CHEMICAL
& m e t a l l u r g i c a l
ENGINEERING
ESTABLISHED 1902 . S. D. KIRKPATRICK. Editor
C h em ica l In d u stry in th e W ar
C J
arefulreading of B ern ard M. B a ru c h ’s recent book on in d u strial mobiliza
tion (“ Am erican In d u stry in the W a r,” P rentice-H all, 1941), serves as a timely rem inder of the vital p a r t played by chemicals in our first W orld W a r eifort.
As early as A p ril 1917 a chemicals committee had been form ed u n d er the raw m aterials division of the old Council of N ational Defense. W hen, later, the W ar In dustries B oard was organized, Mr. B aruch insisted th a t the chairm an of this chemicals committee should serve as his technical advisor and become an official member of the Board. T h at m an was Leland L. Summers, a consulting engineer, who, since 1915, had been prom inently identified w ith the purchase of chemical m unitions fo r the Allied governments. D u rin g all of the B o a rd ’s activities, Mr.
Summers sat as one of its eight members, sharing in d u strial representation with only Mr. Replogle, the steel adm inistrator, and Mr. Peek, commissioner of finished products. Mr. Summers also insisted on rem aining the adm inistrative head of both the explosives and chemical divisions—the form er directed by M arch F . Chase and the la tte r by Charles H . MacDowell, ably assisted by approxim ately tw enty sectional chiefs d ra fted from the executive ranks of the various chemical industi'ies.
This much of history is reviewed here to point a contrast and perhaps as the basis fo r some questions about our representation in the cu rren t w ar effort. Obvi
ously chemicals are no less im p o rtan t now th an they were twenty-five years ago, although it is tru e th a t today we are much b etter prep ared because of our highly developed chemical in d u stry . B u t does th a t m ean there is no longer the need fo r adequate and aggressive representation of our in d u stry by some of its top execu
tives serving on the various planning boards th a t are now directing the w ar program ? Must chemicals continue to be subordinated to other industries, shrouded w ith m ystery and m isunderstanding ? P erh ap s such questions m ay seem ungenerous or u n fa ir to the m any patriotic, com petent and hard-w orking tech
nologists who have ably represented chemical in d u stry in OPM and OPA. Cer
tain ly th a t is not intended. R ather, these questions reflect an im pression th a t is ra th e r widely prevalent in chemical industries. Many people are beginning to ask, perhaps inadvisedly, w hy the names of the members of the various chemical advisory committees have no t been made public, why the organization and pro
cedures of the chemical u nits are not b etter understood, why everything ‘ ‘ chem
ical” is a m ilitary secret which can be shared only w ith those in the in n er circles?
Tanks, planes and battleships are units th a t can be readily understood and
visualized by anyone. They are m ade largely of m etals and th ere seem to be no
secrets about w ar requirem ents fo r steel and copper, alum inum and magnesium. Our needs fo r uniform s, shoes, and sim ilar supplies are a simple m atter of arithm etic. B u t when it comes to smokeless powder and TNT, or even th eir basic chemical ingredients, there is little or nothing known except to those w ithin the charm ed circles. Yet if the U nited States is soon to p u t the victory program into fu ll opera
tion, there m ay well be some advantage in carrying inform ation of this sort to engineers and m anagers of chemical enterprises all over the country. Cer
tain ly the expanding needs fo r additional p er
sonnel, as well as production facilities, would seem to argue in favor of more general release of such inform ation as would not be of help to our enemies.
O ur big job in 3942 is to achieve a fu ll mobiliza
tion of Am erican chemical in d u stry . In the words Donald Nelson addressed to a group of busiiiess- p ap e r editors on December 19, this “ means drastic changes in our existing in d u strial economy. W e m ust now think only in term s of out-producing a pow erful enem y; and anyone who under-estim ates the ab ility of the enemy to produce is only kidding him self.” This job of converting chemical in d u stry into a great, efficient w ar machine is one th a t calls fo r the u n ited effort and su p p o rt of all of us, w hether in sm all companies or large corporations, w hether now producing w ar m aterials or essential civilian goods.
Am erican chemical in d u stry served with great distinction in the last war, despite the fact th a t it was young and inexperienced. So fa r in the present effort it has done its share and has set fine records for efficient production as well as whole-hearted cooperation w ith the government. B u t we can and m ust go a lo t fa rth e r and faster. W e need to mobilize every chemical resource in manpower, m aterials and p la n t facilities. W e need strong and vigorous leader
ship.
BILLIONS FOR DEFENSE
A s
o fJa n u a ry 1, 1942, according to the OPM B ureau of Research and Statistics, there have been approxim ately 71 billion dollars of appropriations, contracts and authorizations in the defense pro
gram. The largest single item in the tabulation is for ordnance, including naval ordnance, which accounts fo r 16.5 billions or 23 percent of the total program . O ther m unitions add 3.5 billions, stock
piles, equipm ent and supplies, 6.6 billions; so th a t a t least 37 percent of our money has been earm arked fo r m ateriel of direct concern to chemical engineers.
J u s t w hat proportion of this staggering total is represented by chemicals and explosives, as such, has no t been shown, b u t we would estim ate it as at least a fifth of the total fo r these three items.
The same B ureau reveals th a t from the beginning of the defense program through Septem ber 30,1941, in d u strial facilities fo r defense financed by the governm ent and privately, totaled $5,260,463,000.
H ere chemicals, including explosives, accounted for 13.8 percent, petroleum, coal and gas, 0.7 percent, and am m unition, shells and bombs an additional 16.2 percent. A gain it seems safe to estim ate th a t chemical engineering construction has accounted for a t least a fifth of the in d u strial facilities for defense.
This figure of approxim ately a billion dollars is about ten times the norm al building program in our field. A nd it m ust be greatly increased as th e vic
to ry program swings into full operation.
So, with $15,000,000,000 already ap p ro p riated for chemical m unitions, w ith a t least another billion in new defense plants, and more in the offing, “ billions for defense” is not ju s t an idle boast. I t ’s chemical in d u s try ’s biggest order fo r 1942 delivery.
