1430. Natural-Gasoline Plants in the United States, 1st January, 1940.
G. R . H o p k in s a n d E . M. Seeloy. U .S . B u r . M in e s In fo rm a tio n Circular, N o. 7126, J u l y 1940.—F ig u re s in clu d e d in th o B u re a u o f M inos’ la te s t b io n n ial su rv e y of n a tu ra l-g a so lin e p la n ts in th o U .S. re v ea l t h a t th o te n d e n c y n o te d d u rin g th o p a s t 10 y e a rs for m a n u fa c tu re to bo c o n co n trato d in fowor e sta b lish m e n ts h a s now boon c h eck ed . O n 1st J a n u a ry , 1940, th e re w ore 729 p la n ts in ex iste n ce , o r o n ly tw e lv e few er t h a n o n 1st J a n u a ry , 1 9 3 8 ; 671 of th e s e w ere in o p e ra tio n a n d th o re m a in d e r s h u t d ow n. T h e to ta l d a ily c a p a c ity of tho so p la n ts w as th o h ig h e s t ovor re co rd e d , a n d sh o w ed a n in crease o v e r th o J a n u a r y 1938 figure of 5 % . O w ing to a h o ld -o v o r of c a p a c ity b u ilt before p ro ra tio n , a n d e q u a lly to th e c o n tin u e d p ra c tic e of b u ild in g u p to p e a k gas p ro d u c tio n , a larg e p e rce n ta g e of th is c a p a c ity w as id le . I n 1938 a n d 1939 i t is e s tim a te d t h a t idle c a p a c ity w as in th o re g io n of 4 7 % a n d in 1937, 4 0 % .
T ex a s, C alifornia, a n d O k lah o m a to g o th o r a c c o u n te d fo r 8 4 % of to ta l o p e ra tin g c a p a c ity o n b o th 1st J a n u a ry , 1938, a n d 1st J a n u a ry , 1940. T h o a p p e a ra n c e of recy clin g p la n ts d esig n ed to process th e g as for c o n d e n s a te a n d r e tu r n th o resid u e gas to p ro d u c in g fo rm atio n s w as reflecte d in th is su rv e y . T h e r e tu r n s in clu d e d te n su c h p la n ts , e a c h w ith a c a p a c ity of 246,000 g al. H . B . M.
1431.* World Production of Petroleum—Venezuela.
J . B erm ejo . B o l. In fo r m . Petroleras, A p ril 1940, X V I I (188), 82-92.— V enezuela com m enced p ro d u c tio n in 1917 w ith som e 18,000 to n s, risin g to th o im p o rta n t figure of 301 m illio n to n s in 1939. T ho a rticlo q u o te d gives in te re s tin g p a rtic u la rs , b o th h isto ric a l a n d s ta tis tic a l, of th o r e m a rk a b le g ro w th of th e oil in d u stry . A fu ll b ib lio g ra p h y is a d d e d . H . I . L .4 6 7 a
B O O K R E V I E W .
Hydrocarbon Chemistry—A General Discussion reprinted from the Transactions of the Faraday Society.
P p . 287. G u rn e y a n d Ja c k s o n , 98 G t. R u ss ell S tro o t, L o ndon.P ric e 12a. 64.
T h is p u b lic a tio n covers th o p a p e rs p re s e n te d a t a th re e -d a y D isc u ssio n on H y d ro c a rb o n C h e m istry h e ld b y th o F a r a d a y S ociety.
T h e v o lu m e com m ences w ith a n in tro d u c to ry p a p e r c o n trib u te d b y th o P re sid e n t, P ro fesso r E . K . R id ea l. T ho s u b je c t-m a tte r is th e n con sid ered u n d e r th o follow ing h e a d s :—
P a r t I . — H o m o g en eo u s T h e rm a l R e a c tio n s of H y d ro c arb o n s.
P a r t IX.— C a ta ly tic R e a c tio n s of H y d ro c arb o n s.
P a r t I I I . — T ho .Mechanism of th o T ech n ical S y n th e sis a n d T ra n s fo rm a tio n of H y d ro c arb o n s .
P a r t IV .— Olefino P o ly m eriz atio n .
P ro fe sso r R id e a l e x p la in s in h is in tro d u c to ry p a p e r t h a t w hile th e tec h n ica l d e v elo p m en t of c e rta in p h a se s of h y d ro c a rb o n c h e m istry h as a tta in e d a h ig h s ta n d a r d , th o th e o re tic a l a s p e c t is co n fu sed in i ts g en eral o u tlo o k . T h e m a m official p u rp o se of th o D iscussion, th ere fo re, h a s b een to d ire c t th e a tte n tio n of th o se a c a d e m ic a lly in clin ed to th e wido v a rie ty of su c h p ro b lem s w h ich a w a it so lu tio n a n d e lu c id a tio n , a n d in co n seq u en ce th e b o o k is academ ic r a th e r th a n
te c h n ic a l in c h a ra c te r. ,
T h o first th re e p ap era in P a r t I d eal m a in ly w ith s tr u c tu r e a n d a c tiv a tio n energies of h y d ro c a rb o n m olecules, th o re m a in in g n in e p a p e rs in th is p a r t g iv in g a n a c c o u n t of c e rta in of th o view s hold o n hom ogeneous th e rm a l re ac tio n s of h y d ro c arb o n s.
