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By B. Blumenthal

THE present investigation was planned as a survey of the lead-rich portion of the ternary lead-antimony-silver system by thermal analysis. Since, however, a rigorous application of the conventional thermal analytical method is time consuming, an attempt was made to speed up the investigation by reducing the time required for a single thermal analysis. This was done by increasing the rate of cooling to 12° to 18°C. per minute, since such a rate does not permit even an approach to equilibrium conditions, the melt was stirred vigorously by a stirrer operating at the high rate of 665 r.p.m. This proved to be effective in obtaining cooling curves with distinct points of arrest and of excellent reproducibility, which satisfactorily compare with those obtained at a rate of 1" to 2°C. per min. with or without slow stirring (Fig. I). By this method the lead-rich end of the lead-alltimony system and a series of ternary alloys in sections parallel to the lead-antimony side of the ternary system were investigated and it was observed that the two branches of the liquidus curve of the binary alloys did not intersect at the euteotic temperature. An equivalent effect mas observed in the ternary system. The eutectic temperature of the binary lead-antimony system was found to be 252.0°C., which confirms the recent in- vestigation by Pellini and Rhines,1 who determined the eutectic temperature to be 2 51.5°C. The observation that the curves of primarY crystallization of the lead-antimony system do not intersect at the eutectic temperature was previously made by Dean.2 Dean explains the phenomeilon by assuming the existence of a compound Sb4pb. He felt that supercooling was not the cause of the phenomena because he was unable to influence them by inoculation. The X-ray investigation by Solomon and Morris-Jones,3 the metallographic investigations by Stead,4 Charpy,5 Gontermann,6 and Dean, Zickrick and Nix,7 and the numerous investigations of physical properties, definitely disprove the occurrence of any compound. The work of Dean was not confirmed by Broniewski and Sliwoski,8 whose experiments did not show any irregularity and who report a eutectic composition of 13 per cent antimony and a eutectic temperature Of 2500 to 252°C. at a rate Of coo1ing of about 6°C. Per min. Abell Redlich and Adler9 then report a eutectic composition of 12.1 per cent upon reviewing the previous publications and adding a few of their own cooling curves. In 1934 Quadrat and Jiriste10 found from careful analyses of the bottom portion of slowly cooled hypereutectic melts that the eutectic only 11 .4 to 11.5 per cent antimany. (Previous analyses by Stead4 .in 1891 gave 13 per cent.) Weaver,ll however, reported in 1935 that cooling cunres indi-

Jan 1, 1944

By B. Blumenthal

THE present investigation was planned as a survey of the lead-rich portion of the ternary lead-antimony-silver system by thermal analysis. Since, however, a rigorous application of the conventional thermal analytical method is time consuming, an attempt was made to speed up the investigation by reducing the time required for a single thermal analysis. This was done by increasing the rate of cooling to 12° to 18°C. per minute, since such a rate does not permit even an approach to equilibrium conditions, the melt was stirred vigorously by a stirrer operating at the high rate of 665 r.p.m. This proved to be effective in obtaining cooling curves with distinct points of arrest and of excellent reproducibility, which satisfactorily compare with those obtained at a rate of 1" to 2°C. per min. with or without slow stirring (Fig. I). By this method the lead-rich end of the lead-alltimony system and a series of ternary alloys in sections parallel to the lead-antimony side of the ternary system were investigated and it was observed that the two branches of the liquidus curve of the binary alloys did not intersect at the euteotic temperature. An equivalent effect mas observed in the ternary system. The eutectic temperature of the binary lead-antimony system was found to be 252.0°C., which confirms the recent in- vestigation by Pellini and Rhines,1 who determined the eutectic temperature to be 2 51.5°C. The observation that the curves of primarY crystallization of the lead-antimony system do not intersect at the eutectic temperature was previously made by Dean.2 Dean explains the phenomeilon by assuming the existence of a compound Sb4pb. He felt that supercooling was not the cause of the phenomena because he was unable to influence them by inoculation. The X-ray investigation by Solomon and Morris-Jones,3 the metallographic investigations by Stead,4 Charpy,5 Gontermann,6 and Dean, Zickrick and Nix,7 and the numerous investigations of physical properties, definitely disprove the occurrence of any compound. The work of Dean was not confirmed by Broniewski and Sliwoski,8 whose experiments did not show any irregularity and who report a eutectic composition of 13 per cent antimony and a eutectic temperature Of 2500 to 252°C. at a rate Of coo1ing of about 6°C. Per min. Abell Redlich and Adler9 then report a eutectic composition of 12.1 per cent upon reviewing the previous publications and adding a few of their own cooling curves. In 1934 Quadrat and Jiriste10 found from careful analyses of the bottom portion of slowly cooled hypereutectic melts that the eutectic only 11 .4 to 11.5 per cent antimany. (Previous analyses by Stead4 .in 1891 gave 13 per cent.) Weaver,ll however, reported in 1935 that cooling cunres indi-

