lime for recausticizing the spent so­dium hydroxide liquor after pulp di­gestion. Since the chemical plant operates as a closed system, Domtar points out tnat it can maintain tight control over digesting and bleaching to ensure premium grades of pulp.

From the Quévillon mill, Domtar is supplying papermakers with five grades of pulp. Βlack spruce is an excellent source of long, slender fibers which readily collapse into highly con­formable ribbons ideal for producing smooth, well-bonded sheets of paper and board.

The chemical plant is designed to produce the following chemicals for direct use in pulp processing: 75 tons per day of chlorine and 85 tons per day of 50% caustic soda by the Olin Mathieson mercury cell process; so­dium hypochlorite; 10 tons per day of 0.8% chlorine dioxide solution by the Mathieson process; and a 3.0% sulfur dioxide solution. Other chemicals produced but used within the system include sodium chlorate by the Chemech process, hydrochloric acid by the Union Carbide process, and hydrogen. (All tonnages are on a 100% basis.)

The sodium chlorate process, de­veloped two years ago by Chemech Engineering, Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., is the newest process which Domtar is using in the chemical plant. The process uses bipolar electrolytic cells to make sodium chlorate from brine.

In the Chemech process, each of the six electrolysis tanks contains a series of more than 50 large electrolytic plates. As current flows through the brine electrolyte in the cell, each of the closely spaced plates acquires a posi­tive charge on the other surface. As chlorine bubbles through the sodium hydroxide solution which forms be­tween all the partial cathodes and anodes, sodium hypochlorite solution is produced.

After leaving the cell, the hypochlo­rite is reacted with hydrochloric acid to make chlorous acid. This reacts with sodium hypochlorite in a self-sus­taining reaction to make the chlorate.

Chemech's general manager, G. Oscar Westerlund, who developed the process, points out that Domtar's 20 ton-per-day units operate with a high current efficiency—89 to 91%—thus minimizing costly power losses.

Effluents from the chemical plant and pulp mill are well controlled, ac­cording to Domtar's control superin­tendent Donald Gilmore. He points out that since one large advantage of the kraft process is the re-use of all chemicals, any losses would interfere with the balance of recycled materials.

Separate sewers for alkaline and basic mill wastes conduct these chem­icals to two settling basins. Solids are

allowed to settle for several days be­fore the flow goes on to the river. Daily monitoring of sewer materials and conductivity alarms provide con­trol of what leaves the plant.

Similarly, bark stripped from the black spruce trees is slurried to settling ponds before the wash water continues to the nearby river, which flows north to James Bay. This opens onto Hud­son Bay and eventually the Arctic Ocean.

Draft of international patent application treaty unveiled A first step toward an international patent system was taken early this month when the U.S. unveiled a draft treaty to establish an international pat­ent application. The draft treaty was drawn up by a working group of the United International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI) at Geneva in answer to a resolution made last fall by the United States. The treaty provides for a sin­gle basic filing, search, and examina­tion of an international applica­tion which would then provide the basis for issuance of a patent in any BIRPI nation.

Dr. J. Herbert Hollomon, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce, hailed the proposed treaty at a press briefing as "a significant and indispensable step toward really meaningful cooperation in protecting new technology interna­tionally." However, despite the en­thusiasm of Administration officials, it is unlikely that the United States will approve the treaty—at least in the fore­seeable future. The reason for this dim outlook is that the treaty would require the U.S. to switch its philos­ophy of awarding a patent to the first

to invent to the controversial first-to-file system. Since 74 of the 77 mem­bers of BIRPI use the first-to-file sys­tem (the United States, Canada, and the Philippines use the first-to-invent system), Dr. Hollomon points out that "it is highly unlikely that the other nations would change their systems to suit the convenience of the U.S."

After the U.S. resolution of Sep­tember 1966, a task force of represent­atives of 23 BIRPI nations set to work to draft an international applica­tion treaty. The 23 belong to the 5000 club—nations with a minimum of 5000 patent applications a year. The proposed treaty is the result of their work.

The draft treaty is now being studied by BIRPI members and many private and intergovernmental organi­zations which have an important stake in solving international patent prob­lems. The next step is a meeting of experts from the countries and the other groups to be held in Geneva, probably in October. Purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the draft treaty further and make recommenda­tions for action to BIRPI's executive committee, scheduled to meet in De­cember.

The most favorable timetable for action looks something like this: If the executive committee approves, it will pass along its recommendations to the member countries. Then, about a year from now, there will be a meeting of experts from all the member coun­tries. If an approved version emerges, it will go to all the individual govern­ments of the member countries of BIRPI for a final negotiating confer­ence. If there are no hitches along the way, an unlikely circumstance, a treaty could be put into effect by 1970.

Under the proposed treaty, the member governments would agree

Hollomon (at mike), Brenner (right) First step toward an international system

JUNE 12, 1967 C&EN 37

upon uniform requirements for the in­ternational patent application. This would be in sharp contrast to present practice where each country sets its own requirements.

Under a first phase of the treaty a worldwide search would be made to determine whether the invention was really new, and the application and search would be sent to the countries designated by the applicant. Under a second phase of the treaty an inventor could request a full examination and obtain a "Certificate of Patentability" on the international application. This would certify, on the basis of the search and examination conducted, that the invention was patentable. Thus, the treaty plan provides the basis for the issuance of national pat­ents in countries designated by the applicant, provided the invention sat­isfies the requirements of national law. Finally, under the treaty, the time the international application was filed would determine the priority of inven­tion.

According to Edward J. Brenner, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, the pro­posed treaty would:

• Eliminate multiple filing of patent applications on the same invention which under today's practice must meet a variety of requirements.

