384 TURNER--“IMPORTANCE OF THE SYNTHETIC DYESTUFFS INDUSTRY” [Der. 1925

HUDDERSFIELD SECTION

Meeting held at the George Hotel, Hudders- field, on 20th Oct., 1925, Mr. E. HICKSON, President of the Society, in the chair.

Importance of the Synthetic Dyertuffs IndusW Sir JOSEPH TURNER, K.B.E.

The dyestuffs industry is often described as a “key industry,” a phrase to which it is difficult to give an exact definition; but for the present purpose it may be defined as an industry the output of which, measured by value or by quantity, is small relatively to the total output of a country, but nevertheless forms the essential basis of other industries, the outputs of which form a significant proportion of the total national production.

The dyestuffs industry is the prince of key industries. It is fundamental in peace and it is imperative in war. Its products in peace enter into the lives of the great and the lowly, tfhe rich and the poor, the white and the black. Its products in war hold the balance between victory and defeat. Its world output is insigni- ficant compared with the vast total of the world’s industrial production, but the figures of the outputs of the industries built on a supply of dyestuffs are stupendous.

England was the birthplace of the synthetic dyestuff industry, as it has been the birthplace of so many other ideas, inventions, and insti- tutions which have been a benefit to man. The dyestuff industry was first established on British soil, and effected ita early growth under British control. German chemists, however, some with knowledge of the British industry, soon laid the foundations of the future great German dyestuffs industry. From this time forward the growth of the British dyestuff industry decreased, and a period of decadence set in. The war found this country in the possession of a few small factories manufacturing a limited range of products from materials largely obtained from German sources.

The German side of the picture shows con- tinuous and steady growth from small begin- nings to the vast organisation which at the time of the war was the pride of Germany and the admiration of t.he world. By the continuous and painstaking study of every detail, by consideration of the use of every product, by the gradual extension into every realm of chemical production, and by close study of economic conditions, the German dyestuff manufacturers placed themselves in a position absolutely to dominate the world’s market.

Consequently, when Great Britain declared war on Germany, her resources from the point of view of the manufacturers of chemicals for warlike purposes were infinitely inferior to those possexsed by Germany. It is impossible to over-estimate the value of a dyestuff in-

dustry in such a crisis, and it may be recorded with pride that practically the whole respon- gibility for supplying the British armies with chemical munitions, in the early stages of the war at least, fell upon the shoulders of the British dyestuff manufacturers, who were able to discharge their duties with success. In order, however, to supply the ever growing needs of the armies in the field, the British Government had later to erect special factories.

The existence of the small British pre-war faotories prevented the German manufacturers Erom exploiting their virtuaJ monopoly to the fullest extent, with dire results to British con- sumers; and the great services rendered by the factories to the armies and to the consumem in one of the most difficult periods in British history should be remembered. Again, the small factories have been used, from the point of view both of plant and personnel, as the foulidations of the much greater organisations whit+ IIOW

represent the British dyestuff industry. The situation was different in the c a w of

Germany. The German Government had mercly to turn to the dye-making Kartcl. which \+as in a position not only to manufacture with trained chemists and plants every type of chemical war material, but also the necessary supplies of sulphuric and nitric acids, without which munition manufacture is impossible; and it is an undoubted fact that the continuation of the war by Germeny was only made possible by the possession by the German Kartel of the process and plants €or the manufacture of synthetic nitric acid from the air.

The history of the German synthetic nitric acid industry is most interesting. Such an industry had always been of importance to the Germans, and they had associated themselves financially with Scandinavian enterprises which were manufacturing nitrogenous materials from the air by means of the arc process. Shortly after 1910, however, i t became clear that successful experiments conducted by Haber and others rendered it practicable to manufacture ammonia and nitric acid on Cerman soil; the new process not requiring those large quantities of electrical power which had caused the industry first to be established in countries abounding with waterfalls. The Germans then withdrew from the Scandinavian concerns and started an industry of their own at the now famous works of Oppau. By 1913 it was certain that the new process was a commercial success, and it is estimated that the Oppau works at that time could produce materials equivalent to 4,000 tons of nitrogen per annum.

