Washington Letter

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I N D USTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY

July, 1924

At present, the forest of Landes contains 1 million hectares, the tapping of which gives 30,000 tons of resin per year, valued a t about 1 franc 70 per kilogram, or a yield of 220 million per year. The actual production of oil is 25,000 tons and that of rosin about 100,000 tons. The Institut du Pin has on its program research concerning is, gathering the the best method of conducting tapping-that resin. The Giliner process has been studied. Although the resin is of very good quality, the yield is insufficient. The chief product of the oil of terebenthine of Bordeaux consists of pinene, while in the foreign oils the principal product is carene, a carbide different from pinene and quite inferior from the point of view of utilization, The institute has also perfected the manufacture of resinous ether and metallic resinates, by solution of these resinates in the oil as soon as they are precipitated. I t is also a t the Institut du Pin that studies on the oil of pine used in the “national fuel” have been carried on. The substitution of resinates of glycerol for rosin, and the utilization of resinous soap for the sizing of paper are still under investigation. BAKELITE AS

A LUMINOUS

FILTER

During the war, filters for infra-red rays composed of glass darkened by oxides of manganese or copper were used. I t is becoming more and more necessary to obtain a screen that will filter the infra-red for manipulating the X-rays or radioactive products. Iodine in solution in carbon disulfide and ebonite have been put to this use. M. K.impflin, however, has studied the use of Bakelite, either pure or with the addition of colloidal iron obtained by the addition, before polymerization, of a mixture of phenolformaldehyde and 0.2 per cent ferric chloride. The transparency to the infra-red is very satisfactory with the Bakelite and permits its use as a filter. This permeability may be modified by choosing a sheet of suitable thickness and by compensating for the least resistance that would result by introducing a suitable charge of iron or manganese oxide. Paper treated with Bakelite is superior in transparency to a sheet of ebonite. The latter, indeed, on a thickness of 5 mm., has only a transparency with the infra-red of 3 per cent, although the Bakelite-treated paper is 17 per cent transparent, the Bakelite with colloidal iron 34 per cent, and pure Bakelite 35 per cent.

SMOTHERING OF SILKWORM COCOONS The smothering of silkworm cocoons for the purpose of separating the chrysalis is still brought about by the action of heat, dry or humid, before the chrysalis will break the cocoon. The action of the heat must be managed to avoid changing the silk. As a substitute for he& artificial cold or certain inert gases, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, or even toxic gases, such as ammonia, sulfuric acid, or hydrogen cyanide, have been tried. Whether the smothering is too slow with inert gases, or the silk is changed with the toxic gases, acid or alkaline, the results have not been satisfactory. M. Bertrand has been studying the use of chloropicrin for this purpose, and he has obtained better results. The shell of the cocoon is absolutely permeable to the vapors of chloropicrin, and, at a temperature of 22 degrees during a contact of 10 minutes, the intoxication of the larvae is accomplished. The studies have been carried out on several varieties of silkworm, then the shells have been saved and compared, after a period o f 18 months, with the cocoons killed by the heat. The results have been very clear and show that the cocoons smothered by the chloropicrin give a silk which, from the point of view of elasticity, tenacity, efficiency of ungumming, does not differ in any way from the cocoons killed by the heat. A dose of 1 g F m OF chloropicrin per kilogram of cocoons is sufficient a t ordinary temperature to bring about the result in one hour. Following this all that is necessary is to expose the cocoons to the air, on the screens, that they may lose all odor of chloropicrin. This process, superior as far as cost is concerned and easy to watch compared with the use of heat, may bring about an extension in silkworm cultivation, not only in the large centers already esist.ing, but in the regions where there are mulberry trees which would permit the creation of small centers for raising the silkworms. May 30, 1924

India Abolishes Import Duty on Sulfur-The

recommendation

of the Indian Tariff Board for the removal of the import duty

of 15 per cent ad valorem on all kinds of sulfur imported into .British India has been adopted by the Legislative Assembly, according to a cablegram received in the Department of Commerce from Assistant Trade Commissioner Charles B. Spofford, Jr., Calcutta, India.

