SCIENCE
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THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK achusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. Frederick Lawson Hovde, president of Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind., and former chairman of the Guided Missiles Committee, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense; Κ. Τ. Keller, chairman of the board of the Chrysler Corp. and director of guided missiles, OflBce of the Secretary of Defense; Dr. J. R. Killian, Jr., president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Dr. C. C. Lauritsen, professor of physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; Morrough Parker O'Brien, dean, College of Engineer- ing, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.; Dr. WiUiam Shockley, head of transistor physics research, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N. J.; William Webster, vice president, New England Power System, Boston, Mass., and former chairman, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense. SCIENCE Resin Sacs Are Source Of Cloth Damage The discovery that "tar spots" or dark blemishes in cotton fabrics are really caused by tiny resin sacs of vegetable origin has been announnced by the Insti- tute of Textile Technology at Charlottes- ville, Va. It had been thought that the blemishes resulted from specks of tar or asphalt picked up by cotton in the vari- ous textile mill operations. In searching for a source of the tar spots Leo Hubbard, ΓΓΤ research chem- ist, found that the dark substance causing the spots was definitely not tar-like, and in fact was quite similar to resinous mate- rials. It was soluble in alcohols, espe- cially η-butyl alcohol. The tiny resin capsules are about one fiftieth of an inch in size, and are found in leaves or burrs which become mixed with cotton fiber during harvesting. The sacs can often be spun into the yarn and woven into the cloth. When heated, they burst and a black substance flows out to smudge the fabric. Ordinary bleaching operations cannot remove the stain. Antimorphine Drug Promotes Breathing of Newborn Infants The use of a new drug in childbirth to promote the breathing of newborn al- lants has been reported by James E. Eck- enhoff of the University of Pennsylvania medical school and hospitaL The drug, which counteracts the effect of morphine or its derivatives, is usually given four to 40 minutes before delivery, and its bene- ficial use in 270 cases was reported by Dr. Eckenhoff at a recent meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Washington. Studies on obstetrical use of the drug will not be fully completed until late winter or spring, Dr. Eckenhoff said. Chemical name of the drug is N-allyl- normorphine, and its most effective use is in combating overdoses of morphine, Dr. Eckenhoff explained. When given intravenously it acts within 30 seconds and has no after-effects. It had been tested at the U. S. Public Health Hospital in Lex- ington, Ky. for possible use as a with- drawal drug in morphine addiction, but results indicated that it was useless for this purpose. The drug was first developed at Jeffer- son Medical College. Merck & Co., Inc., is manufacturing the drug, but it is not generally available now. It is expected that it will be on the market by spring. TECHNOLOGY New Oil-Extended Rubber Has Commercial Possibilities Development of a new type of oil-ex- tended rubber which has definite com- mercial possibilities in the manufacture of tires has been announced by the Synthetic Rubber Division of the Reconstruction Finance Corp. The new rubber is a high- viscosity oil extended butadienestyrene polymer in which the oil is incorporated with the monomers during polymerization in a nonaqueous solvent ( such as pentane ) in the presence of alfin catalysts. These catalysts are complex organo-sodium com- pounds such as sodium aDcoxide—sodium olefin mixtures and were developed by A. A. Morton of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in research sponsored by RFC. The new rubber was developed by J. D. Dlanni, The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., and W. K. Taft, Government Labo- ratories, University of Akron, and their associates in an RFC-sponsored project. The addition of rubber processing oils to high molecular weight GR-S rubber, both hot and cold types, has been found to be an effective way to extend the supplies of synthetic rubber. Commercial production of oil-extended rubber got under way in government-owned plants in March 1951. Production rates have been boosted as rapidly as possible, and at present the rate is approximately 12 million pounds a month, with o/er 50 million pounds produced to date. High viscosity rubbers have many de- sirable qualities for use in tires, but the processing of these rubbers in tire factories has presented practical difficulties. One advantage of the oil extension method is that it overcomes some of these processing difficulties. In the manufacture of the usual GR-S oil-extended rubber, for ex- ample, die oil is added to a latex of high viscosity GR-S which has been polymer- ized in aqueous solution. In the production of normal viscosity GR-S, a certain amount of mercaptan modifier is used to maintain the molecular -weight at a processable low value. With oil-extended GR-S, less modi- fier is used and the added oil serves to