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By William B. Potter

It is a time-honored custom in this, as in other kindred bodies, for the retiring President on giving place to his successor, after a year of official duties which have been the means of directing his attention in a more than usual degree to the work and interests of the Association, to report the results of his observations from this outlook, and the thoughts that may be suggested by the view. In looking out over the many fields of activity within the range of this Institute, the attention may be arrested by special features marking recent progress and development, or such as by their meager outline or lack of important detail stand in less pleasing contrast, or. even form unsightly objects in the view. It may be that the special field and particular work in which one is engaged will, when observed from the more distant standpoint, or in the light of the whole outlook of the profession, assume a different aspect or develop features of new interest and importance. In this way some special object may suggest to the observer a, fitting theme for the occasion. To others, again, an outline of the whole view may seem a more useful subject for study and review. All fields are examined and the wide horizon of the whole profession scanned to note and report whatever is new in knowledge and practice—the new permanent bench-marks that appear near the horizon designating ground definitely located; the stakes which mark reconnoissance into new territory, and even the prominent objects that faintly appear through the mist of the distant atmosphere, and which may serve later on as points of attachment for the advancing lines of survey into the unknown. And besides these, there is the progress of the work in older and nearer fields—what has been attempted, what accomplished,

Jan 1, 1889

By W. S. Ayres

The protractor here to be described embodies several important improvements that have been suggested by the use of other protractors and by observing the errors occurring in practice with them. It is more particularly an improvement

Jan 1, 1896

The Committee on Nominations begs to submit the following names as its nominees for the respective offices indicated: For President, SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, New York. For Vice-Presidents, WALTER H. ALDRIDGE, New York; MARK L. REQUA, San Francisco. For Directors, J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York; ALLEN H. ROGERS, Boston; HOWARD N. EAVENSON, West Virginia; ROBERT M. RAYMOND New York; WILLET G. MILLER, Canada.

Jan 12, 1916

MARCEL R. DALY (communication to the Secretary?).-The fundamental disagreement between Eugene Coste and the writer proceeds essentially from the contradictory views they hold on the origin of petroleum. This difference cannot be bridged, nor can inorganic and organic theories be discussed here. The writer has suggested that the proper thing in such a case would be to agree to disagree. Coming to the detailed objections further presented by Mr. Coste, the writer feels that, in the main, they take their source in a wrong interpretation of the theory, and the writer is sometimes too generously invested with views that are not his own. 1. The only requirement for the theory is that the oil proceeding from organic remains be distributed in a water-laden sediment, and that this sediment be submitted to the increasing compression due to the continuous accumulation of superimposed strata, which would tend to squeeze out the liquid contents (p. 1152). This squeezing out would be further aided by the distortion of the strata (p. 1148, a). Nothing here makes impossible the slow formation of the oil, if this is considered necessary, as the piling up of the strata in the syncline would require by itself a protracted length of time, and, further, the squeezing-out process is a slow one. Possibly the formation of the oil may even continue during part of the process of distortion. But the mode of formation of the oil and the time and temperature required for it are left to the chemist to decide. The diastrophic theory, which is essentially a theory of motion and accumulation dependent on the laws of mechanics, is not directly concerned with them, provided the general points heretofore outlined be agreed upon. Perhaps it would be wise not to claim too many "eons" for the formation of the hydrocarbons, if the statement made by Sir Boverton Redwood is correct that "the coral reefs of the Red Sea are charged in places with recent petroleum, formed in that torrid climate from the swarming organisms occupying the shallow pools."1

Jan 5, 1917

Jan 1, 1967

By Charles H. Jacoby

A decision was made by the management of International Salt Co. in 1960 to eliminate all waste products which were entering the waters of Lake Seneca. This was to be accomplished by the injection of waste slurries into an abandoned brine cavity. The effluent from the cavity was to be treated and used for the manufacture of salt or disposed by deep well injection into the Cherry Valley limestone. After several years of research and design, a construction permit was granted by the state of New York; the injection, recovery, and disposal wells were constructed and after a public hearing an operational permit was issued. A summary of the operational results of the system is given.