• Establish a uniform application format which would be acceptable to each member country.

• Provide a single worldwide nov­elty search which would be available to the applicant at an early stage.

• Permit a single examination result­ing in the "Certificate of Patentability" which would be used by the member countries in issuing patents.

"As an overriding advantage," he says, "the treaty will form the basis for the buildup of mutual respect and con­fidence among the patent offices of the world as an indispensable step toward the ultimate goal of a universal patent system."

Acceptance of the international ap­plication, Dr. Hollomon says, would put an end to the unnecessary duplica­tion of effort which is swamping the patent offices of the world. And it would help applicants by cutting down on serious delays and excessive costs.

He estimates that more than 50% of the 650,000 patent applications filed worldwide are duplicates of other ap­plications. And in 1972, he forecasts, of the estimated 100,000 patent ap­plications which will be filed in the U.S., 30,000 will originate abroad and will be duplicates of foreign applica­tions. In turn, 30,000 of the 70,000 inventions first applied for in the U.S. will also be filed in an average of five foreign countries, giving rise to 150,-000 additional applications around the world.

Beef liver yields clue to retine's role in cell growth

A possible clue to how rétine inhibits the growth of multicellular organisms has been found by chemists at the Ma­rine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., and the Université Laval, Quebec, scientists learned at the Chemical Institute of Canada's 50th Canadian Chemical Conference and Exhibition, held last week in Toronto.

Dr. A. Szent-Gyorgyi of Woods Hole has isolated from beef liver a substance (as a 2,4-dinitrophenylosa-zone) that might regulate the multi­plication of animal cells. And Dr. G. Fodor and J. P. Sachetto of the Uni­versité Laval have studied the struc­ture of the osazone derivative. Their results indicate that the derivative has a deoxyhexosulose ( deoxyhexosone ) osazone structure.

Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi reasons that mul­ticellular organisms must build up a system to "brake" unlimited growth. This means that all parts of the cell should have a receptor for a common signal given by one substance. This substance is the sulfhydryl group, in­dispensable to cell division. The com­mon signal should be given by an alpha-keto aldehyde grouping which can react easily with a sulfhydryl-con-taining system, he says.

Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi and others found earlier that certain tissue extracts in­hibit growth while others promote it. The growth retarder is called rétine, and the promoter is called promine. It's possible, the Nobel laureate says, that rétine is the brake and promine is the brake's release. The behavior of the cell depends on the balance of the two.

All cells contain a very active en-zymic system, glyoxalase, for convert­ing chemically reactive alpha-keto al­dehydes into inert hydroxy acids. However, no one has been able to find the substrate. Rétine might be a glyoxal derivative, Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi says. Then rétine would be the sub­strate, and the glyoxalase could act as promine, he suggests.

Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi has launched an attempt to find a glyoxal derivative in a variety of bacterial, animal, and vegetable cells. In treating an extract from calf-liver cells with arsenous ox­ide, he and his Woods Hole coworker, Dr. L. G. Egyiid, have obtained an alpha-dioxo compound. They pre­pared the dinitrophenylhydrazone (osazone) derivative of the compound and sent it to Dr. Fodor to determine its structure.

Dr. Fodor's nuclear magnetic reso­nance studies on the osazone show the presence of a formyl group, six aromatic protons, three hydroxylic

protons, two NH groups, a methylene group, and three secondary (or ter­tiary) CH protons. Elemental analy­sis indicates the formula, C18H18N8-O n . This agrees with a deoxyhexo­sulose (deoxyhexosone) osazone struc­ture. The osazone's unusually high optical activity points to a close re­semblance with 3-deoxyglucosulose dinitrophenylosazone synthesized by Dr. E. F. L. J. Anet of the Division of Food Preservation and Transport in North Ryde, Australia, and Dr. H. Kato of the University of Tokyo. Dr. Fodor has obtained samples of the osazones from the two groups. Ν MR, ultraviolet, visible, and infrared spec­tra and optical rotatory dispersion measurements show that Dr. Fodor's, Dr. Anet's, and Dr. Kato's samples are identical.

There is a question as to whether the osazone might have a chelate structure. Decoupling experiments with Ν MR are still needed, however, before this can be decided, Dr. Fodor says.

The next step is to try to synthesize 3-deoxyglucosone according to the method of Dr. Kato or Dr. Anet. This has proved to be very difficult. The keto aldehyde that Dr. Fodor and Mr. Sachetto have prepared is not as pure as that prepared from calf liver. Pre­liminary tests at Woods Hole on the synthetic compound indicate that it is inactive in inhibiting protein syn­thesis of Ascites tumor cells. Rétine, by contrast, shows strong inhibition. Therefore, the relation between 3-deoxyglucosone and rétine is still un­certain, Dr. Fodor says. He and his coworkers are continuing their efforts to prepare very pure 3-deoxygluco­sone.

MCA honors four chemistry teachers for outstanding work

Last week at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., four chemistry professors—three from four-year colleges and one from a two-year college—received awards from the Manufacturing Chemists Association for outstanding work with undergrad­uates. Dr. Carl T. Banner of Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tenn.; Dr. Otto T. Benfey of Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.; Dr. Robert T. Sanderson of Arizona State Univer­sity, Tempe, Ariz.; and William T. Mooney, Jr., of El Camino College, El Camino, Calif., were presented 1967 College Chemistry Teacher Awards at MCA's 95th Annual Meeting.

Mr. Mooney's special award is the first to a teacher at a two-year college. Each award consists of a medal, cita­tion, and $1000. The annual awards

38 C&EN JUNE 12, 1967