WORLD WIDE CHEMISTRY
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Ι Ν TER Ν AT ΙΟ NAL WORLD WIDE CHEMISTRY IG Farben cartel begins breaking up under Allied control with formation of independent firm . . . Radioactive isotopes used to trace salt movement in soil 1218 G ERMANY'S BASF, or Badische Aniline and Soda Fabric, whicb. is the Lnd- wigshafen plant of IG Farlben lentil xe- cently under Allied control, has been made an independent Srm -with $23,800 as its nominal capital. Although only SCO workers were still active in ttie plant wiien the Allies took over in 1945, it now em- ploys 26,500, as it did nrewar. The chairman of the "board, of the new company is Hermann J. -Abs^ president of the Credit Bank for R^econstruction and Germany's spokesman i n foreign-debt ne- gotiations with the Alliées. Deputy chair- man is Richard Kuhn, jprofessor o£ chem- istry at the University of Heidelberg and winner of the 1938 Noh>el prize i n chem- istry, which he refuse^d under Hitler's orders. Nine former IFarben executives are in the new managerssent The formation of thes new company is part of the Allied camrpaigo. to Break up the huge Farben cartel. The Sadische company was the nucleus of the Faroen cartel, formed hy its absorption of seven other chemical companies in 1924. Two more large combines and six smaller companies are due evecntuaîly to emerge from the trust-busting program. Besides BASF, the Eliver Main Group and the Leverkusen Giroup are the sur- viving combines of the old cnemical trust. In addition, individual -works are making cameras, solvents, fibers, and a long list of basic chemicals. AIL the postwar Far- ben combines are small, compared to the top chemical companies in -the U- S. and Britain. American and British planes destroyed $160 million worth of plant: and another $10 million worth was torn out by mili- tary occupation authoritdes. An accidental blast and fire in 1948 Hcilled 205 workers and wrought damage amounting to S20 million. However, in 1951 BASF pro- duced and sold more "than $160 million worth of dyes, plastics, fertilizers, and heavy chemicals. A thiird of the output was marketed abroad. Soil Research for Salt- Movement Radioactive isotopes are "being used in Australia to determine the movements of salt in the soil in irrigation areas. The isotopes were brought from, the Carnegie Institution in Washington, T>. C. by the Tracer Elements Unit, of the Common- wealth Scientific and industrial [Research Organization. Once isotopes are jplaced in the soil they gradually disintegrate and their ra- dioactivity is used hy fine experimentalist- Concentrations similar to trae existing salt CHEMICAL content already in the soil have been put in the cultivated, ground, and the Aus- tralian investigators hope that hy peri- odical sampling, it will he possible for them to follow the movement of the salt. Its radioactivity and changes can be fol- lowed by use of the Geiger counter. Norway Hospital Uses Radioactive Cobalt in Cancer Treatment The physical laboratory at Norway's largest general hospital in Oslo has re- placed its radium, used in cancer treat- ment, with radioactive cobalt from the Norwegian-Dutch uranium reactor at Kjeller. "The cobalt will have a power equal to 10 grams of radium costing over S210,000 5 yet the cobalt charge will cost only about 32S0. A drawback hi the use of the cobalt is its short life of three to five years. To maintain continuous operation of the ra- diation gun, Rikshospitalet has bought two charges of cobalt, and while one is being used in the laboratory the other will be reactivated at the Kjeller plant- Meanwhile the hospital's long-awaited betatron is now scheduled for completion by July I. The Sl-Troillton-volt apparatus was designed by Norwegian engineer Rolf Wideroe and is being built hy Brown Boweri in Baden, Germany. The new- betatron will for the first time provide Norwegian radiologists with an instrument for treatment of deep-seated cancer. Condor Co· Erecting Refinery Near Milan A new refinery is being erected in Rho, Italy, near Milan, by the Condor Co., a completely independent and newly estab- lished company. Shares in Condor are held by several important Italian industrial groups and the Manchester Oil Refinery of England. The refinery will have a thermo for catalytic cracking capacity of up to 15,0€0 barrels of oil a day. The TCC process is licensed by Socony- Vacuuni and Ε. Β. Badger & Co., of Bos- ton are engineering the process units. The Condor refinery will be the first to produce premium grade catalytic cracked gasoline in Italy. A pipeline from the Port of Genoa running directly to the refinery will be So miles long and will use 12-inch diameter pipe with a single pumping station located at the Tank farm at Fegina ( Genoa}_ The refinery and pipeline will have a capacity of approxi- mately 1.75 million tons a year. The pipe- AND ENGINEERING NEWS New Text
Transcript of WORLD WIDE CHEMISTRY
Ι Ν TER Ν A T ΙΟ N A L
WORLD W I D E CHEMISTRY IG Farben cartel begins breaking up under Allied
control with formation of independent firm . . . Radioactive isotopes used to trace salt movement in soil
1218
GERMANY'S BASF, or Badische Aniline and Soda Fabric, whicb. is t h e Lnd-
wigshafen plant of IG Farlben lentil xe-cently under Allied control, has been made an independent Srm -with $23,800 as its nominal capital. Although only SCO workers were still active in ttie plant wiien the Allies took over in 1945, it now employs 26,500, as it did nrewar.
