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By C. E. Lesher

Low-temPeRatUre carbonization needs no introduction to the literature on coal. This paper will attempt no review of that literature; it tells the story of the commercial development of one of the processes for carbonizing coal at so-called low temperatures, dealing with the technology and economics of the process rather than with the design of equipment. The process used is that covered by the patents of C. B. Wisner, with improvements and changes made by the Pittsburgh Coal Carbonization Co. The important and novel feature of the process is the phenomenon of making the product in ball form (Fig. 1). Melting coal dust into smokeless solid fuel in an apparatus as simple as a revolving cylinder of ordinary mild steel has been proved to be practical. Furthermore, it has been found that the process has a wide application, for by applying a knowledge of why and how this balling action is accomplished, the apparatus can be designed and adapted to treat any coal that has a certain minimum agglutinating property. The operating plant is 20 miles west of Pittsburgh, adjacent to the Champion preparation plant of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. The coal used is cleaned minus ?-in. or finer sizes. The products are low-tem-perature coke, tar and tar products. Present capacity is 7000 tons per month of low-temperature coke and 140,000 gal. of tar. There is no surplus gas for sale, and none of the light oils are stripped from the gas. The coke is marketed in two sizes, 1 to 2 in. and 1 to 6 in., through retail coal dealers for domestic consumption in hand-fired furnaces, and for fireplace fuel. The smaller size is bagged by dealers. Crude tar and many distillates and road tars are sold. Acknowledgments During the 10 years in which the work that is summarized in this paper has been under way, many have contributed time and effort, faithful service and fruitful thinking. Whatever success has attended

Jan 1, 1940

By C. E. Lesher

Low-temPeRatUre carbonization needs no introduction to the literature on coal. This paper will attempt no review of that literature; it tells the story of the commercial development of one of the processes for carbonizing coal at so-called low temperatures, dealing with the technology and economics of the process rather than with the design of equipment. The process used is that covered by the patents of C. B. Wisner, with improvements and changes made by the Pittsburgh Coal Carbonization Co. The important and novel feature of the process is the phenomenon of making the product in ball form (Fig. 1). Melting coal dust into smokeless solid fuel in an apparatus as simple as a revolving cylinder of ordinary mild steel has been proved to be practical. Furthermore, it has been found that the process has a wide application, for by applying a knowledge of why and how this balling action is accomplished, the apparatus can be designed and adapted to treat any coal that has a certain minimum agglutinating property. The operating plant is 20 miles west of Pittsburgh, adjacent to the Champion preparation plant of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. The coal used is cleaned minus ?-in. or finer sizes. The products are low-tem-perature coke, tar and tar products. Present capacity is 7000 tons per month of low-temperature coke and 140,000 gal. of tar. There is no surplus gas for sale, and none of the light oils are stripped from the gas. The coke is marketed in two sizes, 1 to 2 in. and 1 to 6 in., through retail coal dealers for domestic consumption in hand-fired furnaces, and for fireplace fuel. The smaller size is bagged by dealers. Crude tar and many distillates and road tars are sold. Acknowledgments During the 10 years in which the work that is summarized in this paper has been under way, many have contributed time and effort, faithful service and fruitful thinking. Whatever success has attended

