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T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I L V E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y Vola
C u b a t o England, France, a n d I t a l y makes a concerted action of this kind especially necessary j u s t at prese n t , a n d i t is all t h e more desirable in view of t h e probability of a n economic league in t h e near f u t u r e between t h e various allied countries. If t h i s could be done our sugar a n d food chemists would h a v e a t their disposal a convenient, rational, accurate s t a n d a r d , while our confreres i n France, relieved f r o m t h e embarrassment of having t o copy a G e r m a n scale, would be free t o supply t h e d e m a n d for polariscopes, t h e increasing shortage of which is becoming at present a serious detriment in m a n y industries. An objection which h a s been urged against a change in t h e present sugar scale is t h a t all polariscopes now in use would be rendered valueless. This objection, however, as D u p o n t pFointed o u t at t h e F i f t h I n t e r national Congress of Applied Chemistry, is n o t a serious one. Polariscopes c a n be equipped with t h e new scales a t little cost a n d without changing t h e optical construction of t h e instruments. If t h e a d justment of t h e new scale could be performed b y our National Bureau of S t a n d a r d s t h e various polariscopes of t h e c o u n t r y would for t h e first t i m e be placed u p o n a strictly uniform basis of comparison. Differences of as much as 0.3 h a v e been noticed b y t h e a u t h o r between t h e r o o o point of different G e r m a n saccharimeters supplied t o t h e American t r a d e . Preliminary t o t h e adoption of t h e proposed international sugar scale a c o m m i t t e e of scientists f r o m t h e different allied countries should agree u p o n a cons t a n t for t h e angular rotation of a n o r m a l q u a r t z control plate wbich shall read roo’ u p o n a saccharimeter whose r o o o point has been established b y polarizing 2 0 g. of d r y , chemically pure sucrose u n d e r t h e prescribed conditions of analysis. When t h i s rotation value of t h e normal 100’ q u a r t z plate has been established for sodium, mercury, or other monochromatic light, instrument-makers a n d users of polariscopes will h a v e a n infallible means of verifying t h e accuracy of their scales.
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If instrument-makers will t h e n show a disposition t o meet t h e wishes of t h e i r patrons i n minor m a t t e r s of construction t h e r e is no reason w h y t h e manufact u r e r s of t h e allied nations cannot win for t h e m selves a share of t h e m a r k e t which heretofore h a s belonged almost exclusively t o t h e Central Powers. T h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s of t h e United S t a t e s could find n o b e t t e r t i m e t h a n t h e present in which t o make plans for t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of polariscopes, saccharimeters, refractometers a n d o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t s t h a t were formerly i m p o r t e d f r o m G e r m a n y a n d Austria. Before entering t h i s field, however, t h e y should make i t their a i m t o a d o p t only those s t a n d a r d s a n d t y p e s which are most convenient in t h e opinion of t h e chemists who use t h e m . Heretofore chemists h a v e been obliged t o t a k e w h a t t h e manufacturer was cont e n t t o offer. It is t i m e t o reverse t h i s illogical m e t h o d of procedure. L e t t h e chemists outline t h e i r specifications a n d give t h e i r orders t o t h e manufacturer who is most ready t o meet t h e m . T h e writer i s a l r e a d y in consultation with sugar chemists upon specifications for saccharimeters. As i t will probably be m a n y years before commercial a n d scientific relations are resumed with t h e Central Powers, i t would be t h e height of folly t o wait for t h e resumption of such relations before restoring our depleted stocks of a p p a r a t u s . I t is time t h a t we m a d e ourselves independent of t h e Central Powers in t h i s respect as in all others. Uniformity of s t a n d a r d s will make i t much easier for one allied nation t o supply t h e w a n t s of a n o t h e r a n d will greatly help towards preserving t h a t spirit of united action which a common e n e m y has brought a b o u t . T h e s a m e i n t i m a t e cooperation which exists between t h e Allies a t t h e b a t t l e front will be necess a r y i n t h e great work of reconstruction t h a t is t o follow. I n t h e recent words of Mr. Lloyd-George. “ L e t us n o t make t h e mistake of dissolving t h e p a r t n e r ship t h e m o m e n t t h e fighting is over.” NEW YORKSUGAR TRADE LABORATORY 80 SOUTH STREET, N E W Y O R K CITY
I
ADDRESSES THE POTASH SITUATION’
IO,
now being erected by the Government are in full working order, there should be a sufficiency oE nitrogen. The development of our pyrite supply and the establishment of sulfuric acid plants should insure a supply a t reasonable prices. The potash supply is the only weak link in the fertilizer chain, and the writer is of the opinion that it is possible to develop a domestic potash industry.
