Vienna exhibition, 1873. English department, No. 742 : antracene and alizarine

- - VIENNA EXHIBITION, 1873.
  - ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, No. 742.
  - ANTRACENE AND ALIZARINE.
  - Antraceno, one of the hydrocarbons obtained in the distillation of coal tar, was commercially unknown three years ago. When found as a sédiment in the green grease, one of the last portions of the distillation of coal tar, and used as a lubricating material, it was considered as an impurity, and thrown away.
  - The first discoverers of the utility of this article were Messrs. Graebe and Lieberman, the former Professer at Konigsberg, the latter at Berlin.
  - Their first publications date from 1867, but it was only in 1871 that their invention to produce artificial Alizarine (the important principle in Antracene) attracted more geneneral attention. In January of last year even its value was known only to very few manufacturers, and the same could be purchased at the price of £125 for a ton of commercially pure Antracene. The very high prices obtained for the Alizarine, principally in Russia, then, how-ever, suddenly created a very large enquiry after this article, and the présent value may be considered to be £400 to £600 for the ton, commercially pure, while in a short time of excitement it was paid even double that price.
  - As it is almost certain that in a short time the artificial Alizarine will entirely replace the natural Alizarine, made from the " madder root,” it is not astonishing that, in the course of a few months, about twenty new factories of Alizarine have been established.
  - Though England produced till now more Antracene than all other countries put together, it is to be regretted that in conséquence of sonie English patents only the holders of the same now manufacture the Alizarine in this country, while lifteen of the new factories of Alizarine have sprung up in Germany, and the re-mainder in other countries, ami therefore the bulk of the profits
  - has been made abroad.
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  - One large factory in Elberfeld lately sold to a public company showed net profits for the year 1872 amounting to about £60,000, of which about £50,000 are said to consist in profits made in the production of Alizarine.
  - Notwithstanding this, the manufacture of Alizarine from Antra-cene may be considered to be in its infancy yet, and hitherto the only practical use, on a large scale, made of the Alizarine bas been for printing varions shades of violet, brown, and red.
  - In these colours, however, already the superiority of the artificial Alizarine over the natural bas been proved to great advantage, for while in employing natural Alizarine the material to be printed must almost invariably be mordanted first and then printed, the printing with artificial Alizarine is effected in one operation, as the mordant is mixed with the colour. This, of course, is a decided advantage.
  - As soon as the application of artificial Alizarine for dyeing Turkey red, which lias hitherto been successfully accomplished by a few manfacturers only, lias become general, the artificial Alizarine will attain its real position, and then it is more than probable that the Antracene produced from coal-tar will be utterly insuffi-cient to meet the demand for the article,
  - A patent of Fenner Versmann, for the production of Antracene from coal-tar pitch, is beginningtobeworkedhere.and in America, but it is hardly likely that, even in case of success, the additional quantity of Antracene obtained by the application of this patent process will be sufficient to meet the demand for this article.
  - Varions plans have been suggested by seientific men for the production of Antracene from other substances, but hitherto none have been successfully worked ; at least, the Antracene so obtained costs more to manufacture than the Antracene from coal-tar.
  - We estimate that the production of Antracene in the year 1872 repiesented a value of about £200,000 sterling, all of which three years ago was running into the gutter, and that in the eurrent year the production of Antracene will be far larger still than in the previous year, as many manufacturers who were reluctant to manufacture Antracene in the beginning, bave now been induced to alter their minds, seeing the great profits realized by those who have begun the manufacture last year, or before ; nevertheless, as already stated, there is every prospect of the supply falling short of the demand.
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- - We do not attempt by the présent lines to write a treatise having any value from a scientific point of view. As, however, we have been one of the main channels of exportation of Antracene, and are devoting still our spécial attention to this and other similar articles, we have considered ic interesting for many manufacturers and scientific men to direct their attention to this new utilisation of a waste product, particularly as the use of it on a large soale will be the means of restoring many thousand acres, now used for the cultivation of madder root, to their former use, the production of grain.
  - To those who are desirous of obtaining further information about this article, we shall be most happy to give the same on applica-tion.
  - The samples which we exhibit represent—
  - 1. Antracene, in hs varions stages of purity, as will be seen by the analysis of the same attached to the bottles.
  - 2. Antrachinon, into which the Antracene is converted for the manufacture of Alizarine.
  - 3. Alizarine paste, containing 10 °/ ofpure Alizarine.
  - 4. Several samples of fabrics printed with Alizarine colours.
  - 5. Turkey red yarn printed with Alizarine.
  - 6. Blue yarn printed with Antracene blue, a new colour quite recently discovered by Dr. Springmühl.
  - DOMEIER AND CO.,
  - 47, Basinghall Street, London, B-C.,
  - Purchase on Commission all kinds of Drugs, Chemicals, Oils, Ess. Oils, and Colonial Produce.
  - Consignments received and disposed of to best advantage with care and promptness.
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