W IT H M E T A L L U R G IC A L S E C '
SA TU RDA Y , JU L Y 7, 1945
R E G IS T E R E D AS A N EW SPA PER
0D, P E R COPY POST P R E K 8 D .
■ Y < , :■ ■ ■■■■ ■■ ■ ROBEY OF LINCOLN WILL RESUME THE MANUFACTURE OF THEIR FULL RANGE OF PRODUCTS FOR WHICH THE NAME ROBEY IS FAMOUS
Tbeso in clu d e:
OIL & STEAM ENGINES f B O JtERS • MINING PLANT ROAD & QUARRY PLANT AIR COMPRESSORS F1JBRE MACHINERY
CASTINGS by Mechiia’.ii process '
o th e
Y -
ia 0 g t t oP E o í ° u
a í e t on a steady ^ o!V’ingCyUnder ü g W sonrCe‘ degree o / . ^ mld‘ty
L T D .
■ THE CHEMI CAL A G E Ju l y 7 . 194S
LUBRICATED PLUG VALVES in action
From 16" bore as illustrated down Jo §" bore, oil with the renowned Audco system of lubrication and sealing - to ensure tight shut-off a n d eose of operation.
A U D L E Y E N G IN E E R IN G C O M P A N Y L IM IT E D N E W P O R T S H R O P S H I R E E N G L A N D
Ju l y 7, 19 4 5 h 1945 ' THE CHEMI CAL A GE'T H
K e s t n e r
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
The K ESTN ER F L E X O M IX E R is a small machine f o r ’ general stirring and mixing problems. It has a speed control giving a range from slow speed up to 2,000 r.p.m. It has a flexible driving shaft, and the stirrer blades are made to suit all conditions. The driving motor is kept well clear of steam or corrosive fumes arising from the mixing vessel. W rite for Leaflet No. 255.
The K E ST N E R V I B R O M IX E R A N D SIFTER, a laboratory apparatus for mixing liquids and solids, grading, sieving, or separat
ing powdered or granular solids, by means of vibration at any required periodicity. W rite for Leaflet No. 253.
The K E ST N E R L A B O R A T O R Y S PRA Y DRIER. This Is a Kestner Patent Small Scale Spray D rier which produces a dry powdered product of uniform texture in one operation from solutions or suspensions. It is specially arranged for easy cleaning and is suitable for handling a wide range of products. Each unit is complete with heater, fan, dust collector, driving motor and all necessary equipment.
W rite for Spray Drier Leaflet No. 264.
The REAVELL IN FR A -R ED E V A P O R A T O R S A N D DRIERS embody the most up-to-date principles of Infra-Red Radiation.
Send for brochure describing the Laboratory type I.R. D RIER or EV A PO R A T O R.
K E S T N E R ’ S
Chemical Engineers, 5 G R O S V E N O R G A R D E N S , L O N D O N , S .W .I
HOLLAND/SLM*
R O T A R Y CO MP R ES S OR S
& V A C U U M PU MP S
L O W M A IN T E N A N C E COSTS
L O N G LIFE
I N I T I A L E F F I C I E N C I E S M A I N T A I N E D O V E R Y E A R S O F S E R V I C E
The B. A. Holland Engineering Co. L td ., 15 Dartm outh Street, London, S.W.1
W O R K S : P E R T H A V E N U E , S L O U G H
A
THE CHEMICAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
I anaí L ar ^ l a b o r a t o r y c h e m i c a l s
for Analysis and Research
• •
M IC R O S C O P IC A L STA IN S
Solids Solutions
• •
C H EM IC A LS IN D IC A T O R S
Organic pH Adsorption
Inorganic Fluorescent Redox
Manufactured by
H O P K I N & W I L L I A M S L T D .
1 6 - 1 7 S T . C R O S S S T R E E T , L O N D O N , E . C . I .
H & W
9 One o f the m any Holmes-Connersville Blowers supplied to Chemical W orks.
Capacity o f m achine Illustrated. 120,000 cu. ft. p er hour ag a in st a pressure
¿ s d f 3 lbs. per sq. inch. Speed 400 r.p.m
H E A D O F F 1 C E « ' T U R H B R I D G E - H U D D E R S F I E L D
10 K DON. OFFICE • 119 VICTORIA ST.SWI - MIDLANDS 0 F F IC E - Í I. B E N HE FIS HILL BIRMINGHAM 2
• Telephones:/Huddersfield. 5280 : LONDON; Vi ctori a, 9971 : BIRMINGHAM. Midland. 6830
HOLMES-CONNERS VILLE
P O S I T I V E A I R B L O W E R S
d e liv e r a p o sitiv e , re lia b le a n d oil-free su p p ly of A ir e c o n o m ically a n d efficiently.
A b se n c e of in te rn a l contact e n s u r e s lo n g life, low m ain te n a n c e a n d con tin u o u s o p e r a tion o v e r lo n g p e rio d s . M any of th e se m ach in es a r e in su ccessfu l o p e ra tio n fo r the h a n d lin g of G a se s. O v e r 1,400 h a v e b e e n s u p p lie d a lr e a d y fo r su c h p u r p o s e s .
Ju l y 7, 19 4 5 THE CHEMI CAL AGE
SPECIFY BTH
B T H RUGBY
T H E E R I T 1 S H T H O M S O N - H O U S T O N C O M P A N Y L I M I T E D . R U G B Y . E N G L A N D A 3461
B T H M O T O R S A N D C O N T R O L G EA R
used in all industries
throughout the world.
T R A D I T I O N A L R E L I A B I L I T Y
ELECTRIC MOTORS
RUSTON & H O R N SB Y LT.D
B O I L E R D I V I S I O N
L. I N C O L N
L I N C O L N6 4 5
l.&W. GRAZEBROOK LTD fT%
E N G IN E E R S and IR O N F O U N D E R S
Telephone D U D L E Y
D U D L E Y rmmmm- W 0R C S Pressure
i 1 4aJL_. Vessels, Stills, Tanks, etc.
Homogeneous Lead Lining Max. Machining
Capacity 20ft. dia.
Fabricated Plant in Mild and Stainless Steel for Chemical and Allied Trades
to Clients’ Designs
All Sections
CLASS I FUSION W ELD ED
PRESSURE VESSELS
& CHEMICAL PLA N T
C o n s u lt
Approved by Lloyds for Class I Fusion Welding
Specialists in Boilers and Vessels for 90 years.
T A N K S • STILLS • C O O L E R S D I ST IL L IN G P L A N T • P A N S • C R Y S T A L L IS IN G P L A N T • KIERS A U T O C L A V E S M IX E R S ■ C O N D E N S E R S . ETC.
THE CHEMI CAL A GE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
Ju l y 7, 19 4 5 THE CHEMI CAL AGE V
T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T V T T T T T T
N o w a v a i l a b l e
DIETHYL CARBONATE
(C2H sO )iCO
Properties o f Pure Substance :—
Colourless, pleasant-smelling liquid.
Boiling point . . . 126°C.
Specific Gravity at 20°C. . 0.975 Refractive Index at 20°C . 1.385 Inflammable
ETHYL CHL0R0F0RMATE
C1C0 0 C2H 5
Properties o f Pure Substance :—
Colourless, pungent-smelling liquid.
Boiling point . . 93°C.
Specific Gravity at 20°C. . 1.135 Refractive Index at 20°C. . 1.397 Inflammable
Samples and information on application to :
IM P E R IA L C H E M IC A L I N D U S T R I E S L IM IT E D L O N D O N . SAV.l.
