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{
    "localId": "486498019",
    "label": "Report, OSI - 1/49, Central Intelligence Agency, An Estimate of Swedish Capabilities in Science",
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    "id": "486498019",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, OSI - 1/49, Central Intelligence Agency, An Estimate of Swedish Capabilities in Science",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/486498019",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
        "Intelligence Files"
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    "productionDates": [
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            "day": 9,
            "logicalDate": "1949-08-09",
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    "seq": 27,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\n3.\nDEVELOPMENTS IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY\nSweden has not distinguished itself in organic chemistry, perhaps because of lack\nof suitable raw materials on which to base an extensive organic chemical industry. It\nis only since the early days of World War II that Sweden has concentrated on building a\nchemical industry. Emphasis has been upon chemical engineering and industrial\ndevelopment of established products rather than upon basic research.\nAt the University of Uppsala and at the Chalmer's Institute of Technology, re-\nsearch projects are under way on the organic compounds of sulfur, in anticipation of\nincreasing supplies of sulfur from the processing of oil shale. Details of experiments\nbeing conducted are not known but the aim is believed to be the development of new\nelastomers and plasticisers.\nMuch of the organic chemical research has been devoted to the production of useful\nchemical by-products from pulp manufacture. At the University of Lund, under the\nguidance of Professor Lennart Smith, considerable work is in progress on useful deriva-\ntives including resins and intermediates from retene. The latter compound is poten-\ntially available in large amounts from the pulp industry. Lignin and lignanes together\nwith humic acids are being investigated as raw materials by a group under Professor\nHolger Erdtman at the Royal Institute of Technology. This group is also attempting\nto isolate (1) the fungicidal constituents of coniferous heart wood and (2) sym- and\nantibiotic substances from fungi and microorganisms, particularly those which destroy\nwood and pulp. At the Swedish Wood Products Research Institute, under the leader-\nship of Professor Erik Hagglund, the hydrolysis, chemical nature, and utilization of\nby-products from the wood pulp industry and new methods of cellulose manufacture\nare being investigated. Among the industrial firms, Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB,\nSvenska Cellulosa AB, Uddeholms AB, and Mo och Domsjo AB are all seeking outlets\nfor by-products of wood processing, particularly with respect to alcohols, fusel oils, tur-\npentine, and tall oil. The last company in particular has developed a long list of\nchemicals including DDT, using sulfite alcohol as the starting material. The Hoganas-\nBillesholms AB, which controls most of Sweden's limited coal reserve, has developed\nNARA\npreservatives for wood from the gasification of coal.\nAs an outgrowth of a wartime necessity for an oil-resistant synthetic rubber,\nSvedoprene, comparable in most respects to Neoprene in the United States, was devel-\noped by Professor Svedberg and a group of scientists at Uppsala. This product was\nmanufactured by the Stockholm Superphosphat Fabriks AB at the rate of 800 metric\ntons per year at each of two plants. According to the last report fundamental and\napplied research on the manufacture and use of Svedoprene is still being carried on by\na staff of about 100 persons. While the product is unable to compete economically with\nother oil-resistant synthetic rubbers, it represents a substantial achievement and an\nindication of the capability of Swedish scientists.\nThe country's basic needs in the plastics field have been fairly well met by an\neffective development program, although no important new discoveries have been made.\nTest methods for many resins have been devised by Svenska Farg-och Fernissindus-\ntriens Forskningslaboratorium (Central Laboratory of the Swedish Paint and Varnish\nIndustry). The Allmanna Svenska Elektriska AB and Svenska Oljeslageri AB, par-\nticularly the latter, are developing lines of varnish resins, alkyds, phenolics, and amine\nresins in their laboratories.\nBofors has established the AB Bofors Nobelkrut as a sideline to the manufacture\nof explosives. Research is in progress on the sulfonated and nitrated derivatives of\nbenzene and toluene. Saccharine, resins, and intermediates have resulted from this\nresearch. Uddeholms AB has developed an extensive line of chlorinated solvents as\nSECRET\n20"
}