posed to air at 1800° F., it will oxidize at a rate of about two ten thousandths of an inch in 100 hr. Du Pont expects gas turbines to be a major market for dispersion-modified metals such as T D Nickel. According to Henry F. Peters, marketing manager for Du Pont's Metals Products Pig ments Department, the aircraft jet en gine is now designed to operate at temperatures no higher than 1750° F. in the turbine. The designers would like to operate the engine 400° F. hotter to allow more power per pound of engine. Dispersion-strengthened metals could withstand these higher temperatures, Mr. Peters says. Du Pont foresees other markets for the metals including high temperature process equipment, such as heat ex changers; electronic components, such as cathodes; aerospace, such as the liquid hydrogen rocket nozzle; and high temperature instrumentation. Powder Fabrication. T D Nickel bar is produced by powder fabrication at the Du Pont Metals Center, Balti more, Md. Powder fabrication is not equivalent to powder metallurgy, Du Pont points out. The powder, or raw material, is made by Du Pont's pat ented colloidal chemical process in a pilot unit at Belle, W.Va. A larger scale plant is under construction at Newport, Del., and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. At the Baltimore plant, the prepared TD Nickel powder is loaded into rubber boots and hydrostatically com pacted at a pressure of 60,000 p.s.i. The compacted billet is then heated or sintered in high purity hydrogen which raises the density and imparts sufficient strength to the billet to permit han dling. The billet is next heated and extruded to a nominal 2-in. diameter bar. The bar is drawn at room tem perature to 1 / 2 - , V-r, or 1-in. diameter. The final step is to heat treat the bar at 1800° F. to restore its room tempera ture ductility which is reduced during cold working. Although thoria is mildly radioactive, the radiation levels experienced during handling and fab rication of T D Nickel are well below the AEC established tolerances, Du Pont says. The 1 / 2 -, 3 Λ - and 1-in. diameter bars are available up to 20 ft. in length at $20 per lb. Sheet and tube blanks will be available in the near future, Du Pont says. Du Pont expects T D Nickel to eventually be competitive with superalloys which today sell for less than $10 per lb.
X-Rays Applied to On-Stream Analysis Norelco's continuous analyzer determines up to six elements in as many as 15 sample streams A new on-stream analyzer based on x-ray fluorescence has been demon strated for the first time by Philips Electronic Instruments, Mount Vernon, N.Y. The Norelco continuous ana lyzer is designed to determine up to six elements simultaneously in as many as 15 sample streams. It can be used for slurries and liquids and powders on conveyor belts. All elements from titanium, atomic number 22, and above can be monitored and analyzed by onstream x-ray fluorescence, Philips says. In a recent plant-scale experiment at New Jersey Zinc's Friedensville, Pa., mill, the incoming feed to a zinc flota tion mill was continuously analyzed by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Philips provided the Norelco x-ray equipment in the experiment and co operated in the preliminary develop ment of the sampling system in its laboratories. Philips also helped to conduct the plant-scale trial. In a zinc flotation mill, the optimum quantities of copper sulfate and col lector are closely related to the quan tity of zinc in the feed. Milling prac tice is to use more reagents than needed, thus ensuring adequate amounts to cope with periods of high zinc content. However, by continu ously measuring zinc content of the feed, using x-rays, the collector and copper sulfate feeding rates can be varied with variations in feed grade. The experiment using x-ray control showed that the flotation mill could be operated with satisfactory metallur gical results at a saving of 2 1 % of the reagent costs. With x-ray control, only as much copper sulfate and collector as required by the zinc content in the mill feed was used, thus excess re agents were avoided at all times. As a result, the flotation environment was definitely more selective, New Jersey Zinc says. For example, the x-raycontrolled side of the mill averaged concentrate grades with 4% higher zinc than did the side of the mill not x-ray-controlled. As a result of the plant-scale experiment, New Jersey Zinc decided to purchase from Nor elco a four-stream continuous system to monitor zinc in heads, middlings, concentrates, and tailings.