C N IIIB J i
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A Á A A A A A A A A
PYREX
♦. the ^ears tbat the locust batb eaten ». /
RBCfTAAO* MARK BRANO
Since 1939 large numbers o f our men and women have been serving their country in the Forces.
Soon many o f them will be returning to their homes, anxious to make a place for themselves in the life o f a nation pursuing the arts of peace.
Constructive help will be needed in solving the many business problems that will confront them after long absence from the ordinary affairs of daily life.
T h e managers o f the branches o f the Midland Bank have a wealth of experience and knowledge in such matters which they will gladly place at the disposal of men and women — whether cus
tomers o f the Bank or not
— upon their return to civilian life.
S C IE N T IFIC GLASSW ARE
Strong points of special value T
HE reliability of the Glassware used inroutine tests and research experiments, or in important chemical processes, Is of vital importance.
P Y R E X Brand Scientific Glassware, with the remarkably low co-efficient of expansion of .0000032 is immune from the effects of sudden thermal changes, while at the same time it is unaffected by all acids, except hydrofluoric and glacial phosphoric.
This resistance to heat and cold allows the structure of P Y R E X Brand Glassware to be made heavier and more robust than that of ordinary glass . . . . one of the specially valuable points of this famous Glassware . . . . thereby giving additional safety against break
age in everyday handling.
A s k for PYREX Brand and s e e t h a t you g e t it !
H P Y R E X B1
S W il H H »I t ' TXAM VXH WXNO. SMBS] B»|
I I S C I E N T I F I C H i i l l G L A S S W A R E K g
W L tm M MADE BY
James A. Jobling & Co. Ltd
W e a r G l a s s W o r k s , S U N D E R L A N D .
IDLAND BANK
L IM IT E D
THE CHEMICAL AGE Ju l y 7, 1945
Ju l y 7 , 19 4 5 THE CHEMI CAL AGE
C H E M I C A L S L I M I T E »
From July 9th, 1945,
the S A LE S D E P A R T M E N T is again operating from the registered office
of the company at :
V I C T O R I A S T A T I O N H O U S E ,
L O N D O N , S . W . l .
Please address all communications to this department accordingly.
T E L E P H O N E : V IC T O R IA 2255
L E L E G R A M S : M O N S A N T O , P H O N E , L O N D O N .
THE CHEM IC AL A G E Ju l y 7, 1945
S H A W I N I G A N LTD.
R E G . T R A D E M A R K
MA D E I N C A N A D A
A C E T IC A C ID CARBIDE of C A L C IU M
A C E TY LE N E BLACK POLYVINYL ACETATE “ GELVA”
H I G H A N D L O W V ISC O S IT IE S
POLYVINYL ACETALS “ ALVAR”
“ FORMVAR ”
MARLOW HOUSE, LLOYDS AVENUE, LONDON, E.C.3
T eleg ram s: “ IG A N S H A W IN , FEN. L O N D O N ” E M E R G E N C Y ADDRESS :
113, F O X L E Y L A N E , P U R L E Y , S U R R E Y Telephone: Uplands 5257
3 or e v e r y product.
D r u m s a n d T i e ç j s
by
In a wide range of sizes and designs to meet the needs of all trades.
Be guided by years of experience and pack your product in a perfect steel package. If we can be helpful in solving any of your package problems we shall be happy to place our service
at your disposal.
TODD BROS (P iones ) LTD
\ A / , ~ ~ _
w I D N E S L A N C S
Telephones St. Helens 3271 W ld n c s 2267.
dm 786
THE CHEMI CAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
A C ID -R ESIST IN G
= C E M E N T S =
P A T E N T A C ID - P R O O F N O N - S L I P F L O O R S
T A N K L I N I N G S E T C . E T C .
— m~C o n s u l t r = ---
F. HAWORTH (
A C , C E M E N T I N G ) L T D .R A M S B O T T O M • L A N C A S H IR E
Phone : Gram s :
Ram sbottoni 3254. “ C em en t,’ * Ram sbottom.
JA M E S T A T E & CO.
VICTORY WORKS . EAST PARADE
'Va
>OWSGN £ M A SO n M A N C H E S T E R 19
GAS P L A N T C O . LTD . T el. N o . : H e a t o n M o o r 2261
C Y L IN D R IC A L A N D R E C T A N G U L A R A N D F L O W M ET ER S, ETC.
SEMI-BALANCED SOLENOID OPERATED VALVES
S U IT A B L E F O R ST E A M , W A T E R , A IR . SP IR IT S. O IL . and
J u l y 7, 194 5 T H E C H E M IC A L A G E
A l L B U M
1-*• • The curious vapour trails made by our bombers as they pursued their relentless course to the heart of Germany.
One of the new sights of W o rld W a r No. 2 pictured for you by—•
B O W L IN G IR O N W O R K S BRADFORD
L O N D O N O F F IC E : 46. V IC T O R IA S T R E E T , S .W .| . T E L E P H O N E : A B B E Y 3226
No.
G ood tim ber is scarce, but for essential w ork
CARTY’S can still supply VATS
IN TIMBER UP TO
PRE-WAR STANDARD OF QUALITY AND SEASONING
— CÄRTY—
A N D S O N , L I M I T E D
H arders R d ., P e c k h a m , L O N D O N , S.E.15
P h o n e : N e w C r o s s 1826
L A B O R A T O R Y C H E M I C A L S
A C C U R A C Y I N A N A L Y S I S d e m a n d s t h e u s e o f p u re, u n ifo r m and d e p e n d a b le r ea g e n ts . T h e c o n s i s t e n t q u a lity o f
‘ An a l aR ’ c h e m ic a ls is a ss u red by c o n f o r m i t y t o pu b lish ed sp ec ific a tio n s, and by t h e i r u s e in a n a ly tica l w o r k ‘ r e a g e n t e r r o r s ’ a r e a v o id e d . ‘ An a l aR ’ c h e m ic a ls a r e b o t t l e d u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s w h ic h e n s u r e f r e e d o m f r o m c o n t a m i n a t i o n , and ar e su pp li ed u n d e r labels s h o w in g t h e m a x i m u m
l i m i t s o f all lik ely i m p u r it ie s .
THE CHEMI CAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
Ą n a l a R '
Ü L - c z .
p. h 8 j h S /5 3
The Chemical Age
A W eekly Journal D evoted to Industrial and E ngin eering C hem istry
B O U V E R I E H O U S E , 154 F L E E T S T R E E T , L O N D O N , E .G .4
T e le g ra m s: A LLA N G A S F L E E T LO N D O N T e le p h o n e : C E N T R A L 3 2 1 2 (10 lines) G LA SG O W : 1 1 6 H ope S tre e t (C entral 3970)
T H E C H E M IC A L A G E offices are closed on S a tu rd a y s in acco rd an ce w ith th e a d o p tio n B enn B ro th e rs L im ited
B IR M IN G H A M : D aim ler H ouse, P arad ise S tr e e t (M idland 0784-3 ) by
V O L . L I U
N o . 1 3 5 8 .
July 7 , 1945
m m * ™O rganisation and the M
R. THO JM A S M c L A C H L A N , w hoto th e g e n e ra l r e g r e t h a s re tire d from th e c h a ir m a n s h ip of the L ondon S ectio n o f th e B .A .C ., fro m th e L o n d o n C o m m itte e a n d fro m th e C o u n c il o f th a t body, d e v o te d h is a d d re s s as c h a irm a n to a s u b je c t w ith w hich h e is p e c u lia rly id en tified , th e w e lfa r e of th e ch em ist.
