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By Paul F. Fulton, Robert K. Estes

INTRODUCTION Relative permeabilities are factual data necessary to any prediction of reservoir production behavior. One important problem in determining relative permeabilities of porous media to gas is the effect of gas slippage on these determinations. Since certain aspects of the slippage phenomenon still remain unknown, this study is particularly concerned with that problem. The validity of the theory of gas slippage as it is applied to the flow of gas through porous media has been well established. 1,2,3 Therefore, in determining the permeabilities of porous media to gas by ordinary laboratory procedure, i.e., at atmospheric pressure, the slippage correction should be considered. Rose3 performed experiments on gas relative permeabilities which indicated that the effect of gas slippage on the measured effective gas permeabilities at various liquid saturations decreased with an increase in liquid saturation. Following Rose, it was substantiated experimentally' that the effective gas permeabilities at the various liquid saturations extrapolated to infinite mean pressure were the same as the non-wetting liquid permeabilities at the same saturations. This same paper also presented data which showed that the magnitude of the slippage between those values of gas effective permeability determined at atmospheric pressure and those found by extrapolation to infinite mean pressure decreased with an increase in liquid saturation. However, these experiments were not performed at liquid saturations above 30 per cent. Therefore, the purpose of this experimental work was to determine the effect of gas slippage on permeability measurements at liquid saturations in excesh of 30 per cent. APPARATUS Five core samples were used In this work: two synthetic Alundum samples (A-1, and A-2). a Nichols Buff sandstone sample (NB-13), and two samples from producing formations, a Soso sandstone (S-1), and a vugu-lar dolomitic limestone (R-7). The core samples ranged in permeability from 32 to 663 md. These cores were chosen because they represented a fairly wide range of permeabilities and probably a considerable difference in pore size and pore size distribution. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus which consists of an air dehydration filter A, two Moore null-matic sub-pressure regulators B and C, the differential oil manometer D, the core holder E, the flowmeter F, the soap reservoir G, and a mercury manometer H measuring the downstream pressure. The interesting features of the apparatus are the two Moore vacuum-pressure regulators. The regulators permit the rapid establishment and easy control during flow at sub-atmospheric pressures of both the differential and downstream pressures, and prevent the surging action of the vacuum pump from disturbing the system during flow. Provided there are no leaks in the system, these regulators will maintain without measurable change selected downstream and differential pressure. Specifically, regulator B controls the downstream pressure and regulator C controls the differential pressure. In opera-

Jan 1, 1957

By J. Warner, M. J. Marcinkowski, B. Cullen, T. Prevender, J. Mcllwain, T. Carnahan, J. Pahlman, J. Demel, J. Munford

The following analysis was an outgrowth of a midterm examination given by one of the authors (M.J.M) in a course entitled Metallurgy 541 "Applications of Dislocation Theory'' at Iowa State University. Fig, l(a) shows the three-layer sequence of atoms lying in the (111) plane which characterizes the fully ordered AB3 fcc crystal, i.e., LI2 type. If any two-layer sequence of close-packed planes is constructed from Fig. 16)' the structure would be hcp of the DO,, type. Consider for convenience that the circled atoms lie in the plane of the drawing while those shown square and triangular lie immediately above and below the plane of the drawing, respectively. It has already been shown' that if a Shockley partial dislocation is passed over the plane of the paper, then the square atoms in Fig. 1(a) are displaced from their original positions as shown by the arrows in Fig. l(b). Not only is an intrinsic fault produced but the crystal is simultaneously disordered across the slip plane. In particular, 2AB bonds are converted to 1AA and 1BB bonds when referred to the area outlined by the solid line in Fig. 1. If, on the other hand, a Shockley partial is allowed to pass immediately above and immediately below the plane of the paper so as to displace the atoms in opposite directions as shown in Fig. l(c), an extrinsic fault is producedZ and twice the amount of disorder is introduced into the crystal as compared to the dislocation-produced intrinsic fault, if only broken first-neighbor bonds are counted. If an intrinsic stacking fault is produced by removing a close-packed plane of atoms in Fig. l(a) and displacing the two adjacent planes by 1/3a0[111], no wrong nearest-neighbor bonds are produced. Similarly, if an extra half plane of atoms with the same arrangement as any of those shown in Fig. l(a) is inserted between any two planes in the same figure, then an extrinsic stacking fault is produced in which once again no wrong nearest-neighbor bonds are produced. The latter two faults are bounded by Frank partial dislocations. Since, at least in the alloy CU3AU,3 nearly all of the ordering energy resides in the first nearest-neighbor interactions, intrinsic and extrinsic stacking faults and associated APB's of the Frank type are expected to have significantly lower energy than those of the Shockley type in CusAu in particular and quite likely in L1, and DO19 type alloys in general. Also, because of the higher degree of disorder plus loop interaction

