unquestionably exceed the supply.
W a r in the F a r E a st has cut off completed. Stim ulation o f all possible sources of domestic oils and fa ts is being planned. Shortage o f specific oils, however, will necessitate m ake
sh ift chemical engineering in m any branches of process industry.
Soup— Theoretically, the soap in
dustry could do very well w ithout its tical consideration o f the problem also reveals another insurm ountable b ar
rie r: E quipm ent to produce this
Technology, economics, and available equipm ent are all negative. The answer is th a t soap quality will be noticeably poorer by the end of 1942, with little im provem ent in sight be
fore the end of the w ar.
Synthetic or ferm entation glycerine production is also called for, b u t spontaneous production was doomed by the glycerine price ceiling estab
lished last October. Technically it has been dem onstrated th a t glycerine G reases & inedible tallow 4 1,134 1,384 1,512 L a r d ... 1,998 2,2 9 7 l 2,200s
siderable am ounts of scarce stainless steel equipm ent. Completion in late 1941 of the first large scale u n it (30 million lb. p e r y ea r capacity) will still provide only a little more than a drop in the bucket as f a r as su p p ly ing the needed quick-drying oils.
Selective solvent extraction p ro c
esses continue in p ilo t p la n t stage. production scale. The added incentive of the present em ergency will be th e o p p o rtu n ity to make o r break them.
Tung oil substitutes are rum ored frequently, but m aterialize less often.
Am ong those on which reliable in
form ation is available is P u re Oil Co.’s “ petropol,” which has had en
thusiastic reception. I t is a petroleum by-product, m ade by extracting and polym erizing an interm ediate olefin.
The iodine num ber ranges from 175 to 225 and the price la st M arch was about 4c. p er lb. I11 addition to the p a in t and varnish uses for this m aterial, it has found an outlet as plasticizer in linoleum, wallboard, brake lining and m any other m a
terials.
Also noted in 1941 was the increased use o f addition products to im prove the bodying p ro p ertie s o f d rying oils.
M olecular distillation im provem ent o f sem i-drying oils has been proposed as a possible source o f the scarce m a
terials. However, economic use of' this process 011 any th in g but an emergency basis is questionable. No
Imports of Foreign Fats an d O ils1
p lan t facilities for production by this method are now in operation, so fa i
ns is known.
Food Fats— A ctivity in the field of soybean and peanut flours was prob
ably the outstanding technical de
velopm ent o f 1941 in the food f a t field. The S urplus M arketing A d
m inistration of the U. S. D epartm ent of A griculture was p rim arily re sponsible fo r this work in an effort to produce a concentrated, relatively non-perishable fat-and-protein food f o r overseas consumers, Arm y, Navy and Lend-Lease. New technics and equipm ent were being found p a rtic u la rly necessary fo r the production of a sa tisfac to ry p eanut flour.
Use o f frozen lard as a re frig e ra n t in the tran sa tla n tic shipm ent of meat to B rita in was developed in 1941, showing th a t perishable foods may be safely shipped in boats w ithout re frig erated cargo space. The fact that the re frig e ra n t itself is a food when it reaches its destination will greatly stim ulate this p a rtic u la r outlet for lard . W ith an extra 50 million or more people to feed via Lend-Lease, this fa c to r m ay not be inconsiderable.
Special Uses— A lthough im ported palm oil has long been thought essen
tial in the tin p la te industry, the su p p ly now available in this country is more than adequate fo r the am ount o f tin th a t is in sight. F u rth e r su p plies m ay be im ported fro m Nigeria, if sh ip p in g space is available. M ore
over, hydrogenated cottonseed or pea
n u t oil and synthetics based on these
oils are said to be readily available as substitutes fo r palm oil in tin p latin g when and if necessary. De
velopment work with these m aterials has been carried on a t the Southern Regional Research L aboratory o f the U. S. D epartm ent o f A griculture.
Olive oil, though long preferred as a lub rican t in wool m anufacture, may find th a t it has been replaced when supplies from the M editerranean área retu rn to normal. A two-to-one mix
ture o f refined m ineral oils and coco
nut oil is said to have the desirable attrib u tes o f olive oil fo r this use and also to last longer and cost less. A substitute fo r coconut oil in this tex
tile lu bricant is now in order.
