100.* Classification of Oil Shales and Cannel Coals. A . L . D ow n an d G. W. H i m us, J . In st. P e t r o l 1940, 26 (201), 329—348.— A ttention is directed to the confusion which ex ists in the nom enclature and classification of n atu rally occurring oil-yielding m aterials. A sy stem of nom enclature b ased on the principal plant an d m ineral constituents, and a classification showing the inter-relationships an d gradation of properties of these substances, are put forw ard. A . H . N .
3 2 a
B O O K R E V IE W S .
The Design of High-Pressure Plant and the Properties of Fluids at High Pressures.
B y D u d l e y M. Newitt. Pp. viii + 491. Oxford U niversity Press. 1940. Price
3os.
During the p ast twenty years the successful application o f high pressures to the chemical industry has resulted in a very considerable stu d y o f the properties of matter and o f the kinetics o f chemical reactions a t high pressures. In this book Professor Newitt has confined him self to describing the effects o f pressure on physical processes occurring in fluid system s.
The book is divided into two parts. P a rt I is devoted to the design o f high- pressure equipment, and commences w ith a chapter on m aterials o f construction, followed b y one on gas cylinders. Chapter I I I , on “ The Calculation o f Stresses and Strains in Pressure V essels,” leads up to a very inform ative discussion on “ The Design of High-Pressure P lan t and E q u ip m e n t” in Chapter IV . Jo in ts, valves, compressors, pum ps and safety devices are dealt with, together w ith the use of glass in high-pressure work. P art I concludes with a chapter on “ The Measure
ment of High Pressures.” The m aterial dealt with and the exam ples o f vessels and auxiliary parts presented are such as would be em ployed in laboratory or small-scale experimental work. This section o f the book is obviously written as a result of academic rather than industrial experience, and certain m inor problem s in technique which quite frequently occur in industrial high-pressure w ork are not included. The heating of high-pressure vessels, the design o f glan ds and of flow
meters for measuring fluid flows, for exam ple, are not dealt w ith. W hile such m atters are in the main minor problem s, they can be and have been in the past m ajor problems in high-pressure work. One has only to recall the difficulties encountered by Bergius in the heating o f his semi-scale h ydrogenation convertors, and in the design of a satisfactory gland for these sam e reaction vessels, to appre
ciate the important p art played by such m atters in high-pressure work. A p art from these, the measurement o f fluid flows, particularly sm all g a s flows, a t high pressures, would make a useful and attractive addition to the book.
The thirteen chapters o f P a rt I I deal alm ost exclusively w ith the ph ysical pro
perties o f fluids a t high pressures. After a short introduction dealing with the kinetic theory, the P.V .T. relationships o f gases an d the equation o f sta te problem are discussed. Recent com pressibility work and the volum etric behaviour of the more important gases, some o f their binary m ixtures, an d one tern ary m ixture are described. The liquefaction o f gases, and the use o f en th alp y-en tropy and tem- perature-entropy diagram s in the design o f g a s com pressors an d circulators are discussed.
The influence o f pressure on the viscosity, the dielectric strength and refractivity o f gases is reviewed in two chapters, w hilst another describes the effect o f pressure on the viscosity and refractivity o f liquids. The final chapter describes the P.V.T.
relationships o f liquids.
Tables of data on the therm odynam ic properties o f hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and m ethane constitute A ppendix I. A ppendix I I is m ainly concerned with d a ta on the Jo u le —Th om pson coefficient for nitrogen, air, helium, and argon, w hilst A ppendix I I I tab u late s the refractive index o f carbon dioxide. Numerous d ata in tab u lar and d iagram form are also included in the text.