Jan 1, 1974

I AM sure you know that it is necessary to draw the gold into wire in order to make gold cloth, gold embroidery, or gold filigree work. Just as it is beaten to form leaf for ornamenting pictures, so also can gold be drawn easily. The same is done with silver and tin, and I believe it could also be done with iron, copper, and brass. Although brass is not so

Jan 1, 1942

By C. P. Watson

Economics has been defined as the useful application of wealth or material resources. The search of alchemists in the Middle Ages for s formula by which base metals might be transmuted into gold was no more intensive than has been the search by all branches of the oil industry for methods whereby the rnatcrial resources of West Texas in the nature of sulfur-bearing oil might be usefully applied. The purpose of this paper is to present in brief space developments that are conceded to possess economic significance. History The first discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Permian Basin of West Texas was the Westbrook field in Mitchell County in 1920. Three years later the discovery well in the Big Lake field was cornpleted as a small pumper (70 bbl.) at a depth of 3028 ft. In 1925, discovery of the Powell or World pool in Crockett County stimulated activities in the Permian Basin, further establishing the importance of the Permian limestones as sources of production. The years 1925 and 1926 were marked by a period of extensive leasing and drilling activities. At the close of 1926 more than 7,000,000 acres had been leased and discovery wells completed in the Hurdle, Hendricksand Yates fields, definitely establishing the importance of the Permian Basin as a source of production from free-flowing wells. Review of Fields The producing fields in the Permian Basin are grouped on three distinct lines of folding. These may be separately identified as the Big Lake-Powell fold; the Yates, Hurdle, and Church-McElroy area and the Winkler County development. Production is derived from a porous limestone stratigraphically uniform, encountered at depths varying from 900 to 3100 ft. Lenticular sand bodies above the lime in Howard County have resulted in the

Jan 1, 1928

By W. L. Austin

At the Steptoe metallurgical plant, where ore of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co. is beneficiated, a small copper-leaching annex has been in operation treating flue dust from roasting-furnace dust chambers, together with a siliceous oxidized ore. This leaching plant was designed to obviate smelting low-grade siliceous flue dust, which interfered with the operation of the reverberatories by forming a blanket on the charge. The major portion of the copper content of the flue dust accumulating in the upper chambers of the roaster flue, and at the stack, is water soluble, and also contains much free sulphuric acid and soluble sulphates. It was found that sufficient acid could be obtained by mixing this material with water to provide a lixiviant for leaching the siliceous copper ore mentioned. This was the sole source of the lixiviant used in the operation to be described. An analysis of the flue dust showed it to be composed as follows : Per Cent. Copper.............................................. 3.00 siO2................................................. 23.41 Fe................................................... 4.08 CaO + MgO......................................... 2.72 Al203................................................ 0.07 Free H2S04........................................... 19.94 SO3 combined as sulphate.............................. 25.10 H2O combined with the sulphates....................... 10.67 0................................................... 2.50 Total................................... 97.49 Copper soluble in dilute H2SO4.......................... 2.56 The oxidized ore, locally known as carbonate, has the following composition:

Jan 1, 1915

Discussion of the paper of F. E. Lucas, presented at the Cleveland meeting, October, 1912, and printed in Bulletin No. 71, November, 1912, pp. 1315 to 1326. F. Louis GRAMMER, Leesburg, Va. (communication to the Secretary *):--Mr. Lucas's paper reminds us of our extravagance in coking, and our tardiness in the adoption of by-product ovens, as compared to Germany. We are, however, so rich in coal-having mined, so far, less than 1 per cent. of our known national resources-that the argument of conservation is not very pressing. It is true that our so-called coking-coal beds are not inexhaustible; but by-product ovens coke coal that bee-hive ovens cannot handle, and so really enlarge our reserves of coking coal. " Conservation of Resources " is a phrase in great vogue. It is overworked and abused at times; being used by those who desire to be the exclusive custodians of resources or the sole purveyors of commodities. It does not carry great weight as regards coal. There are, however, aside from the attractive considerations of profit set forth by Mr. Lucas, several other important reasons why by-product ovens should be introduced more widely. One is that coal-tar pitch is the keynote to the extension of the coal-briquette industry. The more coal-tar pitch is available, the more briquetting will be carried on; and this will utilize much coal which is either waste or a drug in the market. Heretofore, in several instances coking and steel-making plants have been built, primarily, to market bituminous slack.

