Vol.9, No. 22
NEWS EDITION
336
W o r l d - W i d e Chemistry Scandinavia C A. ROBAK, Horten, Norway The long labor conflict in Norway has been brought to a close, the agreement involving a reduction of from 4 to 10 per cent in hourly wages and piece rates. The industries concerned, including the pulp and paper industry, are working again at approximately normal rates. The influence of t h e general depression is considerable in all the Scandinavian countries, b u t unemployment is greater in the mechanical than in the chemical industries. Holmboe Hydrogen Cells to Be Employed by Italian Ammonia Plant A commission of Italian experts recently visited the fathydrogenation plant of the De.-No.-Fa. at Fredriksstad, Norway, for the purpose of studying the apparatus for electrolytic production of hydrogen invented by Doctor Holmboe, t h e director of the De.-No.-Fa. company. According t o reports in the local newspapers, a large synthetic ammonia plant, working with hydroelectric power, is to be built in Italy and will use Holmboe cells for the production of hydrogen. Pulp-Mill Equipment for Russia Ordered from. Norwegian Machine Shops According to recent reports, the Thune mechanical workshop of Oslo, Norway, has received a n order from t h e Soviet Government for the delivery of a complete bleaching plant destined for a cellulose factory which is now under construction for the Soviet Government at the little town of Sjass, located at the lake of Ladoga, in the vicinity of Leningrad. The planned production capacity of the cellulose plant is 25,000 tons annually. All the machinery and tools are to be delivered by Norwegian workshops, at a total cost of one million kroner. The equipment is t o be set up a t the plant under the supervision of a Norwegian engineer from the Thune company. Liquid Fuel Made from Peat T h e Proceedings of the Technical Society of Finland report that the investigations of G. Komppa on the production of liquid fuel from peat-dust have been carried so far that t h e laboratory experiments will be completed in a short time. Professor Komppa has determined that a liquid oil can be obtained from peat containing 10 to 15 per cent of water by hydrogénation under high temperature and pressure more easily than from coal or lignite. Gasoline, fuel oil, and lubricating oils can be obtained from the raw product b y distillation, a s well as by-products, such as phenols, pyridine, paraffin wax, etc. Similar experiments with sawdust have also met with satisfactory results. So far, however, the experiments have been carried out o n a laboratory scale only. Ninth International Dairy Congress Held in Copenhagen On July 13 the Ninth International Dairy Congress was opened at the Town Hall in Copenhagen by His Majesty King Christian X of Denmark before a large audience which included representatives from forty-two countries. The honorary president of the congress and former minister of agriculture, Mr. Madsen-Mygdal, gave a comprehensive survey of the conditions and development of Danish agriculture, beyond comparison the most important trade of Denmark. New Bleaching Liquid for Textiles Described I n a patent taken out by the Swedish chemist R. Bruch, a new bleaching liquid for textiles is described. As an example o f a suitable composition of the liquid the following figures are given: to 100 liters of a 1 per cent aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide are added 5 kg. of magnesium sulfate, 0.25 kg. of 58 per cent sulfuric acid, 1 liter of hypochlorous acid, specific gravity 1.033, and 0.5 t o 1 kg. of a fat-dissolving substance. The latter is added to dissolve fatty acids and similar substances which m a y be present, in order t o facilitate the reaction of the bleaching agents upon the fibers. Swedish Company to Exploit Inventions A company is to be floated in Sweden, with a maximum snare capital of 1,200,000 kroner, with the object of supporting Swedish inventors technically and financially and eventually exploiting the inventions in Sweden and in foreign countries. The company intends t o secure intimate connection with t h e different industries and with financial undertakings in other countries engaged in financing inventions. For testing t h e technical and c o m mercial value of the inventions, well-reputed experts in different technical lines will be associated with t h e company.
