I&EC TRENDS
TODAY
are in production in laboratory quantities following successful screening in a number of uses. Compounds are tetraphenyl lead, the basic chemical, and three of its derivatives: hexaphenyl dilead, triphenyl lead acetate, and diphenyl lead acetate. The Institute for Organic Chemistry TNO, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, has carried out studies of hundreds of organolead compounds and found that these four show promise in such applications as toxicants for marine and other antifouling paints, pesticides, heat and light stabilizers for chlorinated hydrocarbon polymers, catalysts for polyurethane foams and for ester$cation in general, and as radical producers. The Institute is now making samples available for further evaluation. The International Lead Zinc Research Organization sponsored the screening studies. Four aryllead compounds
Extreme temperature insulation developed by Johns-Manville's Aerospace Products Group is composed of 99% pure silica jbers, heat treated for dimensional stability. T h e Air Force has selected the material, called Dyna-Quartz, to protect its Dyna-Soar space vehicle during re-entry into the atmosphere. The craft will have no ablative heat shield, and re-entry will take about thirty minutes. Skin temperatures on the vehicle are expected to exceed 2000" F. during this maneuver. A combination of radiation and thermal insulation will protect pilot and equipment during the re-entry period. After a 24-hour exposure to a temperature of 2750" F., Dyna-Quartz has shown less than ?% shrinkage, which is the key to insulation performance at these temperatures.
was opened in Germany by Rockwell Manufacturing Co. The Jacility, designed to test Jowmeters and valves for petroleum products, chemicals, beverages, and other Juids, has a capacity of 6600 g.p.m. Wide viscosity range can be simulated through use of three test liquids: solvent, light oil, and heavy oil. Europe's largest meter test station
are using the Zimmerman Process for disposal of sewage sludge. The process, developed by engineers of Sterling Drug, h., operates on the principle that organic matter can be ejiciently oxidized while it is aqueously dispersed. The Zimpro Unit's reactor combines the organic content of the sludge with the proper proportion of air at the required pressure to produce combustion at a predetermined speed and temperature. Five Zimfro Units are in operation in the United States. The largest in the world, built for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, has a daily rated capacity of 200 tons of sludge (dry basis). A unit at Wheeling, W . Va., can handle up to 70 tonsper day. A &ton unit at Wausau, Wis., has operated continuously for more than two and a half years. Zimpro units at South Milwaukee, W i s . , and Rye, N . Y., have a daily capacity of one ton of sludge each. N e w municipal sewage treatment plants
N e w industrial and civilian applications for reinforced plastic made by jlament winding may emerge as a result of Koppers Co.'s acquisition of Lamtex Industries of Farmingdale, N . Y. Lamtex, an eight-year-old company and one of the pioneers in filament winding, has sold products mostly for government requirements, but has worked actively on nonmilitary items. Koppers intends to use its resources to develop new products and markets at a faster rate than would have been possible for Lamtex. Koppers j l a n s to increase eforts in the militaryjeld and also to move into industrial and civilian applications. VOL. 5 5
NO. 9
SEPTEMBER 1963
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. . to a new plant in Western Europe or a re. . . you're sure t h a t Foxboro service will be nearby.
No matter bvhere you g o . location near Rio
Foxboro, a world leader in process control, has nianufacturing facilities in England, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and the United States, all working to the same standards of precision and quality. Backing u p these plants is full sales and engineering service in major industrial centers throughout Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and Taiwan. T h i s means, in very practical terms, that Foxboro can provide you, anywhere, with quality instruments for the measurement and control of . temperature, ressure, flow? level, pH arid other process variables plus advance$ systems application engineering backed by 50 years of process instrumentation experience.
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For further information on Foxboro international sales and engineering service, write: T h e Fosboro Company, 499 Norfolk Street, Foxboro, Massachusetts, U. S. A. Your inquiry will be referred to the Foxboro ofice nearest you. Circle NO. 517 on Readers' Service Card
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by using a new catalyst system has been described by ‘Clrallace, Schriesheim, Hurteitz, and Glaser of Esso Research and Engineering. They have successfully used inorganic complexes for base-catalyzed oxidation of mercaptans to disulfides. Although the substitution of catalytic sweetening for chemical sweetening is itself relatively new, so-called inhibztor sweetening is effective for oleJlinic feed stocks and gasolines which contain relatively loamolecular weight mercaptans. Kerosines and heating oils require a more eficient oxidation-reduction catalyst, however. Such a catalyst has been sought among organic chelates of transition metals, the most promising being cobalt complexes. The Esso Research staf has investigated the parallel area of inorganic sequestering agents. Their most promising j n d to date is cobalt pyrophosphate. Simulated process studies indicate that such a sweetening process is feasible for the feed stocks under study. Some of their interesting jndings are that the pyrophosphate is as eJective as Lobalt phthalocyanine, an organic chelate, and much more efectiae than the uncomplexed cobalt in cobalt phosphate. Steric ejects also determine efectiveness-the pyrophosphate is superior to the bulkier phosphotungstate and phosphomolybdate ligands. A surface is apparently necessary-reaction increased somewhat with decreased particle size, but use of a true colloid resulted in poor sweetening.
Sweetening actual feed sfocks such as naphthas and kerosines
has been recently discussed by J . D . Bonjglio oJ the National Cash Register Company. B y enLapsulation techniques, a surface can be coated with adhesive materials which will remain dry until the capsules are rupturedperhaps months later. T h e adhesives may be entirely encapsulated, to be ruptured by pressure at the time of use. I n another application of the technique, encapsulated solvent may be imbedded in a d r y j l m of adhesive. For example, a dried neoprenejlm becomes adhesive when pressure ruptures capsules of toluene. Plasticizers and tackijiers can be contained in capsules ruptured by heat. Again, these will act with a driedjlm to form an adhesive. A blowing agent is the heat sensitive factor. Heating the capsules generates sujicient gas to rupture the wall. Encapsulation in adhesives
Superconductors become commercial. National Research Carp. has announced avazlability of a superconducting material which can be readdy wound into magnets and has greatly improved j e l d tolerance. The conductor, called Niostan by the company, is a t h i n j l m of niobium stannide deposited on niobium ribbon. The thin layer carries the current-more than a million amp. per sq. cm. in the absence of a magnetic j e l d . In a j e l d of 100,000 gauss (near the limit of present magnets) t h e j l m still will carry about 200,000 amp. per sq. cm. Ultimatejeld capacity is thought to be about 250,000 gauss, in comparison with 70,000 for niobium-zirconium. A major advantage is ffexibility-the ribbon can be bent and shaped after heat treatment. T h e importance of this new superconductor lies in the areas of cost reduction and availability. Magnets of 100,000 gauss are f a r from common, and may cost a quarter of a million dollars. M a n y existing smaller superconducting magnets can be raised to perhaps three times theirjeld strength bv using Niostan; cost of new units may drop to one tenth their present cost. We look for a sharp increase in the number of research organizations able to study mapnetohydrod’namics, fusion power, plasma physics, and the many other areas of use of highjeld magnets. VOL. 5 5
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