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production can be seen from the enclosed chart (End. No. 1). Inasmuch
as sulphur, in the form of carbon disulphide, is used in the production of
cellulose fiber, and as 80 percent of the German sulphur supply is utilized in
the form of carbon disulphide, it is easy to understand the importance of
Germany's self-sufficiency with respect to sulphur. Moreover, it might be
possible to consider using sulphur for the production of sulphuric acid, if
sulphur is produced in larger quantities in Germany.
Up to now,
sulphuric acid has been produced mainly by the roasting [Abroesten] of
pyrites, of which Germany can only cover about one-fifth of its own demand. The
remaining four-fifths were imported, mainly from Spain. In the chemical
industry, sulphuric acid has a similar importance as iron has in the machine
and construction industry; therefore, any progress in the raw material supply
from indigenous sources is welcome from the point of view of military economy,
especially as sulphuric acid has become indispensable in the production of
powder and explosives, as well as in the mineral oil and fertilizer industry.
Thus, the German chemical industry resumed the development of plans which had
been executed during World War I because of the lack of raw materials, namely
the production of sulphuric acid from German gypsum. One plant for the
production of sulphuric acid on the basis of gypsum is already working very
satisfactorily. This plant for the production of sulphuric acid from gypsum
also produces, as a byproduct, cement, which is very much in demand at this
time. In this connection, attention can be drawn to another important raw
material used for the production of powder and explosives, namely nitric acid.
Nitric acid, in contrast with previous processes, is nowadays
produced through the decomposition of saltpeter, particularly Chile saltpeter
[sodium nitrate], with the aid of sodium sulfide, through combustion of ammonia
by means of oxygen or air. Since the seizure of power, the productive capacity
of the installations, which are of special interest to the military economy,
has increased approximately tenfold.
Another very important raw
material of the chemical industry is rubber. Rubber, at first a natural
product procured exclusively abroad, can now, as is generally known, be
replaced extensively by synthetic products. In this connection, the synthetic
products, as for example buna, are already, in many ways, showing advantages
over natural rubber. About 25 percent of the German demand for rubber can be
covered this year by synthetic rubber. The raw materials needed for this
product are, apart from electric power, coal and chalk, of which there is no
lack in Germany.
During these last years, a number of other synthetic
products |
846 |
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