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T H E JOURNAL OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
CURRENT INDUSTRIAL NEWS
V O ~j, . NO.1 2
I
B y W. A. HAMOR
SULFITE WASTE LIQUOR PROBLEMS Paper for November 12, 1913reports that in the manufacture of chemical woodpulp by the sulfite process, half of every cord so treated is dissolved by the liquor in which the wood is boiled, and is discharged into the adjacent rivers as waste liquor. According t o the latest bulletin on pulpwood, issued by the Forestry Branch, Ottawa, the amount of pulpwood subjected to this chemical treatment in 1912was almost 290,000cords. Half of this amount was absolute waste. The average price of a cord of pulpwood is six dollars, SO that this waste, reduced t o its money equivalent, represents a loss t o Canada of over $8oo,ooo. Nor is this the only loss, for by this process 140 pounds of sulfur are required to dissolve the waste materials out of each cord of wood. Some of the gases generated in the process are recovered, but most of the sulfur passes off in the waste liquor, and no method has yet been found to recover it for use a second time. Sulfur costs twenty-five dollars a ton, and the loss in this particular is equivalent to a money loss of over half a million dollars on the total amount wasted. In view of the fact that each year more and more pulpwood is being manufactured into pulp by this process in Canada, the utilization of this waste liquor becomes an important problem. Even the most practicable method so far devised does not recover enough valuable products to make it pay. The waste liquor contains many materials, such as oxalic acid, tannin extracts, dyestuffs and alcohol constituents which, if they could be easily recovered, would make the liquor of great commercial value; but in spite of the tremendous amount of work has been done on the subject, especially in Europe, the problem still remains for the most part unsolved. As the liquor also contains carbohydrates, it should be possible to obtain turpentine, and eventually it may be possible to obtain rubber from it. I n furthering the solution of such problems and in eliminating other forms of wood waste, the new Forest Products Laboratories being established by the Dominion Government a t McGill University will doubtless play an important part. One use of the waste liquor mentioned above, that has been tried a t Grand’ MPre, Quebec, where the Laurentide Company has large pulp and paper mills, consists in its utilization for street-watering. Experience has shown it t o be as efficacious in keeping down dust as oil is, while the objectionable odor of oil is absent. NICKEL A BY-PRODUCT IN THE UNITED STATES The Geological Survey reports that there are no producing nickel mines in the United States. The output of nickel from domestic ores is merely a by-product from electrolytes of the copper refineries. Salts and metal equivalent to 328 short tons of metallic nickel were saved in domestic refineries in 1912from both foreign and domestic ores. Nickel ore, “imported for consumption,” is mostly from the Canadian deposits. ~
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING CHOICE OF THERMOMETERS IN INDUSTRIAL PLANTS In The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Whipple points out that questions of first cost, up-keep, etc., must be considered in the selection of thermometers for either high or low temperatures. As a rule the temperatures found throughout a steam plant may be taken with mercury thermometers, sockets, or mercury cups being placed in the steam pipes into which the mercury thermometers are placed. On the other hand, it is frequently troublesome to read the important thermometers in the plant,
and they often go unread. The thermometer a t the foot of the smoke stack, and the one on each side of the economizer, although giving valuable information as to the efficiency of the plant, are frequently unnoticed. For this reason it is advisable to install resistance thermometers, which can be easily read on a galvanometer mounted in the boiler or engine house. When dealing with high superheater temperatures, a recorder or an alarm thermometer will be found of service. Mercury thermometers are generally employed in cold storage work, but experience has shown that in the case of large stores -say ten rooms or over-it pays to install resistance thermometers. A great deal of time is spent in reading mercury thermometers throughout a large building which necessitates the opening and shutting of a number of doors, and which, in addition to the labor cost, is wasteful of power and tends to destroy the uniformity of temperature in the various rooms. The applications of pyrometers in works for the treatment of metals are very varied. One of the most important is the measurement of the temperature of the air in the hot air main of a blast furnace. If prime cost is not a n overwhelming consideration, then resistance thermometers should be used connected to a Callendar recorder. Thermocouples may be used, but if a n accuracy