Jan 1, 1944

By G. D. Van Arsdale

This paper describes a series of experiments leading to the development of a method for leaching the mixed ores of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., containing chalcocite and silicates of copper, by the use of solutions acidified with sulfuric acid and carrying ferric sulfate. Iron is added to the solutions and ferric iron is regenerated electrolytically to a percentage high enough to act as an effcient solvent. The decreased yield is partly compensated for by a higher current density. An important problem in modern copper metallurgy, particularly in the Southwest, has been to obtain good recoveries from what are commonly known as mixed ores; that is ores in which the copper occurs partly as oxide and partly as sulfide compounds. The dividing line between mixed ores and ores commonly accepted as concentrating is not definite. In other words, much ore now being concentrated carries considerable copper in non-sulfide form, on which recoveries are not so good as on ores carrying less of these constituents. While treatment by concentration may be commercially profitable on ores carrying oxide copper within certain limits, there are large deposits for which the application of concentration could not be considered, and yet which have not been considered amenable to leaching because they carried too much sulfide. The Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. has large amounts of such mixed ores, and this paper is an account of the experimental work by which a method was developed for their treatment, and for which a large plant is now being erected by the Inspiration Co. It is not claimed that the method is a general solution of the problem of mixed-ore treatment but it is apparently well adapted for leaching the ores of the Inspiration Co., for which it was designed. The work done has covered preliminary laboratory and test-plant investigation, and a pilot-plant run, extending from March to the middle of December, 1923. Thoroughly consistent and satisfactory results were obtained continuously for more than six months in the pilot plant; and it is believed that the results and probable costs that can be had on a large scale have been definitely proved. The method, however, was designed for local conditions; and while the basic principles are general, there are ores on which it will not work and other ores for which considerable modification may be required.

Jan 1, 1926

G. O. SMITH,* Washington, D. C.—This program is itself a demonstration of the widespread interest in the subject of more efficient development and operation of oil fields. The statements of fact already presented and the views expressed are sufficient evidence that the engineering and economic principles fundamental to the idea of unit operation are much more generally accepted than they were even one year ago. And real progress has been made in putting these principles to the test. No one realizes better than I that the fight against waste, whether physical or economic, must be waged in the front-line trenches: Washington at best is only an observation post. Yet viewed from this distance the advance made in the last few months has been notable and to a high degree encouraging. Five years ago the Federal Oil Conservation Board, in its first contacts with the industry, raised the question, "How can new pools be explored without exploitation until new production is warranted by the country's needs?" Three and one-half years ago the Board, in its first report to the President, paid largest attention, among what it listed as fundamental conservation measures, to "cooperative methods in sane development of new fields." A year ago, in its third report, the Board again endorsed as the essential factor in conserving the nation's reserves of oil, "full cooperation in unit control, whether by voluntary agreement or by state enforcement." The function of this federal agency has been purely fact-finding and educational. The Oil Conservation Board early declared that the major part of its task was to help the industry "formulate the broader by-laws in the sense of conservation." And now, after these five years of eventful history in the oil industry, may I size up the situation as I see it from the Washington point of view? First of all, and fundamental to a successful issue, I have observed in the industry a gradual acceptance of technical opinion as the guide to executive action; and this has at last led to some agreement as to what procedure offers most promise. Analyzed in more detail, this highly desirable progress has consisted in "self-restraint actuated by enlightened self-interest." We see emerging the general desire of oil producers for efficiency in operation, which means low costs and high recovery. As shown by facts presented at this meeting, competition in drilling is in direct opposition to efficiency in oil production, in that such competition increases costs and lowers recovery. The only route to conservation of this natural resource and also of the capital and labor involved in making it available is through unit control, which substitutes cooperative, well-planned action for competitive, unregulated activity, forced by the individualism of a small minority of landowners or perhaps by a single operator. Or, in terms of actual experience, development of an oil field and its subsequent operation under unit control means the substitution of majority rule for minority rule, yet the minority enjoys to the full the resulting economic benefits. So far as it affects the public interest, unit operation of oil properties deserves unqualified approval. It means more oil from the same area over a longer period

