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By Frank H. Reed, P. W. Henline, Harold W. Jackman

A sumMary of the consumption of coal in 1945 shows that the coke industry ac-counted for 17 pct of the total coal used. No substitute for coke and the blast furnace in the reduction of iron ore has gained sufficient prominence so far to be given serious consideration. However, while the same slot-type ovens are being built and used now as were in use a few years ago, the problem of obtaining suitable coking coals, both high- and low-volatile, has forced many operators to revamp coal-blending facilities. Until the beginning of World War 11, high-temperature ooke plants were able to secure the required high-volatile and low-volatile coals from two or three seams and from three or four mines. Thus, many of our coke oven plants were able to operate with storage bins for two coals only. The vari-pnce in raw materials was not great, and uniformity of blend was a relatively simple problem. Since the beginning of World War 11, many and important changes have taken place. Demand for all coals increased greatly. Production, though kept as near maximum capacity as possible, could not meet the demands for coal generally, and particularly for the various kinds of coal which have proved to be satisfactory for specialized uses; coals were allocated as nearly as possible in the order of greatest need; storage piling was reduced to the minimum necessary to keep plants in operation; uniformity of quality could not be maintained, and with this last, uniformity of composition of blends for coking could not be maintained. Whereas before the war producers of metallurgical coke could fill their needs from three or four mines, by the end of the war it was not unusual to find shipments to a single coke oven plant coming from as many as 30 different mines, in a single month. Since many of the mines producing both high- and low-volatile coal for high-grade metallurgical coke are rapidly nearing de-pletion, the problem of seeking new sources and of blending a number of coals in each plant for the production of high-temperature coke is facing practically every producer in the United States at the present time, and is one which will probably continue for many years to come. Midwestern byproduct coke ovens in the Chicago and St. Louis areas use annually from 12 to 15 million tons of bituminous coals which are transported 500 to 700 miles from the Appalachian coal fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. Approximately two-thirds of this coal is high-volatile bituminous. The critical transportation problem confronting the nation in 1943, and the growing scarcity of the best Appalachian coking coals, prompted the Illinois Geological Survey to propose a research program in which would be studied the coking properties of blends of low-sulphur, high-volatile Illinois coal with the high- and low-volatile coals from the eastern fields. Such blends containing Illinois coal, if substituted for the all-eastern blends normally coked,

Jan 1, 1949

Abbey, Robert Graham, District Mgr., The W. W. Sly Mfg. Co., 50 Church St., New York, N. Y. '21 Abbott, A. N Ave. Morelos 84, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico '23 Abbott, Argyle Campbell, Geol 42 Everett St., Arlington, Mass. '29 Abbott, Clarence E., V.P., Charge of Raw Materials, Tenn. Coal, Iron & R. R. Co., 1242 Brown-Marx Bldg., Birmingham, Ala. '04 Abbott, Louis Benjamin, Chief Engr., Consolidation Coal Co., Watson Bldg., Fairmont, W. Va. '15 Abeel, George H., Jr., Cons. Min. Engr 1281/2 S. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, Cal. '18 Abel, Raymond L., Asst. Prof., Dept. of Pet. Refin., Univ. of Pittsburgh. .Pittsburgh, Pa. '28 Abel, Walter D., Cons. Engr 650 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Cal. '82 Abele, Louis T., Min. & Met. Engr., Supt., Texas Hill Mine Coulterville, Cal. '31 Abell, Leo M. Millicent, S. Australia '31 Abernathy, George Elmer, Prof. of Geol. & Min., Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg, Kan. '20 Aborn, Robert H., Research Lab., U. S. Steel Corp. Lincoln Highway, Kearny, N. J. '19 Abozeid, Mahmood, Dept. of Mines & Quarries Cairo, Egypt '26

