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By G. R. Hopkins

One of the largest items in the expense of operating a refinery is the cost of the fuel used in distillation and for miscellaneous purposes such as in the heating of buildings and in the generation of electricity, On a B. t. u. basis, the average refinery consumes approximately one-tenth as much fuel as it produces. Theoretically, the fuel consumption at refineries should be much smaller than this, but furnaces can riot be designed to be 100 per cent efficient' and, in addition, a large part of the waste heat is low-temperature heat which would not pay for the expense of recovering it. Annual surveys of fuel consumption at refineries have been made by the United States Bureau of Mines, beginning with 1925. During the 5-year period, 1925-1929, the refineries made steady progress in fuel economy. This is evidenced by the Computed figures of heat requirement Per barrel of crude oil refined, which show a decline from 829,000 B. t. u. in 1925 to 639,000 B. t. u. in 1929 (see fig. 1). In 1930, however, the trend in fuel economy was reversed and the quantity of heat utilized in refining the average barrel of crude oil rose to 672,000 B. t. u. There were undoubtedly a number of reasons for the apparent decrease in fuel economy at refineries in 1930, chief of which were the tendency to carry the distillation farther instead of merely topping the crude and a gain in the consumption of waste oils, such as acid sludge, which in actual practice yield less heat per unit consumed than has been theoretically assigned to oil. The consumption of natural as fuel at refineries has declined since 1927, but this has been more than compensated by a rapid increase in the use of refinery or still gas. The total consumption of oil as refinery fuel in 1930 was not much below the 1925 total, but the consumption of coal has declined rapidly, so that in 1930 liquid and solid fuels contributed only 56 per cent of the total heat units- utilized at refineries as compared with 77 per cent in 1925 (see fig. 2).

Jan 1, 1931

By Joseph A. Conway

This paper is one of a series dealing with the mining and crushing methods and costs of the nonmetallic industries, prepared under the sponsorship of and in cooperation with the U. S. Bureau of Mines,. The quarrying methods described in this paper are those used at the Monocacy trap rock quarry which annually produces from 450,000 to 500,000 tons of crushed stone. This property is located 3 miles east of Birdsboro at Monacacy, Pa., and is one of the three quarries operated by the John T. Dyer Quarry Co. Throughout the paper an effort is made to explain the various methods used and the cost of operation.

Jan 1, 1931

By Wm. O. Vanderburg

This paper describing the mining practices at the Block P mine of the St. Joseph Lead Co. at Hughesville, Mont., is ore of a series of similar papers being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in the various miner of the United States. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the preparation of this paper the writer acknowledges the assistance of R. H. Willcomb, general manager, William Thorson, mine superintendent, and B. P. Bellport, mining engineer, of the Hughesville division of the St. Joseph Lead Co.; and of E. D. Gardner; supervising engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Southwest Experiment Station, Tucson, Ariz.

Jan 1, 1931

By E. C. Lane

This paper is the second report of the results of the United States Bureau of Mines twenty-third semiannual survey of motor fuel marketed in the United States. The first paper, reporting data relating to gravity, vapor pressure, and distillation range of the samples, was published as Report of Investigations 31293. A third and concluding paper giving the results of other tests will be published as soon as these tests have been completed. The present paper deals with the data of the twenty-third semiannual survey presented in accordance with the revised specifications for United States Government motor gasoline. The sample numbers used are identical with those used in Report of Investigations 3129, with additional data included for copper strip corrosion (method 530.22).4 and sulphur content by the lamp method.5 Three hundred and twelve samples were collected and analyzed in this survey. Two hundred and seven samples were competitive-price gasolines and one hundred and five samples were premium-price motor fuels.6

Jan 1, 1931

By John Dixon

This paper is one of a series on milling methods and costs being published by the Bureau of Mines. Acknowledgment is made to J. B. Tyrrell, managing director, and Wm. Sixt, manager of the Kirkland Lake Gold Mines, for permission to publish this article. The Kirkland Lake Geld Mining Co.'s mill is located on Government Road at the west end of the productive part of the Kirkland Lake mining area, 1 mile west of the village of Kirkland Lake. The crushing plant is connected to the shaft house of No. 2 shaft, which is now the only operating shaft.

