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By Walter Miller

AFter a year's continued impact of war, the task of the petroleum-refining industry stands out clearly and looms up in larger aspect. This time it is not, as it was so largely in the first World War, simply a matter of increased quantity—more and more of the same petroleum products that had substantially been standard for years. In this era the emphasis is largely on newer and improved materials which had been produced, if at all, in comparatively insignificant quantities, and for which manufacturing equipment was not available on a large scale. At the beginning of 1942 four great product needs (besides a number of lesser ones) confronted the industry: 100-octane aviation gasoline, toluene for T.N.T. production, high-quality lubricating oils for aviation and Army equipment service, and petroleum chemicals for synthetic rubber manufacture. The difficulty in presenting a review of engineering progress in petroleum refining during 1942 is that there is so little one is free to say about so much which has been and is being accomplished. At the opening of 1942 the program was to increase the then existing capacity of 50,000 bbl. a day of aviation gasoline to over 150,000 bbl. daily by building new plants at an estimated installation cost of $150,000,000. Later in the year. after the announcement by President Roosevelt of a large increase in the program for war-plane building, additional contracts were made between the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and rehers to raise the capacity to 250,000 bbl. per day. The greatly increased scope of the war activities in all parts of the world, the obligation of the United States as the arsenal of the United Nations, and the greater importance and use of bomber, transport, and cargo planes will undoubtedly bring about plans and installations for a further increase in production of aviation gasoline over the present announced plan. In this connection, Jesse Jones, Reconstruction Finance Corporation Chairman, announced that as of Oct. 31 the R.F.C. had through its subsidiary Defense Plant Corporation entered into contracts for the construction, expansion, or equipping of 28 plants to increase 100-octane aviation gasoline production, but gave no data on 'capacity involved or completion dates. His list did not, of course, include a number of existing plants, and some installations being made by companies who are themselves financing the construction. Production from existing operating installations was materially increased in a number of instances as a result of pooling knowledge of improvements in operation and also by the exchange of Components going into 100-octane blend to enable greater quantities of aviation gasoline to be produced from the over-

Jan 1, 1943

By D. C. Downing

"I THANK YOU for the invitation which The Mining Society of Nova Scotia extended, originally to Gordon Berry, manager 'of our Point Tupper Refinery, to join you at this meeting and discuss refining and petrochemicals in their relation to this region. There are natural advantages in Nova Scotia which have made possible, and will continue to make possible, sizeable developments both in petroleum refining and in chemicals. Equally, however, as is the case everywhere, there are certain constraints. For clarity in this presentation, I will state some of these constraints right at the beginning. First, of any future developments from now on, only a small proportion of the products can be expected to go into local markets. I can make the point best with a few figures. Petroleum companies all have market forecasts. None ever work out to be perfect, but the trends are relatively predictable and the orders of magnitude are certainly correct. Estimates for the use of all refined petroleum products in the four Atlantic provinces are:"

Jan 1, 1973

By F. C. NINNIS

AT THE Belmont mill, the pregnant solution is de¬livered to a 30 by 10-ft. tank, from which it is pumped to three Merrill clarifying presses of the sluice-bar type, whence it flows through the meter to the precipitation supply tank. ?The solution for precipitation is pumped by a 10 by 10-in. Aldrich triplex pump and delivered through a 6-in. line to the forty-eight triangular frame Merrill presses at the head of the mill. Zinc dust is fed in at the pump suction and the solution precipitated to 0.01 to 0.02 oz. silver. The solution flowing from the presses is tested at 1-hr. intervals with sodium sulfide. All solution is precipitated to the same value; 4J tons of solution are precipitated for each ton of ore treated and the presses are cleaned every 15 days. The product from the presses' is dumped into steel cars having steam-jacketed bottoms, in which they are dried until the moisture content is between 15 and 17 per cent. when 8. per cent. of soda and .3 per cent. of borax are added and the contents thoroughly mixed. In the case of special clean-ups, the precipitate is tested and the flux is added to meet the requirements.