ADJOURN REFORM
Re f o k m
has not been adjo u rn ed for the war. One
would think th a t official W ashington would lay aside its hobbies and get down exclusively to w ar business. U n fo rtu n ately this is no t the case. Com
plete licensing of explosives producers, distributors and users has begun. The governm ent is taking over more power properties nom inally fo r defense, actually to get operating control. The P resid en t has nam ed a new p a te n t board to figure out how the p a te n t system can be revised. A n obvious objective is to get more control of patents, no t to make p aten ts more the servant of in d u stry and the pub
lic. A nd S ecretary Ickes outdoes him self in reform
Volume 49— Chem ical & M etallurgical E ngineering—N um ber 1 Chemical & M etallurgical Engineering is
the successor to M etallurgical 6* Chemical E ngineering, which in tu rn w as a consoli
dation of Electrochem ical & M etallurgical In d u s tr y and Iro n & S te e l M agazine, effected in July, 1906.
T h e m agazine w as originally founded as Electrochem ical In d u s tr y, in Septem ber, 1902, and was published m onthly un d er th e editorial direction of D r. E . F. Roeber. I t continued u n d e r th a t title u n til Ja n u a ry , 1905, w hen it w as changed to Electrochem ical & M eta llu r
gical In d u s tr y . I n Ju ly , 1906. th e consolida
tio n w as m ade w ith Iro n & S te e l M agazine,
which had been founded eight years previously by D r. A lbert S au v eu r. I n J a n u a ry , 1910, the title was changed to M etallurgical & Chemical E ngineering, and sem i-m onthly publication was begun Sept. 1, 1915. On Ju ly 1, 1918, the p resent title was assum ed and weeklv pub
lication w as begun O ct. 1, 1919. M onthly publication was resum ed in M arch, 1925.
D r. E. F . Roeber w as ed ito r of th e paper from th e tim e it was founded u ntil his death on O ct. 17, 1917. A fte r a b rief interim he was succeeded by H . C. Parm elee. Ten y ears la te r, Nov. 1, 1928, M r. Parm elee assum ed other responsibilities in the M cGraw-
H ill Publishing Com pany and Sidney D.
K irk p a trick was appointed editor.
T h e p resen t editorial staff of the m agazine com prises, in addition to M r. K irk p a trick : Jam es A. Lee, m anaging ed ito r; H . M . B a t
ters, m arket ed ito r; T . R. Olive, associate editor, J . R. C allaham and L. B. Pope, a ssistan t editors. R. S. M cB ride, W illiam E . B ecker, E . S. S ta tc le r and E a rle M auldin a re editorial rep resentatives in W ashington.
P . C., on th e Pacific C oast, in Chicago, and in A tlan ta, respectively. [A ll rig h ts to above m agazine titles a re reserved by M cG raw -H ill P u blishing Co.]
7S— 1 J A N U A R Y 19>,2 • 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
effort as lie takes over his duties as solid fuels czar and g reatly extends his disciplinary rules over the petroleum industry. Using wartim e authority for reform seems to be a hobby of the In terio r D ep art
ment.
SYSTEMATIC VS. SPORADIC SAVINGS
Mo s t
people, especially .since December 7, d o n ’t
need to be told why they should buy more defense bonds. W e know it is a patriotic d u ty as well as a
personal privilege to invest our savings in the fu tu re of America. B u t some of us p u t it off, or contribute sporadically, fo r the sim ple reason we have no definite plan of procedure. I f th a t is the case in your organization, you will do well to in vestigate the voluntary pay-roll allotm ent plan th a t is now being widely adopted ¡by small as well as large companies in our industries. Remember th a t F ran ce left it to hit-or-miss—and missed. L e t’s h it and h it hard, week by week, m onth by month, u n til our combined efforts result in A m erican victory.
WASHINGTON HIGHLIGHTS
ALLOCATIONS proceed apace. A l
ready there ¡ire 15 or 20 commodities you can’t own or process w ithout Uncle Sam ’s OK. Most of them are im ported strategics like rubber, tin, and chromium. B ut the equivalent procedure will apply to more and more chemicals as m andatory alloca
tions replace priorities. W h a t has already happened to chlorine, m etha
nol and ferro-alloys shows w hat to expect fo r other chemicals.
SABOTAGE, incendiarism and enemy a ir raids, but the greatest hazard of them all in chemical industry, is sabotage. R ead in this m onth’s Chem.
<0 Met. re p o rt (p p . 101-8) the best advice the editors have been able to glean from the Olïice o f Civilian De
fense, the Chemical W a rfa re Service, the F ederal B ureau of Investigation and num erous other sources.
SUBCONTRACTING ill most chemical m anufacturing is not so easy. B ut W ashington expects more process industries to share in the defense load. This means th a t small plants, even those not commonly doing pi'oc- ess work o f the needed sort, can make th eir contribution to defense produc
tion. Such operators will not be a perm anent p a r t o f our industries. B ut they can help now when even a small step in advancing goods tow ard com
pletion fo r m ilitary use is desirable, in fact, necessary.
CHEMICAL PROMOTERS are not
wanted in W ashington. D irect action by executives of process industries in dealing with governm ent officials is preferred. There is a place fo r the W ashington representative in legal, tax, and technical m atters. B ut he cannot safely, p articu la rly a t this time, be substituted fo r executive ac
tion by those who can speak directly on com pany policy. Government offi
cials p refer to deal with career mem
bers o f a staff, not tem porary ex
ponents o f some “cause.”
WASTE ELIMINATION, especially in use of m etals and certain chemicals, is m ost vital. Even where it takes more labor, or causes increased cost, econ
omy in consum ption is sought. The U nited S tates had suddenly achieved an economic relationship like th at which has long prevailed in Europe.
This tem porary situation means th at we can waste" labor to save m aterial.
W e must pursue a policy o f ruthless economy on m aterials. Nor m ust wo lose sight o f the fac t th a t there are opportunities fo r simplification of specifications and the elim ination of costly frills and excessive refinements.
PRICE r e g u l a t i o n will come. In general, it will ap p ly principally to consumers’ prices. Thus, those indus
tries like the fertlizer m anufacturers, who sell to ultim ate users, m ay be the first to be pinched. B ut also there will be many more specific industrial- commodity price-control orders such as those recently issued fo r alcohol, butanol, acetone, and glycerine. As these price controls develop it will be particu larly im p o rtan t fo r engineers and executives o f the chemical indus
tries to know and identify clearly all new elements o f cost. Generallv speaking, only such new costs, espe
cially those imposed by w ar condi
tions, will be assumed to ju stify price advances.
t a x e s to supply one-third, perhaps more, o f needed w ar money will be the am bition of Congress. This means th a t some of the extreme ideas p revi
ously reported as mere proposals of W ashington come closer to rea lity week by week. The first tax law of 1943 may actually double the tax col
lector’s “take” in m any industries.