T h is se c tio n is of p a rtic u la r im p o rta n c e to th o p e tro le u m tech n o lo g ist, for it doals w ith m a n y m a tte r s w hich a re th e b a sis of th o th e rm a l c rac k in g process, covering a w ido field fro m c h ain re ac tio n s to th e p y ro ly sis of h y d ro c a rb o n g ro u p s a n d in d iv id u a l
h y d ro c a rb o n s. . , . , . „
P a r t I I is d e v o te d to c a ta ly tic re a c tio n s of h y d ro c arb o n s. A co m prehensivo p a p e r o n c a ta ly tic rin g closure of o p en -ch ain h y d ro c a rb o n s, b y P ro fesso r T aylor a n d D r. T u rk e v itc li, a n d tw o p a p e rs b y D r. F a rk a s on iso m eriz atio n o ccu p y m o s t of
th is in te re s tin g sectio n . .
I n P a r t I I I th e te c h n ic a l s y n th e sis a n d tra n s fo rm a tio n of h y d ro c arb o n s is co n sid e red . I n th e first tw o p a p e rs th e m ech an ism b y w h ich long-chain h y d ro c arb o n s a re b u ilt u p from w a te r-g a s in th e F is c h e r-T ro p s c h process is discu ssed . T ho th ir d p a p er, c o n trib u te d b y D r. P ie r of th e I.G . F a rb e m n d u s trie , d eals w ith th e co al-h y d ro g en a tio n pro cess. T ho im p o rta n t s u b je c t of c y cliza tio n of s a tu r a te d stra ig h t-c lia in to a ro m a tic h y d ro c arb o n s h a s a ttr a c te d th re e p a p era . D iv e rg en t view s as to th o m ech an ism of th e re a c tio n a re p u t fo rw ard b y M r. P itk o th ly a n d D r. S te in e r of th e S u n b u ry R e se arc h S ta tio n , a n d b y D r. H o o g a n d Ids c o lla b o ra to rs of t h e B a ta a fs h e P e tro le u m M a a ts c h a p p ij. T ho re c e n tly d isco v ered a n d m o st in te re s tin g re a c tio n in h y d ro c a rb o n c h e m istry — n a m e ly , th e c a ta ly tic co n d en satio n of a n olefino t o a n iso-paraffin— is e x ce lle n tly d e a lt w ith b y D rs. D u n s ta n a n d B irch . T h ese a u th o rs a re to bo c o n g ra tu la te d o n th e ir so u n d a n d c are fu l w o rk o n th is im p o r ta n t a n d e le g a n t m e th o d , w h ich is d e s tin e d to h a v e p ro fo u n d a n d far-reach in g effects on h y d ro c a rb o n tech n o lo g y .
T ho last, p a r t, P a r t IV , is d e v o te d to olefine p o ly m e riz a tio n , in w h ic h p a p e rs e m b ra cin g th e fo rm a tio n of d im eric m o lecu les, of m o d iu m -len g th m olecules fo r use a s lu b ric a n ts , a n d of h ig h -m o le cu lar-w eig h t p la s tic s a re p re sen te d .
T h is bo o k is u n d o u b te d ly one of th e b e s t p u b lic a tio n s o n h y d ro c a rb o n c h em istry a n d co m p reh en siv e su rv e y s from a re se a rc h s ta n d p o in t w h ich h a s a p p e a re d in
468
a BOOKS R EC EIV ED.E n g lish . A t th o p u b lis h e d p rice of 12s. Cd. i t is a n o te w o rth y b a rg ain . M any of th o view s p u t fo rw ard a re c o n tro v e rsia l, a n d d iv e rg e n t o p in io n s a re th o ru le r a th e r t h a n th o e x c e p tio n . T h is is o n e of th e m o s t im p o r ta n t fu n c tio n s of th o w ork, in so fa r a s it lias c o lle cted a n d re co rd e d a co n sen su s of o p in io n of a d m itte d a u th o ritie s on h y d ro c arb o n c h e m is try . T h e vo lu m e is so d e fin itely a cad em ic t h a t it w ill m a k e little a p p e a l to th e tech n o lo g ist, b u t w ill b e e x tre m e ly v a lu a b le to th e c h em ist a n d
re sea rc h w o rk er. T . G . H u nt e r.
B O O K S R E C E I V E D .
Petroleum Development and Technology, 1940.
T ra n s , of th e A m erican I n s t i tu t e of M ining a n d M e tallu rg ic al E n g in eers, V ol. 136. P p . 608. P u b lish e d b y th e I n s titu te , 29 W e s t 3 9 th S tre e t, N ew Y o rk , U .S .A . P ric e So.T h is v o lu m e is th e fifte e n th of th o P e tro le u m D e v elo p m e n t a n d T ech n o lo g y Sorios of th o P e tro le u m D iv ision A .I.M .E ., a n d c o n ta in s p a p e rs p re s e n te d before th o D iv isio n d u rin g th e y e a r u n d e r review . A b s tr a c ts of th e m o s t im p o rta n t p a p ers h a v e a lre a d y a p p e a re d in th e a b s tr a c ts s e c tio n of th o J o u rn a l o f the In stitu te o f P etroleum .