Jan 1, 1921

By R. A. Campbell, R. R. Rogers

"AbstractThe experiments described show that crude bismuth metal containing up to 5 per •cent lead, 0.14 per cent silver, 0.015 per cent copper, 0.02 per cent iron, .and small amounts of antimony, nickel, and tin may be refined to a bismuth content of 99.98 per cent by distillation followed by chlorination. It also is shown that bismuth trichloride of high ,purity may be produced by passing chlorine over hot •crude bismuth metal and allowing the resulting vapours to •condense in a cooler .part of the system.IntroductionBISMUTH is used in the production of alloys and pharmaceuticals. During 1952, the New York price for the refined metal was $2.25 per pound in ton lots.Some months-ago a Canadian producer requested the Mines Branch to investigate methods of refining the bismuth which they had been producing. Their crude product had been selling for $1.50 to $1.70 per pound and it was desired to increase its purity to at least 99.98 per cent so that it could be sold for $2.25 per pound."

Jan 1, 1955

By L. de Florez

The successful control of any operation, whether industrial, military, or purely physical, is fundamentally dependent upon the same elements: (I) The securing of accurate and pertinent information concerning the factors involved in the operation; (2) Correct interpretation of their relationship as affecting future results; (3) Efficient means for effecting changes in the factors governing the operation to shape the result. The analogy which exists in the control of operations in these widely differing fields of action is of utmost interest, and in considering the physical control of a process, the realization of its existence permits a clearer conception of the steps required to achieve results and aids in formulating the problems to be met. Let us imagine, for instance, the requirements for successfully conducting a business. It is evident that the first requisite lies in obtaining continuous and reliable information concerning the functioning of its various branches and in detecting, with the least possible delay, any tendency of change in their functions; next, in correctly analyzing this information by comparison with past records, showing the relation of the particular business to general conditions in the trade; and finally, in employing means for counteracting any unfavorable change in general conditions, or compensating for its effects by an appropriate action. Likewise, in military operations, the success in carrying out a plan lies primarily in the maintenance of proper intelligence and communication service, which furnishes information as to the disposition of forces; in correct analysis of the ascertained position, guided by fundamental knowledge of tactics; and finally, on the efficient carrying out of orders and effecting corrective movements. In the physical operation of a process, such as for example in cracking, our information is obtained by pressure and temperature instruments, etc., which permit us to visualize existing conditions under which the operation is being carried out. The information at hand is then analyzed and certain conclusions arrived at as to the results which will be obtained under the observed conditions. If this analysis should indicate, in the

Jan 1, 1928

By R. R. Rogers

ABSTRACT The experiments described demonstrate that crude commercial lithium containing in the order of 0.5 per cent sodium can be refined, the resulting metal containing as low as 0.001 per cent sodium. During the process, the metal is vaporized and condensed at a gauge pressure of less than 0.04 micron. Considerable operating data and a detailed description of the experimental equipment are included. INTRODUCTION DUE TO THE unusual properties of lithium metal, its use is likely to increase considerably during the next few years (1, 2). This is of particular interest to Canadians because there are important deposits of lithium-containing minerals, especially spodumene, in Canada and it is hoped that lithium compounds and lithium metal will be produced from these deposits in the fairly near future. In order to assist in the development of this industry, the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys has initiated a programme of research in lithium metallurgy. In 1948, a paper (4) was published on methods of producing lithium metal and its alloys. Data on the corrosion resistance of some lithium alloys were included. In 1949, a paper (3) was published which showed that the addition of a small percentage of lithium to zinc anodes used for cathodic protection will improve their usefulness under certain circumstances.