S tatistics — Domestic harvest of flaxseed in 1941 was one of the largest ever recorded. L arge surplus stocks in the A rgentine and an exportable surplus o f flaxseed in Canada make linseed oil one of the few b rig h t spots in the entire fa ts and oils picture. A l
though soybeans harvested and p ea
nut oil production set new records in 1941, demand fo r all fats and oils kept prices at a high level.
Allocation o f the dwindling tung oil stocks to most urgent w ar needs is an example of the ty p e of control th at may be necessary on many other fa ts and oils before the w ar ends. D iver
sion of tung oil fo r those few uses which were still possible with the lim ited su p p ly of 1941 have fu rth e r increased the demands fo r a substitute of linseed oil. M any p a in t form ulas of the 1920’s are being used again.
S upplies of oiticica oil im ported during 1941 were large: However, prelim inary estim ates indicate th at the 1942 crop m ay be reduced con
siderably as the resu lt o f unfavorable weather conditions in Brazil.
Im p o rt of castor beans and produc
tion of dehydrated castor oil also set new records in 1941. Domestic p ro duction o f castor beans will be signifi
cant fo r the first time in the coming season. The 1941 crop was reserved entirely for seed purposes.
Im p o rtatio n of tung and perilla oils cannot be expected fo r the next year or two, a t best. Stocks of these O riental oils in this country are suffi
cient to last only a few months. W hen these are exhausted we shall be de
pendent entirely on W estern H em is
phere oils.
P roduction of South American castor beans, babassu nuts, and oiticica nuts will be stim ulated to the greatest extent possible. Since these m aterials are not cultivated and h a r
vested extensively, production is de
pendent on local conditions to a great extent. However, as long1 as W estern H em isphere shipping is available for these m aterials they will be im ported and there will be a ready m arket fo r every pound.
A rgentine flaxseed should flow to the United States in increased q uan
tities now th a t the tariff has been halved by the recent trade agreem ent with th a t country. A lthough 32£c.
p er bu. is the figure fo r the duration o f the emergency, provision has been
Our Stockpiles of "Strategic" Fats an d O ils
1941 Statistics (M illions of Pounds)
Q u a n titie s o f f a t s a n d o ils r e p o r te d by B u re a u o f C e n s u s a s f a c t o r y a n d w a re h o u s e s to c k s o n in d ic a te d d a te s . Oil c o n te n t o f r a w m a t e r i a l s is in c lu d e d in th e c a lc u la tio n s . O n ly th o se o ils a r e in c lu d e d w h ic h a r e i m p o r te d in s ig n if ic a n t q u a n t i t i e s o r w h ic h a r c r e la tiv e ly ir r e p l a c e a b le b y d o m e stic o ils. T h e s to c k s o f c a s t o r o il a n d lin s e e d o il on D ec. 31, 1 9 4 1 ( l a t e s t a v a ila b le d a t a ) w e re 7 5 p e r c e n t o f a n a v e r a g e y e a r 's s u p p ly : a l l o th e r s to c k s w e re le s s t h a n 4 0 p e r c e n t o f th e im p o r ts fo r a n a v e ra g e y e a r. ( A v e ra g e -d o m e s tic p r o d u c tio n o f lin s e e d o il f o r t h e sa m e live y e a r s w a s 2 1 2 ,0 0 0 .0 0 0 l b . ; im p o r ts w e re 3 2 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 0 lb .)
Five-Year A v e r a g e Statistics, (1936-40) (M illions of Pounds)
A v e ra g e q u a n t i t i e s o f th e “ s t r a t e g i c ” o ils u s e d in th e l a s t five y e a r s f o r w h ic h d a t a a r e a v a i la b le , a n d th e a v e r a g e s to c k s on h a n d b y q u a r t e r s a n d f o r th e y e a r . N o te t h a t th e t o t a l sto c k o f c o c o n u t o il on D ec. 31. 1941 w o u ld l a s t o n ly n in e m o n th s if u sed o n ly by th e s o a p i n d u s t r y a t th e 1 9 3 0 -4 0 a v e r a g e ra te . S in c e fo o d m a n u f a c t u r e r s h a v e b een u s in g c o c o n u t o il a lso , t h e s to c k s w ill p ro b a b ly lie e x h a u s te d by m id -1 9 4 2 . If th e l a r g e s t re c o rd e d im p o r ts o f S o u th A m e ric a n b a b a s s u o il a n d W e s t A fric a n p a lm k e rn e l o il w e re a g a i n im p o rte d , a p p ro x im a te ly h a lf tlie n e ed s o f th e s o a p m a k e rs a lo n e co u ld be m e t.
