Document GKE4qGxD63NN0VoaKx6brgBJn

LIA ANNUAL MEETING APRIL ii~15, 1969 REPORTS OF THE STAFF William E. Leonard Technical Service Engineer For some years LIA had been interested and concerned with what was happening to the use of lead in the Chemical Construction Field. Because of a shortage of manpower no in-depth investigation was made. Cursory investigation thru the years by LIA indicated that the market was slowly being lost to the lead industry as the result of active and progressive promotional activities of competing materials. When I came to LIA slightly less than a year ago (I just missed last years Annual Meeting) I was assigned, because of my chemical engineering background, the task of conducting: a market study into the uses of lead in the chemical industry. The results were interesting with a few bright spots that might be used to advantage. A more comprehensive report of this study will be sent to the members in a few weeks. Briefly, I culled on pipe and sheel lead manufacturers, ie^d Lurmng contractors, and chemical construction engineers for their thoughts and opinion about lead as a chemical construction material. In essence, I found among knowledgeable engineers lead Is preferred for sulfuric, phosphoric and chromic acids at elevated temperatures from 150F to 250F. Unfortunately, knowledgeable engineers are few and far between. The younger engineers know little about lead, and what they do know is generally erroneous. From a; f^irst hand standpoint, after I spent two years as a process engineer around pickling acids I never saw a lead lined tank nor was I aware that lead could be used! ) , The major competition to lead is PVC. And yet there are areas, usually at higher temperatures where PVC is inadequate and lead is more than adequate. I have run into many instances where people have switched back to lead after trying PVC. My study ;ndiiatedi that there are areas where lead is the best material for the job. Arc remaps some concentrated effort by the industry in promoting lead in the err. . t a : industry might reverse the trend. Also there are some new developments^-' c-m: r..: ; f research, specifically adhesive bonded...lead and dispersion strengthened . i A.at mint ' advantageously exploited. ~.. ...... " Arc ; r area chat- L-was"asked to investigate was, ''How much basic research is being .cm .-.-e-t-ed--Ghy the lead-acid battery." There may be such research going on, but if it is, it was not revealed to me. Outside of the work being done by ILZRO, the Naval Research Labs and Bell Labs, most of the work being done is engineering rather than basic research. I did find some basic research on battery components like plastics, fabrics, etc., that is not directed toward the lead acid system but to all types of batteries. So if improvements are made, it may or may not benefit the lead acid system. Presented at the 41st. Annual Meeting of the Lead Industries Association Chicago, Illinois, April 14, 1969