Jan 1, 1951

Recent work on decoppering lead is reviewed CUS is formed rapidly even from dilute solutions of copper in lead. The mechanism of decoppering is discussed and an explanation for the retention of metals such as silver in lead is advanced. As decoppering tin appears to be an analogous process, the, Cu-Sn-S system is studied at 300°C.. CuS, which is not an equilibrium product, is found m decoppermg drosses. In the removal of nickel from lead, Ni3Pb2S2 is formed; preliminary measurements show the equilibrium nickel content to be greater than that obtained by stirring in sulphur. Decoppering bIsmuth IS thermodynamically favoured, but is complicated by the occurrence of CuBiS2 The Cu-Pb-S system IS the only one of the four studied where the equilibrium can be calculated simply, as the presence of ternary sulphIde or other phases invalidates calculations based on binary data.

Jan 1, 1971

By Rees D. Groves

Cement copper is ordinarily converted to marketable metal by processing in a conventional smelter and refinery. Because of rapidly increasing cement copper production and limited excess smelting capacity, other techniques were investigated for preparing marketable copper products. One route was to make copper powder for industrial use. The process scheme employed flotation for rejecting the bulk of the impurities, acid leaching to remove residual iron and aluminum, reduction sintering to eliminate oxygen, and grinding to obtain powder. Another route was to sinter the floated and leached copper into the form of anodes and electrolyze these to yield refined copper cathodes. At a current density of 30 amperes per square foot, power consumption for electrorefining was 185 kwhr per ton of copper. The feasibility of preparing commercial-size anodes by sintering is still to be assessed.

Jan 1, 1970

By P. Fossi

This report describes a pilot-scale study of a hydrometallurgical process to treat high-grade nickel matte or a nickel-cobalt sulphide precipitate to produce high-purity electrolytic nickel. The first step of the process is the oxidative leaching of the nickel-bearing material by nitric acid; the nitrous gases generated during leaching are reconverted to nitric acid. The crude nickel sulphate nitrate solution is purified and is then subjected to a denitrification step. Nitrate separation is effected either by the crystallization of nickel sulphate or by precipitation of basic nickel carbonate. The electrolyte is prepared from the nitrate-free material and nickel is then recovered by electrolysis of the sulphate solution using insoluble anodes. Some technical and economic problems encountered with this processing route are discussed and the method is compared to the "all-chloride" process developed by Société Le Nickel.

Jan 1, 1977

By R. F. Pearce

The paper in based on laboratory and pilot plant investigations which led to the development of a series of processes for production of high purity metals from nickel-copper-cobalt mattes of a wide range of composition. The selection of ammonia pressure leaching or acid pressure leaching for various mattes is discussed. This is followed by discussion of various methods for leach solution purification and metal separation. The metals of high purity are produced by reduction with hydrogen from purified solutions. Examples are given of complete flowsheets for a number of mattes. Drawing upon those examples, general principles for the selection of the most suitable treatment process for particular material are outlined. Under certain circumstances, those processes may replace part of the pyrometallurgical treatment and all of the electrolytic refining steps which are customary in the treatment of nickel-copper-cobalt mattes.

Jan 1, 1959

ALTHOUGH the refining period of the heat is generally defined as A starting after the charge has been completely melted, it may more properly be considered as beginning with the first efforts to facilitate the shaping up of the slag and the making of corrective additions for the control of slag or metal composition. Such actions may be initiated during the latter half of the lime boil. The early part of the refining period may, then, in essence overlap the latter part of the melting period. The primary aims of the refining period are to reduce phosphorus and sulphur from the steel bath to levels safely below the maximum contents specified, to eliminate carbon as rapidly as possible and still allow time for proper conditioning of the slag and attainment of the necessary bath temperature, and to deliver the heat ready for tapping or furnace deoxidation, with slag in the proper physical and chemical condition, and with carbon and oxygen contents and the temperature of the steer bath at the proper levels for the composition and grade of steel being produced. The particular conditions that fulfil these aims are distinctly different, depending upon whether the steel is to be finished according to fully-killed, semikilled, or rimming practice and also depending upon the carbon range specified. Regard- less of the type of charging practice employed, the object of the refining period is to produce repeatedly the desired finishing and tapping conditions for the grade of steel being produced. The variations and proportions of raw materials used in the charge may cause some variations in the degree of control required during refining, but not in the method of control. The refining period can therefore be discussed from a viewpoint largely independent of charging and melting practice. SHAPING UP THE SLAG In the first helper's vocabulary, refining practice consists in "shaping up" his heat. This includes elimination of sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon, putting the slag in proper condition, and adjusting bath temperature. Shaping up the slag is a major consideration because