re- place the amount of modifier withheld. Alfin polymers have the advantage of polymerizing at a rapid rate, yielding a high viscosity, gel-free rubber. The dis- advantag has been that there are no effec- tive modifiers to control the molecular weight to the point where the product could be processed satisfactorily in a tire factory. The addition of oil overcomes the need for modifiers. Studies to date on alfin polymers have included addition of oil to the isolated polymer, to the polymer swollen with solvent before removal from the reaction mixture, and to the reaction rnixture be- fore polymerization. The last method pre- sents commercial possibilities, since the catalyst may be added directly to a solu- tion of the monomers in oil. In this tech- nique the oil replaces part or all of the nonaqueous solvent. Several steps are necessary before these oil-extended alfin polymers can be con- sidered for commercial development. The first of these is the preparation of sufficient rubber to make tires for road tests. A second problem will be extensive pilot plant studies to develop a satisfactory commercial method. Since the preparation of alfin catalysts requires care, considerable additional work will be required to develop a safe and efficient process for the manu- facture of the catalysts on a large scale. Fermentation Yields Vitamin B 12 And Propionic Acid A new method ίοτ obtaining high yields of vitamin Bia by using members of the genus Propionibacterium to ferment nutri- ent solutions or mashes that contain skim milk or whey has been announced by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The new fermentation process produces pro- pionic acid at the same time. Among conditions found necessary for obtaining maximum yields of Bia are the addition of lactic acid to the fermentable material and careful adjustment of the oxygen content during fermentation. In whey and ouier milk products, or in nat- ural sugar-containing media, no lactic acid need be added since it is produced by fermentation of the sugars with lactic acid bacteria. In preliminary tests with nutrient solu- tions, the new fermentation process gave yields as high as 1400 micrograms of vitamin B u per quart, the USDA report states. This compared favorably with yields produced by other organisms and other growth media now being used in commercial production of the vitamin. According to R. E. Hargrove and A. Leviton of the USDA Bureau of Dairy In- dustry, who developed the process, the new procedure may offer a means to in-" crease the B12 content of dairy foods such as Swiss cheese, buttermilk and other fer- mented milks, as well as for the production and isolation of the crystalline vitamin. 5053 CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS
Transcript of SCIENCE
THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
achusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. Frederick Lawson Hovde, president of Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind., and former chairman of the Guided Missiles Committee, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense; Κ. Τ. Keller, chairman of the board of the Chrysler Corp. and director of guided missiles, OflBce of the Secretary of Defense; Dr. J. R. Killian, Jr., president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Dr. C. C. Lauritsen, professor of physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; Morrough Parker O'Brien, dean, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.; Dr. WiUiam Shockley, head of transistor physics research, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N. J.; William Webster, vice president, New England Power System, Boston, Mass., and former chairman, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense.
SCIENCE
Resin Sacs Are Source Of Cloth Damage
The discovery that "tar spots" or dark blemishes in cotton fabrics are really caused by tiny resin sacs of vegetable origin has been announnced by the Institute of Textile Technology at Charlottesville, Va. It had been thought that the blemishes resulted from specks of tar or asphalt picked up by cotton in the various textile mill operations.
In searching for a source of the tar spots Leo Hubbard, ΓΓΤ research chemist, found that the dark substance causing the spots was definitely not tar-like, and in fact was quite similar to resinous materials. It was soluble in alcohols, especially η-butyl alcohol.
The tiny resin capsules are about one fiftieth of an inch in size, and are found in leaves or burrs which become mixed with cotton fiber during harvesting. The sacs can often be spun into the yarn and woven into the cloth. When heated, they burst and a black substance flows out to smudge the fabric. Ordinary bleaching operations cannot remove the stain.
Antimorphine Drug Promotes Breathing of Newborn Infants
The use of a new drug in childbirth to promote the breathing of newborn allants has been reported by James E. Eck-enhoff of the University of Pennsylvania medical school and hospitaL The drug, which counteracts the effect of morphine or its derivatives, is usually given four to 40 minutes before delivery, and its beneficial use in 270 cases was reported by Dr. Eckenhoff at a recent meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Washington. Studies on obstetrical use of the drug will not b e fully completed
until late winter or spring, Dr. Eckenhoff said.