Jan 1, 1940

By Otto H. Henry, Edward L. Badwick

Up to the present time, according to Hansenl and Haughton,² the constitution of the bismuth-indium system has not yet been published. The generally accepted value for the melting point of indium, as listed in most scientific journals and textbooks, is 155°C. Recently, however, H. M. Davis3 has determined a new melting point for indium of 157.3²C O.l°C. Since bismuth has been used in preponderance as an alloying element in the majority of low-melting alloys, and indium has been used with considerable success in lowering the melting points of low-melting alloys, 4,6 an interest has been developed in the application of these two metals, making a complete knowledge of the constitution of its alloys desirable. In this investigation, the melting point of indium reported by H. M. Davis has been found to be substantially correct. A value of 157. ²°C ± O.5°C was determined. The two eutectic compositions have been placed at 34 and 50 pct bismuth with their respective eutectic temperatures as 72.4°C ± 0.5°C and 90°C ± 0.5°C. The bismuth-indium phase diagram has been determined by thermal and microscopic analysis and is shown in Fig I. Thermal Analysis Granulated bismuth and indium shot, having a guaranteed purity of 99.99 and 99.95 pct, respectively, were melted in a carbon crucible by means of a laboratory heater. To minimize oxidation of the alloys, a heavy mineral oil (Nujol) having a high- flash point was used. A platinum-platinum rhodium thermocouple of fine wire encased in a thin-walled Pyrex glass tube, about 1/8 in. in diameter, was connected to a type K potentiometer for temperature measurements. The thermocouple was calibrated against the melting points of tin, bismuth, and the silver-copper eutectic and the boiling point of water. Since the temperature readings could be reproduced to 0.²°Cl and the accuracy of the temperature standards in this range is slightly better than 0.5°C, it scems reasonable to assume that the temperature readings are reliable to approximately 0.5°C. The cooling rate could be controlled by varying the amount of insulation surrounding the crucible. Three or four layers of asbestos paper, 1/16 in. thick, sufficed to give a cooling rate of from I° to ²°C per minute. Undercooling was slightly noticeable. This condition was minimized by vigorous stirring, since the advantage of using slower rates was too small to justify the greater expenditure

Jan 1, 1947

By Otto H. Henry, Edward L. Badwick

Up to the present time, according to Hansenl and Haughton,² the constitution of the bismuth-indium system has not yet been published. The generally accepted value for the melting point of indium, as listed in most scientific journals and textbooks, is 155°C. Recently, however, H. M. Davis3 has determined a new melting point for indium of 157.3²C O.l°C. Since bismuth has been used in preponderance as an alloying element in the majority of low-melting alloys, and indium has been used with considerable success in lowering the melting points of low-melting alloys, 4,6 an interest has been developed in the application of these two metals, making a complete knowledge of the constitution of its alloys desirable. In this investigation, the melting point of indium reported by H. M. Davis has been found to be substantially correct. A value of 157. ²°C ± O.5°C was determined. The two eutectic compositions have been placed at 34 and 50 pct bismuth with their respective eutectic temperatures as 72.4°C ± 0.5°C and 90°C ± 0.5°C. The bismuth-indium phase diagram has been determined by thermal and microscopic analysis and is shown in Fig I. Thermal Analysis Granulated bismuth and indium shot, having a guaranteed purity of 99.99 and 99.95 pct, respectively, were melted in a carbon crucible by means of a laboratory heater. To minimize oxidation of the alloys, a heavy mineral oil (Nujol) having a high- flash point was used. A platinum-platinum rhodium thermocouple of fine wire encased in a thin-walled Pyrex glass tube, about 1/8 in. in diameter, was connected to a type K potentiometer for temperature measurements. The thermocouple was calibrated against the melting points of tin, bismuth, and the silver-copper eutectic and the boiling point of water. Since the temperature readings could be reproduced to 0.²°Cl and the accuracy of the temperature standards in this range is slightly better than 0.5°C, it scems reasonable to assume that the temperature readings are reliable to approximately 0.5°C. The cooling rate could be controlled by varying the amount of insulation surrounding the crucible. Three or four layers of asbestos paper, 1/16 in. thick, sufficed to give a cooling rate of from I° to ²°C per minute. Undercooling was slightly noticeable. This condition was minimized by vigorous stirring, since the advantage of using slower rates was too small to justify the greater expenditure

Jan 1, 1947

By Thomas Fraser

BECAUSE of the present interest in the subject of sulfur in coal and its removal, such information as is available in the coal-washing literature on the various factors that determine the adaptability of a coal for wash- FIG. I.-COAL-WASHING TABLES OF ONE-FOURTH COMMERCIAL SIZE. ing have been collected and are presented here together with some observations based on results of experimental work carried out in the coal-washing laboratory of the mining department of the University of Illinois, and investigative work at Illinois washeries in connection with the work on reduction of the sulfur content of coal, being carried on at the Urbana Station of the.U. S. Bureau of mines. This investigative