Jan 1, 1944

ALTHOUGH the refining period of the heat is generally defined A as starting after the charge has been completely melted, it may more properly be considered as beginning with the first efforts to facilitate the shaping up of the slag and the making of corrective additions for the control of slag or metal composition. Such actions may be initiated during the latter half of the lime boil. The early part of the refining period may, then, in essence overlap the latter part of the melting period. The primary aims of the refining period are: (1) to reduce phosphorus and sulfur from the steel bath to levels safely below the maximum contents specified; (2) to eliminate carbon to a specified level as rapidly as possible and still allow time for proper conditioning of the slag and attainment of the necessary bath temperature; and (3) to have the heat ready for tapping or furnace deoxidation, with slag in the proper physical and chemical condition, and with carbon and oxygen contents and the temperature of the steel at the proper levels for the composition and grade of steel being produced. The particular conditions that fulfill these aims are distinctly different, depending upon whether the steel is to be finished according to fully killed semikilled, or rimming practice and also depending upon the carbon range specified. Regardless of the type of charging practice employed, the object of the refining period is to produce repeatedly the desired finishing and tapping conditions for the grade of steel being produced. The variations and proportions of raw materials used in the charge may cause some variations in the degree of control required during refining, but not in the method of control. The refining period can therefore be discussed from a viewpoint largely independent of charging and melting practice. SHAPING UP THE SLAG In the first helper's vocabulary, refining practice consists in

Jan 1, 1964

ALTHOUGH the refining period of the heat is generally defined as starting after the charge has been completely melted, it may more properly be considered as beginning with the first efforts to facilitate the shaping up of the slag and the making of corrective additions for the control of slag or metal composition. Such actions may be initiated during the latter half of the lime boil. The early part of the refining period may, then, in essence overlap the latter part of the melting period. The primary aims of the refining period are: (1) to reduce phosphorus and sulfur from the steel bath to levels safely below the maximum contents specified; (2) to eliminate carbon to a specified level as rapidly as possible and still allow time for proper conditioning of the slag and attainment of the necessary bath temperature; and (3) to have the heat ready for tapping or furnace deoxidation, with slag in the proper physical and chemical condition, and with carbon and oxygen contents and the temperature of the steel at the proper levels for the composition and grade of steel being produced. The particular conditions that fulfill these aims are distinctly different, depending upon whether the steel is to be finished according to fully killed. semikilled, or rimming practice and also depending upon the carbon range specified. Regardless of the type of charging practice employed, the object of the refining period is to produce repeatedly the desired finishing and tapping conditions for the grade of steel being produced. The variations and proportions of raw materials used in the charge may cause some variations in the degree of control required during refining, but not in the method of control. The refining period can therefore be discussed from a viewpoint largely independent of charging and melting practice. SHAPING UP THE SLAG In the first helper's vocabulary, refining practice consists in

Jan 1, 1951

By R. H. Duval

"In May 1936, Pamour started producing gold by cyanidation of flotation concentrates, and in 1939 was milling about 1, 600 tons per day.Refining records dating from 1939 show two oil-fired furnaces in use, (Rockwell type 46 11 x 29 11 inside oval shell).Refining time averaged 7. 83 hours during the year 1939, indicating a complete refining shift of about 9. 33 hours. That year appears to be characteristic of the period with regard to time required and results obtained.For that year total fineness (gold + silver) of the bars averaged 940 (approx.), but it frequently dropped below this figure, sometimes far below.Furnace lining life varied widely from three to seven or more months. Sillimanite was the standard lining but Mullfrax 41 was frequently used.For many years refining practice remained practically unchanged, and in 1960 procedure still consisted essentially of mixing a flux(% Composition Borax 41, Silica 11, Soda-Ash 11, Nitre 15, Mn02 22) with cyanidation precipitate in the ratio of l. 2 to l and heating to a medium heat (yellowishred, 2000° F) with a low flame for a long time. Time required was about 10. 5 hours per refining. Results were still much as detailed above.At this time it was decided to revise refining procedure, in an effort to shorten refining time and obtain consistently good bullion fineness."