Jan 1, 1930

A GREAT labor, surely, is that of the coppersmith, since his every work must be hewn from the mass of copper by force of the hammer. At the beginning, middle, and, end all his works are inconvenient pieces and unpleasant to handle. If the work is done on the forge with the fire, it is done in order to refine or compose it into masses again, for drawing these out while hot with the blows of some heavy hammer, or in order to put the works in a condition that allows them to be drawn out while cold and worked. In this he puts all his labor and industry. He who works at this art often makes use of large hammers, sometimes of small ones, and sometimes of those that have a long iron head and a short handle. With these he is obliged ever to proceed in one of these activities, either extending the work lengthwise, narrowing it, or widening it. This is achieved by the manner and direction of striking and therefore it is sometimes hammered on the inside, sometimes on the outside, sometimes with the peen, and sometimes with the flat head. For instance, when he wishes to close it up he strikes it on the outside with the peen, and if he wishes to widen it he strikes it on the inside with either the flat head or the peen. In this way he proceeds to shape it with constant patience, and to make all the vessels that he works graceful. This metal, as I have told you, is soft, flexible, and tenacious under the hammer. It yields with a certain toughness, provided, however, that it is fine and without admixture of a trace of tin or other metal. That craftsman is a good master of this art who best makes every desired work

Jan 1, 1942

ABIDE from the John Fritz Medal, in which the Institute participates through its representation on the John Fritz Medal Board, the Institute itself has three major awards to make annually and one special prize for excellence in technical papers, as follows. The Robert W. Hunt Medal and Prize, The J. E. Johnson, Jr., Award, the James Douglas Medal, and The Lewisohn Platinum Prize to senior members. ROBERT W. HUNT MEDAL AND PRIZE The partners of Robert W. Hunt established a fund which was presented to the Institute at a fitting' ceremony on May 27, 1920, to establish an annual medal and a sum of money to be awarded under the following rules ? 1 The award shall consist of two prizes, first of a gold medal, second of a sum of money, a certificate to accompany each prize. The money prize shall not be awarded to a member over 40 years of age, but under unusual circumstances, both prizes may be allotted to one person provided that he is not over 40 years of age In general it will be understood that the Committee shall award the money prize to the younger men, rather than the medal. 2 The awards shall be made not oftener than once a year to that person or persons contributing to the Institute the best original paper or papers on iron and steel The scope of the term "iron and steel" shall be determined by the sub-committee considering the awards In general, papers dealing with the practical side of the subject have preference over those dealing with the theoretical side in recognition of the fact that Captain Hunt's main contributions to the industry have been in the improvement of production and quality of material

Jan 1, 1923

By Linn Bradley

F. H. WILLCOX, Pittsburgh, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*). -We must keep in mind, in balancing the savings-to be anticipated by the most efficient combustion of gas, the best heat absorption by stoves or boilers, and by heat conservation of the thermal equivalent carried in. blast-furnace gas-against the cost in operation, maintenance, depreciation and interest charges of the equipment required to realize the savings, that in boilers and hot-blast stoves we are basing our economies upon two different, combustion phenomena. In a boiler, evaporating water at a heat efficiency of 70 per cent., approximately 47,550 B.t.u. is consumed per boiler horsepower. Taking the blast, furnace gas cited in the above paper, we are using about 38 ¾ lb. of cold-washed gas per boiler horsepower. Using the hot-cleaned gas, the same equivalent heat is furnished by 34 1b. of the gas , This leaves of the 38 ¾ lb. required in the case of cold-washed gas, 4 ¾ lb. or 6,650 B.t.u. available for raising more steam when dry-hot gas is used, which means that an equivalent amount of coal firing can be dispensed with. Per ton of iron, this figure 2/3 X 12,000/38.75 X 4.75 = 980 lb. gas or 1,372,000 B.t.u. or 100 lb. coal. At $1.50 per ton of coal, the net saving per ton of pig iron produced by the use of dry-hot over wet-cold cleaning will, therefore, be about $0.06 2/3. At a stove heating 8,500 lb. of air per toil iron from 150° F., one-quarter of the dry-hot cleaned gas, or 3,000 lb., would heat the air to 1,450° F. 3,000 X 1,400 X 0.70 = (8,500 X 0.255) = 1,300. The cold-wet gas would heat the same amount of air to 1,280° F. 3,000 X 1,225 X 0.70 = (8,500 X.0.255) = 1,130.

