EQUIPMENT

CONDENSER

Cross section diagram of Foster Wheeler's aqueous homogeneous power breeder system

Low-Cost Nuclear Plants Arrive Cost of nuclear power plants may compete with

conventional power plant cosfsj expected arrivai . 1960—61

TQY 1960 to 1961, Foster Whee le r says *-* it will be able to offer industry a n advanced type of nuclear r>o\ver râlant at a cost that will b e competi t ive with some present-day power station costs (C&EN, May 2, page 1 8 4 1 ) . T h e plant, being designed a n d built b y Foster Wheeler, will use a n aqueous homogeneous power b reeder system. Design work for the system, according to Robert Gould of t h e company's Xuclear Power Project, is based on a successful operating experience of t h e AEC at Oak Ridge with a homogeneous reactor experiment. In addit ion. Pio­neering Service & Engineer ing and Dia­mond Alkali contributed to the design work.

The aqueous homogeneous power breeder system has many advantages, says Foster Wheeler. I t uses a liquid fuel and is self-controlhng to the ex­tent that, as demand on t h e steam gen­erators increases, the reactor responds by releasing the heat required. Addi­tional regulation is provided, says com­pany, by controlling the concentration of uranium 'in the fuel solution. Foster Wheeler says another important feature is safety. The amount of fuel in the system is always consistent with the amount required fo.- operation. Last, steam produced by the reactor system can be used to run a conventional t urbo-generator.

Essentially, the Foster 'Wheeler re­actor system uses a spherical core con­taining a solution of u rany i sulfate in heavy water in which t h e fission of uranium-235 generates t h e heat re­

quired» T h e foel solution! is pumped through the core to four steami genera­tor heat exchangers an which saturated •gj gaira-a at OQQ pjS-l- is ir»roducedl bv t he heat the fuel solution gives u p . Di­mensions of the core vessel a re such that the fuel solution becomes critical as it circulates through t h e vessel.

Foster Wheeler savs that it *sses lour heat exchangers to niake the equipment practical and of manageable sise. This also pemnits any one of the heat ex­changers to he isolated for servicing.

Four canned rotor pumps circulate the fuel through the core and through the heat exchangers. T h e cone is con­nected to a system of noncritical d u m p and storage tanks. The solution mav be drained out of the reactor system into these tanks when desired for shut­down and maintenance. This, dump­ing arrangement is controlled b v a hydraulic pressure balance system to eliminate large valves. A separate vessel connected into the highest point in the s>,stem serves «as a pressurizer u.nd surge tank. The desired operating pressure of the system is maintained by electrical heaters in the pressurizer.

Breeding is accomplished in a blanket containing a ferule material in a spherical vessel surrounding the core vessel. The fertile material will be thoriuni-23£. which is converted to uranium-233 in the breeder blanket.

For further information on any item mentioned feere. see COB-

pen on page 2158

The uranium-233 is used to refuel the reactor. The thorium in the breeder blanket, in heavy water, is pumped through the blanket vessel. Approxi­mately IT^é of t h e total reactor heat output is generated in the blanket. Two heat exchangers are used to ex­tract the heat from the blanket mate­rial and to generate additional steam at GOO p.s.i. Two canned rotor pumps circulate thi> material through the blanket and through the heat ex­changers. The blanket circuit is con­nected to a dump tank similar to that used for the core. The pressurizer in the core circuit is also connected to the blanket circuit to maintain essen­tially equal pressures in both circuits.

Foster Wheeler says a reprocessing system tor the core material is included in the plant. This is to remove the majority of the gaseous and insoluble fission products poisons as they are being formed in the fission process. T h e blanket material is periodically removed for reprocessing in an existing government facility.

Foster Wheeler anticipates that when reactors of this type are operat­ing, it will prove feasible to have a centrally located commercial reprocess­ing plant for t h e blanket material to serve 10 reactors. Ε 1

GE Develops 4-in-l I*«dl«fϊOR ρe iec to r

A lightweight portable probe, de­signed by General Electric, selectively detects aîpha-beta-garnrria and thermal neutron radiation. According to GE, the new device features interchange­able heads for detecting different radia­tions, high thermal neutron counting efficiency, and the ability to count alpha particles i n the presence of high beta-gamma background.