Jan 1, 1968

By W. T. Bishop

For many years pine oil has been used extensively as a frother for the flotation of minerals, particularly sulphides, yet the published information available to the average user on its composition, chemical and physical properties, has been rather meager. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss these points and their relationship to the frothing properties of pine oil used in flotation processes. Pine oil, as the name implies, is a liquid obtained from the processing of wood of the longleaf and other southern pines. It is a complex mixture of naturally occurring terpene derivatives, primarily alcohols, and a smaller amount of terpenes, which has found many uses in various industries. Its use as a frother in flotation processes was the first large-scale application in industry and today the mining industry still consumes large quantities of pine oil but the textile and disinfectant industries consume comparable volumes. Much is used in soap manufacture and laundry operations. The surface-active properties of pine oil are in a large degree responsible for this versatility. History The name "Naval Stores" goes back to the days when pine tar and pitch were used to caulk leaky ships and 'Oat their ropes and rigging. Today this term is still used to include not only the oleoresinous products of the pine tree—rosin and turpentine— but other products such as pine oil, pine tar, and the many terpene and resinous compounds obtained by extracting the pine wood or tapping the tree. That part of the industry known as "wood naval stores" dates from about the beginning of this century and today produces a large part of the country's rosin and turpentine by processing pine wood. In addition, all of our natural pine oil is supplied by the wood naval stores industry, as tapping of the live tree gives only rosin and turpentine. This latter phase is known as the "gum naval stores " industry. The first successful commercial operation of the steam and solvent process of the wood naval stores in industry was carried out by Yaryan at Cadillac, Mich., in 1909.1 This operation did not prove profitable, so Yaryan went south to utilize the longleaf pine, and built a plant at Gulfport, Miss.2 Soon after, another plant was built at Brunswick, Ga., which is still in operation, and in 1914 was reported to have processed about 500 tons of wood per day.' In 1921 Hercules Powder Co. acquired the Yaryan interests, at which time the production of pine oil was only 3 to 5 million pounds per year and flotation was the largest customer. As time went on, technological advances were made, other companies entered the field, and the production of pine oil increased many fold. The growth of the industry was especially marked during the past 10 years, and in

Jan 1, 1947

By Fred C. Bond

AN improved method of measuring the surface area of a comminution product down to any desired particle size has been developed. The method is largely graphical, and requires relatively little calculation. It can be used with materials containing large amounts of clay, or excess fines of any kind. The surface area S is expressed in terms of square meters per 100 c.c. of solids. This expression is based upon volume rather than weight, and is considered to be more suitable for crushing and grinding problems, where the machines ordinarily are operated under constant volume conditions. It has the advantage that surface areas of different materials can be compared directly, even though their specific gravities may be unknown. The "specific surface" of a material, or the number of square centimeters of surface area per gram, is equal to 100S divided by the specific gravity. Particle diameters are expressed in microns, K being the diameter of the largest particle present and L the grind limit, or lower size limit of the particles formed directly by grinding. The value of K does not always coincide exactly with the diameters of the largest particles retained on the coarsest testing sieve, since the largest particles formed in crushing and grinding are often slabby, or have other irregular shapes. L has been chosen as 0.700 microns, or number 27.5 in the size number series, for reasons to be explained later. S is the total surface area of all particles larger than L microns in diameter. When a homogeneous comminution product is separated into fractions whose diameters bear a constant geometrical relationship p to each other, and the log per cent weight retained upon each size and passing the next larger size is plotted against the log diameter, a straight line results, which is called the distribution line, and which has a slope in called the distribution modulus. The distribution line can be extended to any desired limiting size, and the total surface area of all particles larger than that size can be calculated. The equation of the distributi0n line is [w = Cx" [I]] where w is the per cent weight retained on each successive sieve; x is the particle diameter; and C is the per cent weight retained on an opening of unit diameter.2 Theoretically, the distribution line can be extended to include infinitely small particles. When it is so extended, and the assumption is made that no fine particles are present other than those accounted for by the equation; the log per cent cumulative weight passing any series of sizes, plotted against the log diameter passed, will result in a straight line lying parallel to and above the plotted distribution line.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. A. Hartnagel

The year 1944 marks the eightieth anniversary of the discovery of petroleum by drilling in New York State. It was in 1864 that a half dozen shallow wells were drilled at Limestone in Cattaraugus County, in a region that now forms the northern extension of the 82,000-acre Bradford pool. These early wells found oil, but not in paying quantities. They did, however, attract attention to the district and were a factor in the development of the still active Bradford pool of Pennsylvania and New York. During 1943, the production of petroleum in New York amounted to 5,029,000 bbl. This represents a decrease over the previous year, in which 5,421,000 bbl. was produced. The flush production for the New York fields occurred in the early eighties shortly after the discovery of oil in the Richburg pool of Allegany County. During the flush period, production was in excess of five million barrels annually. By 1887, however, the output had decreased to an amount only slightly more than two million barrels, and through the early years of the present century the annual total was often less than one million barrels. Flooding of the oil sands for increasing productioil was made legal in 1919, and in 1927 the output once more reached the two million mark. Two years later it had increased to over three million barrels. In Table r is shown production since 1935, in which year for the first time the output under flooding methods was in excess of four million barrels. From this table, it is evident that oil production in New 'I'ork is rather well stabilized, and since most of the oil is obtained by the flooding, or water-drive, method, with little or no prospect of discovery of new oil territory, rapid changes in yield from year to year are not to be expected. In thickness, the oil sands have a maximum of about 50 ft., and by means oi flooding may produce 10 to 12 thousand barrels an acre and proportional amounts for thinner sands. In some cases, floods have been developed in sands only 12 ft. thick. Under good flooding conditions a yield of 2000 bbl. an acre is about the lower limit at which oil can bc produced at the present price of $3.00 a barrel. The average cost for the physical development ol a lease, not including the cost ol the lease itself, is $5000 an acre. Since several months must intervene before the flood begins to act on the oil wells, and a year or more is required to bring thc wells to maximum daily production, it is evident that a considerable interval occurs before maximum returns are realized. Once a flood is developed and the wells