B riefly , h is th e m e is th a t th e ch e m ist is in su fficien tly o rg a n is e d in a n y of his a c tiv itie s . A s a re s u lt he is k ic k e d ab o u t b etw een th e e m p lo y e rs a n d th e w o rk m e n ’s tr a d e u n io n s , h e is n o t a c c o rd e d th e p u b lic re c o g n itio n th a t he sh o u ld h a v e , he c a n n o t re a d n o r ev e n see th e m ass o f lite r a tu r e p u b lis h e d fo r his b en efit, a n d h e is a lo o f fro m h is fello w s.
T h a t is a p re tty d a m n in g in d i c tm e n t;
a n d b ro a d ly it is tru e . W e h a v e often w o n d e re d w h e th e r one re a s o n fo r th e
la c k of o rg a n is a tio n is n o t th e d ifficu lty of d efin in g w h a t a c h e m ist r e a lly is. O ne c a n n o t c ry s ta llis e an in h e r e n tly a m o rp h o u s c o m p o u n d . O u r d ic tio n a ry , w h ic h d e fin e s, “ c h e m i s t ” as o n e w ho is “ e x p e rt in , o r a stu d e n t of c h e m is try ,” does not h e lp m uch. T h e fu n d a m e n ta l difficulty is th a t th e m em b ers o f th e p ro fe ssio n a re s p re a d o v e r m a n y in d u s trie s , a n d in m an y o f th o se th e y a re as f a r a p a r t as th ey are fro m th e g e o lo g ists,
On Other P ages Notes and Comments ...
Luc Research ...
A Sto ry of Planned Production Letters to the Editor : American Patents— Raw Materials for Plastics ...
Purity of Solvents
Personal Notes ...
A Chemist’s Bookshelf
Diatomite in Scotland ...
Me t a l l u r g i c a l Se c t i o n
The Past and Futu re o f Steel Cobalt and Rhen iu m ...
Metal Statistics
Photography in Steel Research General News from W e e k to W e e k 19 Forthcoming Events ... 29.
Company News ... 2'.
Stocks and Shares ... 21 British Chemical Prices ... 22
th e p h y sic ists, th e b o ta n is ts , th e m e ta l
lu r g is ts , a n d so fo rth . T h e ir s e v e ra l in d u s trie s h a v e little in co m m o n , th cii in te re s ts d iv e r g e ; it is th e v ery d e v il to b rin g th e m a ll to g e th e r. B u t th e re is a n o th e r a n d less c r e d ita b le reaso n for th e difficulty-. T h e a tm o s p h e re Of a c h e m is t’s u p b r in g in g e n g e n d e rs in h im a n u n w h o le so m e d is re s p e c t fo r m en in o th e r w a lk s of life. T o h im , im m ersed in h is la b o ra to ry , th e e n g in e e r, the w o rk s m a n a g e r, th e fo re m e n , an d o th e rs com e fo r a d v ic e on h is p a r tic u l a r field.
B e in g , g e n e ra lly , th e o n ly on e a b le to s p e a k w ith a u th o r ity on th a t su b je c t, he is su b c o n sc io u sly filled w ith a sense o f s u p e rio rity . T h a n k in g h e a v e n th a t he is n o t as o th e r m en, h e p a ss e s by on th e o th e r side. O th e rs , in c lu d in g the m in o r lig h ts of h is ow n p ro fe ssio n , be
com e to h im as
“ le s s e r b re e d s w ith o u t th e la w .” S ecu re in h is c a s tle , h e r e fu ses to co m b in e w ith o th e rs , h e re fu se s to becom e o n e of th e h e rd , h e sco rn s th e id e a o f a tr a d e u n io n . Y e t th e M e d i
cos, th e V e ts, th e A r
c h ite c ts , th e ¡Law yers, a n d o th e r p ro fe ssio n s h a v e no su ch q u a lm s.
N o d o u b t w h a t we h a v e s u g g e s te d w ill c au se e v e ry ch e m ist in th e la n d to d e m a n d o u r b lo o d . So we h a ste n to a d d th a t o u r d ia g n o s is is n o t of 9
9 10
11 17 17 1 8
THE CHEMI CAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
g e n e ra l a p p lic a tio n , a n d th a t it is p u t fo rw a rd as a su g g e s tio n fo r th e p o o r s u p p o r t th a t th e B .A .C . g e ts fro m the p ro fessio n . Is th e s u p p o rt r e a lly p o o r?
P e rh a p s so, p e rh a p s n o t ; b u t it is yet a lo n g w ay from b e in g co m p lete.
A n y th in g th a t c a n be d o n e to b rin g c h e m ists to g e th e r w ill be fo r th e ir u ltim a te g o o d , a n d it is w ith .this aim in v iew th a t we w rite.
It is of fo u r “ o rg a n is a tio n s ” th a t M r. Me L ach lan sp e a k s , b e lie v in g th a t c h e m ists sh o u ld be o rg a n is e d in re g a r d to th e ir p ro fe ssio n a l d u tie s, fo r se c u rity , to u n ify th e ir p u b lic a tio n s , a n d fo r so cial reaso n s. H e ask s fo r c h e m istry to be m a d e a closed p rofession w ith an o p e n d o o r fo r th e e x c e p tio n a l c h e m ist w ith u n o rth o d o x tr a in in g . T h is is on th e one sid e a k in to th e “ clo sed sh o p ” of th e tr a d e u n io n s , a n d on th e o th e r to th e se v e re ly “ p ro fe ssio n a l b e h a v io u r”
en fo rc e d on th e m e d ic a l p ro fe ssio n by th e B .M .C . X o d o u b t c h e m ists m ig h t g a in som e a d v a n ta g e by re s tric tio n of th e ir ra n k s , b u t w h e th e r th a t is a n e c e s
s a r y ste p seem s d o u b tfu l. C h em ists, w ho, lik e M r. M c L a c h la n , a re d ire c tly e m p lo y ed by th e p u b lic as a n a ly s ts , co n s u lta n ts , e tc ., c o u ld be sa id to h a v e ah a priori re a so n fo r m e m b e rsh ip of th is ty p e o f o r g a n i s a ti o n ; b u t th e e m p lo y e r firm w o u ld re a p no benefit, a n d th e e m p lo y e e c h e m ist w o u ld re a p e x a c tly as m uch (o r as little ) benefit as th e tra d e u n io n does th ro u g h th e closed shop.
T h is seem s a d e b a ta b le p o in t.
T h e fixing o f s a la rie s on a n a d e q u a te b asis, an d o th e r a sp e c ts o f s e c u rity , a re th e lo g ic a l field fo r th e B .A .C . T h e la b o u r e r is w o rth y of h is h ire , an d a n y th in g th a t can be d o n e to ra ise h is s ta tu s so th a t h e is re m u n e ra te d a d e q u a te ly fo r h is s k ill a n d fo r th e w o rk he p u ts in w h ile o th e rs e n jo y th e m se lv e s sh o u ld be done. S o cial se c u rity is b e in g ta k e n o v e r by th e G o v e rn m e n t, b u t on a b a sis to ta lly in a d e q u a te fo r th e staff e m p lo y ee. W h y sh o u ld n o t ch e m ists a n d e m p lo y e rs p a y in to a jo in t s u p e r
a n n u a tio n sch em e fo r th e w h o le p ro fe s sio n ? T h a t w o u ld be a w o n d e rfu l ste p fo rw a rd to w a rd s so c ia l se c u rity , e sp e c ia lly sin ce th e f a ll in in te re s t ra te s an d in th e v a lu e of m o n ey m a k e s it n e a rly im p o ssib le fo r a n y o n e to sa v e e n o u g h fo r h is o ld a g e , o r fo r h is d e p e n d e n ts w h en h e is g o n e. W e co m m en d th a t
id ea fo r e x p lo ra tio n to the B .A .C . F ir m s h a v e su ch sch em es, an d th e se a re a c tu a ria llw so und a n d a re u n d e rta k e n , w e b e lie v e , in c o lla b o ra tio n w ith in s u ra n c e co m p an ies.