comparable to that of the resistance thermometers is desired, a scale control board, and various precautions with regard to cold junctions, etc., must be adopted. Unfortunately, although the temperature a t which a metal is cast is admitted to be of such great importance, yet there is no really satisfactory way of determining the temperature of the molten metal. The conditions, especially where a large crucible is used, make it practically impossible to insert a pyrometer into the metal, and the readings obtained with radiation or optical pyrometers are not consistent, owing to variations in the quality and quantity of the slag and the frequently great divergence from black-body conditions. The closed-tube radiation pyrometer can be safely used when small crucibles are employed; the thermocouple also, if protected by an outer salamander tube, may be employed for molten brass. The greatest field for the application of pyrometers lies in the heat treatment of metals, where the success of a pyrometer installation depends almost entirely on the mounting. Experience shows that, in the case of large furnaces, it is advisable to put the thermometer in the floor of the furnace in the following way: A slot is chopped into the furnace floor and into this a fire-clay tube is grouted, the space surrounding the tube being filled in with fie-clay flush with the bottom of the furnace. The pyrometer is slipped into the tube through the side of the furnace. The weight of the head of the pyrometer is taken by a flanged socket, which is screwed into the protective plating of the furnace, the pyrometer being held to the socket by means of readily removable bolts and nuts. Thus the pyrometer can be introduced between the gas ports of the furnace. In practically all porcelain works Seger cones are employed to control the firing. Although the information given by them is extremely valuable as showing the maximum temperature attained, yet they fail to show the rate a t which a kiln is being heated, and this is frequently of fundamental importance. Thermocouples are best employed for the measurement of the lower or preliminary temperature and radiation pyrometers for higher or finishing temperatures.
THE SALT INDUSTRY OF RUSSIA It is pointed out in The Times Russian Supplement, August I I, 1913, p. 8, that there is a great discrepancy between Russia’s salt production and her resources in this respect.
Dec., 1913
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
Geological investigation proved long ago that there are in various parts of the Russian Gmpire untouched deposits of salt, that there are lakes in the Astrakhan province and in Siberia which possess a considerable salt capacity, and that mineral salt can be found in large amounts in the Caucasus and in the Ural Mountains. Vast areas that are suspected to be saltbearing have up to the present time not yet been surveyed. Oil borings in the Ural Caspian district have within recent years disclosed the presence of hundreds of millions of tons of rock salt in the Gouriev and Emba districts. A recent calculation estimates the salt resources of Russia to be capable of supplying the whole world for centuries with this indispensable commodity. In spite of this fact, the production of salt in Russia hardly covers the comparatively moderate consumption of the Empire. In 1880,Russia produced no more than 75o.000 tons of salt. I n 1900, the production had increased to two million tons, and in I 9 I 2, the output reached 2 ‘/a millions. Nearly half of the Russian salt output is obtained in the lakes of Baskunchak and of the Crimea. Although the lake-salt production is the cheapest, the irregularity of its output induces those engaged in the industry to take a special interest in the product obtainable by boiling and in rock salt. Salt-boiling is principally applied in the Perm and Slaviansk districts. It is interesting to note that the Siberian dairy farms are using the Slaviansk and not the Perm salt, which, though nearer the Siberian consumer and obtained by the same process of boiling, is inferior in quality. The most advanced and promising branch of the Russian salt industry is rock salt, of which 85 per cent is produced in the Bakhmut district, in Southern Russia. The average yearly salt output in Bakhmut was for 1901-5. 500,000 tons and for 1906-10, 560,000 tons, while in 1912,it reached over 600,000 tons. The production of rock salt is less expensive than preparation by the boiling process. Russia’s production is limited by the internal demand, which is increasing slowly. The use of salt in cattle food is practically unknown t o the Russian peasantry, and the chemical industries using it as a raw material are not sufficiently developed. The salt industry depends much on the State, which is the owner of one-half of the salt-producing areas and a producer of several hundred thousand tons. The State gives leases against a certain royalty of extracted salt, and is entitled to force the firms to sell their whole output to the Government a t a fixed price. The rise of the price