Jan 1, 1944

By C. S. Barrett, D. F. Clifton

THE transformation that occurs in lithium and its solid solutions containing magnesium1,2 is similar in many respects to other diffusionless transformations of the martensitic type. This general similarity makes it desirable to investigate the transformation curves in detail. The current interest in the phenomenon of stabilization in martensitic transformations has created a need for a careful appraisal of possible stabilization effects in both cooling and heating transformations in lithium alloys. The effect of prior heat treatment on the temperature at which transformation begins and the effect of various temperature cycles in partially transformed alloys also merit attention. Limited data on some of these features were presented previously,' but the present studies have been made with improved apparatus, in which erratic fluctuations were smaller than in the earlier work, and include many independent determinations of certain critical observations. Material and Methods Geiger counter X-ray spectrometers were used: a Norelco instrument, original model, and a General Electric XRD-3. The low-temperature specimen holder has been described elsewhere." Specimens 10 mm in diam and 1.5 mm thick were held in firm contact with a copper block which was attached to the lower end of a stainless steel tube that extended up to a reservoir of liquid nitrogen. A heating coil on the tube permitted a controlled temperature gradient along the tube, so that desired temperatures and rates of heating and cooling could be obtained by controlling the heating current. The specimen was surrounded by an atmosphere of evaporated nitrogen in an insulated chamber having double cellophane windows. The temperature of the specimen was read by a thermocouple imbedded in it close to the irradiated area; the specimen could be held at constant temperature within 1°C for long periods. The body-centered cubic 200 reflection near 8 = 26" was used as the index of the amount of b.c.c. material present; occasional checks were made using the most suitable line of the low-temperature phase, the close-packed hexagonal 110 line near 8 = 29". Copper radiation was used throughout. A continuous record was made of the reflected intensities on a strip chart recorder, both when the peak intensity of a line was being followed and when the lines were being scanned at constant temperature. On the continuous recordings of peak intensity, periodic checks were made on the background intensity between the lines, and on the setting of the spectrometer for maximum intensity. The lithium-base solid solution containing 12.4 atomic pct Mg (33.3 wt pct) that had been used previously' was chosen, as it had a transformation range at relatively high temperatures, so as to permit wide temperature cycling within the range. Just prior to use a pellet was cut from the ingot,

Jan 1, 1951

By Donald W. Scott

GENERALLY speaking, there is nothing very difficult about taking good micrographs of photogenic thin sections or grains with a petrographic micro-scopecamera setup. However, sometimes it is desired to show some detail that cannot be illustrated satisfactorily by the usual micrographs taken with parallel polarized light, with crossed nicols, or even with two micrographs. A simple procedure giving good results has been used at Battelle Memorial Institute for subjects falling into this classification, and it is believed to be of interest, especially to research people who must sell a point to executives through the medium of well-illustrated reports. The following problem illustrates a typical application: It is desired to photograph a thin section of an iron ore to illustrate the character and association of the iron oxides and the individual quartz crystals. A magnification of 75 dia. is acceptable. A micrograph of the field in question (Fig. I[a]) was taken with parallel polarized light. Due precaution was taken to provide critical illumination, correct exposure, a sharp focus, a good darkroom technique, and other essential conditions. It illustrates correctly the iron oxides, but it fails to show the individual quartz crystals. A micrograph of the identical field (Fig. I[b]) was taken under the same precise conditions, but with crossed nicols. It gives a better idea of the character of the individual quartz crystals but is likely to be misinterpreted unless accompanied by a lengthy descriptive note. This micrograph suggests that the centrally located, large black area is composed entirely of iron oxides. That this is an incorrect interpretation is evident by reexamining the micrograph of Fig. I[a]. The correct interpretation is that the dark area contains quartz crystals oriented with their optical directions parallel to, or nearly parallel to, the vibration directions of the polarizer and analyzer of the microscope. Thus, the executive, or anyone who had not done the work personally, would get no more than a fair interpretation, even if two micrographs were included; and in the interests of both brevity and clarity, one micrograph usually is more desirable. Exactly how many quartz crystals occur in this region cannot be told from the two micrographs, and a printing of the two negatives in register would likewise not show the detail desired. Thus, it is evident that some subjects cannot be satisfactorily illustrated by the usual procedures. In photographing Fig. is the light was subdued and, during the entire exposure of 75 sec., the analyzer nicol was rotated uniformly in its mounting from a crossed position to 45° uncrossed position to introduce the desired amount of contrast in the various individual quartz crystals. The true reproduction of the character and association of the iron oxides, and the additional structure and detail in the quartz areas, is apparent. It might be