T h e id e a of r o llin g a ll c h e m ic a l p u b lic a tio n s in to one h u g e J o u r n a l h a s been th e d re a m o f c h e m ists fo r som e tim e.
W e a re n o t a t a ll s u re th a t i t is w o rk a b le. I t so u n d s v e ry nice fo r th e ch em ist to p a y a s in g le s u b s c rip tio n a n d g e t a ll h is p ro fe s s io n a l lite r a tu r e , tr a n s a c tio n s , a b s tra c ts , e tc ., fro m o n e so u rce. B u t ev ery c h e m ist in e v ita b ly s p e c ia lise s to d a y , a n d w e f r a n k ly c a n n o t see m u c h a d v a n ta g e to '( s a y ) th e d yestuffs c h e m ist to receiv e th e T r a n s a c tio n s of th e C e ra m ic S o ciety o r th e F a r a d a y Society. W h e re sh o u ld one d ra w th e lin e ?' T h e re could p ro b a b ly be ro m e .-om pression of so cieties, b u t n ew so cieties a r e n o t u n d e rta k e n lig h tly ; th e y fill a n eed th a t is n o t filled by an e x is tin g body. T h e d re a m th a t “ f u r th e r effo rts m ay be m a d e to lin k th e v a rio u s p u b lis h in g so cieties in to one h o m o g e n e o u s w h o le, to w hich m e m b e rs m ay p a y su b s c rip tio n s a c c o rd in g to th e p u b lic a tio n s th e y r e ceiv e ” seem s lik e ly to re m a in a d re a m . F o r o u rs e lv e s w e m u s t f r a n k ly confess to h a v e fo u n d no d ir e c t a d v a n ta g e in the lin k -u p b etw een th e C h e m ic a l S o ciety a n d th e S o ciety o f C h em ical I n d u s tr y —-but p e rh a p s w e a re e x c e p tio n a l in th a t. C e rta in ly it is tr u e th a t
“ c h e m ists on th is sid e of th e A tla n tic lo o k w ith e n v y to th e g r e a t A m erican
* C h em ical S o ciety , an d w o n d er w hy the le a d in g m e m b e rs o f o u r g r e a t an d h is to ric a l c h e m ic a l p ro fe ssio n in th is c o u n try a re so la c k in g in vision th a t th ey a re u n a b le to fo rm u la te a s im ila r id ea a c c e p ta b le to c h e m ists of th e se is le s .”
B u t th a t is fa r d iffe re n t fro m “ lin k in g th e V arious p u b lis h in g so cieties in to one h o m o g en eo u s w h o le .”
W e a g re e a lso th a t In c o m e T a x re b a te sh o u ld be a llo w ed on scientific lite r a tu r e b o u g h t by th e in d iv id u a l c h e m ist. It m a y w e ll be th a t th e c h e m ist is too n e b u lo u s a p e rso n to be a llo w e d th is re b a te by th e T re a s u r y , an d p e rc h a n c e m e m b e rsh ip of a s in g le p ro fe ssio n a l o rg a n is a tio n m ig h t be th e first ste p to w a rd s b e in g g iv e n th e re b a te . T h e c h e m is t’s b o o k s a n d te c h n ic a l lite r a tu r e a re th e to o ls o f h is tr a d e , ju s t a s m u c h as th e e m p lo y e r’s v a ts , b o ile rs , a n d fa c
Ju l y 7, 19 4 5 THE CHEMICAL AGE 3 to rie s a re h is, w ith o u t w hich he can n o t
c o n tin u e to o p e ra te .
L a stly , so c ia l o r g a n is a tio n ; h e re M r.
M c L a c h la n says w h a t we h a v e said m an y tim es, n a m e ly th a t th e c h e m ist does n o t m ix w ell w ith h is fello w s b ecau se of Iris c lo iste re d life , an d th a t c irc u m sta n c e p re v e n ts h im fro m m a k in g g o o d in the l a r g e r w o rld o u tsid e th e la b o ra to ry . M r. C h u r c h ill’s e a rly re a lis a tio n o f “ the p a rt p la y e d by h u m b u g in th e so c ia l life o f g r e a t p e o p le s d w e llin g in a s ta te of d e m o c ra tic freed o m ” h a s not d aw n ed u p o n q u ite a lo t of p e o p le —b u t it is none th e less tru e . W e p re f e r to q u o te Mr.
M c L a c h la n , sin ce we o u rs e lv e s h a v e a lr e a d y q u a lifie d by o u r c ritic ism o f the c h e m ist fo r a n e a rly d em ise in a
N O T E S A N D
S alu te to the Ladies
W
E a re m o st h a p p y to a n n o u n c e , in o u r fe a tu re “ F o rth c o m in g E v e n ts ,” th e b a n q u e t fo r th e la d ie s w h ich th e C h e m ic a l E n g in e e r in g G ro u p of th e S ociety of C h e m ic a l I n d u s tr y is a r r a n g in g fo r J u ly 17. T h is “ b a n q u e t,”th e first c e le b ra tio n o f its- k in d to ire o rg a n is e d by th e G ro u p , is to c o n sist of a re c e p tio n by th e c h a ir m a n a n d M rs, M. R. D o n a ld , fo llo w e d by lu n c h e o n , a n e n te r ta in m e n t an d te a ; an d th e h a p p ily -c h o se n v en u e is th e a n c ie n t H a ll of th e W o rs h ip fu l C o m p an y of T a llo w C h a n d le rs in D o w g a te H ill, ofF C annon S tre e t— on e of th e C ity H a lls o f L o n d o n t h a t w as m e r c if u lly s p a re d th e fa te of d e s tru c tio n fro m th e a ir. M ore th a n th a t, the G ro u p h a s b een g ra n te d th e p r iv ile g e of u s in g th e C o m p a n y ’s p la te , in c lu d in g th e L o v in g C u p , w h ich w ill c ir c u la te in a c c o rd a n c e w ith a n c ie n t tradition.® W e a re h e a r tily in a g re e m e n t w ith th e s e n ti
m e n ts of th e G ro u p ex e c u tiv e s, w hen th ey s ta te th e ir d e b t o f g r a titu d e to th e la d ie s fo r th e a rd u o u s w a r-tim e la b o u rs th ey h a v e p e rfo rm e d . M an y o f th ese la b o u rs h a v e b een d ra b in th e e x tre m e ; fo r th o u g h th e w om en of B rita in h a v e b een second to n o n e in th e ir re a d in e ss to sh a re th e d a n g e r s o f th e fr o n t lin e, th e re is a la r g e m a jo rity w hose w o rk h a s co n sisted m a in ly in c le a n in g , q u e u e in g , m e n d in g , a n d th e lik e . I t w as in d e e d a h a p p y th o u g h t to seize th is o ccasion o f in f u s in g a li tt le b rig h tn e s s in to th e
c h lo rin e -fille d g a s-c h a m b e r. “ My e x p e rie n c e ,” he says, “ is th a t th e a v e ra g e ch em ist is a s e a r c h e r a f te r tr u th , an d c o n se q u e n tly te n d s to lo o k a t life solely from th e a n g le o f tr u th . I f he a ss o ciates chiefly w ith m en of th e sam e ty p e he w ill seld o m d e v e lo p a p r o p e r bu sin ess acu m e n a n d on e m e e ts fa r too m an y c h e m ists'W ith a d e c id e d in fe rio rity com p le x .” M r. M c L a c h la n a sk s th a t c h e m ists sh o u ld m ix m o re w ith th e ir fello w s, sh o u ld s u p p o r t th e ir ch em ical so cieties w hen y o u n g , a n d sh o u ld le a rn to s p e a k in p u b lic I n a w o rd , th e y o u n g ch em ist m u st be b r o u g h t fo rw a rd as a n o rm a l m e m b e r o f so ciety w ith a h ig h p o sitio n to fill.
