48 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1906. 



associated with North African regions ; there are wooded 

 districts where a heavy antuial rainfall obtains. Now that 

 railways are making their influence felt in the extension of 

 commerce in the country, there is likely to be a good deal 

 of competition between business firms of England, France, 

 and Germany. It is a commonplace that the Ethiopian 

 cannot change his skin, but there is no saying what an ad- 

 vanced education may not cause him to change in his attite, 

 and it will be to the benefit of the new company to persuade 

 him that he is incomplete without a rainproof coat. 



Messrs. Archibald CoNST.iMiLE & Co., Limiteh, the 



well known London publishers, have in preparation a new 



.series of technical works dealing with the 



FORTHCOMING ^^.jrious industries and manufactures. One of 



NEW BOOK. . , , , , ... 



the volumes will be devoted to rubber and its 

 manufacture. The name of the author doubtless will be 

 announced shortly. 



Under the name Macintosh Tyre Co., a company in close 

 business connection with Charles Macintosh & Co., Limited, 

 but of distinct management, has been formed, 

 NOTES. presumably to forward the interests of and to 

 deal in the motor tire with which the rubber firm have been 

 experimenting for some time. From those who have used 

 this tyre I hear nothing but favorable reports, but the mak- 

 ers have been in no hurry to push the sale until the extended 

 trials which they themselves initiated had satisfied them of 

 its efiBciency.==I understand that Mr. James E. Baxter 

 and friends have rented one of the islands of the Orkney 

 group this autumn, good mixed shooting being the princi- 

 pal attraction. 



PETROLATUM IN RUBBER COMPOUNDING. 



THE use of petrolatum or vaseline as a rubber compound- 

 ing ingredient has become very general, especially in 

 the mechanical goods and reclaimed rubber manufacture. 

 It is one of the numerous products of petroleum or rock oil 

 derived by distillation. These products are classed as fol- 

 lows : 



Light oils, including gasoline and naphtha. 



Illuminating oils, kerosene. 



Residuum or tar. 



From the latter subdivision is separable, by further in- 

 crease of heat, heavy lubricating and paraffin oils, among 

 which are petrolatum or vaseline, and coke as a waste pro- 

 duct. 



Petrolatum is considered to be a mixture of paraffin and 

 volatile oils. It is separated from the residuum of crude 

 petroleum which has been subjected to the vacuum process 

 of distillation in contradistinction to the "cracking" pro- 

 cess by which some of the natural constituents are chemi- 

 cally broken up to form new bodies. The residuum being 

 kept fluid by steam, the finelj' divided coke resulting from 

 the distillation is allowed to settle out and the clear oil 

 drawn off and filtered through bone charcoal contained in 

 cylinders, in order to remove the color and odors contained 

 in it. Sometimes the oil recovered from the residuum is 

 treated with sulphuric acid and potassium bichromate for 

 the removal of certain impurities before the filtration through 

 bone charcoal. This is said to be the German process. 



Petrolatum gains much of its value from its indifference to 

 all chemical treatment, thus resetnbling paraffin very closely. 



It is generally familiar as a dense product, pale yellow, trans- 

 lucent, slightly fluorescent, semi-solid melting at about 100° 

 Fall., and having a specific gravity of 0.850. Its chemically 

 inert quality peculiarly adapts petrolatum to use in rubber 

 compounding where a non-oxidizing lubricant and softener 

 is needed to facilitate the manipulation of harsh or dry com- 

 pounds, and which will not subsequently develop in the 

 finished goods injurious or other inconvenient qualities. 

 Simple softening of rubber any oil will accomplish, but for 

 all around adaptability petrolatum excels all others. 



For many j'ears palm oil was considered to be the best oil 

 for compounding purposes, because it is a vegetable oil and 

 solid at ordinary temperatures. Vegetable oils were gener- 

 ally conceded to be the least injurious to rubber. The prin- 

 cipal objection to palm oil in this connection is its tendency 

 to oxidi/.e and nothing with that quality is desirable as a 

 compounding ingredient, since oxidation is fatal in its 

 effects on rubber goods. Petrolatum is absolutely tree from 

 this objection and leaves nothing to be desired in its quali- 

 ties as a lubricant. Ordinarily 2 or 2', per cent, of petro- 

 latum is sufficient in any compound where its presence is 

 needed, although 5 or even 7 per cent, may be employed in 

 special cases. Cheap goods containing petrolatum will 

 withstand drying out or hardening with age, a similar effect 

 being produced bj' the use of soft coal tar. 



As regards the item of economy, petrolatum commends 

 itself to the rubber manufacturer when considering the use 

 of an oil ingredient in compounding. For all ordinary pur- 

 poses, everything except perhaps the whitest goods, the 

 dark filtered stock is entirely suitable and the price will be 

 less than the light filtered stock. 



The use of patrolatum and all other oils should be strictly 

 under control and ordinary workmen never be permitted to 

 have access to them, otherwise irregularities of compounding 

 so numerous and complicated as to be past finding out, may 

 result from their indiscriminate use for doctoring burnt 

 stock and stock difficult to run on the machines. 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. 



OFFICIAL statement of values of exports of manufac- 

 tures of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, for the month 

 of August, 1906, and for the first eight months of five calen- 

 dar years : 



" Ri'BBER IS King. " — The rubber supply of the future will 

 have to expand greatly in order to meet the demands of the 

 motor vehicles, all of which have to roll on that elastic gum 

 or quit business. " Rubber is king " may be a watchword 

 one of these days, plucking the crown away from ootton, 

 which wore it so proudly and so long. — AVjc Vori: Tribune. 



