Western Chemical Markets Continue Growth A STAFF REPORT J. H E West is here to stay, and 8,780 persons were shown by 101 exhibitors that they felt the same way during the Second Pacific Chemical Exposition in San Francisco, N o v . 1 to 5. Featured were the Pacific Industrial Conferences made possible through cooperation of technical societies, chambers of com merce, and interested experts. The exposition officially opened with a luncheon sponsored by the San Fran cisco Chamber of Commerce. Delivering the keynote address, Leland I. Doan. president of Dow Chemical Co., em phasized that the future of industrial progress may hinge on industry effec tively telling the public the story of capital, competition, and profit. Dioramas, photographs, sales talks, statistics, and graphs were used by chemical companies from all over the country to show how they were tapping the warehouse of tomorrow's progress. Exhibiting for the first time on the West Coast. Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Corp. confirmed the fact that the or ganization is expanding with the West. Within the past year the company has installed facilities for bulk storage and delivery both in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Esters, alcohols, and ketones are now received in tank cars and dis tributed by tank trucks. Several new Carbide & Carbon prod ucts are important to the West. Monoand diisopropylamines and mono-, di-. and triethylamines are now being made as solubilizers for 2,4-D. These amines are low cost materials compared with previous diethanolamine, tri- and mixed isopropanolamines. Solvent 4-CR, a mixture of 10-carbon molecules is used as a f rot lier for lead concentrates (sul fide ores). This material, first sold in Colorado recently, keeps the zinc value down in the lead concentrate. Another new exhibitor, in fact a new
company, is Scientific Service, Inc., hav ing a s divisions Microchemical Special ties Co. and Radioisotope Applications Co. They showed a cantilever quartz fiber microbalance with a sensitivity of 10° grams. I t will be made in quantity as the demand increases. There was also a beta shield made of Lucite behind which radioactive material can be handled during various laboratory op erations. There was also a closed box ideal for manipulating radioactive sub stances. It can also be used for poisons or where a dust-free or desiccated en vironment is necessary. For closed sys tem radioactive work or for Grignard reactions there was a special type of stirrer. For the first time, the Commercial Solvents Corp. slanted their exhibit t o show western production of formalde hyde, ethanol, and pentaerythritol. The latter chemical will be in production within the next few weeks at the Agnew, Calif., plant. Other chemicals made here are ethyl acetate, ethyl formate, and met aldehyde. The Braun-Knecht-Heimann Co.. San Francisco, showed for the first time the Beckman Model Β spectrophotometer, the Voland Speedigram Balance, and the Lindberg High Frequency combustion unit. The latter requires a warm-up period of only 57 seconds before the sample may be ignited in the combus tion chamber for carbon and sulfur de terminations on iron and steel speci mens. T h e Oronite Chemical Co. featured a number of their newly developed de tergents. Another new material is Calodorant C , which is added t o natural gas to provide a detectable odor. Only onehalf pound will odorize one million cubic feet of gas. I t is stable and will not condense in high pressure transmission lines.
Exposition was officially opened at a luncheon sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce: P. A· Bissinger9 San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; J· C Geiger9 San Francisco Public Health Service; Richard Wistar9
Oronite is building a plant at Rich mond, Calif., to make pure p-sylene in commercial quantities. There is also a pilot plant producing m-sylene. The company has recently gotten into the manufacture of lube oil additives. The custom made items are becoming in creasingly important. Tracerlab, Inc., showed for the first time an industrial thickness gage. A base plate contains a constant uniform source of radioactivity (strontium 90 with a half life of 25 y e a r s ) ; a GeigerMfiller counter is located above with the sample to be measured between. The greater the density or thickness of the sample, the fewer the impulses measured on the counter. Precise meas urements can be made after calibration for particular materials. As usual, the exhibit of the Western Regional Research Laboratory of the U. S. Department of Agriculture at tracted widespread attention. Featured was a 20-liter microbiological fermenta tion apparatus useful for the production of mushroom mycelium for food fla voring; feed yeast and supplementary protein products; antibiotics such as penicillin, streptomycin, and subtilin: vitamin growth factors such as B12. Another panel showed carrots that had been blanched and sprayed with 2.5r/r starch. The vegetable retains 64',ί of the carotene after 6 months in cellophane at 85° F. The advantages of coating dried fruits and nuts with low-methoxyl pectin were also shown. A new antibiotic, usnic acid, has been obtained by counter-current extraction of California Spanish moss with acetone. Other panels showed separation of egg white proteins; production of a quick cooking dehydrated potato; and the antibacterial constituents of hops. The Shell Chemical Corp. featured the relationship between the company
Mills College and chairman of the California Section ξ A· H m Hooker·, Hooker Electrochemical Co.; James Clayton 9 California Research Corp· and chairman of the exposi tion $ and John J· Judge9 U. S·. Department of Commerce
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Above. Jack W. Burns and H. B. Sliger plug pentaerythritol made by Commercial Solvents. Below. H. W. Peterson and M. P. Youker of Oronite Chemical Co. stand in appreciative awe of the exhibit showing foaming ability of Detergent D-40, an a IkyI aryl sul fonate
Top· W· A. Fang, designer of the Monsanto exhibit, looks at the insec ticide panel. Above. Philip Schofield, Specialised instruments Corp», demonstrates preparative centrifuge
;:;:,.;:.