---- Stocks on
Hand-A verage Dec. M ar. Jun. Sept. Dec. Used in /- ---- Stocks on H an d ---»
Im p o rts 31 31 30 30 31 Soap Dec. M ar. Jun. Sept. A ver
(1936-40) 1940 1941 1941 1941 1941 In d u stry 31 31 30 30 age
B a b a s su ... 48 9 14 8 12 B ab a ssu ... 22 5 8 9 5 7
C o co n u t... 656 301 270 227 249 237 C o co n u t... . . 337 225 214 229 207 219
Palm k e rn e l.. .. 50 3 5 6 4 2 Palm kern el. . . 34 13 12 14 16 I 4
754 313 289 241 2 58 251 393 243^ 234 252 228 240
Used in
“ D ry in g ” In d u stry
C a s to r... 69 31 43 46 51 48 C a s to r... 11 25 27 28 23 26
I.inseed... 320 286 271 216 397 438 Linseed ... 329* 225 226 180 296 232
O iticica... 13* O iticica...
P e rilla ... 52 7 6 9 6 5 P erilla... 41 16 15 17 20 17
T u n g ... 119 57 44 37 33 33 T u n g ... 90 46 44 47 53 48
573 381 364 308 487 524 471 312 312 272 392 323
* 1938-1940 average * Factory' consum ption; 200,000,000 lb. used annually outside factories
CHEM ICAL & M ETALLURGICAL E N G IN E E R IN G • F E B R U A R Y 19 J,2 . 2— 99
made f o r a 50c. tariff following the war. The supply, if it is m ore than adequate fo r the p a in t industry, will be readily absorbed by food, soap and other uses as dem and fo r Lend-Lease shipm ents o f fa ts and oils is in satiable.
Government Control— Government control of fa ts and oils was well estab
lished by the end of 1941. I t began w ith e x p o rt license control, effective A p ril 15. Glycerine exports had already been u nder this control fo r some time.
The next step in control was a w arning by the Office o f P rice A d
m inistration on Ju n e 27 th a t a price ceiling m ight be established. This w arning came a fte r a six-month period o f rising prices d u ring which f a ts and oils prices rose about 50 p e r
cent. The r a te of price rise then slowed u p f o r the la st h a lf of the year, in spite o f the f a c t th a t a sta te
m ent made late in A ugust removed th reat o f a ceiling “unless a run-aw ay m arket should develop.”
A fte r the outbreak o f w ar on De
cember 7, prices im m ediately jum ped.
The Office o f P ric e A dm inistration acted w ithin a week and set a tem p o ra ry price ceiling based on prices o f November 26. On December 31, this price ceiling was modified “ to conform w ith the in te n t of Congress”
to require th a t no ag ricu ltu ral ceiling could be fixed below October 1 m arket prices. I n effect, this order raised the p rice ceiling a t least 11 percent from the original announcem ent. Special provision was “made fo r soybean oil and linseed oil an d fo r other fa ts and oils the prices of which were below th eir norm al relation to the price of cottonseed oil on October 1, 1941.”
E xcept fo r butter, essential oils and m ineral oils, the new ceiling covers all raw , crude and refined fa ts and oils and th e ir byproducts and derivatives, as well as greases. Specifically ex
cluded are sales of fa ts an d oils p ro d ucts in "the finished fo rm ; sales of refined fa ts and oils— except olive oils—through wholesale and reta il
Distribution of fats a n d o ils am on g m ajor u se s in the U nited S ta t e s — 1940
100
-
90-
80- 70-.g
O .2 .6 0 -Xz I
50« 4 0 -oa Eo
'i
302 0
-
10-O— 1
E D I B L E
0thpr . ...