WAR CONTROLS m ust be recog
nized. Speed-up is expected. Demand fo r more continuous p la n t operations is certain. B etter scheduling o f hours o f work, as in the G ray p lan described on page
8
G, is w orthy o f im m ediate study. B u t w ith all the pressure of speed up, we m ust still w atch out fo r the vital element of sa fe ty o f p la n t and personnel. T hat alone can take precedence over increased o u tp u t in these times.U. S. MINISTRY OF SUPPLY, long delayed, is now in the m aking. E v i
dence th a t the governm ent is becom
ing increasingly im p atien t with p res
en t procurem ent policies is accum u
lating. The P re sid en t’s dem and fo r a
$50 billion p er year spending p ro gram m ay sway the decision tow ard civilian control o f purchasing. W ith needs m ounting on such a grand scale, it’s almost safe to say th at chemical in d u stry can’t possibly p lan fo r too much production of m ilitary necessities. Not so, o f course, fo r civilian goods.
TANK CAR shortages are expected.
Obviously there will not be as m any tankers as needed for petroleum or molasses carriage. Even more obvi
ously, the burden on ra il tra n sp o rta tion by increased business is already overloading our liquid-carrying facili
ties. This means th a t economy in tank car usage, p ro m p t unloading, quick retu rn , and sim ply doing without, will all be necessary. As statistics are issued regarding ta n k ca r supply, it will be im p o rtan t to note th a t the Association o f A m erican R ailroads claims th a t a car is idle when it is not actually on their rails and moving.
Hence, a tank car th a t is rendering full service, is classified as idle fo r a substantial percentage o f its time, with weird statistical results on occa
sion.
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 . J A N U A R Y 191,2 1— 79
Our Enemies, Chemically Speaking
KARL FALK,
Fresno Stale College. Fresno. Calil.' C h em . & M e t. I N T E R P R E T A T I O N 1
B ecau se the p resent W orld W ar is b e in g fought in the industrial a s w e ll a s the m ilitary sp h ere, this tim ely r e v ie w of the econ om ic an d tech n ical positions of the A xis c h em ica l industries is d istinctly in order. It h a s b e e n p repared for C hem . <£■ M et. la r g e ly b y Dr. Falk, w h o form erly rep resen ted this m a g a zin e in Europe. W h ile it clea rly sh o w s that w e h a v e form idable opposition in p rosecu tin g both the w ar and the su b seg u en t p e a c e , n ev e rth ele ss, the trem endous p re
p on d eran ce of b a sic raw m aterials, p lan ts an d p erso n n el a v a ila b le to the non-A xis p o w ers sh ou ld m ore than counter-balance the initial a d v a n ta g e s of clo se collab oration during alm ost a d e c a d e of ch em ica l p rep ared n ess b y our e n e m ies.—Editors.
G
e r m a n y , I t a l y a n d J a p a n , poor in resources but rich in ambition, have organized their industries under governm ent direction to make the greatest possible use o f available raw m aterials while try in g to develop m ilitarily independent and blockade- p ro o f economies. In the Reich, lessons from the first W orld W a r were carefully studied and this accounts fo r the emphasis placed on synthetics even before the outbreak o f this war.
German chemicals were also used as an im p o rtan t medium of exchange to obtain on world m arkets reserve su p plies of vital m aterials in which the Reich was deficient. This was pos
sible since G erm any’s norm al chem
ical exports are two to three times chemical im ports. The Axis partners, Ita ly and J a p a n , norm ally im port more chemicals—a t least raw ma
terials— than they export.
Before the outbreak o f W orld W a r IT, in total chemical production the G reat Powers ranked as follow s:
United States, Germany, United K in g dom, France, Ja p a n , Italy, and the U.S.S.R. United S tates accounted for two-fifths of world chemical produc
tion, while Germany supplied less than one-fifth. In ivorld trade in chemicals, however, the order in 1938 w a s: Germany, U nited States, United Kingdom , F rance, J a p a n , Italy, U.S.S.R ., with the Reich supplying between one-fourth and one-third the total and the U.S. one-sixth. The United S tates has been the w orld’s larg est chemical im porter, and Ger
many the w orld’s largest exporter.
Assuming th a t exports represented
roughly a surplus over domestic needs and th a t raw m aterials were avail
able— which is not always the case—
and th a t w ar dam age no more than cancelled out new p la n t construction since .1938, a breakdown of leading chemical trad e rs into A nti-A xis, Axis, and countries accessible to the Axis (w ith im p o rtan t reservations fo r S w itzerland’s unique position, and fo r occupied p a rts o f the U .S.S.R .) would be roughly as shown in Table I.
This breakdown, o f course, fails to show the im portance o f B ritish E m p ire and L atin American chemical raw m aterial sources, b u t it also does not include the grow ing production of Scandinavian and B alkan countries which are accessible to the Axis.
GERMANY'S STRONG POSITION Germany, as the largest Axis chem
ical m anufacturer, bases its produc
tion chiefly on available raw m aterials, coal, lignite, potash, limestone, salt, wood, magnesite, and other raw ma
terials. The Reich norm ally depends on foreign sources fo r vegetable oils, naval stores, crude drugs, phosphates, n atu ra l rubber, borax, sulphur, pyrites, carbon black, n a tu ra l oil and petroleum , and other less im p o rtan t items. Some o f these have now been successfully replaced by su bstitute or a ltern ate m aterials. G erm any’s lead
ing chemical exports norm ally are coal-tar dyes, potash, medicinals, ammonium sulphate, nitrogenous fe r
tilizers, pigm ents, p ain ts and v a r
nishes, synthetic resins, insecticides, and other ag ricultural and industrial chemicals.
In certain chemicals the Reich is the w orld’s chief producer. Of the 1939 world o u tp u t o f approxim ately 200,000 m etric tons o f dyestuffs, Ger
m any accounted fo r the largest share, exporting about one-third of: its p ro duction and supplying 56 percent of the total in ternational trad e -in these products. In norm al years the Reich exports 50 percent and more o f its dye output.