761

Washington Letter AMERICAN CONTROLLED RUBBERFOR AMERICANINDUSTRIES According to Department of Commerce investigators who have just returned from explorations and surveys in the Far Eastern and American Tropics, the Philippines and parts of South and Central America provide regions where the soil and climate are suitable for first-class rubber plantations of practically unlimited area. Certain unfavorable economic and legislative factors must be carefully considered, however, before plantation projects could be started in those regions on a competitive basis with the large areas in the East, where 95 per cent of the world’s output is now produced. The total area planted in the East was found to be about 4,266,000 acres, of which 2,729,000 acres are owned by European and American capital and 1,537,000 acres by Asiatics. About 3,500,000 acres are producing or old enough to be tapped. Through domicile of plantations in British territory, and through ownership of plantations by British capital in other territory, Great Britain controls 77 per cent of the total area under rubber. American capital invested in the East is estimated a t only $32,000,000, against $489,000,000 for Great Britain, $130,000,000 for Holland, $40,000,000 for Japan, $27,000,000 for France and Belgium, and $47,000,000 for other European countries. These men believe t h a t the operation of the British restriction laws, adopted in November, 1922, will probably reduce the aggregate potential output for the years 1924, 1925, and 1926 by upward of 200,000 tons of rubber. Rubber planted by the native population and old areas on European estates, which have not been properly cared for, are expected to show declining yields. Ample land and labor are available for new planting in Malaya, Sumatra, and Indo-China, but India and Burma are not attractive because of unfavorable climatic conditions. Very little desirable unoccupied rubber land is left in Java and Ceylon. Taxation is a serious drabback t o further investment in Netherlands India; while in Indo-China American capital would probably experience considerable difficulty in acquiring control over large areas under the present and proposed corporation laws. Low price levels are curtailing new plantings in the East. Were all areas in t h a t renion Droducing to caDacitv it is estimated that their potential g u t p i t would 6e approximately 500,000 tons for 1924; 550,000 for 1925; 580,000 for 1926; 600,000 for 1927; 610,000 for 1928: 612,000 for 1929; and 616,000 for 1930. Concerning possibilities in the Philippines, the Commerce Department representatives expressed the opinion that the dangers of typhoons and lack of labor supplies, two deterrent factors stressed in previous reports, had been exaggerated. The uncertainty of the present political situation and the reported lack of encouragement toward the introduction of large American or other investments are outstanding factors which militate considerably against rubber developments in the islands. Extensive investigations were conducted in the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, and Jolo, where more than 1,500,000 acres of land were found to have the topography, soil, and climatic conditions favorable for the planting and cultivation of the Para rubber tree on a commercial scale. A number of small plantations aggregating 2500 acres already planted to rubber now exist in this region, and produce yields which compare very favorably with the best rubber-growing areas of the East. The present land law, however, which prevents the acquisition of more than 2500 acres by any one company or individual, is a handicap against plantation developments on an economic quantity basis sufficient to make America independent of foreign production. A survey of British North Borneo was also conducted. While this region is one of the minor plantation rubber areas of the world, it has shown an increasing volume of rubber exports over the past few years and may hold an important place in the future. The countries visited by the Commerce Department’s Caribbean party were Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Information was also gathered on western Venezuela and southern Mexico. Physical conditions suitable for Para rubber cultivation were found in small portions of northern Guatemala ; portions of Honduras, extensive areas in eastern Nicaragua and northeastern Costa Rica; limited and segregated areas in Panama; sections contiguous to the Atrato and San Juan rivers in Colombia; limited areas in southwestern Colombia, in the vicinity of Tumaco; and an extensive area on the coastal plain of Ecuador. This commendation, however, does not necessarily apply to certain important factors regarding labor, taxation, and legislation, which in some cases present formidable obstacles. Conditions are regarded as least suitable, because of definite dry seasons, in southwestern Mexico; southern Guatemala; western Costa Rica;