Jan 1, 1932

By W. W. Yankie, A. T. Chatas

This paper is written as a discussion of the paper, "Buckling of Tubing in Pumping Wells, Its Effects and Means for Controlling It" by Arthur Lubinski and K. A. Blenkarn, which war published in the March, 1957, issue of Journal oP Petroleum Technology. An analogy is drawn between the buckling of tubing in pumping wells and a fiube, fitted with frictionless pistom, linked by an inelastic rod, and which is subject to an internal pressure. A simple derivation shows that the critical internal pressure exerts a hydrostatic force on the pisfon which is close to the Euler load for compression buckling of the same tube. While the results agree with those of Ref. I, the basis of calculations has been changed and clarified. The presence of internal upsets at the pistons is discussed. INTRODUCTION In the Appendix, Lubinski and Blenkarn state that a tube with ends closed by frietionless pistons connected by an inelastic rod (Fig. 1) will behave as a column loaded with a force equal to the tension force in the rod. They note that, while the fluid may not resist a shear force, the moment in every cross section is piston force multiplied by the elastic line deflection (c.f., the loaded column). Since the equations of the elastic lines are similar in the two cases, the solution is carried over from the loaded column. On the contrary it is suggested that while the method of solution remains unchanged from the column case, the actual stress distribution is different, a fact which is taken into account in this note. A simple method of approximating the buckling pressure is given, and their reasoning in our mathematical language is continued. GENERAL EQUATIONS The equation of an elastic line, initially straight in the x direction (Fig. 2), is given by In the case of a loaded column, this may be written: For the pressurized tube it was shown, by analogy with the loaded column, that tion has a solution that, for P, = EI/P, any deflection is stable (a criterion for buckling). An attempt will be made to describe more precisely, the forces acting on the tube, and to analyze the buckling condi,tions. DISCUSSION If the tube assumed a deflected position, the volume between the pistons would increase so that in deflecting, the energy of the fluid would decrease. When the increase in elastic energy of the tube (due to bending) is equal to the decrease of fluid pressure energy, buckling conditions exist. Analyzing the forces on the tube (Fig. 3), two transverse forces, T,, T,, exerted by the pistons, are balanced by a resultant of the pressure elements which are linearly dependent on the local curvature of the elastic line (Fig. 4). Unlike most buckling cases, the forces depend on the shape of the elastic line, a condition that makes a rigorous mathematical treatment difficult. Several approximations may be used to clarify the problem.

By Alan K. Burton

Along with tires and transmission systems, engines have been a limiting factor in the growth of large off- highway trucks. The problem, primarily, has been the development of reliable, high-performance engines that are not prohibitively heavy or expensive. For many years, horsepower to overall truck weight ratios have been in the vicinity of 300 lb per hp for rear dump units up to 50 tons capacity. This ratio is obviously very poor when compared to the much lighter and smaller highway trucks, which frequently have a performance ratio of 100 lb per hp. Unfortunately, the larger mining trucks have not been able to match even the 50-ton trucks, and in some cases, ratios have dropped as low as 450 lb per hp. This results in a performance of only 67% of that achieved by the older smaller trucks. Thus, the message is clear: what is needed is more horsepower and less weight.

Jan 10, 1975

By Harold Vagtborg

Equilibrium vaporization ratios were obtained for light hydrocarbons, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide in a reservoir fluid containing 35 mole per cent hydrogen sulfide. The data cover the range from 700 to 2500 psia at 154°F. The results of this study are compared with results obtained by other investigators on systems containing less hydrogen sulfide. When large amounts of hydrogen sulfide are present, the equilibrium vaporization ratios for ethane and heavier hydrocarbons are greater than the ratios for systems containing little or no hydrogen sulfide. Large amounts of hydrogen sulfide have the reverse effect on the ratios for methane. Routine PVT studies were performed on the reservoir fluid including flash and differential liberations of the dissolved gas. The pressure-volume relationships of the saturated fluid were also determined. It is shown that the use of published correlations on physical properties of reservoir .fluids can lead to gross errors when applied to systems containing large amounts of hydrogen sulfide. INTRODUCTION Equilibrium vaporization ratios for various components in naturally occurring crude oil and condensate systems have been reported in the literature.1,2,3,4 Recently, several papers have been published with emphasis on non-hydrocarbon components such as nitro- gen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.5,6,7,8,9 The increased discovery of reservoir fluids having high concentrations of these non-hydrocarbon components, particularly hydrogen sulfide, has created a need for a further study of their phase behavior. Equilibrium vaporization ratios are known to vary with pressure, temperature, and overall composition of the system.'" It was anticipated that ratios for systems containing large amounts of hydrogen sulfide would differ from the ratios for systems containing small amounts of hydrogen sulfide. Therefore, the present work was undertaken in order to obtain reliable equilibrium vaporization ratios for the reservoir-fluid in question. PROCEDURE The procedure followed was evolved after considerable experimentation on methods of handling the very sour crude. It was found that drying agents (e.g. CaCl2 and CaSO4) absorbed an appreciable amount of hydrogen sulfide from the gas used to prepare the recombined samples. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide dropped as much as 10 mole per cent in a single pass through a 3-ft drying tube. It was also found that when undried gas was agitated with mercury in the PVT cell, a black scum, believed to be mercuric sulfide, was formed and the hydrogen sulfide content of the gas dropped several mole per cent. Because composition changes during a run could not be tolerated, separation of the mercury and sour fluid was necessary. In order to effect this separation, a stainless steel piston, equipped with Teflon O-rings, was placed in the PVT cell between the mercury and the sour fluid. This piston had to be constructed in three parts because

