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By G. K. Manning, W. E. Few

WORK on the effect of vacuum heat treatment of 0.040 in. diam sintered and wrought molybdenum wires has been sponsored by the Office of Naval Research at Battelle for the past several years. An electrical resistance furnace' capable of maintaining a vacuum of less than 0.1 micron of mercury at temperatures as high as 4000 °F was used for heat treating the wires. Early in the work, it was found that the introduction of a few microns pressure of oxygen into the furnace resulted in a rapid increase in the oxygen content of the wire specimens and the appearance of a discrete oxide phase. Subsequent elimination of the oxygen atmosphere caused the disappearance of the oxide phase. This was used to determine the solid solubility of oxygen in molybdenum over the temperature range of 2000" to 3000°F.2 It was observed that, with the disappearance of the oxide phase, the wires regained some ductility. Single-phased wires possessed from 5 to as much as 40 pct elongation in 2 in. Later, attention became centered on determining the cause of this wide range in ductility. Wires containing less than 0.002 pct C, less than 0.0007 pct 0, less than 0.0005 pct N, and less than 0.00003 pct H exhibited the erratic ductility noted above. These percentages represent approximately the limit of accuracy of presently available methods of analysis and thus it became apparent that chemical analysis would be of little help in the study. A number of possible explanations for the wide range in ductility were suggested during the course of the work. It was first suspected that variations in the grain size of the recrystallized wire specimens might be responsible. Wire from several lots of material was available. One of these lots tended to develop very large grains when recrystallized, the others all developed an ASTM grain size of 3 to 4 when heated above 2700°F. No correlation between grain size and ductility could be found. It was thought that back diffusion of oil from the diffusion pump might cause contamination of the wire, principally with carbon, but when wires were treated without cooling the cold trap in the pumping system,

Jan 1, 1956

By H. C. Spaulding

Every constructing engineer and designer knows how often it is desirable to provide a speed-adjustment between parts of a machine performing different functions, or between a prime mover and the devices to which it furnishes power, and how bulky and unsatisfactory are most of the methods by which the result is usually accomplished. Of course the step-pulley is the most simple and generally used. It requires, (1) parallelism of shafts; (2) a considerable distance between centers; and (3) a cessation of power during the change from one speed to another. Add to this the necessity for careful design in order to obtain equal belt-tension for all positions; the weight and hulk required for a wide range; and the operative's positive conviction that better results could be obtained at a speed intermediate between those furnished by two successive steps, and we begin to realize the mechanical shortcomings of this old and familiar friend. The hundred and one other devices, patented and otherwise, for accomplishing similar results, present other objections of varying importance, which need not be discussed here. Without pretending to overcome these entirely, and indeed without claiming absolute novelty, a recent invention of Mr. E. F. Gordon, of Dover, N. H., has seemed to the writer to offer such advantages in flexibility and range of application as to merit a more extended study and use than can be given in his own work, to which it is being applied as rapidly as opportunity permits. It is placed before the members of the Institute, not only to bring out an expression of opinion as to its limitations, but also with the hope that it will thus find opportunities for applications hitherto untried and outside the scope of operation of those at present interested in its development. Simply stated, the device consists of a narrow pulley with a deep V-groove, split by a plane passing through the bottom of the groove, one of the two symmetrical parts so formed being fixed to the shafts, and the second being capable of adjustment so as to bring the

Jan 1, 1893

By T. E. Harper, Gustave Reinberg

Electrolytic refining of all lead bullion produced at the Oroya smelter of the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation has been adopted as standard practice. A pilot refinery with a capacity of 25 metric tons daily has been in operation since June, 1934, and a new refining unit having an initial capacity of 100 tons per day is under construction. This program has been made possible by certain modifications of the usual Betts refining process1, developed at Oroya, which have the effect of making the purity of the lead produced, and the acid loss incurred in operating the process, entirely independent of the amount of impurities in the original bullion. The modified process, as developed and at present used, treats impure bullion direct, without presoftening or other prerefining step, except that if the bullion carries tin it is desirable to detin before casting into anodes, since tin carries over to some extent to the cathodes. The refining process developed differs from usual Betts practice in two essential particulars: the anodes are cast thinner and replaced at more frequent intervals, and anode slimes are washed by a system of counter-current dipping, prior to their removal from the surface of the anode scrap. Limiting the period of anode corrosion insures a cathode of high purity, since solution of impurities at the anode can occur only if the thickness of the anode slime blanket, and hence the voltage drop across it, becomes greater than a certain critical value. The dip washing system operates to prevent acid losses, by recovering the highly concentrated, nearly neutral lead fluosilicate solution present in the pores of the slime blanket on the corroded anode, and doing this in such a way that there is no opportunity for chemical decomposition to occur. The best illustration of the efficacy of these two expedients may be secured from records of more than a year's operation of the 25-ton pilot plant, during which period the acid losses were less than 2 Ib. of 100 per cent hydrofluosilic acid (H2SiF6) per ton of lead produced, and typical assays of bullion and refined lead were as shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1937