762

INDUSTRIAL 9N D ENGINEERING CHEWISTRY

southern Panama west of the Canal; and certain arid regions on the coast of Ecuador. The aggregate area of desirable land in tropical America is sufficient for the development of rubber plantations to rival the present cultivated area in the East. The Amazon investigation covered Bolivia, Peru, the disputed territory between Colombia and Ecuador, the three Brazilian States of Amazonas, Matto Grosso, and Para, and the Acre Territory of Brazil. Topography and climatic conditions favorable to the production of plantation rubber are reported over large areas along the main river and south of it. The presence of the South American leaf disease on wild rubber trees in many parts of the Amazon Valley is a danger that should be carefully considered before plantation rubber is undertaken. The plantation industry of Dutch Guiana has been practically wiped out by this disease. The Governments are apparently very favorably inclined toward new projects. The complete data secured will be published a t the earliest opportunity in the form of separate reports covering the different regions. This information will deal with every important phase of the industry. EXPERIMENTS WITH HIGH COMPRESSION RATIOS That the thermal efficiency of gasoline engines could be increased by increasing the compression ratio is generally recognized, and the Bureau of Standards has been conducting some tests to see what the actual increase is. It is found that the higher compression ratios result in an increased tendency to preignition and detonation, necessitating the use of special fuels. Tests were made on several engines employing compression ratios ranging from 5.4:l to 1 4 : l . Most of these were aviation engiqes and the tests were made in the altitude laboratory, where the low air pressures found a t high altitudes can be reproduced. HELIUMPURIFICATION PLANT The helium purification plant a t Lakehurst, which has been completed by the Bureau of Mines and successfully operated by the Navy, will be formally turned over to the Navy on July first. The cost of the plant inround numbers was about $100,000. It has a capacity of about 200,000 cubic feet in 24 hours. It has been proved t o operate up t o capacity, producing helium of a purity of 98 per cent a t a cost of about one dollar per thousand cubic feet It was originally designed to purify helium where the purity had been reduced t o 85 per cent by diffusion into the bag, but it has been found that it will operate on a mixture as low as 40 per cent helium without reducing the capacity of the gas being processed and without reducing the purity obtained. The plant has already amortized itself in purifying once the gas from the Shenandoah. OILMISCIBILITY It has sometimes been stated that castor oil and gasoline are mutually insoluble, and therefore that in the operation of an engine lubricated with castor oil dilution by fuel is avoided. To test the truth of this statement, the Bureau of Standards made up mixtures of gasoline and castor oil containing 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 95 per cent gasoline. This was done for each of two commercial grades of gasoline and five grades of castor oil. One sample of castor oil (perhaps impure) was miscible in all proportions with gasoline a t a temperature of about 20' C., while the other four a t that temperature formed two layers for mixtures containing more than 50 per cent by volume of gasoline. When more than half of the volume was castor oil, a homogeneous solution was formed. When gently warmed on the steam bath, all the mixtures became homogeneous solutions. Kerosene mixtures behaved similarly to gasoline, except that not quite so much kerosene could be dissolved in castor oil. . Since it is very unlikely that any oil would be kept in use after i t had absorbed its own volume of fuel, and since, even in a cold engine when less than 50 per cent of gasoline is present, a homogeneous mixture is formed, it is evident that under normal conditions no difference is to be expected between the behavior of castor and mineral oils so far as dilution by fuel is concerned. VEGETABLE OIL INVESTIGATION The Tariff Commission has completed arrangements for two parties to go to foreign countries to investigate the vegetable oil situation under the flexible provisions of the Tariff Act of 1922. On June 28, Grinnell Jones, R. H. Cragg, A. T. Geraci, and Mervyn Braun will sail for Europe, where they will visit England, Holland, and France to collect data on the cost of production of coconut, cottonseed, and peanut oils. Two members of this party will later go to British India qnd Ceylon on a similar mission. On July 7, another party-F. R. Rutter, C. H. Penning, and E. hl. Whitcomb-will sail from Seattle for China, Japan, and Manchuria, to study production cost of