Jan 1, 1946

By J. E. Gould, H. J. Hand

MANY independent studies are being made on slag-metal relationships in the open-hearth furnace, and these studies cannot help but result in an ultimate improvement in the quality of open-hearth steel of both the open and killed types In maintaining quality control at the National Tube Company's plant, emphasis has been placed on an evaluation of the iron oxide content of the steel in as quantitative a manner as possible, in order that the most desirable level of oxidation might be obtained for a given type of steel, and to secure a more precise basis for final deoxidation In the past, various methods were used for estimating FeO content of the metal at tap to ensure uniform and thorough deoxidation of killed steel, avoiding over-deoxidation to minimize the amount of inclusions present and to make as sound a steel as possible For the open-type steels, such control involves obtaining the necessary level of oxidation for the most suitable action of the steel in the molds to provide good surface quality and cross section for the specific grade involved While rapid analytical methods are available for determination of FeO in the liquid metal, such methods are still not sufficiently rapid for routine control on the open-hearth floor, nor do such analyses provide information as to what causes high or long FeO values The method of sampling can still be considered a problem in view of the variability encountered in taking simultaneous duplicate tests With the accurate rapid methods now available for determining carbon in the metal, estimating slag basicity and obtaining temperatures of liquid metal, it was believed possible to determine the influence of the various furnace reactions in establishing the state of oxidation at a given time Simultaneous slag and metal tests were used in this analysis, aided by statistical methods, to determine the factors that affect the metal FeO, and also to make a quantitative evaluation of these factors Data obtained are from actual furnace operations, the metal test being of the spoon, Herty type, and taken in duplicate. Metal temperatures were taken with the open-tube bath pyrometer developed by the Research Laboratory of the United States Steel Corporation This method of taking open-hearth metal temperature was invented by Collins and Oseland,1 and was developed into its present form by L 0 Sordahl,2 of the Research Laboratory The instrument and its mode of operation have been fully described by Sordahl and Sosman in three publications 3,4,5 Slag components were obtained by chemical analysis Data were taken from four 165-net-ton furnaces during the working period of the heat Recognizing that additions of ore affect the

Jan 1, 1942

By R. S. Busk

TWO groups of binary alloys were prepared. The first group consisted of those elements relatively soluble in magnesium: Li, Al, Zn, Ga, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Hg, T1, Pb, and Bi. These are predominately Group B elements. The second group consisted of most of the remaining metallic elements, all of which are relatively insoluble in magnesium: As, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cu, Ir, La, Mn, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sb, Si, Te, Ti, W, and Zr. These are all Group A, transition, or rare earth elements. Alloys of the first group were prepared by melting sublimed magnesium and elements as pure as obtainable in a graphite crucible, using a standard flux1 for protection. The melts were poured into a small graphite mold to produce 3xY4 in. diam slugs. Spectroscopic analyses were made of each slug. In all cases, the total impurity content was less than 0.05 pct. The slugs were then heat treated 5°C below the eutectic temperature until complete solution, as judged metallographically, was obtained. Filings from the center of the slugs were compacted at room temperature into 1/2 in. long x 1/4 in. diam cylinders, sealed in pyrex under 1/2 atm of purified argon, annealed at the heat-treating temperature for 1 hr, and quenched in water. After the X-ray diffraction patterns were made, each compact was analyzed chemically for the solute. It was found that the Mg-Li alloys reacted during filing to reduce the Li in solid solution. For this series of alloys, the slug was cold worked, annealed in purified argon, the surface dissolved in dilute HC1 to a depth of about 0.005 in., and the X-ray exposure made on the fresh surface. This procedure resulted in sharp, continuous lines and in true values for the lattice parameters. The alloys in the second group were prepared in the same way except that about 1 wt pct of each solute was added. Since the solubility limit was exceeded, not all the solute dissolved. These alloys were analyzed spectroscopically only to confirm the presence of the solute. The diffraction patterns were of the back-reflec-tion type using the characteristic copper radiation* and a flat cassette. Both the film and the specimen were rotated. The specimen temperature was maintained at 25" ± 1°C. The films had sharp lines; their diameters were measured directly to 0.01 cm. The parameters were calculated from the line diameters using a modified version of Cohen's extrapolation method.2 his method effectively eliminates systematic errors such as film shrinkage, inaccurate alignment, and non-precise film-to-speci-men distance. The random errors were minimized

Jan 1, 1951

By Albert E. Reed

THE development of the modern high-speed vibrating screen, together with the increasing availability of long-lasting stainless-steel screen cloth for relatively fine-mesh separations, means that more screen circuits will be used in the future. It seems pertinent therefore to examine a few characteristics of screen-circuit products, and especially the points of difference as compared with products of classifier circuits. The most noticeable change that takes place when substituting screening for classification in a grinding circuit is a substantial drop in the circulating load, owing to the greater ease with which the "fines" leave the circuit. Where circulating loads of 500 to 600 per cent are considered fairly normal in classifier grinding circuits, the grinding circuit equipped with screens for equivalent work will have a circulating load of only 20 to 75 per cent. As a result, the products of screen circuits will show a minimum of overgrinding or sliming as compared with a classifier circuit. The desirability of this characteristic will naturally vary according to the metallurgical requirement in each case. Because screen separations make a sharper division according to particle size, the products of screen circuits can be expected to show greater crowding of particles near the point of separation. These changes in product characteristics are so important that other factors, both in the grinding and concentration processes must be adjusted if the operator is to take full advantage of the increased tonnages and higher efficiencies available to him through the use of the screen circuit. One factor that too often is overlooked when changing to screen circuits is the importance of adjusting the ball-mill or rod-mill charge, to compensate for: (I) increased tonnage of new feed, (2) decreased circulating load, or (3) more granular character of feed. These same factors should also be taken into consideration for their effect on the various types of concentration or flotation equipment that may follow the screen circuit. Over a period of years, this equipment has generally been designed and adjusted to the product of the classifier, therefore it seems obvious that some research on the adjustment and adaptation of concentrating and flotation equipment to screen-circuit products will be most profitable to the operators. To illustrate the points mentioned above, the results from three recent installations follow, with data on the comparative characteristics of screen and classifier circuits. A range of separation from 10 to 48 mesh has been chosen, using two general types of screening equipment and two types of classifiers. The first of the installations of which the results are to be examined is that of an iron-ore installation where eastern magnetite was being concentrated prior to sintering. Fig. I shows the original grinding circuit, using classification, while Fig. 2 shows the same circuit equipped with a

