CHEMICAL
t M E T A L L U R G I C A L
ENGINEERING
ESTABLISHED 1902 S. D. KIRKPATRICK, Editor
DECEMBER, 1940
P R E P A R E D N E S S FO R D-DAY
I j A T E L Y -we have heard most about M-Day — that mysterious moment when, according to the A rm y ’s I.M .P. (Industrial Mobilization P la n ), all of industry swings into the national defense pro
gram. In some respects we are already well past M-Day in this country. M ilitary preparedness moves ahead far faster than in the early days of 1918. A nd it m ust continue to accelerate, taking precedence over all other immediate projects of manufacture and construction. Y et in this rapid short-range program, we should not entirely over
look the fa ct that some time in the indefinite future we are coming to D-Day. Industry is going to have to be De-mobilized (or perhaps Re-mobilized) for Peace. Company executives and research directors of farthest vision are already beginning to think and plan their remedies for the great post-emer
gency headache.
Consider a few of the problems chemical indus
tries w ill face on and after D-Day. Governmental and privately expanded plants will have made avail
able greatly enlarged supplies of ammonia, toluol, nitric acid and sulphuric acid — to mention but four of forty prominent chemicals in the defense program. Because of greatly increased capacity, improved technology and a large write-off of capital, the cost of these chemicals may be much lower than we have ever known before. I t will not be surprising if ammonia could then be made ready for the market at less than two cents a pound, not including, of course, any sales or distribution expenses. Toluol might be made ready sim ilarly at 15 cents a gallon — roughly h alf of the present price to the government. These are mere guesses.
B u t they represent forecasts that should be no more unbelievable today than were the changes in chem
ical costs which occurred upon the conclusion of W orld W ar I.
For some commodities these conditions are going
to mean that chemical materials w ill become avail
able at prices that w ill permit their use in indus
tries which hitherto thought them entirely out of reach for reasons of cost alone. The downward trend in prices will create many new opportunities for chemical engineering processes as w ell as new markets for their products. Thus the chemical process industries of America can look forward to future development on a much broader and more stable base.
A ll this presupposes a considerable amount of research and planning w ell in advance of D-Day.
I t w ill be well to get it started soon. Boards of directors must be sold on the idea that this is no time to economize on either technical or market studies. Even the men who are busiest on defense matters should be persuaded to give some thought to the post-emergency economic problems. We must be prepared for H andelskriege as well as
B litzkriege.Our markets will be where we make them. Start
ing now, we should be able to create within the next few years entirely new types of activity both in this country and abroad. These m ay be concerned with the development of new products or with broader distribution of existing products. Or, in the field of production we m ay succeed to a greater extent in throwing off obsolete methods and equipment in order to establish higher efficiency and lower costs through radically newr technology.
Those who plan and support research now on a greatly enlarged basis are the ones who in the end will be in the strongest position for permanent and useful service to their customers. Given the m axi
mum of research effort, backed by greater engineer
ing efficiency in production, and coupled with
sound, aggressive promotion of new products and
new markets, chemical industry need have no fear
of D-Day.
SABOTAGE PRECAUTIONS
Re c e n t
explosions, fires, and other accidents in
chemical plants have created an unfortunate and unwarranted impression on the part of the public.
There have also been certain complications within the staffs of the works where there have been such misfortunes. The suggestion of sabotage has been conspicious though altogether unwarranted during November. The Federal authorities have not been able to find a single case o f this sort in chemical plants where sabotage seems even probable, much less likely.
Engineers and executives of chemical process industry have difficult and serious responsibilities in all such cases. F irst of all, they must protect life and property. Second, they m ust maintain the morale of their staffs. They have also large respon
sibility to their company ownership and stock
holders for the protection o f the reputation as well as the property entrusted to their care.
Generalizations are difficult on most aspects of these problems. There is obvious need for the greatest possible care to avoid accidents in the defense industries, especially when plants are being speeded up, perhaps even to supernormal capacities.
Slightly greater output should not be sought when there is sacrifice of reasonable and necessary precau
tions. The plant personnel should be warned against excessive zeal, which becomes hazardous all too easily. And if there be unfortunate accidents the personnel should be helped to learn from the m is
fortune and be prevented from any indulgence in hysteria or even the milder forms of jitters.
Army, Navy, and other federal agencies w ill be glad to assist when their aid is needed. The Federal Bureau o f Investigations has already provided a valuable booklet of “ Suggestions for Protection of Industrial F a cilities.” That document is available in confidential form to the responsible head of any firm having contracts for defense materials. The F B I w ill go even farther in some cases. It will actually make a survey of a plant from the stand
point o f prevention of sabotage and malicious dam
age. It is amazing what such outside help can
FR O M AN
uncover in the way of needed precautions that have been overlooked by those thoroughly acquainted with local situations.
In all these matters the chemical engineer has a primary responsibility. H e must not overlook the necessity for every available precaution to m aintain plant and personnel free from malicious hazard.
B ut while he takes these precautions he must not allow him self or his operating staff to become nervous. Needless hurry and worry work for the fifth column as effectively as any w illfu l felon.
DELINEATING DEFERMENT
Mo s t m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s
of the selective service
system center around the subject of occupational deferment (Class I I ) . The important facts,— some of them well known, some not so well known— are as follows:
1. A m an’s classification is determined by the local Selective Service board for the com munity in which he lives and is based on his answers to an eight-page questionnaire which he w ill receive by mail.
2. There will be no job or industry deferment, each case being decided individually.
3. Class III registrants (those having depend
ents) will not even be considered for occupational deferment. In the average company, this repre
sents about 50 per cent of the employees of d raft age.
4. I f an employee has no dependents, his em
ployer may make a claim for his deferm ent but this claim must be made w ith in the five-day period allowed the registrant to fill out his questionnaire.
5. I f granted, occupational deferment is for six months only. It may be renewed for just cause, but eventually the registrant so deferred m ust serve if the life of the act is extended beyond the five-year period.
6. A registrant may appeal his classification, but he may not introduce any new evidence unless his status has changed since filling out his question
naire. However, he may not make his appeal in person or be represented by counsel.
