CURRENT USSR TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN THE FIELD OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN CONNECTION WITH THE EXECUTION OF THE FIFTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700190158-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 158
• Publication Date: July 8, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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? CLASSIFICATION CCNFIDIIgITIAi,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADlO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
DATE OF
SUBJECT Scientific -Chemistry inor ani INFORMATION
c
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PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
g
,
eavy chemical
industry
bimonthly periodical
Moscov
Mar 1954 (dela,, ,d pub).icationj
Russian
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DATE DIST. 8 Suly 1954
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
IChimicheskava Promvshlennost', No 1, 1951i, pp 1-7
C 1)SSR TECHNCI.DGiCAL PR~I.F3dS IN THE FIELD OF INORGANIC CHFSD:STRY
IN CGNHECTIDN WITH THE I~CUTICN OF THE FIFTH FIVE-YEAR FLAN
V. V. Ofitserov,
Chief, Tech Admire,
Min of Chem Industry USSR
Technological development of the chemical industry should proceed along the
following lines:
1. Development of new, highly efficient process.
2. Development of methods for improving the efficiency of existing types
of production.
3? Development of new types of fertilizers and of various chemicals to
satisfy the needs of agriculture and farming in every respect.
~~? Expansion of the range and variety of consumers goods manufactured at
chemical enterprises.
5? Many-sided utilization of crude materials.
6. Development of new types of highly efficient production equipment.
7. Search for corrosion-resistent materials which are not in sho:-t supply
and can be used in the construction of chemical-production equipment.
$? Introduction of a maYimam degree of mechanization and automatization
into production processes.
9? Purification and rational utilization of liquid effluents and oi' noxious
gases released into the atmosphere.
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Technolo ical ?roblems in the Field of Sulilu-ic_
Acid Producti
on
The USSR chemical industry may point to considerable achievements in
sulfuric-acid technology, Investigations of the kinetics of the burning of
Pyrites have resulted in multiplication of the efficiency of mecha.~ical
3~'naces by more than two, On the basis of resesrch on the kinetics of the
nitrose process Pyrite
the avers e b ~ the yield of acid per unit tower volume could be
certain g y more than twice in 1y53 in relation to 1y40, xhile increased on
plants has even been raised to a still higher level. As fareasield at
sti?-furls acid is concerned, domestic vanadium catalysts and hi
lytic conver*,ers have been developed and introduced. contact
tensive research has been Carrie ~-capacity cats.:-~
dride and the d cut on the absorptlonD ofn~ recent years, ex-
with the Instituteficatiop of burner gas from barn u111iric acid an~;m;,
and Telemecnanics, Academy of Sciences USSR,
extensive work on the comptl~etecautomatization of the contaot~e6 In cooperation
carried on.
process is being
At present, the principal crude material for the production of sulflu?ic
acid is flotation pyrite, which is burned in mechanical furnaces or furnaces for
the burning of dust [flash roasters],
Uni'ortunately, calcined pyrite is not yet being used as a
material, although tL?cre are no serious technical ob^,tncles to
Institute of Metallurgy, Acade ~ metallurgical crude
completed an investigation on usinf .,ciences of Ukrainian SSR its smelting, The
~ manufacture, for comb~nirg with orescthat areein thecformeof duh~s successfully
eratP of chalk a*td ore is y-Product of soda
Chemical Indust then converted in blast furnaces, The agBlom-
adaptin ~ USSR regards it ns essential and urgent that~worknistry of
caned g this process to calcined pyrite. Application of be done on
pyrite will take care of the cumbersome waste this Process to c~_-
chemical Plants which Produce sulfuric acid and calcinedusodathat acs
ity is the use of calcined umulate at
pyrite ns an additive in the Another possibil-
While considerable wor}c has been done on the kineticfacture of cement.
the chemistry of the burning of pYrlte has not yet been investigated adequately.
This impedes fw Sher work on the Pyrite burning,
investigation of various improvement of the efficicnc of
dation is also of systems formed in the char e y fltrnaces. The
importance. This refers primarilg during the process of Oi~1-
Fe301~-5302 FeS-Fe304-Si02, FeS-Fe0-Sic Y to the systems FeS-Sic
2, and Fes-Fe203-Si02, 2'
At present, elemental sulfur is used to a comparatively limited extent for
ofenew~epositsoofJ~emental sulin the USSR, In connection with the discovery
a most extensive scale as a ~', one may expect ':hat
because sulfur is cn:de material ,or the sulfur will be used on
aeces a Preferable to pyrite in man Production of sulfuric acid,
the eru?ichmentoof oresn(estigations on y respects. For that reason, it is
su131ir concentrates),~Ing of sulfur and of products of
the oxidation of sulfur in the vapor phase has not~rtic~ar
the mechanism of
yet been~investignted.
An important task is the development of highly efficient equipment for the
continuous melting out of sulfur from ores and from sulfur concentrates. In
connection with the eetraction of sulfur from the ores of new deposits occurring
in carbonate rocks, there is the possibility of producing ground limestone w
can be used for treating acidic soils.
hash
Itt connection with the expansion of the production of concentrated phosphate
fertilizers with prelimiPar~sroductio[ of phosphoric acid by sulfuric acid extrnc-
+~on of phosphates, phos ho gypsum calcium sulfate-
iu'lerge quantities as a waste product. This bra calcium ~~d
su1#Xtric acid from ;,he Phosphate] is fo
phosphorus gypsum, The proesspforetheoblem of recovering
production of S02
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and of cement clinker from gypsum is known. In the case of phosphorus gypsum,
phosphoric acid interferes with clinker formation. It is necessary to find
additives for the charge which would counteract the harmful effect of phosphoric
acid.