Above. Alii ση M. Asherman of " American Cyanamid explains | use of melamine formaldehyde resins to impart wet strength to papers. Below. Spencer Chemical featured model of Jayhawk Works with electric trains. Left. Westvaco dis played phosphates prominently, and Shell, right, showed in a series of dioramas that the company is a chemical part» ner of industry and agriculture
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Leland I . Doan, Dow Chemical Co·, speaks at the opening luncheon; Concannon, Office of International Trade, reviews world chemical ments; Robert Reitz, Dow Chemical Co·, addresses AiChE dinner and the needs of the West. Vapona sprays are light, highly refined oils con taining toxicants for control of insects on many crops. Detailed literature was available for various weed killers and D D T mixes. Perhaps the most evident feeling per vading the exposition was that the seller's market was no more. Buyers are in the saddle. I t i s up to the chemical companies to present their wares and services to best advantage. James O. Clayton, chairman of the ex position committee, Richard Wistar, chairman of the sponsoring California ACS Section, and Marcus Hinson, ex position manager, all felt that the effort made by the exhibitors was worth while. industrial Conferences Keynoting the conferences was a sym posium o n the regional requirements for chemicals, sponsored by the Western Chemical Market Research Group. Ac cording to E . William Eipper of the Oronite Chemical Co. the San Fran cisco Bay Area is the major producer 'of organic chemicals on the West Coast. Northern California, particularly the nine bay area counties has witnessed a remarkable growth in the chemical and chemical consuming industries. The reasons for this are central location for serving the western market, excellent availability of transportation, manpower, public utilities, industrial sites, and nat ural resources. T h e investment in new plants and plant expansions in the area has been almost $400 million during the first four postwar years. Although the items of general consumption include heavy chemicals such as salt, caustic soda, chlorine, and sulfuric acid, many organic chemicals are being consumed in increasing quantities. For example, glyc erol in northern California totals almost 5 million pounds a year, glycol about 2 2 million pounds and phenol 5 million : pounds. The striking fact that 47% of the
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aluminum made in the United States comes from five plants in the Pacific Northwest was stated by Chester K. Sterrett of the Portland Chamber of Commerce. A large consumer of chemi cals is the pulp and paper industry. At present, about 25% of the sulfite and 15%- of the kraft pulps used in this country are produced in Oregon and Washington. An example of further expansion of the chemical industry is the only syn thetic abrasives plant in the West, tho Carborundum Co. in Vancouver, Wash. T h e only two carbide plants i n the West are also located in this area. Another paper presented b y market research experts in the Symposium on Regional Requirements for Chemicals stated that 97% of the total softwood plywood production is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. According to David S. Weddell of the Monsanto Chemical Co., the majority of adhesives used on the coast are also produced near the plywood mills. The migration of general industry westward is increasing the manufacture of the basic heavy chemicals. As the Columbia Basin Project brings under cultivation b y irri gation over 1 million acres in eastern Washington, the demand for agricul tural chemicals is expected to increase markedly. Two nonchemical industries which are usually not considered large consumers of these products are motion pictures and aviation. However, according to William J. Howell of the Shell Chemical Corp., 38 million pounds of chemicals are used yearly in the manufacture and maintenance of airplanes i n Southern California. T h e two biggest items are paint and cleaning compounds. A move of chemical interest is the announcement that the motion picture industry will switch from nitrate to acetate film. This will increase general safety be cause the present nitrate film is highly flammable.