7. I f a chemist or chemical engineer can show in his questionnaire that he has had the requisite training and experience, it is contemplated that he w ill be assigned to Ordnance or Chemical W arfare or some other branch where his services can be used most effectively.
824 • D E C E M B E R 19Ą0 • C H E M IC A L <t M E T A L LU R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G
E D IT O R IA L V IE W P O IN T
Of the total number of employees who registered for the draft, 50 per cent w ill have dependents, which w ill grant them deferred status. Of the remainder, 20 per cent (10 per cent of the original number) w ill be rejected for service on physical grounds. Prom the rest (40 out of every 100) five w ill be called each year for the five years the act is in effect. Nevertheless it behooves every employer to be looking around for replacements or to begin training new personnel for the 5 per cent or so of vacancies to be expected each year.
BANKING O N RESEARCH
A t
l o n g l a s tthe bankers have begun to bank on re
search. A t least that is the first impression one gets from the recent announcement of the Research A dvisory Service, created through the voluntary cooperation of more than 800 industrial research laboratories to serve w ithout charge the manufact- urer-clients of a dozen of our leading banks. It is directed by Bert H. W hite, vice president o f the Liberty Bank of Buffalo. Merrill Anderson, o f the New York advertising agency that bears his name, is associate director and George Perazich, form erly of the W PA N ational Research project in Philadel
phia, is its research engineer. A distinguished
“ Science Com m ittee” is headed by Maurice H ol
land, director of the D ivision of E ngineering and Industrial Research, National Research Council.
W ith such a talented organization to lead the way, we can hope that finally the bankers are going to be guided to a true understanding of the value of re
search.
This may prove a long and difficult journey, however, and perhaps we should not be too critical o f the first few faltering steps in that direction.
Y et we cannot help but wish that the approach had been on something other than a “ free-sam ple” basis.
H ere is the w ay the service operates according to the bulletin issued by one of the member banks and entitled: “ Increasing In d u stry ’s Profits Through Research ’ ’ :
I f you w ould lik e th is ty p e o f a ssis ta n c e on some problem of y o u r own, th e p ro ced u re is sim p le a n d it w ill in c u r no expense o r o b lig atio n on y o u r p a r t. R e
duce i t to w ritin g , g iv in g a ll d e ta ils t h a t m ig h t be of help in w o rk in g o u t th e precise an sw er you w a n t. Tell w h a t step s you h av e ta k e n an d w h a t sources you have c o n ta cte d in y o u r efforts to c le ar i t u p — so t h a t o th ers w ill n o t d u p lic a te y o u r w ork. Send th is to th e B ank, to g eth e r w ith a n y sam ples w hich ap p ly to th e problem . T h is m a te ria l w ill th e n be tr a n s m itte d to one o r m ore lab o ra to rie s w hich h av e pledged th e ir assista n ce . As soon as we h av e g a th e re d in fo rm a tio n w hich we th in k
w ill be o f activ e in te r e s t to you, we sh a ll fo rw a rd it to y o u ; i t m ay come quick ly , o r it m ay. re q u ire som e tim e.
P o ssib ly i t w ill come in th e form of sev eral p re lim in a ry re p o rts before th e final one, so t h a t y o u w ill n o t h av e to w a it for a ll y o u r fa cts Uiitil th e la s t w o rth -w h ile ch an n el h a s been explored.
W e hold a ll d e ta ils of every problem in a b so lu te confi
dence. T he n am e of y o u r com pany w ill be w ith h eld from la b o ra to rie s u n til we a re satisfied t h a t one la b o ra to ry h as th e c o rre c t a n s w e r; th e n release i t o n ly upon in s tru c tio n s from you. You need never d iv u lg e a n y of y o u r tr a d e secrets. I t is, in o th e r w ords, a case of m u ch to g a in , n o th in g to lose.
I f we were a m anufacturer-client of this well- known Midwestern bank and we really believed in Good Fairies, there m ight be a number of questions going through our mind right now. W e m ight wonder why on earth we should have a research laboratory of our own, — w hy we should pad our payroll with a lot of chemists and engineers now that the bank is going to give us the benefit o f more than 800 of the cou n try’s best laboratories. We m ight wonder, too, about the necessity for retaining consultants or sending our samples to that testing laboratory in New York, which charges $10 just for w riting us a letter about them. No, there m ust be som ething wrong somewhere. A nd o f course it couldn’t be w ith the bank for we know it is nearly always right, especially on our m onthly balances.
So it all comes back to the question of “ who pays the b ill? ” The Research A dvisory Service plainly states that it “ does not compete with consulting engineers, chemists, testin g laboratories or market consultants.” I t does not “ undertake research work o f its own but refers problems to laboratories in industry, universities, technical schools and trade associations which cooperate in the program .” B ut surely the bankers m ust know that all this costs somebody some money. Could it be that some of us who pass out technical inform ation so generously are being used by the banks to give their clients an entirely erroneous idea o f the cost as w ell as the value of research?
W e hope that this is not the case. We are dealing with too im portant a relationship to warrant any m isrepresentations or misunderstandings. There are well informed men on the Science Committee or in the 800 cooperating laboratories who can help the Research Advisory Service in helping the bankers to sell research on a sounder basis. That is a more desirable objective than using free “ research” as bait for any bank in its advertising and public relations program.
C H E M IC A L & M E T A L L U R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G . D E C E M B E R 19/,0 • 825
C h em ical A ctivity in th e D e e p
JAMES A. LEE
M anaging Editor, C hem ical <5 M etallu rgical Engineering" C h em . & M e t. I N T E R P R E T A T I O N l,,w
In order to g iv e chem ical en gin eers w ho attended the N ew O rleans m eeting of the A.I.Ch.E. a background of the industrial developm ent of the area around the Crescent City, Mr. Lee took them in his paper, which is reproduced in part here, on an im agin ary trip from Corpus Christ! on the w est to M obile on the ea st and to D allas, C hattanooga and Birmingham on the north
Editors.N
e w Or l e a n s is the center ofthe “Deep South,” an area along the Gulf Coast extending on the west to the Rio Grande, on the cast to the A tlantic and on the north to Chattanooga, Memphis and Dal
las, that is rich in attractions for the chemical process industries. Con
sidering the vast market, the tre
mendously valuable natural resources th at cannot be duplicated in any other section of the country, the enormous deposits of salt, sulphur, coal, natural gas, petroleum, lime, clay, glass sand, phosphate rock, and other materials, the adequate supply of cheap labor, power, water, excel
lent transportation facilities, a mild climate, tax and regulatory policies which fo r the most p a rt have fostered the rational development of these raw materials, it is undeniable that no area offers greater opportunities to industry than does the Gulf Coast.