Of the w orld’s 3 m illion metric ton o u tp u t of nitrogen in 1938-9, German synthetic ammonia plants with a capacity o f 1.4 to 1.5 million tons supplied the largest share. M ost of the Reich’s production of synthetic am monia is from brown coal water- gas and is m anufactured in I.G.
plants a t Leuna and O ppau near Ludwigshafen.
G erm any is also the w orld's largest producer and exporter of potash, having strengthened its monopoly still fu rth e r through recent incorporation of 11 A lsatian potash mines. In 1937 G erm any produced 62 percent and F ra n ce 15 percent of the w orld’s potash.
A lthough figures are no longer ac
curate, G erm any claims to have been the w orld’s largest producer of alum i
num in 1938, with 165,000 tons. In 1939 it produced 210,000 tons or 32 percent o f the w orld o utput, which has increased considerably since then.
R aw m aterials fo r this m ilitarily im
p o rta n t m etal are not found in the
T able I—Foreign trad e of principal countries in chem icals a n d allied
products*
Im p o rts E xports (millions) (millions) A N T I-A X IS
U n ited S ta te s ...
U nited K in g d o m ...
C an a d a ...
U .S.S.R . (1937 estim ate)
$146.0 117.3 38 .4 0 .7
$158.5 131.7 2 0 .5 13.4 T o t a l... $308.4 $324.1 A X IS
G e rm a n y ...
J a p a n ...
I ta ly ...
$S4.2 46.12 9 .5
$263.3 34 .8 29 .7 T o ta l... 5159.8 $327.8 A C C E SSIB L E TO A X IS
F ra n c e ...
N eth erlan d s...
B elgium ...
Sw itzerland...
D e n m ark ... ...
Poland a n d D a n zig ...
$64 .5 55 .0 48 .4 24 .5 26 .6 14.2
$90.6 4 8 .6 6 2 .2 4 0 .7
3 .9 6 .1 T o t a l... $233.2 $252.1
•From “ W orld Chem ical D evelopm ents in 193S," U . S. D e p a rtm e n t of Commerce.
80— 1 • J A N U A R Y 19Ą2 • 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
Reich, but bauxite is available from H u n g ary and Yugoslavia, F ran ce and Italy . G erm any is also an im p o rtan t magnesium producer, especially with control o f m agnesite supplies of Aus
tria the w orld’s second largest p ro ducer.
In 1939 the Reich produced 2.8 mil
lion metric tons of sulphuric acid, a new peak fo r Germany caused by in
creased demands fo r m anufacturing artificial fibers, mineral oils, n itration products, fertilizers and munitions.
I t also im ports considerable sulphuric acid and the raw m aterials, sulphur and pyrites, from Italy , Spain, N or
way, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. P y rite and iron ore from Sweden, northern F ran ce and elsewhere will probably enable Germany to keep u p steel pro duction, which was 23 million tons in 1938.
Germany is behind the United States, however, in the o u tp u t of plastics and rayon, b u t leads in syn
thetic rubber, synthetic m otor fuels, and staple fiber. A lthough production of these items has expanded trem en
dously in the last five years the Reich is still unable to fulfill domestic re quirem ents with synthetic products.
Synthetic rubber, chiefly B una types, accounted fo r only 40 percent of the rubber consumed in the Reich in 1939.
Of necessity, the percentage is prob
ably higher now, and the same ratio would probably hold fo r synthetic
textiles. In 1941, 30 plants in the Reich produced around 30 million b ar
rels o f synthetic m otor fuels, thereby trebling the 1938 output. I n th a t year, however, E u ro p e consumed 200 million barrels o f oil and produced only 75 million itself, not counting Soviet production, little of which was available fo r export. The rest had to be im ported from overseas.
Although the Reich exports su p e r
phosphates, it m ust im port phosphate rock. Norm ally this has come from the U nited States, but in w ar time is available from F ran ce and Italy. The Reich is f a r behind the U nited States in this fertilizer item as well as in o u tp u t o f chlorine and alkalies such as soda ash and caustic soda, needed for m anufacture of artificial fibers and other synthetics.
The Reich chemical industry, with a production valued a t well over
6,000
million RM p e r year, ranks am ong the first five industries in Germany, and accounts fo r approxim ately one- fifth o f th a t country’s exports.
Through the annexation of A ustria and most of Czechoslovakia in 1938-9, before the outbreak o f the w ar the chemical industry acquired an addi
tional annual production of 400 mil
lion RM, and it is impossible to esti
m ate what share other v oluntary and involuntary Axis p a rtn e rs have con
tributed in the meantime in the chem
ical field. Poland has considerable
capacity and raw m aterials, and F ra n ce and Belgium are among the world’s leading chemical producers.
I t m ust be remembered th a t condi
tions are in a constant state of flux, and it would be a m istake to assume these countries as o p eratin g a t full capacity, while the changing theatres of w ar and ad ap tatio n o f production to w ar time needs has changed the Reich’s own production. As f a r as the other countries arc concerned G erm any supplies or withholds raw m aterials as its own needs dictate.
Reich chemical and allied indus
tries, em ploying over 600,000 p e r
sons, have experienced a new boom since the outbreak o f the w ar. P ro duction had reached a new peak in 1939. A t the outbreak o f the w ar the publication o f all statistical d ata was discontinued fo r m ilitary reasons. I t is known, however, th a t the o u tp u t receded in such lines as dyes, paints and pigm ents, soaps and other con
sum er goods, while it increased g reatly in industrial chemicals required fo r producing domestic substitute or alternate m aterials o r fo r the m anu
fac tu re o f m unitions and other mili
ta ry needs. M arked gains are re
ported, fo r example, in the m anufac
ture o f sulphuric, nitric, acetic, and other industrial acids, alkalies, elec
trochemical products, carbon bisul
phide, coal-tar derivatives, and re
lated m aterials. An indication o f the
Men an d m aterials for w ar, a s g rap h ically p resen ted b y the N ational Industrial Conference Board in its Economic Record
for D ecem ber 24, 1941. See also Table I on p a g e 82
A L L IE S
MIS
1(3.9
MALE POPULATION 16-35 YEARS Of AGE,OF 2 « SELECTED BELLIGERENT NATIONS, JULY 1,1941
IN M ILLIO NS S O U R C E : B U R E A U o r T H E C E N S U S . r m u R E S n o t c o r r e c t e o rot) c a s u a l t i e s
WORLD PRODUCTION OF SELECTED WAR ESSENTIALS IN PERCENTAGES OF TOTAL WORLD PRODUCTION
S O U R C E : B U R E A U O F T H E C E N S U S
■ *---ALLIED COUNTRIES--- *-
UNITED OTHER A X IS
KINGDOM ALLIED A X IS 0CCU- OTHER
U .S. ANDPOSS. . U .S.S.R.