Jan 4, 1917

By G. S. Scott, H. G. Turner, W. L. Kleene

It is well known that different forms of carbon show differences in chemical behavior under apparently identical conditions. It is fairly well known that these differences persist, although to a lesser degree, in a single group of carbons, such as the anthracites of Pennsylvania. It is the purpose of this paper to show the extent of these variations for Pennsylvania anthracites from actual quantitative measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide reduced under the standardized test conditions employed. As the amount of carbon dioxide reduced to the monoxide (under comparative conditions termed, for convenience, the "reactivity") is important in combustion, gas production and metallurgy, it is hoped that this paper will be a useful contribution to the store of knowledge on these subjects. In carrying out the investigation, considerable time and thought were spent in obtaining what seemed to be the best possible design of apparatus. The next step consisted in making a number of trial runs on the same sample, varying temperature, particle diameter, etc. and then outlining a standardized procedure to be followed in testing all samples. Fifty anthracites were tested. As a matter of interest, some 10 miscellaneous samples were also tested. The data show initial reaction temperatures (abbreviated I.R.T.), reaction velocity constants at 900" and 950" C., some effects of added substances, and a few additional tests designed to throw some light on the causes of differences in reactivity. The sample of charcoal, as was anticipated, proved to be easily the most reactive of any sample tested. The anthracites as a group came second. The five samples of gas and by-product cokes, obtained from five different coke manufacturers, came third, and a single sample of Rhode Island anthracite ranked fourth, with respect to reactivity as above defined. Although the five coke samples do not necessarily represent the average market coke, and five samples constitute a rather small number of samples to serve as a basis for comparisons, the fact that none

Jan 1, 1934

By J. W. Hickman, E. A. Gulbransen

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. A. Gulbransen, J. W. Hickman

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947

By Ralph Sherman

THE remarkable increase in the distribution of the small underfeed stoker for use in furnaces and boilers in small industrial plants, apartment houses and homes has brought producers and distributors of bituminous coal to consider the problem of which coals and which sizes are best suited to this market. Many papers have also appeared, mostly in the trade journals, discussing the problem of the combustion of various coals and various sizes of coal in small stokers. Much difference of opinion has been apparent in these articles; due often, it would appear, to a mis-understanding of the fundamentals of the process of combustion in the stoker fuel bed. During the past year and a half, a program of research has been conducted at Battelle Memorial Institute: (1) On the process of combus-tion in the fuel bed of the small stoker, sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute, and (2) on the relation of the characteristics of bituminous coals to their performance on small underfeed stokers, sponsored by Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. As a result of this program of research, two publica-tions have been made, one1 dealing with the problem of clinker formation, and the other2 with the relation of the size of the coal fed to the stoker hopper to that of the coal that reaches the retort to be burned. The experimental research on the relation of size to the performance of the coal is being actively continued. A publication of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. presenting the data obtained on the performance of several sizes of four typical bituminous coals will appear shortly. Because of the early appearance of that publication, the present paper includes few numerical data. The purpose of this paper is to follow the coal from the hopper through the furnace with a discussion of the various actions that occur, in the hope that it will lead to a clearer understanding of the relation of the type of coal, the size of coal, and other characteristics, to the performance. The authors do not pretend to have obtained the answers to all the complex questions involved; many unanswered questions will be proposed on which future research work is planned.