of salt was the object of special investigation by a Commission in 1911,but up to the present moment the State has not used its right of compulsory pre-emption. The Amur district, a great fishery centre, and consequently an important consumer of salt, is importing this commodity from Japan, China, and especially from Germany, to the amount of over 500,000 tons. The salt industry being closely connected with the general industrial development of the country, progress in agriculture and chemical production, as well as the betterment of the economic standard of the population, will necessarily lead to an increased output. CHEMICAL TRADE OF GERMANY Consul-General Harris, of Frankfort on the Main, summarizing a number of German authorities, discusses the progress of the chemical trade of Germany during the past few months and throughout 1912. I n connection with the statement made by Mr. Harris as to the progress of Germany’s chemical trade, statistics show that the exports of raw chemical products during the first half of 1913,comparedwith 1912,recordan increase of more worth, and reach a total of $47,ooo,ooo. Of than $~o,ooo,ooo colors and dyestuffs, an increase of about $6,000,000 is noted,
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the total for the first six months of the present year being $36,ooo,ooo. Of varnish, lac and putty, the exports amount to nearly $739,000, and really declined during the six months period. Of ethers, alcohol, etc., the total exports for the first six months of 1913 were over $~,OOO,OOO worth, a gain of $1,500,000. Exports of artificial fertilizers show a decline of about $300.000 in a total exportation of the first six months of $6,143,ooo worth. Of pharmaceutical products, a gain of more than ,$z,ooo,ooois noted for the first six months, the total being $ I I,963,000. Giving some details as to the more important items in Germany’s trade with the United States and other countries, and calling particular attention to the trade in fertilizers and explosives, Mr. Harris says: The items of chief importance in the export trade are chemical raw products and colors and dyestuffs, forming together about three-fourths of the total value. Exports of raw materials during the first half of 1913showed a gain of about 30 per cent over the corresponding period in 1912,32 per cent over the January-June portion of 191I, and I IO per cent over the first semester of I 908. A marked increase was shown also in the various salts, such as chloride of potassium, etc. Belgium, France and AustriaHungary are the principal countries of destination of these shipments, while for salts to be used for fertilizers, which are also included in the export figures, the United States, Sweden, Russia and Austria-Hungary are the chief customers. The import trade of these salts is so small as to be insignificant. As purchasers of German aniline and other coal-tar colors, China, England and the United States lead. The total shipments of these colors in the first half of 1913 reached in value $16,855,000, against $15,726,000last year. Imports of dyestuffs, with figures much lower than the exports, include certain specialties. Germany’s shipments of artificial fertilizers, while showing a falling off from those of 1912,advanced during the past six years by about 150 per cent. Thomas meal (exports, first half of 1912, $2,762,000; 1913, $2,7o3,000) and superphosphate (exports, first half 1912,8;3,205,000; 1913,$z,g95,000), as byproducts of the rapidly increasing mining industries of Germany, furnish the principal items of these exports, which go chiefly to Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, Russia and Denmark. Imports of artificial fertilizers during the first six months of 1913 amounted to 60 per cent of the exports and came chiefly from Belgium and France. IMPRESSIONS OF EUROPEAN SEWAGE-TREATMENT METHODS As Philadelphia’s representative, Mr. George E. Datesman, principal assistant engineer of the Bureau of Surveys, visited Europe and made studies of the systems of sewage treatment in cities of Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, France and England. The principal conclusions of his report follow: I. The establishment of government rivers boards to supervise sanitary conditions and works proposed is essential to proper results. The art of sewage disposal apparently has stopped a t percolating filters, but an adequate and less costly substitute is anticipated. It is practicable to obtain from properly designed and operated sewage works a clear, odorless, sparkling and non-putrescent efluent from a sewage of extreme concentration, even if it has become septic. 2. Sludge resulting from sewage treatment can be rendered innocuous, practically inodorous and wholly unobjectionable and can be disposed of without nuisance, sometimes profitably. By certain combinations of treatment desired results may be secured a t a fraction of the cost of other recognized scientific methods of treatment in satisfactory operation. 3 . In the conservation of a water supply, sewage-disposal
