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By F. P. Dewey

The subject of this paper does not embrace the consideration of ways and means for the increase of analytical accuracy, or the question what could or should be attained in that direction. I desire simply to call attention to the degree of accuracy exhibited in actual every-day practice. In estimating this, little weight will be given to the evidence afforded by the agreement of duplicate or multiple determinations by the same chemist; for I am convinced that such agreement is a delusion and a snare. Nor will special importance be attached to the agreement of two or even three analyses in special cases, or to the agreement between two methods practiced by the same analyst. I propose to compare the results obtained by several chemists, working upon the same sample and by various methods, in order to exhibit, as I have said, the actual condition of practice. The available material for illustrating this phase of the question is unfortunately scanty; but something has been done; and I hope, by calling attention to some of the work in this line, to stimulate further work in the same direction by inducing others to prepare suitable samples and submit them to various chemists who are competent and willing to make the necessary determinations, and fully describe the methods they employ. I draw most of my illustrations from the Transactions of the Institute, the Proceedings of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and from personal experience. Manganese in Steel.—In May, 1881, Mr. William Kent presented a paper to the Institute entitled " Manganese Deter-

Jan 1, 1897

By Michael Tenenbaum

RECENT researches on the reduction of iron ores have stimulated interest in the effect of increased pressures within the iron blast furnace. From a physicochemical viewpoint, it seems logical to suppose that the increased pressure would increase the rate of reduction of the iron ore within the furnace. This increased reaction velocity would in turn be reflected in an increase in the output of the blast furnace. Any sub-stantial effect of elevated blast-furnace pressures should accordingly be of both technical and economic interest to the operator. It is doubtful whether it is possible to increase the pressure in the stack of the blast furnace beyond two or three atmospheres without incurring severe mechanical difficulties. The benefits to be procured by elevations in pressure must therefore be restricted to pressures below two, or at the most, three atmospheres. Within this range it would seem both economically and mechanically feasible to modify the present design of the upper portion of the blast furnace to accommodate these more stringent operating conditions. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of moderate pressures on the rate of reduction of iron ore with hydrogen. The use of carbon monoxide is contemplated for later work. Although any results that are obtained in the laboratory cannot be interpreted directly in terms of large-scale commercial operations, it is possible, through such an investigation, to ascertain the order of magnitude of the effects of higher pressure. A more quantitative conception of the effects that would result from the use of increased pressures in the modern blast furnace is needed.

Jan 1, 1939

By Thomas H. Leggett

In speaking of the mining and economic conditions prevailing at the present time on the Rand, it is not my intention to go into the details of the mining practice, since this has been already well described both in the Transactions' and elsewhere,2 but rather to take a more comprehensive view of the industry and its surroundings as a whole, marking its general development and the lines of its future progress. In a paper entitled Deep-Level Shafts on the Witwaters-rand, with Remarks on a Method of Working the Greatest Number of Deep-Level Mines with the Fewest Possible Shafts,' presented to this Institute in August, 1900, I drew attention to the great cost of sinking the very deep vertical shafts that were then being seriously proposed as necessary for the development of the deeper areas, pointing out the strong advisability of working this ground by means of inclines to be sunk from the existing shafts of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft. in vertical depth. In this paper it is stated (p. 975): '" In short, practice upon the Rand now tends towards fewer vertical shafts and more underground inclines, especially for the very deep mining about to be undertaken." In consequence, the 6,000-ft. vertical shafts, at one time so much discuesed, have never been started, and they do not now seem likely ever to be. The necessity of placing all deep shafts further apart in order to make them control and exhaust larger areas was also dwelt upon. This economy wae vitally necessary for both