The chairman of the "board, of the new company is Hermann J. -Abs president of the Credit Bank for R^econstruction and Germany's spokesman i n foreign-debt negotiations with the Alliées. Deputy chairman is Richard Kuhn, jprofessor o£ chemistry at the University of Heidelberg and winner of the 1938 Noh>el prize i n chemistry, which he refuse^d under Hitler's orders. Nine former IFarben executives are in the new managerssent
The formation of thes new company is part of the Allied camrpaigo. to Break up the huge Farben cartel. T h e Sadische company was the nucleus of the Faroen cartel, formed hy its absorption of seven other chemical companies in 1924. Two more large combines and six smaller companies are due evecntuaîly to emerge from the trust-busting program.
Besides BASF, the Eliver Main Group and the Leverkusen Giroup are the surviving combines of the old cnemical trust. In addition, individual -works are making cameras, solvents, fibers, and a long list of basic chemicals. AIL the postwar Farben combines are small, compared to the top chemical companies in -the U- S. and Britain.
American and British planes destroyed $160 million worth of plant: and another $10 million worth was torn out by military occupation authoritdes. An accidental blast and fire in 1948 Hcilled 205 workers and wrought damage amounting to S20 million. However, in 1951 BASF produced and sold more "than $160 million worth of dyes, plastics, fertilizers, and heavy chemicals. A thiird of the output was marketed abroad.
Soil Research for Salt- Movement Radioactive isotopes are "being used in
Australia to determine the movements of salt in the soil in irrigation areas. The isotopes were brought from, the Carnegie Institution in Washington, T>. C. by the Tracer Elements Unit, of the Commonwealth Scientific and industrial [Research Organization.
Once isotopes are jplaced in the soil they gradually disintegrate and their radioactivity is used hy fine experimentalist-Concentrations similar to trae existing salt
C H E M I C A L
content already in the soil have been put in the cultivated, ground, and the Australian investigators hope that hy periodical sampling, it will he possible for them to f ollow the movement of the salt. Its radioactivity and changes can be followed by use of the Geiger counter.
Norway Hospital Uses Radioactive Cobalt in Cancer Treatment
The physical laboratory at Norway's largest general hospital in Oslo has replaced its radium, used in cancer treatment, with radioactive cobalt from the Norwegian-Dutch uranium reactor at Kjeller. "The cobalt will have a power equal to 10 grams of radium costing over S210,0005 yet the cobalt charge will cost only about 32S0.
A drawback hi the use of the cobalt is its short life of three to five years. To maintain continuous operation of the radiation gun, Rikshospitalet has bought two charges of cobalt, and while one is being used in the laboratory the other will be reactivated at the Kjeller plant-
Meanwhile the hospital's long-awaited betatron is now scheduled for completion by July I . The Sl-Troillton-volt apparatus was designed by Norwegian engineer Rolf Wideroe and is being built hy Brown Boweri in Baden, Germany. The new-betatron will for the first time provide Norwegian radiologists with an instrument for treatment of deep-seated cancer.
Condor Co· Erecting Refinery Near Milan
A new refinery is being erected in Rho, Italy, near Milan, by the Condor Co., a completely independent and newly established company. Shares in Condor are held by several important Italian industrial groups and the Manchester Oil Refinery of England. The refinery will have a thermo for catalytic cracking capacity of up to 15,0€0 barrels of oil a day. The TCC process is licensed by Socony-Vacuuni and Ε. Β. Badger & Co., of Boston are engineering the process units.
The Condor refinery will be the first to produce premium grade catalytic cracked gasoline in Italy. A pipeline from the Port of Genoa running directly to the refinery will be So miles long and will use 12-inch diameter pipe with a single pumping station located at the Tank farm at Fegina ( Genoa}_ The refinery and pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 1.75 million tons a year. The pipe-
A N D E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S
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line and refinery are expected to start operation at the end of 1952, the total investment being more than $25 million. The refinery will serve the consumption of Lombardy and the surrounding area and also the Swiss market. Its capacity corresponds to 2 5 % of Italian total consumption.
Consulting engineers for the whole project are the Petrocarbon Ltd., of Manchester, England, of which Dr. Kind is managing director. Dr. Kind is vice president of Condor and also has been responsible for the establishment of other refineries, including the Manchester Oil Refinery at Manchester, the Albatros of Antwerp, the Aquila of Trieste, and Petrochemicals of Manchester.
Hormones Stimulate Growth Of Olive Trees
A new method of olive tree propagation has been developed successfully in the State of South Australia.
Instead of planting seeds, which may take as long as six years to germinate in the ground, cuttings are planted and treated with root-promoting hormones to stimulate early development.
Using this method, experiments have shown that in 12 to 14 months sufficient top growth and root system have been developed to enable trees to be planted out in permanent positions. One nurseryman has already raised 80,000 trees.
Finnish Chemical Industry Reports Growth
Despite difficulties resulting from the World War II, the Finnish chemical industry has developed rapidly in the past 10 years, according to Foreign Commerce Weekly. Plant expansion and modernization have led to a substantial increase in volume and range of production, which now includes fertilizers, plastics, insecticides, and disinfectants, drugs, by-products of the cellulose-pulp industry, and organic and inorganic chemicals. Official production index figures show a greater increase in the years 1949—50 for the chemical industry than for any other industry, compared with the prewar period.
Experimentation Begun with Isonscotinic Acid
Istituto Neoterapico -Italiano, a pharmaceutical firm of Bologna, Italy, has undertaken the pilot plant production of isonicotinic acid hydrazide. The purpose is to render available at low prices all the intermediates of the product for large scale experimentation on pharmacologic and therapeutic properties of compounds related to isonicotinic acid. Raw materials used are pyridine bases.
C&EN Foreign Correspondent1 Contributing to This issue:
A. P. SOM, India and Australia
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