Sept., 1912
T H E ] O U R A T A L OF I S D U S T R I A L A N D ESGIiZ-EERIAYG CHEI1IISTRY
tense white light, in fireworks. Orpiment, the trisulphide, called also king’s yellow, is used as a paint pigment and as a reducing agent in chemical work. The trioxide is used in paints; for preserving hides, both for taxidermists and in the leather industry; as an antiseptic; and in killing animal pests. Sodium arsenate is used in dyeing with turkey-red oil and in printing fabrics; the arsenite in making soaps for use on skins and hides. Potassium arsenite is used as a reducer for silver in the manufacture of mirrors. A copy of the report on arsenic may be obtained free on application to the Director of the United States Geological Survey a t Washington, D. C. SWISS FACTORY STATISTICS. The following statistics, reported by Commercial Agent Archibald J. Wolfe, show the preliminary results of the Swiss Federal census of 191I regarding Swiss factory enterprises: Employees. Trades.
Factories.
Male.
Female.
Total.
326 215 67 24 866
11,617 7,735 2,190 440 11,787
17.932 23.802 3,135 567 16,822
29,549 31,537 5,325 1,007 28,609
Other textile trades.. . . ’ . . . . 112 Clothing and outfitting.. . . . . . . . . . 660 Provisions and alimentary trades. 694 198 Chemical industry.. , . , . , , , , , , . Centrals for power, gas, and water 263 Paper and graphic trades.. . . . . . . 625 Woodworking trades.. . . . . . . . . . . 1,268 Metal working.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 Machinery, apparatus, e t c . , , . , . . 640 Jewelry and watchmaking.. . . . . . 856 Clay and stone trades.. . . . . . . . . . 441
8,789 13,440 6,967 4,254 13,227 23,333 21,865 45,313 21,445 17,160
2.633 16,061 12,604
4 , 150 24,850 26,044
1,725
8,692 4,255 18,157 23,765 23,325 46,435 34,983 18,160
Cotton trades., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silkindustry., , . , , . . , , , , . , . , , . Woolen industry. . . . . . . . . . Linen industrv.. . . . . . . . . . . Embroidery.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-___
1
4,930 432 1,460 1,122 13,538 1,000
TITANIUM AND ALLOYS OF STEEL. Much experimenting with various alloys of steel has been carried on by railroads and rolling-mill operators to produce a rail t h a t will give more satisfactory service than the ordinary rail now in use. One of the principal metals used in these experiments, according to the United States Geological Survey, is titanium. More than 250,000 long tons of rails were rolled in 1910 from steel to which ferrotitanium had been added. More than 150,000 tons of steel rails in which nickel or nickel and chromium were used as alloy were also made during 1910, and experiments were made with about 80,000 tons of steel rails in which chromium, manganese, vanadium, and other metals were used. Certain steel makers, according to the Survey, are now advertising titanium steel, claiming t h a t although no titanium is left in the steel, the removal of gases and impurities effected by i t greatly increases the good quality of the steel. GOOD INCREASE I N PLATINUM PRODUCTION. California and Oregon produced all the platinum mined in the United States in 1911; this, as shown by Waldemar Lindgren, of the United States Geological Survey, in an advance chapter from “Mineral Resources” for 1911, was $8,631 greater in value than the output for 1910. The following is a statement of production in Troy ounces and the values for the two years :
-----
1910.
California.. Oregon.
1911.
----------.
Ounces. 337 53
Value. $8,386 1,121
Ounces. 511 117
390
9,507
628
......
......... -
__
Value. $14,873 3,265
- -
18,138
The average price paid for platinum in 191I was $28.87 an ounce, compared with $24.38 in 1910, the higher price undoubtedly resulting in an increased production.
697
Importations in 1911 of crude platinum sands resulted in an estimated refined product of 27,500 ounces, nearly four times the domestic production. An additional amount was derived from imported ores and mattes, so that the total quantity of refined platinum produced in domestic refineries is estimated by Mr. Lindgren a t approximately 29,140 fine ounces, of which about 940 ounces, val ed a t $40,890, was derived from domestic sources of various kinds-platinum sands, copper and gold bullion, etc. The corresponding estimate for 1910 was 773 ounces, valued a t $25,277. The platinum imported and entered for consumption in the United States in 1911, including ores and manufactured products, was valued a t $4,866,207, an increase over the 1910 figures of $1,212,543. The exports amounted to only $8,139. The world’s production of platinum in 1911 was 314,323 troy ounces, compared 154th 288,952 ounces in 1910. Mr. Lindgren’s report of platinum contains an interesting discussion of the platinum-bearing minerals, the uses of the metal, its sources in the United States, and the possibility of new discoveries. I t also contains notes on the other platinum metals such as iridium and palladium.