Jan 1, 1909

By Nelson P. Hulst

To those who have had the happy privilege of friendship with George W. Goetz, the announcement of his death has brought great sadness. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 17, 1855, and died January 15, 1897. In his boyhood days, when I first came to know him, his frank, trustful manner; his eyes brimming with truthfulness; his eagerness, never obtrusive, to gain knowledge from all whom he met; and his equal readiness to give without ostentation of his store, constituted a personality which at once commanded confidence and won friendship. I am told that as a scholar of five years he was conspicuous for brightness, a show-pupil, who was called on to recite when visitors were present at school. Yet this in no way spoiled him. His modesty was too strong a trait in his character to be overcome by any attention which might, be expected to arouse vanity. In his simple-heartedness he was pleased then, as he always was in his maturer years, to give of his knowledge for the gratification of his listeners, with never a thought of himself. So strong was this characteristic that in a brief autobiography, in the form of a letter to his wife and children, found among his papers, he excuses himself to them for recounting what he had accomplished in his life-work. As a preface to this autobiography (which, it seems, was prepared on the eve of a sudden journey to California, taken February, 1895, for his health) he says: " I am writing this rather hastily, and I

Jan 1, 1898

By J. Eldridge, K. L. Komarek

Activities of aluminum in solid Fe-Al alloys have been determined between 0 and 75 at, pct Al and 1100" and 1400°K by an isopiestic method in which iron specimens, heated in a temperature gradient, are equilibrated in a closed all-ceramic system with aluminum vapor. The activity of aluminum in these alloys shows a strong negative deviation from Raoult's law at low concentrations but increases rapidly above 40 at. pct Al. The enthalpy and entropy of mixing me both negative. For an alloy with equiatomic composition the values are: HM = -7300 cal and SM = -0.85 eu. Sodium chloride has been added at lower temperatures to accelerate the evaporation of aluminum. Equations have been derived to calculate activities of aluminum from experimental data. THE Fe-Al system has been the object of a great number of investigations.' Most of these studies have been concerned with the phase diagram and specifically with the order-disorder reactions in the range of solid solutions of aluminum in iron. The results have been compiled by Hansen2 and presented as a complete phase diagram, Fig. 1. More recently, Taylor and ones' have found that both ordered and disordered alloys can exist in the a field up to the solidus curve separated by a line starting at 18.75 at. pct Al at room temperature up to 37 at. pct Al at 1375°C. Chipman and coworkers4-7 have studied repeatedly the activity of aluminum in liquid dilute Fe-Al alloys. They have measured the distribution equilibrium of aluminum between liquid iron and

Jan 1, 1964

By W. L. Remick

The hydrotator coal-cleaning process was developed as an economic necessity to meet the ever-increasing demand for an inexpensive method of cleaning coal down to the sizes ordinarily referred to as "dust." As the most urgent demand seemed to be in the anthracite field, all experimental work has been conducted in that territory during the past two years, with the exception of a few months during the strike of 1925-26, when some experiments were performed in the Alabama bituminous fields. The first commercial plant was constructed at the Middle Creek Colliery of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co.,. Pottsville, Pa. This plant is now operating. Application The field of application of the process is: 1. Cleaning anthracite fines, ordinarily described as "slush" or "silt." Slush contains all sizes from 3/32 in. down to and including I(dust." (Anthracite passing a 3/32-in. mesh is also referred to as No. 2 Barley and No. 4 Buckwheat.) 2. Cleaning sizes too fine for recovery by other methods. 3. Removal of coal from sand circulated in the Chance sand-flotation process. 4. Cleaning of bituminous sizes from % in. down to "dust." 5. As equipment for the performance of the froth flotation process. 6. Other separating, extraction and washing processes which may be considered outside the realm of coal cleaning. Principle of Operation Fig. 1 shows the method of classification practiced under the Hydrotator patent.' In coal cleaning the machines are operated as "hindered settling" classifiers, the flow of solids and liquids being so controlled that the units may be combined in series.

Jan 1, 1927

By Jesse O. Betterton

IN the last analysis, two basic factors influence the use of metals and alloys; namely, cost and adaptability to the use under consideration. These are so interrelated that to study the properties of metals or alloys without considering the prices and price trends is quite illogical. Lead has been a cheap metal, selling in 1932 for the extremely low price of 2.56 cents per pound. The cheapness of lead in the past was not due to a particularly abundant supply of the element in the earth's crust but rather to the ease with which it was won from its ores and to the chemical stability of the metal, preventing its dissipation. Today, however, our modern economy has caught up with the distribution of lead in the earth's crust and the price is largely dictated by the supply of concentrates readily available for smelting, and which can be placed quickly upon the market. The demand for lead, particularly in times of stress, has brought the price up to the level of 19 cents in the United States, where the price is controlled by Government decree, and the price has been even higher in the world markets. The higher price for lead has changed the uses for this metal to a marked degree, driving it out of the fields where it is not essential. Lead articles of great antiquity have been found in Egyptian ruins, proving the stability of the element and indicating the basic simplicity of its metallurgy. It is probable that lead was the first

