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By H. E. Powell, A. A. Cochran, R. E. Coleman

Infrared spectroscopy, employing the internal reflection method in conjunction with solvent extraction techniques, was used to study surface reactions between aqueous potassium ethyl xanthate and both sphalerite and precipitated zinc sulfide, each activated with aqueous copper sulfate. It was determined that reactions occurring on the sphalerite and zinc sulfide surfaces produce the reaction products ethyl dixanthogen and cuprous ethyl xanthate, some of which are adsorbed on the mineral surfaces. As the pH of the xanthate solution increased from 5.6 to 11.0, the amount of cuprous ethyl xanthate on powdered sphalerite surfaces decreased and the amount of ethyl dixanthogen first increased and then decreased. It is generally accepted that the collector potassium ethyl xanthate will not float the mineral sphalerite (ZnS). However, Gaudin1 showed that sphalerite readily floats if activated with certain metal cations before exposure to the xanthate. Copper sulfate (CuSO4) was found to be the best activator for sphalerite. The over-all flotation reagent reaction, as given by Gaudin,3 is as follows: While this is the over-all reaction, the exact mechanism of the reaction and the intermediate compounds that may be formed are not yet known with certainty. Important work has been done in Russia by Plaksin

Jan 1, 1968

By T. A. Rickard

A knowledge of the principles of punctuation is essential to effective and intelligible writing, for the ease and pleasure of the reader, and even his understanding, may depend upon the choice and the placing of punctuation marks. To 'punctuate' is to mark with stops or points; the word comes from the medieval Latin punctuare (punctuatus), which in turn is derived from the Latin punctum, a point. The purpose of punctuation is to show the manner in which the writing is to be understood; to indicate the relations between parts of a sentence and between successive sentences. To some extent "it does for the eye what vocal stress does for the ear", but especially it marks logical relations. Some punctuation marks, such as those indicating admiration, exclamation, and interrogation, are rhetorical as well as grammatical, but most of the common ones are logical, or grammatical. My discussion will be confined to grammatical punctuation in ordinary writing. .'The problem of punctuation in text matter", as George Summey * says, "is to employ words, points, and paragraph breaks in such a way as to achieve at the same time clearness; proper distribution of emphasis, and the desired kind of movement." The criticism of the punctuation of a sentence or of a group of sentences is not final until the context, within the paragraph, is read. A paragraph is a sentence or a group of sentences forming an independent unit of the composition; it represents a unit of thought. A multiplicity of paragraphs produces a choppy effect; 'on the other hand, paragraphs of. excessive length are tiresome, because the belaboring of one unit of thought wearies the reader. The aim should be to

Jan 1, 1931

By W. P. Lass

(San Francisco Meeting, October, 1911.) TEE purpose of this article is not only to describe the plant and method of cyaniding the Treadwell concentrates, but to present some of the results of the experimental work obtained in the past three years for the Alaska-Treadwell Gold Mining Co., at Douglas Island, Alaska., under the direction of F. W. Bradley, Consulting Engineer, and Robert A. Kinzie, General Superintendent, of the affiliated companies. At the time the experimental work was undertaken the concentrates were being shipped to the smeltery at Tacoma, Wash., and the cost for treatment of 3-oz. (gold) concentrates was $11.95 per ton, divided as follows: Smelting-charges, . $4.00 Loading, freight, insurance, etc., 2.89 Interest due to time lost in transit and in settlement, . 0.05 Loss due to settlement for 95 per cent. of the gold at $20 per ounce, 5.01 Total, . . $11.95 From the experimental work described later, it was estimated that 96 per cent. extraction could be made by treatment on the ground, and that the cost, when treating 80 tons per day, would be $3.25 per ton, divided as follows; Per Day. Per Ton. Labor, . $66.16 $0.827 Chemicals, . 76.60 0.960 Power and steam-heat, 67.60 0.845 Marketing-, refining- and other charges, 49.36 0.617 Totals, . . $259.72 $3.250 Adding to this total the 4 per cent treatment-loss, which on 3-oz. concentrates amounts to $2.48, gives a total cost of $5.73 per ton. Comparing this with $11.95, the cost when shipping to the smelter, leaves a net gain of $6.22 per ton by the local

Feb 1, 1912

By S. F. Shaw

Tars paper is a review of the principal details of cyanide practice in several of the modern plants in America, mainly during the year 1908. Two of the mills, the Goldfield Consolidated and the Vets, Colorado, are not yet prepared to give data, the former having started about Jan. 1, 1909, and the latter not yet being completed. These two mills embody most of the latest methods and are therefore described as far as possible. I. CRUSHING. The principal methods of crushing ores for treatment by the cyanide process are with gyratory and jaw-crushers, stamps, Bryan and Huntington mills, and tube-mills. The first stage is usually done by gyratory or jaw-crushers, in a few cases sup-\