Jan 5, 1913

By Benjamin LeRoy Miller, Joseph T. Singewald

For a number of years Russia, India and Brazil have outranked all other countries as producers of manganese ores. During the 5 years immediately preceding the European war, the average annual production of Russia was 844,000, of India 694,000 and of Brazil 200,000 long tons. Since the outbreak of the war there has been a considerable falling off in the Russian and Indian production, particularly in the former, whereas the production of Brazilian ores has been greatly increased, amounting in 1914 to over 250,000 tons and in 1915 to nearly 350,000, with conditions favorable for a still larger production in 1916. Manganese is one of the few industrially important metals that are not produced in the United States in quantity commensurate with our needs, so that we have been compelled to import annually about 300,000 tons, having a value of over $2,000,000, and these ores have been obtained from the three countries mentioned above. Their rank as contributors to our imports of manganese ores was India, Russia, Brazil; and in 1913, Brazil contributed only one-fifth. During the past 2 years Brazil has furnished rapidly increasing quantities to this country, and, with the falling off of imports from India and Russia, has become our principal foreign source. In 1914, Brazil furnished two-fifths of the imports and more than India or Russia, and in 1915 over nine-tenths. The manganese ores of Brazil are consequently of more than usual interest to us at this time. The Manganese-Ore Distbicts of Brazil , The manganese mining industry of Brazil dates from the year 1894, and since that year the total production has been over 3,000,000 tons. With the exception of a small quantity produced in the State of Bahia from deposits west of the City of Bahia, this output has come from the

Jan 1, 1917

By C. E Shoenfelt, Gail F. Moulton

Proven and developed oil reserves, and productive capacity increased during 1943 in the fieids of the Rocky Mountain region. Oil production during the year was nearly 45 million barrels, or slightly less than in 1942. The rate of production at the start of 1944 was slightly less than at the start of 1943. Pipe-line projects scheduled for completion during 1944 should permit a substantial increase in the rate of production. Wildcat exploration was more extensive in Montana during 1943 than in other states in the region. The results of wildcat drilling were unsatisfactory, although new oil fields were discovered on the Gebo, Little Buffalo Basin and Steamboat Butte structures of Wyoming, the Gage anticline of Montana, and the Clark Lake structure of Colorado. The area of the structures on which the discovery wells were drilled is known to be considerable, but further drilling is required to determine the importance of these fields. The most important increase in proven reserves resulted from the drilling to newly discovered deeper producing formations in the Elk Basin and other fields of the Big Horn Basin area of northern Wyoming. Lack of a market and unfavorable prices for heavy black oils had prevented complete exploration of favorable areas in the Rocky Mountain region for many years. In particular, the effect on further exploitation of the Big Horn Basin area had been quite serious. The increased demands for all oils created by the war and an increase in price in February 1943, combined later with Government approval of construction of pipe lines from the Big Horn Basin area to the Billings and the Casper districts, provided a basis for undertaking a drilling program. The important additions to reserves were made by drilling in previously discovered fields. The newly discovered fields resulted from drilling on favorable structures which had been known for several years. A continuation of the favorable results obtained during 1943 seems possible only if further testing of the newly discovered fields is satisfactory and if drilling on less favorable known structures or geophysical prospects results in the discovery of new fields. The amount of drilling in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, was about the same during 1943 as .in 1942. However, owing to the fact that a number of wells of large potential production were completed in the Elk Basin field, the total initial production of the prodicing wells was- nearly twice as great for 1943 as for 1942. Explorational activity at the end of 1943 seemed to be directed to geophysical methods, which are required to discover structures hidden beneath the rocks of Tertiary age in the Powder River and other large sedimentary basins. It is in

