1923 69,630, 261 17, 116, 456 form paracetaldehyde, which has promising use in the manufacture of synthetic resins, and when combined with amines (a group of coal-tar products), as an accelerator in vulcanizing rubber. Aldehyde ammonia is acetaldehyde combined with ammonia; it has been employed chiefly as a rubber accelerator. Aldol or acetaldol is formed by condensing two molecules of acetaldehyde. Production. The manufacture of these various $559, 216 Compounds depends upon acetaldehyde, which prior to the war was obtained by oxidizing ethyl alcohol or by fractional distillation from the first runnings of alcohol stills. During the war a process was developed for the production of acetaldehyde from acetylene gas, which is produced from calcium carbide. In America this process was developed commercially at Shawinigan Falls, Canada, where a plant was erected with a capacity of 25 tons of acetaldehyde daily the larger portion of this output being, converted to acetic acid. Production in the United States in 1921 amounted to 36,671 pounds, and in 1922 to 71,537 pounds. IRON SHOT is made by heating scrap or pig iron to a fluid state and spraying it with steam as it runs into a large vat of water. Iron grit and sand are made by crushing the larger sizes of iron shot. Crushed steel or steel grit is made by crushing a special grade of crucible steel. These materials are used chiefly in cutting, grinding, and polishing granite, marble, and other stones; in "sand-blasting, ," and in the manufacture of iron and steel cement. Production figures are not available. In 1922 the domestic consumption was estimated at from 4,000 to 5,000 short tons. Scotland is the most important producer. Imports of grit, shot, and sand in 1914 amounted to 228,454 pounds. Since 1917 they have been as follows: 1922† Paracetaldehyde: 26,338 17,736 489,015 1,020, 804 $13,389 $4,017 30.00 1922+. 17,718 40, 903 5,315 30.00 893,804 16,320 4,896 30.00 192, 800 4,774 1,433 30.00 220 Exports.-None recorded. ACETONE, ACETONE OIL, AND ETHYL METHYL KETONE. Acetone (dimethyl ketone) is a clear, colorless, and highly inflammable liquid. It is used primarily as a solvent for fats, resins, rubber, and other gums, nitrocellulose (cordite, guncotton, pyroxylin plastics), tannins, and acetylene, and in the manufacture of chloroform, but for the lastnamed purpose it has a strong competitor in carbon tetrachloride. STEEL WOOL AND SHAVINGS. Steel wool consists of long steel fibers resembling curled hair. The fibers are of triangular cross section, and are graded according to fineness, from coarse shavings to wool. Steel wool is used as an abrasive, and is Acetone oil (crude ethyl methyl ketone) is a a substitute for sandpaper and emery cloth or residue obtained in the purification of acetone propumice stone, being regarded as superior to them duced from acetate of lime. It possesses the same for certain purposes. It is used in shipbuilding, solvent properties as acetone and on account of its in other building, in factories, and in the house-higher boiling point is preferred in some cases. hold. Production. No accurate figures of production are available. In 1917 the yearly consumption was estimated at between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 pounds, which (imports being cut off) virtually represented domestic production. In 1921, the estimated production was valued at $1,000,000. Germany and Switzerland are also producers. Imports. During the war very little steel wool was imported. In 1913 imports were 41,436 pounds, valued at $5,177, and in 1914, 27,113 pounds, valued at $3,698. During recent years importations of steel wool have been small. Exports.-None recorded. ACETALDEHYDE, ALDOL OR ACETALDOL, ALDEHYDE AMMONIA, BUTYRALDEHYDE, CROTONALDEHYDE, PARACETALDEHYDE. Acetaldehyde is a colorless liquid boiling at about 21° C. Its largest use is as an intermediate product in manufacturing acetic acid. On account of the low boiling point of acetaldehyde, it is usually polymerized to 110572-24- -2 It is also purified by distillation to obtain ethyl methyl ketone, which is sold also as ketone. Methyl acetone is the first portion of the distillate in refining crude wood alcohol. It is a mixture of acetone, wood alcohol, and methyl acetate. Production of acetone by eight firms in 1914 was 10,425,817 pounds, valued at $1,099,585, but decreased in 1919 to 6,045,914 pounds, valued at $767,042, and in 1921 to 4,380,085 pounds, valued at $441,700. Prior to the war acetone was made exclusively from acetate of lime, a product of the hardwood distillation industry. During the war the large demand for the manufacture of the British explosive, cordite, led to the development of several new processes, one of which is conducted with the fermentation of various substances corn, molasses, and kelp. Plants employing these fermentation processes, except the fermentation of corn, have closed since the signing of the armistice. The plant at Terre Haute, Ind., built by the United States and British Governments to produce acetone by fermentation of corn, was purchased by the