Jan 1, 1953

Secondary minerals are the result of a process of concentration and enrichment and are commonly richer than the primary minerals of the same deposit. Secondary ores that contain abundant sulphides are commonly distinguishable in the field from primary ores; this distinction is more difficult with ores that carry a small quantity only of sulphide minerals, and microscopical examination of the ore in thin section is advisable in all doubtful cases. It is frequently difficult, and in some cases impossible, to determine the primary or secondary character of quartzose gold ores. The safest guide is the presence or absence of gaseous or fluid inclusions in association with the ore minerals; such primary association coupled with a lack of traces of oxidation is indicative of primary origin. Any ore that carries traces of oxidation, such as iron stains, endritic oxides of manganese, kaolin and so forth must be considered to have been acted upon by surface agencies, and secondary enrichment must be suspected. Further examination, however, may indicate that the contained value is primary, and, therefore, persistent in its vertical distribution. The manner of occurrence of secondary minerals is frequently characteristic; secondary minerals, being due to the action of surface waters, are commonly found in cracks through earlier minerals, or as crusts lining vugs or surrounding nucleal masses, or in general, in some distribution later than and not conforming to the arrangement of the primary minerals. Secondary sulphides are often found as soft black pulverulent masses or coatings, although they frequently occur well crystallized or as

Jan 1, 1932

From the cold Pacific waters in June rolls a blanket of white clouds that tucks up around the mountains at around 8000 or 9000 ft. This is the way it happens in southern Peru and so the mining operations and daily living at Toquepala have an ethereal quality not often encountered. Besides looking down on the clouds from the brightly sunlit mountain tops, one can discern the trace of a different era in the brown barren mountain slopes. This trace is like a delicate net laid over the surface of the earth-a criss-crossing of innumerable trails that are so omnipresent, yet faint, that the local people have long since ceased to notice them. It is difficult at first to ask about them because no one understands what you are talking about. It finally comes out though, that the markings are indeed trails, but fossil trails made by animals in times when they were in abundance in a countryside that was green in some bygone century. In a way Toquepala is still pristine, it is the way the engineers planned it-from the ground up. There are no additions or expansions- those tackings-on that spoil the symmetry of design while increasing the profit. This does not deny that annual production has gone up over the years. Daily mill throughput has been increased from 30,000 to 42,000 tpd. Initial design of the concentrator was for 30,000 tpd but in 1964-65 milling capacity was increased to 36,000 tpd at a cost of $3 million.

Jan 11, 1969

By Enrique Hauser

FIRE-DAMP is a mixture of methane with other inert gases or combustible gases. The inert gases in question are carbonic acid, water vapor, nitrogen, etc. The combustible gases are hydrogen, ethane, etc. The study of the properties of fire-damp, therefore, becomes a study of the properties of methane and the influence on its properties of the different gases we have mentioned. Characteristic Properties of Methane 1. Respirability.-Methane being a paraffin is characterized by its weak chemical affinities. From the physiological, point of view one could substitute it for nitrogen of the air at least momentarily, without experiencing any difficulty in breathing the mixture consisting of 21 per cent. 02 + 79 per cent. CH4. I .have tried this on myself, making the gas exhaled -from the lungs burn subsequently in a Bunsen burner.1 From the chemical point of view, this weak affinity permits the gas to be burned in certain circumstances with hydrogen and oxide of carbon in an oxygenated mixture, with the result that the last two gases achieve only a fractional combustion. This practice has been utilized with success in the methods of analysis which I have perfected and which I describe later in this paper. 2. Retardation of Flashing Point.-A characteristic property of methane is its retardation of flashing point, noted by Davy in 1816 and studied by Mallard and Le Chatelier in 1883.2 Taffanel and Le Floch have recently confirmed these results.3 Let us recall the nature of this retardation:

Jan 2, 1916

By W. C. Schroeder, A. A. Berk

Practical experience has shown that at elevated temperatures solutions containing sodium hydroxide may attack stressed steel in a manner that cannot be explained in terms of ordinary corrosion. Because the ductility of the metal has been greatly reduced during the reaction, the entire phenomenon is usually called "embrittlement." Thus, after several years of operation caustic evaporators have been so badly embrittled that rivets could be cracked off with the blow of a hammer. Since fine intergranular cracks are almost always present in the zone of fracture, it has often been assumed that a process of selective corrosion in grain boundaries was responsible for the failure, although this has not been clearly proved experimentally. Concentrations of sodium hydroxide below those necessary for the uniform, rapid attack of the steel surface are reported to be most effective in producing embrittlement2, 3. In the operation of steam boilers a similar type of failure has been found, mainly in riveted seams or other capillary spaces where the solution may concentrate and where high stresses may also exist. It is believed that in such localized areas the dissolved solids may reach a value many times the few hundred parts per million prevalent in the body of the boiler. While this type of boiler failure has been the subject of investigation for a period of 20 years1, an understanding of its mechanism and a rational basis for complete protection have not yet been secured. To procure this information the present investigation was

Jan 1, 1936

By C Gunther

Secondary minerals are the result of a process of concentration and enrichment and are commonly richer than the primary minerals of the same deposit. Secondary ores that contain abundant sulphides are commonly dibtinguishable in the field from primary ores; this distinction is more difficult with ores that carry a small quantity only of sulphide minerals, and microscopical examination of the ore in thin section is advisable in all doubtful cases. It is frequently difficult, and in some cases impossible, to determine the primary or secondary character of quartzose gold ores. The safest guide is the presence or absence of gaseous or fluid inclusions in association with the ore minerals; such primary association coupled with a lack of traces of oxidation is indicative of primary origin. Any ore that carries traces of oxidation, such as iron stains, dendritic oxides of manganese, kaolin and so forth must be considered to have been acted upon by surface agencies, and secondary enrichment must be suspected. Further examination, however, may indicate that the contained value is primary, and, therefore, persistent in its vertical distribution. The manner of occurrence of secondary minerals is frequently characteristic; secondary minerals, being due to the action of surface waters, are commonly found in cracks through earlier minerals, or as crusts lining vugs or surrounding nucleal masses, or in general, in some distribution later than and not conforming to the arrangement of the primary minerals. Secondary sulphides are often found as soft black pulverulent masses or coatings, although they frequently occur well crystallized or as

Jan 1, 1932

The function of a preposition is to show the relation of one thing to another; it is necessary therefore for the writer to select the preposition that indicates the particular relation, otherwise he will fail to express himself clearly. Is it against common sense &o suggest that a Government is justified, morally as well as constitutionally, in preventing the decay of an industry by insisting upon the amalgamation of the prosperous with the needy? All these seven prepositions are used correctly. With the first dredge introduced in Russia, of Werf Conrad, Haarlem, make, this method of alluvial mining became important. Here the prepositions "with", "in", and "of" are used wrongly. He means: "This method of alluvial mining sprang into importance shortly after the first dredge, made at the Werf Conrad, Haarlem, was introduced into Russia." The statement itself is not true, but for that I am not responsible. Once, while I was serving with him, we were frozen in out of sight of land in the Gulf of Pichili in the North of China. Admiral Fisher wrote thus. He has used nine prepositions in making this brief statement. The sequence of three prepositions "in out of" is particularly awkward. Lounsbury says : One might fairly infer from the way in which it [newspaper English] is often spoken of that with the steadily increasing circulation of this sort of periodical literature there is no hope whatever for our speech. "Of that with" is lamentable. The construction is thoroughly bad, and it is bad mainly because the misplaced prepositions have tangled the meaning. I suggest:

Jan 1, 1931

The first mention of the occurrence of native copper near Lake Superior is found in a book by Lagarde, published in 1636. The letters of the Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century refer to the use of this copper by the Indians. Francesco Bressani, an Italian friar, says, in 1653: "There is a copper ore, which is very pure, and which has no need of passing through the fire; but it is in places far distant and hard to reach. We have seen it in the hands of the barbarians".* Father Jerome Lalemant, writing in 1659, says that the coast of Lake Superior is "enriched with copper of such excellence that pieces as large as one's fist are found, all refined.† These pieces of copper were hoarded by the Indians as mascots. The mention of the metal as having been already refined by nature recalls the fact that the old Greek historians spoke of gold-dust as being apuron, or not needing the fire. Father Claude Allouez,‡ writing in 1666, says: "One often finds at the bottom of the water [of Lake Superior] pieces of pure copper, of ten and twenty livres [pounds] weight. I have several times seen such pieces in the savages' hands; and since they are superstitious [as if the padres themselves were not!], they- keep them as so many divinities, or as presents which the gods dwelling beneath the water have given them, and on which their welfare is to depend. For this reason they preserve these pieces of copper, wrapped up, among their most precious possessions".

Jan 1, 1932

By A. A. Berk, W. C. Schroeder

Practical experience has shown that at elevated temperatures solutions containing sodium hydroxide may attack stressed steel in a manner that cannot be explained in terms of ordinary corrosion. Because the ductility of the metal has been greatly reduced during the reaction, the entire phenomenon is usually called "embrittlement." Thus, after several years of operation caustic evaporators have been so badly embrittled that rivets could be cracked off with the blow of a hammer. Since fine intergranular cracks are almost always present in the zone of fracture, it has often been assumed that a process of selective corrosion in grain boundaries was responsible for the failure, although this has not been clearly proved experimentally. Concentrations of sodium hydroxide below those necessary for the uniform, rapid attack of the steel surface are reported to be most effective in producing embrittlement2, 3. In the operation of steam boilers a similar type of failure has been found, mainly in riveted seams or other capillary spaces where the solution may concentrate and where high stresses may also exist. It is believed that in such localized areas the dissolved solids may reach a value many times the few hundred parts per million prevalent in the body of the boiler. While this type of boiler failure has been the subject of investigation for a period of 20 years1, an understanding of its mechanism and a rational basis for complete protection have not yet been secured. To procure this information the present investigation was

Jan 1, 1936

By E. T. Dumble

In the Bosquejo Geoldgico de Mexico, published in 1897 by the Secretaria de Fomento as Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of the Boletin del Institute Geologico de Mexico, the Director, Jose C. Aguilera, after a detailed account of the geological observations made by himself and his assistants on their several trips through the various districts of the Republic, gives in Part 2 a synopsis of the geology of Mexico, describing . al1 the formations recognized, the rocks comprised in them, their geographical distribution, disturbances, principal eruptions and economic features, as explanatory of the Geological Map of Mexico. In Part 3 Prof. Ordonez describes many of the interesting eruptive rocks of Mexico." This work brings together in a very satisfactory way about all of the published results of geological investigations in Mexico; and although the determinations of the authors with reference to some of the sedimentary deposits are very different from those of other writers, they seem to be based upon good paleontological grounds in each instance. From the map and the text of this paper it appears that the condition of knowledge in regard to the geology of the State of Sonora, at the time of its publication, was about as follows: The western portion of the State, lying between the coast line of the Gulf of California and the foot-hills of the Sierra Madre mountains, is largely Quaternary, interrupted by areas of Azoic rocks and of later eruptives, with two or three limited exposures of limestones of the Cretaceous; while the eastern or

Jan 1, 1900

By H. B. Pulsifer

THE unprecedented high price of zinc ore prevailing through the early months of 1915 caused great activity in the Joplin district of Missouri. The Media mill is conspicuous as one of the first of the new "big mills" of the district. The mill was built over a mine previously worked but abandoned in 1912 because of the leanness of the ore and the large quantity of water encountered. The ore prices prevailing-$100 a ton in June, 1915, as against $50 in 1912-favored the new undertaking. The mill was designed for good recovery so that it might operate in times of depression. In design and equipment, the mill is exclusively local in conception and construction. Former Exploitation The tract of land is a part of the large Guinn holdings; 70 acres are comprised in this particular lot, which is situated just a mile north of the center of Webb City on the Alba line of the Southwest Missouri Electric Railway. The ore lies 242 ft. below the' surface at the top of the knoll which is surrounded by the well-known properties: Black Cat, Ground Floor, Florence, Hurry-Up, Electrical and Mercantile. Since the abandonment, in 1913, of the Yellow Dog. a bit farther to the north, the Black Cat, Ground Floor and Florence workings had been flooded. However, as there was no cut through from this side into the area it was proposed to exploit, it was thought that moderate pumping facilities would take care of the water.