Chemical name of the drug is N-allyl-normorphine, and its most effective use is in combating overdoses of morphine, Dr. Eckenhoff explained. When given intravenously it acts within 30 seconds and has no after-effects. It had been tested at the U. S. Public Health Hospital in Lexington, Ky. for possible use as a withdrawal drug in morphine addiction, but results indicated that it was useless for this purpose.
The drug was first developed at Jefferson Medical College. Merck & Co., Inc., is manufacturing the drug, but it is not generally available now. It is expected that it will be on the market by spring.
T E C H N O L O G Y
New Oil-Extended Rubber Has Commercial Possibilities
Development of a new type of oil-extended rubber which has definite commercial possibilities in the manufacture of tires has been announced by the Synthetic Rubber Division of the Reconstruction Finance Corp. The new rubber is a high-viscosity oil extended butadienestyrene polymer in which the oil is incorporated with the monomers during polymerization in a nonaqueous solvent ( such as pentane ) in the presence of alfin catalysts. These catalysts are complex organo-sodium compounds such as sodium aDcoxide—sodium olefin mixtures and were developed by A. A. Morton of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in research sponsored b y RFC.
The new rubber was developed by J. D . Dlanni , The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., and W . K. Taft, Government Laboratories, University of Akron, and their associates in an RFC-sponsored project.
The addition of rubber processing oils to high molecular weight GR-S rubber, both hot and cold types, has been found to be an effective way to extend the supplies of synthetic rubber. Commercial production of oil-extended rubber got under way in government-owned plants in March 1951. Production rates have been boosted as rapidly as possible, and at present the rate is approximately 12 million pounds a month, with o/er 50 million pounds produced to date.
High viscosity rubbers have many desirable qualities for use in tires, but the processing of these rubbers in tire factories has presented practical difficulties. One advantage of the oil extension method is that it overcomes some of these processing difficulties. In the manufacture of the usual GR-S oil-extended rubber, for example, die oil is added to a latex of high viscosity GR-S which has been polymerized in aqueous solution. In the production of normal viscosity GR-S, a certain amount of mercaptan modifier is used to maintain the molecular -weight at a processable low
value. With oil-extended GR-S, less modifier is used and the added oil serves to replace the amount of modifier withheld.
Alfin polymers have the advantage of polymerizing at a rapid rate, yielding a high viscosity, gel-free rubber. The dis-advantag has been that there are no effective modifiers to control the molecular weight to the point where the product could be processed satisfactorily in a tire factory. The addition of oil overcomes the need for modifiers.
Studies to date on alfin polymers have included addition of oil to the isolated polymer, to the polymer swollen with solvent before removal from the reaction mixture, and to the reaction rnixture before polymerization. The last method presents commercial possibilities, since the catalyst may be added directly to a solution of the monomers in oil. In this technique the oil replaces part or all of the nonaqueous solvent.
Several steps are necessary before these oil-extended alfin polymers can be considered for commercial development. The first of these is the preparation of sufficient rubber to make tires for road tests. A second problem will be extensive pilot plant studies to develop a satisfactory commercial method. Since the preparation of alfin catalysts requires care, considerable additional work will be required to develop a safe and efficient process for the manufacture of the catalysts on a large scale.
Fermentation Yields Vitamin B12 And Propionic Acid
A new method ίοτ obtaining high yields of vitamin Bia by using members of the genus Propionibacterium to ferment nutrient solutions or mashes that contain skim milk or whey has been announced by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The new fermentation process produces propionic acid at the same time.
Among conditions found necessary for obtaining maximum yields of Bia are the addition of lactic acid to the fermentable material and careful adjustment of the oxygen content during fermentation. In whey and ouier milk products, or in natural sugar-containing media, no lactic acid need be added since it is produced by fermentation of the sugars with lactic acid bacteria.
In preliminary tests with nutrient solutions, the new fermentation process gave yields as high as 1400 micrograms of vitamin B u per quart, the USDA report states. This compared favorably with yields produced by other organisms and other growth media now being used in commercial production of the vitamin.
According to R. E. Hargrove and A. Leviton of the USDA Bureau of Dairy Industry, who developed the process, the new procedure may offer a means to in-" crease the B12 content of dairy foods such as Swiss cheese, buttermilk and other fermented milks, as well as for the production and isolation of the crystalline vitamin.
5053 C H E M I C A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S