While there have been petroleum and sugar refineries, p u lp and pap er mills and a few scattered chemical plants for many years, the great m i
gration of the industry to the Deep South has taken place within the past six or seven years. I t may be considered to have commenced in 1934 with the announcement of plans for the Corpus Christi, Tex., plant of Southern Alkali Corp.
Most of the industrialization in the Deep South has developed around several cities as nuclei such as Corpus Christi, Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Mobile, Mem
phis, Chattanooga and Birmingham.
A tour of these industrial centers would be enlightening to many en
gineers.
Corpus Christi—A beginning might be made in Corpus Christi, the west
ern term inal of the Intracoastal Canal, an inland waterway extend
ing through the principal cities along the coast to the A tlantic. The opening of the p o rt in 1926 added to the attractions o f the city which include extreme low-cost natural gas (it has been said, “ A t Corpus Christi is found the most economical fuel a t tidew ater in the United States” ),
B aa e d on a p a p e r e n title d "C h em ica l I n d u s trie s in th e D eep S o u th ." p re s e n te d b e fo re th e N ew O rle a n s m e e tin g o f A .I.C h.E ..
D ec. 2, 1540.
deep w ater transportation, adequate railroad service, lime obtained from a plentiful supply of oyster shells, glass sand, salt, barytes and other mineral resources.
D uring the p ast few years many industries utilizing the agricultural products and mineral resources of the vicinity have been developed.
There are 23 petroleum refineries, 25 cottonseed oil mills, three soap factories and one carbon black plant listed among the industries of “ the fastest-growing city of the nation.”
The antim ony sm elter has the unique distinction of being the only plant of this type in the United States and one of two such plants on the W est
ern Hemisphere.
Then, too, this is the home of the
$6,000,000 ammonia-soda plant of Southern Alkali Corp. To this plan t has recently been added a large in stallation of electrolytic cells at a cost of $2,000,000 to supply the rap id ly developing market for chlorine created by the bleached sul
phate pulp industry, w ater purifi
cation, organic solvents, and other chemicals. A m arket for the elec
trolytic caustic is found in the petro
leum refineries and other industries.
I t was p rim arily the availability of n atu ral gas at tidew ater which brought this enterprise to Corpus Christi but, of course, the presence of salt and lime played their p art.
Houston—Next on the itin erary is Houston, one of the great oil cen
ters of the woi'ld. One of the re
fineries, Humble Oil & Refining Co.
a t Baytown, with a daily capacity o f 140,000 bbl. of crude oil, is the largest in the United States and is being fu rth e r enlarged by additional p lan t to cost $1,800,000. But of
particu lar interest to chemical engi
neers is its development of processes fo r the conservation and utilization of light hydrocarbons. These de
velopments arc especially significant in th at several units in the project are unique and in th at all steps of the development have been made on an unprecedented scale. In addition to the above expansion program is a $12,500,000 p la n t th at will be con
structed and operated fo r the U. S.
W a r D epartm ent. Toluol will be m anufactured.
The Texas Co. at its H ouston re
finery is producing lubricating oils.
The cold sulphuric acid alkylation and the small catalytic cracking units fo r making high octane aviation gasoline are new. Recently, addi
tional fu rfu ra l extraction and solvent dewaxing facilities were added.
In the vicinity of H ouston are the m ining operations of The Texas Gulf S ulphur Co., F reeport Sulphur Co., Duval Texas S ulphur Co., and the Jefferson L ake-Sulphur Co., upon which the chemical industries of the United States depend to a large ex
tent fo r their supplies of sulphur.
Texas Gulf a t Newgulf operates the largest sulphur mining plan t in the world. The w ater treating plant is capable of softing and treating more than 30,000 tons of w ater a day and heating it to 325 deg. F .
In A ugust one of H ouston’s oil companies, Shell, announced con
struction of a plant to make 2,000,- 000 gal. o f toluol by its own process.
A nother new addition to this city’s industries is the P ittsburgh P late Glass Co.'s plant which will make a full line o f paints, varnishes and lacquers. The contract was recently let for this plant.
Houston boasts of three modern
S28 D E C E M B E R 1940 • C H E M IC A L & M E T A L LU R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G
S o u th
Plant of Ethyl G asoline Corp. on the M ississippi River a b o v e Baton Rouge, L a .' Out ol it com es tetra
eth yl lea d anti-knock fluid
P o r tla n d c em en t mills, South T ex a s Cotton Oil Co., A rm our F ertilizer W orks, H ayden Lime Co., Magnolia A ir Co., Gas P roducts Co., Bemis Bros. Bag Co., Chipman Chemical Co., Southern Acid & S ulphur Co., and the Consolidated Chemical Co.’s p la n t producing fertilizer, sulphuric acid, bone carbon, hydrochloric acid, and other chemicals.
Ju s t outside the city is the P asa
dena sulphate pulp and p ap e r mill of the Champion P a p e r & F ib re Co.
which is one of the principal units in the recent expansion in the indus
try. Champion has taken a leading p a r t in the development of bleached p ulp from southern pines. In this connection the com pany installed a large num ber of electrolytic chlo
rine cells. And during the current year another forw ard step was taken w ith the construction of a pap er mill to convert some of its pulp which previously had been shipped to the com pany’s p ap e r mills in Ohio and N orth Carolina. Champion’s mills on the H ouston Ship Channel represent an investment of $10,- 0 00,0 0 0.
South of Houston is Texas City, the home of refineries of Republic Oil Refining Co., S outhport P etro leum Co. of Delaware, and Pan American Refining Corp. P an Ameri
can sometimes called “ engineer’s dream of an oil refinery” because of the fact th a t it was built from the ground up and utilizes most modern technology and equipment, is now building an aviation gasoline hydro
form ing plant. The process is said to yield a product of high octane number and high aromatic content.
