MARKETS Zirconium:
PriSiyetion-Capacity
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/ ' ^ ^ j ^ ^ f e M i l l i o n PoundsAear
PLANT CAPACITIES (Pounds Per:Year) WAH CHANG . Albany, Oregon (Bureau of Mines Plant) 325,000 Pounds Albany, Oregon (Wah Chang's Plant) 700,000 Pounds
i
CARBORUNDUM Parkersburg, W. Va. 1.2 Million Pounds Akron, N. Y, 350,000 Pounds U. S. INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL j Division of National Distillers & : ] Chemical, Ashtabula, Ohio 2 Million Pounds COLUMBIA-NATIONAL Pensacola, Fla. '-v 1.5 MiBlion Pounds o#-A5St.V*. V23
conium sponge is p r o d u c e d at its Akron, N . Y., plant. T h e contract expires next year but the company says it Industry to fill AEC contracts; excess production has been renewed. All told, then, AEC will claim about 3.2 million p o u n d s next year to help stimulate commercial markets from the industry next year. • Go Commercial. C&EN's survey INIucLEAR DEMANDS continue to domi- stream. And U . S. Industrial Chemi- shows the industry expects t o p r o d u c e nate t h e zirconium sponge picture. cals division of National Distillers & about 4.1 million p o u n d s of zirconium About 9 0 % of last year's 1,970,000 Chemical is in t h e start-up stage a t its sponge next ye?,r. This means about one million pounds will b e available for p o u n d production went for reactor use. n e w 2 million-pound-a-year plant at commercial prospects. This is n o t And next year, t h e Atomic Energy C o m - Ashtabula, Ohio. All three companies enough t o develop any large markets mission will g e t about 3.2 million have A E C contracts for 2.2 million but it is enough t o start work in that pounds. With t h e industry expecting p o u n d s a year for the next five years: to make about 4 million pounds next • C a r b o r u n d u m Metals — 500,000 direction. A big help could come if commercial year, commercial prospects may open p o u n d s grade zirconium gets near a predicted u p a bit. Zirconium sponge producers • Columbia-National — 700,000 $3.50 a pound. Recent actions point feel a firm future rests on solid commerpounds in this direction. Carborundum cial markets. This is w h y they will • U . S. I.—1 million pounds dropped its reactor grade (low hafwork hard for commercial outlets next nium) price from $12.50 t o $7.50 a year. O t h e r contracts in effect now call pound in 1000 pound lots. ( I n 1 9 5 3 Now, zirconium sponge makers h a v e for 1,070,000 pounds a year. W a h Columbia-NaC h a n g has a contract for 720,000 it sold for $ 2 2 . 5 0 ) . one major customer—the Government. tional has met the price. B u t U . S. I. Other markets have been h a r d to come p o u n d s a year, to come from two plants by for many reasons. O n e is capacity. at Albany, Ore. T h e company runs t h e now sells for $7.00 a pound—in 10,000 By year's end, another 5 million p o u n d s Bureau of Mines plant there which pound lots. ( U . S. I. melts t h e sponge Commercial grade capacity will come on stream, raising makes 320,000 pounds a year—all des- into platelets.) tined for t h e Government. And W a h (about 2 % hafnium) sells for a lower the industry's total to 6.1 million price. Carborundum d r o p p e d t o $5.00 pounds. I n October, C a r b o r u n d u m C h a n g operates its own 700,000 pounda pound; Columbia-National followed. Metals started t o ship from its n e w 1.2 a-year plant a t Albany, with 400,000 million pound-a-year plant a t Parkers- p o u n d s contracted for b y A E C . T h e U. S. I. says it has been asking $5.00 a pound, again i n 10,000 p o u n d lots. burg, W . Va. Last month, Columbia- firm's contract expires in D e c . 1958. • Corrosion Resistance. Corrosion National b r o u g h t its 1.5 million p o u n d C a r b o r u n d u m has another contract a-year plant a t Pensacola, F l a . on for 325,000 p o u n d s a year. This zir- resistance is zirconium's outstanding
Zirconium Seeks Markets
30
C&EN
D E C . 16.