Jul 1, 1909

By K. Reinhardt

THE idea of burning blast-furnace gases directly in gas-engines, instead of under steam-boilers, as had previously been done, was first put into practice barely ten years ago, almost simultaneously in Great Britain, Germany and Belgium. The pioneers of this movement made their first experiments with small engines. After these experiments had given satisfactory results, and it had been shown that the thermal value of the poor blast-furnace gases, in spite of defective scrubbing, could with safety be directly transformed into mechanical work in the gas-engine, there very soon arose a considerable demand for gas-engines of large power, similar to the large steam-engines employed in metallurgical works. In face of these sudden requirements, the gas-engine builders were placed in a difficult position; for up to that time the gas-motor was considered as suitable for small engines only, and it was generally believed that the limit of size bad been attained with 100 to 150 effective h.p. in a single cylinder. Manufacturers of gas-motors, however, did not underrate the advantages offered by this new field for their manufactures, and it so happened that in Germany the Berlin-Anhaltische Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft, of Dessau, was the first to undertake the construction of a 600-h.p. two-cycle gas-engine, with two cyl¬inders of the Oechelhäuser-Junkers type, for the Hoerder Mining & Smelting Company. The engine was started in 1898, and, with a few improvements and alterations, is still working satisfactorily. This engine worked with astonishingly high of efficiency, considering the period. The builders were therefore

Nov 1, 1906

By Kenneth K. Humphreys

INTRODUCTION What is automation? Why automate? Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines automation as "the automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human organs of observation, effort, and decision." This definition gives an implied answer to the second question, "Why automate?" Automation, automatic control devices, and process control equipment receive their justification in supplementing or replacing manpower, which results in decreased operating costs. In the past, processes were operated with the minimum amount of instruments needed merely to guide operators. Processes were manually con- trolled by the operator on the basis of simple temperature, pressure, flow, and level indications on a panel. Today the tendency is to design a new plant to operate in a fully automatic manner according to a preset pro- gram utilizing a minimum of manpower. In addition to this direct cost reduction in manual labor, increased equipment capacity results from uniformity of flow and uniform control of process variables. This control eliminates or minimizes surges and permits equipment to be operated at or near its ultimate capacity and, for a given material throughput, permits the use of smaller process equipment. Automatic control, therefore, be it in the field of coal processing or in any industrial field, is simply a problem of economics. Control equipment is justified in terms of its contribution toward increasing productivity, increasing profit margins, or producing a new and salable product at a profit. Instruments and control devices can be divided into two general groups: (1) units which measure and (2) units which both measure and control a process variable.

Jan 1, 1979

By D. A. Dahlstrom

Although the liquid-solid cyclone is a relatively recent innovation in the field of coal preparation, various authors have already indicated three distinct applications to operations encountered in the modern tipple. Driessen's articles and work at the Dutch State Mines exhibited its possibilities in the beneficiation of fine coal with apparently high efficiencies down to the 200-mesh fraction. 1 2 3 4 Other publications point out its use as a recoverer, thickener, and preliminary dewatering agent of fine coal which in too many cases is being wasted due largely to former high operating cost limitations 5 6. Finally, certain authors have emphasized the practicability of applying the cyclone to the elimination of coarse and fine solids from water slurries in the tipple in order to produce a water suitable for recycle purposes containing only minute particles far below the 200-mesh size.6 This would result in a closed water system for many cases, with its accompanying economic and operating advantages to locations where water quantity and quality problems are severe; better operation of washing equipment using a consistent water devoid of injurious fine particles; lowered maintenance costs due to the lesser abrasion resulting when the fine abraiding particles are removed; and the greater ease of disposing of refuse streams of reduced volume containing greater percentages of solids.

Jan 1, 1949

By D. B. RUSHhIORE

I. INTRODUCTION. OF primary importance in mine-installations is the hoist, which has a very direct bearing on the successful operation of a mine. Conditions vary greatly with different mines, and especially in different localities. Such factors as depth, incline, the number of levels, permissible or desirable speeds, conditions of ore, etc., are always more or less special in each case. Veins of ore are never exactly duplicated, and the nature of the ground through which shafts are sunk may considerably modify permissible values. As mining-laws are made by the different States, they necessarily vary somewhat, and, even when not fully observed, they introduce factors which qualify the conditions of hoisting men and ore. The amount of timbering required is often of importance as relating to hoisting-conditions. Methods of loading ore affect the time required, as also does the question of the use of cars or skips. Safety-precautions must be very carefully considered, and the number of men in each mine, the number of compartments, and often the method of removing water from the mine, must. have careful consideration. While a general discussion of the subject. of hoisting is possible, most cases are entirely special, and can be considered only in connection with the peculiar conditions pertaining to that particular installation. The cost of installation of the hoisting-plant may be an appreciable amount, while the cost of raising the ore may be but a small part of the total operating-charge. In many cases, however, the output of the mine is limited by the capacity of the hoist, and the latter thus becomes of the first importance. * Presented also, by mutual agreement, at the meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, New York, N. Y., Mar. 11, 1910.

