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By William H. Emling

With profitability pressures in heavy industry increasing, many producers are turning to predictive maintenance as a means of harvesting untapped value from their production assets. Corporations are losing their maintenance and processing core competencies through attrition. As capital budgets are being trimmed, manufacturers are consolidating operating units into fewer, more profitable routes. Maintenance functions, however, typically receive low priority when investment is made, since many companies consider maintenance costs as ?overhead?. Condition-based monitoring, integrated to Level I and Level II process inputs, is seen as the most cost-effective solution to the implementation of predictive maintenance strategies. This paper will review the evolution of preventive and predictive maintenance programs, highlighting examples of successful application of integrated condition monitoring.

May 1, 2001

By Sidney Katell

This report, covering the period January 1968 through December 1968, is a continuation of a series that began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. It is the tenth in a series of reports prepared in cooperation with the American Association of Cost Engineers. The abstracted articles are concerned with all phases of cost of engineering in the field of chemical and petroleum plants and related subjects. They are from the following sources: 1. American Association of Cost Engineers Bulletin. 2. Bureau of Lines Information Circulars. 3. Bureau of Mines Reports of Investigations. 4. Chemical Engineering. 5. Chemical Engineering Progress s 6. Chemical Week. 7. Coal Age. 8. Coal Mining and Processing. 9. Cost Engineering. 10. European Chemical News. 3 11. Hydrocarbon Processing. 12. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 13. Oil and Gas Journal. 14. Petroleum Engineer. 15. World Oil.

Jan 1, 1969

By D. Harrington

This circular presents Part III-A of a series reviewing the literature on effects of breathing dusts with special reference to silicosis; it deals with the economic and legal aspects of dust diseases in industry; Part III-B will contain data on the status and cost of compensation for silicosis, Parts I and II of the series have been issued as Information Circulars 6835, 6840, and 6848; Part I defines and classifies dusts, indicates sources of exposure, and describes the physiological effects of breaching dusts; Part II-A discusses the principal dust factors producing pulmonary pathology and methods of determination of dust in air; and Part II-B presents data on the engineering and medical control in the prevention of dust diseases and general recommendations for their control in industry. A summary and general conclusions will complete the series.

Jan 1, 1935

By Oliver C. Ralston, and others

"INTRODUCTION Investigations of the Nonmetals Division are now conducted at College Park, Md.; Tuscaloosa. Ala.; Seattle, Wash.; and. Norris, Tenn. The last of these was acquired, this year by arrangement with the Tennessee Valley Authority and is engaged in electrothermel research, using power generated by the T.V.A. and. raw materials from that region. In general, the work of the division is concerned with dressing nonmetallic minerals end utilizing the products there-from. Coal, salts, and waters are investigated, and the suitability of apparatus and equipment is studied.As the Metallurgical. Division of the Bureau of Mines makes routine tests of certain nonmetallic ores under prescribed conditions for the public if they are of general interest, the published reports of that division should be read and thus, with the reports of tile Nonmetals Division, the whole field may be covered."

Oct 1, 1939

By E. A. Barrett

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) conducted experiments to determine if training using a latent-image, three-dimensional (3-D) slide simulation exercise improved miners' ability to recognize roof and rib hazards. The effectiveness of this innovative type of classroom training was investigated by measuring workers' performance on a hazard recognition task. The study was unique in that hazard recognition skills were assessed in the workplace using actual coal mine roof and rib hazards. Results showed that training with a latent-image, 3-D slide simulation exercise significantly improved each subject's performance on the in-mine hazard recognition task. Further, the USBM researchers concluded that transfer of learning from the classroom to the workplace occurred.

Jan 1, 2010

By A. Brown

This report details work performed and results obtained in a study of the water management aspects of oil shale mining and retorting in the Piceance Creek Basin. Three specific sites were investigated, and optimal water management systems for both conventional and in-situ extraction processes were generated. Water-related legal and environmental constraints on development were identified and the water management schemes were developed in compliance with these regulations. Limitations on shale oil production implied by limited water supplies were evaluated. Potential Basin-wide effects of development were evaluated using a computer model, and mitigation strategies were developed. Recommendations for additional investigation and analyses were presented.

