Wartime developments

A large program of work on coal liquefaction at the U.S. Bureau of Mines station at Bruceton, Pa., under the direction of H. H. Storch, was stimulated by the pre-war and wartime developments in Germany (49,50,51,52,53). The very extensive studies showed that, with some modification of processing conditions, most U.S. coals could be converted to liquid fuels in acceptable yields... 

THE ENTRY INTO PETROCHEMICALS Because the early 1950s were a period of rapid innovation in polymer/petrochemical technology, Hercules was able to build a new learning base in that industry and become a first mover in one of the most versatile of the new commodities, polypropylene (PP). Its strategy was excellent. The company worked closely with European inventors and companies that, like Hercules, had not been involved in the new technology s wartime development. After pioneering the invention of a new process for phenol resins, it joined with Britain s Distillers Company to commercialize and license the process. Its first plant came on-stream in 1952.4... 

For wartime developments and postwar plans, see Hounshell and Smith, Science and Corporate Strategy, ch. 16. This and the next quotation are from ibid., pp. 337 and 364. For polyethylene, see pp. 480-482. By 1945 Du Pont was producing a limited 750 tons per year. Haynes, Chemical Companies, summarizes the wartime applications of Du Font s technologies, pp. 134—137. 

Another impetus to expansion of this field was the advent of World War 11 and the development of the atomic bomb. The desired isotope of uranium, in the form of UF was prepared by a gaseous diffusion separation process of the mixed isotopes (see Fluorine). UF is extremely reactive and required contact with inert organic materials as process seals and greases. The wartime Manhattan Project successfully developed a family of stable materials for UF service. These early materials later evolved into the current fluorochemical and fluoropolymer materials industry. A detailed description of the fluorine research performed on the Manhattan Project has been pubUshed (2). 

Shop-assembled, packaged boilers, developed during the 1940s were designed to meet the significant wartime era demand for high output, mainstream industrial use at lower cost than field-erected units. 

During World War II, the Japanese cut ofFU.S. access to sources of natural rubber, giving the Americans a strategic imperative to develop and expand the manufacture of synthetic rubber. The C4 streams in refineries were a direct source of butadiene, the primary synthetic rubber feedstock. As a coincidence, the availability of this stream was growing rapidly with the expansion of catalytic cracking to meet wartime gasoline needs. Additional butadiene was manufactured by dehydrogenation of butane and butylene also. 

In addition, Meselson was a member of the NAE Committee on Alternative Chemical Demilitarization Technologies and the Advisory Panel on the Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Center. I decided to write to him, and composed a two-page letter pointing out that he and I were approximately the same age, and had similar Ivy League educations. I wondered why we had reached such different views on the topic of chemical warfare, especially about incapacitating agents, which were intended to reduce wartime casualties. 

In 1950, the National Science Foundation was established to chatmel federal support into basic research. The model for the National Science Foundation grew out of the success of the wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD. Appropriations for the Foundation rose sharply from 225,000 in fiscal year 1951 to 14 million in fiscal year 1955 and to 153 million in fiscal year 1960. In the period 1953-1960, U.S. spending on R D grew from 5.13 billion to 13.55 billion and the federal share of the total climbed from 54 to 65% (Skolnik Reese, 1976). 

World War II helped shape the future of polymers. Wartime demands and shortages encouraged scientists to seek substitutes and materials that even excelled those currently available. Polycarbonate (Kevlar), which could stop a speeding bullet, was developed, as was polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), which was super slick. New materials were developed spurred on by the needs of the military, electronics industry, food industry, etc. The creation of new materials continues at an accelerated pace brought on by the need for materials with specific properties and the growing ability to tailor-make giant molecules macromolecules—polymers. 

Of the long-term complications of wartime exposure to mustard gas, perhaps the best documented and one of the most serious is recurring corneal ulcers, with eventual opacification and blindness. No exact figures are available for predicting the eventual development of such long-term corneal lesions, but it has been reported that a Ct of 100 mg min/m will cause acute blindness for 24-48 h.20 Permanent blindness typically occurred about 14 yr... 

Wartime necessity brought about the commercial development of the isomerization processes well in advance of the time when they would be needed under a peacetime economy but either renewed military activity or increased peacetime demands for aromatics or for fuels of higher octane number may again bring isomerization into prominence. 

Vogt, "The Chemistry of Acetylene," Rein-hold,NY (1945) 4)P.Piganiol,"Acetylene, Homologues et Derive es, Masson,Paris (1945) 5)R.L.Hasche,ChMetEng 52,No 10, 116-19(1945)(Acetylene industry in wartime Germany) 6a) SP. Reppe, "Advances in Acetylene Chemistry (as developed at the IG Farbenindustrie A-G), PB Rept 1112(CWS IDR No 4149Xabout 1946) 6b)w. Reppe,... 

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