May 1, 1910

By P. W. Bridgman

Flow and fracture are admittedly complicated phenomena of which we are yet only partially masters. There is not even nni-.persal agreement as to the details of the language best adapted merely to describe the phenomena, to say nothing of any theory. Certain points of view, however, are widely held, and there are certain general expectations as to what sort of procedures will prove permissible. A complete description of any situation involving fracture would demand a complete history of all the variables in the control of the experimenter. The experimenter endeavors so to choose his independent variables that they are adequate to determine completely the situation in the sense that when an experiment is repeated on the same initial material and with the independent variables running through the same sequence, all the other measurable properties of the system will also run through the same course. It is, I think, the universal conviction that when we are dealing with phenomena of flow and fracture, the most important of the necessary variables are the external forces acting on the various parts of the body; when the force history repeats, with certain obvious restrictions such as that temperature must be constant and non-mechanical forces, such as magnetic field, must be small enough to be ineffective, then the history of all measurable properties will repeat; in particular the alteration of geometrical shape due to flow will run through the same course, and when fracture comes, the character of the fracture will be reproduced. Complete mastery of merely the descriptive aspects of flow and fracture would demand the ability to predict the entire course of flow and complete characterization of the final fracture for every possible combination of forces, varying in time in all possible ways, when applied to bodies of all possible shapes. This full situation is obviously of prohibitive complexity. The first stage in reduction to manageable simplicity is to resolve the total situation into the sum of contributions made by small elements. Our thesis is that if each of the elements is adequately characterized, the behavior of the whole system is fixed. The element is usually taken of a simple geometrical shape, suggested by the mathematics best adapted to the particular situation. The forces acting across the faces of the elements are ultimately determined by the forces acting across the free faces of the whole system. The detailed process of finding the precise forces on the faces of all the elements in terms of the external forces involves the use of a special mathematical invention, the stress, a constructional quantity consisting of six components. The stress at any point in the body is determined by both the external force system and by the physical properties of the body at all points; quite different stresses prevail at the interior of bodies of the same shape under the same external forces in the elastic and plastic ranges. The forces on the faces of any element are, however, uniquely determined by the stress system at the element. Our fundamental thesis

Jan 1, 1945

By Paul M. Tyler

YEAR after year, the kaolin industry of the United States has been setting new production records and making better products. High-grade paper, pottery, and rubber clays are produced in this country mostly in the South. Georgia alone contributes over 70 pct and South Carolina almost 20 pct of the total domestic output. Residual kaolin is mined in North Carolina, highly plastic but naturally sandy Tertiary (Eocene) potting clays are worked in north central Florida, and good white clays are produced in several other states, but the main sources of kaolin or china clay have been numerous deposits in the Tuscaloosa (Upper Cretaceous) formation. This formation of generally sandy sediments is called the Middendorf member in older geologic reports and corresponds in age with some of the New Jersey clays. As shown in fig. 1, it crops out almost continuously in a generally southwesterly direction across South Carolina and Georgia and into Alabama. Clay is mined from this formation in all three states but the principal producing centers lie within about 10 miles of a straight line drawn between Aiken, S. C., and a point about 10 miles south of Macon, Ga. The white kaolins of the South were recognized and used prior to the Civil War but suitable treatment processes were not introduced until World War I when imports, chiefly from England, were curtailed. Although imports of high-grade clays were resumed after 1918, the domestic industry managed to treble its prewar production record during the early 1920's and has continued to grow. Whereas the 1909 to 1913 average total production in the United States was only 132,104 short tons valued at $705,352 f.O.b. mines, the output in 1948 was 1,-568,848 tons worth $19,756,738. Paradoxically, it seems in retrospect that the early failure of the American industry to meet foreign competition was due to the superior quality of our sedimentary clays in their natural state. Kaolin, of course, is the principal decomposition product of feldspars which originate in acidic igneous rocks such as granite, aplite, alaskite, granodiorite, quartz porphyry, etc. English china clays occur in residual deposits and before they can be marketed they have to be treated to remove accompanying quartz, mica, and other impurities. Notwithstanding the relatively crude methods employed, the final product is a beneficiated clay which is subject to a certain amount of technical control as to quality and uniformity. Although the naturally concentrated deposits in Georgia and South Carolina contain some of the finest crude white kaolin in the world, even it can be made better by suitable treatment. In recent years well over half of the high-grade china clay produced in the United States has been used in making paper. Some qualities of paper clays are still produced by the dry process, or air flotation, but the paper industry's specifications have grown so exacting that wet processing was adopted and more refined methods had to be perfected. Notwithstanding notable advances in clay-preparation technology during the past decade, or possibly because these advances have implemented and encouraged technologic changes in consuming industries, demand has grown for products of higher uniform quality than can be obtained from even the best natural deposits without rigidly controlled fractionation. Largely as a result of the wide adoption of machine coating for paper, the clay industry has been obliged not merely to eliminate virtually all mineral impurities but also to segregate the clay substance itself into narrow particle-size ranges. By extraordinary coordination of sales effort and production technology, several Georgia companies manage to market a wide variety of specialized joint products but the commercial success of many producers depends upon their mining only the best parts of their deposits and then skimming the cream of this almost pure clay in order to obtain a maximum yield of kaolinite finer than about 2 microns in maximum particle size and possessing low viscosity as well as the more familiar attributes of suitable color and brightness, or reflectance. To the casual visitor from another mineral industry, the kaolin mines and plants may appear to be

