; jr* mm mm1 « ÎÏ §11 % ■ U m 1 I 1 1 1j 'It §rIllJ- Ir * ^/.•■''VYY'Vïy<p AUGUST • 1944 ■ P 1 |T. f If nIf • ifn si1 ffi WSi Volume 51 ft it ll I it 1ii -Si 11 1 ll If In this Issue Worthy of Bjetter Hire ......................................... 91 S. D. K IR K PA T R IC K ..........................Editor EDITORIAL *FOREWOIlD JAMES A. LEE Managing Editor THEODORE R. O LIV E. .Associate Editor Synthetic 'foluql From Petroleum ........................................................................ 92 HENRY M. B A T T E R S ... .Market Editor •'¿~F1SCHER ”nd A- B- WEI.TY, JR. JOHN R. CALLAIIAM.. .Assistant Editor LESTER B. POPE Assistant Editor Collective Bargaining; Does It Conflict With Engineering Ethics?. ... 96 By ZOLA G. DEUTSCH EDITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES E. S. STATELER..... ....Chicago Molecular Distillation; A New Palh to Separation of Chemicals................100 R. S. M c B R ID E .....................Washington By T. R. OLIVE EARLE MAULDIN .......................Atlanta Velocity of Spheres in Fluids............................................................................... 104 TIALWYN R. S M IT H Los Angeles By R. C. BINDER M. A. W ILLIA M SO N ...................Publisher St. Regis Successfully Bleaches Groundwood................................................ 106 DISTRICT MANAGERS By JAMES A. LEE E. H . B E D E L L ...................... New York R. G. FR E D ER IC K ....................Netu York Heat Stability Features New Grouj) of Synthetic Resins........................... 109 FRED GRANT ...............Cleveland Soap Makers Overcome Raw Material Shortages......................................... 110 L. A. CUN NING HAM ....................Chicago W. D. BOYD...................................... Boston. Chcm. & Mel. Plant Notebook............................................................................. 114 J. R. VAN A RSDA LE Philadelphia Chlorine Industry Plans for Markets in Postwar Pentad ........................... 115 Published monthly. Price 35 cents per copy. A CHEM. & MET. R E I'O R T Publication office, 99-129 North Broadway, Albany 1, N. Y. Address communications Viscose Staple Fiber................................................................................................... 128 _ about subscriptions to Director of Circula­ A CHEM. & M ET. PICTURED FLOWSHEET tion, Chem. & Met., 330 West 42nd St., New York 18, N. Y. Subscription rates: United States, Mexico, Central and South W a t c h in c W a s h in g t o n ................... 80 C o n v e n t io n P aper A bstracts.. 171 American Countries, $3 per year, $4 for two years, $5 for three years. Canada $3.50 F ro m a n E ditorial V ie w p o in t . 112 F oreign L itera tu re A bstracts. 183 per year, $5 for two years, $6 for three P rocess E q u ip m e n t N e w s 124 C h e m . & M et . B o o k s h e l f .......... 187 years (payable in Canadian funds). Great Britain and British Possessions, 30 shillings N e w P roducts and M a t e r ia l s. ? . 135 G o v e r n m e n t P ublications ___ . 191 per year, 60 shillings for three years. All other countries, $5 per year, $10 for three C h e m ic a l E n g in e e r in g N e w s 145 M anufacturers’ P ublications . 195 years. Entered as second class matter Sep­ N e w s From Abroad ......................... 151 C h e m ic a l E c o n o m ic s ................... 199 tember 3, 1936, at Post Office at Albany', N. Y., U. S. A., under act of March 3, F ro m t h e L og o f E x p e r ie n c e 157 P roduction and C o n s u m p t io n . 200 1879. Contents copyrighted. 1944 by Mc­ Graw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc. Branch N a m e s in t h e N e w s .......................... 163 C u r re n t P rices ................................ 205 offices: 520 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago I nd u stria l N otes ................................. 168 N ew C onstruction ....................... 206 11; 68 Post Street, San Francisco 4; Ald- wych House, Aldwych, London, W. C. 2; Washington 4; Philadelphia 2; Cleveland 15; Detroit 2; St. Louis 8; Boston 16; Los A n in d ex to advertisers w il l be fo u n d o n pace 364. Angeles 14; Atlanta 3; Pittsburgh 22. Return Postage Guaranteed M cGRAW -HILL PU BLISH IN G CO., INC. JAMES H. McGRAW Founder and Honorary Chairman Publication Office 99-129 North Broadway, Albany 1, N. Y. Editorial and Executive Offices 330 West 42nd Street, New York 18, N. Y. JAMES H. MoGRAW, Jr ..............President HOWARD EHRLICH Executive Vice-Prcs. for Business Operations JOHN ABBINK Executive Vice-Prcs. for Editorial Operations •CURTIS W. McGRAW Vice-President and Treasurer J. A. GERA'RDI...........................Secretary J. E. BLACKBURN, Jr. Director of Circulation Member A.’B.P. Member A.B.C. »Cable Address McGRAW-HILL, New York Water Supply Pumps - l-R SERVES Hetkes