INTERNATIONAL
WORLD W I D E CHEMISTRY First modern paper mill to be constructed in Israel will meet 60*% of local needs . . . Reseach and development center opens in Stockport, England TSRAEL'S industrialization program was •*• given new impetus with the signature of a contract initiating construction of a S3.5 million paper mill which will be the first in the Middle East to produce printing and writing paper as well as Kraft multiwall bag paper. Start of the project to launch a paper industry in Israel as a means of helping to offset the current world-wide shortage ol paper products was announced by its two major sponsors, t h e Palestine Economic Corp. and the Mazer family of the Hudson Pulp and Paper Co., both of New York. The mill is scheduled t o he placed in construction this fall and to b e in operation by 1953, and will have an annual capacity of approximately 12,000 tons. Exclusive of newsprint a n d tissue papers, it is estimated that the new plant's output will meet 6 0 % of the country's current over-all annual paper requirements. At present, Israel imports all paper. It is estimated that domestic production of 12,000 tons per year will mean an annual saving for Israel of up t o $1 million in foreign exchange. With a n eye for Israel's future economic expansion, the mill is being engineered by Merritt-Chapman & Scott so as to permit the easy addition of new production units. All sulfite, Kraft, and ground wood pulp used in production will b e imported, most of it from the Scandinavian countries. In addition to t h e American Israeli paper mill project, the Palestine Economic Corp. has been active in the development of Israel through participation in the establishment of banking facilities, a shipping line and new industries for the production of tires and other rubber products, chemicals and fertilizers, plastics and resins, canned foodstuffs, cigarettes, and beverages.
Simon Engineering Group Opens New Research Center The Simon Engineering Group's $700,000 research and development center at Cheadle Heath, Stockport, England, has brought together many separate laboratories and experimental plants formerly scattered over t h e 80 acres of Cheadle Heath property. They are now assembled in a single block of modern buildings, with expanded and improved resources, and with accommodation for an enlarged and strengthened scientific staff. Work at the center relates to coal cleaning, coal carbonization, treatment of coal by-products, fuel combustion, steam generation, sulfuric acid production, gasworks ancillary processes, electrostatic precipita-
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tion, mechanical handling of bulk materials, and flour and provender milling engineering. T h e tower dominating the n e w building contains a plant arranged on six floors, on which grain cleaning and flour milling operations can be performed on full size machines. Besides its function as a development and testing unit it also serves as a working showroom. Investigations of the research department fall under three main headings: mechanical and chemical testing, research, and information. There are nine laboratories with auxiliary rooms devoted to coal for the preparation of samples, "washability tests," and examination of coking qualities of coals for carbonization and of the calorific value, ash fusion, and grindability of coal for boiler firing. There is a large analytical laboratory for general chemical analysis. Extensive facilities are available for testing refractory materials used in coke ovens and boiler combustion chambers, a n d for metallurgical tests including heat treatment and microscopic examination of metals and allovs used in plant construction. Much work lies ahead of the new research center, especially on coal and sulfuric acid. A major national problem is supply of sulfur for sulfuric acid production. And among sulfur sources under investigation arc recovery from waste gases and flue gases, removal as hydrogen sulfide from town gas, and flash roasting of pyrites. The center is also interested in microbiological processes leading to the formation of sulfur.
Israel Needs Investments For N e w Lime Kilns Israel needs at least eight new factories for the production of lime to cope with the rapidly increasing local demand, a survey of the Israel Government Investment Center shows. T h e survey indicates that modern kilns designed for a daily production of at least 30 tons of lime, are needed in different parts of the country, mainly in the area south of Xathanya and in northern Negev. Existing facilities at some ten different locations aggregate an estimated yearly production of about 80,000 tons. Based on present building activity in the country and on the anticipated construction of new buildings, it is estimated that the demand for lime will reach some 165,000 tons per year in the course of t h e next two years, as against the present requirements of about 85,000 tons. New equipment on order for the establishment of additional
CHEMICAL
lime kilns will increase t h e present producing capacity by 12-15,000 tons yearly. The survey estimates that the investment required lor each kiln, including quarrying and stone crushing equipment, installation, buildings, roads, etc., is $275,000. Of this sum about $150,000 would h a v e t o be invested in foreign currency for the purchase of the machinery and equipment, while the balance could be invested in Israel currency to pay for local labor and construction costs.
New Aluminum Plant for N o r w a y A new aluminum plant which will produce 40,000 tons of the metal annually will be built at Sunndalsoera, Norway, with the help of $24 million in Marshall Plan counterpart funds. This is the largest single Marshall Plan advance ever m a d e for t h e development of strategic defense materials a n d represents about one half of t h e total cost of the plant. Repayment of the loan and interest will be made to t h e United States stockpile over a 10-year period at the rate of 7800 tons of aluminum annually. Equipment for the plant will be purchased in Denmark, West Germany, France, and Norway with counterpart iunds from these countries. The loan funds will b e d r a w n from ECA's special 5% portion of counterpart funds which is reserved for u s e by the United States for the purchase and development of strategic materials and for administrative purposes.
Battelle t o Open Branch Laboratory in Europe Battelle Memorial Institute has announced that a European branch of its laboratories will be established to serve t h e European economy. This decision, according to Clyde Williams, Battelle director, follows a recently completed survey of scientific and industrial conditions in Europe. The institute has served American industry through science and technology, and it plans to serve European industry in the same way. T h e exact location of the branch and other details will depend, upon the outcome of negotiations n o w in progress. It is anticipated, however, that the n e w service will b e in operation early next > oar.
Ferromanganese Plant f o r lndi& The American Brainard International Co. will soon set up a ferromanganese plant in India at an estimated cost of $2.1 million by agreement with the government of India. Its annual capacity will b e 25,000 tons of ferromanganese and it will b e located in Orissa. T h e ownership is 49 r /r Indian a n d 5 1 % American.
C & E N Foreign C o r r e s p o n d e n t t r i b u t i n g t o This issue:
V. S. S W A M I N A T H A N , Britain,
AND
ENGINEERING
Con-
India
NEWS
