Search Documents

By Stanley J. Gasior, Albert J. Forney, Joseph H. Field

Most bituminous coal mined near Eastern industrial areas requiring high-Btu pipeline gas is caking and therefore unsuitable for fixed-bed pres- sure gasification by present techniques. If the caking property of such coal can be destroyed, the resulting fuel can be gasified in a fixed bed at pressure with steam and oxygen as a preliminary step in making a high-Btu gas. To find a practical way to convert strongly caking coals of granular or small lump size to noncaking fuel was the object of this study. In previous work, strongly caking coals of 1/8- to 1½ -in. size were converted to a noncaking coal char by treatment in a static bed in about 3 hours1 and coal of 18-100 Tyler mesh in a fluidized bed in about 5 min.2 An inert gas such as steam, nitrogen, carbon dioxide or a mixture of all three with a small amount of oxygen was used in both studies. In our work a strongly caking bituminous coal from the Pittsburgh seam of 4-8 Tyler mesh size was converted to a noncaking form in free-fall in about 2 sec by dropping it through a countercurrent flow of steam containing 4% to 7% oxygen at 1150º-1200°F and 300 psig. This method should also be applicable to smaller-sized material.

Jan 3, 1965

By H. O. Hofman

WITH the exception of lead sulphate, all common metallic sulphates are completely decomposed upon heating into metallic oxide, sulphur trioxide, sulphur dioxide and oxygen. Some give up their trioxide readily at a low temperature, others require considerable heat and much time to be completely freed from sulphur. Kerl in 1881 arranged the principal metallic sulphates as they are decomposed by a rising temperature in the following order: silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, manganese and lead, lead sulphate being decomposed only slightly at a white heat. The researches of Bradford, published in 1903, show, however, that ferrous sulphate is decom¬posed at 590° C., cupric sulphate at G53° C. and argentic sulphate at 1,095° C. By the present investigation it will be seen that zinc sulphate is decomposed at 739° C. As far then as our present knowledge goes, the order in which the decomposition of the leading metallic sulphates takes place is the one given in Table I.

Jan 1, 1905

By W. Mostowitsh

I. Introductory LEAD sulphate occurs as anglesite, and is formed in every roasting of lead sulphides or sulpho-salts containing lead. In smelting in the blast furnace an ore containing natural or artificial lead sulphate, a large part of the sulphur present goes to the formation of the intermediary product matte which requires further treatment for the recovery of the values it contains. It is therefore of importance to study the behavior of lead sulphate at elevated temperatures, both without and with reducing agents, especially as the information available gives data which are more or less conflicting. II. Decomposition of Lead Sulphate by Heat The dissociation of PbSO4 into PbO and S03 or S02 and 0 has been discussed by many metallurgists. The following data are considered to be representative. Doeltz and Graumann1 found that PbSO4 was not affected by heat at 800° C.; that dissociation began at 900° C., and was rapid at 1,000° when the salt lost in 1 ½ hr. 14.3 per cent. of its weight, the dry salt containing 26.43 per cent. SO3. Hofman and Wanjukow2 summarize their work upon the dissociation of metallic sulphates with the statement that the decomposition of PbSO4 begins at 195° C., but progresses very slowly, with the formation of the basic salt 6PbO.5S03 at 705°; that this salt undergoes a transformation at 847°, begins to be decomposed at 888°, to sinter at 896°, and to fuse at 910°; rapid dissociation begins at 952°, and is accompanied by volatilization of PbO; retardations at 958° and 962° indicate an acceleration of decomposition which, however, is not complete. Proske3 found that PbSO4 gave off at 900° C. in 30 min. only 0.63 per cent. of its SO3, and that the loss increased with