Jan 1, 1965

By Walter Miller

During no similar period in the development of petroleum refining technology has so much progress been made in methods and equipment for the economical utilization of heat. Drastically severe commercial and economical conditions controlling the refining industry during 1927 gave a great impetus to improved efficiency and more economical operation in all departments. I think it is fair to say, however, that more progress has been made in the department of heat utilization than in other branches. I use the word utilization advisedly in the dual sense of better primary generation and application of heat and of saving by recovery methods. It was because of this trend that the subject, "Economical Application of Heat," was made the keynote of the refinery engineering sessions just completed. No new, outstanding elemental discoveries can be claimed for the year along this line. Some of the progress made has been in the development of better furnaces and distilling equipment embodying the more modern principles of boiler practice in obtaining complete combustion of the fuel, low excess air requirements and high transfer rates through the heating surface. Transfer rates of 3000 to 6000 B. t. u. per sq. ft. per hr. were considered good some time ago in the older type of equipment. Today a transfer rate of 25,000 to 35,000 B. t. u. is an actual accomplishment in commercial installations and engineers are talking of the feasibility of 50,000, 75,000, even 100,000 R. t. u. per sq. ft. per hr. Contributing most to bringing this about have been the rational use of the velocity factor on both the oil and firing side of the heating surface, and the study and application of the principles of radiant heat in furnace design. Vapor Heat Economy The principle of heat exchange, especially against oil vapors, has been applied to a greater extent than ever before. The recovery of heat from oil vapors is not new. This was practiced 20 years ago or more in Europe,

Jan 1, 1928

By U. Heuer, B. Rathmann

Many mining operations have gained an impressive expertise in trouble shooting and maintenance with their existing fleet over the years. Whether it is an in-house maintenance group or an external service group - most of the systems weak points are well known and can be corrected by maintenance personnel. As some of these issues get more and more serious each year, too much time is lost in unscheduled downtime, often taking hours to be repaired and to find the failure with obsolete diagnostic tools (Fig. 1.). Many of the breakdowns result from failures that cannot be detected in advance. The maintenance system is much more reactive than preventative. The state of the art of mining equipment today uses advanced, efficient, and reliable systems for electrical drives, control and diagnostics of the machines. The demand for highly sophisticated solutions on such mining equipment is well known. Mining operators need to ensure the highest level of productivity, lowest operating costs, least maintenance and highest reliability in a drive system. The paper will introduce you to the state of the art of drives technology for dragline (Fig. 2) and shovel mining equipment (Fig. 3).

Jan 1, 2007

By A Rantala, J Timperi and J Kaartinen, T Maksimainen, O Haavisto

"X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the most common technique used for online slurry assaying in base metal flotation applications. Typically, assays from feed, concentrate and tailings slurries are used to monitor and control the flotation circuit, with possible additional sampling locations in other main slurry flows inside the circuit. The elemental content detection from the XRF spectrum is relatively straightforward as the spectrum contains element-specific peaks whose height corresponds to the element concentration in the sample. However, centralised XRF analysers measure the elemental concentrations line-by-line, which may increase the sampling interval for an individual line and cause unnecessary response delays, especially in large flotation plants. Reflectance spectroscopy is an emerging technique that can be used to obtain more frequent measurements from slurries. The measurement is based on the mineral-specific absorbance of light in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) wavelength range. Due to this relatively inexpensive and simple measurement system, it is possible to conduct the measurement simultaneously in several slurry lines. However, the information contained in the VNIR spectra is more difficult to interpret as concentrations of all the minerals in the sample contribute to the measured spectrum and changes in solids content, particle size and mineralogy disturb the elemental content estimation. Therefore, frequent calibration of the measurement is required. This study presents the application of combined reflectance spectrum and XRF measurements for rapid online slurry assaying in a copper-nickel flotation plant. The XRF assays are utilised as calibration samples for the reflectance spectrum measurement, keeping the calibration model up-to-date. The rapid reflectance spectrum analysis is then used to provide an almost continuous estimate of the slurry contents, enabling further improved process monitoring and control.Citation:Haavisto, O, Maksimainen, T, Rantala, A, Timperi, J and Kaartinen, J, 2016. Reflectance Spectroscopy with X-ray Fluorescence for Rapid Online Assaying in a Copper-nickel Flotation Plant, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 85–92 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

