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By D. B. Dow

"In the natural-gas Gasoline industry, the methods used in determining the amount of gasoline in natural gas are many and varied; they include the specific-gravity test, laboratory tests involving absorption, charge in volume of the gas or in the absorption medium, absorption in charcoal with subsequent distillation, compression of the gas which results in the condensation of the gasoline, and the absorption of the gasoline vapors in an absorption oil, from which the gasoline is distilled and measured. Each of these various tests has advantages, and disadvantages. It is however, conceded in the industry that the tests in which the gasoline is obtained and measured as such are the more reliable.This paper deals with certain factors which should be considered in making absorption tests using ""mineral seal oil"" as an absorbent; this method of testing is widely used not only in the field, but in control work in absorption gasoline plants where the gasoline content of the intake and discharge gas is determined daily. In control work it is frequently found that the plant produces more gasoline than the tests show, which gives the plant the appearance of making more gasoline than is actually present in the gas treated, or in other words operating at more than one hundred per cent efficiency. Obviously then, the tests as made in these cases are in error, and in hope of correcting some of these variances, the following factors have been studied at the U. S. Bureau of Mines petroleum station at Bartlesville, Oklahoma."

Aug 1, 1920

By David C. Grant

In situ uranium mining offers the advantages of minimal environmental disturbance, low capital and operating costs, and reduced mining development time. It is becoming an increasingly attractive mining method for the recovery of uranium from secondary ore deposits. In order to better understand the process, a laboratory technique was developed and used to study and simulate both the chemical and physical phenomena occurring in ore bodies during in situ leaching. The laboratory simulation technique has been used to determine effects of leaching variables on permeability uranium recovery, and post-leach aquifer restoration. This report describes the simulation system and testing procedure in sufficient detail to allow the construction of the system, and to perform the desired leaching tests. With construction of such a system, in situ leaching of a given ore using various leach conditions can be evaluated relatively rapidly in the laboratory. Not only could optimum leach conditions be selected for existing ore bodies, but also exploitation of new ore bodies could be accelerated.

Jan 1, 1985

By Herbert R. Babitzke

The Minerals Availability System (MAS) was formally established by the Bureau of Mines in May 1975 to provide current appraisals of the engineering and economic availability of nonfuel minerals for consideration in the formulation of both domestic and foreign minerals policy, Domes- tic mineral property reports are developed by the Bureau's four Field Operations Centers, and foreign data are obtained under contract. This site-specific information is subsequently subjected to engineering verification and economic evaluation, and the results are analyzed and published as Minerals Availability System Appraisals. The deposit-specific data are also entered into the computerized MAS data base, where a subset of this information, the Mineral Industry Location System (MILS), is available to the public in the form of computer graphics and listings. Other MAS products are also described. The Bureau's MAS personnel are frequently involved in special engineering and mineral economic projects for other Federal and State agencies. MAS personnel also work closely with the private sector, both in the area of mining and processing cost estimation, and as a source of nonproprietary mineral deposit information.

Jan 1, 1982

This report, the fourth in an annual series, outlines recent trends and developments in the minerals industry. Discussed are new methods, equipment, techniques, and systems used to more effectively extract and process mineral products. Environmental considerations, health and safety standards, price controls, inflation, material shortages, and more dependence on foreign imports were problems faced by the minerals industry. Although productivity increased for most mineral commodities, the annual rate of increase has slowed in recent years, indicating a maturing technological situation. Growing concern for energy resulted in increased interest and research in alternative fuel sources. The primary concerns of metallurgists were pollution control and improved efficiency and performance of metallurgical processes, especially for reduction of energy consumption.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. H. Ryback

When a fire or explosion occurs in an underground coal mine, the atmosphere guickly becomes irrespirable. Highly irritant smoke and toxic levels of carbon monoxide and dioxide are produced, and consumption of oxygen by the fire or blast can reduce its concentration below that needed to support life. Work parties entering such a hazardous atmosphere for rescue or recovery operations are required to use, as their primary respiratory protection, a fully self-contained breathing apparatus of at least two hours duration. Apparatus used in this role has primarily been of the closed circuit rebreather type, using pressurized oxygen storage and chemical removal of expired carbon dioxide. Typically, commercial self-contained breathing devices for mine rescue have been heavy, bulky, and uncomfortable to use. The McCaa apparatus, long the industry standard, represented the best art available when it was First designed in 1926. It weighs 41 Ibs., protrudes about six inches above shoulder height, and provides breathing gas at temperatures up to 120° F. More recent designs, such as the Drager BG174A and Scott Rescue-Pak, using modern light weight materials and fabrication techniques have improved on all parameters of the McCaa to some extent. It was the intent of the Bureau of Mines, acting under the authority of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, to fund the development of a new self-contained breathing apparatus which would incorporate the best available technology and serve as a benchmark for future commercial designs, as the Bureau-sponsored McCaa had 45 years previously.