Jan 1, 1936

By Raymond Wilson

Grinding costs are an important item in cement manufacture, and the cost of power is one of the large items in grinding costs. Even where power is of secondary importance, cost items dependent on mill capacity are influenced by the efficiency with which the mill uses power. Tube mills typify the grinding mills most generally used in cement plants, though other types are in use. Tube mills have been widely criticized as being extremely inefficient, and this feeling regarding them has led to many attempts to design more efficient grinding equipment. Other types may be an improvement over tube mills, but the improvement has certainly not been revolutionatry, at least as applied to clinker grinding. The very fact that there is doubt regarding the relative efficacy of various types of mills is an indication that an adequate basis for an analysis of performance is lacking. The development of methods of analyzing mill performance has been hampered by the lack of a suitable method for measuring the work actually done in pulverizing. There has been no acceptable standard to which mill performance might be compared. As a consequence, it was not known whether the margin of possible improvement in pulverizing operations was large or small. Even direct comparison of different types of mills was seldom possible because most plants had only one type of mill for each type of service. Comparisons between plants were difficult because of differences in the grinding characteristics of various clinkers. Some recent developments complete a chain of circumstances that place the cement industry in a particularly fortunate position for the study of its clinker-pulverizing operations. Modern investigators of grinding phenomena have generally agreed that the best measure of mill performance is the production of new surface. For most materials this measure of performance is largely theoretical and has a rather remote connection with the practical aims of the grinding operation. In clinker grinding, on the other hand, surface area is intimately connected with the properties conferred on the cement by grinding. Morcover, the determination of surface area is rapidly coming into routine use as a tost

Jan 1, 1938

By Raymond Wilson

Grinding costs are an important item in cement manufacture, and the cost of power is one of the large items in grinding costs. Even where power is of secondary importance, cost items dependent on mill capacity are influenced by the efficiency with which the mill uses power. Tube mills typify the grinding mills most generally used in cement plants, though other types are in use. Tube mills have been widely criticized as being extremely inefficient, and this feeling regarding them has led to many attempts to design more efficient grinding equipment. Other types may be an improvement over tube mills, but the improvement has certainly not been revolutionatry, at least as applied to clinker grinding. The very fact that there is doubt regarding the relative efficacy of various types of mills is an indication that an adequate basis for an analysis of performance is lacking. The development of methods of analyzing mill performance has been hampered by the lack of a suitable method for measuring the work actually done in pulverizing. There has been no acceptable standard to which mill performance might be compared. As a consequence, it was not known whether the margin of possible improvement in pulverizing operations was large or small. Even direct comparison of different types of mills was seldom possible because most plants had only one type of mill for each type of service. Comparisons between plants were difficult because of differences in the grinding characteristics of various clinkers. Some recent developments complete a chain of circumstances that place the cement industry in a particularly fortunate position for the study of its clinker-pulverizing operations. Modern investigators of grinding phenomena have generally agreed that the best measure of mill performance is the production of new surface. For most materials this measure of performance is largely theoretical and has a rather remote connection with the practical aims of the grinding operation. In clinker grinding, on the other hand, surface area is intimately connected with the properties conferred on the cement by grinding. Morcover, the determination of surface area is rapidly coming into routine use as a tost

Jan 1, 1938

By S. Harries Daddow

THE INSUFFICIENCY OF PILLARS OF COAL FOR THE PURPOSES DESIGNED-THE FRUITFUL CAUSE OF DANGER, EXPENSE, AND WASTE-THE PROOF OF INSECURITY-SUBSTITUTE FOR PILLARS OF COAL-PILLARS AND PANELS COMPARED. PILLARS of coal, which are designed and left in our mines as the means of supporting the overlying strata of our coal-beds, and securing protection to the miner, are not only insufficient for these purposes, but the most objectionable means of providing the desired security to life and property. Though such pillars are left at a great sacrifice to the owners of collieries and mineral lands, loss to the resources of the commonwealth, and ultimate privation to the public, they defeat the very ends for which they are designed, and not only do not secure life and property, but are as fatal to the one as ruinous to the other. Propositions.-It is eminently desirable that the resources of the commonwealth-particularly our mineral wealth in anthracite coal, which is limited-should be carefully utilized and made available, not only to ourselves but our posterity. Yet, speaking as an anthracite miner, we are wasting our resources of coal with a recklessness which will bring ruin in the end, unless checked, not only to the iron manufacturing interests of the East, whose chief protection, in competition with the iron-masters of the interior, lies in a cheap and abundant supply of anthracite furnace fuel, but to the best interests of the State. It is, consequently, not only desirable, but necessary, that we should realize every ton of coal from each colliery, and every acre of coal area, in order that our resources may not be wasted at present, to breed want in the future, and to realize the greatest present benefit to the mine, the miner, and the public. It is not possible, however, to secure these ends, if we continue to leave, as we do at present, from one-third to one-half our resources in anthracite as pillars in our mines. But our sad bills of mortality, our abandoned collieries, and our yawning mountain-sides, present ample evidence that even this enormous waste of coal, though left for the purpose of protecting life and property, is as totally inade-