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Chemical
Developments
T h e world trade committee of t h e S . F . chamber of commerce sponsored a discussion moderated b y Eugene Staley, international economist. Milton W. Melander of Stauffer Chemical C o . spoke on "Export Markets for Western Chemicals." H e stated that t h e Pacific Coast area has been t o o little concerned with the export market. I n spite of the rapid growth of industry the correspond ing increase in civilian population has s o outdistanced the expansion that the frac tion remaining for exportation has been if anything reduced from the prewar status. The U. S. must do more than it has to stimulate imports if we are t o keep the export markets, according to Β. Τ . Rocca of the Pacific Vegetable Oil Corp. Rubber and the allied chemicals com prise b y far the largest imports in t h e U. S. proper. Second is inedible vege table oils and waxes. Fats and oils in general and their related products com prise better than 95% of our total i m ports of chemicals and chemical products. The West Coast is the major import center for these because it is closest t o the oriental origin. West Coast processing of the raw ma terials is adequate but there is lack of facilities to manufacture end products. There are for example, no manufacturers of synthetic rubber oil additives and plasticizers and those oils going into these uses are all shipped east. Working against importation through the Pacific Coast of these chemical raw materials are: increasing rail freight costs t o m i d western markets; and t h e practice of large national firms doing all their buy ing in the East, e v e n for West Coast plants. Western
Energy
Under auspices of t h e petroleum chem istry division of ACS and the American Institute of Mining Engineers, "The Future .of Energy Sources i n the Western States" was discussed. "We require tremendous quantities of energy for heating, transportation, manu facturing, and just plain every-day liv ing," said E . L. Walters of Shell D e v e l o p ment Co. "The long-range picture indi cates we are slowly running out of t h e available sources most popularly e m ployed in the western states, such as liquid fuels and gas, and m a y eventually have t o resort to substitution of other types, such as coal, oil shale, or greater utilization of water power; either that or w e will have to depend more and more upon imports of materials now e m ployed." T h e West has enough liquid petroleum to supply its needs for a t least t h e next 10 years, according to Howard G. Vesper, California Research Corp. Alternate new sources such as shale oil and atomic
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power are not expected to be large fac tors i n the 1950's or 1960's. T h e history of western energy demands with special reference t o coal was re viewed b y V. F. Parry of t h e U . S. Bureau of Mines. H e pointed out that since the transportation cost of coal t o California is about twice the mining cost, savings m a y be achieved by increasing the heating value. About 90% of the heating value of coal can be reduced t o 60 to 75% of the weight of the original coal. Agricultural Chemicals A 10-year review of agricultural chemi cals was presented by members of the Pacific Insecticide Institute under the chairmanship of G. F. MacLeod of Sunland Industries. Synthetic pyrethrum may provide tough competition for the natural insecticide, according t o G. S. Hensill of the California Spray Chemical Corp. T h e use of rotenone in the IT. S. has increased 2 million pounds during the past five years in spite of the increase of synthetic organics. T h e use of nicotine was reduced because of war and the ad vent o f D D T . N e w developments in this field include manufacture of synthetic pyrethrum or its equavalent; growth of pyrethrum in Colorado ; and the develop ment of synergists. The potentialities of defoliation chemi cals are far from attained, according t o Lloyd Rooke of American Cyanamid C o . The principal defoliant used is calcium cyanamide as a dust which requires dew for active hydrolysis. Sodium cyanamide was introduced this year and its great hygroscopicity required no dew as long as the humidity is above 50%. Among the reasons cited for lower sales of cotton defoliants this year were the abnormally early cold snap, reduction in chlorophyll due t o mite infection, and the widespread testing of various chemicals. Acaricides were brought up to date b y D . B. Scott of the Sherwin-Williams C o . Mites have increased greatly in recent years because their predators have been killed by increasing use of D D T . Three important acaricides are tetraethylpyrophosphate. parathion, and bis-parachloro-