Jan 1, 1955

By E. V. Murphree

CREATION of atomic energy, aside from its influence on war or peace, has posed these basic questions for the world: How soon can energy from atoms be harnessed to do man's daily work? How much of this power will there be, to what degree will it supplant present fuels, and what does it imply for the future of civilization? Answers to these questions may be found in part in analysis of just what atomic energy is and how far its development has come. The answers are encouraging. One of the first questions encountered in considering the application of atomic reactions is whether such reactions can be controlled. Fortunately, this has been adequately demonstrated by the operation of the Government plutonium plants at Hanford, Wash. Here nuclear reactions are carried out on a large scale involving liberation of about a billion B.t.u. per hour. This hourly heat liberation is equivalent to that obtained from about 7100 gallons of fuel oil. It has been possible to operate these plants day in and day out with the reaction controlled at the intensity desired. There should therefore be no question that, under proper conditions, reactions involving nuclear fission can be controlled.

Jan 1, 1946

By Lendall P. Warriner, Blandford C. Burgess

Jasper County lies just north of the geographical center of Georgia, bounded on the west and north by the Ocmulgee River. The county seat, Monticello, is approximately 65 miles east-southeast of Atlanta and 40 miles north of Macon. It is served by the Macon-Athens branch of the Central of Georgia Railway Co. and by five paved highways converging from adjoining county seats. Farming and lumbering are the principal local occupations. About half the county is covered with pine and mixed hardwoods; a large part of the forested land is owned by the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture in its Piedmont Land Utilization Project. The topography is one of gently rolling field and forest with occasional hills rising 100 ft or: more above the creek beds. Though annual rainfall is in the neighborhood of 60 in., most of it falls in torrential downpours of short duration which tend rapidly to erode the red soil and convert the country roads to greasy tracks of red mud.

Jan 1, 1949

By B. S. Butler

PART I SUMMARY CERTAIN relations between the formation of ore deposits and other geological processes are pretty generally accepted, namely: that many ore deposits are closely associated with igneous activity; that ore deposits accompany certain types of intrusive bodies, notably batholiths and stocks, and that they are concentrated near the tops of such bodies; that igneous activity occurs in belts of strong folding and faulting; that folding and faulting are greatest in basins of extensive sedimentation and least in areas of erosion or slight sedimentation; that areas of erosion or slight sedimentation and of heavy sedimentation persist over long periods and exert a major control over structure, igneous activity, and ore deposition; that cycles of erosion, deposition, folding and faulting, igneous activity, and ore deposition, have been repeated through geologic time resulting in rather definite periods in which metal deposits have formed. In short, ore deposition is but one phase of a series of closely related geological events. It is attempted in this chapter to point out the relations of these interreacting geologic processes to the distribution of ore deposits in the western United States. Three great periods of mineralization are recognized; pre-Cambrian, post-Jurassic, and late Cretaceous-Tertiary. In distribution the deposits of the three periods, with certain exceptions, show a concentration about two large positive areas, the Colorado plateau and the Columbia plateau, which suggests a causal relation. The most general age divisions of the rocks of the Cordilleran region of the United States are (1) pre-Cambrian, and (2) Cambrian and later rocks. The pre-Cambrian rocks are exposed mainly through the Rocky Mountain belt from the Canadian boundary southward to Arizona and westward through Arizona to southern California. They have commonly