Jan 1, 1873

By Raymond Wilson

GRINDING costs are an important item in cement manufacture, and the cost of power is one of the large items in grinding costs. Even where power is of secondary importance, cost items dependent on mill capacity are influenced by the efficiency with which the mill uses power. Tube mills typify the grinding mills most generally used in cement plants, though other types are in use. Tube mills have been widely criticized as being extremely inefficient, and this feeling regarding them has led to many attempts to design more efficient grinding equipment. Other types may be an improvement over tube mills, but the improvement has certainly not been revolutionary, at least as applied to clinker grinding. The very fact that there is doubt regarding the relative efficacy of various types of mills is an indication that an adequate basis for an analysis of performance is lacking. The development of methods of analyzing mill performance has been hampered by the lack of a suitable method for measuring the work actu-ally done in pulverizing. There has been no acceptable standard to which mill performance might be compared. As a consequence, it was not known whether the margin of possible improvement in pulverizing operations was large or small. Even direct comparison of different types of mills was seldom possible because most plants had only one type of mill for each type of service. Comparisons between plants were difficult because of differences in the grinding characteristics of various clinkers. Some recent developments complete a chain of circumstances that place the cement, industry in a particularly fortunate position for the study of its clinker-pulverizing operations. Modern investigators of grinding phenomena have generally agreed that the best measure of mill performance is the production of new surface. For most materials this measure of performance is largely theoretical and has a rather remote connection with the practical aims of the grinding operation. In clinker grinding, on the other hand, surface area is intimately connected with the properties conferred on the cement by grinding. Moreover, the determination of surface area is rapidly coming into routine use as a test

Jan 1, 1937

By Raymond Wilson

GRINDING costs are an important item in cement manufacture, and the cost of power is one of the large items in grinding costs. Even where power is of secondary importance, cost items dependent on mill capacity are influenced by the efficiency with which the mill uses power. Tube mills typify the grinding mills most generally used in cement plants, though other types are in use. Tube mills have been widely criticized as being extremely inefficient, and this feeling regarding them has led to many attempts to design more efficient grinding equipment. Other types may be an improvement over tube mills, but the improvement has certainly not been revolutionary, at least as applied to clinker grinding. The very fact that there is doubt regarding the relative efficacy of various types of mills is an indication that an adequate basis for an analysis of performance is lacking. The development of methods of analyzing mill performance has been hampered by the lack of a suitable method for measuring the work actually done in pulverizing. There has been no acceptable standard to which mill performance might be compared. As a consequence, it was not known whether the margin of possible improvement in pulverizing operations was large or small. Even direct comparison of different types of mills was seldom possible because most plants had only one type of mill for each type of service. Comparisons between plants were difficult because of differences in the grinding characteristics of various clinkers. Some recent developments complete a chain of circumstances that place the cement industry in a particularly fortunate position for the study of its clinker-pulverizing operations. Modern investigators of grinding phenomena have generally agreed that the best measure of mill performance is the production of new surface. For most materials this measure of performance is largely theoretical and has a rather remote connection with the practical aims of the grinding operation. In clinker grinding, on the other hand, surface area is intimately connected with the properties conferred on the cement by grinding. Moreover, the determination of surface area is rapidly coming into routine use as at test