To this group is being added a p lan t of the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals C orp.; construction started
Ju n e 1. The purpose of the plant is to m anufacture synthetic organic chemicals from refinery gases to be supplied by P a n American. This arrangem ent fo r obtaining raw ma
terials is sim ilar to th at at the W hit
ing p la n t of the Chemicals corpora
tion where gases are obtained from the adjacent refinery of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. A t the Texas C ity p la n t a variety of industrial chemicals will be produced.
A t nearby F reeport, the Dow Chemical Co. purchased 800 acres of land in March and commenced con
struction of a $15,000,000 plan t fo r the recovery of magnesium and other products from sea water, and Ethyl Dow is said to be duplicating its bromine plan t near W ilmington, N. C., fo r the recovery of this ma
terial from sea water. I t is under
stood plans included the construction of a 120-ton p er day electrolytic cell p lant to supply the chlorine used in liberating bromine from water.
D a lla s—Dallas is to the Southwest what A tlanta is to the Southeast, an im portant center of distribution.
However, the activity is not all dis
tribution. There are several large and im portant m anufacturing plants in Dallas. P rocter & Gamble has had a cottonseed oil p lan t fo r some time and recently announced th at a $1,000,000 soap products plant would be erected. The lack of a large soap plan t in the South has caused considerable comment and amazement fo r some time. Perhaps other producers will follow P. & G.
to this area which is such a large consumer o f soap.
N ew sprint from southern pines was made commercially in January, 1940, for the first time in this n a
tion’s history. The p ap e r was the first to be produced in the Ile rty mill of the Southland P a p e r Mills near Lufkin. This project has a t
tracted international attention be
cause of its departure from standard practices and due to the tremendous influence th at it may exert upon the future of the new sprint industry in our E astern States and Canada. P a r
tially bleached sulphate pulp from Champion’s Pasadena mill is sub
stituted fo r sulphite and mixed with the pine ground wood to form the sheet of newsprint.
N ear the Louisiana line the travel
ler passes Beaumont and P o rt A rthur, locations of some o f the world’s largest petroleum refineries.
The Magnolia Petroleum Corp. at the form er city was one of the first to install and operate a H oudry cracking unit. I t now has three of these units. This refinery also is operating a cold sulphuric acid al- kylation unit. This Socony-Vacuum subsidiary has been among the most progressive in the industry.
The Gulf Oil Corp. a t P o rt A rth u r has recently disclosed that it is using the new polyform process. I t illus
trates the synthetic chemical aspect of petroleum refining. The process combines polymerization with crack
ing in a unique manner. I t differs from therm al cracking in th at oil is processed in adm ixture with nor
mally gaseous hydrocarbons, p a r
ticularly propane and butane, at higher tem peratures and pressures.
On leaving Texas and travelling across Louisiana, one passes Mathie- son Alkali W orks’ ammonia-soda plan t a t Lake Charles, which was built almost simultaneously with Southern A lkali’s plant at Corpus Christi in 1934. Since the first of
C H E M IC A L ' & M E T A L LU R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G . D E C E M B E R 1940 827
this year Mathieson has announced plan t expansion to cost $1,500,000.
U nder construction in the same city is the $4,000,000 refinery of the Continental Oil Co.
Then come the series of salt mines along the coast on Jefferson, Avery and Weeks Islands. On the last of these, the Bay Chemical Co. is con
verting the salt into hydrochloric acid, salt cake and other chemicals.
In N orth Louisiana are oil and natu ral gas fields, the carbon black industry and the pulp and pap er mills. The p u lp and p ap e r mills are at Ilodge, Monroe, Bastrop, Boga- lusa and Springhill. The Gaylord Container Corp. has appropriated
$5,000,000 fo r expansion of p lan t and equipment a t its Bogalusa mill.
The Springhill mill is the pride of the Southern K ra ft Corp. It is the world’s largest p u lp mill and includes numerous innovations in the m anu
facturing processes. Im portant ad
vances have been made in the bleach
ing of the pulp.
Baton R o u g e—This city is well worth a stop-over for it is rapidly developing into an im portant chemi
cal m anufacturing center. In the early days activity was limited to the enormous refinery o f the S tand
ard Oil Company of Louisiana and to the sulphuric acid plant of the Consolidated Chemical Industries, but in the p ast few years not only has the Standard Oil invested many millions of dollars fo r the produc
tion of chemicals but other com
panies have erected large plants nearby.
This group of industries is of p a r
ticular interest due to their close inter-relationship. The refinery was the first to arrive: it was followed by Consolidated which supplies its neighbor with sulphuric acid for the treatm ent of gasoline. Next came the Solvay Process Co. which invested $1,000,000 in an electro
lytic cell p la n t and $7,000,000 in an ammonia-soda plant across the road from the refinery. Caustic soda is consumed in large volume fo r the refining o f gasoline and chlori
nated solvents are being used in in
creasing volume fo r the same p u r
pose. Move recently tetraethyl lead and metallic sodium plants were constructed by E. I. du P ont de Nemours & Co. for E thyl Gasoline Corp. a t a cost of $14,500,000. The original units were quickly followed by two additional ones. Standard Oil supplies the hydrocarbon fo r the ethyl chloride and Solvay the chlorine.
E arly in the present year atten
tion was again attracted to Baton Rouge by the announcement by the Standard Oil Development Co. that a new synthetic rubber plant would be built and operated in conjunction with the local refinery. The com
pany has ap p ropriated $1,000,000 fo r the production of the perbunan type which is made from butadiene and acrylic nitrile.
Other process industries which have come to Baton Rouge in recent years are the Compressed Industrial Gases and B ird & Son.
N ew O rleans—New Orleans com
mands a most advantageous position.
The transportation facilities and rich mineral deposits, vast agricultural products, cheap labor and fuel, and climatic conditions combine to make the city unsurpassed as a location fo r all branches of the chemical in
dustries.