^ It is very obvious from a perusal o f P a rt I I th at, a s pointed out in the Preface, there is still a serious lack o f fundam ental d a ta o f a ll kinds relating to condensed systems. ’ The very clear and concise w ay in which Professor N ew itt has presented
BOOK REVIEW S. 33 a the existin g knowledge on the fundam ental ph y sical properties o f fluids under high pressure in this volum e should, however, do m uch to encourage further exploration o f th is fascinatin g an d im portant field o f research, w hilst the description o f ex p eri
m ental equipm ent an d m ethods included w ill be found p a rticu la rly h elpful to investigators engaged on such high-pressure research. T . G. Hu n t e r. Symposium on New Materials in Transportation. A m erican Society for T estin g
M aterials, P hiladelphia, P a . P p. 94. Price $1.50.
On a num ber o f occasions recently the A m erican Society for T estin g M aterials has organized a series o f p apers bringing togeth er a num ber o f otherw ise un con nected industries from som e com m on stan dpoin t. T h is is p a rticu la rly ap p ro p riate to the A .S.T.M ., b y reason o f the wide range o f su b jects which com e w ithin its sphere, and the p apers presented are b y the forem ost chem ists an d engineers in the various industries, an d are alw ay s o f special interest.
“ Sym posium on New M aterials in T ran sportation ” represents a series o f p ap ers presented a t the D etroit Spring M eeting in M arch 1940, an d includes the use o f steel an d rubber in the au tom otive industry, o f concrete an d a sp h a lt in tra n s
portation, o f fuels and lubricants, togeth er w ith the first article in this series, which is less general th an the other— nam ely, “ E xh au st-V alv e M aterials for In tem al- Com bustion E ngin es.” The treatm en t ad op ted in the different articles is n ot the sam e, b u t w hilst som e review general progress an d research developm ents, others are prim arily concerned with the developm ents which are takin g place in speci
fications. T h us in the p a p er b y D . P . B a rn ard an d A. H . F o x , on “ Trends in the Properties o f V olatile L iq u id F u e ls,” these are discussed from the poin t o f view o f specifications an d m ethods o f test developed b y the A .S.T.M ., an d the whole review is alm o st entirely from the A m erican point o f view. A series o f interesting ch arts show the trends in properties for m otor fuel, dom estic furnace oils, an d furnace oils over a long period o f years. D evelopm ents in the autom obile in dustry are given in com parison w ith the dates when the A .S.T.M . ad op ted various ty p es o f te st for m otor fuels, an d a series o f supplem entary ch arts show changes in the properties o f various gasolines over the period 1905-1940. These show the continual increase in the anti-knock ch aracteristics o f regular gasolines, p a rticu la rly over the period 1930—1940.
W hile th is is a general review, there are a num ber o f statem en ts m ade, p a r ticu larly a s regards av iatio n gasoline, which are n ot in agreem ent w ith the stan dard m eth ods o f test ad op ted in the U .S . specifications, an d from th is poin t o f view the article w ill be found p articu larly interesting.
“ D evelopm ents in L u b ricatio n ,” b y J . P . Stew art, R . C. M oran, an d O. M. Reiff, is p rim arily concerned w ith one specific aspect— nam ely, the developm ent o f certain ty p es o f ad d itive for use in autom obile oils. On the other hand, the article b y B . E . G ray, o f the A sp h alt In stitu te, on “ R ecen t D evelopm ents in the U se o f A sp h a lt for T ran sportation P u rpo ses,” is a general review o f the subject, and w ill be found to be o f p a rticu lar interest. The su b ject is treated from a wide viewpoint, dealing with such facto rs a s sub grade design, influence o f traffic on design, w idth o f p a v e m ent aggregate, togeth er w ith trends in p la n t m ixtures an d special considerations applying to airp orts an d railroads. In this article, again, an independent view point h as been taken, and for th is reason the treatm ent is specially welcome, since it leads to a re-exam ination o f ideas currently accepted. A lthough only three articles h ave been review ed in detail, the other review s are o f considerable value to petroleum tech nologists, since the problem s affecting other industries are often o f great im portance to those prim arily interested in petroleum . F . H . Ga s n e b.
I N S T I T U T E N O T E S .
Ja n u a r y 1941.