Jan 1, 1937

By William C. Brice

Minnesota is involved in planning controversies related to taconite and potential copper-nickel mining. Mine facility planning includes the Reserve dining on-land tailings disposal issue and the potential for a new copper-nickel mining district. Both provide a unique opportunity for innovative planning in the attempt to be responsive to public and private interests. Concerns that emanate as a result of mineral resource activities include environmental protection, land use competition, land exchanges, highway and utility extensions, and legal constraints on public or private lands. The purpose of this newly-developed planning approach is to anticipate such issues and provide a rational information base for dealing with them. The result will be a framework plan for guiding public planning, and an impact assessment for reviewing the implications of industrial project proposals. The approach uses a computer-stored resource inventory of natural and cultural information. Geographic data is mapped and entered into a computer storage and retrieval system. This enables systematic analysis of mineral resources along with environmental and land use considerations. Computer mapping describes the relationship of each activity and allows identification of potential conflicts; it also shows geographical extent in the form of statistical compilations. Resource data is being collected and compiled using a standard metric grid (Universal Transverse Mercator). Individual cells are 100 m. squares and represent areas of about 2.5 acres. The study area contains about 145,000 cells. Data inventories are being compiled in 25 natural and cultural resource categories. Geologic variables include Bedrock Geology, Taconite Reserves and Potential Resources, Depth to the Duluth Complex Contact and two soil inventories. Topographic and hydrologic variables include elevation, slope, slope orientation, surface hydrology, and watersheds. There are also 6 biological data variables and 7 land use inventories.

Jan 1, 1977

By B. C. Allen

Liquid surface tensions of copper and 18 Group IV-A to VIII transition metals (Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Cb, Ta, Mo, W, Re, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt, Fe, Ni. Co) have been measured by the static pendant-drop and dynamic drop-weight methods on the same rod sample. The drops were formed by electron-bombardment heating in high vacuum. Application of necessary corrections enabled determination of surface tensions to k2 pct and agreement between methods to * 1 to 4 pct for all the metals studied. Evidence is presented that the liquid surface was well screened by metal vapor, suggesting negligible adsorption of gaseous impurities and that the surface tensions measured are characteristic of the metals involved. Correlations between liquid surface tension and melting point, molar volume, heat of vaporization, and atomic number are presented and discussed. Temperature coefficients of surface tension were calculated using Eötvös' law. SURFACE tension and interface energies of metals are the result of incomplete atomic coordination resulting in a force perpendicular to the boundary, tending to minimize its area. These energies are important in many phases of metallurgy, including microstructure, sintering, joining, electronic emission, and lubrication, which in turn affect many physical and mechanical properties of metals. Liquid surface tension refers to the interface between the liquid and its own vapor or nonreactive atmosphere, and is considered a physical property of the liquid. Since equilibrium shapes can be readily obtained with liquids, the units of surface tension (force per length) and interface energy (energy per area) are interchangeable. Thermo-dynamically, the surface tension ?LV is given by the change in free energy F with surface area A at constant pressure P, temperature T, and composition N: for commercially important refractory metals, vanadium, columbium, tantalum,13,14 molybdenum,14 and tungsten,l5 and none for the rare platinum-group metals and rhenium. Measuring the surface tensions of transition metals is difficult because of their high reactivity and melting points. Of the many techniques available,16-18 the pendant-drop 19-21 and drop-weight methods17,22 are considered superior because they can be modified to eliminate persistent sources of contamination such as supports and capillaries necessary in the popular sessile drop, capillary rise, and maximum-bubble-pressure techniques. The necessary modification is to melt a drop on the tip of a vertical rod, which provides support through a solid of the same composition.13,15 The object of the work was to study the surface-tension behavior of copper and transition metals, having reasonably low vapor pressures. Liquid surface tension of each pure metal was systematically determined by using a combination of the static pendant-drop and dynamic drop-weight methods on the same rod. Liquid drops were formed by electron-bombardment heating in high vacuum. EXPERIMENTAL WORK As indicated in Table I, the metals studied were high purity and generally were obtained in rod form. The exceptions were titanium and zirconium, which were machined from crystal bars, and molybdenum (tot 11, osmium, and ruthenium, which were sintered and arc cast into rods. All the metals were ground or swaged to desired sizes between 1- and 7-mm diam, and centerless ground round and smooth to a finish better than 50 µ in., rms. Each rod was thoroughly cleaned with steel wool, degreased, acid etched, and dried. In a typical run, the rod was vertically clamped in a modified floating-zone electron-bombardment furnace designed after Calverley23 and Carlson.24 The specimen was outgassed and maintained positive at several kilovolts in a dynamic vacuum of 10-5 to 10-7 mm. The bottom end was enclosed by a tantalum pillbox and heated by electrons emitted from a hot concentric tungsten filament mounted on a movable bracket. The bombardment power was slowly raised until melting was observed. Power requirements ranged from 30 w for copper to 1300 w for 4-mm tungsten. The stabilized and out-gassed drop of near-maximum size was photographed at 4. 1X on panchromatic film at desired time inter-