F or m any years New Orleans has been a large producer of alcohol, cottonseed oil, refined sugar, heavy chemicals, fertilizers and other prod
ucts ; and recently to these have been added others, such as cement mills, p rin tin g ink, asphalt emulsion and roofing plants. B ut due to its greater size and m etropolitan charac
te r new enterprises do not attract as great attention as they do else
where.
Ju s t to the west of the city is the
“sugar bowl” of Louisiana where almost all of the eane of continental United States is raised. This ac
counts fo r the sugar refineries of the American, Henderson, God- ehaux and Colonial interest. And in tu rn the “black s tra p ” molasses from these refineries account fo r the alcohol plants of the U. S. Indus
tria l Alcohol Co., Commercial Sol
vents Corp., N ational Industrial Alcohol Co., American Commercial Alcohol Co., and others. To the sugar cane can also be traced the Celotex Co.’s wallboard p la n t fo r the bagasse of the cane becomes the raw m aterial from which this prod
uct is made.
One of the most unique plants is th a t of the F re ep o rt S ulphur Co.
about 50 miles south of the city.
F o r a description of this develop
ment see Chem. & Met. Vol. 40, p. 454 and Vol. 41, p. 406.
W hen finally leaving New Orleans behind the traveller soon enters the tung oil belt around Bogalusa, La., and Picayune, Miss. The young tung trees which have been planted in re
cent years cover the landscape in every direction as f a r as the eye can
see. The nuts are brought to the p lan t a t Picayune to be pressed.
W hile there are still many problems to be solved, in the growing o f the trees, encouraging yields are being obtained.
A t M eridian is the plan t of the F lintkote Co. This roofing p la n t will be completed in a few months.
And a t Natchez is the new plan t of the A rm strong T ire & Rubber Co., which is being enlarged a t the pres
ent time.
The next point of interest is at H attiesburg, Miss. H ere is one of the Hercules Powder Co.’s naval stores plants. The principal opera
tion is the production of wood rosin, turpentine, and pine oil from pine stumps. This is one of the largest plants of its kind and produces the prim ary products upon the refine
ment and utilization of which much research and development w ork has been and is being done.
A few miles beyond is Laurel, the
“100 per cent chemurgic city.” H ere are the Continental Rosin and T ur
pentine Co., the Laurel Starch F a c tory, and the Masonite Corp. I t was here th a t the late W illiam H . Mason conducted his experim ents th at led to the successful develop
ment of the process o f exploding wood. W hile the chief products of the com pany to which he gave his name are fiber boards, it is now en
tering upon a program of m aking a low-priced plastic board and re
covery as byproducts o f the waste liquors o f the main p la n t such chemicals as, fu rfu ra l, acetic and form ic acids, and other organic products. One of the more recent research developments is a new mode o f m aking activated carbon from wood.
The U. S. B ureau of Chemistry and Soils has been endeavoring to develop a sweet potato starch in
dustry in the United States.
M obile—Mobile, Ala., is one of the most interesting of all the Gulf Coast cities. I t is rap id ly developing into one of the outstanding centers o f the process industries and is likely to be
come much more im portant in the immediate future. Its excellent port, the Alabam a S tate Docks, and the natural resources have attracted sev
eral large industries. The Southern K ra ft Corp. has two pulp and p ap e r mills located in the neighborhood on which $500,000 are now being spent for expansion; the Mobile P ap er Co.
is located here. The $5,000,000 white p ap e r mill, known as the Chicasaw Mill, of the Hollingsworth & W hit
828 D E C E M B E R 19.',0 • C H EM IC A L & M E T A L LU R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G
ney Co., is sta rtin g operations as this is being w ritten. These mills, which are large consumers of alum, were responsible fo r the American Cy- anam id Co. building a p la n t in the city. The alum in solution is piped to the plants nearby.
B u t the p u lp and p a p e r is not the only process industry in Mobile. The N ational Gypsum Co. completed an insulating board mill two years ago at. a cost of $2,000,000. The A la
bam a N aval Stores Co. has built a p lan t here fo r the production o f pine oil, rosin, tu rpentine and related products. The Mobile P a in t M anu
fac tu rin g Co., the Ruberoid Co., and the Term inal P a p e r Bag Co. are new additions. F o u r oil companies have invested large sums o f money in term inal facilities.
The P a n American Shell Corp. has completed its p la n t fo r crushing nuts from B ritish H onduras. Shells are first removed by a freezing operation.
The oil is refined and sold to the oleom argarine and soap industries.
The shells are ground and used as synthetic resin filler or may be car
bonized and activated.
In addition to these plants is the trem endously impressive alum ina p la n t of the Aluminum Ore Co., which was described in Chem. & Met., October, 1940.
I t has been said of Tennessee th a t it is “an American R u h r” in the making. W ork is well under way on a $15,000,000 expansion program by the Aluminum Com pany o f America a t its Alcoa plant. O utput will be doubled when expansion is completed.
The new p la n t of the Electro- Manganese Co. is p a rt of an entirely new industry which uses electricity to process ores. Electro-M etallurgical Corp.’s first $1,000,000 unit a t Muscle Shoals began operations this year.
A $5,000,000 development is con
tem plated to expedite the production of ferro alloys and calcium carbide.
L ast December, B. F . Goodrich sta rted a new $1,500,000 p la n t at Clarksville. Production is increasing gradually. A $4,000,000 p la n t was established two years ago n ear Co
lumbia by Monsanto Chemical Co.
P hosphorus is produced by the elec
tric furnace method. Monsanto has also begun to use a new process of producing manganese. A fourth electric furnace is to be installed.
The Tennessee E astm an Corp.’s plant at K ingsport has recently undergone tremendous expansion. I t produces a wide variety o f m aterials, includ
ing acetate rayon and plastics.
In two years the V ictor Chemical Co.’s p la n t a t Mt. Pleasant has grown
At Lake C harles, La., is the am m onia-soda plant of the M athieson A lkali W orks. It h a s recently
undergone exp an sion
C h ica sa w w h ite paper m ill of the Hollingsworth and W hitney Co. at Mo
bile, A la . This is the n e w e st of the se v era l p a p er m ills in this city
from a $1,000,000 one-furnace opera
tion to a $3,000,000, three-fum ace plant. Nashville is the location of the com pany’s blast furnace phos
phoric acid plant. The Tennessee Corp.’s p la n t is a t Copperhill.