Jan 1, 1944

By Gail F. Moulton, C. E. Shoenfelt

Proven and developed oil reserves, and productive capacity increased during 1943 in the fieids of the Rocky Mountain region. Oil production during the year was nearly 45 million barrels, or slightly less than in 1942. The rate of production at the start of 1944 was slightly less than at the start of 1943. Pipe-line projects scheduled for completion during 1944 should permit a substantial increase in the rate of production. Wildcat exploration was more extensive in Montana during 1943 than in other states in the region. The results of wildcat drilling were unsatisfactory, although new oil fields were discovered on the Gebo, Little Buffalo Basin and Steamboat Butte structures of Wyoming, the Gage anticline of Montana, and the Clark Lake structure of Colorado. The area of the structures on which the discovery wells were drilled is known to be considerable, but further drilling is required to determine the importance of these fields. The most important increase in proven reserves resulted from the drilling to newly discovered deeper producing formations in the Elk Basin and other fields of the Big Horn Basin area of northern Wyoming. Lack of a market and unfavorable prices for heavy black oils had prevented complete exploration of favorable areas in the Rocky Mountain region for many years. In particular, the effect on further exploitation of the Big Horn Basin area had been quite serious. The increased demands for all oils created by the war and an increase in price in February 1943, combined later with Government approval of construction of pipe lines from the Big Horn Basin area to the Billings and the Casper districts, provided a basis for undertaking a drilling program. The important additions to reserves were made by drilling in previously discovered fields. The newly discovered fields resulted from drilling on favorable structures which had been known for several years. A continuation of the favorable results obtained during 1943 seems possible only if further testing of the newly discovered fields is satisfactory and if drilling on less favorable known structures or geophysical prospects results in the discovery of new fields. The amount of drilling in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, was about the same during 1943 as .in 1942. However, owing to the fact that a number of wells of large potential production were completed in the Elk Basin field, the total initial production of the prodicing wells was- nearly twice as great for 1943 as for 1942. Explorational activity at the end of 1943 seemed to be directed to geophysical methods, which are required to discover structures hidden beneath the rocks of Tertiary age in the Powder River and other large sedimentary basins. It is in

Jan 1, 1944

By C. R. Sandberg, L. S. Gournay, R. F. Sippel

The effect of fluid-flow rate and fluid viscosity on oil-water relative permeability determinations was studied using the "dynamic flow technique." In this work relative per-nleability curves were obtained for homogeneous small core .samples from several sandstorle outcrop form-utions. Radio-tracers were used for the determination of fluid saturation and for the detection of saturation gradients. Cobalt-60 in the form of cobaltous chloride was used as a water-phase tracer in some of the experiments. Iodine-131 in the form of iodobenzene and Mercury-20-3 in the form of mercury diphenyl were used as oil-phase tracers in other experiments. Flow rates for each phase were varied within a range of 2.5 to 140.6 ml/hr. Oil-phase vis-cosities under flowing condition,> were varied from 0.398 to 1.683 cp. The relative permbilities ob-tained were found to he solely a function of saturation and independent of flow rare, provided there was no .Saturation gradient induced in the core sample by "boundary effect." Even though equilibrium with re-sped to flowing conditions was obtained at the lower flow rates, where a saturation gradient exists, this equilibrium is of a "contingent"-type rather than the "steady-state" equi-librium implicit in the relative per-meability concept. The only effect of increasing the oil or non-wetting phase viscosity was to decrease the flow rate required for the elimina-tion of the boundary effect. Fairly good agreement between experimentally determined and calculated values of the boundary effect was obtained when the non-wet-ring oil phase was the only Flowing phase. INTRODUCTION In the characterization of reservoir rock, as well as in the solution of reservoir production problems, it is most desirable to have reliablc rela-tive permeability measurements for the rock and fluids of interest. Many techniques have been developed for the laboratory determination of the relative permeability of both large and small core samples. In varying degree, difficulties attend the use of all of the methods. Each of the methods requires the metered flow of fluids of known viscosity through the core sample under conditions wherein the pressure drop in the individual flowing phases can be measured or closely approximated. Since the relative permeability is a function of the saturation and distribution of the flowing fluids, some means of obtaining such information is also required. The laboratory determination of the relative permeability of a sample should give the same relative permeability saturation relationship that would exist if the sample were in place in the oil reservoir. The attainment of this objective is complicated by the fact that the use of small core samples for laboratory measurements is usually necessary. As a result, errors in measuring the relative permeability arise from boundary effects at either the fluid input or output ends of the sample; no significant boundary effect is anticipated at the sides of the sample normal to direction of fluid flow. At the input end of the sample a boundary effect exists if the flow fluids are not com- mingled as they would be in the reservoir. At the output end of the sample a boundary effect exists as a result of discontinuity of the capillary properties of the system. Here the flowing fluids leave the small flow channels and enter a collecting system having much enlarged flow channels. Thus, there is a tendency for the wetting phase to be retained by the core sample because of the attraction of the core sample for the wetting fluid. No reference is made to these boundary effects in either Darcy's equation or in the relative permeability concept. As a consequence the saturation effect peculiar to the input end of the core sample may cause an error in the effective permeability measurement, since some portion of the core sample must be utilized for commingling of the flow fluids. At the output portion of the core sample a saturation gradient or a saturation change along the axis of flow results. Since relative permeability is a function of fluid saturation, this saturation gradient may cause a variable permeability measurement, especially since extent and character of the saturation gradient can vary with fluid-flow rate. The most convenient method of minimizing the boundary effect, especially at the output end of the sample, is to flow the fluids of interest through the core sample at such high rates that the capillary forces arc insignificant as compared to the viscous forces involved in the fluid flow. Since recent work of a preliminary nature has indicated that fluid dispersion in the porous medium increases with the flow rate, the high flow minimizes the boundary effect at the input end of the core sample by enhancing the mixing of the fluids.