WHEAT
POTATOES
SUGAR
PETROLEUM
COAL
IRCH ORE
COUNTRIES POKERS PIED COUNTRIES
PERCENTAGE OF NATIONAL INCOME DEVOTED TO DOMESTIC WAR EXPENDITURES
APRIL, 1940-MARCH, 1941
S O U R C E : L E A G U E O r N A T IO N S
U NITED STATES
CANADA
21
¡I
JAPAN GERMANYSELF-SUFFICIENCY OF SELECTED BELLIGERENTS RETAINED M ERCH AN DISE IM PO R T S, 1929
A S PERCENTAGE OF N ET NATIONAL IN CO M E,
1925-1934 S O U R C E : R O Y A L IN S T IT U T E O F IN T E R N A T IO N A L A F F A IR S
w m m m m m
3 2 1.4
AUSTRALIA
24.7 25.6
27.»
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 • J A N U A R Y 19.>,2 1— 81
extent of fu rth e r production increases since the w ar started may be taken from the recently published re p o rt of the German A.G. D ynam it Nobel, m anufacturer of explosives, celluloid, plastics, etc., which announced th a t in 1940 production had been 50 percent higher than in 1939.
Continental Plans— German plans to make E urope self-sufficient in the chemical field were revealed in the middle o f 1941 by I.G. Farbenindus- trie, which has ju st boosted its capi
talization to 800 million EM in order to increase particip atio n in foreign industries. Since F ra n ce and England have been largely eliminated as com
p etitors on the continent under w ar
time conditions, some of the “New O rder” plans have already been p u t into effect. They call for complete continental reorganization o f the
chemical industry, with Reich inter
ests taking over financial control in some instances, building new plants or expanding old ones in areas best suited by reason of location of raw m aterials or cheap power or labor.
P lan ts req u irin g an abundance of electricity would be located in Scandi
navian countries. F o r example, N or
way could su p p ly synthetic fertilizers and aluminum to France, S p ain and the B alkans. In retu rn , F ra n ce could send bauxite needed fo r aluminum production to Norway. Yugoslavia, able to build an electrochemical in
du stry on the basis of cheap power, labor, river tran sp o rt, and possessing copper (Germ an interests have re cently acquired the form erly French- owned B or m ines), bauxite, chrome, antim ony, lead, zinc, and tim ber as raw m aterials would become the
center of the B alkan chemical indus
try, with B ulgaria and other south
eastern E uropean countries supplying additional raw m aterials.
In Rum ania a specialized chemical branch would be built around the m ineral oils (form erly Anglo-Dutch, American, and French-owned) and vegetable oils found there. A fter care
fu l studies of the economic stru ctu re o f southeastern E urope, I.G. F arb en around 1935 started financing and su pplying technical assistance to de
velop soya bean growing in Rum ania.
The proceeds from crops, purchased com pletely by Germany, were used fo r im porting chemicals m anufac
tured by I.G. In this way, while ex
panding the sale of chemicals, this firm also acquired foodstuffs and raw m aterials for the Reich, and I.G.
economists have gone fu rth e r and estim ated th a t by raising p e r capita im port purchasing power o f the B alkans to one-half th at of Germany, a billion m ark gain of chemical ex
p o rts to the Balkans would result, the bulk o f which would presum ably be supplied by the Reich.
In F rance, bauxite deposits would be developed fu rth er, and the existing well-rounded organic and inorganic industry would be expanded. France, it will be remembered, is the fourth largest chemical producer in the world. German financial penetration there was revealed with the announce
ment in December 1941 th a t I.G.
F arb en has obtained control of three leading F rench concerns, K uhlm ann, N ational Coloring M atters and Chem
ical P roducts Co., Ltd., of St. Denis, and F ren ch Chemical P roducts Co. of St. C lair du Rhone.
ITALIAN CHEMICAL PRODUCTION Italy , although possessing a con
siderable electrochemical industry of her own which is rap id ly being ex
panded, fits into the Axis picture as a sup p lier of certain m anufactured chemicals to D anubian areas, but more as a source of raw m aterials, m ercury, sulphur, pyrites, zinc, and bauxite. In the case of m ercury Italy has become the w orld’s largest p ro ducer (45 percent of the world total in 1937) when Spanish production was crippled d uring its year and a half o f civil war. As the world’s second largest producer o f sulphur (10.7 percent of the world’s to ta l in 1937, 80 percent being U. S. p ro duced), and fo u rth largest producer of pyrites (
8.6
percent of world’s total in 1937), Ita ly has a large su rplus of raw m aterials fo r sulphuric acid.
Ita ly ’s chief sources of supply for Lineup in G reatest W ar in the W orld's History
(P re p a re d b y th e U. S. C en su s B u re a u irom la te s t fig u re s a v a ila b le )
C o u n trie s
Population (Millions)
*T3••
C« o
J w -< *©
j é .■K »
is
Wheat, Percent Potatoes, Percent - "c Si * 3 «
ŁO 0» Petroleum, Percent Coal, Percent IronOreProducts, Percent
T H E W O R L D ... 2,133 52,231 4 0 .9 100 100 100 100 100 100 P R I N C IP A L A N T I-A X IS B E L L IG E R E N T S
U n ited S ta te s (Including P o sse ssio n s)...
U nited K ingdom (In clu din g Possessions)...