In the last year or two potash has been very prominently before the public, and so much information and misinformatiori has been published that it is very difficult t o present any new facts on the subject. A s over ninety per cent of all the potash used before the war was in the manufacture of fertilizer, the readFOOD ing of this paper before the AMERICAN CHEM~CAL SOCIETY I I Fertilizer Labor may seem somewhat inappropriate. I I I Our dependence before the war on foreign sources for an imPiitrogen Phosphorus Potash portant element in our food supply may be shown by the acI companying diagram. Chilean Nitrates Acid Phosphate German The writer would be prepared t o go even further than the Potash Salts above and for the present have our labor also dependent on a Spanish Pyrites foreign source in the form of interned German prisoners of war. I t is well known to every one that before the war the entire The prospect of becoming independent of these foreign sources after the war is promising. When the nitrogen fixation plants world was dependent on Germany for its potash supply, and this country was importing annually about I,OOO,OOO tons of 1 Paper delivered in the Symposium on Potash held by the Division potash salts of various grades, containing approximately 240,000 of Industrial Chemists and Chemical Engineers a t the 56th Meeting of the tons of KzO. American Chemical Society, Cleveland, September 12, 19 I8
1
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I
Nov., 1918
T H E JOL’R.VAL
OF IiVDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
919
The enactment of the “Potash Law” by Germany in 1910, tine it will not be further dealt with here, except to point out which a t one time threatened t o become a serious diplomatic that it would be almost impossible t o locate a source that is question, first drew attention to our entire dependence on further from the principal centers of demand, as the Pacific Germany for a very important element of plant food, and in Coastal states, including Hawaii, use less than 2 per cent of the 191I Congress made an appropriation for investigating our normal supply of potash. own sources of supply. It was not, however, until Germany A little over 2,400 tons of KzO were produced from the alunite deposits near Marysvale, Utah. This was mostly in the form put an embargo on the exportation of potash salts in January 1915, that the question became acute, and a serious attempt of a high-grade sulfate 97 per cent pure. The alunite is crushed was made to develop our domestic sources. to about 1 / ~ in. mesh, and roasted in a rotary kiln, using pulThe year I91j may b- said t o have marked the beginning verized coal as fuel. The calcined material is leached with of the American potash industry, as in that year a little over hot water in a closed tank a t a temperature equivalent to 60 1,000t6ns of KzO were produced. This n a s increased to 9,720 lbs. steam pressure, which takes the potassium sulfate into solutons in 1916, to over 32,000 tons in 1917, and it is probable tion. The solution is filtered in a Kelly filter press, and the that the production for the present year will reach 60,000 tons clear filtrate is then evaporated in Swenson triple-effect evaporaof KzO. tors, and the resulting crystals centrifuged and sacked for shipAt the present time over 60 per cent of the total is being ob- ment. hTo estimate of the cost of production is available, but tained from natural brines, principally Searles Lake, California, unless it is possible to utilize the alumina in the residue, which and the lakes of Western Nebraska. The Desert Basin and is not being done a t present, it does not seem that potash can be produced from this source a t a profit a t normal prices. In Death Valley have long been names that appealed to the general public as probable locations of immense deposits of potash. Bulletin 451,published by the Bureau of Soils, entitled “The These districts have been carefully examined by the U. S. Geo- Recovery of Potash froin Alunite,” by Messrs Waggaman and logical Survey, and as a result it may be stated that Searles Cullen, the possibilities of obtaining both alumina and sulfuric Lake is the most promising individual source of potash a t pres- acid, as well as potash, is discussed, and it was estimated that ent known in this country. The extent of this has not been this should be very profitable a t present prices, and possibly definitely determined, but it has been estimated to contain a t normal prices also. Calcined alunite, containing I j per from IO,OOO,OOO to nearly zo,ooo,ooo tons of KzO, which would cent of KzO, has also been marketed in small quantities for iise be sufficient to meet the entire requirements of this country in fertilizers, as i t has been found by experiment that this is as for from 2 0 to 40 years. Two companies are operating here effective per unit of IC20 as the soluble sulfate and chloride and one of them, the American Trona Corporation, is said to salts. If a deposit of alunite could be discovered in the East be the largest individual producer of potash in this country. near the centers of demand for fertilizers, it is probable that The eventual capacity of this plant may reach 75,000 to IOO,OOO this calcined product could be produced a t a profit a t normal tons of KzO per year. The brine from the lake is treated by prices, but with the location of the present known deposits, the evaporation a t Trona, on the edge of the lake, and it is intended high freight rate per unit of K 2 0 will be prohibitive. to ship the crude salts thus obtained to the refinery a t San Pedro In the opinion of the writer, the dust from the cement kilns on the coast. The brine is of a somewhat complex composi- is probably the most promising source of a permanent domestic tion, and the successful treatment of it commercially was an potash supply. As the result of a careful investigation by the interesting problem for our chemists. Borax and soda, and Bureau of Soils, it has been