By Paul Bechtner

THE name bentonite formerly was applied solely to a peculiar clay occurring in Wyoming and South Dakota, which was distinguished from other clays by its unctuous feel when wet and the property of swelling in water. In the last decade scientific studies of clay have recognized that bentonite is composed mainly of the clay mineral montmorillonite and the name bentonite has been extended to cover the entire family of clays that have montmorillonite as their chief constituent. Montmorillonite has the chemical formula of A1203-4Si0-xH2O, With Fe203 and MgO replacing part of the A1203. The montmorillonite crystal is an Si-Al-Si clay mineral, being formed of two silicon-oxygen sheets with an aluminum-oxygen sheet sandwiched between them. In contrast, kaolinite-the chief clay mineral of most clays other than bentonite-is Si-Al, one silica and one alumina sheet. The unit crystal of montmorillonite is much thinner than that of kaolinite, with greater surface area. These differences in crystal structure patterns are leading factors in the dissimilar properties and commercial uses of bentonite compared with other clays. Mineralogically, bentonites are 85 to 90 pct montmorillonite with fragments of feldspar, gypsum, calcium carbonate, quartz and traces of other minerals. They vary in color; the widely used Wyoming type is creamy white when dry and a light shade of tan when wet; the low-swelling bentonites of the southern United States and elsewhere are found in many shades of gray, blue, yellow, red, and brown. Pure white bentonites are rarer and generally of the medium or low-swelling type, though there are a few exceptions to that general rule. PROPERTIES Bentonites may be divided into two general classes: (1) those that adsorb large quantities of water, "swelling" greatly in the process, and that remain in suspension in thin water dispersions; (2) those that adsorb only slightly more water than ordinary plastic clays or fuller's earths, do not swell noticeably, and settle rapidly in thin water dispersions. Another distinction is that some varieties of the No. 2 type

Jan 1, 1949

By J. Earl Frazier, Howard A. Meyerhoff

IT is not known when silica sand was first noticed along the north coast of Puerto Rico, but the first mention of its occurrence was made in 1922, by N. L. Britton,1 who described its presence in isolated patches extending from Loiza westward beyond Manati. Further observations were made in 1925 and 1926 by Meyerhoff,2 who extended the known occurrences still farther westward to the low hill belt in the Quebradillas limestone immediately south of Hatillo. The extraordinary purity of the sands, which in most localities exhibit no contamination from the nonsiliceous materials surrounding them, was quickly appreciated, and the feasibility of utilizing them for the manufacture of glass was investigated, initially by the Committee on Mineral Resources3 and later (1936) by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration and by H. C. Ray, mining engineer of the Insular Bureau of Mines. In 1934 samples submitted to the Hazel Atlas Glass Co., of Washington, Pennsylvania, were reported to have the composition as shown in the table on column two. Appreciation of the quality of the sand prompted geological and quantitative studies of the deposits, as well as commercial investigations to determine the feasibility of utilizing it locally or on the mainland for the manufacture of glass containers. [ ] DISTRIBUTION OF THE SANDS The quartz sands consistently lie within the outcrop area of the Quebradillas limestone, the youngest of the Miocene formations in the Tertiary coastal plain that fringes the northern coast of the Island. Many of the deposits are closely associated with limestone outcrops, but some appear to be embedded in lagoonal sediments at some distance from rock exposures, and at least one deposit, near Dorado, has been reworked by waves and littoral currents. With this single known exception, the deposits consist of irregular, patternless patches of white sand, which have sharply defined contacts with the surrounding material. Although patches of sand are present in a 90-km. belt that is not more than 5 km. wide, extending from Loiza to Hatillo, they attain maximum size, purity and number in the north central coastal area between Dorado and Barceloneta. Fifty separate deposits have been mapped in