Jan 5, 1917

By Enrique Hauser

FiRE-damp is a mixture of methane with other inert gases or combustible gases. The inert gases in question are carbonic acid, water vapor, nitrogen, etc. The combustible gases are hydrogen, ethane, etc. The study of the properties of fire-damp, therefore, becomes a study of the properties of methane and the influence on its properties of the different gases we have mentioned. Characteristic Properties of Methane 1. Respirability.—Methane being a paraffin is characterized by its weak chemical affinities. Prom the physiological point of view one could substitute it for nitrogen of the air at least momentarily, without experiencing any difficulty in breathing the mixture consisting of 21 per cent. 02 + 79 per cent. CHI. I have tried this on myself, making the gas exhaled from the lungs burn subsequently in a Bunsen burner.' From the chemical point of view, this weak affinity permits the gas to be burned in certain circumstances with hydrogen and oxide of carbon in an oxygenated mixture, with the result that the last two gases achieve only a fractional combustion. This practice has been utilized with success in the methods of analysis which I have perfected and which I describe later in this paper. 2. Retardation of Flashing Point.—A characteristic property of methane is its retardation of flashing point, noted by Davy in 1816 and studied by Mallard and Le Chatelier in 1883.2 Taffanel and Le Floch have recently confirmed these results.8 Let us recall the nature of this retardation: When a mixture of combustible gases with air or with oxygen is

Jan 1, 1916

By F. R. Hensel

Up to the present time few attempts have been made to produce hard nonmagnetic materials by heat treatment of austenitic steels. The usual result has been to cause them to pass into the martensitic stage, thus destroying to a great extent the typical austenitic properties, since this involves a transition of a portion of the iron from a face-centered to a body-centered type of atomic arrangement. High-strength nonmagnetic materials such as might be provided by properly hardening austenite are required in the electrical industry for different machine parts. In Europe nonmagnetic retainer rings for restraining the end-turns of the rotor windings in turbo-alternators have been developed as a special application of high-strength austenite. In testing1 a 28,000-kva. three-phase Siemens turbogenerator running at 3000 r.p.m. at full load current, the losses in the short-circuit test were 450 kw. for the magnetic ring and 286 kw. for the nonmagnetic, and the difference should be attributable to the magnetic ring. The differences in temperatures during the same test are given in Table 1 and these show the advantage of a nonmagnetic over a magnetic retainer ring. Hardening in this case was obtained by cold working, such as hammering, rolling or some means for stretching the steel while at a temperature near 500" C. One means for stretching2 is to rotate the forged or rolled ring in a centrifugal machine so as to develop within it stress higher than

Jan 1, 1931

By H. R. Hanley

THE characteristics of alloyed anodes and their influence on the products of electrolysis and power consumption have been noted previously in the literature.1 This paper presents data in continuation of the subject given in an earlier paper by the authors.2 As noted in the authors' previous paper, the objectives of this work are the reduction in the cell voltage and the purity of the cathode product resulting from the use of alloyed lead anodes. The fundamental facts developed in the previous paper were: (1) that the presence of a small amount of calcium lowers the anode potential approximately 50 per cent. below that of pure lead; and (2) that thallium when present to the extent of 4 per cent. rendered the anode practically stable, thereby lowering the contamination of the cathode by lead to a very insignificant amount. The specific features determined in this recent work are as follows: 1. The lowest limit of calcium in the lead which will still give maximum lowering of the anode potential. 2. The characteristics of the thallium-calcium-lead anode. 3. The characteristics of the silver-calcium-lead anode. 4. The characteristics of the thallium-silver-calcium-lead anode. It was determined that 0.1 per cent. calcium in the anode was sufficient to lower the anode potential approximately 50 per cent. Table 1 shows the characteristics of alloyed anodes tested. The anode composed of 0.1 per cent. calcium, 4 per cent. thallium, and 95.9 per cent.

Jan 1, 1931