Jan 1, 1931

By H. S. Martin

This paper, describing the concentrating practices at the plants of the Utah Copper Co., is one of a series being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines in which the data are given in as nearly uniform c manner as possible. The Magna mill is 19 miles west of Salt Lake City on the routes of the Lincoln and Victory highways, and the Arthur plant is 1 mile west of the Magna mill. Both are on the main road west of the town of Magna and east of the town of Garfield.

Jan 1, 1931

By R. G. Meara, O&apos

The land-pebble district of Florida, which in 1928 supplied 96.7 per cent of the phosphate production of that State and 82 per cent of the domestic requirements of the United States, is centered in Polk and Hillsboro Counties about 30 miles east of Tampa The deposits are unconsolidated sediments occurring as beds of phosphate matrix overlain by a mantle of barren sands and clays. The matrix consists of a mixture of Sand (quartz grains), clay, and phosphate rock in which the coarsest sand is much finer than the coarsest phosphate; that is, the sand is segregated in the fine material. Before the introduction of classifiers the concentration consisted of log washing, and screening at about 20-mesh, which was usually the finest size that could be taken to maintain commercial grade, 66 per cent B. P. L. (bone phosphate of limey or more. When classifiers were introduced some of the fines that had escaped at the head of the washery and some of the minus 20-mesh material isolated during the rushing and formerly lost supplied the feed.

Jan 1, 1931

By Albert Sauveur

SOME writers believe that when austenite transforms completely into pearlite on slow cooling through the thermal critical range, such transformation does not imply the formation of any of the so-called transition constituents: martensite, troostite and sorbite. Might it not be claimed with as much justification that when water freezes it does so suddenly, solid ice being obtained without passing through the intermediate stages of ice and water? Obviously, regardless of the speed of solidification, this would be erroneous. Before reaching the completed solid condition, this must of necessity pass through an unbroken series of stages when the system consists of mixtures of water and of ice, the former decreasing and the latter increasing in amount. Are not these "transition" stages in the freezing of water similar to the transition stages occurring in the transformation of austenite into pearlite? To clarify, let us consider in Fig. 1 the mechanism of the transformation of eutectoid steel from its austenitic to its pearlitic condition as it cools slowly through its thermal critical range. It is generally admitted that this transformation is the result of two distinct phenomena: (1) the allotropic change of gamma iron into alpha iron and (2) the crystallizing out of solution of the carbide Fe3C. Whether this crystallizing of Fe3C implies also its formation is immaterial for our purpose. In other words, whether it is the carbon in atomic dispersion which is present in gamma iron or molecules of Fe3C has no bearing upon the matter to be discussed. The transformation of gamma iron into alpha iron cannot take place suddenly. It must of necessity be progressive, regardless of the speed with which it may take place. At A, for instance, there would be present AB gamma iron and BC alpha iron. The distance MN does not refer to falling temperature, but to the passage of time. It may be assumed that the transformation takes place at a constant temperature (the Ar321 point). In a similar way, the crystallization of Fe3C out of the austenite solid solution must be progressive as depicted between M and N. At A there would be present AB gamma iron, BC alpha iron, CD carbon dissolved in gamma and in alpha iron and DE Fe3C. This condition may be described according to individual preference as martensite or troostite. To sum up, can the metal pass from condition

Jan 1, 1931

By Oliver Bowles

The National Granite Commission at its annual meeting in Norfolk, Va., in January, 1930, passed a resolution requesting the Bureau of Mines to conduct an economic study of the granite industry. In compliance with this request a preliminary review has been made of trends, in, the production and uses of block granite. Some unfavorable conditions, were, thus brought to light and certain suggestions regarding a. more orderly and consistent growth in the industry are herein discussed. The results of the study axe, presented in this report for the earnest consideration of the industry and comments are invited, not only on this report but as to future work that might be accomplished by the Bureau of Mines. The authors desire to acknowledge many helpful suggestions and comments from Paul M. Tyler of the Bureau of twines and from Harris F. Sherman, secretary of the National Building Granite Quarries Association. Miss A. T. Coons of the Bureau of Mines rendered valuable, assistance through her wide knowledge of granite statistics.