Jan 1, 1951

By Paul M. Tyler

YEAR after year, the kaolin industry of the United States has been setting new production records and making better products. High-grade paper, pottery, and rubber clays are produced in this country mostly in the South. Georgia alone contributes over 70 pct and South Carolina almost 20 pct of the total domestic output. Residual kaolin is mined in North Carolina, highly plastic but naturally sandy Tertiary (Eocene) potting clays are worked in north central Florida, and good white clays are produced in several other states, but the main sources of kaolin or china clay have been numerous deposits in the Tuscaloosa (Upper Cretaceous) formation. This formation of generally sandy sediments is called the Middendorf member in older geologic reports and corresponds in age with some of the New Jersey clays. As shown in fig. 1, it crops out almost continuously in a generally southwesterly direction across South Carolina and Georgia and into Alabama. Clay is mined from this formation in all three states but the principal producing centers lie within about 10 miles of a straight line drawn between Aiken, S. C., and a point about 10 miles south of Macon, Ga. The white kaolins of the South were recognized and used prior to the Civil War but suitable treatment processes were not introduced until World War I when imports, chiefly from England, were curtailed. Although imports of high-grade clays were resumed after 1918, the domestic industry managed to treble its prewar production record during the early 1920's and has continued to grow. Whereas the 1909 to 1913 average total production in the United States was only 132,104 short tons valued at $705,352 f.O.b. mines, the output in 1948 was 1,-568,848 tons worth $19,756,738. Paradoxically, it seems in retrospect that the early failure of the American industry to meet foreign competition was due to the superior quality of our sedimentary clays in their natural state. Kaolin, of course, is the principal decomposition product of feldspars which originate in acidic igneous rocks such as granite, aplite, alaskite, granodiorite, quartz porphyry, etc. English china clays occur in residual deposits and before they can be marketed they have to be treated to remove accompanying quartz, mica, and other impurities. Notwithstanding the relatively crude methods employed, the final product is a beneficiated clay which is subject to a certain amount of technical control as to quality and uniformity. Although the naturally concentrated deposits in Georgia and South Carolina contain some of the finest crude white kaolin in the world, even it can be made better by suitable treatment. In recent years well over half of the high-grade china clay produced in the United States has been used in making paper. Some qualities of paper clays are still produced by the dry process, or air flotation, but the paper industry's specifications have grown so exacting that wet processing was adopted and more refined methods had to be perfected. Notwithstanding notable advances in clay-preparation technology during the past decade, or possibly because these advances have implemented and encouraged technologic changes in consuming industries, demand has grown for products of higher uniform quality than can be obtained from even the best natural deposits without rigidly controlled fractionation. Largely as a result of the wide adoption of machine coating for paper, the clay industry has been obliged not merely to eliminate virtually all mineral impurities but also to segregate the clay substance itself into narrow particle-size ranges. By extraordinary coordination of sales effort and production technology, several Georgia companies manage to market a wide variety of specialized joint products but the commercial success of many producers depends upon their mining only the best parts of their deposits and then skimming the cream of this almost pure clay in order to obtain a maximum yield of kaolinite finer than about 2 microns in maximum particle size and possessing low viscosity as well as the more familiar attributes of suitable color and brightness, or reflectance. To the casual visitor from another mineral industry, the kaolin mines and plants may appear to be