M em phis—A t Memphis, Tenn., is the F o rest Products Chemicals Co.
This is probably one of the largest of the destructive wood distillation companies in the country.
* The p la n t of the Buckeye Cotton Oil Co., a subsidiary of P rocter &
Gamble Co. is here. I t is the larg
est cotton oil mill in the world, hav
ing a capacity of some 60,000 tons of seed. A djoining this p ro p e rty is the p la n t of Cudahy P acking Co.
which is devoted entirely to hydro
genating cottonseed oil.
Under construction ju st outside of the city is the $15,000,000 smokeless powder p la n t which the du P ont com pany will operate fo r the B ritish Government. I t is to be known as the Tennessee Powder Co. and is expected to be in operation shortly.
A nother Memphis industry is the Lehon Co., m anufacturer of pre
pared roofing products.
C hattanooga is an industrial center that should be included in any ac
count of the Deep South. The South
ern Chemical Cotton Co. is a large producer o f cotton linters fo r use in m aking rayon and explosives.
Ceramics fo r use in the chemical in
dustries are produced by the A m eri
can Lava Corp. The Tennessee P ro d ucts Corp. produces coke, and the O. B. Andrews Co., p a p e r board specialties. The B u rk art Schier Chemical Co. and the Southern F e rry Alloys Co., pioneer in the South, are among the other industries.
Birm ingham —Birm ingham , Ala., is
“ the P ittsburgh of the South.” I t is a wonderful combination o f the n atu ral resources, coal, and iron ore account fo r its steel industry. A few years ago $30,000,000 were added to the already enormous investm ent in steel mills. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and R ailroad Co. constructed 73 coke ovens a t a cost reported to be $2,000,- 000. Universal A tlas P o rtlan d Ce
ment. Co. invested $1,500,000 fo r ad
dition to its mill. The Southern Cement Co. also has a mill in the city. The Birm ingham P a p e r Co.
m anufactures corrugated p a p e r boxes and containers and a variety o f spe
cialties. A few years ago the V ir- ginia-C arolina Chemical Co. invested several million dollars in a lead cham
ber, sulphuric acid plant.
Thus we have travelled fo r miles, crisscross, back and forth from the Rio Grande V alley, north and east to Birmingham. W ere there time and space to continue our journey we should find another interesting pano
ram a unfolding around such centers as Charleston, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville. B ut th at m ust be saved fo r another trip.
C H E M IC A L & M E T A L L U R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G • D E C E M B E R 101,0 . 829
F atty Acid P a n o ra m a
G O RD O N W . McBRIDE,
Chem ical Engineer, W ashington, D. C.A
n i m a l , vegetable, or m ineral?—The three kingdoms find a common meeting place in fa tty acids. Industry today is offered fa tty acids from a variety of sources, some of which were unknown or untapped a decade ago. No longer are the commonly used fa ts and oils the only sources. The petroleum industry and the p ap e r industry, to name but two who were not in the m arket in 1930, are now actual or potential suppliers of fa tty acids. Producers of ten years ago have felt the new competi
tion, and have been stim ulated both to develop new products and proc
esses, and to improve th eir old prod
ucts and find new uses fo r them.
P a tty ac-ids, which may be built on order to almost any desired specifi
cations, are serving as raw materials fo r m any of the chemical process industries. The principal users of fa ts and oils have long known the essential characteristics and reac
tions of these materials with which they work. These are inherent p ro p erties of the constituent chemical molecules o r radicals. In the soap field, for example, it is well known th a t lauric acid, the 12-carbon satu
rated acid derived principally from coconut oil, is essential in making a soap product which lathers well. The longer the chain of carbon atoms above 12, the less the lathering power. In the p ain t and varnish field the needed oils are those which contain large quantities of unsatu
rated fa tty acids, such as linolie, linolenic, and elaeostearic. The edi
ble fa t and oil m anufacturer has fo r over thirty years been aware of the importance of properly blended mix
tures of saturated and unsaturated fa tty acid glycerides in obtaining shortenings of desired consistency and keeping quality.
IMPORTANT USES
H istory undoubtedly substantiates the claim of soap as the earliest fa tty acid derivative. In the chemical age of today there are many new fatty acid derivatives and their distribution through modern industry is wide and growing. The Twitehcll reagents—
themselves fa tty acid derivatives—
are in great measure responsible.
W ith their development as active
C hem . & M e t. I N T E R P R E T A T I O N ... .— ~
Finding their w a y into hundreds of com m odities from lubricants to foods, fatty acid s and their d erivatives are today m ore important industrially than ever before. C hem ical engineering research h as d ev elo p ed n ew u ses and created n ew d em an d s for th ese acid s. It h a s a lso discovered sources of supply unknown ten y ea r s a g o . E qually important, it is m aking this country le s s dependent on uncertain foreign su p p lies of fats and oils. Our over-all picture of th ese acid s presents highlights of production and u se s.—
Editors.catalysts in f a t splitting, the p ro duction of all fa tty acids was given considerable acceleration. M ineral oil Twitchell reagents, developed more recently, have to some extent re
placed the original animal and veg
etable fa tty acid types.
Sulphated and sulplionated fats and oils m ay also be classified among the earlier fa tty acid derivatives.
The peculiar oil and water solubility of these derivatives makes their use widespread in such industries as tex
tile, paper, pharmaceutical, leather and soap. The fa tty alcohol sul
phates have appeared more recently
and are finding immediate and en
thusiastic acceptance.
F a tty acids as such are used in nearly all rubber products, acting as softening agents and aids in p ig m ent dispersion. They also serve to provide lubrication in the milling of the rubber and to activate ac
celerators. F a tty acids are also used in the production of molded synthetic resins. Metallic soaps and stearic acid are those most commonly used, serving as mold lubricants.