Jan 9, 1919

By F. N. Pease, C. B. Dudley

Those who have worked a good deal on the chemistry of pig-irons of which the physical properties were known, cannot fail to have been struck by the remarkable want of relation between the physical properties of different samples, and the ultimate chemical composition. It is very well known among foundrymen that irons which will give say 4 inch of chill, and are, therefore, approximately the same in chemical composition, are very far apart, many times, in their physical properties. The foundryman's tests for strength are, of

Jan 1, 1886

By Ivor E. Campbell

The Smelter Control Research Association, Inc. (SCRA) was established in 1971 by domestic primary copper producers to investigate processes for removal of sulfur oxides and particulates from copper reverberatory furnace stack gases. The Association maintains a continuing review of developments related to sulfur oxide and particulate control technology, and conducts pilot-plant-investigations of scrubbing processes with feed streams of copper reverberatory furnace off-gases. In its first year of operation, SCRA reviewed over 100 processes proposed for sulfur dioxide removal. As could be anticipated, the frequency of receipt of proposals relating to improvements in sulfur, dioxide control technology has now declined. However, the number of such proposals still being received indicates continuing research on both wet and dry scrubbing systems, and indicates a widespread awareness, of shortcomings of proposed control. Despite the fact that an almost unbelievable number of processes has been proposed for sulfur dioxide control, few have progressed beyond the conceptual stage, and only a limited few have been subjected to thorough pilot-scale evaluation. The most extensive pilot-scale and demonstration-scale investigations have been. devoted to the so-called throwaway processes employing limestone or lime slurry scrubbing. This work has, in turn, for the most part been on utility plant stack gases, containing from 500 to 3,000 ppm sulfur dioxide.

Jan 1, 1976

By G. P. Hulst

The Parkes process lead refinery of the International Lead Refining Co., at East Chicago, was built by the International Smelting & Refining CO. to treat the lead bullion produced by its Tooele plant, at Tooele, Utah. The plant was designed and constructed under the direction of the writer. Ground was broken Apr. 16, 1912, and exactly six months later the plant was in operation and lead was being cast. The capacity of the plant, running 25 days per month, is 5,000 tons. The four products of the plant are common lead, corroding lead, antimonial lead, and Dore bullion. The site is an area, 64 acres in extent, lying north of 151st Street, between McCook Avenue and the Canal. The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal, and Pennsylvania Railroad enter the yard at the plant. There are five storage tracks and space for storing 100 cars in the yard. the main lead to the storage tracks passes over a 100-ton track scale on entering the yard.

Jan 1, 1915

By J. A. MacLellan, John C. Bowling, J. R. Davenport, G. M. Ellis

Six months out of the year the cold is always there, and it seems to be waiting for someone to make a mistake. The simplest things can shut down a multi-million dollar plant besieged with -40°F temperatures and a 40 mph wind. It takes only one man-door improperly latched to feeze up all the pumps on the bottom floor. Someone can poke a one inch hole in an outside wall in July and six months later, the whole plant is flooded because the main water line just froze up and burst. Some important things must be remembered in plant design for cold and remote areas. For one thing, everything in these areas is more expensive due to long and difficult supply lines. Fuel is expensive and would be a major cost item even if it were not expensive, due to the extended periods of low temperatures. Building volumes should therefore be kept to an acceptable minimum. Service areas, on the other hand, must be adequate, because maintenance generally has to be conducted inside in a heated area. Supply vehicles, for instance, have to get completely inside the building to unload. If you try to unload a supply vehicle with the door open at -50°F, you won't be able to find the vehicle for fog and if you take more than 5 minutes half the water lines in the plant will freeze UP.

Jan 1, 1972

By Chester Lee

Introduction THE Atlin Mining District is in the northwest corner of the Province of British Columbia. Ruby Creek, where the operation to be described is situated, is 17 miles east of the town of Atlin and about 18 miles south of the south line of Yukon Territory (Fig. 1). Gold was discovered in the district in January, 1898, and the production to date from placer mines has been $4,518,000, according to the reports of the Minister of Mines for-the province. Geology The essential points in the regional geology are given in the following paragraphs. Long erosion produced a plane-like surface slightly above sea level with a few peaks and ridges.1 A gradual uplift followed and. erosion increased, the streams cut deeper, the cuts so made being afterward increased by glaciation. The ice straightened and planed the slopes of the main valleys and widened and lowered their floors, in some cases flooring the valleys with silt, sand, gravel, and clay. As the glaciers rapidly retreated, lakes were formed.