Vol. 16, No. 7

peanut and soy bean oils. As a result of these assignments, these men will probably be away from the United States from four to six months. Considerable field work on the same subject will also be undertaken in the United States. ACTIONON MUSCLESHOALS DEFERRED UNTIL DECEMBER 3 Muscle Shoals, like the poor, is still with us1 I n the closing days of Congress i t was agreed by unanimous consent to let the matter go over until the next session, and to make it the subject of unfinished business before the Senate on December 3. It will then remain before the Senate until some disposition is made of it. COURTREMANDS CRYSTAL VIOLETCASE The United States Court of Customs Appeals, in connection with the dye import cases recently argued, involving appeals by Kuttroff. Pickhardt & Co., of New York, from appraiser's decisions relative to duties assessed on importations of azoflavine, crystal violet extra, benzo red, and indanthrane powder, has remanded the crystal violet case to the Board of General Appraisers to enable it to make its findings of fact and conclusions of law as provided by statute. The crystal violet extra was imported by Kuttroff, Pickhardt Le Co., was entered a t $3 a pound and appraised a t $3.75 a pound, and was held by the appraiser to be l l / p times the strength of, but competitive with, a domestic dye known as crystal violet 6-B and sold a t $2.85 a pound. The importers contended that, while the imported dye was held by the appraiser to be l1/9 times greater in strength than the domestic, i t was appraised a t the rate of 11/4 times; that is, 25 per cent was added to the American selling price in arriving a t the basis for assessment. The appeals are regarded as test cases to establish the legality of those provisions of the law that provide for the assessment of duties on dyes. It is considered probable that the court will render a decision in the three remaining cases by June 25. COMPOSITION AND COMMERCIAL MATURITY OF CALIFORNIA CANTALOUPES The Laboratory of Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry of the Bureau of Chemistry conducted a n investigation to devise tests by which the maturity of cantaloupes may be judged. The relation between the composition of the fruit and its eating quality was studied, as well as the relation between its external appearance and internal condition. The following results, which will shortly appear in Department Bulletin 1250, were obtained: The soluble solids, the refractive index, and the sucrose content of the juice of cantaloupes increase, whereas the percentage of starch in the seeds decreases as the melons ripen. The juice of melons that are mature when picked has a specific gravity of a t least 1.040, equivalent to 10 per cent solids, a refractive index of a t least 55 on the immersion refractometer, and a sucrose content of not less than 4.5 per cent. The seeds of such melons contain less than 0.5 per cent of starch. Melons gain in flavor, but not in sweetness, after being picked. On storage a t low temperatures, as in iced cars, the melons change but little, so that their composition during and immediately after storage indicates their condition when picked. After softening, if kept a t ordinary temperatures, there is a slight loss in sucrose. After picking and storage there IS a loss of starch in the seeds.

AMERICAN FOREIGN CHEMICAL TRADE In line with the slowing up of business in general, the foreign trade of the United States in chemicals and allied products during April recorded a loss for both exports'and imports, compared with the corresponding month of 1923. April of last year, however, was one of the months notable for the large shipments made to and received from foreign countries. The total exports during April were valued at $10,593,130, or 20 per cent less than in April, 1923. The main groups which recorded export advances were explosives, perfumery and toilet preparations, and essential oils; while the leading import gains were registered for crude drugs, herbs, leaves and roots, and essential oils. One of the most striking features of the April trade was the very small amount of coal-tar products shipped-only $475,747 worth -the lowest for any single month since February, 1922. This loss was largely due to the big falling off in foreign sales of crudes. During the same month the imports of chemicals and allied products were valued a t $15,611,857. June 21, 1924

Increase in Export Duty on Cottonseed-The export on cottonseed shipped to the United States and Europe from Peru has been increased from 0.75 sol per quintal t o 1 sol per quintal. For cottonseed shipped to other localities the duty remains at 3 soles per quintal.