Jan 1, 1951

By John Chipman

RECENT developments in iron alloys containing nitrogen have indi-cated that this element may exert a considerable influence on the proper-ties of the metal. This influence is not always in an undesirable direction and the indications are that nitrogen should be regarded as an alloying element, the amount of which should be subject to control, rather than as an inherently deleterious impurity. In controlling this element in liquid iron to the best advantage, it is necessary to have a reliable background of fundamental data pertaining to solubilities, rates of solution and chemical reactions of nitrogen in liquid iron. Obviously, the first step in such an investigation is the determination of the solubility of nitrogen in pure iron, and this has been the object of the experiments described in this paper. The solubility of nitrogen in solid iron has been measured by Jurich,1 Sieverts,2 Martin,3 and Iwasé4 and the agreement among the first three inspires confidence in their results. No accurate determinations of its solubility in liquid iron have been recorded though several investigators have obtained approximate results. Strauss5 was able to introduce 0.03 to 0.04 per cent nitrogen into steel by the action of either ammonia or nitrogen on the liquid metal. This was accomplished by Eilender and

Jan 1, 1935

By Francis M. Walters

THE problem of making iron-manganese alloys of scientific purity is a rather difficult one. They cannot be prepared in air because of the readiness with which the metals oxidize at the temperature of melting; and they cannot be prepared in vacuum because of the, high vapor pressure-of- manganese. The very property of: manganese which permits it to be purified interferes with the utilization of the best method of making pure alloys. Accordingly, it is necessary to use a gas atmosphere which will not affect the-properties of the alloys. The gases available for the purposes are hydrogen; helium and argon. Nitrogen forms intermetallic compounds with manganese very readily. Hydrogen, while valuable as a deoxidizer and having the advantage of being comparatively cheap, is explosive over a wide range and, has a rather high thermal conductivity. Helium is reported as, costing little but is difficult to secure at a reasonable price and also has a conductivity nearly as high as hydrogen. Since argon has a sufficiently low thermal conductivity, it has been selected for use in one induction furnace for melting, under a controlled, gas atmosphere, in spite of its cost, which is so high (70 cents to $1.50 per cubic foot) that it must be stored and purified.. Such a gas atmosphere-as argon makes necessary the use of the, high-frequency induction method of heating. This involves, a non-metallic container for the gas; .which is most conveniently of fused quartz or glass. The next

Jan 1, 1929

By Charles Luner

ALTHOUGH the kinetics of the atmospheric oxidation of tin have been studied,1-3 the kinetics in pure oxygen have not been reported. This note presents some results of the kinetics of the oxidation of tin foil in pure oxygen. The tin foil used in this investigation was 99.78 pct pure, the two major impurities being Pb (0.17 pct) and Sb (0.024 pct). The foil was degreased and air-dried prior to oxidation. The air-formed film was estimated by coulometric reduction4 of the surface oxides to be about 25A. The samples, which were in strip form and had a total geometric surface area of about 300 sq cm, were first evacuated at room temperature in an oxidation bulb to 1 X 10 -5 mm Hg and subsequently degassed for 1 hr at the temperature of the experiment. Spectroscopically pure oxygen was then introduced into the bulb. The rates of oxidation were measured by following the rate of pressure change due to oxygen consumption in a closed system, the volume of which was sufficiently large so that the pressure change during an experiment was 10 to 15 per cent of the total pressure. An oil-mercury manometer,5 with a sensitivity of 3 X x mm Hg (which corresponds approximately to 5 X 10 -7 gm of oxygen) was used to measure the pressure change. The oxidation bulb was heated by an oil-bath and controlled to within -10.3 C. The reproducibility of the rates was good, as determined by the coincidence of rates at 190oC for duplicate experiments. Fig. 1 shows the oxidation curves in the temperature range 168 to 211.5oC at 8 mm Hg pressure. The effect of pressure on the rate of oxidation at 190°C is also shown. The rate of oxidation was not markedly affected by changes in pressure in the range 4 to 9 mm Hg, except perhaps at the lowest pressure, 4 mm Hg, where after about 70 min there appeared to be a decline in the rate, as compared with the rate at the higher pressures. At the lower tem- perature, 168oC, and for short reaction times, it is difficult to distinguish between a linear relationship and a slight curvature in the oxidation rate. However, for longer times, there was a somewhat larger indication of curvature. The samples after oxidation were gold-colored in appearance. The oxide that was formed at 170°C was identified as a-SnO by reflection electron diffraction. This is in agreement with results obtained by other workers.6, 7 The rate data best fitted the logarithmic-oxidation rate law, w = K1n ln(1 + -t/to) [1] where w is the weight of oxygen consumed, t is the time, and K In, and to are constants. First estimates to were obtained according to the method of Taylor Thon8 and were then employed to obtain the best simuItaneous estimates of to and K In, that would fit the logarithmic expression. These estimates were found numerically, so that the residual variance could be minimized. The calculations were performed on an