Jan 1, 1974

By Manuel Gomez

Coking time was investigated as a function of coal properties, carbonization parameters, and the interactions between these variables. The results indicate that coal properties and carbonization conditions interact to influence the coking time, and these interactions may be determined quantitatively. Prediction equations were developed and used to simulate the effects of bulk density, flue temperature, and oven width on coking times for coals having a wide range of properties. The data presented provide additional information on the carbonization process to permit the coke oven operator to maintain closer control of coke production and coke uniformity.

Jan 1, 1968

By Michael J. Brnich

During the past 15 years the number of reportable mine fires has declined. A decline in the number of reportable fires is a gross indicator that allows experts to say something about the underground coal industry generally: There has been some improvement in overall mine fire preparedness. However, such an indicator is less reliable as a predictor of readiness at any particular operation. An indication of fire fighting preparedness would have to be assessed from evidence gathered at the mine site. In other words, there are two levels from which to view the problem. On a general level, there has been significant improvement in the industry's fire response capabilities over the past two decades. Specifically, however, little data has been gathered on a site-by-site basis to determine what improvements might be made on a local level. These improvements would move beyond regulatory compliance. It is expected that this manuscript, based on work conducted at an underground coal mine in the western United States, will help to focus attention on some central concerns involving this critical issue.

Jan 1, 2006

By E. G. King

Sodium-aluminum and calcium-aluminum silicates are important rock-forming minerals. While many of them are of only theoretical interest, several are of practical importance--as ceramic raw materials and as potential future sources of aluminum. Heretofore, thermodynamic data for these minerals were incomplete; and in many instances missing data were difficult to estimate reliably. This has seriously hampered thermodynamic calculations pertaining both to the natural formations of these minerals and to their decomposition in sintering and fluxing reactions. This paper reports the results of the Federal Bureau of Mines measurements of low-temperature heat capacities of four crystalline silicate minerals--dehydrated analcite (NaAlSi2O6), hexagonal anorthite (CaA12 Si208), lawsonite (Ca2Al2Si2080?2H20), and leonhardite (Ca2Al4Si8C24?7H2O). It augments previous similar measurements of related minerals, which were summarized recently.4 The measured heat-capacity data were used to derive entropy values for the four minerals at 298.15° K. Some relations between these entropy values and those of other similar minerals were discussed. These relations illustrate the difficulty of estimating entropy values of tertiary (or higher) silicates.

Jan 1, 1961

By V. M. Benson

A simplified, routine method for determining lithium in lithium-bearing rock is presented. The sample is decomposed by repeated treatments with nitric, hydrofluoric, and perchloric acids. Since this procedure does not appreciably dissolve beryl, interference by beryllium (the principal interfering cation) is minimized for most samples. The salts are brought into solution with water and enough citric acid-ammonium citrate buffer is added to make the final volumetric dilution 0.20 M with respect to citrate. The addition of citrate greatly reduces anion interference in the hydrogen-oxygen flame, slightly increases the intensity of the lithium 671 millimicron emission line, and reduces the effect of most of the interfering cations to the extent that analytical separations are not necessary. The accuracy of results of single determinations of lithium in a pegmatite containing spodumene, lithium-bearing mica, and beryl are approximately equal to that obtained by other flame methods, INTRODUCTION This investigation was undertaken in Bureau of Mines laboratories to develop a reliable, rapid, routine analytical method for determining lithium in lithium-bearing minerals. The requirements of the procedure were that the method should be applicable to the analysis of a variety of lithium-bearing ores and test products, and the results would be reasonably accurate for materials containing 0.05 to 8 percent Li20.

Jan 1, 1961

By P. Nicholls

Patent records show that the idea that the burning of fuels can be improved by mixing or pretreating them with chemicals 6 dates back to the early years of the last century. By 1845, English and French patents included the specific beneficiations of elimination or reduction of smoke, soot, and clinker; reduction of the ashes, presumably meaning the total weight of refuse from the ashpit; elimination of sulphur fumes; increase in the rate of burning; increase in the time a given charge of fuel would last; and, in most patents, a saving of fuel. The earlier patents specified additions up to 80 pounds or more per ton of fuel, but after 1860 the quantity was rarely more than 4 pounds. There is no record of the extent to which these patents were commercialized, but after 1884 many American patents were assigned to companies specializing in treatment of coal, so it is probable that the products were marketed on a considerable scale at least as early as that date. From 1900 on, many companies marketed proprietary products that were sold under the general name of "fuel savers." Since its establishment in 1910, the Bureau of Mines has continually received inquiries about these products and, at the request of other govern-mental departments, has tested some used in accordance with the instructions of the purveyors; the results were all negative and, within the accuracy of measurements, the products had no effect on the burning.