C O M M E N T S
d a ily ro u n d , a n d o u r o n ly so rro w is th a t acco m m o d a tio n m a k e s it n e c e ss a ry to lim it th e a tte n d a n c e to fo rty c o u p le s.
S till, h o w ev er e x c lu s iv e th e e n te r ta in m en t m u s t of n e c e ssity be, it is a w e l
com e sig n o f th e re la x a tio n of te n s io n w hich w e can now a ll e n jo y , n o t le a st th o se la d ie s in w hose h o n o u r th e id e a w as co n ceiv ed .
S tu d e n ts’ V isit to W orks
I
T is a lw a y s re f re s h in g to h e a r of a go o d id e a b e in g p u t in to p r a c tic e ; a n d we w ere th e re fo re e x tre m e ly in te re ste d to re c e iv e an a c c o u n t o f a v is it p a id by th e C h e m ic a l E n g in e e r in g S o ciety of the Im p e r ia l C o lle g e to th e S .E . L ondon w o rk s o f th e K e stn e r E v a p o r a to r &E n g in e e r in g C o m p an y to w a rd s th e end of la s t m o n th . E ig h te e n s tu d e n ts , d iv id e d in to th re e p a rtie s , e a c h u n d e r th e c h a rg e of a m e m b e r o f th e firm ’s se n io r te c h n ic a l staff, m a d e a p e rs o n a lly - co n d u cte d to u r o f v a rio u s w o rk in g d e m o n s tra tio n s on th e p la n t, h a v in g been p re v io u s ly in fo rm e d of w h a t to e x p e c t by m e a n s of a c ir c u la r le t te r an d a se t of d e s c rip tiv e le a fle ts. As m ig h t' h a v e been e x p e c te d , a c o n s id e ra b le p a r t of th e d e m o n s tra tio n co n sisted in th e s tu d y o f d rie rs o f v a rio u s ty p e s , e v a p o r a to rs, s tirr e rs , e tc ., in c lu d in g la b o ra to rv - sc a le e q u ip m e n t; a n d so m e o f th e a f te r n o o n w as d e v o te d to th e p ro cess of m a k in g a n acid p u m p in h ig h silico n iro n . T h is la t te r d e m o n s tra tio n s ta rte d
THE CHEMI CAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
w ith th e p a tte rn s arid p ro c e e d e d th r o u g h th e s ta g e s of m o u ld in g , c a s tin g , g r in d in g an d m a c h in in g th e c a s tin g s , fittin g a n d a ss e m b lin g the p u m p , a n d fin a lly te s tin g th e p u m p . T h e p ro c e s sin g of le a d fo r ch e m ic a l p la n t w as a n o th e r in te re s tin g item , in th e d a y ’s p ro g r a m m e ; a n d , b efore le a v in g , th e s tu d e n ts w ere g iv e n an o p p o rtu n ity of e x a m in in g th e re s e a rc h w o rk in p ro g re s s in the la b o r a to ry on a new system of d ry in g by the a p p lic a tio n of a h ig h -fre q u e n c y e le c tric c u rr e n t. O ne p a r tic u la r ly in te re s tin g p o in t w as th a t th e w o rk s, h a v in g been b a d ly d a m a g e d la s t su m m e r by en em y a c tio n , w ere n o t in th a t sp ic k -a n d -s p a n c o n d itio n w hich is too o ften a r r a n g e d fo r
“ o u t s i d e ” v is ito r s ; an d th e stu d e n ts w ere th e re b y in itia te d in to th e difficult c o n d itio n s u n d e r w hich th e in d u s try o ften h a s to w o rk . O u r e x p e rie n c e is th a t th is so rt o f p ra c tic a l d e m o n s tra tio n h e lp s to in stil re a l e n th u s ia sm in to an y stu d e n t w ho is w o rth h is sa lt.
N icotin e and Hops
T
X th e c o u rs e of a re c e n t h o lid a y in th e W e a ld of K e n t w e w ere stru c k by th e p a le an d e m a c ia te d a p p e a ra n c e of a n u m b e r o f th e lo cal a g r ic u ltu r a l w o rk e rs ; a n d sin ce w e o u rs e lv e s b e n e fited c o n s id e ra b ly from th e s a lu b rity of th e a ir a n d th e e x c e lle n c e of th e food a v a ila b le , w e w ere m ov ed to in q u ire th e reaso n fo r th e a p p a r e n t la c k o f h e a lth a m o n g th e se r u r a l w o rk e rs. T h e in fo rm atio n w e receiv ed w as th a t th ese m en w ere h o p -c u ltiv a to rs an d th a t th ey w ere su ffe rin g fro m n ic o tin e p o is o n in g , as a re s u lt of u s in g sp ra y s a n d d u sts o f th a t m a te ria l to co m b at th e h o p -lo u se a n d o th e r in se c t p e sts w hich a tta c k th e bines.
C o n sid e rin g th e a m o u n t o f tro u b le a n d c a re th a t is ta k e n to p ro te c t fa c to ry w o rk e rs w ho h a v e to com e in c o n ta c t w ith to x ic m a te ria ls , it does n o t seem u n re a s o n a b le to s u g g e s t th a t so m e th in g sh o u ld be d o n e fo r th ese a g r ic u ltu r a l w o rk e rs , w ho in fa c t a re g iv in g th e ir liv e s a n d th e ir h e a lth fo r o u r p le a s u re . T w o lin e s o f th o u g h t p re s e n t th e m s e lv e s : one is th a t a n o n -to x ic in se c tic id e sh o u ld be e m p lo y ed in s te a d o f th e n ic o tin e — a n d th e re h a v e been d e v e lo p m e n ts e n o u g h in th a t d ire c tio n la te ly , in a ll c o n sc ie n c e ; a n o th e r is th a t som e d e v ic e sh o u ld be e v o lv e d to m a k e p o ssib le th e a p p lic a tio n of the n ic o tin e in
such a m a n n e r th a t th e o p e ra to rs a re n o t affected. In view of th e lo o k e d -fo r re v iv a l o f a g r ic u ltu r e in th is c o u n try , th ese lin e s m ig h t w ell be w o rk ed on by c h e m ists a n d ch e m ic a l e n g in e e rs. W e co u ld th e n a ll e n jo y o u r m o d est h a lf p in ts w ith a c le a r co n scien ce in th e k n o w le d g e th a t th e y h a d n o t been p r e p a re d a t th e cost o f th e h e a lth an d s tre n g th o f th e w o rk e r in th e h o p g a rd e n s .