Jan 1, 1961

By John M. Bostwick, James C. Bradbury

Bitumen is a general term for a group of materials composed of mixtures of hydrocarbons that are fusible and soluble in carbon disulfide. Included in the group are petroleum, asphalts, asphaltites, and mineral waxes. Asphalt is a dark-colored, cementitious solid or semisolid, which generally softens on heating and resumes a more viscous or solid state when cooled. It is found in native form in fissures and pore spaces in rocks and as lakes. It is also obtained from the residues produced in petroleum refining. Asphaltites are black, naturally occurring solid bitumens. They are generally shiny and break with a conchoidal fracture. Common asphaltites are gilsonite (uintahite), grahamite, and glance pitch. Mineral waxes are solid or semisolid, relatively nonvolatile bitumens of various colors, having an unctuous feel and waxy luster, Of the native waxes, ozokerite is the best known. Montan wax is also classed as a natural wax, although it never occurs in the pure state and must be extracted from lignite or cannel coal (Ladoo, 1920). Mineral waxes may also be obtained by pyroprocessing of petroleum, lignite, and peat. Pyrobitumens are dark-colored, solid hydrocarbons that are infusible and relatively insoluble in carbon disulfide. They are so-called because they will yield liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons only when heated. Asphaltic pyrobitumens are defined as "substantially free of oxygenated bodies" and include wurtzilite (elaterite), albertite, and impsonite (Thrush, 1968). Nonasphaltic pyrobitumens contain oxygenated bodies; examples are coal and peat. The nonasphaltic type will not be discussed further. Petroleum Asphalts Asphalts refined from crude petroleum have almost completely replaced the native types. Refineries can produce asphalts in every desirable grade more economically and in greater quantity than the native types and with a variety of properties that meet the requirements of the various manufacturers using them. For all practical purposes, it is estimated that more than 95% of the asphalts consumed in the United States are refined from crude petroleum (private communication). Native Asphalts Native asphalts are dark brown or black, semisolid or solid substances that, in theory, formed by slow, natural fractionation of crude petroleum at or near the surface of the earth (Goulston, 1938). They are colloidal systems of high molecular weight components dispersed in a medium consisting of low molecular weight components (Pracy, 1954). Native asphalts may occur as lakes, as impregnations of rock (rock asphalt) or as deposits consisting of mixtures of natural asphalt and mineral matter in various proportions (Stern, 1960). Practical use of native asphalt dates to about 3000 B.C. It was mined from surface pits or lakes and used, then as now, for masonry mortar, waterproofing aqueducts and tunnels, binders for road construction, and as an article of commerce (Miller, 1938). Generally the native asphalts find little commercial use today except where they are geographically abundant, easily mined and transported, or have specific or special application. Petroleum-refined asphalt is produced by unusually economical techniques and is much less costly to use. The largest and best known of the lake deposits is that on the Island of Trinidad, where the lake covers an area of 114 acres and is 285 ft deep at its center (Stem, 1960). The lake asphalt is refined by heating to evaporate in-