Jan 1, 1933

By Jack White

W. I. Garms-—The authors state that when they added 11 tons of balls to the 45 pct volume ball load, the power needle did not budge. The question arises as to whether any increase in capacity accompanied the 11-ton addition. It is hardly conceivable that all of the balls making up the l l-ton addition were sterile. However, as the work done in the ball mill is not by kilo-watthours per se or balls per se but by kilowatthour-balls, it is possible that the kilowatthourballs in the mill before the ll-ton addition had a different amperage, voltage or robustage than those in the mill after the addition and that the overall outcome was that equal work was done before and after the addition. The authors can keep the efficiency that they got with the 45 pct volume 1-in. ball charge and get additional capacity by putting more kilowatthourballs to work in the form of the addition of 11 tons of 2-in. balls to the present ball charge, and subsequent makeup additions by weight of 20 pct 2-in. balls and 80 pct 1-in. balls. J. F. Myers (authors' reply)-—Mr. Garms points his finger at the 11 tons of "sterile" balls added to the Tri-cone mill. A fact so interesting to us that we felt it should be reported. Clearly, ball slippage at the existing mill speed prevented any further transfer of power from the shell to the ball mass. We agree that the kilowatthourballs would increase, were we charging rough 2-in. balls as suggested by Mr. Garms. The assumption is, of course, that we would get a corresponding increase in work done. Our reported data (CIME meeting, Vancouver, 1946) shows a gain of work accomplished of 7.6 pct as we decreased the ball size from 2 in. to 1% in. and a further gain of work accomplished of 2.1 pct when we went from 1 % in. to 1 in. The small ball results reported by H. R. Banks at Chapman Camp are also very convincing. In the case of 2-in. balls they would take the conventional ball path and start cascading. They would thus destroy the classifying pool over the "foot" of the

Jan 1, 1951

By Jack White

W. I. Garms-—The authors state that when they added 11 tons of balls to the 45 pct volume ball load, the power needle did not budge. The question arises as to whether any increase in capacity accompanied the 11-ton addition. It is hardly conceivable that all of the balls making up the l l-ton addition were sterile. However, as the work done in the ball mill is not by kilo-watthours per se or balls per se but by kilowatthour-balls, it is possible that the kilowatthourballs in the mill before the ll-ton addition had a different amperage, voltage or robustage than those in the mill after the addition and that the overall outcome was that equal work was done before and after the addition. The authors can keep the efficiency that they got with the 45 pct volume 1-in. ball charge and get additional capacity by putting more kilowatthourballs to work in the form of the addition of 11 tons of 2-in. balls to the present ball charge, and subsequent makeup additions by weight of 20 pct 2-in. balls and 80 pct 1-in. balls. J. F. Myers (authors' reply)-—Mr. Garms points his finger at the 11 tons of "sterile" balls added to the Tri-cone mill. A fact so interesting to us that we felt it should be reported. Clearly, ball slippage at the existing mill speed prevented any further transfer of power from the shell to the ball mass. We agree that the kilowatthourballs would increase, were we charging rough 2-in. balls as suggested by Mr. Garms. The assumption is, of course, that we would get a corresponding increase in work done. Our reported data (CIME meeting, Vancouver, 1946) shows a gain of work accomplished of 7.6 pct as we decreased the ball size from 2 in. to 1% in. and a further gain of work accomplished of 2.1 pct when we went from 1 % in. to 1 in. The small ball results reported by H. R. Banks at Chapman Camp are also very convincing. In the case of 2-in. balls they would take the conventional ball path and start cascading. They would thus destroy the classifying pool over the "foot" of the

Jan 1, 1951

By J. P. Lesley

The Pittsburgh coal-region, if we regard the greatness of its extent, the picturesque beauty of its scenery, the salubrity of its climate, its relative situation on the Continent, the fertility of its soil, its unrivalled mineral wealth, and its magnificent system of natural transportation, is, perhaps, the most valuable spot on the surface of the planet. Unlike the mythical Paradise inhabited by one man and one woman, it swarms with an abounding population, not living on the free gifts of nature without care and without toil, hut expending its energies in unremitting labor, reinforced by the most elaborate machinery, in the production of everything which mankinds needs or desires; and unlilte the Paradise of story from which flowed the four great rivers of the world in opposite directions, its own four rivers How from the surrounding world into it, to constitute by their union the great highway water-course which divides the Northern from the Southern States. These rivers are the Monongahela, coming from the south, the Yonghiogheny from the southeast, the Kiskiminetas from the east, and the Allegheny from the north. Uniting at the great city of pittsburgh, they constitnte the Ohio, which flows northwest and west, and then south and southwest, toward the Mississippi. The Monongahela has been made navigable by a system of dams and pools the Allegheny was navigable in its natural condition; the KisKiminetas was made navigable by a State canal which has been vacated ; and the Youghiogheny remains unnavigable. Railroads supplement the deficiencies of the rivers, follow their hanks, and share in the transportation for which the waters are not sufficient. Railroads and rivers concentrate at Pittsburgh; other railroads cross the highlands to the east and west; and branch roads ascend the side-valleys and ravines to the mines on the uplands. The whole region is a scene of life; towns and villages dot its surface in all directions ; hundreds of gangways open upon the sides of all the valleys, and deliver coal to trains of cars which move beneath them at water-level; furnaces and rolling-mills abound; hundreds of oil-wells furnish a flood of liquid fuel to pipe-lines