Jan 5, 1916

In one of the largest dredging projects of its kind, Lake Asbestos of Quebec Ltd. is stripping overlying mud and sand from the bed of a lake to reach asbestos orebodies 70 to 200 ft below surface. Black Lake, about two miles long by half a mile wide, was almost overlooked in the search for asbestos in Quebec's ore-rich eastern townships-a search that has been underway there ever since the first asbestos was mined in 1877. Not until 1948 was the Black Lake mineral discovered. Four years later careful exploration was carried out by American Smelting & Refining Co., parent firm of Lake Asbestos. The search involved more than 75,000 ft of diamond drilling and about 5000 ft of underground work. ASARCO, in its first asbestos mining project, decided to proceed with a dredging and draining program to prepare for open pit mining.

Oct 1, 1956

By A. L. Holley

THE occurrence of this gas, in quite appreciable. quantities, has been observed for many years in its escape along the creeks of Western Pennsylvania, and more recently, in much larger quantities, from the oil wells in and near Venango County. Within about five years several gas wells have been struck, from which the gas has escaped continuously in prodigious quantities and at great pressure. During the last year a systematic attempt has been made to utilize the flow of gas from one of these wells, and results have been reached which were quite unexpected. This well, near Leechburg, Armstrong County, is about twenty miles northeast of Pittsburgh, on one of the side tributaries of the Alleghany River. It had been drilled in search of oil to a depth of 1250 feet in 1871, but none was found. A great flow of gas was developed, however, accompanied by a slight spray of salt water, and this has continued with little or no diminution to the present time. The gas in its escape has been discharged through a 5-inch pipe, and at a pressure of from 60 to 80 lbs. per square inch, but no exact determinations, either of the pressure or quantity, have been made. The rolling mill of Messrs. Rogers & Burchfield is on the opposite side of the river, and it has been for some years devoted to the production of fine grades of sheet iron from charcoal pig metal, by puddling and in knobbling fires. The usual weekly product of the mill has been 30 tons of No. 30 tin plates, and 50 tons of No. 24 to 28 sheets. The well was bought by this firm for $1000, and the gas is led across the river, a distance of about 500 feet, through a 3-inch pipe. It is distributed through half-inch pipes, and at a pressure of about 45 lbs. per square inch, to several of the furnaces, but a large fraction of the total flow of gas is still wasted at the well. No essential alteration in any of the furnaces has been found necessary in the use of the gas fuel, except to brick up the fire-bridge and to put in the gas and air pipes. The old grate used for coal is loosely covered with bricks and cinder, so that a slight percolation of air may take place through them. The gas is admitted through a half-inch pipe, and blows toward the fire-bridge through 18 or 20 one-eighth inch jets. The air is blown in at about 2 lbs. a

Jan 1, 1876

By O. Schaaber

THE existence of isothermal martensite without the presence of the athermal form thus far has been established only in a 6 pct Mn, 0.6 pct C steel' and a 23 pct Ni, 3.5 pct Mn-Fe alloy.' " Theoretical calculations, moreover, predict this phenomenon to be observable only within narrow composition limits.' In all other steels, it is generally considered that martensite inevitably forms upon cooling below the M, temperature. Even the possibility of isothermal martensite transformation has been questioned for the common steels, although Averbach and Cohen" showed that martensite formation does not stop when the cooling is arrested and that as much as 5 pct retained austenite may transform isothermally to martensite at room temperature. This note presents some observations made on a number of low alloy steels by dilatometric and inductive measurement of isothermal austenite transformation at various temperatures close to the Ms. In the dilatometer studies reported previously, austenitized specimens were immersed in a salt bath maintained at proper temperature and immediately inserted into the dilatometera8' already at thermal equilibrium with the bath. The dilation was read on a dial gage divided into 0.001 mm intervals. Induction measurements were made with a separate excitation source and a test coil, sealed together in a salt-tight case. The increase in the induced voltage caused by the transformation products was recorded at a paper speed of 4 mm per sec. The steels studied are listed in Table I. Specimens prepared from steels 1 and 2 were in the form of hollow cylinders 60 mm long, 10 mm ID, 14 to 16 mm OD, while specimens of steels 3 and 4 were in the form of notched-bar impact test specimens, DVM type. Specimens of steel 5 were in the form of strip, 7x0.3 mm. In the bainitic range, curves representing the amount of transformation vs log time have a single step appearance, as is shown by the curve of isothermal transformation at 320°C in Fig. 1.Y ransformation proceeds in accordance with the Austin-Rickett equationo P -----------= k t" 100-P where P is the percentage of transformed austenite, t is time, and k and n are constants. Near the M, temperature, however, complex curves having two steps are observed. As shown in a previous papera for steel 3 isothermally transformed at 245"C, such complex curves can be separated into two separate transformations or reactions each following the Austin-Rickett equation. The values of n in the equation for a number of such two-step transformations are listed in Table 11 for steel 1. At transformation temperatures of 250" and 235"C, evidence of a second transformation is very