Jan 1, 1945

We note with sincere regret the death of H. T. Chen,, who was killed by forest fire in the mountainous re-ion of Kokiu-Chang where he had been operating as Engineer in Chief of the Yunnan Tin Trading Co. Mr. Chen graduated in 1911 from the Department, of Mines, .University of California, being the first Chinese Government scholar in mining to attend that institution; and one of the first in America. He came of a distinguished family, many members of Which are in official life in Peking and in his native province of Hunan, all of whom are noted for their classical scholarship. He was himself a Hsiao-tsai or Bachelor of Arts, a coveted degree of the old literati class, Which he won under the Manchu regime when he was still a stripling. His mining work in Yunnan was carried on with only the most primitive facilities and in a distant province, but was, nevertheless, attended with great success and profit for his company. The region is infested with brigands and rebellious troops. who frequently turn marauders and prey upon the countryside, and Mr. Chen has had to go to the mines always with a large armed guard sometimes aggregating 150 men and some hundreds of miners, also armed. Two armed squads of men keep in touch with his base 'at Kokiu-Chang every day to get supplies and food, and it is feared that the brigands who have thus been prevented from plundering and mobbing his parties have started 'he fires to burn him out, with the disastrous result reported. Mr. Chen has thus given his life to his country in the attempt to win for modern China and Chinese civilization the raw materials of her new industrial life. He did so cheerfully and with full appreciation of the dangers that beset him, and China regards this as one of the most noble sacrifices of her young sons on the altar of patriotism. He is survived by a daughter of two years and by his widow who was also a graduate of the University of California and will be remembered by her classmates as Lucy Kong, 1912.

Jan 7, 1917

By Bernard MacDonald

THE writing of this paper was prompted by the discussion by H. M. Chance, in the April Bulletin, of the paper written by Thomas M. Chance which appeared in the February Bulletin., and by the remarks of the Editor in which lie stated that while the matter contained in discussion did not refer to the original paper it "was presented as of interest to the operators of cyanide and other lixiviation processes dealing with fluid mixtures of varying specific gravity." For some years past the principle enunciated in the discussion referred to has been known to the writer and demonstrated by him to be an efficient and economical way of separating water or solution from solids in the cyanidation, lixiviation or acid leaching of ore pulps: In utilizing this principle in commercial practice he has invented a method whereby not only the separation of solution from solids may be effected in any given tank, but also the counter migration of the solids and solution may be effected continuously through a series of tanks in which the hydro-metallurgical treatment of ore pulps is being carried on. In effect this method is analogous to the counter-current system, but is different physically in that it is carried on throughout a series of tanks on practically the sane level, continuously and automatically, by hydrostatic pressure and gravity-flow, without the aid of intervening pumps or elevators, at the same time that agitation is being carried on in the same tanks. In the Parral system, agitation is effected in tanks by a number of air lifts of comparatively small diameter through which the pulp is continuously transferred from the bottom of the tank and spouted horizontally on top of the charge. The spouting force of the several streams thus discharged maintains a rotary flow in the pulp charge which extends from top to bottom of the tank. This continuous transfer of pulp and the spiral flow from top to bottom of the tank maintains the pulp constituents in uniform proportions and meets the requirements of efficient treatment in a most economical manner. The quantity of. compressed air required is very small, as the pulp is not lifted but simply trans-

Jan 7, 1918

By J. D. Wheeler, H. W. Mathews

The increased activity in West Texas, which started in 1933, has continued through 1936 at a constantly accelerated rate. During 1936 there were 1442 wells completed in the area as compared with 700 in 1935 and 468 in 1934. Of these completions, 1313 were producers with a total 24-hr. potential in excess of 1,750,000 bbl. From among the 1442 wells, eight are considered to be discovery wells for new West Texas fields. New Fields Bennett.—The Bennett field, which added Yoakum County to the oil-producing counties of West Texas, was actually indicated as an oil-producing area during 1935, but the discovery well, Honolulu Oil Corporation, Ltd. and Cascade Petroleum Company's Bennett No. l, was not given a production test until April 1936. The discovery well made 15 bbl. per hour through 3/4-in. choke with a plugged-back total depth of 5264 ft. First oil in the hole was from 5088 to 5090 ft., which is several hundred feet below the top of Permian lime. Producing limits of the field are unknown, as the second test had not reached the pay at the close of the year. Henderson.—-To date indications are that the Henderson pool, in northern Winkler County, is the most prolific area opened during 1936. This field, which lies to the north of the old Hendrick pool, is producing from the same reef-type dolomitic lime producing in the older field. The Henderson field was opened by the completion of R. H. Henderson, J. B. Walton-Humble 1-A in April 1936 for a natural flow of 2306 bbl. per day through tubing. Total depth of the discovery well is 3049 ft. Later development has indicated the productive area to be a rather narrow zone running slightly west of north. Present area of from 1000 to 1500 acres has been proved for production. Keys and Emperor.—The Keys and Emperor pools in the belt of sand pools running across Winkler County appeared for the first time on State proration schedules during 1936. This report considers these pools as links in joining the belt of sand production across Winkler County, for