In a number of regions of the USSR, pyrrhotines are the only local crude
materiel xhich contains sulfur. In the burning .if pyrrhotines, as distinguished
from the burning of pyrites, there is no thermal splitting off of sulfur. Con-
sequently, the material does not become porous, so that the combustion of pyrrho-
tines is less intensive than. that of pyrites. It is necessary to search for
methods by which the oxidation of pyrrhotine con be intensified.
In many types of productiort~e.g., in the petroleum industry, waste sulfliric
acid contaminated with organic material is ootained. Utilization of this ac'.3
is a very important matter. Occasionally, the sulfuric acid can be used as such,
tut more frequently, the waste acid has to be decomposed with the formation of
sulfur dioxide. It is better to use sulfur for this decomposition than carbona-
ceous fuel.
In connection with the prospective availability of cheap power from 1>,Ydro-
electric stations, cheap oxygen will become available. The use of oxygen opens
up possibilities for improving the efficiency of sulfuric-acid production. It
is oi' particular advantage to use oxygen in burning crude material that contains
carbon and sulfl>r (pyrite combined with coal, waste material from coal enrichment .
By using oxygen in oxidizing this material, 100 CO2 or CO can also be obtained.
However, the problem of more complete enrichment of coal pyrite will have to be
solved first.
Of current importance is also the development of new types of furnarPS for
burning crude material that contains sulfur, for instance, furnaces for bur-wing
in a "boiling" layer [fluidized solid layer]. In connection with this, develop-
ment of smoothly operating boilers for the utilization of the waste heat of fur-
naces in which sulfur-containing crude material is burned becomes of importance.
In recent yeers, a nwnber ofmethods for cooling cnlcired pyrite FJtd for its
mechanical removal have been developed. IJork on the perfection of these methods
should be continued.
In connection with the manufacture of sulfuric acid by the tower method,
lowering cf the expenditure of nitric acid remains a problem, notwithstandinu the
higkt level of efficiency which has Jeen achieved in the tower process. High?~,~'
losses of nitric acid not only increase the cost of production, but also form a?
health hazar3 itt the regions where the plants are located. The finding of effec-
tive absorbents for nitrogen oxides becomes of importance From this standpoint.
rizrthermore, the transfer of the entire tower process front 7(i(, sulfuric acid,
which is n relatively poor absorbent of nitrogen oxides, to oil of vitriol, which
is a better absorbent of these oxides, ougitt to be considered.
In the production of confect sulfuric acid, application of active vanadium
catalysts and construction of catalytic converters which assure operation nt op-
timal ten eratures have resulted in high yields of acid per unit volume of cata-
lyst and ~._ a high total extent of catalytic conversion.
To assure a continually increasing production of sulfuric acid to be used
in the manufacture of fertilizers and for other purposes, it is necessary to in-
crease by several times the capacity of individual catalytic converters without
increasing substantially the diameter of the rube gratings. Good results rosy be
expected in that respect from extensive introduction of a catalyst mass formed
into rintts. This type of rataiyst offers a low resistance to hydraulic flox.
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One must continue work on the improvement of vanadium catalysts, particularly
with the view of lowering the temperature of ignition. If this temperature is
lowered, simpler deigns of equipment x111 result. It is also necessary to in-
crease further the ih-+r~?1 stability and mechanical strength of vanadium cata-
lysts. A search for cheaper catalyst masses, particularly active natural clays,
should be conducted. It is importa.t to create a simplified method for the dry
purification of burner gas which would not require prior cooling of the gas
res~'lting from the burning of either pyrite or sulfur.
It would be oP interest to investigate the dix?ect oxidation of sulfur to
S03 without ~a.:sing through the S02 stage. To solve this problem, it is neces-
sary to find a suitable catalyst and to devise a procedure for the effective
removal of the heat of oxidation of sulfur, Successil~l work in this field would
simplify the cuntact process and open +,he possibility of using the heat of oxida-
tion of sulfur more completely.
4lork should be done on the concentration of dilute sulfurous gases going to
waste at metallurgical plants, electric power stations, and other types of plants.
Here, one cannot limit oneself to the methods which are already being applied,
i.e., the aaanonia method and the ammonia-acid method. One must find new absorb-
ents for sulfur dioxide, including organic substances which are suitable for that
purpose. Of particular interest pre methods for the concentrntion of sulfur diox-
ide ~nrried out in combination with other processes, i.e., the ammonia method of
enrichment, combined wit!i the prr~duction of ammonium nitrate; the absorption of
sulfur dioxide by zinc oxide pulp, combined with the electrolytic production of
zinc, etc.
Hitherto, all investigators had cat themselves the task of finding an eco-
nomic method for the production of 100E 502. However, at a number of installa-
tions, it would be advisable to enrich sulfur dioxide partially, i.e., up to a
concentration of 7~6, and then use it directly for the production of sulfuric acid.
Introduction on a lame scale of economical methods for the enrichment of
sulfur dioxide and use cf cheap oxyger. in sulfuric-acid production wi;'_ increase
by several times the output of sulfuric-acid plants.
Technological Prob~Ams in the= of phosphate-Fertilizer Production
Superphosphate is the phosphorus fertilizer which is most widely used at
present. Work done on the improvement of the quality of superphosphate and. on
methods for its production will remain of importance for a long time to come.
The continuous method of production is used at the superphosphate plants
which have been built in recent years. One of the immediate tasks will be appli.-
~ation of the continuous method at all superphosphate plants.
Particularly timely is the problem of improving the quality of superphosphate
obtained from nhospnorites of the Kara-Tau deposit. Since the P2 )5 content of
this crude material is lower khar, that of apatite, and since furthermore it con-
tains calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, the finished product obtained by
using an increased amount of sulfuric acid has a relatively low P205 content and
e:chibits unsntisfactor,~ physical characteristics. The most important task x111
be