Commercial Solvents Corporation and re opened in March, 1920. The productive capacity by this process in the latter part of 1920 was about 300,000 pounds per month. A Another process, developed solely by the Canadian Electro Products Co., at Shawinigan Falls, Canada, produced acetone from calcium carbide. This process was abandoned for acetone, but it is still used for the manufacture of acetic acid. third method in process of development during the war produced acetone from a by-product of the Burton method of cracking petroleum oils. This process, still largely in the experimental stage, has promising commercial features. Acetone was also made during the war by converting ethyl alcohol to acetic acid by trickling it over beechwood shavings. The acetic acid, passed over lime at a high temperature, yields acetone. material, calcium carbide. Productive capacity of the Canadian plant is about 650 tons per month of 100 per cent acetic acid. Some acetic acid is also made by the oxidation of ethyl alcohol which is trickled over beechwood shavings. Imports of acetic acid increased after the passage of the act of 1913, but from 1910 to 1917 were never more than 1 per cent of domestic production. Later statistics follow: Acetic acid: 1918. 1919. 1920. 1921.. 1922*. Year. Containing not more than 65 per cent by weight of acetic acid: 1922.. 1923. The domestic production of ethyl methyl ketone in 1919 was 1,158,032 pounds, valued at $167,734. Imports of acetone have been sporadic and negligible when compared with domestic production. In 1918 they amounted to 148,082 pounds. In Containing more than 65 per cent by 1914 the imports of acetone oil were 155,210 pounds, valued at $14,609, chiefly from Canada. Later statistics follow: ACIDS. Acetic Acid is that chemical which, as a constituent of vinegar, produces the sour taste. The common grades of the commercial acid contain 28, 56, and 80 per cent of actual acetic acid. The most concentrated form, which contains over 99 per cent, is known as glacial acetic acid. The largest use is in manufacturing the pigments white lead and verdigris. Other uses are in printing and dyeing textiles; in the leather industry; in the manufacture of insecticides, inks, dyes, and drugs; and for laundry purposes. Pyroligneous acid is the crude acetic-acid solution obtained in the destructive distillation of wood. It does not enter commerce to any great extent, but is usually refined by conversion into calcium acetate. Production of all kinds of acetic acid in 1914 was 75,303,375 pounds, with sales of 70,617,637 pounds, valued at $1,272,294; in 1919 the production of dilute and pyroligneous acetic acid was 42,248,803 pounds, with sales of 33,057,776 pounds, valued at $1,359,521. In 1919 the output of glacial acetic acid was 20,131,487 pounds, with sales of 19,244,960 pounds, valued at $2,325,927. In 1921 the production of dilute acetic acid was 23,530,087 pounds, of which 22,448,683 pounds, valued at $701,163, were sold; and of glacial acetic acid and anhydride, 15,544,157 pounds, of which 12,096,129 pounds, valued at $1,089,694, were sold. Acetic acid is usually made from acetate of lime or of soda, and its manufacture is rather widespread. As a result of large war demands for acetone a process has been developed in Canada which gives acetic acid as an intermediate product and uses the raw weight of acetic acid: 1922+... 1923.. Exports of acetic acid were not shown prior to 1922, when they amounted to 5,079,880 pounds, valued at $367,365. In 1923, 763,850 pounds, valued at $94,025, were exported. Survey A-2. Acetic Anhydride, a colorless liquid with a strong acetic odor, is derived from acetic acid by the removal of water. It is used in the manufacture of acetyl salicylic acid (aspirin) and cellulose acetate. Production.-Acetic anhydride is made by treating anhydrous sodium acetate with phosphorus chloride or sulphur chloride. Prior to the war little, if any, was made in this country. The war demand for airplane "dopes" and the expiration of the patents on "aspirin" caused a great stimulus to the industry. The total production in 1919 was 1,784,985 pounds, with sales of 1,213,861 pounds, valued at $578,596. In 1921, production is included with glacial acetic acid. Imports prior to 1915 were from Germany, and amounted to about 1,200,000 pounds in 1910 and 1911. They declined to about 300,000 pounds in 1913, and during the war were negligible. Later statistics follow. Exports.