Salesmen Misunderstand Roles Of Research and Development

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THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK Memorial Institute. Dr. Stephens pointed out that selective sulfate roasting is a process which has not bcerr widely used because it cannot be controlled satisfactorily in other types of roasting equipment. Dr. Stephens described pilot-plant studies made with a fhxidized-bed reactor in which copper and cobalt ores were roasted to yield soluble sulfates. The ores can be successfully treated in this way t o produce the water-soluble sulfates while the iron is retained i n insoluble oxide form. Non-Newtonian Fluids. A new method for the correlation and prediction of the pressure drop requirements for the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in pipelines was presented b y A. B, Kletzxier, ColgatePalmolive-Peet. The nxethod confirms the correctness of the initial hypothesis that laboratory viscosity determinations for these fluids are not directly applicable to the design of pipelines because of differences between the shear rate of the fluid in laboratory déterminations and at the wall of the pipe. The method can be -used in three general ways, Dr. Metzner declared. 1. Laboratory data m a y b e used directly to predict quantitatively the effect of changes in fluid properties on the pressure drop in a pipeline:. 2. Since the correlation i s by means of dimensionless groups, limited plant data are readily extended and generalized. 3. The method may be nsed as a basis for the design of a model with which t o predict the pressure drop characteristics of a prototype. The correlating method has been applied under a range o f conditions t o five different plastic and pseudoplastic slurries. The mean deviation o f all the data from the correlating curves was only 11%, said Dr. Metzner.

C & E N REPORTS: Salesmen's A s s o c i a t i o n of t h e A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l I n d u s t r y

Salesmen Misunderstand Roles Of Research and Development Chemical salesmen deal most often with development men and fail to understand researchers N E W YORK.—Chemical salesmen should rid themselves of the mistaken notion that real research m e n are "prima donnas," Donald B. Keyes, special consultant to Heyden Chemical Corp., said here March 17. Speaking at a luncheon meeting of t h e Salesmen's Association of the American Chemical Industry Dr. Keyes stated that this false notion was due largely t o widespread misunderstanding about the functions and attitudes of real research men. Most research and development organizations i n the chemical industry today, the speaker asserted, lay their stress on development work, rather than real research. Chemical salemen in their contacts with the research staffs of their companies are, therefore, almost always dealing with development men rather than real researchers. Between the t w o , Dr. Keyes stressed, there is a great difference. Research vs. Development. T h e research man works on new processes and n e w products, it was pointed out, whereas the development man is primarily concerned with the improvement of existing processes and products. The former was described as a "creator of ideas who works entirely in the laboratory," a man 'whose approach is scientific and, more often than

INDUSTRY Sun Drilling W e l l s f o r Underground G a s S t o r a g e

Bleininger Medal Presented t o Sosman Robert B. Sosman ( r i g h t ) , Rutgers University, receives the Bleininger Medal from W. C. Mohr, chairman of t h e Pittsburgh section of t h e American Ceramic Society. The award was presented a t a dinner honoring D r . Sosman held in Pittsburgh on March 14

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not specialized. The latter develops new ideas and brings them along to commercial realization, Dr. Keyes told SAACI, adding that t h e scope of a development man is very broad, his field of operations running the gamut from pilot plant, through commercial plant and on into sales development work. The two are also basically unlike in their attitudes, the speaker continued. A real research man w a s termed retiring, one who prefers to work alone or in very small groups. A development man, Dr. Keyes felt, is in most cases an outgoing person, a good organization man, one w h o enjoys people and has a predilection for working in large groups. A development man, h e concluded, is cast in t h e same personality mold as a chemical salesman, and, therefore, relations with him should offer no difficulties. However, the speaker offered a word of caution to t h e chemical sales group: "When dealing with technical matters, be careful that you know what you're talking about."

CHEMICAL

Sun Oil Co. has drilled three wells and is washing out cavities in a salt formation several thousand feet beneath its refinery now under construction at Sarnia, Ont., to provide underground storage for liquefied petroleum gas. Butane, propane, and other LPG products manufactured at the refinery will b e pumped underground and withdrawn as need arises. At depths ranging from 2 0 0 0 to 3000 feet below the surface, each cavity will be large enough to store more than 2 million gallons of product under pressure. Initial investment cost of storing liquefied petroleum gas i n impervious salt formations is estimated at only 10 to 20% of the cost of steel tanks built t o handle an equivalent pressure. Maintenance costs are also lower and the safety factor higher. Cavities are washed out b y the injection of plain fresh water. They may b e emptied as desired by the injection of saturated brine without increasing the size of the cavity. The natural temperature in

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