They may be said to be “lucky” in the purchase of new inventions, or “audacious” in the adoption of improved processes of manufacture. As a matter of fact, however, their “luck” and “audaciousness” consists in having the knowledge of what is scientifically correct, and in having the courage of their scientific convictions. If the chemistry, physics and mathematics involved in their steps forward is right, their “luck” is right. If the fundamental principles underlying the manufacturing problem or product considered are not stable, the structure erected upon them is likely to be shaky. The daily problem of the factory manager or the engineering enterprise must be met and solved by the application of scientific knowledge if the work is expected to endure. Some of these problems may be solved from fundamental facts, which are a part of the general knowledge of experienced engineers. The theory may be used in a great many cases, but it is difficult to make it answer all questions. For example, we may calculate the flow of a perfect liquid through a frictionless pipe, or a pipe with a known coefficient of friction, but this formula will not give the answer to the factory superintendent who wants t o know how much mucilage, or similar viscous solution, he may pump through a thousand feet of 2 in. lap welded gas pipe in July and how much in January. The data for establishing such a simple calculation as this is not available, and experimental observations are necessary to give the correct answer before work can proceed. Another class of problem involves facts which can only be established by experiments, observations and conclusions based upon a study of the whole proposition from the standpoint of its proposed application. How are the facts-the foundation-forming factsupon which the industrial manager is to build his process, develop his products, determine his business policy, or render his decision in important matters t o be obtained? Obviously, on the simpler and better understood problems, the factory manager may consult experts who have made a special study of this particular field. This expert advice is limited t o tried-out problems, and the number of such experts equipped with facilities to conduct experimental investigations, are very few when compared with the broad fields covered by the industries. Several large corporations have developed their own experts and their own laboratories, but these are not only special in their equipment and experience, but are not available to outsiders. The most logical method for the study of a factory problem would then be to undertake its solution in a laboratory especially equipped with the standard appliances for executing industrial operations, and provided with all the means for the prompt, proper and accurate determination of experimental data,
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in a way and on a scale which would make this data available for factory application. Many of our industrial managers have found i t more profitable to devote their energies and resources t o the maintenance of high tariffs, the elimination of competition, or the control of raw material supply, than to the perfection of process and product through scientific research. All of their researches have been political and sociological rather than scientific, and it is a serious commenta?y on conditions when we must acknowledge that they have usually made i t pay big dividends. The lure of large and quick profits in the field of “political research” has attracted so many researchers that it is being overworked., The public is taking an interest in developments along this line, and is now demanding a scientific and equitable basis for tariff, for raw material distribution, and for quality and value in products. As these tendencies take form, the manufacturer will find himself confronted with problems of efficiency in handling, manufacturing and marketing his materials and in the quality and merit of his product. The development of industrial research would apparently be a logical means of alienating American manufacture from the “tinkering” manager, the patrons of fake science, the victim of sales talk, the patent fiend, the crumbling tariff walls, the exploiter of politics and people, and innumerable other dangers. Furthermore, as the pressure of domestic and foreign competition becomes a factor of increasing fmportance, the prompt appreciation and utilization of all scientific and engineering progress becomes a matter of self-preservation. A great scholar once said to me that he did not see “why i t takes so much expensive apparatus and equipment to do chemical research work now, when some of the most brilliant work in former years had been done with cigar boxes, a few glass bottles, and other homely inexpensive appliances.” In the early days of the West great mines were discovered and developed from a “grub-stake’’ of one hundred dollars, or even less. These surface claims were soon all located, and the future development of our mineral resources required the investment of large sums of money, but this did not prove to be an obstacle to their development, nor a reason for the abandonment of good prospects. Machinery had t o be installed, shafts sunk, and tunnels run in barren ground in order to prospect ore bodies not easily accessible; but money was always found to finance these researches. It would be interesting t o know what the mineral resources of this country would now be had the development been confined t o %at within the reach of a one hundred-dollar “grubstake” or the “burro” method of transportation. As the day of surface discovery in mining quickly passed, and the mineral development required more knowledge, and a substantial outlay for prospecting and tools to work with, so the day of glass bottles and cigar box research in the field of applied chemistry
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T H E JOURNAL OF I A - D C S T R I . i L AA\-D E S G I , Y E E R I S G C N E a I I I S T R Y .