151 3,734 40 14 4 15 63 34 38
501 13,354 37 13 4 22 2 24 10
U.S.S. R u ssia... 170 8,167 21 27 26 9 10 9 15
C h in a ... 412 3,784 109 10
N eth erlan d s In d ie s ... 69 735 94 5 3
T h a ila n d ... 15 200 75
T o ta l... 1,318 29,983 44 64 34 51 78 67 63 P R I N C IP A L A X IS B E L L IG E R E N T S
G erm an y (including A u s tria )... 76 214 356 3 23 8 14 3
F in la n d ... 4 148 25 1 H un g ary (T ria n o n T e rrito ry )... 9 36 252 1 1
I t a l y ... 45 120 378 5 1 1 1
19 111 175 2 1 3
Ja p a n (including Korea and F o rm o sa )... 102 247 411 1 1 4 4
M a n ch u k u o ... 43 503 86 1 1
B ulgaria (including So. D o b ru d g a )... 7 43 156 1 A lbania... 1 11 97
T o ta l... 306 1,433 214 14 28 13 3 19 4 P R I N C IP A L A X IS O C C U P IE D A R E A S
B elgium ... S 12 700 1 1 2
Czechoslovakia (before Sept., ’3 8 )... 15 54 281 1 5 2 1 1
D e n m a rk ... 4 17 225 1 1 E s to n ia ... 1 19 59
F ra n c e ... 42 213 197 4 6 3 3 12
G reece... 7 50 142
L a tv ia ... 2 25 7S 1
L ith u an ia (including M e in e l)... 3 22 118 1
N eth erlan d s... n 13 679 1 1 1
N orw ay... 3 125 23 1
P o la n d ... 35 150 232 1 16 2 3 Y u g oslavia... 16 96 164 1 1
French In d o -C h in a ... 24 2S6 S2
T o ta l... 168 1,082 155 4 33 ió 10 14
R E S O U R C E S M O R E L IK ELY AVA ILABLE T O A N T I-A X IS G R O U P
B alance of N o rth Am erica (except U. S. anc
C a n a d a ) ... 37 1,780 67 13 9
South America (except foreign controlled) 94 6,921 14 3 5 9 1
E g y p t ... 17 386 43 1 1 I r a n ... 15 634 24 1 4 I r a q ... 4 117 32 0
T o ta l... 167 9,838 17 5 19 17 1
R E S O U R C E S M O R E L IK E L Y AVA ILABLE T O A XIS G R O U P
S p a in ... 26 194 134 1
Sw eden... 6 173 37 1 1 9
T o ta l... 32 367 88 1 2 9
Eu ro p ean an d Asiatic T u rk e y has a population o f 17,870,000; occupies 297,000 sq u are m iles; has a d en sity of 60:
produces 2 percent of th e world’s w heat. T his tab u la tio n does not a tte m p t to c om pute th e p ro portion of normal R ussian resources now controlled by G erm an occupation nor th e proportion of Chinese resources controlled by J a p a n as a result of occupation. P ro d uction figures show n will n o t alw ays to ta l 100 p ercent because productions of les* th an one percent are not included.
82— 1 J A N U A R Y 19Ą2 • 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
the chemical as well as other indus
tries have become Germany and Yugo
slavia, which has now been divided into the Kingdom of Croatia, ruled by the Ita lia n Duke o f Spoletto, Serbia, and in p a rts of Yugoslavia incor
porated into the Reich by way o f A ustria, and those occupied by B ul
g aria and H ungary. F orm er Yugo
slavia had a surplus of cereals, meat, timber, copper, lead, chrome, and antim ony, but the Reich is bidding against Ita ly for some o f these items.
In present w artim e trade Germany is providing the southern axis p a rtn e r with coal, steel, potash, and mag
nesite, and in re tu rn is receiving hemp and silk in addition to sulphur and m ercury. Total trad e between the two axis p artn e rs was reported in December 1041 to have tripled since 193!) and is supposed now to exceed 2.000 million RM.
The chemical industry has long been organized on a m ilitary basis by means of confederations and trade associations, with prices, exports, re
search, etc., all being governm ent con
trolled. F o r both Ita ly and Germany the transition from a “ W ehrw irt- schaft” ( “defense economy” ) to a
“K riegsw irtsehaft” ( “ w ar economy” ) was therefore easily accomplished.
The same relative position occupied by I.G. F arb en in Germany is held in Ita ly by M onteeatini, Societa Generale p e r l’In d u stria M ineraria ed A gri
cola, Milan, largest chemical and mining concern o f southern Europe, in which French, Swiss and German capital were still also represented as late as 1937. The present extent of foreign p articip atio n in this or any other chemical concern in E urope is not known, since such m atters, along with production and operation figures th a t m ight be of m ilitary im portance o r of value to com petitors, have always been carefully guarded secrets.
M onteeatini operates m ore than
200
p la n ts either directly or as subsidi
aries and affiliates, and accounts for the largest p a rt of Ita lia n chemical production. Its m ining and m etal
lurgical activities include num erous pyrite, sulphur, lead and zinc, lignite and bauxite mines.
Italy, with 9.G percent o f the w orld’s total in 1937, follows F rance and H u n g ary as E u ro p e’s third largest bauxite producer. M onteeatini produces roughly one-half o f Ita ly ’s aluminum. Total Italian alum inum o u tp u t was about 32,000 tons in 1939, 40.000 tons in 1940, and is predicted to reach 65,000 tons by 1942-3, with an eventual goal of
100,000
tons.M agnesium production is com para
tively recent, Ita ly ’s requirem ents
having been im ported until 1936. The M ilan automotive and airplane F rasehini interests through the
“ S A M IS ” organization started pro ducing magnesium from dolomite in M arch 1940 and have two p la n ts ru n
ning and a third u nder construction in Bolzano, South Tyrol. M onteeatini, which also erected a factory in Bol
zano in 1938 is producing magnesium from the same raw m aterial as well as by way of magnesium chloride from sea water. Total Ita lia n magnesium production in 1942, however, will only be around 3,000 tons.
Thanks to synthetic production, the southern Axis p a rtn e r is self-suffi
cient in nitrates, but deficient in potash and phosphates, phosphatic rock ordinarily being im ported from the U nited States. F ertilizers are, of course, o f great im portance in I ta ly ’s drive to raise more fa rm p ro d ucts, especially wheat. Nitrogen fixa
tion and synthetic n itric acid m anu
factu re have expanded rap id ly in recent years, although Ita ly is still behind J a p a n in total capacity.
Domestic resources, such as coal, lig
nite, shale, and asphalt rock, have been utilized increasingly, chiefly by M onteeatini, fo r m aking synthetic m otor fuels. Production is still f a r behind the Reich. Rayon as well as staple fiber production, especially from casein, has also been expanded in the p ast few years. P roduction of essential oils, and organic and inor
ganic chemicals for export is well de
veloped. Italy is the world’s second largest producer of olive oil (24 p e r
cent of world’s total in 1938-9), but is deficient in other vegetable oils.