Flow Cell. The heart of the Norelco on-stream system is a vertical flow cell with a horizontal self-washing Mylar window (patent pending). The sam ple stream actually folds over itself as it passes the cell window, thus the sensing head measures every sus pended particle. Sedimentation, grav ity, and bubble errors are eliminated, Philips says. Sample streams flow to agitated head tanks at the rate of 10 to 15 gal. per min. Samples are taken at atmos pheric pressure with a head pressure of 24 to 36 in. of slurry at a flow rate of 2 gal. per min. Because of this low pressure system, there is no need to use beryllium windows which are ex pensive and are difficult to replace, Philips says. The components of the Norelco onstream analyzer include the following: • A basic constant potential gen erator containing an FA 60 or FA 100 x-ray tube, line stabilizer, and x-ray tube current stabilizer. • A six-element capacity sensor head with built-in density monitor and cor rection, and a traversing mechanism which can continuously scan many sample streams. • A sample holder bed wJiich handles liquids, slurries, powders, and solids. • A console containing programer, data processor, power supplies, and control circuits and cabling. • A recorder panel containing a number of potentiometric strip chart recorders, depending on the num ber of elements and sample streams to be analyzed. The recorder panel also has a maximum/minimum audio alarm for any channel. The Norelco analyzer provides fully automated analysis of one to 15 con tinuously flowing sample streams. Each stream is separately analyzed by an automatic traversing sensor head. Stoppage in any stream doesn't re strict analysis of other streams, the company says. The on-stream analyzer has solid state design in the programer, data processor, and power supplies. Ε 30 JULY
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ping, fermentation reactions, dyestuff distillations, and petrochemical proc essing. It is available in a variety of corrosion resistant materials and is de signed to be attached directly on ex isting kettles and reactors. Teknika claims that the Model DK/4S increases process rates by keeping vent lines, condensers, and pumps free of foam. Kettle time is reduced and maintenance costs are lessened, the company adds. Ε 31
BRIEFS
Rotary Filter Recovers Extremely Fine Coal Refuse The output of this rotary filter will be about four and one half tons per hour of coal fines, according to Eimco Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah. And output can be even higher if the flotation tailings it was designed to filter contain much sand, Eimco says. The filter is designed with a roll discharge for handling extremely fine coal refuse. Reclaimed coal discharges in a cake Vie to Vs in. in thickness. The drum is 11 ft., 6 in. in diameter and 24 ft. long. It has 865 sq. ft. of surface. The filter was manufactured in the company's main factories in Salt Lake City.
RCA Computer Plays Dual Role RCA 301 Scientific has added mathematical power for solving business or scientific problems Radio Corp. of America has designed high-speed, floating point arithmetic circuitry as an optional enhancement to the RCA 301 to bring users a dualpurpose computer system. Called the RCA 301 Scientific, it is equally adept at processing business data or solving scientific problems, according to the company. Economies resulting from building the RCA 301 Scientific upon an al ready proven system enable the com puter to achieve a level of performance usually obtained only in more costly general purpose or multi-computer sys tems, RCA claims. Floating point circuitry enables the computer to locate the decimal point automatically, empowering it to work with numbers of eight digits with twodigit exponents and, at the same time, eliminating the need for step-by-step written instructions. The computer can perform more than 6000 additions or subtractions involving sets of eight42
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digit numbers in one second. In the same interval, 2000 multiplications or divisions can be handled, the firm says. A basic RCA 301 Scientific system with a high-speed, arithmetic unitequipped processor, paper tape readerpunch, and a monitor printer to pro duce printed output can be leased for less than $4500 a month.