-Statistics not available. Arsenic Acid and Arsenious Acid or White Arsenic. Arsenious acid or white arsenic, the most important and the commonest commercial form of arsenic, is an acid anhydride rather than a true acid. It is also known simply as "arsenic" or as arsenic trioxide. Arsenious acid is a white insoluble powder with a slightly metallic taste. It vaporizes without melting when heated in the open. Arsenic acid is chemically different and is obtained by oxidation of white arsenic. It occurs in commerce as a true acid-a thick sirupy liquid packed in steel drums and in the form of the acid anhydride-arsenic pentoxide, which by the addition of water forms arsenic acid. Both of these acids, as well as all soluble salts of arsenic, are | extremely poisonous. Arsenious acid is used in the manufacture of insecticides, chiefly lead and calcium arsenates, in plate-glass manufacture, as a preservative for green hides, and in the manufacture of arsenic acid and arsenic salts. Arsenic acid is employed in the preparation of organic medicinal chemicals containing arsenic. Its salts are used as weed killers and they also have medicinal value. The use of calcium arsenate as an insecticide for the cotton boll weevil began in 1919. It has proved so effective that there has been created a large and growing demand, resulting in 1922 in a shortage and high prices for white arsenic. It is probable that the productive capacity can be expanded to meet the increased demands. Production. The domestic production of white arsenic increased from 1,497 short tons in 1910 to 11,502 short tons, valued at $2,021,356, in 1920. Production in 1921 was 4,786 short tons, valued at $717,700, and in 1922, 10,027 short tons, valued at $1,475,229. White arsenic is obtained chiefly in the United States as a by-product of smelting copper and lead ores. Arsenic acid is manufactured by oxidizing white arsenic by means of either nitric acid or chlorine. Imports of arsenic and arsenious acids from 1908 to 1918 averaged 2,725,575 pounds, valued at $126,828, and came chiefly from Germany, Canada, England, and Belgium. Later statistics follow: Year. Arsenic and arsenious acid: 1918.. 1919.. 1920. 1921.. 1922* Arsenious acid: 1922. 1923. Arsenic acid: 1922+.. 1923. Pounds. Value. 3,694,084 8,778, 218 7,479, 485 3,338, 025 420, 265 1,782, 259 20,304, 545 41, 296 166,354 Exports. Statistics not available. $441, 212 532,635 253,250 duction of these minerals increased from 50,609 tons in 1914 to 108,875 tons in 1917. Refined boric acid and borax are manufactured in Califormia, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Production in the United States in 1914 was 4,295 tons, valued at $588,981, and in 1917 was 5,888 tons, valued at $1,383,783. The production for 1919 was 6,727 tons, valued at $1,754,632; and for 1921, 6,424 tons, with sales of 6,346 tons, valued at $1,780,589. Imports of boracic acid have been less than 5 per cent of the American production since 1908. Later statistics follow: Exports. Statistics for pre-war years are not available, but the trade was probably negligible. An important export trade has developed since 1914. In 1922 there were exported 1,560,996 pounds, valued at $189,581, and in 1923, 891,670 pounds, valued at $104,912. Survey A-1. Chloroacetic Acid. Of the various chloroacetic acids, the most important is monochloroacetic acid (obtained by treating glacial acetic acid with chlorine), an important intermediate in the manufacture of the coal-tar dye, indigo.. Production.-Little or no chloroacetic acid was 624, 494 produced in the United States prior to the war, because of the absence of a synthetic dye industry. The necessary raw materials acetic acid and chlorine are available in large quantities and the manufacture of the acid on a commercial scale was coincident with that of coal-tar dyes. Statistics of production are not available but the output is known to be large. 136,763 1,985, 400 4,195 15,597 Boric Acid is a white crystalline substance which has very weak acid properties. It serves as a mild antiseptic. Refined borax, or borate of soda, is closely allied to boric acid. The principal uses of boric acid and borax are: (a) In making enamels for iron and steel (kitchen ware, sanitary ware, equipment for chemical factories, watch dials, etc.). (b) As an ingredient for glazes on earthenware and pottery. (c) In the manufacture of some varieties of glass, especially lamp chimneys and chemical laboratory ware. (d) As a flux for welding and brazing metals. (e) As an ingredient for some varieties of soap, principally laundry soap for use with hard water. ) In the tanning of some varieties of leather. (g) As an antiseptic in eye lotions, cosmetics, and washes for wounds. (h) In Europe as a food preservative, especially in dairy products, dried and smoked meat, and sausages. In the United States this use is prohibited by the Food and Drugs Act, except in products intended for export. Production.-Boric acid and borax are made from crude borate minerals which are mined commercially in California and Nevada, and in Chile, Italy, Turkey, and Germany. The United States produces about one-half of the world's total supply and Chile about one-third. The domestic pro Imports are recorded for 1914 (fiscal year), when commercial grades of monochloroacetic acid amounted to 12,834 pounds, valued at $2,756. In 1922 and 1923 imports were negligible. Exports. Statistics not available. Chromic Acid. The so-called chromic acid of commerce is chromic anhydride or chromium trioxide. It is a strongly acid substance, crystallizing in scarlet needles, and is used in electric batteries, in photography, as an oxidizer in analytical and manufacturing chemical operations, in tanning