JAPANESE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY J a p a n ’s chemical development d u r
ing the p ast ten years has been re
markable. A lthough still im porting considerable chemicals, p a rtly for m ilitary reasons, J a p a n in the p a st few years has also become an im
p o rta n t exporter, especially in E a st
ern markets. The production value of Jap an ese chemicals and allied prod
ucts was 851,000,000 yen ($238,800,- 000) in 1934. F rom 1935 to 1937 chemical o u tp u t increased by more than 50 percent to a total of 1,424,594 yen ($400,000,000), o f which indus
trial chemicals had a value of 506,950,- 000 yen; fertilizers 379,883,000;
pharm aceuticals 123,574,000; soap, perfum ery and toilet preparations, 109,631,000; and dyes and interm edi
ates, 70,730,000 veil. E xports reached a peak o f 188,300,000 yen ($48,000,- 000) iii 1939, while im ports dropped from a 1937 peak of 211,510,500 yen ($60,915,000) to 139,000,000 yen
($36,000,000) in 1939. The higher im p o rt figure was attrib u tab le p a rtly to higher prices and p a rtly to ab
norm al dem ands resu ltin g from mili
ta ry activity. In 1938, 58 percent of J a p a n ’s chemical exports went to the ven-bloc Japanese-dom inated areas of China, K w antung Province, and M anchuria, while sh a rp declines were recorded to other countries such as the United States.
J a p a n ’s chemical industry, like th a t o f the other Axis members is chiefly in the hands of a few large concerns as the Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and electric enterprises. F o r price control and other official regulating functions the industry is divided into
22
m a jo r subdivisions, and in many eases is governm ent subsidized, especially in undertakings outside of J a p a n p ro p er o r in unprofitable pro
duction.
J a p a n ’s chemical industry is based on its available raw m aterials, ordi
n ary coal (not cokable), sulphur, pyrites, chrome, m agnesite (in Man- clm kuo), and some copper and tim ber. In common with Axis p a rtn e rs it lacks cotton, wool, petroleum , and rubber. F o r fertilizers J a p a n has sufficient synthetic n itra te plants (over
8
percent of the world’s in stalled cap acity ), but m ust im port potash, phosphates, and soya bean cakes, p a rtly from its m andated islands, and K orea and Manehukuo.J a p a n is now self-sufficient in am
monium sulphate and some is even available fo r export in years when pow er shortages due to droughts do not occur as in 1934 and 1935 and 1939. Ammonium sulphate capacity in J a p a n pro p er, Chosen (K orea) and M anehukuo in 1935 was 1,625,800 tons, and has undoubtedly increased in the meantime. S uperphosphate capacity is around
2
million tons, but raw m aterials have to be im ported.Since J a p a n has some copper it has not had the same incentive to develop
ing alum inum as an altern ate ma
terial as G erm any and Italy. As a resu lt of m ilitary needs, however, J a p a n has had to ca rry on extensive research to overcome the handicap o f having no domestic bauxite resources.
Some alum inum com panies are now tak in g u p magnesium o u tp u t along with the prim ary magnesium producers, some o f whom use German p atents. J a p a n ’s magnesium raw ma
terial basis is considerably better than fo r alum inum since adequate q uantities o f m agnesite are available.
A t first sea w ater was used, but now m agnesite from M anchuria and K orea is the principal raw m aterial. M an-
(Please turn to ¡xige 95)
C H E M IC A L & M ETA LLU R G IC A L, E N G IN E E R IN G • J A N U A R Y 19/,2 1— 83
Petroleum’s Past, Present and Future
ROBERT P. RUSSELL
Executive Vice President, Standard Oil D evelopm ent Co.C h em . & M e t I N T E R P R E T A T I O N
At a dinner sp on sored b y ih e Junior C hem ical E ngineers of N ew York during the C hem ical*Exposition, the author g a v e this rem ark
a b ly com p reh en sive r ev iew of the oil industry. It contrasts petroleum , from a to n n a g e b a sis, w ith so m e of the other industries so often regard ed a s outstanding e x a m p le s of A m erican m a ss production m ethods. C hem ical en g in eer s w ill b e interested in s e e in g h ow fa v o ra b ly this great ch em ica l p r o c ess industry com p ares w ith those in w h ich m ech a n ica l operations la r g e ly p redom inate. The a n sw er is found in the former's d e p en d en ce upon research and en g in eerin g d ev elo p m en t.—Editors.
I
k tr y i n g to make a guess as to the position which the petroleum industry m ay be in following the w ar it seems sim plest first to take a look a t the status of the industry today, then to take a b rief backw ard glance arid from these two vantage points attem pt to take the look ahead.
The petroleum in d u stry in the United States in 1941 will have re
fined about 1,400,000,000 bbl. of crude oil which is at the ra te of about
200
million tons p e r year. About 44 p e r
cent by volume o f the crude ru n to stills will wind up as gasoline, m ak
ing the 1941 gasoline production a p proxim ately 90 million tons. This gasoline will be sold a t about $16 per ton as it leaves the refinery. The steel industry, which is generally looked upon as the greatest o f the “ tonnage”
industries in 1941 will make about 84 million tons o f steel which will sell a t the mill gates fo r ap p ro x i
m ately $38 p e r ton. I t is interesting also to com pare the petroleum ton
nage figures with tonnages o f other industries now very much in the lim elight. F o r example, take alu
minum which, if hopes arc realized may, in 1942 produce 600,000 tons or about l/1 5 0 th of Our gasoline to n nage.
Consider the situation fo r 100- octane num ber gasoline: This m ate
rial contains about 50 percent of a m aterial which in itself is a synthetic organic chemical and which ten or fifteen years ago sold fo r nearly
$10,000 p e r ton. I t is estim ated th a t alm ost 2,500,000 tons of 100 octane num ber gasoline will be produced
At the left, a n ew fluid cataly st cracking p lan t u nder construction.
At the right, a polym erization unit for high-octane motor fuels
during 1941 and will be sold a t the refinery gates fo r about $50 p e r ton.
I f present expansion plans are com
pleted, the in d u stry will be producing a t the ra te of some 7,000,000 tons p er y ear a t the end o f 1942.
These tonnage and price figures fo r petroleum production a p p e a r all the more rem arkable when one considers th a t the oil m ust first be found, th a t expensive wells m ust be drilled to secure the crude oil, th a t this crude m ust be collected, sent through mam
moth pip e line systems into term inals, and then tran sp o rted by the enor
mous ta n k e r fleet to the refineries where, finally, it m ust be refined in equipm ent o f g rea t technical com
plexity. All this has required capital investm ent by the industries of the United S tates o f som ething in the o rder o f $15,000,000,000 and the year- round efforts o f some m illion people whose annual “ take-home” is in ex
cess of $1,500,000,000.