F a tty acids and derivatives are widely used in the petroleum indus
try. P rim arily, they serve to im-
Table I—Fatty A cid Composition o! Fats and Oils
These figures are approximations only, bas$d on m any experimental determinations reported in the literature. Individual sam ples oi Ihe fats and oils m ay v a ry irom the figures shown
Satu rated Acids U n satu rated Acids
F a t or Oil
Câproic C* Caprylic Ci Caprie Cio .2
P .2
* £ o .2 bCh
'u “ oej r-i a¿0
02 Arachidio Cm W o 2
•3 0 O
W
= § ! ê ô 3
'2 ° oW
^ i»
a O Miscel laneous
Babassu o il... 6 3 46 20 7 18
B u tte r... o 1 o 4 10 28 ió 1 35 4 ” 3 (1 )
C astor O il... 1 4 5 90 (2)
C oconut o il... ! i 9 8 45 20 ’s 3 5 1
Cod-liver o il... 4 10 1 8 5 (3 )
Corn o il... 7 4 46 43
Cottonseed o il... 21 2 30 46
L a rd ... 28 13 48 6 " ¿ '( 4 )
Linseed o il... 4 5 7 49 35
M enhaden o il... 16 1 30 47 (5)
Oiticica oil... 7 5 5 6 77 (6)
Olive o il... 11 2 SO 7
Palm o il... 40 5 46 8
Palm kernel o il--- ! i 3 5 50 15 S 2 15 1
P ean u t o il... S 3 3 61 22 " Ś '(7)
Periila o il... 7 8 38 47
Sesame o il...
..
8 4 2 46 40Soybean o il... 8 5 28 56 3
T allow ... 3 28 22 45 2
T ung oil... 4 1 10 2 *83 (8)
W hale o il... 6 13 1 25 20 35 (9)
(1) 3% B u ty ric (Cł)
(2) 90% Ricinoleic (12 - hydroxy-oleic) (3) 14% Cis-2H; 28% Cu-3H ; 28% C*o-5.5H;
15% Ok-7H
(4) 2% C V ?H ; 2% C»o and C«-?H
(5) 16% Ci«-?H; 19% C:o-10H; 12% Clupanodo- nic (Ca-10H)
Licanic (4 - keto-elaeostearic) Behenic (C-22)
Elaeostearic (Cu-6H)
Palmifcolic (Cie-4H); 18% Clupanodonic (Ca-10H)
(6) 77%
(7) 3%
(8) 83%
(9) 17%
830 • D E C E M B E R 19Ą0 • C H E M IC A L & M ETA LLU R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G
Steel sto ra g e tanks for v e g e table and anim al o ils at the N. J. plant ol the N ational Oil
Products Co.
p ro v e the m etal-w etting qualities of lu b ric atin g oils and greases. They also serve as carrying agents fo r chlorine, phosphorus, sulphur, and other active elements used to inhibit corrosion, and to enhance oxidation resistance, load-carrying capacity, and wear resistance. The thicken
ing effect o f m etallic soaps in lu b ri
cating greases is also well known and is the basis of extensive m anu
facture.
Food uses of f a tty acid derivatives are not numerous com pared with the wide variety o f inedible fa tty acid applications. However, such com
pounds as mono- and di-glycerides o f stearie and lauric acids are found in m any food products. They are not natu rally occurring compounds, though they are closely related to the n atu ra l fa ts and oils. Use in bread, cake, ice cream, salad dress
ings and food fa ts is typical o f their wide application. They are so used because o f th e ir em ulsifying, thick
ening, texture im proving, and homo
genizing properties.
N ot long ago, these f a tty acid derivatives were laboratory curiosi
ties. Now m any companies adver
tise the mono- and di-glycerides.
Glycol fa tty acid esters are also on the m arket, as are the simple p a ra f fin fa tty acid esters.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT W hen f a tty acids were first p ro duced, the products were com para
tively crude. As specialty uses were developed, demand increased fo r re fined fa tty acids. The synthetic resin industry can claim responsi
bility a t least in p a r t fo r the re
sulting progress. I t was necessary in the production o f certain high- grade synthetic resins to have fa tty acids of very light color and good keeping quality. These have been achieved by m any m anufacturers.
Low pressure distillation in stills built o f corrosion resistan t metals and the use of stabilizers have given a big boost to the efficient produc
tion o f the p a in t and varnish ty p e o f resin.
F o r the p ast ten years economic com petition has forced—and re
warded—m any rigorous program s o f fundam ental research. M anufactur
ers o f fa ts and oils products have examined th eir products critically, one a t a time. They have asked
themselves the questions, “Because of w hat fundam ental p ro p erty is this product used?” ; “ Can its ef
fectiveness be increased by concen
tra tin g some essential ingredient?” ;
“ By w hat more economical method could the desired result be achieved?”
H aving posed such questions as these, the next step was to investigate all possible sources of the desired con
stituent. Then there had to be con
sidered the form in which it m ight most effectively be made, sold and used.
F o r example, as is well known, ordinary soap is fundam entally the sodium salt of a f a tty acid. I t is usually made by reacting a f a t with caustic soda, and the byproduct gly
cerine is recovered from the soap kettle. This traditional batch method is being challenged, however, by two distinctly different processes. One of these involves oil saponification on a continuous basis, with the alkali concentration adjusted properly to give anhydrous soap and, by flash distillation in a vacuum chamber, the glycerine as by-product. The chief advantages o f this process are the recovery of relatively pure con
centrated glycerine and the saving of freig h t on the 6 o r 8 p e r cent w ater which is ordinarily in indus
trial powdered soaps.
By the other new process of soap m anufacture, the desired soap oils are first continuously hydrolyzed to f a tty acids and glycerine. Then the resulting mixed fa tty acid is con
tinuously neutralized to form a con
ventional soap. This process is a p plicable to almost any o f the usual variety of soaps now available on the m arket. N eutralization of this f a tty acid might also, if desired, p ro
duce an anhydrous soap as in the first process described.
As previously mentioned, the soap
m anufacturer knows th a t the sodium salt o f lauric acid is the desired rapid-lathering constituent o f his soap product. Coconut oil has been fo r many years and still is the most readily available economic source of this fa tty acid. However, th at oil must be im ported; and the supply is subject not only to possible in terru p tio n in time of international conflict, but also to political regula
tion in peace time. Although there is no n atu ral domestic substitute fo r coconut oil, it is a t present sub
jected to an excise tax which m ateri
ally increases its cost to all American soap m anufacturers.