Jan 5, 1916

By W. WANJUKOW, H. O. Hofman

(New York Meeting, February, 1313.) I. INTRODUCTION. IN the metallurgical treatment of most metallic sulphides it is usually necessary to carry on a roasting-operation. In some cases the raw ore will have to be roasted.; in others the intermediary product, matte, produced in smelting the ore; again, both ore and matte may have to be subjected to oxidation at elevated temperatures. Most metallic sulphides, when given an oxidizing-roast, pass through the state of sulphate before they are converted into oxides. All metallic sulphates are completely decomposed by heat, with the exception of those of lead and bismuth, but the temperatures at which decompositions take place vary with the metals. Some metallic sulphates are converted directly into oxides, others first form basic salts. Alkali-earth sulphates show a behavior similar to that of metallic sulphates, while alkali sulphates do not part with their sulphur trioxide even at elevated roasting-temperatures. The older data on the decomposition of metallic sulphates by beat are only approximations. Thus Kerl 1 gives the order in which metallic sulphates are decomposed with increasing temperatures as (Ag2, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, CO, Mn, Pb) SO4. More recent statements give definite temperatures and modify the formerly accepted order of decomposition. But the temperatures given by various observers do not agree. The reasons for this are to be found mainly in the method and manner of carrying out experiments. Four methods have been used: 1. Heating in an evacuated tube; 2, heating in a tube closed at one end, without air-cur-

Sep 1, 1912

By Henry Hebley

IN recent years, especially in the last decade, great interest has been shown and many advances have been made in the preparation and clean-ing of coal. In the major coal-producing countries, the percentage of tonnage cleaned has been increasing ever since 1924. As separating media, both liquids and gases are used, these generally being water and air respectively. Some systems, instead of obtaining separation by the velocity of the medium in which the coal is cleaned, depend on the density of water mixed with sand, or coal dust and shale, or with chemicals such as calcium chloride. In studying the results of coal-cleaning equipment, it will be observed that the efficiency of the cleaning apparatus lowers as the size of the coal decreases. This inability to obtain any marked improvement in the fines has been partly responsible for the installation of dedusting equipment, to remove the fine sizes from the raw coal prior to cleaning. When considering the possibility of installing dedusting equipment, many factors must be taken into account. Very often, but not always, both the ash and sulfur content of the coal increase as the coal size decreases. When bituminous coal, containing soft powdery fusain, is subjected to a wet washing process, the porous fines of the fusain remain in the small coal or in the wash water and delay the dewatering of the washed coal and increase the difficulty of clarification in settling tanks or thickeners. When a dedusted coal is cleaned by a wet process, the sludge recovered from the settling tank often runs so high in ash that the sludge can be discarded without further treatment and still the loss is small. Where treatment of the sludge is desired, however, froth flotation may be used to advantage if the size of the feed is below 1/10 in. Dust from the deduster can be treated in a similar manner. Fusain, which is usually found in the fine sizes, has often a much larger ash content than other coal.

Jan 1, 1933

By Thomas Read

AMONG the large number of deep mines in the world there are several which do not differ much in depth. The St. John del Rey mine, in Brazil, has reached a vertical depth of 6726 ft. below the top of its shaft; miners enter it, however, through an adit which intersects the shaft 324 ft. below its top, wherefore it might be said that the mine is really only 6400 ft. deep. In the Kolar gold field of India there are a number of deep shafts, one of which reaches to a vertical depth of 6140 ft. below surface. In South Africa also there are a number of deep shafts, the Village Deep being 6100 ft. early in 1921. The City Deep, Ltd., proposes to sink to a depth of 7000 ft. but pre-sumably by the time it does so the St. John del Rey will be deeper than that, since it has been increasing in depth at an average rate of about 150 ft. per year. The deepest shaft in the United States, the Tamarack No. 5, although it is only 5308 ft. deep, actually approaches nearer to the center of the earth (4100 ft. below sea level, as against 3958 ft. , at St. John del Rey). The deepest workings in the Calumet & Hecla go down to 4600 ft. below sea level. The St. John del Rey is not only the deepest, mine in the world, but it also is worked by the oldest registered English mining company, which was organ-ized in 1830 to work a mine at a considerable dis-tance from this one. That mine proved unprofitable, and in 1837 operations were transferred to the. deposit now under discussion, where operations have been prac-tically continuous ever since.