Jan 1, 1931

By R. L. Marek

The number of persons fatally injured in the petroleum industry in California in 1930 was 50, a decrease of 20.6 per cent from 1929, when 63 men accidentally lost their lives. The decrease in the number of fatalities for 1930 has caused the first downward trend in the fatality curve of the California petroleum industry since 1927 and is coincident with a period of little active development in new fields, the shutting in of many wells, and reduced activity in the older fields of the State. That a direct relationship exists between the number of accidental deaths and the rapidity of new field development is particularly emphasized by the fact that in 1929, a year of intensive field development in California, 48 men were killed in the drilling and producing division, whereas in 1930, a year of less development work, only 25 men were killed in this division. The figures for the average number of drilling and producing wells in 1930 decreased appreciably from, comparable figures for 1929 and a greater percentage of producing wells were shut-in in 1930 than in 1929.

Jan 1, 1931

By H. J. Struth

In these trying times of proration and low oil prices, it is decidedly necessary for all branches of the petroleum industry to accord full recognition to the economic phenomena that contribute to its varying state of welfare. Perhaps no other single factor has a more important bearing upon the general oil situation than the supply and demand of gasoline. Year after year, the records have shown that the degree of prosperity or depression accompanying the industry's developments has been to a large extent influenced by the degree of balance maintamed between the supply and demand of gasoline. More and more it is being realized within the industry that equilibrium between the supply and demand of gasoline forms the basic structure of crude and product market values and, consequently, the deciding factor in the financial results of the industry as a whole. The influence of the gasoline situation upon the market and financial structure of the petroleum industry was effectively demonstrated during 1930, when excess accumulation of gasoline undermined not only the refined oil market but the crude market as well. In fact, it was a top-heavy gasoline situation that defeated the realization of benefits that might have accrued from an otherwise favorable statistical position in the producing branch of the industry. Indicative of this is the fact that crude oil production was curtailed to the extent of 98,323,000 bbl. last year, while refinery runs to stills were maintained at an excessive rate until late in the year, creating an excess gasoline production of 6,663,000 bbl. above actual requirements. Nevertheless, the movement to curtail refinery operations during the closing months of the year prevented a far worse situation, although it came too late to turn the ebbing momentum of the general oil market. Despite the severe depression of the market values that accompanied 1930 developments, it can be said that the results attained during the closing months of the year, in the direction of production control, marked a decisive turn in the industry's economic affairs. In fact, a review of the oil situation from every angle points definitely to a better general understanding and recognition of the workings of the economic law of supply and demand. As a result, the year closed with crude production in

Jan 1, 1931

By H. A. Doerner

From thermodynamic calculations3 Maier predicted that zinc oxide Land methane would react at specified temperatures substantially according to equation (1). (1) ZnO + CH; = Zn (gas) + CO + 2H2 Other reactions that may take place are: (2) CH4 = C + 2H2. (3) ZnO + CO = Zn (gas) + CO2 (4) ZnO + H 2 = Zn (gas) + H2O . Maier predicted that 870°C. would be the critical temperature above which reaction (1) would take precedence over reaction (2) and that reaction (1), at equilibrium, would be substantially complete at or above 927°C.

Jan 1, 1931

By John P. Savage

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines on tunneling methods. The tunneling methods described are those used at the Ojuela unit of the Compania Minera de Penoles, S. A., the Mexican subsidiary of the American Metal Co., Ltd., of New York. The Ojuela unit is situated some 4 miles southeast of Mapimi, Durango. Mexico, the latter place being connected by a 15-mile narrow-gage railway with the standard gage railroad at Bermejillo, some 40 miles to the north of Torreon, the location of one of the company's smelters.