Jan 1, 1937

By W. O. Milligan, J. L. McAtee

THE constitution and structure of the hydrous forms of aluminum oxides and hydroxides have been studied in the laboratory of the Depart¬ment of Chemistry at Rice Institute for almost three decades. Progress reports have been made from time to time 13,17,18 summarizing and evaluating the existing state of knowledge concerning the complex inorganic system A12Oa-H2O. X-ray and electron diffraction analysis, together with dehydra¬tion isobars and isotherms, have been the most useful methods for increasing the understanding of the structure and interrelationships of the various forms of alumina and aluminum hydroxides. The purpose of this paper is to bring up to date the information now available, in the hope that a clearer understanding of the structures of these materials may prove useful in aiding mineralogists and geologists in studies of the genetic significance of the aluminum hydroxide minerals, and possibly of the closely related clay minerals. Early investigators found the system alumina-water to be confusing, since, prior to X-ray diffraction examination, it was not possible to clearly identify and characterize the various crystalline forms. One could not be certain as to whether or not different investigators were working with the same chemical individuals. In later studies, including some from the authors' laboratory, addi¬tional confusion resulted from difficulty in preparing pure samples of the various aluminum hydroxides and in obtaining relatively large crystals of dimensions above the colloidal range of particle size. Even at present, it is difficult to establish sets of interplanar spacings for the several forms of the aluminum hydroxides, as illustrated by the 29 different X-ray diffraction pat¬terns listed in a current publication. The nomenclature of the aluminum hydroxides is also extremely confus¬ing, inasmuch as two different systems are employed by large groups of in¬vestigators. Plans are being made to formulate a uniform system of nomen¬clature but in this report the designations employed will agree with previous papers from the same source.13,17,18 Four forms of crystalline aluminum hydroxides may be considered to be well defined and recognized, which, together with hydrous alumina "amor¬phous to X-rays," comprise an exceedingly complex inorganic system. Several

Jan 1, 1952

By Wilford Stork

CERTAIN influences of oxygen on iron have been known for many years and it has always been considered one of the worst enemies of the iron and steel founders. Nobody had a good word for it, hence little was done to make use of this oxygen. In all the fields of foundry practice, the desideratum was "melt without oxidation of the metal." In the consideration of the influence of oxygen on cast iron, we must not confuse this condition with oxidized iron caused by poor melting conditions, due to a high bed, heavy charges, low coke ratio, excessive melting rate, high blast, or poor charging. It is admitted that oxygen absorbed by iron melted under these conditions has a deleterious effect on the properties of the iron. The writer has had experience both in the melting under such poor conditions and in remedying these bad conditions and considers the product far inferior to iron melted under normal conditions. As stated by Dr. Richard Moldenke,1 such iron has a higher melting point and high combined carbon, is sluggish, and contains slags and oxides in solution in the liquid, causing slag inclusions and gas occlusions, thus producing defective castings. This oxidized condition cannot be counteracted or removed by any of the known deoxidizers; it can be remedied only by proper melting conditions. Such iron is really burned, whereas the iron considered in this paper was melted under normal conditions with moderate blast, correct bed height, light charges of iron, and low coke consumption and is not in this category at all. In 1914, the late J. E. Johnson, Jr., startled the metallurgists of the world when he published his results on the advantages of oxygen on cast iron.2 His work is so convincing and so logical, in spite of the common and well-established notions on the subject, that nobody has been able to refute a single argument. Such an eminent authority on iron and steel metallurgy as Prof. H. M. Howe has accepted the work in all its details in his latest book3 The work of J. E. Johnson, Jr., has revolutionized

Jan 6, 1919

By Wilhelm Rohn

When a metal solidifies, gas, initially present in solution, may be concentrated at the grain boundaries, leading to brittleness, or it may form solid compounds which, if localized at the grain boundaries, impair the properties. On the other hand, the solid compounds formed sometimes distribute themselves more or less uniformly, and hence may be relatively harmless. If metallic oxides are heated under a partial oxygen pressure less than that corresponding to the dissociation pressure of the oxide in solution in the melt, they will decompose and oxygen will tend to be eliminated from the melt. This paper presents data on the partial oxygen pressures of copper and nickel oxides over a wide range of temperatures; it also presents data regarding the amount and nature of the gases evolved in the vacuum melting of a 3500-kg. charge of nickel-chromium alloy and gives test values indicating the improvement in impact values ascribed to vacuum melting. The results of commercial experience with a 4-ton vacuum melting and casting furnace indicate that this method entails an increase in cost of about 10 cents per pound of ingot over orthodox practice, which may be justified for special products and may be lowered if hot metal is charged into the vacuum furnace. DISCUSSION (Howard Scott presiding) J. H. ScafF, New York, N. Y. (written discussion).—In the section of Dr. Rohn's paper describing the effect of melting -metals in vacuo, he says, "In this way plain copper, nickel and iron may be easily purified. For example, vacuum-melted copper does not contain any oxygen and for this reason it is never sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement." This statement is contrary to the results of our experiments at the Bell Telephone Laboratories on the effect of vacuum melting on the properties of copper. Several 150-gram samples of tough-pitch copper were melted in a vacuum of the order of 1 X 10-5 to 1 X 10-6 mm. Hg for 2 hr. Portions of the ingots obtained were swaged to 0.100 in., then drawn to wire 0.050 in. in diameter for physical and