Jan 6, 1923

By A. L. Marshall, F. J. Norton

THE object of this investigation was to make a comprehensive study of the degassing of molybdenum in order to determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary to completely remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes. Some work has also been done with tungsten, nickel, iron and carbon. As a logical development of this work it has been shown that the gas is present throughout the body of the metal and a study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in molybdenum and tungsten and the rate of diffusion of nitrogen through molybdenum has been calculated. Tests were made on molybdenum from all the commercial sources and no difference was discovered in the nature of the gases present, the amounts or the ease of removal. The reason for this was apparent when a study was made of the manner in which gases are absorbed by gas-free molybdenum. It is necessary to heat molybdenum to 1760°C.oin a vacuum of the order of 0.001 micron for a time which varies lineally with the thickness, in order to obtain a condition in which no further gas is evolved by the sample. A sample so degassed can be handled and subsequently assembled in a tube and then degassed readily. The gases obtained from molybdenum are carbon monoxide and nitrogen, the nitrogen being the more difficult to remove. APPARATUS AND TECHNIQUE The apparatus is shown in Figs. I and 2. It consisted of two units, a degassing system and an analytical system. Each had a bake-out oven, as shown surrounding the systems in the sketches. The system will be traced, starting from the sample in the degassing system. A water-cooled quartz chamber surrounded the sample. The high-frequency coil, which heated the sample, extended only around this chamber and was cooled by an air blast. High-frequency power of 0800-meter wave length was obtained from a self-rectifying oscillator circuit with a maximum power input of 20 kw. A graded seal connected the quartz to the rest of the apparatus, which was of hard' glass. The temperature of the molybdenum sample was observed by an optical pyrometer through an optical window about 40 cm. distant from the sample. Since the object viewed under these conditions was not 'a black body, true temperature was not observed, but the so-called "brightness temperature." The correction of this to true temperature is discussed in a later section. The apparatus was taken apart just above the graded seal; the quartz chamber was slipped off, washed with nitric acid, water and alcohol, and dried by an air stream. The old sample was removed by

Jan 1, 1944

By F. J. Norton

THE object of this investigation was to make a comprehensive study of the degassing of molybdenum in order to determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary to completely remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes. Some work has also been done with tungsten, nickel and carbon. As a logical development of this work it has been shown that the gas is present throughout the body of the metal and a study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in molybdenum and tungsten and the rate of diffusion of nitrogen through molybdenum has been calculated. Tests were made on molybdenum from all the commercial sources and no difference was discovered in the nature of the gases present, the amounts or the ease of removal. The reason for this was apparent when a study was made of the manner in which gases are absorbed by gas-free molybdenum. It is necessary to heat molybdenum to 1760° C. in a vacuum of the order of 0.001 micron for a time which varies lineally with the thickness, in order to obtain a condition in which no further gas is evolved by the sample. A sample so degassed can be handled and subsequently assembled in a tube and then degassed readily. The gases obtained from molybdenum are carbon monoxide and nitrogen, the nitrogen being the more difficult to remove.

Jan 1, 1932

By F. J. Norton

THE object of this investigation was to make a comprehensive study of the degassing of molybdenum in order to determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary to completely, remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes. Some work has also been done with tungsten, nickel and carbon. As a logical development of this work it has been shown that the gas is present throughout the body of the metal and a study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in molybdenum and tungsten and the rate of diffusion of nitrogen through molybdenum has been calculated. Tests were made on molybdenum from all the commercial sources and no difference was discovered in the nature of the gases present, the amounts or the ease of removal. The reason for this was apparent when a study was made of the manner in which gases are absorbed by gas-free molybdenum. It is necessary to heat molybdenum to 1760° C. in a vacuum of the order of 0.001 micron for a time which varies lineally with the thickness, in order to obtain a condition in which no further gas is evolved by the sample. A sample so degassed can be handled and sub-sequently assembled in a tube and then degassed readily. The gases obtained from molybdenum are carbon monoxide and nitrogen, the nitrogen being the more difficult to remove..