leather, etching copper, bleaching, and for hardening microscopical preparations. Production-Chromic acid is produced by treating sodium or potassium dichromate with concentrated sulphuric acid. Imports in 1914 were 7,211 pounds, valued at $1,195, all from Germany. Since 1917 they have been as follows: Citric Acid is a white crystalline substance obtained as a by-product of the lemon industry. Its principal use is in the manufacture of beverages and pharmaceutical preparations. Citrate of lime is the intermediary chemical in the manufacture of citric acid from lemon juice, and is used exclusively for that purpose. Domestic production. The greater part of the citric acid manufactured in the United States is from the citrate of lime imported from Sicily; it is obtained as a by-product of the lemon industry in California, and a small amount is made from lemon and lime juice imported from the West Indies. Citric acid is made from "cull" (inferior or damaged) lemons, not salable as fresh fruit. A byproduct obtained is essential oil of lemon. The cultural methods in California are so superior to those commonly used in Sicily that a smaller proportion of the crop is converted into by-products. There has been a large increase in the acreage of bearing lemon trees in recent years, but in spite of this expansion in total output of lemons the American demand for citric acid can not be met from domestic sources unless over-production forces lemons of good grade into by-products. Besides the California producers, a group of manufacturers located near Atlantic ports is engaged in making citric acid, principally from imported citrate of lime. The manufacture is dependent on the margin of duty between citrate of lime and citric acid. The production of citric acid in the United States grew from 2,729,943 pounds in 1914 to 4,032,897 pounds in 1917, but decreased in 1919 to 3,260,482 pounds, with sales of 3,163,676 pounds, valued at $3,047,371. In 1921, 3,892,189 pounds were produced, of which sales were 3,849,789 pounds, valued at $1,913,774. technical advances in its domestic manufacture and commercial development indicate that under normal conditions it may be put on the market at a lower price. These new discoveries will prob ably have indirectly a marked influence on the manufacture of oxalic acid. Production. Formic acid is made by two processes, one of which-developed in Germany and controlled before the war by German patents, but since introduced in the United States-depends on heating caustic soda with carbon monoxide under pressure, with a yield of sodium formate, from which either formic acid or oxalic acid may be made by subsequent treatment. This process has attained commercial production. By the other process, an American invention developed during the war, the first stage is to make cyanide of soda from soda, coke, and air. The cyanide of soda is then decomposed by steam, the yield being ammonia and sodium formate. Imports were largest in 1914 when 1,119,745 pounds of formic acid and 1,843,245 pounds of sodium formate were imported, almost entirely from Germany. Later statistics of formic acid follow: Exports. Statistics not available. Gallic Acid is found in many plants, and com Imports of citric acid in 1913 were only 8,677 pounds, valued at $2,916, on which a revenue of $607 was collected. After the passage of the tariffmercially is made directly from nutgalls by boiling tannic-acid solutions with sulphuric or act of 1913 they increased greatly, although they hydrochloric acid, the yield being only about remained small in comparison with imports of two-thirds of the tannic acid used. This acid, citrate of lime. The imports of 1915 amounted to appearing in commerce in two grades (1) the 722,434 pounds, valued at $447,131, and yielded a revenue of $36,121. This increase was not due United States Pharmacopoeia, and (2) the less refined, conforming to the specifications of the entirely to the change in the tariff, but in part to the erection of citric-acid factories in Italy. Later pure or technical-an intermediate used for making several dyes, including Gallocyanine Blue, forstatistics follow: merly much employed for dyeing wool for Navy uniforms; it also serves as an ingredient of ink and of certain medicines, and as a raw material for the manufacture of pyrogallic acid. The output increased greatly during the war, principally on account of the enlarged demand in the making of dye. It is made by four firins in the United States. The production in 1921 was 306,431 pounds, with sales of 147,929 pounds, valued at $112,515. In 1922 there were 411,768 pounds produced; sales were 96,100 pounds, valued at $48.308. 7.66 Year. Pounds. Value. Duty. Rate. 1918. 332, 269 $217,027 1919. 1,224, 591 1, 187, 267 $16,613 1920. 1,317, 467 1, 142, 842 65,873 1921. 