Jan 1, 1945

By Martin Coryell, Eckley Coxe, R. P. Rothwell

WILKES-BARRE, PA., April, 1871. THE great development of the mines and metallurgical works of this country during the last few years, accompanied as it has been by the investment of enor¬mous sums of money in purchasing lands, and in the erection of improvements, requires that advantage should be taken of the accumulated knowledge of engi¬neers, superintendents, and others, in mastering the problems which are con¬stantly presenting themselves for our action. Among those may be mentioned the consideration of more economical systems of mining in our coal and metal¬liferous mines, improved methods of transportation above and below ground, unwatering and ventilating mines, the mechanical preparation of coal and other minerals, the various metallurgical processes, and, in fact, every question tending to the attainment of two great objects 1st. The more economical production of the useful minerals and metals. 2d. The greater safety and welfare of those employed in these industries. In European countries, where the arts of mining and metallurgy have long been the subject of the most careful study, no means have been found so effectual in attaining the end above proposed as the free interchange of experience among those actually engaged in these industries, and this object has been accomplished, mainly, through the medium of institutes, associations or societies, composed of those engaged in these occupations, and by the- periodical publication of essays or papers, communicated to such societies by their members. It must be evident to all practical men that the interchange of the varied experience of those engaged in such occupations in this country could not fail to advance very materially the desired objects; it is, therefore, proposed to establish an American Institute of Mining Engineers, which will hold its meetings periodically in the great mining and metallurgical centres, where works of interest, such as mines, machine shops, furnaces, and other metallurgical works, can be inspected, and the members exchange their views, and consult for mutual advantage upon the difficulties encountered by each; these transactions or proceedings, when published, would form a most valuable and greatly-needed addition to our professional literature. It is proposed that a meeting of those sympathizing with the object above men¬tioned shall be called for the purpose of organizing such an association, the place and time of meeting being Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and the month of April or May. Communications indicating the opinion and wishes of all, both as to these points, and also as to the organization and objects of the Institute, will be gladly received by any of the undersigned, and a notice of the date of meeting, which will be arranged to suit the greater number, will be duly communicated. Any

Jan 1, 1873

By Paul H. Price, John P. Nolting

The history of the salt industry in West Virginia dates back nearly two hundred years; howTever, the history of salt as an important raw material for the chemical industry is much more recent. The earliest record of West Virginia salt was in 1753, when a raiding party of Shawnee Indians attacked frontier settlements in Virginia taking captive a number of the pioneers. One of these, who later escaped and returned to her friends, described how the Indians camped at a salt spring on the banks of the Kanawha River and evaporated the water to obtain a supply of salt to take back to Ohio with them. Settlement of the Kanawha Valley began in 1774, that same year the Battle of Point Pleasant ended the Indian's power in the Ohio Valley; and settlement of the Kanawha Valley progressed rapidly with a consequent increase in the importance of the Kanawha Licks as a source of salt. In those days the evaporation of the brine was a family matter for which the family wash-kettle was commandeered. In 1797, Elisha Brooks erected the first salt furnace in the Kanawha Valley. It consisted of two dozen small kettles set in a double row, with a flue beneath, a chimney at one end, and a fire bed at the other. He obtained his brine at a depth of 20 to 30 ft by sinking hollow logs, called "gums" into the salt lick and dipping the brine with a bucket. His production was about 150 lb a day and sold for 8 to 10 cents a pound. In 1806, the Ruffner brothers, David and Joseph, prospected for and drilled the first well in America using a spring pole and steel chisel bit. After several failures they succeeded, in 1808, in drilling to a total depth of 59 ft where they secured a good flow of strong brine. Most standard drilling tools, jars, casing, and practically all the basic oil well drilling machinery now in use, were developed in the drilling of salt wells. To evaporate this brine, the brothers built a wood-burning furnace similar to that of Brooks but with a better arrangement and with more and larger kettles. When production was started they reduced the price of salt to 4 cents a pound. By 1817, there were some 30 salt furnaces in the Kanawha area. It was in this year that bituminous coal first was used as an industrial fuel. David Ruffner again pioneered the way by converting his furnace for the consumption of coal. This year also brought about the formation of the first trust which controlled production and set a price of 1 cent a pound for the salt.

Jan 1, 1950

By W. T. Bishop

For many years pine oil has been used extensively as a frother for the flotation of minerals, particularly sulphides, yet the published information available to the average user on its composition, chemical and physical properties, has been rather meager. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss these points and their relationship to the frothing properties of pine oil used in flotation processes. Pine oil, as the name implies, is a liquid obtained from the processing of wood of the longleaf and other southern pines. It is a complex mixture of naturally occurring terpene derivatives, primarily alcohols, and a smaller amount of terpenes, which has found many uses in various industries. Its use as a frother in flotation processes was the first large-scale application in industry and today the mining industry still consumes large quantities of pine oil but the textile and disinfectant industries consume comparable volumes. Much is used in soap manufacture and laundry operations. The surface-active properties of pine oil are in a large degree responsible for this versatility. History The name "Naval Stores" goes back to the days when pine tar and pitch were used to caulk leaky ships and 'Oat their ropes and rigging. Today this term is still used to include not only the oleoresinous products of the pine tree—rosin and turpentine— but other products such as pine oil, pine tar, and the many terpene and resinous compounds obtained by extracting the pine wood or tapping the tree. That part of the industry known as "wood naval stores" dates from about the beginning of this century and today produces a large part of the country's rosin and turpentine by processing pine wood. In addition, all of our natural pine oil is supplied by the wood naval stores industry, as tapping of the live tree gives only rosin and turpentine. This latter phase is known as the "gum naval stores " industry. The first successful commercial operation of the steam and solvent process of the wood naval stores in industry was carried out by Yaryan at Cadillac, Mich., in 1909.1 This operation did not prove profitable, so Yaryan went south to utilize the longleaf pine, and built a plant at Gulfport, Miss.2 Soon after, another plant was built at Brunswick, Ga., which is still in operation, and in 1914 was reported to have processed about 500 tons of wood per day.' In 1921 Hercules Powder Co. acquired the Yaryan interests, at which time the production of pine oil was only 3 to 5 million pounds per year and flotation was the largest customer. As time went on, technological advances were made, other companies entered the field, and the production of pine oil increased many fold. The growth of the industry was especially marked during the past 10 years, and in