In the portable radiation probe, scintillation caused by radiations is de­tected by a photomultiplier tube. The output is fed to a high stability, cath­ode follower preamplifier which oper­ates directly into almost any scaler. A standard connector at the rear of the probe allows connecting cable to be at­tached to the probe.

T h e phosphors for detecting alpha. beta, gamma, and neutron radiations are incorporated into specially designed caps, says GE. Also, these detecting heads can be interchanged and the phosphors in the caps can be replaced.

Cosûpâsv savs fast scanning is pos­sible with the probe because of its sensitivity, about 25,000 counts per minute per mr. per hour from radium gamma rays. Ε 2

2 1 5 6 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

NIH Exhibits Half-a-MiSlion Dollars of Research Instruments

At an exhibit of medical research instruments, Jonathan I. Hartwel l of the National Cancer Institute looks at small organic glass apparatus shown by Kontes Glass. This display typified the emphasis on microequipment that characterized the instrument exhibit held at t h e Nat ional Insti tutes of Hea l th recently. Among other companies showing microglassware were Ace Glass and Scientific Glass Apparatus . Highlighting the exhibit were new centrifuges, electrophoresis units, flame photometers , and chromato­graphic appara tus . All in all, half-a-million dollars worth of research instruments were displayed b y approximately 100 companies, He ld concurrently with the exhibit was a symposium on recent developments in research methods and instrumentation. This was sponsored b y local sections of the ACS, Instrument Society of America, American Association of Clinical Chemists, and Society of American Bacteriologists Ε 3

• O v e n , b y F i she r Scientif ic, is said to c o m b i n e h i g h d r y i n g s p e e d w i t h l a rge capac i ty , a l m o s t 1 0 0 0 s q . in. of shelf space . O v e n t akes 4 0 m i n . t o r e a c h a 105° C. d r y i n g t e m p e r a t u r e . C o m ­pany says the t e m p e r a t u r e se lec ted b y the o p e r a t o r i s h e l d un i fo rm wi th in ztlVc t h r o u g h o u t t h e oven , c o n s t a n t to wi th in ± 0 . 5 ° C . at a n y o n e p o i n t . Ε 4

• Pneumatically operated pump, by Hills M c C a n n a , takes its p o w e r from a d o u b l e ac t i ng a i r c y l i n d e r to p r o v i d e quick s t a r t s a n d posi t ive s tops at h i g h or l ow s p e e d s . U n i t is d e s i g n e d for use in the m e t e r i n g a n d p r o p o r t i o n i n g of smal l v o l u m e flows. P u m p app l i ca ­tions i n c l u d e p r o p o r t i o n i n g of p e t r o ­leum inh ib i to r s and a d d i t i v e s a n d odor-ants t o na tu r a l gas, a n d food i n d u s t r y uses such a s t h e ad Hi Hon of co lo r ing to spices a n d p r e s e r v a t i v e s . P u m p is ava i lab le i n stainless, Has te l loy , Monel , a n d p l a s t i c . Ε 5

• P h o t o c o n d u c t i v e ce l l , b y C a n a d i a n Marcon i , h a n d l e s p o w e r u p to 0 .3 wat t . U n i t is said to e l i m i n a t e e lec­tronic ampli f ier , v a c u u m pho toce l l , a n d d.c. p o w e r supp ly . U n i t is d e s i g n e d to o p e r a t e re lays and o the r dev ices on

vol tages from 110 to 1.5 vol ts a .c . or d .c . wi th inc iden t l igh t va lues from day l i gh t ( 1 0 0 0 ft. c and l e s ) t o m o o n ­l igh t (0 .020 ft. c a n d l e ) . Sensi t ivi ty is 0 .40 a m p e r e p e r l u m e n . Ε 6

• H y d r a u l i c s p r a y n o z z l e , b y Spray ing Sys tems, is t u r n e d on or off b y com­p r e s s e d ai r a c t u a t i n g a n air p i s ton in the nozz le ; sp ray is p r o d u c e d b y hy­d rau l i c p re s su re a lone . M a x i m u m rec­o m m e n d e d capac i ty , 0 .80 gal . p e r min.

