﻿THE 
  SEA 
  AS 
  A 
  STOREHOUSE 
  — 
  ARMSTRONG 
  139 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  bromine 
  recovery 
  plant, 
  started 
  in 
  1934, 
  worked 
  efficiently 
  

   from 
  the 
  outset, 
  producing 
  15,000 
  pounds 
  of 
  bromine 
  per 
  day; 
  the 
  

   yields 
  over 
  all 
  were 
  high. 
  Many 
  thousands 
  of 
  tons 
  are 
  now 
  produced 
  

   per 
  annum, 
  and 
  bromine 
  today 
  belongs 
  to 
  the 
  class 
  of 
  substances 
  of 
  

   which 
  the 
  cost 
  is 
  reasonable 
  and 
  the 
  supply 
  assured 
  for 
  all 
  time. 
  The 
  

   chemical 
  engineer 
  and 
  the 
  Dow 
  Chemical 
  Co. 
  have 
  had 
  their 
  first 
  vic- 
  

   tory 
  over 
  the 
  sea. 
  

  

  Calculations 
  indicate 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  nearly 
  1 
  billion 
  tons 
  of 
  bromine 
  

   in 
  the 
  Dead 
  Sea. 
  As 
  this 
  sea 
  is 
  evaporated 
  to 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  crystal- 
  

   lization 
  of 
  the 
  sodium 
  chloride 
  the 
  concentration 
  of 
  bromine 
  is 
  nearly 
  

   90 
  times 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  seven 
  seas, 
  and 
  the 
  ease 
  and 
  cost 
  of 
  its 
  recovery 
  

   should 
  be 
  less. 
  However, 
  the 
  possibilities 
  of 
  obtaining 
  low 
  costs 
  are 
  

   superior 
  in 
  industrial 
  America 
  to 
  what 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  Palestine; 
  more- 
  

   over, 
  any 
  bromine 
  produced 
  here 
  is 
  a 
  long 
  way 
  from 
  the 
  user. 
  It 
  is 
  

   probable 
  therefore 
  that 
  bromine 
  from 
  the 
  sea 
  will 
  always 
  remain 
  com- 
  

   petitive 
  with 
  that 
  produced 
  in 
  Palestine, 
  while 
  users 
  will 
  have 
  the 
  ad- 
  

   vantage 
  of 
  reasonable 
  prices 
  brought 
  about 
  by 
  such 
  rivalry. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Ernst 
  Bergmann 
  in 
  his 
  paper 
  before 
  the 
  recent 
  British 
  Asso- 
  

   ciation 
  Conference 
  on 
  Mineral 
  Resources, 
  reminds 
  us 
  that 
  the 
  Mid- 
  

   dle 
  East 
  shows 
  a 
  certain 
  affinity 
  to 
  bromine. 
  He 
  recalls 
  that 
  the 
  an- 
  

   tique 
  purple, 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  Imperial 
  toga, 
  manufactured 
  in 
  Sidon 
  and 
  

   Tyre, 
  is 
  a 
  coloring 
  matter 
  containing 
  bromine. 
  Tyrian 
  purple 
  is 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  few 
  known 
  organic 
  bromine 
  compounds 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  living 
  cell. 
  

   The 
  purple 
  snail 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  obtained 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  several 
  

   known 
  strange 
  instances, 
  of 
  which 
  more 
  anon, 
  of 
  selective 
  affinity 
  of 
  

   cells 
  to 
  a 
  special 
  element. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Bergmann 
  makes 
  the 
  interesting 
  suggestion 
  that 
  in 
  past 
  ages 
  

   vast 
  numbers 
  of 
  maritime 
  organisms 
  containing 
  bromine 
  have 
  decayed 
  

   in 
  the 
  soil 
  in 
  Palestine, 
  and 
  that 
  today 
  the 
  hot 
  springs 
  of 
  the 
  Sea 
  of 
  

   Galilee 
  derive 
  their 
  bromine 
  from 
  this 
  source. 
  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  all 
  

   the 
  bromine 
  in 
  the 
  Dead 
  Sea 
  is 
  derived 
  from 
  these 
  springs. 
  

  

  MAGNESIUM 
  

  

  This 
  success 
  with 
  bromine 
  partly 
  prepared 
  the 
  way 
  for 
  the 
  next 
  

   problem, 
  the 
  recovery 
  of 
  magnesium. 
  On 
  January 
  21, 
  1941, 
  the 
  first 
  

   commercial 
  ingot 
  made 
  in 
  America 
  from 
  sea 
  water 
  was 
  produced 
  in 
  

   the 
  plant 
  of 
  the 
  Dow 
  Company 
  at 
  Freeport, 
  Tex. 
  The 
  urge 
  was 
  again 
  

   economic; 
  the 
  demand 
  for 
  magnesium 
  for 
  aircraft 
  parts 
  suddenly 
  

   reached 
  vast 
  proportions, 
  for 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  1,000 
  pounds 
  may 
  enter 
  into 
  

   the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  plane. 
  Magnesium, 
  the 
  lightest 
  of 
  metals, 
  

   cost 
  a 
  sovereign 
  a 
  pound 
  in 
  1915 
  and 
  barely 
  a 
  shilling 
  last 
  year. 
  The 
  

   metal 
  was 
  first 
  made 
  around 
  1869, 
  mainly 
  as 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  high-intensity 
  

   light 
  for 
  photographic 
  purposes. 
  Later 
  sundry 
  other 
  uses, 
  including 
  

   fireworks, 
  came 
  along. 
  It 
  awaited 
  war 
  to 
  start 
  its 
  use 
  in 
  airplanes, 
  

  

  