Jan 1, 1886

By AIME AIME

THE meeting of the Petroleum Division at Houston, Oct. 10-12-headquarters, Rice Hotel-was preeminently a technological success. Two hundred and twenty-five attended the Thursday morning session and approximately 200 attended the sessions on Thursday and Friday afternoons and Saturday morning. Harry Power, Chairman of the Division, in his opening remarks, credited Paul Weaver and M. Albertson, respectively chairman and vice-chairman of the local committee, with working long and prodigiously in organizing the program. The theme of the initial session was indicated by Mr. Albertson in a statement relative to the estimation of developed petroleum reserves. He said that the problem of securing more accurate estimates of developed petroleum reserves existed prior to curtailment of production. With curtailment, however, the problem became an acute one. Mr. Albertson gave some of the more important reasons for this situation. Since the decline-curve method became inapplicable, the volumetric method has become the chief one used. It depends on the factors of productive formation volume, porosity, saturation, and recovery. He briefly discussed the factors necessary for application of the volumetric method. P. P. Gregory discussed the estimation of petroleum reserves in prorated lime¬stone fields (see his paper in the October

Jan 1, 1935

By Arthur A. Center

AT the beginning of 1944 it was expected that the production of metallic zinc in the United States from domestic and foreign concentrates would exceed the 1943 figure though domestic production of concentrates was expected to drop below the 1943 rate, mostly in the Tri-State area. Imports of concentrates were estimated to more than take care of such deficiency. North American concentrate production, available for import to the United States or elsewhere during the year, was estimated at over 200,000 tons recoverable zinc content; South American at about 65,000 tons; Australian at about 50,000 tons. Production of both concentrates and metal in the United States, however, did drop, attributable in considerable part to man-power shortage in the industry. However production exceeded consumption, which fell off, and stocks of metal increased. These stocks have increased since the middle of 1942 but production and consumption are coming nearer to a balance. The A, B, and C premiums, which have played an important part in keeping up domestic production of concentrates, extend only to the middle of 1945 by present legislation. Congress is being asked for their continuance during the war and

Jan 1, 1945

By Thomas W. Dawson

THE H. C. Frick Coke Co. has used belt conveyers for handling coal for the last eighteen years but, until recently, only for small tonnage and over short distances. The first installations were outside the mines for distributing coal to various parts of plants. A belt conveyer was put in service at Colonial No. 4 Mine in November, 1906, to carry coal from the main hoisting shaft to a storage bin serving two blocks of beehive ovens on the other side of the valley; it was in constant service until the Colonial No. 4 ovens were abandoned less than a year ago. This conveyor was in an overhead gallery that spanned our sidings and yard tracks and the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was a crude installation, from the viewpoint of present conveyor engineering practice. It had no mechanical feeding device, the coal simply ran through a gate in the side of a bin on to the belt; but one belt on this conveyor lasted eleven years. This conveyor is about 300 ft. long center, to center of pulleys. It operated at a speed of 250 ft. per min. and carried about 400 tons per day. On this basis, the belt life of eleven years means that not over a million and a quarter tons were carried by the belt. While this is not a large tonnage, the cost per ton was much less than by any previous method in use for supplying coal to ovens located at a distance from the main shaft. The next belt conveyor was installed at Bridgeport Mine in 1907. It carried about the same daily tonnage as the first, delivering from the hoisting shaft to a coke-oven bin. Very few data were kept on this conveyor. It also operated until the coke ovens at the plant were put out of blast and the coal taken to the Clairton byproduct plant by river. In 1916, work was started to equip the Bridgeport, Palmer, Gates, and Ronco mines to load their entire output on, the river for transportation to the Clairton byproduct plant, which was then being built. These mines were all operating at that time and had a large area of coal available for river shipment. The Monongahela Railroad was located between the hoisting shaft and the river at each of these plants and,, therefore, had to be crossed at each location to deliver coal to the river.