1957
WEEK'S PRICE CHANGES Dec. 9 , 1957 CUBBENT
PREVIOUS
Anthraquinonefr, electrical S 0.91 $ 1.10 grade, lb. 0.95 0.97 Cocoa butter, lb. 170.00 172.50 Copra, coast, ton 0.15V< 0.156/s C o r n oil, crude, t a n k s , lb. 0.14 0.141/2 Cottonseed oil. Valley, lb. 0.91 1.10 m-Nitroparatoluidine, l b . Phthalates, tanks, ib. 0.29 0.29'/2 Dimethyla 0.27V2 0.29 Diethyla p-Phenylenediamine, l b . 1.30 1.40 Lunipfr 1.32 1.42 Powdered** Quebracho extract, ordi0.099228 0.098035 nary, lb. Sodium chlorate. 100 l b . drums, l b . 0.09 0.09V< 0.09 >A 0.09 3 A Less carlots 0.1172 O.llVs Soybean oil, D e c a t u r , l b . 0.89 1 /* 0.91 l A Tin metal, lb. Tin salts, l b . 0.724 0.741 Potassium s t a n n a t e 0.573 0.593 Sodium s t a n n a t e Stannous chloride, 0.922 0.946 anhyd. Declines Casein, Argentine, lb. 0.22 0.2 IV* Castor oil, l b . 0.23 0.22V2 >{o. 1, t a n k s 0.22V* 0.21V« No. 3, t a n k s 125.00 122.00 Fish scrap, dom. t o n 0.08Vs O.O8V2 Grease, white, 1bG u m turpentine, S a v a n n a h , 0.53 0.51 gal. 0.137* 0.13 Lead metal, lb. Lead oxides, cits., l b . O.lo'A 0.15V« Red lead, dry 9 5 % 97% 0.1595 0.1545 98% 0.1610 0.1560 0.15V* 0.14V4 Litharge 0.1710 0.1700 Orange mineral Lead, tetraethyl, l b . 0.3748 0.3658 Motor mix 0.4150 0.4058 Aviation mix 6.10 6.05 Menthol, Brazilian 84.00 77.00 Platinum, oz. Soybean meal, Decatur. ton 44.00 43.50 a Single producer b Effective J a n . 1, 1958
property. Producers, therefore, would like to get the metal used in the chemical or petroleum industries, in places where corrosion is a severe problem. Carborundum, for example, has made heat exchangers, reaction vessels, and valves, in hopes of stimulating zirconium's use in these areas. Wah Chang has a similar program. ColumbiaSouthern, half owner of ColumbiaNational (National Research owns t h e other half) just started a program to test zirconium in actual plant conditions. U.S.I, will try to promote commercial interest by fabricating mill products, such as rods, sheets, and tubing. Actually, this will be done by MallorySharon Metals, formed as a joint company by National Distillers, Sharon Steel, and P. R. Mallory (C&EN, Sept. 16, page 28). U.S.I, has a V 3 interest in this company; Mallory-Sharon will take over U.S.I/s zirconium (and titanium) facilities at Ashtabula. This transaction was scheduled for consummation in November but has not come through yet.
Callery^s breakthrough in Boron Chemistry
may unlock tlie secrets of your product development Long before boron chemistry gained its present significance, Callery's task force was already a t work, tracing t h e properties of boron compounds through pilot investigations. The A M I N E B O R A N E S are one of the newest groups of these compounds. They are by-products of our research and development in high energy fuel and are available now in laboratory quantities. Later on, they will be available in production quantities. B u t right now, they are so new t h a t we are just beginning to determine t h e scope of their applications. Tiirnethylarnine borane, (CH3)3N:BH3 — pyridine b o r a n e , C s H s N i B H s — a n d d i m e t h y l a m i n e borane, (CH3)2NTH:BHs are water and organic soluble hydridic reducing agents, effective even in glacial acetic acid. They are being tested as antioxidants, catalysts, stabilizing and biological agents. Write for bulletin C-200, for more information on t h e properties of Amine Boranes. Phone: FOrest 4-1130
TWX: Perrysville. Pa. 117
BOROHYDRIDES • A L K Y L B O R A T E S • B O R O N H Y D R I D E S • A M I N E B O R A N E S A L K A L I ME1TAL H Y D R I D E S • B O R O X I N E S • H I C A L ® H I G H E N E R G Y F U E L
aCALLERY CHEMICAL PITTSBURGH
37,
DEC.
COMPANY PENNSYLVANIA
16, ! 9 5 7 C & E N
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