W a r-T im e R ecords
O
N a la te r p a g e of th is issu e w e p u b lish som e d e ta ils of th e w a r-tim e a c h ie v e m e n ts in c h e m ic a l e n g in e e rin g of th e w ell-k n o w n E a s t A n g lia n firm of D a v e y , P a x m a n & C o m p an y . W e h a v e a lr e a d y re c o rd e d som e s im ila r fa c ts c o n c e rn in g I.C . I. T h e se sto rie s a re o n ly th e first a m o n g m a n y , a n d , as tim e g o es on, it is c u r in te n tio n to m a k e p u b lic th e fine re c o rd of th e m a n y co n c e rn s in th e ch e m ic a l a n d ch em ical e n g in e e rin g in d u s trie s w hose effo rts h a v e m a d e so v a lu a b le a c o n trib u tio n to victory' o v e r G e rm a n y . A la r g e n u m b e r of firm s h a v e w illin g ly re sp o n d ed to o u r in v ita tio n to p u b lish th e ir w a r reco rd s, b u t it m u s t n o t be fo rg o tte n th a t th e w a r is n o t y et finished, an d th a t m an y p o in ts d f h ig h in te re s t m u s t s till re m a in u n d is closed. S till, even w ith J a p a n re m a in in g in th e field , th e re is m u ch th a t can be to ld , re d o u n d in g to the c re d it of th e in d u s trie s c o n c e rn e d . In th e case of D a v e y , P a x m a n , o u r e d ito ria l ta s k w as m a d e e a s ie r a n d p le a s a n te r by reaso n of an in fo rm a l re c e p tio n acco rd ed to r e p r e se n ta tiv e s of th e te c h n ic a l P re s s, a t w h ich M r. E d w a r d P a x m a n , m a n a g in g d ir e c to r of th e c o m p a n y , o u tlin e d , in a s p e e d * of a d m ira b le b re v ity a n d c la r ity , the h is to ry of h is c o m p a n y an d its w a rtim e d ifficu lties a n d a c h ie v e m e n ts. It is m a n ife s tly im p o ssib le , a t th is s ta g e o f th e w o rld ’s h is to ry , fo r d e p ic te d staffs to v is it e v e ry w o rk s in th e c o u n tr y ; a n d it is th e p e rs o n a l to u c h w h ic h e n a b le s a reco rd to be m a d e m o re v iv id a n d a c tu a l fo r th e benefit o f th e re a d e r s of th e fu tu re .
Mns. Se a n T . 0 ’Ke l i.y, wife of E ire ’s new President, is well known in the chemical world in Eire as Miss Phyllis R yan; for many years the country’s leading public analyst.
Lac Research
Reports of P rogress from India and Britain
J u l y 7, 1945 THE CHEMIC AL AGE
T
ill'] annual rep o rts of the In d ian Lac Cess Com m ittee and the In d ia n Lac Research In stitu te for the financial year 1U43/44 have ju s t reached us from R anchi, B ihar. T he following is a sum mary of the work of th e chem ical section.D uring the year u n d er rep o rt, work on sheliac-form akR hvde-urea moulding pow
ders was mostly confined to a study of the im provem ents oT flow of the pow der and the finish and m echanical afid therm al resistance of the m oulded articles. In corporation oil certain plasticisers or softeners like coal-tar fractions, ester gum, rosin, casliew-shell oil, etc., has been found to improve the flow of the moulding pow ders, but th e resulting m oulded articles exhibit a slight degree of softness a t the time of ejection from moulds.
T he la tte r defect is, however, overcome by addition of h ard en ers like calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, alum inium chloride, etc., during the process of prep arin g th e powder.
Several batches of powders introducing these m odifications were prep ared , tested and found satisfactory as regards gloss and strength by several m oulding factories in India. Lae P ro d u cts, L td ., are m aking and supplying this quality of powder to several of the m oulding firms in India.
C a s h e w - S h e ll O il
P a rtic u la r m ention may be made of the im provem ent in w ater-resistanee by in co r
poration of small percentages of cashew- shell oil either by condensing it initially with form aldehyde or as such during th e process of prep arin g the m oulding com position both by the “ wet ” and “ hot-roller mixing ” methods. In a typical ease the w ater a b sorption of m oulded articles has been found to be as low as 0.4-0.5 per cent, in 24 hours as against 1-1.5 per cent, for the control.
F u rth e r work in th is connection is in pro
gress.
Considerable simplification of the m anu
facturing processes of moulding powders has been effected by introducing the roller m ix
ing system in which the reactio n is carried out in an aqueous m edium w ith very low p er
centages of accelerators and hardeners.
T his has form ed the subject of a paten t which has since been accepted. Such roller- mixed powders, when prepared w ith appro
p ria te fillers, can cater for a wide range of moulded articles w here im proved gloss is desired. It has, how ever, been observed th a t atcohol does play some o th er im portant p a rt besides serving as a solvent for the reactions, as roller-m ixed powders are defi
nitely w eaker, due both to the finer crushing of the filler and the absence of m ethylated spirit. T his has been proved by th e intro-
ductiou of sm all q u an tities of higher alco
hols like fusel oil, butyl alcohol, cyclo- hexanol, etc., in the reactio n m ixture. As a m atter of fact, by elim inating ethyl alcohol altogether and using higher aliphatic alco
hols as the m edia for reaction, much superior moulding pow ders have been prep ared both in reg ard to the stren g th of th e articles moulded from them and resistance to w ater.
To effect fu rth e r im provem ents in the direction of w ater-resistance).several mixed fillers and w aterproofed fillers have been tried during the period under review w ith a fair degree of success. I t has been found th a t heat-resistanee and w ater-resistance of the moulded articles are considerably im
proved by baking the articles a t gradually increasing tem peratures from 80° to 13fl“ Cr.
over a period of 24 hours. Such baked articles, when im mersed in w ater for 24 hours, do not lose th e ir gloss or appearance and are found to resist tem peratures up to 12f)°C. w ithout softening or w arping.
Experim ents were u ndertaken to substi
tu te urea and form alin by cheaper and more easily available m aterials, and although the moulded articles witli the altered composi
tion are satisfactory from the point of view of production and finish, th e stren g th of such articles was found to be poor. F u rth e r work to im prove the strength of the composition is in progress.
W o o d F il le r s
T he influence of the n atu re of fillers and th eir particle size on the finish and strength of the moulded articles was fu rth er studied.
Among th e many In d ian woods investigated for the purpose of using as fillers, teak ITec Icrnu grandis), haldu (Adina cordifolxa), and sal (SI tor3a robusta) have been found to give satisfactory results as regards both finish and mechanical strength of the moulded article.
P ilo t plant tria ls and m anufacturing con
ditions fo r flic p rep aratio n of form alin from methyl alcohol have been com pleted and the plant is now operating to produce daily 50-fl0 lb. of form alin of 40-45 per cent, strength.
V arnishes w ith im proved electrical in su lating properties and w ater resistances have been prepared. In the coating compositions developed for m aking oilcloth, w aterproof book-binding cloth, etc., and instantaneous recording discs, some of the defects previ
ously noted have been successfully overcome by changing the modifying agents in th e varnish.
A dhesives which stand th e action of boiling w ater fo r long periods find are suitable for joining glass to glass, glass to m etal, and
6 THE CHEMI CAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
metiil tn m etal, etc., have also been form u
lated. The ethyl acetate method of p re p a r
ing the h ard lac resin has been thoroughly investigated and the optimum working con
ditions worked out. A complete study of the d ielectric properties of lac, lac co n stitu ents, and th eir modifications as com pared to o th er n a tu ra l resins has ljeen made, while an im proved method of bleaching lac has been worked out.
A simple method of dew axing lac with p a rtia l bleaching has been attem pted, and it has been found th a t the method could be adopted 011 a comm ercial scale for producing light-coloured partially-dew axed laos. In ci
dentally. it may be mentioned th a t fairly good quantities of wax also could be ob
tained as a by product.
D r. G id v a n i's P a p er
D r. B. S. G idvani, who has been pursuing with vigour the work of the London Shellac R esearch B ureau from its laboratories in E dinburgh, has rep rin te d his lecture deliv
ered to the Oil and Colour C hem ists’ Asso
ciation (Scottish Section) last November.