Butane Products Btaui ■ Eons of liquids must be handled and processed in the huge butadiene plant at Port Neches. Ingersoll-Rand Cam­ eron pumps are doing their share in this plant, as they are in most of the butadiene and aviation gasoline plants now supplying our ever-increasing war needs ... Pumps for process work, for \vater supply, for boiler feeding... Also I-R compressors and air tools. Ingeisoll-Rand ' II BROADWAY, NEW YORK 4, N. Y. 14-459 CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS • CONDENSERS • COMPRESSORS • TURBO-BLOWERS • ROCK DRILLS • AIR TOOLS • OIL AND GAS ENGINES CHEMICAL & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING • AUGUST 1941 m m m wrnmm R. S. McBRIDE, Editorial Consultant • PAUL W00T0N, Chief of McGraw-Hill Washington Bureau * MALCOLM BURTON, Washington Correspondent Increasing activity in the air demands more and more high-octane ers will arrange to take ammonia, urea, and special solutions uniformly through the gasoline . Requirements for fertilizer materials indicate increases year rather than on a low-production basis of as much as 25 percent . Specialists recommend use of urea during the first three or four months. as a part of cattle feed ration . Phosphate rock producers are FERTILIZER. SETBACK investigated by FTC . Production trends in the chemical indus­ C o n g ress has given the Department of tries are continuing up . Wartime restrictions on glycerine have Agriculture $300,000,000 to be spent dur­ been removed . Donald Nelson issued a series of orders for recon­ ing the fiscal year which begins July 1, for version . DPC has offered about 30 establishments for sale as soil improvement and soil conservation pro­ gram. AAA would like to spend about a surplus war property • . One of the first sales of surplus plant quarter of this sum on fertilizers. Many in facilities was made recently at Binghamton, N. Y. the fertilizer industry object, even though the nominal purpose is to educate farmers in the better and more extensive use of NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE BUTADIENE FROM ALCOHOL fertilizer. Triple-A undertook to encourage use of D u r in g the summer it is estimated that A n t i-t r u s t officials of the Department fertilizer on pastures and for cover crops. about 70 percent of the butadiene will be of Justice insist that “freedom of enter­ It gave away the wrong fertilizer to produce made from alcohol, while the seven petro­ prise is not a political issue.” This was good results. As a consequence farmers leum butadiene plants arc shut down. both the subject and the theme of a in those areas have come to believe that Next year, assuming that the high-octane formal address by Assistant Attorney Gen­ fertilizer does not do them any good. It program goes as expected, the supply of eral Wendell Berge who directs the Anti- remains to be seen whether the industry butadiene will be about 50-50 from the Trust Division. His postwar program of 11 will supply as much fertilizer for soil im­ two sources. The urge to continue the points was announced in this address, but provement work as AAA would like. Cer­ trend from alcohol to petroleum is prin­ cynics note that the address was delivered tainly the two philosophies of industry cipally the lower cost of butadiene from before a New York State gathering of and government are diametrically opposed that source. Affiliated Young Democrats, Inc. They even on the question as to how to teach ask “if this is not a political sub-issue; the farmer to use fertilizer for his own why argue before the purely political AVAILABLE TRAINING profit. gathering?” W h e n veterans return and seek jobs, as many thousands will do every month WHO IS SQUEEZED? OCTANE vs. RUBBER from now on, there are available several P r ic in g phosphate rock in Florida, B ig s h if t s between chemical engineer­ kinds of training at government expense. OPA has authorized a 20-cent-per-ton in­ ing operations of one type and another are Any employer who finds such men not crease in ceiling. This price will require likely to continue for the balance of the quite ready for the more urgent jobs can also adjustment upward of the prices of war period. The most extensive such cooperate to get training classes organized superphosphate at the producer’s level; modification of plans occurred in July through W ar Manpower, Office of Educa­ but “that adjustment will apply only at when the demand for high-octane gasoline tion, or special vocational training units. the wholesale level and will not be reflected gave preference for that product over W here a refresher or specialist course is in higher prices for superphosphate or rubber. This cuts off some of the major needed, this will be organized to suit the mixed fertilizer sold to farmers.” OPA manufacturing activities where butadiefie local requirements.