TOofdd Τί/Uc irHetHùiûuÎ T F India is to occupy a ·"· place in the indus trial world the aim should be to reach, within the next 10 years at least, the level at tained by the glass in dustries in other countries. The Panel on Glass Industries appointed by the government of India also states, "indeed, glass is today ono of the triumvirate of modern industrial materials—the other two being steel and rubber." The types of articles at present pro duced by the Indian glass industry can be classified under the following heads: bangles; hollow-ware, including lamp ware and tableware; bottleware; sheet glass; pressed ware and fancy goods; and other goods, including scientific glassware and glass shells for electric bulbs. The reasons for the present backward state of the in dustry, says the report, are unfair compe tition by well established foreign imports, failure to extend tariff protection on an adequate scale, lack of sound internal or
ganization, and low technical standards and slow progress in technical develop ments. The general aim. should be, the report stresses, to raise the scale and quality of output of those sections of the glass in dustry which have already been developed in India so as to meet the whole of domes tic requirements avnd to initiate without delay production in other lines—e.g., plate glass and optical glass. The panel recommends a zonal system of localization for glass industry analogous to that exist ing in sugar industry. I t points out, for example, how it might be feasible to manu facture lampware, "tableware, pressed ware, and sheet glass in South India where the industry has not developed in spite of easy availability of raw materials. There is scope for profitable development of cot tage industry in certain branches of glass manufacture, but at the same time, urges the report, there i s need for greater mech anization in the large-scale section of the industry. The report recommends the inaugura-
ALBERENE FUME HOODS can
be specially
designed
t o reduce t h e possibility off
PERCHLORIC A C I D \ \
» / . \ / i \ / « \j/
/
'
^w*y/r\7 ι Alberene Stone Corporation Engineers have made studies of explosions which have occurred in fume hoods where perchloric acid has been used. As a result of these studies, we are now in a position t o offer certain constructive suggestions with re gard t o the alteration of existing hoods or the design of new hoods which we believe will have the effect of greatly reducing the
possibility of suich explosions. We are also in a position to promptly contract for the execution of this work. If you have such a hazard write to Alberene Stone Corporation of Virginia, 419—Fourth Avenue, New York 16, Ν. Υ., or consult our* nearest branch office. Your inquiry will receive prompt attention.
ALBERENE STONE / LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 898
tion of an organized and comprehensive survey of materials either under the direc tion of the Geological Survey of India or under the Council of Scientific and Indus trial Research. Technical Training and Research It would be essential, it adds, not only to import foreign experts to train workers in India but also to send suitable Indian personnel with previous training and ex perience for further training abroad in spe cific aspects of glass technology. This may be done in consultation with the in dustry. At the same time facilities af forded at present by existing technical in stitutes should be further widened in scope. The Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute at Calcutta which is being started should be suitably provided. Provincial departments should be affili ated to this institute in matters of general policy, but they may remain autonomous in their own activities. The report also recommends the setting up of a specialized state school like that a Gablouz in Czecho slovakia. This school may be located at Ferozabad, says the report, where the lab oratory of the Glass Technology Section, now at Cawnpore, may be transferred. Ranchi Lac institute The Indian Lac Research Institute at Namkum, Ranchi, will be made the world's center for research work on lac, according to the decision of the governing body of the Indian Lac Cess Committee. The research already in progress will cover the field of improved production of raw lac materials, new modifications of lac, and extended use of lac. The meeting also de cided to close down the shellac research bureau in London. The committee, however, recognized the need for liaison between the research institute at Namkum and users of lac, and also for trade publicity overseas, par ticularly in the U. S. Α., which consumed 60% of the total export of lac from India. The intensive demonstration scheme, which was being operated by the provin cial governments of Bihar, United Prov inces, and West Bengal to show villagers the improved methods of cultivation of lac, was given a further lease of life for one year. The committee reviewed the semian nual and annual reports on the activities of the institute during the period April 1946 to September 1947. The reports revealed that despite the very high prices of shellac, the demand for the commodity outside India was on an increase during this period. Requirements of Fertilizers According to an estimate of the Minis try of Agriculture, India needs approxi mately 1.5 million tons of nitrogen per an num for all crops. As against this, the to tal nitrogen available from indigenous sources such as oil cake and cow-dung is only about 500,000 tons. Thus, there is
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THE TRADEMARK THAÊ
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Pit®€ES8©It5 \mrnonium Bicarbonati Ammonium C h l o r i d e Calcium C h l o r i d e Caustic Potash Ha l i s t i Ρ S n ri:
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DIVISION
ALLIED CHEMICAL & DYE CORPORATION 40
V O L U M E
RECTOR
2 6,
NO.
STREET
12
»
·
NEW
YORK
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M A R C H
6.
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Ν . Y.