922, 737 490,084 46, 137 1922* 1,293, 164 466,320 64, 658 13.87 5.76 48.66 Formic Acid. Concentrated formic acid is a corrosive, fuming, colorless liquid with a characteristic and irritating odor. It mixes with water in all proportions and appears in commerce in strength varying from 50 per cent to almost 100 per cent. It is serviceable in the dyeing and tanning industries, but other competing acids have, as a rule, been cheaper, and its use has therefore been restricted to a few cases for which it has peculiar advantages. Formic acid forms esters with various alcohols and in this condition is employed in perfumes and as a solvent. Recent ACIDS. 1918. 1919. 1920. 1921. Glycerophosphoric Acid is the substance formed when glycerol (glycerin) and phosphoric acid are heated together. It is a clear, colorless liquid when made, but decomposes rapidly and changes color. It is rarely obtained in the pure state and is of little importance commercially, but its saltssodium, calcium, and potassium glycerophos- 1922. phates are used as medicinals. Glycerophosphoric acid is also used in medicine when combined with iron, manganese, quinine, and strychnine. Production. The total output of glycerophosphoric acid and its salts is produced by two manufacturers. Imports show a decrease in quantity since 1914, but an increase in value. In 1917, 5,853 pounds of the acid and its salts were imported as compared with 24,789 pounds in 1914. Imports since 1917 have been as follows: 25 6,595 8, 169 2,013 5,460 4,789 1, 197 7,021 3,870 1,355 28,265 38,100 13, 335 Exports.-None recorded. 3333333 25 Hydrochloric or Muriatic Acid. Commercial hydrochloric acid is a solution of varying percentages of hydrogen chloride and water. When pure it is colorless; but the commercial grades usually contain traces of such impurities as ferric chloride, free chlorine, or organic matter, which color the acid yellow. Impure hydrochloric or commercial acid is often called muriatic acid. The acid is very corrosive, dissolving metallic oxides and many metals, forming chlorides. It is on the market in strengths ranging in density from 18° to 22° Baumé. In Europe it is used for producing chlorine. In the United States it is employed for the production of chlorides of many metals, purifying bonechar, in dyeing and printing cloth, for preparing carbonic acid, in the manufacture of many coal-tar dyes, in pickling iron and steel, in the production of glue, and for many other purposes. Production.-Hydrochloric acid is manufactured commercially by four processes: (1) In America, by the action of niter cake on common salt (sometimes modified by the addition of sulphuric acid); (2) in Europe, as a by-product from the manufacture of salt cake (Leblanc soda process); (3) as a by-product in the chlorination of organic materials, chiefly of coal-tar origin; and (4) synthetically, by the combination of hydrogen and chlorine from electrolytic cells. The domestic production in 1918 was about 140,000,000 pounds, calculated as 100 per cent acid. In 1919 production was 221, 749 tons (strength not stated), valued at $4,312,300, and in 1921, 157,571 tons, with sales of 96,100 tons, valued at $2,778,468. Imports in 1914 were less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the domestic production. Imports since 1917 have been as follows: 1923.. Exports. Statistics not available. Hydrofluoric Acid. Commercial hydrofluoric acid is a solution of the pure acid in water. Its principal use is for etching and marking glass. The raw materials employed in its manufacture are fluorspar and sulphuric acid, both produced in this country. It must be shipped in bottles of wax or lead. "Fluoric acid" is an obsolete term for hydrofluoric acid. Production in 1914 by nine establishments was 7,209,248 pounds, of which 5,373,657 pounds were sold for $325,540. In 1919, 5,732,198 pounds were produced, of which 4,320.017 pounds, valued at $440,184, were sold; in 1921 production amounted to 3,504,386 pounds; sales, to 2,593,674 pounds, valued at $329,329. Imports have been less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the domestic production. Before the war they were mostly from Germany. Imports in 1922 were 14 pounds and in 1923, 183 pounds, valued at $36. Exports.-Statistics not available. Lactic Acid is the acid formed in souring milk, dark" in color. Edible lactic acid is free from impurities which give an objectionable odor and flavor, is nearly colorless, and is usually about 50 per cent in strength. Medicinal lactic acid (United States Pharmacopoeia) is a refined article of not less than 85 per cent of acid and with only traces of impurities. Technical lactic acid is used principally in tanning for the bating and plumping of hides and also in the dyeing and printing of textiles. Edible lactic acid has been on the market in considerable amounts only since the summer of 1918. A large market will probably develop for it in beverages, especially in nonalcoholic imitation beers and soft drinks. A use which may arise is in bread making. It has been found that the addition of this acid to dough improves the quality of bread. Lactic acid and several of its salts are employed in medicine. Production. The acid is made from corn or other starchy material and from vegetable-ivory scrap obtained from button factories. The raw material is heated with sulphuric acid to make glucose |