Jan 1, 1931

By Walter S. Weeks, Vitaly S. Grishkevich

Considerable difference of opinion seems to exist as to whether the rate of air flow when a fan is placed on a given duct should be determined by the use of static pressure or total pressure characteristics. A little study will show that both methods are correct. Assume that a fan is connected to a duct by an expansion piece as shown in Fig. 1, and that steady flow is established. Considering the atmospheric pressure as zero pressure, let the static head at the outlet of the fan be h and the velocity at this point be vl. The total head at the outlet is then h + „"• The total head at this point must be equal to the total head at the end of the duct plus the losses that have occurred between the two points. Left be the friction loss in the straight duct, s the shock loss in the dif- fuser, and v2 the velocity at the end of the duct. Then ig. 1.—Fan on duct. A curve showing the value of the left-hand side of the equation for different rates of flow is the total pressure characteristic of the fan, while a curve showing the value of the right-hand side is the total pressure characteristic of the duct. If these two curves are plotted on the same chart, the intersection indicates the rate of flow when steady flow is established. We may look at this problem in another way. The static pressure at the outlet of the fan is the static pressure of the fan and it is also the static resistance of the duct from that point to the end. The friction in the straight duct is f. If the duct were the same area as the fan outlet, would be the static resistance of the whole duct system. In the present case, however, this resistance is decreased by the change of velocity head into static head in the expansion piece. If conversion were perfect, the static pressure recovered would be

Jan 1, 1931

By Eugene McAuliffe

THE mining press, as well as certain federal and state bulletins, refer from tine to time to. the relative hazards that attach to loading bituminous coal by hand when compared with the so-called "mechanical loading" process. Much of the coal coming under the head. of hand-loaded coal is won in part by the use of machinery; the coal-cutting machine is in general use, the electric power drill employed to a lesser extent. Therefore it may be said that the principal difference in the process employed, mechanical loading versus hand loading, lies in the fact that some type of loading machine is employed in the mechanical loading process to lift the coal from the face of the room, place or entry, after it is mined, placing it in the pit cars for transport to the tipple. It is a common practice to compute accident records on the basis of tons mined per fatal and per nonfatal accident, disregarding the fact that it is possible to produce by the aid of coal-loading machines the same daily, monthly and annual tonnage with a much smaller force than is required where the coal is all shoveled by hand. Inasmuch as the men who are released by the substitution of machinery for hand labor must find employment elsewhere, suffering some measure of hazard in their new occupation, we are of the opinion that the true relative hazard that attaches to the processes of mechanical loading and hand loading can be determined only by using as the basis of comparison "man shifts worked" or "hours of exposure" experienced per accident. The Union Pacific Coal Co., beginning with the year 1929, undertook to maintain a true record of man shifts worked per compensable accident, giving equal weight to fatal and nonfatal accidents. Accidents lacking sufficient severity to come under the compensable terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act were not included in the compilation, the Act providing that "no compensation, except the expense of medical attention, shall be allowed for the first seven (7) days of disability, unless the incapacity runs beyond the period of twenty-one (21) days,' in which case the compensation shall run from the time of the injury."

Jan 1, 1931

The thirtieth regular meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute was called to order at 11: 20 o'clock A. M., Wednesday, June 3, 1931, President G. A. Kaseman presiding: PRESIDENT KASEMAN spoke in part as follows: I have in mind to say a few words of welcome to the coal operators, but I am afraid that the words I might have said would be hardly appropriate, because I believe the coal operators are in the minority today. It demonstrates to my mind something that has been running through it for some little time. When the hard times came on a year ago, we thought we were going to get over it rather lightly. I recall at this time a year ago we thought that the depression was about at an end. The National Administration from Washington told us we had reached bottom and things were going to perk up, and for a few weeks or maybe a month or more there was a sort of optimism throughout the country. I had been East, and when I re- turned to Albuquerque I said to my friends and associates that things were getting better in the East and that they would soon be better out here and we will not have felt the hard times very much. But I have learned differently since. I have learned that hard times are no respecter of communities or corporations, or persons, or activities, and that we all suffer alike. On that account we find that our Institute is suffering just the same as other activities, whether national, state, local, social, or what- ever it may be. Our attendance is light or, that account. We all know when times are hard we have to stay at home and watch things closer than when they are good. And when they are good we feel that the machine will run of its own momentum and in this way we can get away to see what is going on in the world. When times are hard we have to stay at home and look after everything from day to day and hour to hour.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. T. Eddy