Jan 1, 1947

By N. L. Britton

About two years ago Dr. Newberry referred to me for study a considerable collection of fossil plants sent him by Dr. Arthur F. Wendt, engineer of the silver mines " El Cerro Rico de Potosi" in Bolivia. As I had been interested in working up the extensive accumulations of existing plants made by Dr. H. H. Rusby in the Bolivian Andes further north, and in assisting Dr. Rusby in the study of those now being collected by Mr. Miguel Bang in other parts of that country, I was glad of an opportunity of ascertaining something of the Tertiary flora of the region. I was unable to take up the subject at that time, but have since been able to conclude the investigation, and the results are here presented. At a time when the mineral resources of the Southern States are attracting such widespread interest and attention, I have thought it appropriate to give a short general description of the iron-ore deposits of a territory concerning which little is as yet known and nothing published, so far as I am aware. The data used here are due to the preliminary examinations of the North Carolina Geological Survey, on which work I was engaged during the past summer, and my acknowledgments are due to Prof. J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, and Messrs. Harris, Ashe, and Lewis, of the survey, for their co-operation in the work; also to Messrs. A. S. McCreath and C. B. White for analyses which they Kindly furnished. Other analyses were made by Mr. Charles Baskerville, assistant chemist to the survey, and this may be understood where the name of the chemist is not mentioned. All samples for analysis were dried at 212' F. The accompanying map has been prepared from the revised sheets of the United States Geological Survey by Mr. H. L. Harris, and will be referred to throughout this paper. Ashe county lies in the extreme northwestern part of North Carolina, bordering on Tennessee and Virginia; it is drained principally by the north and south forks of New river and their tributaries, and is therefore on the eastern edge of the great Mississippi drainagebasin. The country is exceedingly rugged and mountainous, having an average elevation of about 2900 feet above sea-level. Jefferson, the county seat, near the center of the county, is 45 miles nearly due south from the Norfolk and Western R.R. at Marion, Va., and 30 miles northwest from the Richmond and Danville R.R. at Wilkesboro, N. C. Geologically the ore-deposits described in this paper are situated in the area of the crystalline rocks, consisting chiefly of gneiss, hornblende-schist, and micaceous schists.

Jan 1, 1893

By Fred C. Bond

AN improved method of measuring the surface area of a comminution product down to any desired particle size has been developed. The method is largely graphical, and requires relatively little calculation. It can be used with materials containing large amounts of clay, or excess fines of any kind. The surface area S is expressed in terms of square meters per100 c.c. of solids. This expression is based upon volume rather than weight, and is considered to be more suitable for crushing and grinding problems, where the machines ordinarily are operated under constant volume conditions. It has the advantage that surface areas of different materials can be compared directly, even though their specific gravities may be unknown. The "specific surface" of a material, or the number of square centimeters of surface area per gram, is equal to 100S divided by the specific gravity. Particle diameters are expressed in microns, K being the diameter of the largest particle present and L the grind limit, or lower size limit of the particles formed directly by grinding. The value of K does not always coincide exactly with the diameters of the largest particles retained on the coarsest testing sieve, since the largest particles formed in crushing and grinding are often slabby, or have other irregular shapes. L has been chosen as 0.700 microns, or number 27.5 in the size number series,1 for reasons to be explained later. S is the total surface area of all particles larger than L microns in diameter. When a homogeneous comminution product is separated into fractions whose diameters bear a constant geometrical relationship [p] to each other, and the log per cent weight retained upon each size and passing the next larger size is plotted against the log diameter, a straight line results, which is called the distribution line, and which has a slope in called the distribution modulus. The distribution line can be extended to any desired limiting size, and the total surface area of all particles larger than that size can be calculated. The equation of the distribution line is w = Cxm [I] where w is the per cent weight retained on each successive sieve; x is the particle diameter; and C is the per cent weight retained on an opening of unit diameter.2 Theoretically, the distribution line can be extended to include infinitely small particles. When it is so extended, and the assumption is made that no fine particles are present other than those accounted for by the equation; the log per cent cumulative weight passing any series of sizes, plotted against the log diameter passed, will result in a straight line lying parallel to and above the plotted distribution line.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. V. Millikan