estimated that the maximum amount possibly salt as well, will be produced, and this should assist in ,of potash that might be recovered from all the cement works enabling this plant t o continue operations a t a profit when the in the country would be IOO,OOO tons of K O . price of potash becomes normal. The geographical location I t is not probable that this figure will ever be reached, as some of Searles Lake is very unfortunate, as more than go per cent plants do not have sufficient potash in the raw mix to make its recovery profitable, and others for various reasons would of the pre-war supply of potash was used east of the Mississippi River. A low ocean freight rate vza the Panama Canal would not find it advisable to install plants. It does not, however, be an important factor in competing with foreign supplies. seem unreasonable t o expect that the amount from this source The Nebraska lakes are a t present supplying nearly half of should reach 50,000 tons of KzO per year, which is 20 per cent of our normal requirements. The geographical position of the the total amount of potash produced. These comprise a number of lakes, usually of small extent, located in the sand-hill cement industry is exceptionally fortunate, as approximately region of the State. They usually consist of a shallow lake of 70 per cent of the total amount of cement manufactured is probrine, with a bottom of muck and hardpan, underlain by a sand duced east of the I\/lississippi,and this region consumes approxiimpregnated with brine similar in composition t o the lake mately 90 per cent of the normal supply of potash. The first waters. This is the principal source of the potash. It has not cement plant to recover potash from this kiln dust was the been found possible to make an estimate of the total potash Riverside Portland Cement Company, of California. Owing content of these lakes, but it has been stated by the Director to litigation with the fruit growers in the vicinity, who claimed of the Nebraska Conservation and Soil Survey that with the that the fine dust escaping from the kilns was causing damage plants now producing and building, the stores of high-testing to the fruit trees, the company was compelled to take steps to brines would be greatly reduced within four years. One of the abate the dust nuisance. A Cottrell electrical precipitation plant lakes that had been pumped dry has since filled up again, and was installed, and when the dust thus collected was analyzed, i t is claimed that there was no decrease in the grade of the brine. it was found to contain about I O per cent of KzO,so that a t present It may be, therefore, that the life of these lakes will be consid- prices of potash this is a very profitable part of the plant. The erably prolonged and this is very much to be desired, as this installation wa5 completed early in 1913, and has been in consource of potash has so far been the foundation of the domestic tinuous and successful operation ever since, so that there is no supply. The district is handicapped by its geographical loca- longer any question about the practicability of this method. tion, entailing high freight rates to the points of demand. It is By the end of this year there will be about a dozen cement probable that eventually a central refining plant will be erected, plants recovering potash from the kiln dust, with a probable proand by producing a very high-grade product, freight rates per duction of 10,000 to IZ,OOO tons of KzO per year. The recovery unit of K20 could be reduced by one-half. of the maximum amount of potash and its concentration from The giant kelps of the Pacific Coast ranked second as a source the flue dust involved some very interesting chemical problems, of supply in 1917, having produced 1 1 per cent of the total for which appear to have been successfully solved. Published that year. As this source is being described by hlr. Turren- figures show that potash can be produced profitably from this
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T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y Vol.
source for 50 cents per unit of K20, which should insure the permanence of this source of supply under any conditions, Another source which has even greater possibilities than the cement plants, although up to the present but very little has been done, is the dust from the blast furnaces manufacturing pig iron. Mr. R. J. Wysor made some investigations and experiments at the plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company, and it was found that with the Cottrell electric precipitation, practically all the dust and fume entering the treater could be precipitated successfully. In many cases the iron ore used in manufacturing the pig iron contains sufficient potash to make its recovery profitable, with the additional great advantage of cleaner-gas for use in the stoves and boilers. The amount of potash available from this source has not been definitely estimated, but it is probable that it would be from 200,ooo to 300,000 tons of KzO per year. As far as the writer has been able to learn, there is a t present only one plant being installed a t any of the blast furnaces for the recovery of potash. All of the manufacturers are a t present so intent on producing the maximum amount of pig iron that there is very little possibility of getting them to realize the importance of developing a domestic potash industry. Another source which promises a small but permanent supply is the waste from distilleries where molasses is used t o produce alcohol. This source ranked third in 1917,with a production of 2,800 tons of KzO. Recent improvements in methods are claimed to have reduced costs and increased the potash extraction, and as this is practically a by-product it is probable that potash can be produced a t a profit after the war. There are some thirty or forty small producers of potash from wood ashes, mostly in Michigan and Wisconsin, but the total amount from this source is only about 400 tons of