Jan 1, 1983

By S. J. M. van Leeuwen, R. Feenstra

The effect of jets on bit penetration has been investigated by means of a 50-ton drilling machine and 8½-in. commercial jet bits, drilling under representative bottom-hole conditions. The conclusions apply to the drilling of impermeable rock only. Penetration rate is in all cases primarily hampered by a differential pressure effect, known as dynamic hold-down. Jet action can reduce this slightly. Major gain in penetration rate, up to 25 or 50 per cent, is already ohtained at medium-high jet power. At high bit load, penetration by soft to medium-hard-formation bits is further hampered by bit-balling. Its alleviation requires intensive tooth scavenging, which is best performed by slanted nozzles with trailing, high-velocity, high-volume jets, hitting bottom in front of the teeth. Penetration may then improve by a 100 per cent. At high bit load, bottom-balling limits the penetration of insert-type bits. In this case bottom scavenging is required, which is most effectively performed with high velocity jets from nozzles extended close to bottom. As a result of this measure, penetration may improve 70 per cent in non-friable rock, and less in friable rock. This will make the insert-type bit more versatile. Toothed hard-formation hits suffer at high bit load from both bit- and bottom-balling. Slanted nozzles, possibly much extended, with high-velocity, high-volume jets then have best prospects. INTRODUCTION For years the use of jet bits in oil well drilling has been increasing, in conjunction with ever greater hydraulic horsepower. To the same extent, the need for efficient use of the horsepower has grown.' This paper, it is hoped, will contribute to an understanding of how effective jet action may be obtained. It deals with the effect of jets on phenomena that are known' " to hamper bit penetration. To study this effect, laboratory drilling tests were performed with 8½-in. commercial bits under bottom-hole pressures representative of deep wells. The investigation has been restricted to the drilling of practically impermeable rock. In the following sections, the increase in bit penetration rates due to jetting is discussed for conditions which made the troublesome phenomena stand out one at a time. A brief definition and interpretation of these phenomena is given in Appendix A. Appendix B gives the results of measurements of fluid velocities along the hole bottom, performed in stationary flow tests. Descriptions of equipment, bits, rocks and mud are collected in Appendix C. Unless otherwise mentioned, drilling conditions were kept standard as given in Table 1. CUTTING TRANSPORT TO THE ANNULUS Jet action was for some time believed to merely improve the transport of cuttings from bottom to annulus, resulting in a clean hole bottom. Flow tests performed in 1954 at the Battelle Memorial Institute6 showed, however, that jet velocities of the order of 40 ft/sec sufficed to clear even large (0.4-in.) chips from bottom in the time between two successive tooth actions. In the field, optimum jet velocities are appreciably higher, indicating that other effects must be involved. This much is confirmed by the results of our drilling experiments in soft rocks performed under atmospheric pressure, i.e., in absence of pressure-differential effects. Fig. 1 shows that variation in the nozzle velocity from 40 to 330 ft/sec had no effect on penetration rate, unless the bit penetrated more than 7 mm per revolution, which is about half the tooth height. At such high rates—150 ft/hr at 100 rpm—cuttings would be caught in the tooth cavities, leading to bit-balling, which was noticed on inspection of the bit. The jets thus assisted in keeping the tooth cavities clean. This is just perceptibly reflected in the penetration-rate curves of Fig. 1: Much the same results were obtained in hard rocks with hard-formation three-cone bits. The conclusion is that transport of loose cuttings towards the annulus does not require a powerful jet action. In the following sections we shall see that in deep-well drilling other phenomena are of greater importance. DYNAMIC HOLD-DOWN It is generally accepted that, in deep-well drilling, bit penetration is hampered primarily by the existence of a difference in pressure between the fluid in the hole and that in the rock at the depth of cutting.2-5 In the drilling

Jan 1, 1965

By John W. Cabot

The fact has long been known, that the temperature at which steel is made and cast bears a very important relation to the molecular condition of the cast ingot. But until quite recently this fact has not received the consideration which its importance seems to justify. That the ingots from a very " hot " blow in the Bessemer converter, for instance, would not roll as well as those made at a lower temperature, was observed very early in the development of the process; but the further investigation of the effects of varying temperature from "hot" to "cold," has not been carried out with that degree of fulness which has been accorded to the effects on the rolling of the chemical elements, and other conditions in the manufacture. In the following pages will be presented the results of an investigation of this subject, undertaken with the view of determining how far the influence of temperature extends, through how great a range its effects can be traced, and what temperature in the making and casting will give the best results in the rolling of the ingots. In the series of observations forming the basis for the conclusions arrived at, while it was not possible to get the full chemical analysis of every heat considered, a complete record of each, in other details, was made, and a large number of these were averaged together to