Temperature measurement in wells is an old practice and geothermal gradients have been of interest to geologists for many years.le2 Their application to the operation of oil wells is a more recent practice. It has long been recognized that temperature anomalies occur in drilling and producing wells but thermometers that could obtain a satisfactory record of the anomalies were not available. The normal geothermal gradient is con-sidered as being about one degree Fahren-heit for each 60 ft. of depth.4 This "nor-mal " gradient varies in different areas, but whatever it may be in an area there is little variation from the surface to as deep as the : drill penetrates. The normal gradient is appreciably changed by gas expanding ; from the reservoir into the borehole or by the movement of fluid through a borehole : while drilling, producing, or circulating. It is the resulting anomalies and abnormal gradients from which conditions in wells can be interpreted. Some of the applications of such interpretations are locating the position of oil or gas sands, permeable strata in a reservoir zone, gas-oil contact, source of water, casing leaks, and the top of cement behind casing. Thermometers A thermometer for use in wells must be sensitive and have a low thermal lag. The sensitivity should permit recording 0.2OF. or less for differential temperatures although the actual temperature need not be more accurate than 1°F. The thermal lag should be as low as rugged construction will permit in order to allow surveys to be made in a minimum of time. Of the several kinds of thermometers, these requirements are most easily obtained with the vapor-pressure, expansion, and electric-resistance types. Thermometers for use in wells may be self-contained—that is, the complete instrument is lowered into the well and a record made of the temperature—or the thermal element only may be lowered into the well and the temperature recorded at the surface. The vapor-pressure and expansion types are more adaptable for a self-contained instrument while the electric-resistance thermometer is more suitable for surface recording of temperatures. The self-contained instrument can be run against high pressure on a single wire line with only one operator required. The instrument and its hoisting equipment is easily portable and can be mounted on a small car. The disadvantages are a somewhat greater thermal lag and the necessity of completing a run before any temperature or temperature anomaly is known. A surface-recording thermometer has the advantage of being somewhat more sensitive and of having a lower thermal lag. The Operator can see what anomalies are encountered and can immediately change the running conditions of the instrument or the well conditions in order to obtain the most

Jan 1, 1941

By Sylvan Z. Beer

The factors that determine the yield and crystal size in the two-temperature synthesis of A lp were examined. Low yields and small crystals were associated with low temperatures and pressure. Attempts to grow large crystals in the critical and supercritical region of phosphorus were unsuccessful. Crystal size increases markedly at elevated temperatures. Crystals grown at temperatures as high as 1450° C fluo-resced, under uv excitation, at energies close to the estimated band gap of about 2.4 ev, while crystals grown at lower temperatures tended to fluoresce in the red region of the spectrum. Those grown in the supercritical region showed no ALP fluorescence. Heating the high-temperature-grown ALP under vacuum greatly increased its fluorescence efficiency and moved the emission peak to higher energies. I HE III-V compounds, with few exceptions, have been prepared by the two-temperature method. In its classic form this technique is applicable to closed systems where at least one of the components, in this case the column V element, is a liquid or a solid with a high vapor pressure. One advantage of this method over flow systems is in its simplicity. In addition, because it is a closed system, it can, under the circumstances to be described later, be run at higher pressures of the volatile species than in flow systems. In instances where the III-V compound is soluble in the parent III metal to about 1 mol pct or higher, solution growth can be made to take place by slow cooling. This, for instance, is one way in which single-crystal GaP1 and Inp2 have been grown. Initial attempts to synthesize and grow A1P by this technique were not too successful; the yield was low and the crystals obtained were exceedingly small. The conditions required for improving the yield and growth by this technique were, therefore, sought. Two obvious conditions which could be controlling were examined. These were the temperature of the aluminum and the pressure of the phosphorus. The range of temperatures studied extended from about the melting point of aluminum, 660° to about 1450°C. The latter is dictated by the vapor pressure of aluminum which reaches about 1 Torr at that temperature and the limitations of the materials of construction as described in the next section. The pressure range of interest covers from below 1 atm to above the critical pressure of phosphorus, 82.2 atm. EXPERIMENTAL The Temperature of Aluminum as a Variable. A series of experiments were run in the conventional two-temperature manner. All refractories and quartz were dried by heating at 800° to 900° for a minimum of 24 hr, and usually much longer, before use. The aluminum

Jan 1, 1969

By Donald W. Scott

Generally speaking, there is nothing very difficult about taking good microgrztphs of photogenic thin sections or grains with a petrographic microscope-camera setup. However, sometimes it is desired to show some detail that cannot be illustrated satisfactorily by the usual micrographs taken with parallel polarized light, with crossed nicols, or even with two micrographs. A simple procedure giving good results has been used at Battelle Memorial Institute for subjects falling into this classification, and it is believed to be of interest, especially to research people who must sell a point to executives through the medium of well-illustrated reports. The following problem illustrates a typical application: It is desired to photograph a thin section of an iron ore to illustrate the character and association of the iron oxides and the individual quartz crystals. A magnification of 75 dia. is acceptable. A micrograph of the field in question (Fig. Ia) was taken with parallel polarized light. Due precaution was taken to provide critical illumination, correct exposure, a sharp focus, a good darkroom technique, and other essential conditions. It illustrates correctly the iron oxides, but it fails to show the individual quartz crystals. A micrograph of the identical field (Fig. Ib) was taken under the same precise conditions, but with crossed nicols. It gives a better idea of the character of the individual quartz crystals but is likely to be misinterpreted unless accompanied by a lengthy descriptive note. This micrograph suggests that the centrally located, large black area is composed entirely of iron oxides. That this' is an incorrect interpretation is evident by reexamining the micrograph of Fig. Ia. The correct interpretation is that the dark area contains quartz crystals oriented with their optical directions parallel to, or nearly parallel to, the vibration directions of the polarizer and analyzer of the microscope. Thus, the executive, or anyone who had not done the work personally, would get no more than a fair interpretation, even if two micrographs were included; and in the interests of both brevity and clarity, one micrograph usually is more desirable. Exactly how many quartz crystals occur in this region cannot be told from the two micrographs, and a printing of the two negatives in register would likewise not show the detail desired. Thus, it is evident that some subjects cannot be satisfactorily illustrated by the usual procedures. In photographing Fig. Ic the light was subdued and, during the entire exposure of 75 sec., the analyzer nicol was rotated uniformly in its mounting from a crossed position to 45° uncrossed position to introduce the desired amount of contrast in the various individual quartz crystals. The true reproduction of the character and association of the iron oxides, and the additional structure and detail in the quartz areas, is apparent. It might be