By John A. Mavrogenes

Reflected light microscopy and electron microprobe techniques were used to determine the mineralogy, phase percentages, grain sizes, and textures of Co-Ni-rich mattes. The mattes were produced by submerged bath smelting at the University of Missouri-Rolla Pyrometallurgical Center of a flotation concentrate with 4.S% Co and 5.1% Ni that was prepared at the United States Bureau of Mines Rolla Research Center by flotation up-grading of the cobalt and nickel content of a copper concentrate from the Magmont mine, Viburnum Trend, Southeast Missouri. Nine distinct phases were distinguished in the matte samples, and three of these contain cobalt and nickel. The phases that were free from cobalt and nickel are bornite, chalcocite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, metallic copper, and galena. Submerged bath smelting serves to segregate the cobalt and nickel into phases that can subsequently be recovered by flotation. These phases are: shandite (Ni3PbZSZ)' cobaltpentlandite ((Co,Ni,Fe)9SS)' and Co-bearing Fe-rich sphalerite ((Zn,Fe,Co)S). Most of the cobalt occurs in cobaltpentlandite, but some is present in sphalerite. High total air conditions during smelting favor the development and segregation of cobalt into cobaltpentlandite. Nickel occurs in cobaltpentlandite and shandite. Shandite contains lead, a deleterious constituent in the smelting of cobalt and nickel.

Jan 1, 1989

By Susanne Pignolet-Brandom

Flash smelting products of a copper sulfide concentrate collected at successive levels in an experimental reactor have been studied by reflected light microscopy, scanning electron microscope - energy dispersive analysis and electron nicroprobe analysis. Chalcopyrite, intermediate solid solution, bornite, chalcocite, metallic copper, magnetite, iron-copper spinel, pyrrhotite, hematite, delafossite and cuprite have been identified in the product samples. The detailed reflected light microscopy study of these phases and their abundance in the samples has resulted in the identification of the series of reactions during flash smelting.

Jan 1, 1985

By Richard D. Hagni

Polished sections of pyrometallurgical intermediate products from a simulated commercial flash furnace were examined by reflected light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry and electron backscatter analysis, and microprobe analysis for phase and textural relationships. The smelter feed is a copper concentrate from a porphyry copper deposit. The concentrate consists primarily of chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite with smaller amounts of covellite, chalcocite, molybdenite, magnetite, galena, and sphalerite. The flash furnace reactions for pyrite and chalcopyrite can be observed by reflected light microscopy. Reacted angular particles of pyrite exhibit successive rims of fibrous pyrrhotite and hematite or magnetite. Reacted angular chalcopyrite particles show successive rims of bornite, digenite, and chalcocite. Spherical particles, formed by the complete melting of former pyrite particles, consist of variable amounts of granular pyrrhotite with magnetite rims and minor hematite. Spherical particles, formed by the complete melting of former chalcopyrite particles, exhibit exsolution intergrowths with varying proportions of intermediate solid solution, bornite, digenite, and chalcocite and have rims of hematite, magnetite, and copper-iron spinel. Sphalerite and molybdenite do not show evident mineralogical reactions.

Jan 1, 1987