1948
893
WORLD
WIDE
an over-all shortage of about 1 million tons per annum which has to be made up by stepping up production of chemical fer tilizers. As the production of ammonium sulfate at the government factory at Sindri will take some time to materialize, it is pointed out by the Ministry of Agricul ture that this huge deficit in nitrogen re quirements of the country has to be met by imports from abroad. India requires 800,000 tons of ammo nium sulfate in the current year, against which she is not likely to secure more than 100,000 tons. Attempts are being made b\ the chemical manufacturers in this coun try to make up this enormous deficit. The scheme» for producing 50,000 tons per annum of ammonium sulfate in Travancore has already been put into effect by Ferti lizers and Chemicals (Travancore), Ltd. Efforts are also being made by chemical manufacturers to produce in increasing quantities other chemical fertilizers, such as superphosphate. The principal diffi culty experienced by the manufacturers in this regard is the very high cost of Ixmes which serve as one of the main raw ma terials. The policy of exporting bones from this country has increased the price of this commodity to superphosphate man ufacturers. A. P. SoM J η ni filled pur, TnAin
CHEMISTRY
British
Colonial
Research
A report recently published l>y the B r i t ish Colonial Office gives an interesting résumé of research and development work done for promoting the economic progress and social welfare of the peoples of t h e colonial empire. Dealing with colonial products, Sir Norman Haworth's laboratory, Birmingham University-, has m a d e good progress on sugar and starch studies, investigations into the chemistry of cam» sugar and its immediate transformation products have resulted in the préparât i o n of a sulfonamide derivative which is a promising chemotherapeutic agent, and d e rivatives of levulinic acid with marked a n algesic properties have becin found. It has been ascertained that sodium levulinate is superior in some respects to ethylene glycol as an antifreeze agent, etnd that p a l niityl and stearyl derivatives o>f dianhydromannital and dianhydrosorh>itol are e x pected to find applications avs detergent** and emulsifiers. The leading feat ure of work on starch is its separation int ο amylopeel in and a m y lose, and it appears t hat by first separating starch into these two components its i n dustrial utilization could lu^ greatly e x tended; amylopectin, for example, is greatly superior to starch as a beater size in papermaking, while amylose acetate fe
GROEN RA M o d e l - Specially de signed f o r EXTRA - T H O R O U G H MIXING. B a f f l e p l a t e extends f r o m channel d o w n clos.e to b o t t o m of kettle. Scraper bl ades o p e r a t e in s t a g g e r e d positions to keep e n t i r e contents under constant, u n i f o r m agitation- Thoroug-ti mixing is posi tive. A g i t a t o r mechanism is single motion, m o t o r d r i v e n . All p a r t s of a g i t a t o r quickly re-movable, a n d as easily r e - a s s e m b l e d , making fast cleaning a simples matter. CON FORMS T O M O S T RIGID HEALTH DEPT. REQUIREMENTS. A great unit f o r chemical processing w h e r e dependable precision is vital. Write f o r details.
CUMN
MFG. CO.
/ O R L D S L A R G E S T P R O D U C E R S O F 4 5 4 1 W . Atmitag» A v t . Oicajo 3 » , HI, S T A I N L E S S S T E E L S T E A M JACKETED
894
CHEMICAL
«-ompatihle with cellulose acetate in manu facture of textile fibers and films. Also, sstarch glycollate is an ideal indicator in iodometry analysis. A process has now been devised which permits extraction by a grinding mill of special design of practi cally t h e whole of the starch from arrowroot. Studies o n citrus products at the Im perial College of Science and Technology, London, have led to the determination of t h e nature of the troublesome deposit formed in Tanganyika bitter orange oil during shipment and storage. Oil pre pared from specially heat-treated seeds of a West African vine (Tetraearpidium eonophorutn) may prove a satisfactory substi tute for linseed oil following work done at Liverpool University. A. C. Thaysen is to study the fermentation processes occur ring after the harvesting of cocoa beans, o n which the flavor of the cocoa is largely be lieved to depend. In view of their potential mineral wealth awaiting development, and actual cattle resource, a campaign of mosquito and tsetse control had been launched in Tan ganyika and Uganda. The malaria sub committee of the Colonial Medical R e search Council considering the relative prophylactic use of paludrine and quinine has pronounced the former a superior drug to the latter for suppressive or prophylac tic purposes; the much higher weekly doses than 300 mg. have given no toxic manifestations, and the latitude between effective and toxic dosage for therapeutic purposes with paludrine is reported much greater than wit h quinine. A year ago the Colonial Insecticides Committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Ian Heilron, was set up to initiate research, including experimental fieldwork, and ad vise on the use of insecticides in the colo nics, entomologists and chemists are be ing trained for infestation control and use of new synthetic insecticides in direct eontact with stored foods. An active locust | control campaign in the Middle East and East Africa is being continued with Gaminexane as poison in baits, and a much [ more toxic spray for locusts from aircraft [ has been developed. V. S. SWAMIXATHAN J
LoutIon W. 4> tin aland
Heavy
Water
Bootlegged
I German police recently put an end to a J ring engaged in bootlegging heavy water. Its source was a cache of eight aluminum flasks salvaged from Norway and taken to I Munich University in 1945. A science professor had buried them in his garden ι and was killed a few days later; his wife i last year arranged to sell them for $4,000 apiece. A Spanish chemist had analyzed ! a sample and reported the heavy water genuine. Though important in some coun tries in nuclear fission research, heavy wa ter can be bought on the open market in
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ENGINEERING
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