E7

• P r o p o r t i o n i n g p u m p s , b y Ph i lade l ­p h i a P u m p & M a c h i n e r y , a re e q u i p p e d w i t h a solenoid or a i r -cy l inder o p e r a t e d s ingle-revolut ion c l u t c h . U n i t s , ac­c o r d i n g to c o m p a n y , m a y b e cont ro l led to any m e t e r a b l e factor. Avai lable w i t h capaci t ies f rom 0 . 0 0 0 0 9 3 ga l . to 27 ga l . P^1 min . Ε 8

• B r o n z e g l o b e v a l v e , b y L u n k e -he imer , fea tures a n e w sea t ing me ta l , ca l l ed Brinalloy. T h e alloy is h a r d all t he way t h r o u g h a n d is said to resist w e a r and corrosion e v e n more t h a n 500 Brinell s tainless. C o m p a n y says use of t he n e w alloy p e r m i t s a flat-seat design of t h e valve. Ε 9

(Continued on page 2167)

To those qualified in the techniques of

PLASTICS as applied to the field of advanced

GUIDED MISSILES

. j

The Laboratories are engaged, among other projects, in a highly advanced research and development program devoted to production of the Hughes guided inissile.

ι

ENGINEERS or j APPLIED PHYSICISTS j

I

familiar with non-metall ic m a ­terials arc required to plan, co ­ordinate, and conduct special laboratory and field test programs on missile components . These men should have experience in materials development, laboratory instru­mentation, and the design of test fixtures.

H RESEARCH C H E M I S T ι L. . I

The Plastics Depar tment of the Microwave Laboratory has need for an individual with a Ph.D. Degree, or equivalent experience in organic or physical chemistry, to investigate the basic properties of plastics. The w o r k involves re ­search into the properties of flow, the mechanisms of cure, vapor transmission, and the electrical and physical characteristics of plastics.

HUGHES

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LABORATORIES

Scientific and Engineering Staff CULVER CITY, LOS A N G E L E S COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

V O L U M E 3 3. N O . 2 0 · · · · M A Y 16, 1 9 5 5 2 1 5 7

FROM STOCK phcnylpyruvic acid, tartronic acid 9-nitroanthraeene, 3-nitropyten*

hexene-3-oM, 3-hcxenoic acid, 2-methyl thiophen·, n-nonylamine, methyl n-butyiaminc,

trifluorethonol, pyridine 3-ald«hyde, n-octylurea Write for 1955 list

S A P O N LABORATORIES 101 E. Hawthorne Ave. , Valley Stream, Ν . Υ.

YOUR A N N O U N C E M E N T of

C h e m i c a l s for S a l e a n d / o r

W a n t e d c a n c a r r y YOUR

M E S S A G E to t h e r e a d e r s of

t h e l e a d i n g p u b l i c a t i o n in t h e

c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s i ndus t r i e s .

Rates o n r e q u e s t .

C H E M I C A L & E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S

Advertising Office

4 3 0 Park Avenue

N e w York 2 2 , Ν . Y.

ORGANICS SILICATES

t o y o u r s p e c i f i c a t i o n s

BERKELEY CHEMICAL CORP.

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N . J.

SUmmit 6 - 4 1 8 5 or LOngacro 4 - 1 3 4 6

UNSYMMETRICAL DIMETHYL HYDRAZINE

(Anhydrous)

A n d Some of Its Salts Available in COMMERCIAL Ouantitizs

mETALECTRO C O R P O R A T I O N Laurel , M a r y l a n d

NINHYDRIN HYDINDANTIN Technical Bulletins Available

Μφΰ^Φ; GHEMfCAL t O

Chelation (pronounced "Key-Iation") is the new chemistry that may prove to be the key to your own chemical problem. Chelation gives you mole-tor-mole control over contaminating cations in solution. B,, grasping and binding these offending contaminants into strong chelate structures, Versene (the most powerful Chelating Agent known) prevents them from interfer­ing with the normal reaction in­volved.

The Versene products are chem­istry's most precise chemicals. Ex­tremely stable at elevated tempera­tures throughout the pH range, they are made only under patents owned and operated by Versenes Incorpo­rated. Quality and uniformity of com-plexing power are guaranteed by gram or carload. Write Dept. A for sample and Technical Bulletin N o . 2. Chemical counsel on request.