Jan 1, 1977

By T. Plikas, L. H. Gunnewiek, L. Oshinowo

"Electric furnace smelting is one of the principal unit operations for ferroalloy production, and increased process intensity, improved availability, minimal maintenance and a longer campaign life are common objectives for electric furnace operation in order to obtain favourable economics of production. Furnace designers have continued to develop innovative solutions, e.g., furnace cooling systems, that have allowed these objectives to be realised and CFD modelling plays a key role in the design process. Enhanced understanding of the energy transfer process in the furnace and the ability to develop, evaluate and optimize components of the crucible design to match process requirements are the key motivators for modelling.This paper provides an overview of recent applications of CFD to the design of electric furnaces. The aim is to illustrate what can be done, and identify areas where further work is needed in this field. Examples include furnace bath simulation, crucible cooling system design, taphole design, baking of Soderberg electrodes, off-gas systems, and fume control and building ventilation. It is argued that the trend is for numerical models to become more encompassing while at the same time more accessible, and therefore further improvements in furnace design will be realised with continued and well validated modelling efforts.IntroductionOne of the main processing steps in ferroalloy production is the smelting of ore in electric furnaces. The three-electrode, AC submerged arc furnace is most prevalent method for smelting in the industry, with shielded-arc and DC plasma arc furnaces achieving limited application (1,2). Commercial furnaces range in size from a few megawatts to more than eighty megawatts of supplied power, and operate with the objective of maximising the return on capital invested. Maximising productivity and energy efficiency are two pathways to achieving this objective, through process intensification, increased availability, minimal maintenance, and increased campaign life for the furnace and associated equipment. Concurrently, the need to reduce the environmental impact of metal production by controlling the emission of particulate emissions, greenhouse gases, and other harmful by-products must also be met."

Jan 1, 2004

By A. Kontopoulos

Refractory sulfide gold ores or concentrates require an oxidation pretreatment step to yield the contained gold amenable to the subsequent leaching step. The process options for oxidation pretreatment can be broadly classified as follows: roasting, high or low pressure oxidation bacterial oxidation, chemical oxidation, each with a number of alternative suboptions. Roasting and high pressure oxidation are being applied on an industrial scale; the stage of development of the other options range from preliminary laboratory to advanced pilot plant- In this paper, the major technical, environmental and economic aspects of the above processes are being discussed. Future industrial trends will also be considered. Particular emphasis will be placed on the treatment of arsenical ores and concentrates, where safe plant operation as well as, handling and disposal of the arsenic containing products and/or effluents 'and residues is of paramount importance.

Jan 1, 1990

By James Westfield

This report covers the calendar year 1953 and has been prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 106(a) and Sec. 212(c) of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act (66 Stat. 692; 30 U.S.C. Secs. 451-483). During this first full calendar year of operations under the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act, the coal-mining industry of the United States attained the best injury records in its history - improving the former best records (made in 1952) by 91 fatal and 10,020 nonfatal injuries. Whereas, the mandatory provisions of the act were intended and designed to prevent major mine disasters, apparently the effects have reached beyond the scope thereof in reducing mine accidents generally.

Jan 1, 1954

A major hazard to workers in underground mines is fire and the resulting contaminated air. Fire reaches miners thousands of yards away with carbon monoxide gas and other toxic fumes. The same ventilation system that furnishes fresh air to miners can also be the vehicle to carry contaminated air to remote locations. To reduce these problems, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines entered into Contract H0242016, "Mine Shaft Fire and Smoke Protection System," with FMC Corporation, Santa Clara, California, to evaluate mine shaft fire and smoke hazards and to develop and demonstrate a low-cost, reliable mine shaft fire and smoke protection system that would be applicable to a majority of metal and nonmetal mine shafts, including raises and winzes, especially in deep mines.

Jan 1, 2011

By Jeremy Fletcher

In today’s world, the requirement of Steel Producers to revamp and modernize their blast furnaces on-time, safely and with the latest technology is paramount. In addition they must meet the detailed design, construction and safety legislation and regulations, which can be different for the various countries around the world. Siemens MT is renowned for its ability to perform Blast Furnace rebuilds, relines and modernisations within extremely tight time frames and in a safe manner. Modular Blast Furnace construction concepts have been perfected to minimise project duration and plant downtime for furnace rebuilds. Safety and certainty are the keys for success. Siemens MT are constantly introducing new technologies into the market place including cyclone gas cleaning and triple external cone gas scrubber, along with step changes in technology such as dry gas cleaning and dry slag granulation. The economic environment and the continuing requirement for improved environmental performance, drive many of these innovations. This paper describes some of the latest rebuild reference projects of Siemens MT, along with the latest technical innovations installed on these furnaces, and some of the construction methodology used for a safe and secure rebuild.