T he p aper is published in full in J . Oil and Col. Chem. Assoc, (1945, 3S, 83). T he main them es of his address were the chem istry of lac ¡about which too little is known) and recent developm ents in the uses of lac due to research.
In the discussion which followed, p articu lar in terest was taken in the w ater-soluble colouring m atter, most of which is removed during the conversion of stick lac io seed lac. 'Ib is w ater-soluble dye is called lac°
caic acid, and was first exam ined by Schm idt in 1887. It is known th a t it is a lxydroxyquinone, but w hether it is an an th ra-, a beuza-, or a naphtha-quinone r e m ains to be settled. U n til the advent of coal-tar dyes, th is dye was exported from.
India in considerable quantities. As lakes, a wide range of beautiful colours can be, and w ere, obtained. B u t to-day it is an u n wanted by-product of the ind u stry an d is ju st throw n away. It is questionable w hether this should be allowed to continue, and w hether attem pts should not be made to reintroduce it, especially as coal-tar is a w asting asset and could be employed for oth er more im p o rtan t and profitable uses than for the m anufacture of dyes.
The w ater-insoluble dye, erythrolaccin, has also received some atten tio n , b u t its stru ctu re is also not fully known. I t is b e lieved to be a tetrahydroxym ethyl an th ra- quinone, b u t Professor Spoerri could not get an anthracene by zinc-distillation and considers it to be dihvdroxym ethyl naphtha- quinone.
A N e g le c te d D y estu ff
I11 reply to a question by M r. J . V.
Crossley, Dr. G idvani explained th a t th e w ater-soluble dye was exported from In d ia
long before shellac came to the forefront.
It w as only after the trad e in this colouring m atter had alm ost died down th a t the ex
port of the shellac resin assumed its im por
tance. T he hydrochloric acid solution of laccaic acid dyes silk and wool directly, giving a b rillian t oraiige-red, and the dyed m aterials are practically fast to light. Liidy has recorded th at he had exposed them to the A ugust sun of Sw itzerland for several days 011 end and could find no signs of fading. F o r brilliance of colour, laccaic acid rivals the dyestuff obtained from cochineal. Silks dyed with laccaic acid, when immersed in inorganic sa lt baths, give a whole range of splendid colours; for ex
ample, w ith am m ouiacal copper oxide, blue- violet is o b ta in e d ; w ith lead acetate, light o r d ark reddish-violet, depending upon the period of im m ersion; with potassium di- ehrom ate, reddish -yellow ; w ith copper su l
phate, violet; w ith lead acetate and subse
quent treatm en t w ith aqueous hydrogen sul
phide, deep violet; w ith ferric chloride fol
lowed by aqueous hydrogen sulphide, reddish brow n; w ith barium hydroxide, d a rk c a r m ine-red; w ith calcium chloride or barium chloride, bright carm in e-red ; and w ith cop
per sulphate followed by hydrogen sulphide, a d ark brown shade is produced. Laccaic acid can also be used for dyeing cotton, but it is x-eported th a t tw enty different im printed m ordants 011 cotton strip s gave soxxxewhat d u ller shades th an those 011 silk and wool.
In answ er to M r. A. II. W h itak er, D r.
G idvani said that he would be very glad to obtain a sam ple of the dye from In d ia and would appreciate it if Mr. W h itak er would undertake a thorough exam ination of this m aterial.
NEW ELECTRIC RECORDER A com pletely revised editioix of list 812, which deals w ith the la te st developm ents of electrical recorders for h eat economy and control m easurem ents has been published by Me s s r s. El l i o t t Br o t h e r s ( Lo n d o n) , Lt d., C entury W orks, L ondon, S.E.13. A new model, the “ S ” type, or sm all r e corder, which is sm aller and cheaper th an the stan d ard “ L ” types, has been included.
It is available as a single-way wall m ounting instrum ent only and has an indicating scale 3J in. long. T he c h a rt, whose useful w idth is 3J in., lasts for about one m onth at a speed of 1 in. per hour. A pproxim ately fi hours of record are visible through th e glass- fi-onted door of th e instrum ent. A rran g e
m ents can be made for allowing the chart to ru n out of a slot a t the bottom , or to be re-rolled on a spool. The new model is p ro vided with a synchronous electric motor drive for single-phase A .C. supply, but an altern ativ e 8-day spring-driven clockw ork m echanism can be fitted.
Ju l y 7, 19 4 5 THE CHEMI CAL AGE 7
A Story of Planned Production
Davey, P axm an and C o’s. War A chievem ent
W
H IL E some towns are self-confessed m anufacturing centres and m easure th eir war-tim e o u tp u t by the num ber and com plexity of th e ir factories, Colchester is, as fa r as heavy engineering is concerned, alm ost a “ one man b an d .” Its production is centred round the firm of Davey Paxm an& Co., Ltd. In th is article, the story of th eir w ar effort, which em braced such d iv er
sified products as subm arine engines, sprockets for final wheel drive in tanks, R ad ar generators, ro tary vacuum filters, smoke-making ap p aratu s, and sea forts’
pow er p lan t, is told as fa r as it con
cerns the chemical industry.
The S tan d ard Ironw orks a t Colchester are the home of the Dave}’, P axm an concern which has been in existence since 1865, when H enry Davey, Jam es N. P axm an and C harles M. Davey founded the business under the title of Davey, P axm an & Davey.
In 1878, th e Messrs. Davey re tire d from the business, and Jam es Paxm an took his son, W illiam P axm an, into p artn ersh ip and continued trad in g under th e name of Davey, P axm an & Co. In 1898, the company was formed into a lim ited liab ility concern, and it became associated in 1920 w ith A gricul
tu ral & G eneral E ngineers, L td ., to be again re-form ed as an independent u n it in 1932. In 1940 an association was made with R uston & H ornsby, L td ., of Lincoln.
F o r its p a rt in the- B a ttle of Production the company took over a derelict factory, formerly known as th e B ritan n ia W orks, and reconditioned it for the M inistry of supply in 1941 for the production, under the firm’s m anagem ent, of a P axm an engine.
T h is plant was, however, burned out by incendiary bombs in F eb ru ary , 1944, but in five m onths it w as reb u ilt and reopened for production. So g reat was the war-tim e dem and for P axm an engines th a t arran g e
m ents h ad to be made not only for th e p ro duction of com ponent p a rts in which some 500 firms w ere engaged b u t, in addition, the B ritish R enault car factory in London was pressed into service for building P a x man Diesels of which they alone turned out over 650,000 h.p.
W hile it is for m arine oil engines th a t th e company is best know n, the following are some outstanding facts about its no less im
p o rta n t contribution in the field of chem i
cal engineering. O utput included some 25 large filter p lan ts built for chemical fac
tories, collieries, and distilleries. T heir main products fam iliar in w ar, as in peace, were of help in the w ar-tim e operation of th e coal industry, and production included flotation m achines, m ainly used for recover
ing fine coal or o th er m inerals from 1 /1 2 in.
downwards. S ep aratio n is effected under, vacuum from a m ixture of th e solids sus
pended in w ater, usually about 10 per cent, solids. All flotation p lan ts included the in
stallation of ro ta ry vacuum filters to de
w ater the clean coal discharged as a froth from the flotation m achines. These filters have also i-een utilised for de-w atering
F ig: 1. T w o 3 5 - s q . ft. ro ta ry filte r s solids in suspension from paper-m ill liquors and effluents, in the recovery of salt from brine and chemical precipitates, and in the recovery of gold cyanide liquors from ore- treatm en t plants, etc. They may be em ployed for de-w atering clay, chalk, and spent lime liquors, fo r by-products from the food industry, and for th e recovery of a n thracene from ta r-o il products, fo r sewage effluent treatm en t, and for recovering any solids from a liquid suspension th a t can be satisfactorily filtered (see Fig. 1).