Jan 1, 1956

By Max Stern

ROOM and pillar coal mining methods employed in the United States keep the roof at original height by leaving untouched pillars of coal in the face area. But, German coal mines of the Ruhr district are exclusively operated on the longwall system. With this method the whole length of the coal face advances and the roof in the face area sinks 10 to 15 pct of seam thickness. Behind the face the roof may drop 50 to 80 pct of seam thickness due to the high rock pressures encountered at average mining depth of 2250 ft. Mining depth is increasing 20 to 30 ft per year.

Jan 5, 1953

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS Gentlemen -It is pleasant to be able to report that the year just closed has been a prosperous and successful one for the Institute As is shown by the reports of the Treasurer and the Finance Committee, the business affairs of this organization are in excellent condition With property valued at more than three-quarters of a million dollars, and with con¬siderable sums in various funds and endowments, it is possible to spend on each member of whatever class $22 65 each year, more than the maxi¬mum amount of dues received from any one, and substantially twice the average amount, $10.94, received from all To do this has required close management and a strict regard for our limitations In 1926, when the Budget was made up, the estimated expenditures for the work which it was felt the Institute must do exceeded the estimated receipts by some $14,000. At the close of the year, despite a` number of unexpected decreases in receipts, it had proved possible to accomplish substantially all the work laid out and close the books with the usual transfer of initia¬tion fees to the General Reserve, and still only reduce the cash balance $2,074 54. This was made possible by the hearty and loyal cooperation of the whole staff of employees and the extremely large amount of gratui¬tous service rendered by the officers, the members of the Divisions and technical Committees, and the membership generally Even so it was impossible, because of limitations of funds, to undertake many things it is highly desirable for the Institute to do, and it was necessary to refuse the publication of important papers and committee studies, because of the lack of funds.

Jan 1, 1923

By C. M. Weld

Attention has been turned recently to the exploration and development of certain large blanket-deposits of brown iron-ore in Cuba. The most conspicuous of these to-day, and the one upon which the most light has been shed, is the Mayari deposit, situated about 15 miles south of Nipe bag. Here the Spanish-Aniericau Co. has sole control over 18,500 acres of ore-bearing lands, reported by its engineers to contain 500,000,000 tons of ore. The necessary plant and equipment, with docks and railways, is now under construction for the early marketing of this ore. A similar deposit, and undoubtedly the next to be exploited, is the ore-field at Moa bay, where from 13,000 to 15,000 acres of ore-lands, immediately adjacent to the shores of an excellent harbor, have been generously covered by numerous mining-claims, practically all controlled by four large interests;. This deposit is now estimated to contain approximately 350,000,000 tons, on the basis of dried ore ready for shipment, a figure which may be increased when the western limits of the ore-deposit have been more accurately defined. Other deposits of the same type, but smaller and less accessible, are those at Cubitas, situated from 12 to 15 miles north of Camaguey city,