Later vast extensions were erected at Oppsu, a t Hoechst, at Leverkusen, and at Merseburg, and the production of nitrogenous materials had probably reached the equivalent of 100,000 tons of nitrogen per annum by the end of the war. All the enormous plants are under the control of the German dye Kartel, to which

DM. 1OP61 TURNER-"IMPORTANCE OF THE SYNTHETIC DYESTUFFS INDUSTRY" 385 ~~ ~

the former Government advanced nearly in the year 1913. These atatistics show that in f2O,OOO,O00 sterling for the purpose of the industry. capital by approximately ~20,000,000 to provide funds for further developing the industry, and it is estimated that Germany should finally be able to produce materials equivalent to , all of which would be used in the cotton trade. 300,000 tons of nitrogen per annum. In 1 We also imported about 4,000,000 lb. of addition to this Germany will have all the nitrogenous materials from her gas works and ' we make some allowance for tbe amount coke ovens, as well as from the cyanamide 1 of natural Indigo used in the cotton trade, and industry, 01, it has been estimated, fi total of for the contributiom of domestic manufacturers 4oo,OOO-5oo,ooO tons of nitrogen per annum. to the British market in the year 1913, it may She COn~umed before the war about 225,000 ' be assumed that somewhere between 14,000,000

was obtained from Chili saltpetre. Therefow

that particular year we obtained The Kartel recently increased its ~ About 7,000,000 lb. of Direct Cotton Colours.

4,000,000 lb. of Sulphur Colours. 2,600,000 lb. of Alizarin Red.

600,000 lb. of Vat Colours.

,, ,, ,,

Synthetic Indigo.

very shortly Germany will be*in a position no longer to require to import nitrogenow matenale, as she will be able herself to satfsfy the whole of her internal requirements and have a balance of nitrogen for export or other

It 18 the opinion of competent observers that chemical substances will play an enormow and even a decisive part in future conflicts, and whilst we must all hope that the world has become sufficiently wise to legislate for a never- ending peace, it is clear that it is that country which has established fully, firstly, the manu- facture of synthetic nitric acid, and, secondly, the manufacture of dyestuffs, which will be in the best position to obtain quickly a victorious dmision in future wars. The only country to-day which occupies this position is Germany, and every step must be taken in this country to establish completely an industry which is so necessary for the security of the Empire.

With regard to the economic aspect of the subject, although the total value of the dye- stuff industry or the total weight of the dyeing materials which it places on the world's market is small, the quantity and value of the goods into the manufacture of which dyestufls enter is very large, very important, and forms a considerable percentage of the total annual output of all manufactured goods.

Let UA suppose that 0 per cent. of a par- ticular colour is required to dye a particular fabric, which is really above the average in actual practice. This means that 1 lb: of the colour will dye approximately 50 lb. of the material, and if the material weighs 1 lb. to the yard, 1 lb. of the colour will dye 50 yards of material, or one ton of the colour will dye very much more than 100,OOO yards of material. One ton is a small measurement of weight, but 100,OOO yards is a large measurement of length.

It will be interesting to examine, so far as is possible, the position as it actually existed in this country before the war. An extremely valuable and interesting volume has been issued by the Board of Trade giving particulars of each kind of dyestuff imported from Germany and Switzerland respectively into Great Britain

P Y S e .

.I 5

7,000 tons) waa used h various branches of the cotton trade in that year. It would be interesting to know exaotly the quantity or the value of the products made with these 7,000 tom of colouring matters, but unfortunately there are no total output figures for the United Kingdom for the year we are considering, but particulars of the exports of cotton goods in this particular year are available. Of course some proportion of the cotton colours waa used in industries other than the cotton industry, and some proportion of the exports of cotton goods in the year 1913 w&8 made in the pre- ceding year, also some amount of cotton would be dyed with dyes imported in the preceding year, but I do not think that these considera- tions would seriously alter the position.

The export figures show that over 36,000,000 lb weight of dyed cotton y a m , 54,000,000 yards of printed cotton piece goods, such as Bags, handkernhiefa, and shawh, and over 1,200 million yards of other sorts of printed cotton goods were exported in the year 1913. In addition we exported nearly 1,200 million yards of cotton goods, dyed in the piece, and nearly 300,000,O00 yards of piece goods made wholly or partly from dyed yarn. We should slso take into consideration the exports of dockings and socks, which amounted to over 720,000 pairs, of lace exported to the value of Iver f4,OOO,000 sterling, and of sewing threads 3xported to the extent of nearly 21,000,000 Ib. weight. Some proportion of these latter articles would certainly be dyed.