High Energy Sound Waves Douse Process Foam A new sonic defoaming system for process vessels is available from Teknika, Inc., Hartford, Conn. The Model DK/4S sonic defoaming system permits higher rates in distillation, crystallization, digestion, and evapora tion processes by continuously elimi nating foam with sound waves, the firm adds. Teknika uses intense sonic energy to break up process foam. The result ing liquid is returned to the reaction vessel. Valuable products, conse quently, are confined without contam ination from antifoam chemicals, Tek nika says. The DK/4S is adaptable for min eral acid production, monomer strip
A new automotive finish has success fully completed full-scale production runs at several automotive plants. Devoe & Raynolds, Louisville, Ky., claims that its thermosetting Crylitex combines an acrylic resin with a "unique polymer." The resulting cross-linked film has the best features of both acrylic lacquers and high gloss enamels. Crylitex (like acrylic lac quers) can be sanded to remove im perfections and can be buffed to a high luster, but it's immune to cold cracking that occurs in acrylics. It also shows better adhesion than acryl ics to a variety of undercoats, and is less susceptible to rust spotting when subjected to extremes of temperature, humidity, and salt spray, Devoe & Raynolds says. Ball valves fabricated from Kynar vinylidene fluoride resin look promis ing for a variety of chemical process uses, according to Pennsalt Chemicals Corp.'s Plastics Department. In tests, Kynar has successfully withstood a wide variety of corrosives including hot ferric chloride slurries, hot caustic soda, wet chlorine and chloride di oxide, nitric and chromic acids, chlori nated aliphatic and aromatic solvents, nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine in storable propellant systems, and liquid oxygen and nitrogen, the company says. U.S. Department of Agriculture says that treatment of apples with a spray or dip of diphenylamine or ethoxyquin (Stop-Scald) is more effective than conventional oil-paper wraps in preventing storage scald, a disease of the skin of apples. Dipping apples in diphenylamine shortly after harvest was found to give the most complete control of scald. This use of DPA is proposed by USDA.
NEW CHEMICALS Chelating concentrate for alkaline cleaners has been developed by Enthone, Inc., New Haven, Conn. Called Enbond Additive, it increases the cleaning capabilities of alkaline steel electrocleaners in removing smut and surface oxide, Enthone says. It also aids alkaline cleaners used for nonferrous metals. Enthone recommends Enbond Additive in cleaners at con centrations from 1 to 2 % by volume. CI Cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide pigments for plastics, coatings, and ceramics are now available com mercially from Aceto Chemical Co., Inc., Flushing, N.Y. The pigments offer deep color saturation and good reproducibility, Aceto says. C2
2-Bromopropionic acid is available in pilot plant quantities from Michigan Chemical Corp., St. Louis, Mich. The acid is useful in the manufacture of bacteriostatic compounds, herbicides, arid defoliants. It also can be used in the synthesis of sterols and for modi fied penicillin derivatives, the company says. C3
New ion exchange resin has been added to the line of J. T. Baker Chemi cal Co., Phillipsburg, N.J. Called Dowex Chelating Resin A-l, the cat ion exchanger has a styrene-divinylbenzene matrix with iminodiacetic acid groups attached, making it a solid chelating agent. The almost water-white resin shows unusually high exchange selectivity for certain cations, the firm says. C 4
July 2, 1962
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NEW EQUIPMENT Filter designed for removing oil from compressed air is being introduced by Deltech Engineering, Inc., New Castle, Del. According to Deltech, the filter provides filtration efficiency as high as 99.9% at 0.5 micron, de pending on the contaminant. It has a vfcible element which changes color as oil is absorbed, providing constant in spection at a glance, Deltech says. Ε 32
Photoelectric counting device is being introduced by Electronic Systems Divi sion of General Time Corp., Stamford, Conn. The Photo-Incremag has input frequencies ranging from 50,000 pulse per sec. to 1 pulse per day or longer. Uses of the device range from counting items on a conveyor belt to counting revolutions of a high-speed turbine, the company says. The Photo-Incremag has its own optical system, register, and power supply. Ε 33
Vacuum furnace capable of operating temperatures up to 3000° C. is being introduced by Richard D. Brew and Co., Inc., Concord, N.H. The furnace uses a heating element of tungsten wire mesh developed by the Lighting Division of Sylvania Electric Products, Inc. According to the company, the furnace has successfully melted tan talum and performed tungsten brazing Ε 34 with tantalum.
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A gas phase oxygen transducer
is
now available from Chemtronics, Inc., San Antonio, Tex. Called the GP-10, its principal of operation is based on the electrochemical reduction of oxygen on a gold electrode. And it requires no power or external polariz ing unit for its operation, according to Chemtronics. Normal response time is about 10 sec. at 25° C. with the usual membrane thickness. Sensitivity is about 2.5 X 10 s d.c. amp. per mm. Hg oxygen pressure at 25° C. Changes of a fraction of a mm. Hg oxygen can be detected under suitable conditions, the firm says. Ε 35
Further useful information on keyed Chemical and Equip ment items mentioned is readily available . . . Use handy coupon on page 44 JULY
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