Jan 1, 1949

By Kenneth C. Vincent, A. M. Gaudin

In a study1 of the action of amyl xan-thate on chalcocite in water suspension, it was found that if the xanthate is added in relatively large quantity the xanthate group can be accounted for in three forms: (1) as xanthate ion remaining in water, (2) as benzene-soluble cuprous xanthate on the chalcocite, (3) as a benzene-insoluble coating on the chalcocite. Reduction in the amount of xanthate added leads to disappearance of form I then of form 2. With minute quantities of added xanthate, substantially all the reagent is of the "unleachable" kind. Yet this unleach-able xanthate can be dissolved by pyridine to form a soluble cuprous xanthate complex, and it is sufficient in effectiveness to make chalcocite flotable even if insufficient in quantity to form a complete mono-molecular film on the mineral. In that study it was also found that chalcocite abstracts cuprous xanthate from benzene so1ution, in what may (or may not) be a case of molecular adsorption. It seemed desirable, therefore, to study further the "unleachable" xanthate on the chalcocite, and particularly to ascertain whether it is formed as a result of the benzene leach or is actually formed during the conditioning of chalcocite in aqueous xanthate solution. A 'splendid tool to make such studies has recently been perfected; that is, the use of radioactive spies or tracer atoms. With this tool, it was thought possible to answer the problem stated above, but, unfortunately, this did not prove to be true. Answer to the flotation question was clouded by the existence of rapid and selective diffusion of copper atoms in the solid mineral—a phenomenon that was totally unexpected yet remains interesting and perhaps important. Method of Radioactive Spies The method of radioactive spies is discussed in many places. Two convenient references are the article by Evans2 and the book by pollard and Davidson.3 The method was first developed by van Hevesy and paneth in 1013, when only natural radioactive isotopes were available. These isotopes are few in number, and so the method remained limited in scope. Recently the synthesis of over 350 active isotopes of all the known stable chemical elements4 has opened widely expanded possibilities for the method, A fundamental tenet of the method is that a radioactive atom and a nonradio-active atom are exactly alike until disintegration of the radioactive atom. Then, by its sudden death, the spy reveals its location. The relative abundance of spies at various locations makes it possible to ascertain the relative abundance of the corresponding nonradioactive atoms at the same times and locations. A second fundamental tenet of the method of radioactive tracers is that the radioactivity lies in the nucleus of the atom: transfer of radioactivity from one

Jan 1, 1947

By Donald W. Scott

Generally speaking, there is nothing very difficult about taking good microgrztphs of photogenic thin sections or grains with a petrographic microscope-camera setup. However, sometimes it is desired to show some detail that cannot be illustrated satisfactorily by the usual micrographs taken with parallel polarized light, with crossed nicols, or even with two micrographs. A simple procedure giving good results has been used at Battelle Memorial Institute for subjects falling into this classification, and it is believed to be of interest, especially to research people who must sell a point to executives through the medium of well-illustrated reports. The following problem illustrates a typical application: It is desired to photograph a thin section of an iron ore to illustrate the character and association of the iron oxides and the individual quartz crystals. A magnification of 75 dia. is acceptable. A micrograph of the field in question (Fig. Ia) was taken with parallel polarized light. Due precaution was taken to provide critical illumination, correct exposure, a sharp focus, a good darkroom technique, and other essential conditions. It illustrates correctly the iron oxides, but it fails to show the individual quartz crystals. A micrograph of the identical field (Fig. Ib) was taken under the same precise conditions, but with crossed nicols. It gives a better idea of the character of the individual quartz crystals but is likely to be misinterpreted unless accompanied by a lengthy descriptive note. This micrograph suggests that the centrally located, large black area is composed entirely of iron oxides. That this' is an incorrect interpretation is evident by reexamining the micrograph of Fig. Ia. The correct interpretation is that the dark area contains quartz crystals oriented with their optical directions parallel to, or nearly parallel to, the vibration directions of the polarizer and analyzer of the microscope. Thus, the executive, or anyone who had not done the work personally, would get no more than a fair interpretation, even if two micrographs were included; and in the interests of both brevity and clarity, one micrograph usually is more desirable. Exactly how many quartz crystals occur in this region cannot be told from the two micrographs, and a printing of the two negatives in register would likewise not show the detail desired. Thus, it is evident that some subjects cannot be satisfactorily illustrated by the usual procedures. In photographing Fig. Ic the light was subdued and, during the entire exposure of 75 sec., the analyzer nicol was rotated uniformly in its mounting from a crossed position to 45° uncrossed position to introduce the desired amount of contrast in the various individual quartz crystals. The true reproduction of the character and association of the iron oxides, and the additional structure and detail in the quartz areas, is apparent. It might be

Jan 1, 1949