W ith modern chemical research and technology many methods have been proposed to make synthetic fa tty acids. B y cooperation between cue domestic soap and petroleum indus
tries a synthetic coconut oil fa tty acid has been developed th a t com
pares favorably with the n atu ra l product. I t has not replaced coco
n u t oil in the soap industry because it cannot compete a t norm al p rice levels. However, it puts a ceiling on the price of co c o n u t' oil and can be made if conditions should w ar
ra n t it a t any time.
PROPERTIES MADE TO ORDER Much work has been done re
cently to m odify domestically-pro
duced vegetable oils to obtain vari
ous desired properties. The research being carried on a t the Kegional Soy
bean L aboratory of the U. S. De
p artm en t of A griculture to make a drying oil from soybean oil is an excellent illustration. The fractional distillation o f fa tty acids, split from domestic fats and oils, has also been recently brought into production. By this method concentrations of any desired fraction m ay be obtained for use as f a tty acids and their deriva
CH EM I CAL & M E T A L L U R G IC A L E N G IN E E R IN G • D E C E M B E R 191,0 831
tives, or may be re-csterifieil back lo a wanted fa t or oil.
Methods of separation of the com
ponent fa tty acids of natural fats and oils are also being studied from the standpoint of crystalization and of solvent selective separation. Phys
ical chemistry and thermodynamics have contributed their share to this phase of the development. Recent patents 011 solvent treatm ent of oils to separate the unsaturated com
ponents from the saturated fore
shadow a domestic drying oil supply.
Hydrogenation of unsaturated edi
ble oils to control consistency and keeping quality is a well-known mod
ification of the fatty acid end of the oil molecule. Sim ilar treatm ent con
verts unsaturated inedible oils to ones suitable fo r soap stock. H ydrogena
tion may also be used to reduce fa tty acids to alcohols. This is the source of raw m aterial for sulphated fatty alcohols . and may provide an ex
tremely im portant basis for organic synthetics.
FATTY ACID SOURCES A long-im portant source of fatty acids is the meat-packing industry.
Those portions of an animal which cannot be processed to yield edible products are usually cooked to free the fa t which they contain. This grease or tallow goes principally into the soap industry. However, it also serves as a raw material for specialty products. Sulphated tallows are an outstanding example. The w ater-in
soluble soaps (calcium, magnesium and aluminum salts of the fatty acids) are also of great importance.
In addition to the use of the in
soluble soaps because of their lubri
cating properties, they arc used in cosmetics as face powders, in paints and lacquers as dulling agents and as waterproofing agents. An in
teresting new use was recently re ported for them in the p aper in dustry. This was based 011 their ability to lower surface tension in certain emulsions, making them val
uable as defoaming compounds in pulp beaters.
O utstanding in the fa tty acid de
velopments of recent years is tlio adaptation of castor oil lo the drying oil industry. D ehydrated castor oil, a replacement fo r lung oil, is p ro duced by removing w ater of con
stitution from the oil molecule. I t represents the first entirely new dry
ing oil not found in nature. I t thereby differs from the fractionated f a tty acid o r the solvent separated synthetic drying oils which arc actu
ally only the component p a rts of natural fats and oils.
The im port of castor beans into this country from South America has been tremendously accelerated in the past few years. W ith the growth in popularity of this old crop, in creased domestic production has been urged. Experim ental plantings have been tried in many regions through
out the Southern States. I t is pos
sible that the castor plant may reach significant production in this coun
try in the near future.
A11 outstanding new source of fatty acids which has been developed in the [last decade is the pulp and pap er industry. These fa tty acids, vari
ously known as tall oil and liquid rosin, are of growing importance.
Their properties have been examined in detail and found to compare t'avor-
Equipment used lor extraction ol vitam ins from fish-liver oils.
The p rocess is carried out under an atm osphere oi nitrogen
ably with more costly raw materials.
The principal uses so f a r have been in low cost and specialty soaps.
Metal cleaners and polishes also have been made from tall oil and a wide variety of other specialty uses is claimed. The refined tall oil is recom
mended for uses sim ilar to those of red oil or oleic acid. Although the total production is small at present, it is abundant in prospect. Large scale use is expected as efficient meth
ods fo r fractionating the component acijls are developed. W ith a con
tent of approxim ately 25 or 30 per cent abiotic acid, tall oil should prove 10 be a very popular raw m aterial fo r the soap industry in the m anu
facture of yellow laundry soap. A t least six companies are known to have been producing tall oil in the United States. Since it comes from waste liquor in the sulphate proccss, the base raw material cost is negligi
ble. Recent research has indicated possibilities fo r their use in modi
fied alkyd resins and in synthetic drying oils. Even edible products are a possibility. In any case, tall 011 serves as a very cheap source of vegetable fa tty acids, a com paratively untapped reservoir of form erly dis
carded waste products.
Table II— A n a ly se s ol sa m p les of d eh y drated castor oil h a v e sh ow n approxi
m ately the follow ing composition:
Saturated acids ... 2%
H ydroxy a cid s... 7%
Oleio acid... 9%
Linolio acids
9, 11 conjugated... 21%
9, 12 n o rm a l... 01%
T h e s e n n a l y s e s w e r e m a d e b y t h e W o b u r n D e g r e a s i n g C o., o n e o f t h e l e a d in g m a n u f a c t u r e r s o f d e h y d r a t e d c a s t o r oil. ( S t o i c h i o m e t r i c c o m p a r is o n s h o u ld n o t b e m a d e w i t h t h e a n a l y s e s o f u n p r o c e s s e d c a s t o r o il s h o w n In T a b l e J .)
Fig. 1 — U. S. Imports ol fats and oil*
lor the y ea r b egin n ing July, 1938
T o t a l i m p o r ts w e r e 1,90G,3S5,000 lb . A lth o u g h I m p o r te d f a t s a n d o ils r e p r e s e n t o n ly 2 0 -2 5 p e r c e n t o f U . S. c o n s u m p tio n , i t w o u ld b e d iff ic u lt to g e t a l o n g w i t h o u t th e m .