r
PAINT PRODUCTION I N 1911. I n 1911, according to the United States Geological Survey, the value of the paint produced from all sources was $31,822,827. Paints are divided by the Survey into three groupsnatural mineral pigments, pigments made directly from ores, and chemicallv manufactured pigments. Of thc total uroduction of paint in 191I $498,821 is to be credited to natural mineral pigments, $7,343,762 to pigments made directly from ores, and $23,780,244 to chemically manufactured pigments. The production of natural pigments was less than in 1910; that of pigments made from ores increased; that of chemically manufactured pigments decreased. There was a total decrease in value, compared with the value for 1910, of $241,49j. The report on mineral paints, by W. C. Phalen, of the Survey, has been issued as an advance chapter of the volume “Mineral Resources” for 1911. I t contains tables showing imports of the pigments of different classes, thus giving a n idea of the magnitude of their consumption in the United States; descriptions of the characters of the natural mineral pigments, and brief data on the methods of preparation of the prepared pigments. The report also contains a summary of the results of paint tests recently published by the American Society for Testing Materials.
_-
WASTE I N COKE MAKING. If the 27,703,644 short tons of coke manufactured in 1911 in ovens of the beehive type had been made in by-product ovens the value of the by-products thus recovered, which were wasted in the beehive ovens, would have been between $35,000,om and $40,000,000. This interesting statement is made by Edward W. Parker, of the United States Geological Survey, in an advance chapter on coke from the volume “Mineral Resources” for 1911. This estimate is based on the value of the by-products resulting from the 7,847,845 tons of coke made in by-product ovens in 1911. The value of these by-products recovered in 1911 was equal to the value a t the mines of the coal used in making the coke. From information received by the Survey from the superintendent of motive power of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Mr. Parker estimates that the quantity of power which might be obtained from the coking operations in the Connellsville and Lower Connellsville districts by substituting non-recovery retort ovens for beehive ovens and using the heat which is now wasted would be more than twice the quantity of power necessary to move every train on the Pennsylvania Railroad between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The amount of boiler norse-
498
T H E JOURNAL OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ElVGIiVEERIiVG C H E J 4 I S T R Y .
power obtainable from these coking districts is estimated by Mr. Parker a t about 400,000 horsepower per hour for every day in the year. .-COAL EXPORTS I N 1911. The exports of coal from the United Staes during 1911, according to the United States Geological survey, were 17,432,753 long tons, valued a t $j2,593,274, compared with 13,805,866 long tons, valued a t $41,470,792, in 1910. The exports in 1911
Sept., 19 1 2
comprised 3,sj3,999 long tons of anthracite, valued a t $18,093,285, and 13,878,754 long tons of bituminous coal, valued a t $34,499,989. The exports of bituminous coal increased over 3,000,000 tons, or about 30 per cent. Anthracite exports increased about half a million tons. The imports of anthracite amounted in 1911 to only 2,463 long tons, valued a t $12,550, and those of bituminous coal decreased from 1,497,709 long tons, valued a t $3,97j,j61, in 1910, to 1,234,998 tons, valued a t 53,604,797.
1
BOOK REVIEWS CORRECTION. Review of Thorpe’s Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. Vol. I. THISJOURNAL, 4, 550. The price of $50.00 quoted in our review for the 5 volumes of the above work was a mistake. The price given by the publishers, Longmans, Green & Co., for the complete set of the second edition of this didionary is $67.50.
A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry.