Jan 1, 1886

By Voyle R. McFarland, Robert A. Burmeister, David A. Stevenson

The distribution of lead between phases in the Ag-Sb-Te system was studied using microautoradio -graphy. Two compositions were investigated, both containing an intermediate phase Known as silver antimony telluride as the major phase, and one containing AgzTe and the other SbzTes as the minor phase. For both compositions, two thermal treatments were used: nonequilibrium solidification from the melt and long equilibration anneals of the as-solidified structure. For each composition, lead was segregated in the minor phase of the as-solidified structure, but was distributed in the matrix after anneal. The electrical resistivity and carrier type were insensitive to the distribution of lead in the two-phase structure. ThERE has been considerable interest in the Ag-Sb-Te system because of its thermoelectric properties. The major interest has been in compositions on the vertical section between AgzTe and SbzTes, particularly the 50 mole pct SbzTes composition AgSbTez (compositions are conveniently expressed as mole percent SbzTes along the AgzTe-SbzTes section). One of the major problems in the proper evaluation and utilization of this material is the inability to control the electrical properties through impurity additions: all alloys prepared to date have been p-type, even with the addition of large amounts of impurities. It has been shown Wit all the compositions previously studied contain an intermediate phase of the NaCl st'ructure as a major phase (denoted by b) and a second phase, either AgzTe or SbzTe3, as a minor phase.'-3 One explanation for the unusual electrical behavior of this material is that the impurity additions have a higher solubility in the second phase than in the matrix; the impurity would segregate to the second phase, leaving the bulk matrix essentially free of impurity.4 In order to investigate this mechanism with a specific impurity element, the distribution of lead between the two phases was determined using autoradiography. Lead 210 was chosen because of the suitability of its 0.029 mev 0 particle for autoradiography and also because of the interest in lead as an impurity in this system.5'6 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Two compositions were taken from the vertical section between AgzTe and SbzTes, 50 mole pet SbzTes (Viz. AgSbTez) and 75 mole pct SbzTes, in which AgzTe and SbzTes appear, respectively, as the minor phase. Lead containing radioactive lead (pb210) was added to the above compositions to provide a concentration of 0.1 wt pct Pb. The material was placed in a graphite crucible in a quartz tube which was then evacuated and sealed. The samples were melted and solidified by cooling at a rate of 8°C per min and then removed and prepared for microa~toradiography. After autoradiographic examination of these samples, they were again encapsulated and annealed in an isothermal bath at 300°C for a number of days and prepared for examination. An alternate method of preparation employed a zone-melting furnace; the molten zone traversed the sample at a rate of 1.2 cm per hr and the solid was maintained at a temperature of 500°C both before and after solidification. This treatment had the same effect as solidification at a slow rate followed by an anneal for several hours at 500°C. In order to obtain the best resolution, thin sections of the alloy were prepared by hand lapping to a thickness of approximately 20 p. Other samples were prepared for examination by lapping a flat surface on the bulk sample. The resolution, although somewhat better in the former procedure, was adequate in both instances and the majority of the samples were treated in the latter fashion. A piece of autoradiographic film (Kodak Experimental SP 764 Autoradiographic Permeable Base Safety Stripping Film) was stripped from its backing, care being taken to avoid fogging due to static-electrical discharge. A small amount of water was placed on the sample, the film applied emulsion side down on the surface of the sample, and the sample and the film dipped into water in order to assure smooth contact. After drying, the film was exposed for 2 to 5 days, the period of time selected to give the best resolution. The film was developed on the specimen and fixed and washed in place. Two major factors must be considered in establishing the reliability of an autoradiograph: the in-

Jan 1, 1964

By AIME AIME

REPUBLIC STEEL'S new iron blast furnace in Alabama, shown on the cover of this issue, is the first to be completed of those authorized by the Government last year when a shortage of scrap became acute. In addition to the furnace, the new equipment includes a new battery of by-product coke ovens, a boiler plant, a generating unit, a 3-mile-long 60-in. water line, a huge gas washer, and precipitators in which the dust from the furnace is washed, separated from the water, and fed back into the furnace as raw material. The new unit is a cylindrical steel giant reaching 130 ft. into the air above the ground level. Because of the high humidity in the deep South, the furnace has been air-conditioned to avoid blowing eighteen tons of water into the furnace daily. Designed by Republic engineers who also had charge of the actual construction, the new furnace incorporates the best in modern blastfurnace practice. Orders to proceed with the construction of the furnace were received Sept. 22, 1941. The engineering crew, which was immediately organized, made more than 1500 drawings. Excavation started the next day, and simultaneously work was begun on demolishing existing buildings and preparing the site. The first concrete was poured Oct. 7 and the first piece of steel swung into place by a giant derrick on Jan. 30, 1942. It began operating May 28. A total of 70,000 cu. yd. of earth was moved and 30,000 cu. yd. of concrete poured.

Jan 1, 1942

By E. S. Leaver

THE presence of soluble base metals in precious-metal ores usually precludes cyanidation as the best method of treatment. The laboratory experiments described in this paper show the possibility of cyanidation of gold-silver ores containing less than 0.5 per cent, of cyanide-soluble copper and the effect of zinc in the cyanide solution. PART I.-COPPER IN CYANIDATION The proposed process of cyanidation of precious-metal ores containing copper is based on the regeneration of about 80 per cent., of the cyanide used in the dissolution of the copper. The method of regeneration involves a combination of the sulfide and the acid precipitation of the copper and silver. The resultant solution is made alkaline with lime, and the gold is precipitated with zinc dust. Solubility of Copper Minerals in Cyanide Solution In order to determine the solubility of copper minerals, including metallic copper, under the usual conditions for cyanidation, experiments were conducted with synthetic ores. Each ore sample was prepared by mixing the particular pure copper mineral with barren sea sand. Both the mineral and sand were ground to pass 100 mesh before they were thoroughly mixed. The percentage of copper in each head sample was determined by direct assay, excepting the metallic copper sample, which was computed on weights before mixing. Table 1 gives the results.

Jan 1, 1929