VERSENES INCORPORATED lutmJUry ef 1HZ DOW CMfcMICAL COMPANY

FRAHINCHAM, MASS

EQUIPMENT (Continued from page 2157)

• Micro g e i g e r counter , by Transi-Mite Lab, has an amplifier circuit that uses the transistor invented by Bell Telephone scientists. Unit employs a miniature Geiger-Miiller tube that re­quires a single 1.5 volt mercury cell. Unit weighs 1 lb, Ε ΙΟ r Bottle p u m p , by Barnstead Still & Sterilizer, is for the removal of distilled water and other liquids from carboys and tanks. Unit has a Ventgard filter which company says removes and ab­sorbs impurities before it can enter the container to replace the liquid being pumped out. Filter element may be replaced after 1000 gal. of distilled water or other liquids have been pumped out. E l l • Spectrochemical instrument , called the Quantograph, by Applied Research τ _i-„ u.· j.i_„ r„_* „r trograph, a monochromator, and the ARL Quantometer and performs the complete functions of each, according to the company. As a spectrograph, says company, resolution values close to theoretical are claimed, as well as op­tical speed equivalent to that of normal spectrographs. As a Quantometer, company says the features of the ARL Quantometer are available, plus a re­

cording console employing a new se­quential readout system. As a mono­chromator, the Quantograph is said to handle varied analytical problems at the rate of une element every 15 s e c , with high resolution, and also employ­ing the recording console. Ε 12 • Scintillation counter , b y Radiac, is designed for locating uranium ore de­posits and for detecting oil bearing strati rrrat5hie t rs^s . Unit hss a selec-tion of six ranges (0.025, 0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 2.5, and 5 mr . /h r . ) and four time constants (0 .5 , 1, 3, and 10 s e c ) . Ε 13

• Medical spec t romete r , model DZ21, by Detectolab is pat terned after the Francis-Bell unit. Unit is a combina­tion linear amplifier, count-rate meter, high voltage supply, and single chan­nel pulse height analyzer. Company says in addition to its use for cancer research, it is ideal for thyroid uptake work, brain tumor scanning, and count­ing chromium or iodine in the presence „r i.u~ -4-1 c ι Λ v / i L I I C u i t i c i . •*> • - * ·

• Microscope s tand , by Kay Lab, is to mount company's closed circuit televi­sion camera vertically to extend the vision of the laboratory microscope. Similar stands are available for adapt­ing the television cameras to telescopes, transits, and periscopes. € 15 • MuSfiprime centrifugal pump, by Granberg, incorporates a rapid-priming

impeller. Company says a number of radial orifices in the impeller enables unit to develop higher secondary pres­sure and enables the impeller rapidly to discharge air and vapor against a static head or against pressure developed by unit's curved impeller vanes. Eight models are available: six truck models and two models for bulk plant use. Capacities range from 120 to 200 gal. per min, E 16

• Dielectric p o t e n t i o m e t e r , by Tech­nology Instrument, is free of phase and frequency distortion over range 20 cycles to 10 megacycles. Company says output voltage has identical wave­form of the input voltage. Application-wise, company recommends device as a calibrated at tenuator in wide-band oscilloscopes, transmission measuring sets, amplifiers, signal generators, net­work analysis systems, and waveform comparison or balancing schemes. Ε 1 7

Κ D « * » » * M I « I A « m a i l * • • » £ · ? « M A 5r»£ l ;£ je*£» i r Vv^r

Beckman & Whitley, has seven ranges, covering values from 0.25 to 2 5 mv. Its primary usefulness, says company, is where thermocouple and thermopile indications must be secured rapidly and accurately and the particular combina­tions of ranges make the unit specially useful in meteorology, oceanography, and physiology. Accuracy is 0.5% of each range. Ε 1 8

V O L U M E 3 3, N O . 2 0 · · · · M A Y 16, 1 9 5 5 2 1 6 7

CHEMICAS EXCHANGE Heavv and rmeML^emicais; r^afural ond ^vntrietîc Kesms:

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VERSENE