Jan 1, 1932

Jan 1, 1967

Jan 1, 1969

Jan 1, 1970

By S. J. Hardison

IN the fall of 1912, the appearance of water in the oil of the Nevada Petroleum Co., Coalinga, Cal., made necessary the installation of a dehydrating plant to reduce the water below the 3 per cent. limit prescribed by the agency. Unlike the mining industry, technical literature of the oil industry is limited and extremely unsatisfactory. Until the recent efforts of the Petroleum and Gas Committee of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, no concerted movement has been instituted to secure publication of papers dealing with the problems of the oil business, and because of the additional fact that dehydrating of oil has not been practiced in California to any extent up to comparatively recent time, it was found necessary to experiment in order to determine the most satisfactory plan for this purpose. It is easy to write regarding successful enterprises, but, while not so pleasant, it is equally desirable to write of failures so that others may be saved the loss incident to such investments. The water in this oil occurs both free and as an emulsion. Free water easily settles out, but the emulsion requires treatment. So far as can be determined, the emulsion consists of globules of water surrounded and enveloped by a film of, oil. Starting with this hypothesis, the theory has been evolved that in order to break up this emulsion the water must be heated at least to boiling point, when an explosion takes place destroying the globule. Unfortunately, this condition was not recognized in the installation of the first plant, which was planned on the following lines: A heater was arranged so that all the oil from the wells could be heated before reaching the shipping tanks, these being already fitted with coils for steam heating. Tanks were filled with about 4 ft. of water, live steam was turned into the coils and the water brought nearly to the boiling point, when the heated oil was run in. This for a time was partly successful, but the length of time necessary to apply this heat was too great for practical operating.

Jan 3, 1915

By Daniel Martin

THE dendritic pattern of steels shown by deep etching is used exten-sively as a guide in the inspection and control of the great majority of steels used in ordnance construction and for many applications in indus-try. The value of macroexamination lies in the fact that it enables a qualified observer to make deductions concerning the general quality of relatively large pieces of metal. Not the least of these general character-istics is the nature and extent of the dendritic segregation in the steel, either in the cast condition or after mechanical or thermal treatments. PREVIOUS WORK Detailed methods for macroetching were outlined by Yatsevitch1 and have been standardized by the American Society for Testing Materials. A comprehensive study of the occurrence, origin, and the chemical and crystalline nature of the dendritic structure was given by Keshian.2 The marked persistence of dendritic segregation in nickel steels is fully recognized and has been discussed by Sauveur and Reed' and by others. Very little, however, has been written on the effect of the various elements on the macrostructure of steels, and the purpose of this report is to submit evidence concerning the influence of chromium, nickel and molybdenum on the macrostructure of some 4 by 4-in. ingots cast and treated under closely controlled conditions.

Jan 1, 1939

By John T. Wizzard, R. P. Killmeyer, B. S. Gottfried

The Coal Preparation Branch of the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center has developed a computer program to calculate the performance characteristics of coal washing devices. This program uses specific gravity analyses of the clean coal and refuse streams as input, and generates dependent and independent performance criteria for the washer. Partition curves are internally represented in a functional form by a Weibull function. Performance criteria generated by this computer program are compared to manually calculated performance criteria for air tables, Dynawhirlpools, Baum jigs, hydrocyclones, and dense medium cyclones. The comparisons show that the computer program gives results in close agreement with the hand- calculated values while greatly reducing the amount of time involved in performing the analyses.

Jan 1, 1983

By J. B. Knaebel, M. W. Von Bernewitz

OUTSTANDING FACTORS that have largely induced the current great interest in the reopening of old mines and the search for new deposits are the increased relative value of gold, the certainty of a market for it, and the decreased activity and poor profits in other lines of endeavor. It is easy to understand why a miner out of a job and unable to find any other means of livelihood would naturally take to the hills with his pan, pick, and shovel; but never before have inexperienced, would-be prospectors and placer miners materialized from the factories and farms, the haberdasheries, and the oil and gasoline supply stations, in such numbers as the last couple of years have witnessed, except when rich strikes of the proportions of a Klondike have been made. What, may one ask, has occasioned this condition? Unemployment has put these men in a receptive frame of mind, and newspaper and magazine articles have done the rest-- The Gold Miner of Los Angeles (a new weekly), The Mid- Week Pictorial (New York) for Sept. 3, 1932, and Popular Science Monthly for August, 1932, for instance. Even the Saturday Evening Post had an article on a promising part of Colorado. Stories that good wages may be had for the panning in nearly every western state have been featured by daily papers, popular "scientific" magazines, and quasi- technical journals. These tales have been eagerly grasped by thousands of people whose ignorance of mining has only served to increase their enthusiasm.