Returning, however, to the ordinary cotton manufactm, it appears that we exported 36,000,000 lb. weight of yarn and about 1,750 million yards of dyed cotton goods If one sort and another. The weight of thc yarn exported alone exceeds the weight of ,he dye used, and the total weight of all exports zlust be immensely greater than the 7,000 tons :mployed in the industry, whilst the value of ,hese expod alone (about fM,000,000) is over ,wenty times as great tm the value of the whole ryntbetic dyestuffs market of G r a t Britain, md about three times as great as the whole iyestuff market of the world. Many other ndustries, for example, the woollen industry,

380 TURNER--"IMPORTANCE OF TH"E SYNTHETIC DYESTUFFS INDUSTRY" [Dec. 1928

me also dependent upon the use of dyestuffs, but need not be dealt with, as what I have already said will convince you that the dyestuff industry is a real key industry, coneistent with the definition already given.

It would be interesting to form some idea of the total value of all the goods into the manu- facture of which dyestuffs enter, but the calcu- lation is somewhat speculative. To obtain any statistics a t all we must deal with the year 1907. It appears that the United Kingdom produced in that year cotton yarns and goods of all aorta to the value of about €132,000,000, woollen and worsted yarns and fabrics to the value of about €63,000,000, jute, hemp, and linen yarns and goods to the value of about €27,000,000, and silk yarns and goods to the value of about f4,000,000, or a total value of €226,000,000. We must add to this total the value of other textile manufactures, such as hosiery and lace and also of the paper, leather, and straw-plait trades, ignoring other outlets for synthetic dye- stuffs. We must also allow for the fact that not all the textile articles are dyed or printed, and moreover the value of the yarns subsequently woven into piece goods has been counted twice. There is, however, some justification for be- lieving, on the basis of these figures, that goods for the manufacture of which a supply of dye- stuffs is indispensable were produced annually in the United Kingdom in the year immediately preceding the war to the value of €200,000,000. The quantity of dyestuffs required was about 20,000 tons, valued at about €2,000,000. One pound's worth of dyestuffs was required there- fore for ;El00 worth of finished goods.

There is another extremely important point to be taken into consideration with regard to our exports of dyed goods. They are of such a nature, and are in such variety, that they are consumed in all countries of the world, and by all people whatever the state of their civilisa- tion; and British textiles carry the British name and British trade to the most remote corners of the earth.. The following particulars are in- teresting. The various parts of the British Empire receive about 60 per cent. of our exports of printed cotton goods, about 43 per cent. of our exports of dyed piece goods, and about 30 per cent. of our exports of cotton goods made from dyed yarns. This trade, therefore, is an important link between the mother country and the various Dominions and Dependencies across the sea, and this vast trade, maintaining commercial contact with the rest of the Empire, and carrying British trade and prestige to the uttermost parts of the earth, was subject to the menace of the German monopoly of the dyestuff industry. It is clear, now that the facts are so well known, that it would be immensely foolish ever to allow so important a part of our economic structure to be again subject to the dangers or the influence of any foreign monopoly, and the dyestuff industry being the basis of 10 vast an

output of British products, which me so inti- mately connected with the growth of Empire relations and with the maintenance of British trades in all markets of the world, those engaged in the textile trade must be able to look to a purely British source of supply of those essential dyestuffs without which their business might quiokly vanish.

Thus both from the point of view of security of British trade in times of peace and the security of the British realm in times of war, a complete Brit'ish dyestuff industry is an imperative and fundamental necessity, and it is necessary that everyone should combine to- gether, from the statesman to the consumer, to achieve this most desirable object. It must never be forgotten that, stricken as Germany is a t the moment, with her dyestuff industry temporarily under a cloud, nevertheless she will recover, and it is not di%cult to conclude from utterances and printed statements of responsible members of the German industry, that they look forward to the time when they will re-establish their former hegemony. We ought not to minimise the steps which have been taken in Great Britain during the most difficult period of the war to lay the foundation of an induthry which will successfully withstand attack from abroad, and will satisfy the needs of the con- sumers in this country; and it is only necessary to note that the production of dyestuffs to-day is a t the very least ten times the pre-war output to realise what progress has been made. The British output in the year 1925 was probably in quantity greater than the pre-war demand of the United Kingdom, and will approach the total pre-war demand of the Empire. But the dye- stuffs are not forthcoming in the same abundant variety as in pre-war days. Do the British textile trades really require the 10,OOO or so varieties given in the Board of Trade publication to which I referred! Can they not carry on business to the very fullest extent with a far, far fewer number of dyestuffs ? I have seen an estimate of the number of dyestuffs required for the French industries, now made much more important by the return of Alsace-Lorraine to F'rench sovereignty, and the estimate runs only into hundreds.

