Meter Chemicals With this Controlled

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Standard Milton Roy Motor-Driven Controlled Volume Pump

H e r e ' s t h e p u m p for p rec i s e m e t e r i n g of chemica ls in con ­t ro l led v o l u m e . H a n d l e s p r ac ­t i ca l ly a n y l iquid , f rom heavy v iscous l iqu ids to l igh t solvents, sol ids in suspension, abrasive s lurr ies , liquefied gases, and o the r " h a r d - t o - h a n d l e " materials .

Ava i lab le w i th f rac t ional or in­t e g r a l h o r s e p o w e r g e a r - h e a d m o t o r s . Capac i t i e s from 3 mill i­l i te rs t o 2700 gallons per hou r , aga in s t pressures t o 50,000 psi . Flexib ly a d a p t a b l e to manual , s e m i - a u t o m a t i c o r a u t o m a t i c con t ro l of c a p a c i t y . Simplicity is t h e k e y n o t e .

W r i t e for specifications and d a t a o n y o u r app l i ca t ion . Milton R o y C o m p a n y , Manufacturing Engi­neers, 1300 E a s t M e r m a i d L a n e , Ph i l ade lph ia 18, P a .

P R O D U C T I O N

Rare Earth Process Gets Trial Liquid ion exchange basis of rare earth separation method being developed by Horizons, Inc.

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Engineering Representatives in the "*'ta

Untied Statei, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

A . RARE EARTH SEPARATION process ex­pected to combine the high capacity of solvent extraction with the high efficiency of ion exchange is about to get bench scale trials at Horizons, Inc. in Cleveland. Devised by Ronald C. Vickery, who heads Horizons' chemistry department, it's essentially a liquid ion exchange process using 2-diethylhexyl-phosphoric acid in a petroleum ether carrier. Chief advantages expected: unusually sharp separations and adapt­ability to continuous operation.

Such a method had been on Vickery's mind for some time, when he ran across a solvent extraction process developed by Colorado School of Mines for ura­nium refining. It used dodecylphos-phoric acid in a kerosene carrier. The mechanism looked like ion exchange, and Vickery hastened to try it on rare earth separations.

An early move was the switch from D D P A , with its one exchangeable hy­drogen, to D H P A which has two ex­changeable hydrogens. Another change substituted petroleum ether for the kerosene carrier, which gave intractable emulsions w h e n used with rare earths.

• The Process Today. As the proc­ess now stands, D H P A (0.1 Molar) in petroleum ether contacts a water solu­tion of mixed rare earth chlorides. The rare earths move very quickly into the petroleum ether, from which they are extracted with ammonium citrate. By regulating the p H of the extractant and its weight ratio to the petroleum ether layer, Vickery finds he can get prefer­ential extraction of individual rare earths. These are then precipitated as oxalates and fired to oxides.

L a b separations to date, says Vickery, have averaged 97% recovery (as oxides) of individual rare earths at 99 .5% purity. Mixed chlorides of gadolinium, europium, and samarium, for instance, can be separated much more readily this way than by sodium amalgam reduction, a standard method, he says. Samarium and europium ox­

ides come out close to 99.9r> pure; the gadolinium contains about 0.2% sa­marium. From a 50-50 mixture of yttrium and erbium chlorides, another difficult separation, the method re­covers about 99 # of the yttrium, 9 8 ^ of the erbium. Purity is better than 99'.'* for each.

• The N e x t S tage . Vickery's next move is a bench-scale arrangement of 200 cc. columns set up in series. Feed will most likely be a mixture of chlo­rides of heavy- and light-group lantha-nons previously separated from mona-zite and xenotime. Initial contact will move these chlorides from water solu­tion into the DHPA-petroleum ether layer, which will then move through the columns in series, countercurrently to the ammonium citrate extractant.

In each column, ammonium citrate of the proper pH and amount will pref­erentially extract one rare earth. Ex­tracted rare earths will come off the bottom of each column for precipita­tion and firing. Barren DHPA-petro­leum ether, from the last extractant column, will pass through an acid column to get back into the hydrogen cycle, then return to the initial con­tacting column.

Vickery plans to set this system up to run continuously for about 14 days. He believes it will separate roughly 900 grams a day of mixed rare earth chlorides. It's too soon, he says, to dis­cuss the engineering aspects of running the method on a very large scale. But if it works out as expected, commercial production would not require a very large system. One disadvantage is the use of petroleum ether, requiring a closed system; none of the less flam­mable carriers tried so far seem to work as well. At this stage, however, Vick­ery believes that both the economics and products of the process will be very competitive. This opinion includes working the process into existing mon-azite-treating plants which, he believes, could be done with little difficultv. m

8 0 C & E N S E P T . 9, I 9 57

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Plate Gold Chemically Dip coating process plates gold by ionic displacement

C H E M I C A L GOLD-PLATING passes an­other milestone this week. Baker & Co., Newark, N. J., refiner of precious metals, has come up with a water soluble gold/amino complex which is said to reduce plating costs by 25% through use of less gold than in electro­plating.

An important industrial use is fore­seen on copper in electric and electronic applications, the company says. Cop­per foil patterns on printed circuits are sometimes gold plated for solderability. Other possibilities: trophies, costume jewelry, metallized plastics.

No electricity is needed for chemical plating. Objects to be coated are im­mersed in a heated bath . Gold dis­places metal ions from the surface and is reduced to metal on the spot. De­posed ions are inactivated by chelation and carried out into the body of the solution. When a 24 karat film has been deposited over the whole surface, the process stops itself, Baker claims.