Jan 1, 1932

By A. W. Allen

THE technological study of the treatment of gold and silver ores has been largely responsible for the phenomenal strides which have marked the progress in this branch of metallurgy during recent years. In no other application of science to industry is system more imperative at every stage; correct formulation of result is only second in importance to efficiency of operation. Progresss in method has been largely the result of individual initiative, aided by the work of technical journals and metallurgical societies. There still remains a field for profitable discussion, and it is my intention to deal with some inconsistencies of expression common to a number of writers on the subject; and also to draw attention to the false impressions created by a statement which may, possibly, be only unintentionally misleading. I also take the opportunity of tracing the source of both metallurgical and economic result; and to question the desirability of the methods usually employed in arriving at a final statement. In the first place, I wish to deal with the question of extraction. This term may mean anything or nothing, and it is often used to mislead. In a report of a mining engineer as to the result of operations subsequent to the remodeling of a treatment plant prominence was given to the statement that the extraction had amounted to 91 per cent. On examination it was found that only a small percentage of the so-called extraction was calculated on actual bullion return, a proportion being figured from the gold left in the zinc boxes, and not recovered. In addition to this, a proportion of the extraction was said to be due to gold in concentrate. As there was no concentrating apparatus on the property and as concentration did not form a part of the scheme of treatment the matter was investigated, with the result that the concentrate, of lower gold content that the original ore, was found to be the result of an inefficient pumping system which failed to provide for the whole of the battery product delivered to it. The balance was stacked and, although itself of no marketable value, the gold content was allowed to form a basis of extraction figures.

Jan 7, 1914

By W. A. Griffith

The fundamental principles and modern techniques of experimental planning and data analysis, applicable to any type of research, are particularly important in flotation experimentation. Since they constitute the modern science of experimentation, they should be among the working tools of any scientist, research engineer, or plant operator engaged in flotation investigates. This chapter is a review of these principles and techniques. Equipment and procedures for the actual conduct of experiments will not be discussed here since these subjects are well covered elsewhere in this volume. Neither will any attempt be made to impart a working knowledge of statistical methods of data analysis since this would be impossible in the space allotted, and many excellent texts are available to the diligent inestigator.1-4 The objective here is simply to interest the reader in the application of statistical techniques to flotation experimentation by illustrating their utility in situations frequently encountered, and to point out the principles of experimental planning necessary for their proper use. Any conscientious metallurgist engaged in flotation experimentation or operations is well aware of the inherent complexity of the flotation process, and of the often frustrating difficulties this introduces into experimentation. The raw materials normally treated by the process are complex both physi- cally and chemically, and often highly variable even when from the same source. The flotation process itself is characterized by a very large number of potentially important process variables. Many of these are beyond the con- trol of the metallurgist, and some cannot even be measured quantitatively with available instruments. Those which can be measured and controlled with reasonable precision often produce effects which are intricately interrelated. Not only are the variables many, but the physical and chemical mechanisms by which they function are imperfectly under stood. To compound the difficulty, experimental techniques are relatively crude. Controls are not very precise, and the human factor looms large in most flotation experiments. These situations lead inevitably to experimental data of a relatively low degree of precision or reproducibility. Some are inclined to think that these conditions are unique to flotation experimentation. They are not. The experimental problems met by the agronomist, the biologist, the social scientist, and others are equally complex. Investigators in these fields pioneered in the development of methods for handling just such situations by proper experimental planning and the application of statistical methods in the analysis of data. Their pioneering work has grown into a well established modern science of experimentation which has spread into every field of science. This science is based upon statistical

Jan 1, 1962

By Jon E. Fatzinger

The design of a centrifugal slurry pump is approached as a compromise between efficiency and wear life of the wetted parts. This compromise is effected by the choice of proper materials of construction and geometry. However even the most optimally designed pump will fail if due consideration is not given to its installation and operation. System head curves and hydraulic profiles are discussed as useful tools to be used in the operational analysis of a slurry system.

Jan 1, 1978