is passing, and we need resources with which to carry our investigations into the new fields. It is true that Priestley, Lavoisier, Liebig, Rumford, all produced classic researches without expensive laboratories or equipments. Yet a careful inventory of the resources and appliances available t o some of these scholars will bear a striking similarity to the equipment of some of the present-day laboratories attempting research. Chemical laboratory development has not kept pace with the development of the science itself and the progressive difficulties of the problems to be undertaken. The so-called modern laboratory for research bears a strong resemblance to the arena in an obstacle race. Toung men unselfishly offer their service in the fields of research, often a t great sacrifices to themselves and others dependent upon them, only t o find that they are obliged to waste their time hurdling the obstacles of meagre equipment and inadequate facilities. Researches are often either entirely abandoned, or limited t o a narrow field through lack of simple appliances, or competent mechanical assistance. Other demonstrations give negative or misleading results through improperly constructed apparatus or because there is not a mechanic with a suitable tool equipment available to build needed parts, or to make the necessary rearrangements. Research men are trained in inefficiency by being compelled to use makeshift and “junky” apparatus, and also by being compelled t o do work which could be done better and a t less cost b y others. The laboratory requirements for industrial study are no more exacting, expensive, or difficult ‘to develop than those of mechanical, electrical or metallurgical engineering. The chief difference between chemical engineering laboratories and those of the other engineering subjects seems to be that we chemists have not developed our facilities while other engineers have kept pace with the advancement of their respective industries. The writer recently visited a number of the leading engineering schools and industrial establishments in Europe for the purpose of observing their equipment and comparing it with that provided for similar work in this country. Mechanical, metallurgical, electrical and chemical engineering laboratories were examined with equal care, in Charlottenburg, Dresden, Munich, Freiberg, Zurich, London, Manchester and other places. Mechanical laboratories were invariably provided with steam engines, compound corliss engines, turbines, pumps, gas engines, pro-
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ducer gas sets, Diesel oil engines, and a long list of standard mechanical engineering appliances, equipped with instruments for observing, measuring and recording data. Metallurgical laboratories contained every facility for making, testing and studying alloys. At Freiburg the government smelters, mines and oredressing establishments are used for both study and instruction. Electrical engineering equipment always includes every type and kind of modern machine for generating, measuring and using electricity. But laboratories do not seem to exist where chemical students and investigators may study the applications of physics and chemistry to fundamental industrial operations as other engineers are studying the applications of their fundamentals in mechanical, electrical, and metallurgical fields. Researches can not be undertaken which involve single and multiple effect distillation, evaporation, filtration, calcination, condensation, absorption, drying, controlled temperature reactions, vacuum and special atmosphere reactions, etc., except on a test tube or beaker scale. It is the purpose of a large portion of this Society to further the interests of Industrial Chemistry. We are all vitally interested in its aims and purposes. There are many suggestions for ways and means of accomplishing something in this great field. We might establish scholarships and encourage young men to study chemistry; grant funds to promote special research ; accumulate reference libraries ; suggest to the teachers courses of training better adapted to produce the class of men needed in Industrial Chemistry; there are many ways in which the support and influence of this Society might profitably be directed. But there is one field which is richer in the promise of results than all others combined; a field which will yield a more immediate, direct, and tangible return to our own industry, our own profession, and to our own members; and that is in .recognizing the necessity of systematic study of industrial problems and throwing the undivided influence of this Society i n t o the establishment and maintenance of laboratories equipped to ansmer the eternal questions arising as a result of industrial progress. Laboratories to solve problems and establish facts, not from the standpoint of fundamental theories and principles involved, which presumably have been established by the test tube and beaker method but to solve problems f r o m the standpoivtt of their proposed application.
ORIGINAL PAPERS. TRANSFORMATION OF OTHER FORMS OF CARBON INTO GRAPHITE. B Y 1%’. C ARSEM. Received Oet. 1, 1911.
INTRODUCTION.
The conditions under which “Amorphous carbon” is transformed into graphite have been the subject of much discussion, and many statements have found
their way into the literature which are not supported b y experimental evidence. The following theories are commonly held: I. A high temperature albne will convert “amorphous carbon” into graphite (Moissan). 2. Pure carbon is not converted t o graphite by heat alone (Berthelot). 3. Graphite is the result of intermediate formation