Jan 1, 1910

By D. P. Seraphim

Single crystals of bee Li-Mg solid solution were grown and their internal friction was measured as a function of temperature, A peak of the Zener type was found in the damping spectrum. The activation energy for the relaxation process is 21.5 ± 1 kcal per mole and the frequency factor is 1015.7 ± 0.7 sec-1. ZENER internal-friction peaks which are observed for a wide range of solid solutions are attributed to stress-induced changes in local order.' In the present work a Zener internal-friction peak, the first reported for a solid solution of an alkali metal, is

Jan 1, 1961

This discussion of the paper of Chester W. Washburne should have been printed following the remarks of H. A. Wheeler, in Bulletin No. 100, April, 1915, pp. 835 and 836, but was inadvertently omitted. ROSWELL H. JOHNSON:-There is one reason why the hydrostatic interpretation of gas pressure is not wholly acceptable. As we go clown in the sands we seem to get excesses of gas. Particularly in this field it becomes excessive in quantity relative to the amount of water in the sand. If this holds in other fields as well it must mean that there has been an ascension of water, because these sedimentaries when laid down, were filled with connate water. If we do get an ascension of connate water, produced by some such phenomena as its expansion by heat or by the formation of new gas by pressure upon organic materials at great depth, we can hardly expect the pressure to be controlled merely hydrostatically. * In reply to Mr. Wheeler's inquiry as to gas wells with pressure higher than hydrostatic pressure, I would cite the original wells given by Orton on which he based the hydrostatic theory. He used in his calculation a head of 600 ft. above tide, assuming the outcrop of the Manitoulin Islands to be in Lake Superior, whereas the Trenton does not outcrop at Lake Superior. The Manitoulin Islands are in Lake Huron, the level of which is 580 ft. above tide. No allowance is made for the lower density of the fresher water near the outcrop, the weight taken for the whole column being the water of high density found at the wells.

Jan 5, 1915

By J. Chipman, J. B. Gero, T. B. Winkler

IN the basic open hearth process the reaction of manganese in the bath with iron oxide in the slag attains a condition very closely approximating true equilibrium, and the distribution of manganese between slag and metal during the refining period is determined by the factors which control this equilibrium condition. For this reason a number of investigators have studied this reaction both in the laboratory and under various conditions of furnace operation. The principle reaction and its equilibrium constant are: FeO (in slag) + Mn = MnO (in slag) + Fe (liq.) [1] (MnO) .= (FeO),[%Mn] The symbols in parentheses represent activities of the two oxides in the slag which, in the simple slags consisting almost wholly of the two oxides, may be assumed equal to the respective mol fractions. The symbol (FeO)r is used to denote the total iron oxide computed as FeO; or it is the sum of the mol fraction of FeO plus twice that of Fe2O3. Early attempts to obtain laboratory data on this reaction suffered from failure to appreciate the great speed of the reaction. When slag and metal are cooled slowly together, the equilibrium shifts with temperature and the final compositions correspond to equilibrium at the freezing point rather than at bath temperature. The early work of Oberhoffer and Schenck¹ and of Tammann and Oelsen² apparently suffered from this source of error. In most of the other published laboratory investigationsa. '.' this error was not present but other uncertainties have existed, notably dependence upon optical temperature measurements and exposure to atmospheric oxidation.

Jan 1, 1951

By William H. Marlowe, Thomas E. Ban, Eric Johnson

Introduction In recent years, the industries of the US have been caught between ever increasing environmental concerns and an increasing uncertainty in availability of fuel. An obvious solution is to use our vast reserve of coal by direct combustion or gasification. The problem involves development of a fuel that is environmentally acceptable for these purposes. In order to resolve this problem in the shortest period of time, it would be ideal if an existing technology could be modified to produce a clean fuel from coal. Shortly after World War II, the iron ore industry was compelled to develop a high quality ore from low grade resources. This need led to the development of the taconite industry which involved milling, concentrating, and pelletizing technologies. These technologies are now fully established and applicable to conversion of coal. This presentation introduces a process for converting high sulfur coal into carbonized composite pellets, which emit low quantities of sulfur and particulate matter and may be produced by employing proven elements of technology. The new product, a clean pellet fuel (HelifuelTM) was initially developed by McDowell-Wellman Co., a subsidiary of Helix Technology Inc., at their Dwight-Lloyd Research Laboratories

Jan 1, 1982