Jan 1, 1937

By W. G. Freeman

It is unlikely, as In the past, improvement in truck efficiency and capacity can fully offset the effects of inflation, fuel costs/shortages and ever increasing haul distances. There-fore, investigations of haulage systems less sensitive to these problems are warranted. Thus, this U.S.B.M. contract research study on alternative continuous haulage systems was prepared. This study identifies the physical, economic and technological parameters in the application of continuous haulage systems with special attention to under pit slope conveyors and skip hoisting systems. The evaluation data was gathered from extensive literature searches. European/North American mine visits, and industry comments. The study concludes that continuous underground haulage is a viable method within the proper geometric configuration.

Jan 1, 1978

By H. R. O'Brien

"During the past year, the Pittsburgh experiment station of the Bureau of Mines has been investigating methods for the quantitative estimation of carbon monoxide in blood. This work was necessary because reliable methods of analysis are of the greatest importance in the bureau's research work on prevention and treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning among workers in mines and metallurgical plants. Two of the methods considered involve color comparisons. In one of these methods, differences in tint can be noted fairly readily, while in the other, they are much more difficult to detect. The latter, however, is otherwise considerably simpler. It was decided, therefore, in studying the possibilities of this second method, to use the most sensitive eyes in the laboratory force.Preliminary trials.The method under investigation was the Haldane carmine determination of carbon monoxide in blood. The plain oxyhamoglobin of the blood in dilute solution is a pale straw color, when exposed to carbon monoxide it becomes a cherry pink. In the analysis dilute indigo carmine is added to oxyhsmoglobin until the solution matches in tint the carbon monoxide hemoglobin. The eye wanted, then, was the one most sensitive to faint pinks. But just how to select the analyst was not clear At first the Williams test scale, used in the Navy, was considered, but on con¬sultation with Dr. L. L. Thurston, bead of the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Institute of Technology, the following procedure was adopted.Instead of standard tests made up of all colors, only those occurring in the analysis were used. Solutions were prepared of the two hemoglobins, from which twenty-four different pairs were made up and placed in test tubes like those expected to be used in the analysis. One of each pair differed from the other in percentage of carbon monoxide hemoglobin by amounts varying from 2-1/2 per cent to 20 per cent. Each pair was compared in a box built in our own shop. This was 20 inches long and 5 inches square in cross section. One end was covered with ground glass. Just inside this glass cover were provided two slots, each the width of the test tubes used. The tubes to be compared were dropped into these slots through two holes in the top of the box. The device was placed before a window away from the sun, and so arranged that the light conditions were the same on each slit or opening. The person to be tested was seated before the box, and as the two tubes were placed before him side by side, he marked whether A (left) or B (right) contained the more cherry pink. This procedure was continued till he had compared all the pairs."

Jul 1, 1921

This study was done to evaluate the economic and technical considerations of using pozzolanic materials in order to guide cement manufacturers, pozzolan producers, contractors, Government organizations, and others interested in concrete construction work. Five hundred and thirty-eight samples of pozzolanic raw materials were taken from 27 central and western States. These samples were evaluated by petrographic procedures, and about 200 of the most promising ones were given a complete series of physical tests (American Society for Testing and Materials) to evaluate further their suitability as a pozzolan. This investigation showed that deposits of natural pozzolan materials were widely dispersed in the central and western parts of the United States but that exploiting these deposits would depend on whether they could compete economically with an increasingly abundant industrial waste product--fly ash.

Jan 1, 1969

By Kenneth Wardell

Those flat lying, bedded or replacement, non-fossil fuel deposits which exist within the U.S.A., and which are amenable to longwall mining, are identified by reference to three principal factors associated with their physical/geological environments. These are their depth, extent and structural continuity. Technical feasibility is assessed in relation to the likely cutting speeds which can be achieved in the identified minerals with existing longwall shearer machines. Economic comparisons are made between traditional mining operations in those deposits for which technical feasibility is demonstrable. Continents are made concerning those technical deficiencies which appear to preclude the application of existing longwall equipment to the identified deposits and suggestions are made regarding the lines of research aimed at improving longwall technology.