Jan 1, 1963

By F. F. Peng, A. D. Walters, M. R. Geer, J. W. Leonard

INTRODUCTION Washability characteristics derived from float-and-sink analysis in Chapter 4 demonstrate that coal is intrinsically heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity is also evident in the proximate, ultimate, and size analyses. A range of particles from high to low specific gravity is usually seen in the run-of-mine coal. One objective of coal preparation is to recover the high quality float material (the particles of lower specific gravity) such that the recovered product meets certain quality specifications, as well as to reject or recycle low quality particles of higher specific gravity. The maximum recovery of cleaned coal at the required quality is of major concern to plant operators. However, the quantity and quality of products of coal cleaning, determined in the operation of actual commercial cleaning plants and by theoretical calculation based on run-of-mine washability studies, are known to be different with each coal. Therefore, during the last half century, coal preparation engineers have repeatedly sought methods to predict the technical and economical efficiency of separation of cleaning equipment and systems. Many formulas have been proposed by international investigators to evaluate the efficiency of various coal cleaning operations, primarily based on the yield and/or ash of the various products of coal cleaning. Performance criteria in use today are capable of defining all of the important aspects of a given concentrating operation; however each criterion has certain restrictions or limitations. It is important, therefore, to understand how such formulas can be used and the problems involved in their construction. Technical Measure of Plant Performance Conventional means for evaluating a preparation plant's performance are generally approached through the use of equipment performance mea-

Jan 1, 1979

By Gust Bitsianes, Joseph H. M. Beaty

Successful blast-furnace operation depends upon securing an optimum balance between a number of important variables. This balance will vary somewhat from furnace to furnace in the same plant and with raw materials available in different plants. It is difficult to isolate the effect of any one variable unless it has a rather pronounced effect upon the efficiency of operation. The physical properties of iron ore and coke are known to affect the process, yet it is difficult to set up any definite yardstick by which these differences can be appraised. In recent years, whenever practicable, operators have taken steps to obtain better control over the absolute size and uniformity of size of the ore and coke. The size and physical character of the stone, however, have received comparatively little attention, emphasis being placed upon chemical composition, fluxing efficiency, and action as a desulphurizing agent. Since the stone occupies only about 10 per cent of the volume of the stock column, its influence upon permeability is less than that of the ore and the coke. The large pieces now used have a tendency to roll to the center and thus increase the permeability of this part of the stock column. Smaller pieces would be more effective in promoting the permeability of denser portions of the stock. The size and physical properties of blastfurnace stone are important also for reasons best understood by considering the results obtained by the crushing and the sizing of iron ore. Crushing ore to about 2 in. at Provo, Utah, and to about I in. in Alabama produced material somewhat less permeable to gases, even though sized. In spite of some sacrifice in permeability, the efficiency of the process was improved by crushing and sizing the ore, as indicated by a substantial saving in fuel and increased output. This saving in fuel is due in large measure to more thorough reduction of ore in the upper part of the furnace and to a corresponding decrease in the amount of carbon consumed prematurely above the tuyeres by the reaction CO2 + C = 2CO - 70,080 B.t.u. [I] The physical properties of stone, its size and rate of calcination are important because they influence the rate at which CO2 is released and the completeness of calcination before reaching a level in the furnace where the temperature does not exceed 1050°C. (1920°F.). Briefly, carbon dioxide from the limestone or from the reduction of ore may cause premature corn bustion of carbon above the tuyeres. Assuming that 1000 Ib. of limestone is used per ton of pig iron, about 435 Ib. of CO2 will be liberated during calcination of a good grade of stone. If all this CO2 from the stone were to oxidize carbon prematurely, about 120 lb, would be consumed above the tuyeres in a heat-absorbing reaction. The amount of carbon thus consumed when a

Jan 1, 1943