Jan 6, 1925

By G. Derge, Ling Yang, G. M. Pound

The specific conductance and its temperature dependence were measured over the entire composition range of the molten Cu2S-CuCI system. At a typical temperature of 1200°C, 10 rnol pet of the ionically conducting CuCl reduced the specific conductance from about 77 ohm-lcm-l for pure Cu2S to about 32 ohm -1cm -1, and 50 mol pet CuCl reduced the conductance to that for pure CuCI—about 5 ohm 1cm1. The nature of electrical conduction in molten Cu2S, FeS, CuCI, and mixtures was studied by measuring the current efficiency of electrolysis at about 1100°C. The Cu2S, FeS, and mattes were found to conduct exclusively by electrons, but addition of 1 5 wt pet CUS to Cu2S produces a small amount of electrolysis. Addition of CuCl to Cu2S suppresses electronic conduction, and ionic conduction reaches almost 100 pet at a CuCl concentration of about 50 mol pet. These facts are interpreted in terms of electron energy level diagrams by analogy to the situation in solids. RESULTS of electrical conductivity studies on molten Cu-FeS mattes as a function of composition and temperature have been reported.' The specific conductances ranged from about 100 ohm-' cm-' for pure Cu2S to 1500 ohm-' cm-1 for pure FeS. This is in sharp contrast with the low specific conductance of molten ionic salts for which the transfer of electricity is by migration of ions in the field. In general, these ionically conducting molten salts, such as NaC1, KC1, CuC1, etc., have a specific conductance of the order of magnitude of 5 ohm-' cm-'. It was concluded on the basis of this evidence that molten FeS and Cu,S exhibit electronic conduction. Pure molten FeS has a small negative temperature coefficient of specific conductance, resembling metallic conduction, while pure molten Cu2S has a small positive temperature coefficient, resembling semi-conduction. The molten Cu2S-FeS mattes follow a roughly additive rule of mixtures, both with respect to specific conductance and temperature coefficient. Savelsberg2 has studied the electrolysis of molten Cu2S and Cu2S + FeS. He concluded that while molten Cu2S is an electronic conductor, there is some ionic conduction in molten Cu2S + FeS3 owing to the formation of the molecular compound 2Cu2S.FeS and its dissociation into Cu1 and FeS2-1 ions. The present work does not verify his results. Chipman, Inouye, and Tomlinson" have studied the specific conductance of molten FeO and report a high specific conductance, about 200 ohm-1 cm-1 of the same order of magnitude as that found for molten mattes, and a positive temperature coefficient. They interpret these results in terms of p-type semiconduction in the ionic liquid by analogy to the situation in solid FeO.1 imnad and Derne' detected appreciable ionization in molten FeO by means of electrolytic cell efficiency measurements. In order to verify the conclusion that electrical conduction in molten Cu2S and mattes is electronic, and to gain further insight into the structure of molten sulfides, the following investigations were carried out in the present work: 1) The specific conductance, s of the molten system Cu2S-CuC1 was measured as a function of temperature over the entire composition range. As discussed later, molten CuCl is an ionic substance. It was thought that if molten Cu2S were simply ionic in nature, addition of small amounts of CuCl might not have a catastrophic effect in lowering the high conductance of the Cu2S. On the other hand, if much electronic conduction occurs, addition of the ionic CuCl should have a large effect in destroying the electronic conduction. 2) The electrolytic cell efficiency of the following molten systems was measured at about 1100°C in specially designed cells: Cu3; Cu2S + FeS, 50:50 by wt; FeS; Cu2S + CuS, 15 wt pet; Cu2S + CuC1, 5.9 to 46.4 mol pet; and CuC1. This gives a direct measure of the fraction of current carried by ions in these melts. Further, the cell efficiency, extrapolated to zero ionic current, is given by cell efficiency = (s leasile + s elexstronic). [1] s lucile for molten CulS would be expected to be no greater than that for molten CuC1, whose s lonle is about 5 ohm-' cm-1, as will be seen in the following. u,.,,.,.,.......for molten Cu,S is of the order of 100 ohm-' cm-'.' Thus, a large increase in cell efficiency from 0 to values of 10 to 100 pet upon addition of CuCl to Cu2S would indicate destruction of the electronic conductance. Conductance Measurements Experimental Procedure—The apparatus and experimental method were the same as those described in detail in connection with the study of electrical conduction in molten Cu,S-FeS mattes.' A four terminal conductivity cell and an ac poten-