Jan 1, 1978

By JOHN BUZARD

In the following pages the writer has endeavored to give an account of the many methods, advantages, and disadvantages of preparing and burning powdered coal. For much of the information jmparted the writer is indebted to various firms in the United States and Canada whose plants he visited, also to the technical press. Manufacturers and operators of coal-fired furnaces can not afford to disregard the possible advantages of pulverizing their coal before burning it. Hence the purpose of this bulletin will be fulfilled if it leads them, after making careful estimates, either to abandon their present method of burning cGal on grates or stokers, and install the pulverizers, conveying system, powdered-coal feeder, and burner best suited for burning powdered coal in their plant, or to reject, as uneconomical, the replacement of their present system of burning coal by a system for pulverizing and burning it. No research work on the combustion of powdered Canadian fuels has been carried out by the Mines Branch, Department of Mines; but if this research work were carried out scientifically by competent engineers, chemists, and physicists, it would show how powderedcoal furnaces and burners should be designed to gi ve an efficiency higher than they give at present.

Jan 1, 1923

During fiscal year 1966 the Bureau of Mines published 99 scientific and technical papers and engaged in 67 research projects on petroleum, natural gas, and oil shale. A basic appropriation of $3.4 million was supplemented by $1 million in cooperative funds from other Governmental agencies and industry groups. Petroleum conservation was advanced by development of scientific knowledge and improvement of technologic methods in both the extraction and utilization of petroleum, natural gas, and oil shale. Experimental work was carried out at research centers in Bartlesville, Okla., and Laramie, Wo., and in laboratories in Morgantown, W. Va., and San Francisco, Calif. ACHIEVEMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 1966 Bureau of Mines--Petroleum Research in fiscal year 1966 (July 1, 1965- June 30, 1966) was involved in many public issues--air pollution, peaceful uses of nuclear explosives, utilization of oil-shale resources, computerization of recovery-stimulation techniques, and fuels for supersonic airplanes. Scientific contributions included compositional studies of petroleum and oil shale, determination of thermodynamic properties of petroleum compounds, development of analytical techniques, and correlations of petroleum properties with geologic occurrence. Technologic advances included rock-fracturing research, in situ combustion studies, waterflood techniques, use of radio-tracers to study stability of petroleum fuels, and hydrogenation as a tool to prepare shale-oil products.

Jan 1, 1968

By Carl Fisher

A microseismic roof fall warning system was field tested in Western and Eastern coal mines in the United States to better define the capabilities and limitations of the microseismic method in predicting roof fall. Microseismic event and energy type data were obtained and documented for twenty-three coal mine roof falls, Field test results indicate that both the microseismic event and energy methods, as applied in this development effort, have a high probability for successful application in a commercially practical roof fall warning system. Based on the results and experience obtained during field testing, a commercial prototype microseismic roof fall warning system was designed and constructed. Although it was the intent of the program to field test the commercial prototype system, delays in equipment fabrication and contract time limitations did not permit field testing.

Jan 1, 1980

Airy kind of a power system is a complicated network of various electrical components, such as cables, transformers, electric machines, circuit breakers, etc. For a system to work continuously and efficiently, each of the components has to be in perfect operating condition. The failure of any of these components can cause serious interruption of the supply and may in several cases involve a lot of precious time and labor in removing and replacing the damaged equipment it may also give rise to dangerous overvoltages on the system, thereby causing a safety hazard. Any piece of electrical equipment can have two likely modes of failure. The first would be the degradation of solid insulation material due to overheating, mechanical damage or a combination of the two, In this mode of failure it is possible that If the insulation damage is not an instantaneous phenomenon (a cable damaged by severe mechanical, Stress) that a detectable leakage current will do lop prior to the faint. The fault would probably he a result of heating and deterioration of the insulation by the leakage current.

Jan 1, 1975

By George C. Branner

This circular is concerned with eight nonferrous scrap metals as they generated, collected, prepared, and consumed in California. Brief reference also is included with respect to Nevada and Hawaii. Four of these scrap metals - copper, lead, aluminum, and zinc - are of major importance and make up about 95 percent of the total value, whereas the remaining four - antimony, magnesium, nickel, and tin - make up the remaining 5 percent. For convenience, the subject matter is divided into three parts, (1) Data with respect to the collection, preparation, and marketing practices that are common activities to all the nonferrous scrap metals; (2) separate discussions and statistical data with respect to each of the eight nonferrous scrap metals in California; and (3) data with respect to Nevada and Hawaii.

Jan 1, 1962

By A. J. Kraemer

This report on research and experimentation by the Federal Bureau of Mines on technologic and scientific problems of the petroleum and natural gas industries presents a resume of work from July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1956. The preceding report, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953,3/ indicated continuation of the Bureau's program of petroleum and natural gas research of world-wide significance, which began in 1910. The petroleum and natural gas research of the Bureau of Mines is divided into five main categories: (1) Production of petroleum and natural gas, (2) transportation and storage, (3) petroleum chemistry and refining, (4) thermodynamics, and (5) economics.

Jan 1, 1959