Training in Research Is Important in Chemical Education Regarding the new chemical laboratory which is to he built at t h e Chalmers Institute of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, the Industritidningen Norden quotes J. A . Hedvall, the director of t h e department of chemistry of t h e institute. Professor Hedvall believes that the educational training of the students for research work has been too much neglected, such training being one of the most important features of chemical college education. Graduate and post-graduate research work in collaboration with the tutor contributes very much to the knowledge and capacity of the student for future independent work. In connection with the new chemical laboratory, a séparante building will be erected for research work on a n industrial scale. However, Professor Hedvall believes that work of this kind with chemical apparatus on a semi- or full-plant scale should n o t consti tute too large a part of the regular education, and that it would be impossible to provide time, space, and apparatus fox all the different industries. Industrial laboratory work must b e limited to apparatus common to all or a majority of the more important chemical industries. October 2, 1931
South India K. R. NATARAJAN, 27 B. Lloyd Road, Royapettah, Madras India Develops Tallow Substitute One of the most interesting of infant chemical industries promising future growth is that of tallow manufacture. I t is an industry of quite recent origin, and its full development -will become possible only when t h e existing manufacturing concerns improve their oil-hydrogenation methods. Attempts h â v e been made by several Indian individuals and firms t o find a proper substitute for imported tallow for cotton-sizing purposes, and as a result some companies are manufacturing tallow substitutes. I t has, however, been the opinion of some textile mills that tallow substitutes on t h e market a t present are n o t v e r y good, and so unless a satisfactory substitute is produced the mills will have t o use imported tallow. T h e process used by those who are manufacturing a substitute at present consists in partially saponifying a thick viscous oil, such as castor oil, and thus turning it into a solid product more or less resembling the imported stuff in appearance. The main difficulty in the present tallow substitute is that manufacturers are not making a standard product capable of being used for all types of work. I n consideration of these facts and the desire of s o m e mill owners t o replace animal tallow b y a substitute made entirely from vegetable sources, the Department of Industries of the Bombay Presidency decided t o take up the problem of producing a tallow substitute. Thanks to t h e investigation, it has been found that a single oil turned into a tallow substitute by this method does not give very satisfactory results, and s o proper compounding of different vegetable oils available in India and turning them into a tallow substitute is being tried. The industrial chemist in charge of the work has been of t h e opinion that complete or partial hydrogénation of the mixed o i l s might give a good substitute for imported tallow. A small hydrogénation plant has, therefore, been recently bought for the purpose and the experimental work is in progress. Vegetable Ghee Industry Although it is now a decade since the industry was first started in India, its progress till last year was very slow. T h e wellknown firm of Tata's built and equipped a n experimental factory in Bombay in 1921 and spent considerable sums o f money in a n endeavor t o manufacture a suitable article, but t h e attempt proved a failure and they soon retired from the business. A similar but smaller plant w a s built in Guzerat in 1922 by the oil expert of the Hyderabad State; but, owing to heavy losses in other directions, the owners of this plant also withdrew from the business. After these*two failures, experiments were carried on b y some of the big margarine manufacturers of Europe and success was at last attained. I n view of the success which has attended the manufacture of vegetable ghee in Europe, and of i t s extensive importation into India, several projects have recently been set o n foot to establish factories in India, but, with the exception of two initiated by the firm of Duncan Stratton & Co., of Bombay, none of these projects have so far gone beyond the prospectus
N o v e m b e r 2 0 , 1931
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
stage. One factory, intended t o produce 5 tons of vegetable ghee per day, has been erected a t Llyllapur in Punjab, a n d o n e t o produce 10 tons per day has just been started at Bombay. I n t h e case of these t w o concerns, the promoters h a v e very wisely taken t h e precaution of employing t h e very best technical advice available, a n d been guided in their selection of machinery etc., b y one of t h e very best firms of technical consultants in t h e line. B y doing so, they have done everything humanly possible t o ensure the success of t h e undertakings for which they are responsibility. Although the promoters are British firms, and might b e expressed t o allow their patriotism t o prejudice them in favor of British-made equipment, I understand t h a t t h e y have n o t done so, and, while the greater part of t h e equipment is British-made, several important parts thereof, notably the refining plant, have been made in Germany. T h e parts of the equipment which have been manufactured in Great Britain, notably, t h e hydrogénation, catalyst regeneration, and hydrogen generation units, are in t h e writer's opinion t h e best of their kind. P r o c e s s of Manufacture T h e electrolytic hydrogen generation plants installed a t Llyllapur and Bombay are examples of a type common both i n Europe and America, and do n o t call for special comment. The catalyst regeneration plants, based on the Bolton and Lush patents, are, in the writer's opinion, a great improvement on t h e nickel kieselguhr system, which is still being recommended b y continental manufacturers. According to the former system, m e tallic nickel shavings, enclosed in a nickel cage, are u s e d as a catalyst, whereas according t o the latter, nickel carbonate is first precipitated on kieselguhr, and is afterwards reduced t o the metallic state b y reduction in hydrogen a t a very high temperature. T h e process is a very troublesome one, requiring most careful supervision, a n d is only justifiable from the standpoint of cost when a sufficiently large output is called for, s o that t h e cost of such supervision can be recouped. According