Jan 1, 1930

By William Klement

KNELLER' has recently reported that extensive metastable solid solutions may be obtained in Cu-Fe alloys by simultaneous vapor deposition. This note reports that solid solutions, apparently single -phase, can be obtained for Cu-Fe alloys containing 0 to 20 and 85 to 100 at. pct Fe by rapid quenching from the melt; the inability to extend the solid solubilities further is related to the liquid miscibility gap, Fig. 1, as for Cu-Co alloys.2'3 Accurate lattice spacings of the copper-rich fcc and iron-rich bcc solid solutions have been obtained. Homogeneous alloys were prepared by casting4'5 and sintering2 from elements of 99.9+ pct purity. The quenching techniques were as before,' except the iron-rich alloys were liberally covered with argon while at elevated temperatures. Flakes about 1 sq mm in area were obtained and investigated with the Debye-Scherrer technique, as previously described.2,4 All X-ray work was done at 25° 2°C using filtered copper and cobalt K radiation. Relative visual intensities of the diffraction lines for the phases in the quenched alloys are shown in Table I. The lattice spacings of the fcc structure for alloys containing up to 80 at. pct Fe are plotted in Fig. 2. The variation of these lattice parameters with composition is in good agreement with the re- of cementite spots usually present (all hkl reflections are allowed) and the ease of confusing them with ferrite or martensite reflections. Copies of the report can be obtained by writing to the Materials Research Department, Rocketdyne. 6633 Canoga Avenue, Canoga Park, Calif., 91304. A copy is also available at the Engineering Societies Library, 2nd floor, 345 East 47th Street, New York, N.Y., 10017. Photocopies, either full-size or microfilm, may be purchased from the Engineering Societies Library. sults6 of Andersen and Kingsbury, Fig. 2, although there is some disagreement in absolute value. This discrepancy may be due to the different temperatures at which the X-ray measurements were carried out and perhaps to the different extrapolation procedures. Also, Andersen and Kingsbury6 state that their lattice spacings were computed relative to the wavelengths given by Siegbahn in 1933; this reference has not been found and it is assumed that the well-known 1931 wavelengths were used, the lattice spacings then being in kx units which are converted into angstroms by the factor 1.00202. There is no support for the contention that solution of iron decreases the lattice parameter of copper, as con-

Jan 1, 1965

Jan 1, 1937

Jan 1, 1941

Jan 1, 1940

Horace F. Lunt, York, Montana* :—Two years ago I visited the region described by Mr. Jennings and assisted in the examination of a somewhat similar group of deposits in the White Mesa sandstone on the Navajo Indian Reservation, 125 miles north of Flagstaff and 50 miles east of the Kaibab plateau. There, the Triassic red sandstone is less than 200 ft. thick, and is overlain by a stratum from 200 to 250 ft. thick of white sandstone, which gives the name of " White Mesa" to that locality. The white sandstone shows all phases of crossbedding in great complexity, and evidently marks a period of oscillation and subsidence of the water, or an elevation of the land, at the close of a geological epoch. The prevailing color is white or gray, but occasionally it is red. In structure, it is composed of well-worn grains of quartzsand, from which most of the cementing material has been leached out, leaving it soft and friable. Possibly the cement was ferruginous, as is indicated by occasional traces of red color. The copper-deposits consist of a replacement of the cement of one particular cross-bedded stratum of the sandstone by chrysocolla, having also at times various quantities of tenorite in grains or masses. Some specimens of the ore contain as much as 32 per cent. of copper. Generally the copper-deposits are a few hundred cubic feet in size, and no strict line of demarcation is shown between them and the surrounding sandstone, the bluish-green color of the chrysocolla gradually fading into the white of the sandstone. The ore is apparently associated with small vertical crevices or fissures. Some of the deposits show a distinct vein-structure, while others do not. The origin of the ore is not very clear. Undoubtedly the solutions, coursing through the crevices noted above, played a prominent part in its deposition, as possibly

Jan 1, 1904