The German dyestuff industry represented the result of a normal evolutionary process extend- ing over half a century, and was not the result of any sudden inspiration; and there is no reason to suppose that the ability which Great Britain can bring to bear upon the problem is any less than that utilised by the Germans, and there would not therefore appear to be any reason why we should not succeed in establish- ing the industry which we require. But time must be a factor in our development, as it was a factor in the German development, and during that period of time, to which I will not pretend to give either a minimum or a maximum, the dye manufacturers of this country, provided

DOC. fOM1 HUEBNER-“ARTIFICIAL SILK’ 387

that they energetically attack their task, are entitled to ask for forbearance, goodwill, and the sympathy of the consumers, in whose present and ultimate interest the whole work is being undertaken.

Naturally enough the interest awakened in Great Britain in the industry has been paralleled in other countries, and I will briefly survey some of the steps which have been taken abroad. The war found France, as ourselves, dependent on German sources of supply. The French equipment for dyestuff manufacturing con- sisted, practically speaking, of one small purely French works near Paris and a number of small branches of the German companies, where dyestuffs were made from imported intermediate products. The question in France was made the subject of Government study, and ulti- mately a company was formed to which the Frenoh Government gave no monetary assist- ance but rendered help in other ways, by making available one or more of the German factories and the future use of one of the Government munition factories. The company, with its own capital and that obtained by amalgamation with another company, has now resources amounting to over 70,000,000 francs. Un- fortunately i t has not been possible for this company to make rapid progress, but i t has gathered together a number of men keenly interested in the project, and there can be no doubt that progress will be seen in the near future.

In the United States of America at the out- break of the European War, there were a few factories making small quantities of synthetic dyestuffs, and the problem there has been attacked with characteristic energy, and there are two organisations in America to-day su5ciently large to render the American dye- stuff industry important, namely, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and tne National Aniline and Chemical Company. The former, world-famous for the manufacture of explosives and other products, owns many works, and has colossal resources which can be utilised in the industry. The latter is a combination of a number of firms very important in the American chemioal industry, representing a special and separate orgallisation for attacking the problem. Considerable progress has already been made. American politicians are very much alive to the gravity of the situation, and to those important aspects of the question to which I have made reference. Even the late President Wilson thought the dyestuff industry of sufficient importance to make an important announce- ment on the subject, urging that all steps should be taken for its permanent establishment. Prom the point of view of legislation, America is further advanced than we are at the moment, since the text of a Bill designed specifically for the protection of the American dyestuff in- dustry has been presented to Congress and has

passed its final stages. There can be little doubt that the American dyestuff manufmturer will find himself possessed of all the protection which he needs, and therefore in the ordinary course of events the American textile manu- facture can never be subjected to the danger of a foreign monopoly in the supplies of this all-essential base material.

I will conclude by inviting the close attention of every thinking man t’o this extraordinarily important and interesting problem, and will express the hope -that the concernus of public opinion will demand that all steps shall be taken to effect the indefinite and complete re-establish- ment of the dyestueindustry in the land of its birth.

An interesting discussion took place, in which the President and Mr. Copley, Mr. J. Schofield, Dr. Everest, Mr. E. T. Holdsworth, and Dr. Hodgson took part.

SURVEYS OF RECENT PROCRESS IN THE DYEING, PRINTING, AND ALL,IED INDUSTRIES

I.-Text& Fibres

Artificial Silk J. HUEBNER, M.Sc.Tech., F.I.C.

In the following review an attempt has been made to collect, a0 far as possible, all the work, including patente, wnich has been published during the lmt eleven years.

Those with experience in the preparation of abstracts from lengthy papers or complicated patent specifications, know that it is difficult, and in some -88, impossible, to give short abstracts which will convey a clear idea of the contents of the publications. The writer, therefore, hopes that it will be realised that his task in compiling this review, in which he has tried to still further condense the abstracts contained in the Journal, ia one which presents even greater diflioultiw.

In order to save space and to prevent mis- takes, aa far as possible, the references given in this review are, in all cmes, to this Journal, which contains the further references to the original publications. An exception has, how- ever, been made in the case of the special “Artificial Silk Number” of the Manehater GuarcEian Commercial of 5th March 1926 (M.O.C.), as no abstracts of the articles con- tained therein have appeared in the Journal.

GENERAL In a paper entitled “Artificial Silk,” by -4.

Singer, r e d before the West Riding Section of the Society, a brief review of the history of artificial silk is given, and the dyeing properties of the different silks arc discussed (this Jour., 1914, p. 179).

-

-