t o the Bolton and Lush system of what is called anodic oxidation and reduction, t h e cage of metallic nickel shavings, after having been freed from oil b y treatment with a suitable solvent, is transferred to a n electrolytic bath, where the surface of the nickel becomes coated with nickel oxide. After being washed free from chemicals, the oxidized nickel cage is transferred to one of the hydrogenating units and treated with hydrogen gas a t a comparatively l o w temperature, the nickel oxide thereby being reduced t o active metallic nickel. When reduction is complete, oil is passed into the unit, and t h e material i s ready t o play its part a s a catalyst in facilitating combination of t h e oil a n d hydrogen, so that the previously liquid oil will become a more or less solid fat. I understand that the hydrogenating outfits installed a t Llyllapur and Bombay comprise a series of cylinders, each containing one or two of the nickel cages already referred to, and oil mixed with hydrogen is allowed t o pass through these cylinders in series, so that b y t h e time the oil reaches the last cylinder it has been hydrogenated t o the required hardness. Compared with the nickel kieselguhr system, in which the catalyst is mixed with the oil t o b e hardened and on completion of hydrogenating has t o be filtered off from the oil, t h e simplicity of the Bolton a n d Lush system c a n be a p preciated even b y those without a n y scientific training, and more so by those w h o have had anything t o do with t h e operation of the older system. I t will be seen, further, that t h e equipm e n t and system described above are eminently suitable for Indian conditions, a n d that practically t h e whole process can be carried o u t with the minimum amount of interference on the part of operators. T h e system adopted in order t o obtain the desired odor and consistency in the final product, in general, does not vary greatly from that employed in margarine manufacture. These are t w o m o s t important factors in the successful manufacture of vegetable ghee, and samples of this factory's product which I have examined are somewhat deficient i n these respects. A n y concern undertaking t o guarantee the technical success of such a project should therefore make certain that it is itself fully acquainted with t h e methods and equipment required for obtaining a n article capable of meeting t h e most rigid requirements of consumers. Vegetable Ghee Imports into British India 1927-28 1928-29 1927-28 Cwt. Cwt. Rupees 2.172 United Kingdom 6,996 295,152 Germany 6,884 6.799 305,673 Netherlands 372,257 400.873 16.145,491 Belgium 57,240 47.334 2,420,670 Total
443,377
457.178
19,166,986
CHEMISTRY
337
Zahn & Co., Ltd., Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary On October 1, Zahn & Co., Ltd., Berlin, Germany, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. Fifty years ago Fr. Zahn, father o f Oskar Zahn. who is now the principal partner and technical director, established t h e firm i n Dresden under the name "Civil Engineer Fr. Zahn." I n 1899 trie firm was transferred t o Berlin, where it has since been located. In 1921 it was incorporated, first under the n a m e "Engineer Zahn Technical Office" and later under its present name. Doctor Scheel, junior partner, has been business manager since 1921. During its entire history the firm h a s devoted itself to the construction of chemical plant, mainly for t h e manufacture of hydrochloric acid, sodium sulfate, caustic soda, zinc white, etc., and for more than ten years h a s constructed complete plants for the manufacture of carbon bisulfide, synthetic acetic acid, cellulose acetate, and bichromate, based o n its own patents a n d processes. It h a s also made much progress in the construction of such modern apparatus as tube crystallizers, evaporators, and atomizing driers. In spite of present economic difficulties, the firm h a s not ceased to develop, a n d has s o far avoided a reduction in its personnel. The company's extensive scientific research b a s without doubt contributed much to the development of the chemical industry
Photo Courtesy of Bakélite
Corporation
Exhibit of the German Bakélite Co. (Bakélite Gesellschaft), designed as a feature of t h e Leipzig Fair. This exhibit is in the modern style of European architecture, and demonstrates the role of the new plastics in competition with older building materials. Inside the tower, walls and ceilings were paneled with the laminated resinoid product; tables, lamps, vases, and electrical accessories represent other applications. A t t h e close of the fair the exhibit was taken t o Berlin, and has attracted thousands of visitors.
Report on Belgian Poison Fog T h e commission appointed t o inquire into the causes of the poisonous fog which caused so m a n y deaths i n the Meuse Valley last January has recently made its report, recommending measures to prevent pollution o f air in industrial regions. The report states that the air was rendered poisonous by sulfuric acid derived from oxidation when the oxygen of the air came i n contact with the water in the fog, dust, and toxic particles introduced from various factories and industrial works. Abnormal weather conditions, which transformed the M e u s e Valley from Liege to Engis into a sort of air-tight container, were responsible for the fatal results, since there was frost, an almost complete absence of wind, and intense and continued fog. Among t h e several hundred persons affected, most of t b e fatal cases were aged persons or those suffering from diseases of the respiratory system.
Publication of Annual Tables Announced 1928-29 Rupees 92,929 264,313 15,463,718 1,871.090 17,692,050
Imports of vegetable ghee into India have expanded rapidly, coming principally from the Netherlands, with Belgium a s a v e r y poor second a n d Germany a long way behind.
T h e International Committee of Annual T a b l e s of Constants and Numerical D a t a has announced that Volume V I I I , covering numerical documentation for t h e years 1927-28, a n d Volume I X , covering 1929, will b e published very shortly. Annual publication, which stopped during the war, has now been resumed, and Volume X, covering 1930, will appear in 1932. Reduced subscription prices are offered until December 3 1 , 1931, t o members of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY and other scientific societies.
Further information for t h e United States and Canada m a y b e secured through the McGraw-Hill Boole Co., 370 Seventh Ave., N e w York, Ν. Υ., and for all other countries directly from Cbarles Marie, 9 R u e de Bagneux, Paris (VI), France.