The refining of native copper in the reverberatory furnace, as practiced in the Lake Superior district of Michigan, is very similar to the reverberatory melting and refining of cathodes, but the presence of arsenic in some of the copper concentrates renders the operation somewhat more difficult. Though the copper occurs as the native metal, which is often excep tionally pure—purer, in fact, than after it has undergone refining—its intimate association with the gangue minerals necessitates the cumbersome reverberatory treatment. The gangue consists chiefly of complex silicates of calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum and sodium, but in certain ore deposits other minerals are often found, among them the native copper arsenides—mohawkite, whitneyite, algodonite and the like. These latter minerals, when present, because of their relatively high specific gravity (7.5 to 8.5), find their way into the concentrates through the gravity concentration processes employed in the recovery of the copper. When such concentrates are melted, the silicates are removed as slag, but, because of the great affinity of molten copper for arsenic, the arsenides dissolve more or less completely in the copper bath. Because of the stability of the resulting melt, the arsenic is tenaciously held in solution. The influence of arsenic on the properties of copper, especially on its electrical conductivity, is generally recognized. For certain uses it is beneficial, and in many instances its presence in limited amounts is not objectionable, but if the metal is to be used for electrical purposes, the almost complete removal of the arsenic is of prime importance. Considerable research has been done on the subject of the influence of arsenic on the electrical conductivity of copperll but the conclusions presented in the literature dealing with the problem show some disagreement. The methods now in use for the removal of arsenic have not

Jan 1, 1931

By R. J. Cowan

In the art of cementation a controversy has been going on for years as to whether solid or gaseous carbon is the active agent in carburizing steel. More recently opinion has crystallized into a compromise to the effect that carburizing is a gaseous cementation of steel in the presence of solid carbon. The importance of this theory has a particular bearing upon the work to be described. In the art of carburizing, use is commonly made of such words as '' Catalytic" "atomic," "nascent" and "activated," in an attempt to describe the process. These words are used indiscriminately. For instance, the gas is said to be "catalytic" and carbon to be "nascent," or vice versa. In using these expressions, investigators are confirming the acceptance in their minds of the active conditions of both gas and carbon in the cementation process. Reactions at Metal Surfaces For many years attention has been directed to the consideration of reactions that occur on metal surfaces. When heated under the influence of certain metals a complex gas will be broken down and one of the constituents thereof usually found to be very active chemically in combining with the metal. The process of nitriding is an example of this type of reaction. In this case ammonia (NH3) breaks down at the metal surface and the nitrogen which is thus liberated reacts with the surface to form a nitride whereas molecular nitrogen not so liberated is inert and will not react chemically with the metal. Whatever term or terms may be used to describe such reactions, the fact remains that they are highly important and valuable in their commercial applications. Since the metal surface plays so important a part in these reactions, it is evident that any accumulation of reaction products thereon interferes seriously with the progress of the reactions. For this reason it is desirable to remove all such products as rapidly as they are formed in order to bring active gas into contact with the surface and thus facilitate the desired reactions. This is accomplished best by conducting the operation in a continuous manner, thereby causing the reacting gases to pass over the

Jan 1, 1931

By Hugh Haddow

This paper describing the methods of recovery and treatment of a sand and gravel deposit and the preparation of these materials for a number of special markets is one of a series being prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Mines. It is of particular interest to those sand and gravel operators who have a surplus of fine sand which must be sent to waste, both from the point of view of, equipment and the variety. of markets supplied, and in that it describes one of the few sand and gravel plants which have resorted to hydraulic classification for sizing fine sand. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of J. R. Thoenen, mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines, in the preparation of this paper.

Jan 1, 1931

By Albert Mendelsohn

This paper, describing the mining practice at the Champion mine of the Copper Range Copper Mining Co., is one of a series of papers on mining methods and costs being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines. Mining practice at the Champion mine has undergone considerable change during the last four years. Previous to that time the mine was worked by the horizontal out-and-fill method, the stopes starting near the shafts and advancing away from them (fig. 2). The floor pillars were mined by the inclined cut-and-fill method, working en the retreat or toward the shafts (fig. 1). At present the mine is being developed to .tope entirely on the retreat by a sublevel inclined cut-and-fill method.

Jan 1, 1931