KeO per year, and it is not probable that they will be able to continue operations under normal prices. The greatest potentid sources of potash are the potash-rich silicate rocks, and of these the most promising are the greensands or glauconite of New Jersey, the Cartersville slates of Georgia, and the leucite rocks of Wyoming. Any one of these’ sources would be capable of supplying our entire requirements for many centuries. Many patents have been issued in the last fifty years for methods of extracting potash from these silicates, but no general commercial process has yet been developed. Several companies have been experimenting on the greensands on what may be called a commercial demonstration scale, and claim that under normal conditions they will be able to produce potash a t less than $I per unit of KzO. Another company is operating on a small scale on the Cartersville slates, and producing a material containing 4 per cent of water-soluble KzO, which is being used locally as a fertilizer. Experiments have also been carried out on the leucite rocks, which give promise of being successful. There are several million tons of tailings from the gold mines in the Cripple Creek district of Colorado, averaging about IO per cent of Ks0. These are already finely ground and are close to transportation and supplies. Experiments have also been made with these, but so far without success. The development of a commercially successful process of treating the silicate rocks would solve the potash question permanently, and this problem should not be beyond the skill of our chemists and metallurgists. In conclusion, the writer is of the opinion that the sources of potash already discovered are sufficient to supply the requirements of this country, if sufficiently developed. He also thinks the prospects of this development are favorable, but it will probably require some kind of assistance by the Government. This might perhaps best be done by subsidizing the domestic industry t o a suitable degree. I n this way, the cost to the Government would be moderate and the expense would be distributed, and
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it would thus be possible to break the German monopoly without placing a hardship on any particular class. U. S. BUREAUOF MINES WASHINGTON, D. C .
RUSSIA’S PRODUCTION OF PLATINUM] B y ALBERTR . MERZ Received September 23, 1918
Russia became the chief center of the production of platinum soon after its identification as a product of the Urds in 1823. Exploitation began in 1824. Previous to this time Colombia, then having an annual production of approximately 16,000 ounces, had been the only purveyor of platinum to the world’s market. For a few years the production of Russian platinum was in quite small quantities and obtained as a by-product in the washing of gold-bearing sands, but as acquaintance with its value grew and sale was found for it, the output gradually increased. In 1827 the Russian Minister of Finance, Count Egor Frantsovich Kankrin, wishing to increase the yield of platinum and to furnish the government with an important source of income, proposed the coinage of platinum. This was approved by the Czar and coinage was instituted in 1828. Simultaneously with the introduction of platinum money the government prohibited the export of platinum abroad and also imposed a tax of I O to 15 per cent on its production. This tax which was in kind was not, however, burdensome to the Russian platinum producers for they used the labor of serfs in working the mines and in consequence the cost of securing the platinum was very little. The price paid by the government to the producers was fixed at $4.2I an ounce.2 The first year after the realization of the measure providing for the coinage of platinum the output rose to over 50,000 ounces and in 1843 it reached 112,571ounces. In 1845 the coinage of platinum money and the purchase of the metal by the treasury were discontinued and the restrictions on its use for other purposes were removed. I n all, for the I8 years (1828-1845)there were coined 453,014 ounces of platinum. After the discontinuance of coinage in 1845 the government began gradually to withdraw from circulation the money which had been issued and secured about 80 per cent of it. The Russian platinum industry left thus upon its own resources was for a time benumbed and the annual production dropped to less than 1,000ounces. With the end of the fifties the production of platinum began to develop anew and in 1862 the output reached 75,060 ounces. In 1859 the mint had accumulated a stock of platinum amounting to 472,706 ounces, of which 234,412 ounces was in coin. Sales of the metal had been made in small quantities to the Parisian manufacturer, Quennesen, and to others, but in 1862 the entire quantity remaining in the treasury was sold to the London firm of Johnson, Matthey & Co., refiners to the Bank of England, after which the tax in kind was revoked. The consumption of platinum meanwhile continued to grow with each year and parallel with this increasing consumption the quantity of platinum secured in the Urals also increased so that in the closing years of the 19th century it attained to 130,000t o rgo,om ounces annually, approximately g o per cent of the world’s total annual output. Simultaneously with this growth in production there arose among the big foreign platinum dealers a desire to seize control of the platinum industry, and companies were formed abroad who monopolized the Russian industry and fixed according to their own whim the price of .the metal. The price from this time on began to be subject to violent fluctuations though the average gradually increased. The complete 1 Prepared as a part of the work on platinum in the course in chemical economics and statistics at George Washington University. 2 On the basis of 1 ruble equivalent to 7 7 cents. The value of the Russian ruble was changed from 77 to 51 cents by a law promulgated on September lO/August 29 of the year 1897.