Jan 1, 1957

By George Smith

TWELVE years ago, the Director of the United States Geological Survey addressed to the Secretary of the Interior a letter calling attention to the government's need for liquid fuel for naval use and pointing out that the rate of increase in demand was more rapid than the increase in production.1 This letter, in a way, inaugurated the policy of public oil-land withdrawals, which was well founded in its primary purpose of protecting the oil industry and highly desirable in its immediate effect of checking the over-development of that day in California. Unfortunately, however, through delays in legislation, this policy may be regarded now as having outlived both its intent and its usefulness. In 1908, the country's production of oil was 178,500,000 bbl., and there was a surplus above consumption of more than 20,000,000 bbl. available to go into storage.: In 1918, 10 years later, the oil wells of the United States yielded 356,000,000 bbl.-nearly twice the yield of 1908-but to meet the demands of the increased consumption more than 24,000,000 bbl. had to be drawn from storage. Nor is this all of the brief comparison. In 1918, our excess of imports over exports of crude petroleum was nearly 33,000,000 bbl. whereas in 1908 we exported 3,500,000 bbl., which was net, as we had not begun to import Mexican oil. In this period, the annual fuel-oil consumption of the railroads alone has increased from 16,871,000 to 36,714,000. bbl.; the annual gasoline production from 540,000,000 gal. to 3,500,000,000 gal. This record may be taken not only as justifying the earlier appeal for Federal action, but as warranting deliberate attention to the oil problem of today.

Jan 1, 1920

By Louis Ware

At the beginning of the present war, the United States faced the need to multiply its production of magnesium metal almost roo times within the shortest possible period. Urgently needed for construction of military aircraft, incendiary bombs, and other war uses, magnesium was at the top of the list of critical war materials. Up to that time only one Producer, employing Only One process and using One raw material in a single plant, represented this country's entire Production capacity. It was immediately desirable to plan a numher of plants located strategically over the Count'Y and to expand an industry more rapidly and to a greater extent than ever before had been attempted in so short a time. In '939 this American producer, the Dow Chemical .9 was making about 7 million Pounds of magnesium metal. It utilized as a raw material brine containing magnesium chloride, which was pumped from wells in Michigan. The logical ap-preach to certain increased production was to employ the same process on the same raw material in other sections of the United States. In Europe and other countries, different processes had been used and different raw materials were being utilized, but all of the skill and knowledge for production in this country was that of using the Dow type of cell and magnesium chloride as a raw material. The Government was testing other processes, but none then had been proved commercially feasible. Development OF New Process The International Minerals and Chemical Corporation had available a large quantity of magnesium ,chloride at Carls-bad, New Mexico, contained in the end liquor produced from its potash plant sillce the buildng of the plant in 1941 It was the only company mining commercially a magnesium ore and having anything like this quantity of magnesium chloride liquor. The magnesium ore, langbeinite, was being mined from the 800-ft. level for its content of potassium sulphate. This ore, a potassium magnesium sulphate, was reacted in a base exchange plant with potassium chloride to produce potassium sulphate, the discharge liquor having a high content of magnesium chloride. Three potash-producing companies are in the Carlsbad area, but only International has developed and is commercially producing the potash-magnesium ores. The lower, or No. 4, veil, in that area is potassium chloride ore, and is continuous through all the properties. The langbeinite, or No. 2, vein is minable at the International property, but occurs sparsely, if - at in other areas being mined in that vicinity. It is understood that most of the mag. nesium produced] by Germany comes from magnesium and magnesium-potassium ores obtained from potash mines. It was logical for International to pro-pose to make available this magnesium material and to offer its technical staff to design, construct and manage a magnesium plant for the account of the Government. The plan that finally was adopted by the

Jan 1, 1944

By AUGUSTUS J. MONKS, Norman L. Weiss

THE Santa Barbara Unit of the Compania Minera Asarco, of which the San Diego mill is a part, is in the Parral District of southern Chihuahua. Although the concentration of sulfide ores has been practised in Santa Barbara since 1900, the San Diego mill, completed in 1921, was the first plant in northern Mexico to attempt the treatment of oxidized lead ores. From the milling point of view the many ores that have been treated at San Diego are very similar, the differences among them being rather of degree than type. Since 1921 the number of ores from different sources treated simultaneously has varied from four to eleven; in no case have any distinctive characteristics warranted the separate treatment of any of these. The zone of oxidation, source of the ores milled at San Diego, extends to a depth of 300 to 400 ft. below the surface. These ores carry more gold and less silver, lead, copper, and zinc than the underlying sulfide ores; the gangue minerals appear comparatively unchanged by oxidation and leaching. Lead occurs in diverse minerals, chiefly in cerussite, galena, and angle-site, the proportion of the lead in galena varying considerably in the different mines. An average of the feed to the mill would show the following approximate distribution of the lead content:

Jan 1, 1930

By A. M. Tweedy, Felix A. Vogel

Since the publication of Prof. J. W. Richards's paper on The Schumacher Briquetting Process,' this process has been in operation on a practical scale in two plants in the United States, and a few notes on the results obtained may be of interest. An experimental plant, consisting of a toggle press and a hydraulic press, was installed at Johnstown, Pa., together with the necessary bins and other equipment, and an attempt was made to briquette a mixture of Mahoning fines and blast-furnace flue dust, in a ratio of 7 parts of ore to 3 parts of dust. The results were unsatisfactory, in that the briquettes made were not hard enough to stand the severe handling to which they were subjected in the various transferences necessary between the press and the furnace. The trouble was due to several causes: First, the mechanical arrangement of the plant, which did not lend itself to a proper hardening and loading of the briquettes into the cars. Second, the irrrgular composition of the flue dust, as to both its lime and its fine coke contents. Third, the variability of the moisture content of the ore, and its viscosity when wet. Fourth, the ratio of fine ore to flue dust; that is, it was attempted to bind in too large a quantity of fine ore for the small amount of flue dust used. The first trouble could be overcome, and has been improved upon in the plant as it stands to-day. The second trouble was important, because of the small amount of dust used as a binder, and might have been easily removed by mixing the flue dust of the different furnaces, which, however, was never done. The third difficulty was more serious, but could have been partly solved, had it been possible to meet this along with the fourth difficulty, by decreasing the percentage of ore in the briquettes. It was proposed to do this, but it seems that the problem at the works in question is, primarily, to prepare Mahoning fines for reduction in the blast furnace, and only secondarily to use up the flue dust, and a solution along this line did not seem to be interesting.

Jan 1, 1914

By A. T. Aldred, K. M. Myles

The vapor pressure of chromium over solid V-Cr alloys has been measured by the torsion-effusion method in the temperature range 1450" to 1650°K. The chemical activities as well as the free energies, entropies, and enthalpies of formation of the alloys have hem computed from the vapor-pressure data. The activities of both chromium and vanadium exhibit fairly small negative deviations from Raoult's law over the entire composition range. The values of the excess entropies and the enthalpies of formation found at 1550°K are considered in terms of the changes in the clzaracteristic properties of vanadium and chromium that occur upon alloying. RECENT interest in the theory and properties of transition-metal alloys has shown the need for relevant thermodynamic data. The present investigation of the V-Cr system was undertaken as part of a more general study of thermodynamic properties of transition-metal alloys. The system was chosen because of the reported complete solid solubility of the components at all temperatures1 and because the difference in magnitude of the vapor pressures of vanadium and chromium allowed a simple effusion technique to be used. The torsion-effusion method was employed to minimize compositional changes in the alloys during the experiments. EXPERIMENTAL Equipment. The torsion-effusion apparatus, shown diagrammatic ally in Fig. 1, consists of a torsion system suspended inside a vertical vacuum chamber whose lower end is surrounded by a high-temperature vacuum furnace. An auxiliary optical lever and screen are used to determine the angle of rotation of the effusion cell. The torsion fiber is an annealed, high-purity, tungsten wire usually between 0.003 and 0.007 cm in diameter and about 43 cm long. The wire supports a concave mirror and a rigid tantalum connector tube. The effusion cell is fastened to the lower end of the connector tube by a dovetailed yoke and har- ness arrangement. The cells, which are 1.27 cm in diameter and 4.4 cm long, were made by electron-beam welding tantalum endcaps onto a 0.025-cm-wall tantalum tube. The two orifices, formed by drilling, have similar areas ranging from 0.011 to 0.031 sq cm. The noninductive sheath-type furnace consists of a single-phase tantalum heating element 6.35 cm in diameter, 15 cm high, and 0.013 cm thick; the element is completely surrounded by radiation shields in an evacuated chamber. The power system includes a 17-kva self-saturating saturable core reactor with an integral magnetic amplifier and a water-cooled, 15-kva, step-down power transformer with a multitap secondary. Temperatures are controlled to within ±1/2o at 1600°K by means of a unit that includes a reference voltage source, a dc electronic null detector, a current-adjusting proportional band relay, and the self - saturating reactor. At 1650°K the temperature variation within the cell, vertically and horizontally, is 3/4oK. Unwanted motions of the torsion system are damped by the movement of an aluminum vane, which is mounted on the connector tube, between the poles of an electromagnet. When not in use the magnet is withdrawn and rotated 90 deg to prevent its interaction with the rotation of the system. Measurements. The vapor pressure, p, is re-

Jan 1, 1964