phenoxypropane. T h e latter has the advantage of low toxicity to warm blooded animals. Protective Coatings Smooth surfaced resilient floor cover ings constitute an important part of the floor industry because of t h e inherent properties of pleasing decoration, re sistance t o wear, and ease of cleaning, H. W. Crockett of Paraffine Cos., Inc., told the protective coatings group at a meeting chairmanned b y Frank A. Leibold, Jr., of Irwin Paint Co. Mr. Crockett described the following types of organic resilient floor coverings as to history, composition, method of manu facture, and u s e : linoleum, printed felt base, rubber tile and sheeting, asphalt tile, bituminous and plastic tile, and sheeting. "Electroplating on the West Coast has made great strides during the past few years," said Elburn Marcum of the elec trochemical department, D u Pont. "To give an idea of the expansion and shift to modern high speed plating solutions since 1945, we might use the increase in gallonage of our D u Pont proprietary solutions as an index. Taking our gal lonage in 1945 as unity, this was in creased t o 180% b y December 1946, 290% a year later, and at the present time we have three and a half times the total gallonage of 1945." Southern California has about 74% of all plating activity and the San Francisco Bay area 20%. The agricultural and food chemistry
division of the California Section, ACS, presented a program based on western food production under cochairman Jon R. Matchett, U. S. D e p t . of Agriculture, and R a y H. Nagel, Western Regional Research Laboratory, U S D A . Utilization of even a selected fraction of fruit and vegetable processing waste for feeds and other by-products m a y support, wholly or in part, costs for disposing the remainder, according to W . B. V a n Arsdel of the Western Regional Research Laboratory. Limitations t o this possibility are set by the physical character and chemical composition of the wastes. Mr. Van Arsdel analyzed these limitations and described several successful utilization processes. Trends in food crop production for the West Coast were discussed b y S. B. Free born of the University of California College of Agriculture. Ε . Β. Stark, editor of Western Canner and Packer, outlined technological developments and trends in the food processing industry. Uses of redwood in the chemical i n dustries; finishes for western woods; use of the electron microscope in revealing wood cell wall structure; waste wood utilization in the manufacture of fiberboard ; and wood distillation processes o n the Pacific Coast were all topics discussed at a meeting of the Forest Products R e search Society under the chairmanship of Robert A. Cockrell, University of California. A history of Pacific Coast wood dis tillation processes was given by H . K . Benson of Laucks Laboratories, Inc.,
Speakers at the Symposium on Regional Requirements oj Chemicals get together for breakfast before t%eir session: A. George Stern, Heyden Chemical Corp., chairman ζ Chester K. Sterrett, Portland, Ore,, Chamber of Commerce $ William f. Howell, Shell Chemical Corp·; E. William Eipper, Oronite Chemical Co·; and David S· Weddell, Monsanto Chemical Co. Left. W. B. Gibson, Stanford Research Institute, moderator for the symposium on processing imports with speaker W. P . Fuller, lit, W. P. Fuller & Co.
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during a meeting of the Forest Products Research Society under the chairmanship of Robert A. Cocksell, University of California. During the past 50 years a number of commercial wood distillation plants were built in this region and operated for varying periods of time only t o be discontinued due t o unfavorable financial and economic conditions. Experimental pilot plants have also been operated to determine yield and nature of the products obtained from the destructive distillation of fir waste from saw mills and land clearing operations. T h e production of charcoal from alder and willow
The
and t o some extent Douglas fir in kilns has been more successful due to special uses for charcoal and simpler operation where no "by-products are recovered. Rubber and Plastics I n a program sponsored by the Northern California Rubber Group and the Society of the Plastics Industry, nine papers and a panel discussion were presented. Highlighting this was a dinner speech by Leonard K. Firestone, president o f Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., West Coast division. At the present time, 40r/c of all new rubber consumed is
Vwer,
Cosmetic Chemists to Honor Evans J; IFTY million American men can't be wrong when they contend their womanhood is the best looking in the world. A good part of this claim is based on the American woman's ability to use cosmetics artfully when she yields to the universal feminine urge t o "gild the lily." Her self-enhancement chore, however, has been made remarkably easy by a technologically based American cosmetics industry that has supplied her with a wide but inexpensive variety of pulchritude producers. At the core of this industry is a man, a chemist by training, who shuns the use of shaving lotions and pushes a hand plow (Ed. note—without the aid of a horse) to keep fit. This is a person t o whom American women (and men) owe thanks and to whom the American Society of Cosmetic Chemists will present their second annual medal on Dec. 8. This is Ralph Liggett Evans. Evans was born in Texarkana, Ark., in 1895 and after attending high school in that city entered the University of Chicago. His collegiate life was interrupted b y a tour of service in the Army during World War I as a lieutenant and an instructor in artillery, «here gunpowder, not face powder, was the major subject. H e returned to the University of Chicago and was graduated from that institution in 1919 with the degree of S.B. In the fall of his graduating year Evans came East t o Columbia to take his graduate work in chemistry, where he was a teaching assistant for one year and a lecturer for two. Before receiving his Ph.D. under Marston T. Bogert in 1925, however, he had become part owner and technical director of the cosmetic firm, Inecto, Inc. His friends point out that some idea of Evans' diversification of interest can be gained