Aug 1, 2018

People in economically developed societies demonstrate inherent human care for Earth and want to stop pollution. Yet efforts to clean Earth seem bogged in confusion from wildly contradictory and alarmist predictions of æclimate crisisÆ. Supposed experts openly disagree yet weÆre told thereÆs universal agreement humans are causing æthe end of life as we know itÆ. The turmoil combines with peopleÆs feelings of fear, guilt, anger, hopelessness and even resignation and apathy to trigger æclimate alarmÆ. The paper enables people to rediscover clarity, hope and support for Earth by understanding how climate alarm and confusion were created and how they actually increase pollution. Many people seem to think global warming is as serious as pollution and worry that questioning alarm will enable pollution. Yet theyÆre different. We need be even more concerned about climate alarm because history shows repeatedly that when buried by ignorance and panic real problems grow overwhelming. Environmental credibility is endangered by confused politicians and sensationalist media. When weÆre willing to re-evaluate what weÆve been told we replace fear and confusion with facts and freedom to identify opportunities. Combining this with practical understanding of human behaviour and leadership enables opportunities to be identified and action taken. The paper shows how confident, informed leadership leads and supports higher productivity and effective care for the natural environment.

Jan 1, 2009

By JAMES QATLEY

THE atmosphere, which plays such an important part in the manufacture of iron and steel, is the most variable element involved in its several processes; and particularly is this true of the blast-furnace process, which consumes air in large quantities. At no time since the blast-furnace became an important and widely used apparatus-even when it was operated in the most crude manner-have the variations in composition of the raw materials used been as frequent and as great as the variations in humility of the atmosphere. Important, improvements have been made in the blast furnace and its accessories, such as the hot-blast stoves, the increase in size and change in the shape of the furnace, more efficient blowing engines, the increased protection given to the bosh walls, and the careful preparation of' the raw material, all of which have exerted a pronounced influence on the furnace-operations from a metallurgical standpoint. But during the past eight years little advance has been made in this direction; the fuel-consumption has not diminished, nor has there been any material increase in production. Within that period, however, there has been witnessed the greatest development in appliances for the economical handling of material. So complete has been the work in this direction, that, except in isolated cases, in this country at least., a further extension does not hold out much promise of a satisfactory return on the investment required. It seemed that, with the exception of the gas-engine, we had about reached the limit, for like a strong wall, the atmosphere, with its humility as variable to-clay as when first blown into a primitive blast-furnace, appeared to stand as a Barrier to

Jan 1, 1905

By Patrick Hansert

Safety was always in the focus of Badische Stahlwerke, however at the same time productivity has to increase as well in order to compete in a tough world market. In 2015 BSW produced over 2.2 Mio tons with two EAFs, leading to tap-to-tap times in average of under 40 minutes. Our philosophy has always been, that our most important success factor are the people: therefore we have to improve the working conditions as much as we can. Starting in 2012 Badische developed a robot that can support this goal. The first step was to use it for temp/sample taking, but the unit had to become a multi-tasker. Only 2 years later the first automated cartridge changer was installed at a customer site in Scandinavia, in late 2015 then the next tool was implement: tool changer allows now to use also a camera to check the condition inside of the heat after tapping. More tools are designed currently and will be implemented shortly. This paper describes the current installations and experiences as future applications.

Aug 17, 2017

By Richard Collins

The projected depletion and the increasing costs of petroleum and natural gas along with the public and governmental resistance to nuclear energy have caused coal to emerge as one of today's answers to both our short term and long term energy needs in power generation. In order to satisfy this need, major increases in coal production are mandatory, thus requiring more and higher capacity coal transfer terminals. The logic for selecting coal as the major fuel for power generation is based on many different reports on the existing and potential energy sources, which include petroleum, natural gas, hydropower, solar, geothermal, and nuclear. The following is a brief synopsis of these reports for each type of energy.

