The Fischer-Tropsch and Related Syntheses, Including a Summary of Theoretical and Applied Contact Catalysis

New York / London:: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. / Chapman & Hall, Limited, 1951. A square, reasonably tight copy. Inner hinges are perfect. "WITHDRAWN" stamp, and a few other library markings on the endpapers. Text pages are clean and crisp. No underlining. No highlighting. No margin notes. Illustrated with many figures and a few electron micrographs. Tables. Graphs. Name Index. Subject Index. Bound in the original blue cloth, lettered in shiny gold on the spine. Invented in the 1920s by German scientists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was an important source of liquid fuel for Germany during World War II. Because Germany had few petroleum reserves but coal in abundance, the Nazis employed Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to the produce millions of tons of synthetic fuel. Early in 1945, the advance of Allied troops allowed inspection of German plants and interrogation of German scientists. Fischer-Tropsch documents from the files of German plants and laboratories were sent to the United States, where they were studied by personnel from the Petroleum Administration for War, and later the Bureau of Mines/Department of Commerce and oil company research personnel. From the preface: "This book is the result of an extensive and critical review of the large number of reports and documents pertaining to the selective catalytic hydrogeneration of carbon monoxide, or the Fischer-Tropsch and related synthesis, for the production of aliphatic hydrocarbons and alcohols.". First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good EX-LIBRARY./No jacket. 8vo. xii, 610pp.…