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from the fact that his doctor's thesis was divided into two parts covering the unrelated subjects of (1) "A Preliminary Investigation of the Chlorination of Toluene," and (2) "Diamino and Nitroamino Diaryl Ethers and Certain of Their Derivatives." I t i s said that Evans was the first formally trained chemist to organize a research staff to investigate the problems of the cosmetics industry. This began with a study by Evans of hair dyes in 1922 i n which he attempted to reduce the instances of allergy to these materials. The commonly used dyes of that time were p-phenylene diamines and about three persons out of one hundced using these were allergic to them. Evans resolved the problem by developing new materials which gave true fast colors on hair and y e t caused allergic symptoms in only one case in one hundred thousand. It i s somewhat ironic that after the completion of his work on hair dyes Evans next turned his attention to means of producing a stable hydrogen peroxide, one that would hold its efficacy for years instead of weeks. B e cause of his work in this field, Evans was asked t o write specifications for peroxide for the N a v y in World War I I and many of his recommendations were later incorporated in the requirements for this material set by the Army Medical Corps. It is somewhat startling to realize that it was the man who contributed so much to the beautification and daintiness of women who was also one of the first t o sponsor research on mercaptans, perhaps the foulest smelling of all the odorous chemicals in the realm of the organic chemist. The first commercial product using mercaptans was an odorless depilatory covered by one of Evans*
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synthetic, and Mr. Firestone predicted that uses for these rubbers will increase. T h e foreign market for American-made synthetic rubber is restricted by the dollar shortage in those countries. The competitive position of natural rubber has been improved by the devaluation of foreign currency. However, the United States has attained national self-sufficiency and rubber price stabilization through its synthetic rubber program. Under the chairmanship of Herman J. Jordan of D u Pont, the rubber and plastics papers were presented. The out(Continued on page 354D
patents. A few years later, he marketed a mercaptan-based cold permanent wave solution and again proved that y o u can't judge a beauty aid by the smell of its raw materials. In World War II, Evans developed cosmetics to protect the American male instead of allure him. H e operated four plants employing 1,200 personnel to produce items for gas detector kits, protect ive ointments for gas warfare, insect repellents, and extremely stable peroxides for use as anti-Lewisite compounds. In addition to these efforts, Evans-operated organizations conducted a world-wide range of investigations varying from work on new explosives to certain phases of chemical warfare. In 1919, Evans married Nancy C. Lawrence, the secretary t o Professor Bogert during the time that Evans was at Columbia. The couple have three children, Ralph, Jr., 25, Nancy, 22, and Lawrence, 13. Ralph, Jr., like his father, is a devotee of water sports and was chosen to represent America in the 1948 Olympics sailboat competition. The senior Evans in addition to his farming operations spends his leisure time i n a well equipped home workshop, a veritable gadget factory. T h e latest product of this establishment is a combination nutcracker and shell remover. I t is rumored that four squirrels in N e w York's Central Park are contemplating a patent suit based on prior art. On the vocational side Evans is president of Evans Chemetics, Inc., Evans Research and Development Corp.. and Sales Affiliates, Inc. H e is director of several other related companies. Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Upsilon, and Sigma X i claim him as a member as d o the
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY,
the
American Institute of Chemists, and the Association of Consulting Chemists and Chemical Engineers. In one limited sense Evans is a complete failure in the cosmetic industry. His wife and daughter prefer to purchase "glamor-wrapped" cosmetics at beauty aid counters instead of using the homely packaged, b u t equally effective laboratory samples he brings home to them.
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