Domestic
MISC.
O L E O o i l A N D £ O1 BL E A N IM A L S T E A R IN E
C o rn S o y b e a n
C o tt o n s e e d
L a r d
Butter
C o tto n se e d
In e d ib le t a l l o w
a n d
g re a se s Linseed
67 20
P e r c e n t o f T o t a l b y M a j o r C l a s s e s of* U s e
CU-S TarifT Commission)
channels; sales directly to the baking, resta u ran t, hotel and other cooking tra d e s; and sales o f la rd destined fo r hum an consum ption w ithout fu rth e r processing.
P rices of fa ts and oils thus in
creased nearly 75 percent during the year 1941. Several facto rs contributed to this rise : Domestic dem and was strengthened as a resu lt o f increased in dustrial activity and increased con
sum er incom es; lard production was a little lower in 1941 than in the preced
ing y e a r; shipping costs fo r im
ported oils were higher and volume o f im ports w as sm aller d u rin g th e first h a lf of the y e a r ; exports o f fa ts and oils increased; inventories were built u p in anticipation of higher p ric e s; and Governm ent purchases of la rd and b u tte r were m ade to “su p p o rt” the m arket. As a result, fa ts and oils entered 1942‘about 25 percent above the 1927-29 p rice level.
F u rth e r control of the same fa ts and oils covered by the O PA order was established by the O PM P rio rities Division o rder forb id d in g an y m anu
fa c tu re r o r processor from buying more than a 90-day supply. The order, issued on December 29 and effective imm ediately, also p rohibits an y delivery o f the controlled
prod-Production G o a ls— 1942 T h is p r o d u c tio n o f f a t s a n d o ils is th e o r e tic a lly p o s sib le — if p ro d u c tio n g o a ls f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l c o m m o d itie s a r e a c h ie v e d , if h a r v e s t s a n d o il y ie ld s a r e n o r m a l a n d if c r u s h in g c a p a c i t y is m a d e a v a i la b le . A c tu a l p r o d u c tio n w ill p r o b a b ly be s o m e w h a t
u n d e r th e s e fig u res.
M illions of
P ro d u c t Pounds
C om o il... 200 C ottonseed o il... 1,400 L a r d ... 2,650 Linseed o il... 550 P e a n u t o il... 650 Soybean o il... 1,100
Production of S eco n d a ry F ats and Oils*
.—M illions of P o u n d s—*
P ro d u ct 1939 1940 1941
S hortening... 1,404 1,190 1,410 H ydrogenated o ils... 833 803 917 Stearin, v eg etab le... 96 72 86 Stearin, anim al, in e d ib le .. . . 15 21 40 L ard o il... 22 28 51 Tallow o il... 8 9 11 F a tty a cid s... 127 123 160 F a tty acids, d istille d ... 40 42 51 R ed o il... 49 53 77 S tearic a c id ... 34 41 56 Glycerine, crude (80% basis) 184 197 245 Glycerine, d y n a m ite ... 66 72 88 Glycerine, chem ically p u re . • 87 90 114 Cottonseed foots ( 5 0 % ) . . . . 139 123 136 C ottonseed foots, d istilled . . . 49 33 36 O th er veg. oil foots (5 0 % ). . 135 89 118 O ther veg. oil foots, d i s t 1 1 2
A cidulated soap sto c k 66 49 63
M iscellaneous soap s to c k . . . 1 2 2
■♦Products in th is tab le resu lt from refining or processing of all fa ts a n d oils, b o th im p o rted and dom estic. T h ey p resent as com plete a s ta tisti
cal pictu re of th e fa ts and oils process in dustries as is possible from th e figures rep o rted b y Census.
100— 2 F E B R U A R Y 19J,% • CHEM ICAL & M ETA LLUR GICAL E N G IN E E R IN G
ucts in excess o f 90 clays operating vailing when the order was announced on O ctober 8, effective November 10. slightly. Thus, the industrial customer became f a r m ore im p o rta n t th a n fo r m anufactured gas division actually
G a s Industry Statistics established m any newT records during 1941. The total o u tp u t o f byproduct
100-G as Sales-Manufactured 100-G a s Industry
□ H ouse h ea tin g