T h e re a re fiv e c h a p te rs , d e v o te d re sp e c tiv e ly to (1) P ro d u c tio n E n g in e erin g , (2) E n g in e erin g R e se arc h ,(3) P e tro le u m E co n o m ics, ( I ) P ro d u c tio n , D o m estic (U .S.A .) a n d F o re ig n , a n d (5) R efining.
British Standard Methods for the Sampling and Examination of Bituminous Road Mixtures.
(R ev ised A u g u s t, 1940.) N o. 598— 1940. P p . 41. B ritis h S ta n d a rd s I n s titu tio n , 28, V icto ria S tre e t, L o n d o n , S.W . 1. P ric e 3s. 64.E x p e rie n c e g a in e d in th o a d o p tio n of th e first issu e of th is B ritis h S ta n d a r d (p u b lish ed in F e b ru a ry 1936) show ed t h a t a n u m b e r of m o d ificatio n s w ere desirablo.
T h e follow ing a re som e o f th e m o re im p o rta n t m o d ificatio n s w h ich h a v e b een in co rp o ra te d in th is p re s e n t rovision :—
(а) T ho size of th o sam p le s re q u ire d for te s tin g h a s in n o a rly a ll cases been in creased .
(б) T ho t e s t fo r th e d e te rm in a tio n of b itu m e n c o n te n t h as b een rev ised . (c) A m odifiod t e s t for th e ra p id d e te rm in a tio n of b itu m e n c o n te n t w h ich gives a good a p p ro x im a tio n is o u tlin e d in a n a p p e n d ix as bein g u sefu l in th o se la b o ra to rie s w here ro u tin e te s tin g is carried o u t.
(4) T ho tw o a lte rn a tiv e m e th o d s fo r th e re co v e ry of b itu m e n w hich h a v e b een in clu d ed give sim ila r re su lts .
(e) T ho te s ts o n m in e ral ag g reg a te h a v e n o t b een in clu d ed , as th e y a re p ro v id ed fo r in B .S.S. 812.
(/) T h e sectio n doaling w ith th o id en tific atio n of m in e ra l a g g reg a te h a s beon c o m p le te ly rev ised .
IN ST IT U T E N O TES.
Oc t o b e r
1940.
M EM B ER S SER V IN G W IT H H.M . FO R C ES.
The following is th e first list of mem bers of th e I n s titu te who are serving w ith H.M. Forces. The inform ation is correct to th e d ate of notification, th ough incom plete. P rom otions an d transfers m ay have been m ade subsequently. The S ecretary will be pleased to receive ad ditional inform ation from tim e to tim e bo th as regards m em bers in th is list and m em bers from whom inform ation has n o t y e t been received. Such additional inform ation will be incorporated in a subsequent list.
A dlington, R. E ., C apt., R.A.S.C.
B artley , E . B ., Cadet.
B lake-Sm ith, C., F light-L ieut., R .A .F.
Boshell, E . G., R .A .F . Bowker, T. 1).
Brow n, C. B arrington, Capt.
Chisholm, R . A., Flying Officer, R .A .F.
Clark, L. V. W ., Lieut.-Col., R.A.O.C.
Collins, W . T „ Capt.
Downs, W . W ., Eng.-C om m ander, R .N .R . E dw ards, G. N. P ., L/C pl., R .E .
Farq u h arso n , D. I., F lig h t.-L ieu t., R .A .F.
Gould, G. C., Capt.
Green, R . L ., C apt., R.A.
H astings, H . W.
H eseltine, G. R. N ., L ieut.-C ol.,M .C .,H onourable A rtillery Com pany.
Jackson, G. G., Lieut.
Jan io n , L. P ., Sapper, R .E.A .A . Laycoek, V., C apt., R.A.S.C.
M arshall, R . W ., M ajor.
M ason-Pay, P . A., 2nd London Scottish R egt.
M edlicott, H . E ., D.S.O., Lieut.-Col., H .Q . Staff.
Moore, J . L., 2nd L ieut., R.A.
P atrick , J . S., L ieut., R.A.O.C.
Pidgeon, D. G., 2nd Lieut., R.A.S.C.
Plaskow , C. S., R .A .F.
P roctor, R . H ., L /C pl., R .E . P rovest, T. G., Capt.
R am say-Sm ith, D. L., R .A .F.
R obinson, A. W ., 2nd Lieut., R.A.S.C.
R obinson, J . B., Cadet, O.C.T.U.
R ow ntree, W . B ., C apt., R .E . Smellie, J . R ., R .X .Y .R . Stephenson, F .
S teu art, W . 0 ., A.A. R eg t., R.A.
7
ii IN ST IT U TE NOTES