Jan 1, 1978

By C. Yoo

"Geosynthetics engineering has made phenomenal advances during the last decade in areas of manufacturing as well as practical applications. As a result, geosynthetics are now being recognized as essential construction materials that can be used to facilitate construction, ensure better performance of the structures and reduce the long-term maintenance in routine civil engineering works. The creative use of geosynthetics in geo-engineering practice is expected to continuously expand as innovative materials and products are becoming available. In this paper, a wide variety of geosynthetic products available to geoengineers to solve a wide range of problems are briefly presented along with their functions and possible applications. Fundamentals of geotextile filter design principles are then introduced for use in the tunnel drainage system. Practical applications of geosynthetics relevant for tunnel engineering are also highlighted with emphasis on the issues associated with the geotextile filter application for use in the tunnel drainage system.INTRODUCTIONGeosynthetics have emerged as essential engineering materials in a wide range of civil engineering applications, e.g., transportation, geotechnical, geoenvironmental, hydraulics, and private development since the first geosynthetic conference in Paris, 1977 (Koerner 2012). Due to their costeffectiveness, ease of installation, and well established mechanical and hydraulic properties, geosynthetics are now playing important roles in the field of geo-engineering.As indicated in the 9th Bucahanan Lecture paper by Holtz (2001), major developments in civil engineering have only been possible with the parallel developments in the technology of construction materials. For example, larger scale structures became possible with the help of developments in concrete, reinforced concrete, and prestressed reinforced concrete technology which replaced wood and building stone as construction materials. The best example of a parallel development in geo-engineering between the material and the geotechnical application may perhaps be the soil reinforcement technology which has a direct analogy with reinforced concrete as a polymeric reinforcement material provides added level of tensile resistance and stability to soils that have little to no tensile strength, thus giving additional margin of safety."

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Dessureault

The relatively recent explosion of available data in all business sectors has induced a common expression of “drowning in data, starving for information.” The mining sector is affected by the information age through equipment-based sensors, process monitoring, and traditional enterprise data sources. Information technologists have developed techniques such as data mining that apply new and old statistical algorithms to large datasets. Mine planners and managers can apply these tools for improved planning and control, thereby increasing the use of the highly underutilized information system infrastructure in most modern mines. This paper describes the use of data mining and its enabling technology, data warehousing, in the development of an energy consumption model for large surface mines using real historical data.

Jan 1, 2007

By R. V. Ramani

In this the available information friction factors and leakage report, on characteristics are reviewed and summarized. The use of Penn State Mine Ventilation Simulator (Volumes II and III of the Final Report) to analyze the sensitivity of the ventilation system to the changes in leakage and friction factors is discussed with examples. In simple ventilation systems, the results of changes in leakage and friction factors can be easily solved and explained by the laws of air-flow. In complex systems, with fixed quantity branches and multiple sections, the effect of changes in leakage and friction factors cannot be generalized. This study points out the importance of good input data for obtaining reliable information from computer analyses and demonstrates the application of simulators to analyze the effectiveness of ventilation systems. An extensive bibliography on friction factors, leakage characteristics and ventilation economics is included.

Jan 1, 1977

By L. Godfrey, Z. Nontso, F. Magweregwede, B. Maphalala, S. Khan

The aim of this paper was to establish if mineral resource scarcity is a driver for South Africa to transition to a circular economy. The project objectives were achieved by investigating economically viable, and critical or strategic minerals remaining in South Africa, as well as resource scarcity, as a driver for South Africa to transition to a circular economy. The study found that some minerals in South Africa, such as iron ore, lead, manganese, gold, and cobalt have less than 50 years of economically viable mining remaining. At least 18 minerals can be classified indicatively as critical or strategic: aggregates, bauxite, chromite, cobalt, copper, gold, graphite, iron, limestone, lithium, manganese, nickel, phosphorous, platinum group metals, rare earth elements, silver, titanium, and vanadium. The classification was based on the minerals’ economic importance, supply risk, and potential use in the development and manufacturing of emerging technologies. The findings suggest that the scarcity of mineral resources is a critical driver for the country to transition to a circular economy. Other identified drivers include socio-economic factors, climate change commitments, and business objectives. All minerals are non-renewable resources and at risk of depletion, therefore sustainable extraction and use are critical. Priority should be directed at investigating circular economy opportunities and substitutes for commodities at risk of being depleted within the next 50 years. There is an opportunity for South Africa to transition from a minerals export-based model to one that promotes local mineral beneficiation and manufacturing of end products.

Mar 5, 2025

By R. A. Ynchausti

In January 1993, Pyramid Resources began implementation of a supervisory expert control system at a U.S Cu concentrator. The objective of this control system was to improve plant profitability through unit operation optimization and integration. This paper documents the key aspects of the project, including: economic and associated benefits, system architecture, concepts of implementation, process control strategies, practical aspects of implementation and conclusions. The implementation of expert control at this concentrator has resulted in an estimated benefit of $50,500 per day. This is a net result of improved tonnage, reduced reagent consumption, improved concentrate grade and reduced energy per ton produced.

Jan 1, 1995