On most metals (iron, steels except stainless, die casting alloys, soft solder), an average of 1 mg. of gold pe r square inch deposits in a few minutes. The higher the temperature, the more rapid is deposition. Final coating thickness ranges up to a quarter of a micron on most of these metals, although "flash" coatings can be applied by pulling the sample from the bath before plating action stops by itself.

• Nitration of glycerol, glycol, and al­lied products by a new Swedish process is safer and cheaper than present meth­ods, according to Nitroglycerin Aktie-bolaget of Sweden. An injector trans­fers nitrated products as a nonexplosive spent acid emulsion to a separate area. There the ester is removed b y a cen­trifugal separator running without di­rect supervision.

• Antibiotic treatment of western white pine trees has saved thousands of them from blister rust, according to a U. S. Forest Service forester. A four-year test of Acti-dione, an Upjohn fungicidal antibiotic, has shown that t reatment gives control of the fungus in some 80% of the trees.

D O M E S T I C ores mined a n d processed domestically for American industry! T h a t ' s the story of HEAVY MINERALS C O . ' S new Chattanooga plant now ap­proaching peak production.

The plant, one of the most modern of its kind in the world, processes its own plentiful supplies of rare earth-bearing raw materials. HEAVY MINERALS C O . now has available in quantity any mixed rare earth com­pound or pure rare earth compound for industrial use.

Purified rare earths impar t unique qualities to metals, glass, ceramics a n d illuminating materials. New, exciting applications are being developed for the nuclear and chemical industr ies .

Heavy Minerals ' integrated domestic rare earths operation is supported by a team of research special­ists ready to share its experience with you.

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HEAVY M I N E R A L S CO BARE EAETK CHEMICALS * THORIUM * SSAVY 3£IXERAIrS

4000 NORTH HAWTHORNE STREET, CHATTANOOGA, TENN. NEW YORK SALES OFFICE: 261 MADISON AVENUE, N. Y. 16, Ν. Υ.

SEPT. 9, 1957 C & E N 8 1

Rare UES33£ Chemicals

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Remarkable performance for size and weight have gained these pumps fame. They demonstrate that pump size (from 1/30 to 1/5 H.P.) can be proportionate to the job handled to keep costs down.

gatfVML LABJIIRRIRS

Designed to be laboratory time-savers. Available in various sizes to mix as little as one liter or as much as 10 gallons of liquids to meet the most exacting needs.

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Wide r a n g e of sizes and styles fills many indus­trial needs. Mo­tors from 1/20 to 5 H.P. Eas tern engineers are at your service to help select the proper mixer and he lp solve your toughest prob­lems.

CATALOGS Request Catalog Series 12 for 3 helpful catalogs on these products.

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PRODUCTION

• An ion generating tube which con­tains not more than 50 millicuries of tritium may be put under a general license by the Atomic Energy Commis­sion. The AEC has proposed an amendment to its by-product material (radioisotope) regulation to permit pos­session and use without a specific license from the commission. The tube that is being considered is designed for use in air conditioning equipment.

• Laminagage, a tool used to check platings and coatings on metals, will now be manufactured, under license, by Gulton Industries, Inc. General Motors Corp. holds the patent rights. The in­strument measures the thickness of enamel or ceramic coatings and metal platings. It will also detect pinholes and flaws in production line items.

• Improved cotton bleaching process has been developed by Solvay Process Division of Allied Chemical & Dye. The new process adds a prebleacbing step with specially prepared hypochlo­rite solution after caustic purification and before hydrogen peroxide expo­sure. Resulting advantages, according to Allied: higher brightness, bright­ness retention, absorbency, and dye-abibty, with reduced ash and metals content—all at reduced bleaching cost.

• A water washing system for semi­conductors has been adapted from tube techniques by Miles V. Sullivan of Bell Telephone Laboratories. The system uses distilled water to remove water soluble materials from the semiconduc­tors after etching. Wash effectiveness is monitored by electrical conductivity of the wash water. Bell claims the system has given improved breakdown voltage, sharpness of voltage-current characteristics, saturation current, and emitter reverse impedance.

> Niobium and iron can be recovered along with titanium from low grade Arkansas materials by a process devel­oped by Bureau of Mines at Rolla, Mo. The ore is concentrated, sintered, and chlorinated at less than 500° C. Frac­tional distillation yields the titanium, niobium, and iron. The process has been tried on brookite and rutile (two titanium minerals) and on two types of alumina plant wastes containing tita­nium minerals.

MASKING COMPOUNDS

F O R

LATEX F R O M

THE D & O LABS To mask the often unpleasant odor

of Natural Rubber Latex, the D&O Laboratories have developed two series of special compounds.

The first, MULSOTEX, are a group of odors designed to form uniform permanent emulsions when added to Natural Rubber Latex for­mulations containing an unusual percentage of water.

The second, TEXAROME, are a series of highly concentrated odors, recommended for use in formula­tions not containing a high percent­age of water.

Both MULSOTEX and TEXA­ROME hold up well under heat, and will not cause coagulation of the base material.

Costs a re competitive. More de­tails on request.

Ess€7itially for You

Our 158th Year of Service

DODGE & OLCOTT, INC. 180 Varick Street New York 14, Ν. Υ. Sales Offices in Principal Cities

Essential Oils Α το ma t ic Ch e m irais Perfume Bases Fla vor Bases Dry Soltible Seasonings

8 2 C & E N SEPT. 9, 1957

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