O ther items in this branch of activity are
“ U ” shaped causticising vessels, varying in length up to about 22 ft., w ith a horizontal centre shaft on which paddles are fitted ; thickener tanks, which were increasingly used in conjunction w ith Davey, Paxm an flotation m achines for settling th e very fine dirt from th e process w ater which is r e quired for recirculation to th e coal washery ; and conical clarification tan k s used for settling relatively light solids from liquids associated w ith in d u strial effluents, such as fibre from asbestos board m anu
facture and sim ilar m aterials.
Among miscellaneous a p p a ra tu s reference should be m ade to refrig eratin g m achinery, which was ordered through th e M inistry of Food for emergency stores, and fo r W ar Office barges. In stru ctio n s were received to supply num bers of large am m onia com
pressors for th e L ightfoot R efrigeration Co.
w ith whom Davey, Paxm an hold a m anufae
IO THE CHEMICAL AGE Ju l y 7, 19 4 5
going to get cold shivers when they read th e following p ag es; 110 doubt they will b erate me fo r ‘ thoroughly unscientific over
sim plification,’ I shall not mind much.
Indeed, J am ra th e r proud how little chem
istry there is in th is book which deals w ith all the new ' synthetic chemical p ro d u cts.”
It must be recorded, however, th a t the a u th o r has gone to considerable trouble to obtain technical accuracy, and he claims th a t each ch ap ter has been read by experts in its special field. W e should sum up by stating th a t th is is a read ab le and racy ac
count of the discoveries in synthetic chemis
try made during the p a st 20 years, discover
ies which have led to advances in medicine, in industrial products, or in o th er direc
tions. We would recom mend it to thoso who desire to get a b ird ’s eye view of w hat has happened in in d u strial chem istry in recen t years, w ithout the mass of chemical formula? (though some formulæ are n o t w anting) with w hich the more scientific w riters 011 th e subject n aturally obscure the rom ance of the achievem ents of the 20th century. _________________
D iatom ite in Scotland
P o s s ib le D e v e lo p m e n t
S
IN C E the publication of our note on M r. R. H. S. U obertson’s advocacy of the revival of the diatom ite ind u stry in Scotland ( T h e C h e m i c a l A o e , May 2 6 , 1945,
p. 4 56) we have received fu rth er inform ation on the subject from a Scottish correspond
ent. I t appears th a t efforts are now being m ade to in terest G overnm ent and industrial circles in the deposits; and w hat is now visualised, w ith the backing of com petent geologists and civil engineers, is the m odern
isation of methods and th e ir application to this dorm ant industry.
As Mr. Robertson has pointed out, tho average skeletal content of diatom ite is in the region of 4 0 -7 0 m illion to th e cu. in. ; sp. gr. 0 .4 5 or, in dry loose pow der, 0 .1 2 to
0 . 2 5 ; it is resistan t to chem icals w ith the exception of hydrofluoric acid and caustic alk alis; has low therm al conductivity and high fire resistance ; and is excellent as a filter or as an abrasive.
Among the num erous possible uses, i t is p erh a p s in th e sphere of insulation th a t the S cottish industry is most in terested in the m ineral. As an insulating covering m aterial for furnaces or ovens it is in considerable dem and and is used w ith a com bination of m aterials including clays, bricks, lime, 01/ asbestos. T here is also a strong tren d of thought tow ards its use in the grow ing p las
ties industry.
T he argum ent advanced by those now in
terested in th e developm ent of th e in d u stry is th a t prices of im ported diatom ite—and in a norm al year we im ported 42,000 tons—
have jum ped by alm ost 100 p er cent, since
the outset of the w ar. The war-tim e level will probably not be m aintained, b u t every ton of diatom ite im ported, a t w hatever price, m eans a corresponding loss of em ploym ent to the nation, and p articu larly to isolated areas w here such em ploym ent would be invaluable. T he point then em erges:
can these deposits be adequately, efficiently, and economically worked ?
The following d a ta will assist tow ards a decision. B efore the w ar a syndicate was in p ro cess,o f form ation to work extensive deposits in Skye. Owing to w ar com pli
cations these negotiations fell down, but the prelim inary w ork is still available. The surveys then made show th a t in Skye in an area held by a Glasgow firm on lease, there are approxim ately 1,500,000 tons of diatom- ite aw aiting extraction. I t is not pretended th a t the quality is superior or equal to th e best now im ported, b u t it is of m oderately good type, regarded as specially suited for in d u strial insulation.
M eth od of E x tra ctio n
T he diatom ite is largely located in loch beds or in sim ilar areas and w ould require to be gained by pum ping. T he surveys show th a t the loch beds vary from 6 to 41 ft. in depth and care would have to be exercised in w inning the m aterial. I t is suggested th a t the production problem s involved are not too complex despite th e situation and th a t barges or pontoons could be used, so as to leave the loch beds u n d istu rb ed ; pump>
ing operations from these pontoons could tran sm it the diatom ite to drying and g rin d ing p lan t 011 the lochside, whence the m ate
rial could be shipped to P o rtre e or any other convenient pier, for fu rth e r process
ing o r for transm ission to the m ainland w here m illing could be done in a central plant. T here is considerable justification for the opinion th a t the work should be done in the area of actual production'so th a t full benefits m ight be offered to the natives.
T he estim ated cost of developm ent of the deposits is given as being betw een £40,000 and £50,000; and it is urged th a t the pro
ject should be u n d ertak en either by a Gov
ernm ent-sponsored concern, o r by an inde
pendent group. The fact th a t these deposits are at present lying neglected and aw aiting developm ent a t a tim e when im ported d ia tom ite has jum ped from £30 to £70 fo r first g rad e and from £14 to about £27 for insula
tion grades, suggests the wisdom of fu rth e r consideration of developm ent along modern lines, as well as of the deposits in A berdeen
shire, Shetland and elsewhere.
The recent application Of m echanisation to surface m ining suggests th a t a G overn
m ent-sponsored or sy 11 d i c ally -owned plant could be moved from area to area, as the volume of m aterial justified, thereby reduc
ing the overheads.
T h e C hem ical A ge, J u l y yth , 1945*
JOHNSON, MATTHEY&I m LIMITED
HEAD OFFICE
73/83 HATTON GARDEN, LONDON,E.C.I
M e ta llu rg ic a l S e c tio n
Published th e first S atu rd ay in th e m onth
P L A T IN U M M IC R O C H E M IC A L
A P P A R A T U S
The success of microchemical methods depends not only upon the skill and dexterity of the analyst but also on the reliability of the
apparatus employed.
J.M .C . Platinum apparatus has been renowned for its reliability in laboratories throughout the copy'of"Jubile- w o rld for over a century.
ation No. 44
Mu'rochemical The accumulated knowledge and experience Apparat us ^ past is now applied in our platinum workshops to the production of efficient and reliable micro-crucibles, electrodes, and other apparatus to all the standard designs.
71/73, V i t t o r i a S t r e e t , B i r m i n g h a m . C a n a d ia n H o u s e : J o h n s o n M a t t h e y & C o . , (C a n a d a ) Ltd.
198/200, C l i n t o n S t r e e t , T o r o n t o . 606, C a t h c a r t S t r e e t , M o n t r e a l .