Second Edition. By SIR
EDWARD THORPEand other eminent contributors. To be issued in five volumes. Revised and enlarged, Volume II., 786 pages. Price, when complete, $67.50 per set and $13.50 per volume. Longmans, Green & Co. 1912, London and New York. July, The issue of the first volume, reviewed in THISJOURNAL, p. 550, has been followed with gratifying promptness by Volume 11. This completes the treatment of subjects in alphabetical order up to and through Gold. A large number of new names has been added to the list of special contributors to this work and the same general policy of treating each subject by well known experts has been followed. A comparison with the individual subjects treated in the first edition shows careful revision and enlargement of many articles. For example, the treatment of Chlorine has been enlarged to include the electrolytic production of this now important industrial product and includes reference to the commerical production of liquid chlorine. New chapters have been added on Chromophores and Chromogens; Coke and its by-products and appliances used; Colloids; Condensers, laboratory; Corrosion of Iron; Crops; Desiccation and Drying; Diazo Compounds; Diffusion; Edible Oils and Fats; Egg; Esterification; Factis; Feeding Stuffs; Fertilizers and Manures; Fire Extinction and Prevention; Flame; Frits and Glazes. The additions of new material together with the revision and modernizing of the chapters carried over from the previous edition bring this volume up to the high standard set by Volume I in both material and workmanship M. C. WHITAKER. Portland Cement. By RICHARDK. MEADE. Second Edition. 8vo. Pages viii f 385; 100 illustrations. Easton, Pa.: Chemical Publishing Co. 191I . Price, $3.50. This excellent treatise, which was much sought after in the first edition, has been greatly improved in the second. The classification of cements is good, as is also the historical review, particularly t h a t dealing with the development of the industry in America. The theories of composition are prudently dealt with mostly in the language of the chief investigators, such as Le Chatelier, Newberry, Richardson, Tornebohm and Day and Shepherd, who are all given the full credit due them. The chapter on raw materials is one of the best on t h a t subject in any language. That 011 proportioning could well be cut down. The descriptions of the stages of manufacture are replete with detail. The review of the development of kilns, grinders and general mechanical appliances leaves nothing to be desired, at least as regards American practice. The author is strangely brief in speaking of the Universal Company’s manufacture from
I
slag and limestone. This is hardly fair, since such a n enormous proportion of our American output is now made thus. The latter half of the book is taken up with treatises on analysis and physical testing of cement. I n volume-constancy tests all are mentioned except high pressure steam tests. This work on Portland Cement will always remain a monument to the industry and ability of the author. It is a pity t h a t such flimsy paper should have been used in the embodiment of it. CHARLESF. MCKENNA. The Cement Industry in 191I. Published as a n advance chapter from Mineral Resources, 1911, and may be obtained free by application t o the Director, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. The statistics of cement production in 1911, prepared by Ernest F. Rurchard, of the United States Geological Survey, show an increase over 1910 of only about a million and a half barrels. The increase in quantity is the smallest recorded within the last 13 years. The total quantity of Portland, natural, and puzzolan cements produced in the Cnited States during 1911 was 79,547,958 barrels, valued a t $66,705,136. The year 1911 showed a n increase of 2 . 2 7 per cent. in quantity, but a decrease of I .48 per cent. in value. The total production of Portland cement in the United States in 1911 as reported to the United States Geological Survey was 78,528,637 barrels, valued a t $66,248,817. This output represents a n increase in quantity of z .58 per cent. and a decrease in value of 2 .87 per cent. The United States has been divided into 11 subdivisions based on the grouping of plants in direct relation to the trade territory covered by each group. This grouping is also logical when the raw materials are considered. PRODUCTION O F PORTLAND CEMENT I N 1911 BY COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS. Per Average factory Production cent. Active 1911. change, price District. plants. Barrels. 1911. per bbl. New Jersey and Eastern Penn0.715 sylvania (Lehigh District) . , 24 2 5 , 9 7 2 , 1 0 8 - 1 . 3 0 New Y o r k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3,314,217 0.54 0,805 Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. 9 6,756,313 f11.25 0.766 Michigan and Northeastern In13 4 , 5 1 9 , 7 2 6 - 0 . 1 1 0,827 diana. ..................... Kentucky and Southern Indiana 3 2,818,820 0 21 0.793 Illinois and Northwestern I n diana. ..................... 6 8 , 6 1 7 , 3 4 1 4- 2 88 0.791 Southeastern States (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ten11 4 , 0 4 9 , 0 6 3 f 3 1 . 8 5 0.793 nessee, Georgia and Alabama) 7 6,067,449 6.02 0.862 Iowa and Missouri.. Great Plains States (Kansas, 17 7 , 0 1 0 , 3 9 6 - 9 . 2 3 Oklahoma and Central Texas) 0.834 Rocky Mountain States (Colorado, Utah, Montana, Arizona -7 2,124,930 4.99 1.186 and Western Texas). . . . . . . . Pacific Coast States (California 11 7 , 2 7 8 , 2 7 4 f 1 3 . 9 8 1.406 and Washinpton). ...........
.
+
-
+
.........
-
Total..
....................
-
115 7 8 , 5 2 8 , 6 3 7
+
2.58
0.844
Lehigh district produces eighteen million dollars worth.