The technical com plexity of the operations involved in the oil indus
try is indicated by the f a c t th a t the petroleum in d u stry employs a little' more than
10
percent of all the r e search and development w orkers in the U nited States. All of the chemical and allied industries together, which norm ally would be expected to require technical endeavor m any times greater,' employ less than twice as m any people as the oil in d u stry alone.
Since 1927 the num ber o f technical people employed in the research and development end o f the oil industry has increased seven-fold. D uring this same period, the chemical and allied industries have increased only th ree
fold, the rubber industry has ex
panded to only twice its form al level and the electrical and communica
tions industries have stayed almost constant. (See “ Growth of R e
search” by George P erazich and P hilip M. F ield, Chem. & Met., Sept.
1939, p p . 523-25.)
In addition to the technical com
plexity o f the oil business itself, it m ust be realized th a t petroleum fra c tions p ro rid e the raw m aterials on
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 . J A N U A R Y . which a large chemical in d u stry is
based. Alcohols, glycols, ketones, aldehydes, organic acids, plastics, solvents, synthetic rubber, and nu
merous other products are produced in large volume even today. Under the stimulus of w ar requirem ents, this chemical industry is in the process of rap id and im p o rtan t expansion.
A lthough accurate figures are not available, it is likely th at the present gross volume of this p articu la r chem
ical business is well in excess of
$
100
,000,000
a year and it is conceivable th a t it will reach several times this volume in the course of the next two or three years.
In the refining of oil, rap id ad
vances in the technology o f chemical engineering have made it possible to produce increasingly greater yields o f more valuable products, and a t the same time effect substantial im
provements in quality. Twenty years ago gasoline yields on crude were 26 percent, whereas today they are 45 percent. Over this period crude runs have increased four-fold and gasoline production has increased seven-fold.
Q uality has steadily im proved to meet the requirem ents of high compression motors characterized by im proved perform ance and economy. Accept
in g A STM octane number as a meas
ure o f anti-knock quality, the aver
age gasoline supplied to the Am eri
can public in the la st 16 years has increased from approxim ately 50 oc
tane num ber to 73 octane num ber to
day, accompanied by increase in vola
tility to im prove sta rtin g and acceler
ation. I n reg a rd to aviation fuels, the development o f
100
octane gasolines has given an increase in power of approxim ately
20
percent over the 87 octane grades in commercial use a t present, and an increase of 50 p ercent over the 70 octane gasolines in use
10
years ago.O ther products have been made available fo r new economic uses. The increase in distillate oil fo r household heating, w ith atten d a n t cleanliness and economy, is evidenced by the fact th a t over two million oil burners are in use in American homes today. The consumption o f heating oils has al
most doubled in the last five years.
In d u stry in general owes much to the development of economic, high quality lubricants, and m arine sh ip p in g has been g reatly advanced through the economic use o f fuel oil.
In the field o f oil tran sp o rtatio n , the widening use of crude oil pipelines and more recently the development of gasoline pipelines have facilitated the economic distribution of petro leum and its products, which distri-
1— 85 G as m anufacturing plan t In a larg e E astern refinery w hich su p
plies the petroleum hydrocarbons u sed for industrial chem icals bution has been aided by increasing
efficiency in the ocean tran sp o rta tio n of oil by tankers.
T h at the benefit o f improvement in technique and lowering of cost has been progressively passed on to the consumer is illustrated by the fact th a t in 1920 the average gasoline price in 50 m ajor Am erican cities was 29.74c. p er gal., w ithout taxes. In 1932 it was 13.3c. per gal. Today it is 14.04c. p e r gal. In the 21-year period the taxes have increased from 0.09e. a gal. to 5.95c. a gal. Thus, lowering the price has been sufficient over the period to absorb the whole ta x increase, and pass along a net sav
ing of approxim ately
10
c p er gal. to the motorist. In com parison with other commodities— taking 1923 as an index, present prices of gasoline have been reduced by 37 percent since th at time. D uring this same period, the average price of essential commodities (food, clothing, housing, fuel, etc.) decreased by only 15 percent, or by substantially less than the reduction in the cost of gasoline to the public.WHAT AEOUT THE FUTURE?
W h at is ahead fo r the industry and fo r the public which uses the indus
try ’s products? A large num ber of very large capacity processing units em ploying most modern catalytic technique are either already installed or will be installed immediately to meet the necessities of the defense program . W ithin the next two or three years it is expected th a t cata
lytic cracking units capable o f tre a t
ing something in the order of 500,000 bbl. p er day, will be in operation.
These u nits will be capable o f con
verting about 50 percent o f the m ate
rial charged to the catalyst into SO
m otor octane o r 90-95 research octane gasoline. These 250,000 bbl. p er day (30,000 tons per day) of extremely high octane num ber gasoline should be considered in the light o f present re
quirem ents for prem ium grade m otor gasoline which fo r 1941 was a p p ro x i
mately 180,000 bbl. per day.
In addition to the catalytic cracking units there is trem endous expansion in such lines as hydroform ing, alkyla- tion, isom erization, and others. Thus a fte r the w ar there will be available trem endous volumes o f superior qual
ity m otor gasoline constituents which fo r a tim e a t least would presum ably be available for use in automobile en
gines since aviation gasoline require
ments may drop sharply fo r some pe
riod a t least following the cessation o f hostilities. I f these superior quality m aterials do go into m otor gasolines, autom obile engines designed to take fu ll advantage o f them could be im
proved to give economy 50 percent b etter than th a t now realized, or pow er outp u t from 70 to 100 percent g rea ter than is now obtained. A fter the w ar trem endous quantities o f both aliphatic and arom atic chemicals can be made from the petroleum fractions which will be produced from the in
stalled capacity o f these new proc
esses.
W ith the trem endous increase in utilization of the new er and more in tricate catalytic operations, w ith the trem endous expansion in chemicals produced from petroleum , the p e tro leum industry which already has been a trem endous user of technical m an
power, probably will be one o f the m ajor ( if not the most im p o rta n t) users o f the chemists, chemical engi
neers, physicists, graduated from our technical institutions.