Jan 1, 1933

By N. B. Wittman

Among the objects of interest which the members of the Institute are invited to examine in connection with this meeting is the Brown segmental wire-gun, which will be seen in process of construction at the works of the Pennsylvania Diamond Drill and Manufacturing Company, at Birdsboro. This is a 5-inch breech-loading (highpower) rifle, 19 feet long, constructed upon the system of Mr. J. H. Brown, an inventor of recognized genius in many branches of mechanical industry, and under the engineering direction of Lieutenant G. N. Whistler, Fifth U. S. Artillery. The system consists essentially of the subdivision of the inner core or tube of the gun, which takes up the initial compression, into longitudinal segments of such size that a higher physical condition and degree of special elasticity may be set up therein than it is possible to produce in the larger masses of metal heretofore used for the tube of the modern high-power cannon. The process consists in winding layers of square steel wire, subjected to a constant tension of 130,000 pounds per square inch, around these segments, which, when so held together, form the tube of the gun. A lining-tube may or may not be used. The steel segments used in the gun now under construction are 18 feet 4 inches long, and 3 inches thick at the breech, from which they taper to 0.8 inches at the muzzle. The physical condition of the segments has been determined by test-pieces, cut from each end of each segment, which show the following characteristics: Tensile strength, 165,000 pounds per square inch. Elastic limit, 105,000 pounds per square inch. Elongation at rupture, 14 per cent. in 2 inches. They are of crucible chrome steel, made by the Carpenter Steel Works, at Reading, Pa. The wire which holds them together has 0.005 square inches sectional area and is wound under a constant tension of 650 pounds on each strand, equivalent to 130,000 pounds per square inch. The winding has been done by a machine designed

Jan 1, 1893

By A. B. Young

THE difficulties encountered in the preparation of. the lead smelter charge for the blast furnace and in the roasting and sintering of the ores, and the expert means taken for the preparation of these materials since the introduction of flotation concentrates into the lead smelter charge, have been described by W. H. Eardley1 and R. A. Wagstaff.2 FUNCTION OF ROASTERS AND BLAST FURNACES The lead smelter has first its roasters and its sintering devices, of which the primary object is the removal of sulfur from the ore or from the charge. The blast furnace follows; its function being the elimination of the gangue material left in the charge-the elimination of the insoluble, the iron, the zinc and the lime from the metallic lead. The secondary object is the separation of copper from the lead. A lead blast furnace is a sensitive apparatus. The materials composing the charge must be marshalled inn certain proportions before they will, make a fluid slag which will separate from the metallic lead. The silica, iron, lime and zinc must be put together in proportions that usually do not exist naturally in the ores, therefore fluxes are necessary. FUNCTION OF THE FLOTATION CELL The flotation cell-speaking from the standpoint of a lead concentrate-has taken over part of the work hitherto performed entirely by either gravity concentration or the lead blast furnace. It has eliminated gangue from the concentrate and separated waste products from the lead. In so far as it has done that, it has usurped some of the function of the lead blast furnace; and it is much cheaper to run a flotation cell than a lead blast furnace. The effect in Utah, and it will be similar to effects in other districts, has been to remove a great deal of the gangue by means of flotation, whereas in the old days it was eliminated by means of smelting. In this district, as in others, the insoluble content of the ores has been greatly out of proportion to the iron and lime content to make a proper slag

Jan 1, 1928

The Committee on Nominations begs to submit the following names as its nominees for the respective offices indicated: For President, SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, New York. For Vice-Presidents. C. W. GOODALE,* Butte, Mont.; MARK, L. REQUA, San Francisco. For Directors, J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York; ALLEN H. ROGERS, Boston; HOWARD N. EAVENSON, West Virginia; ROBERT AI. RAYMOND, New York; WILLET G. MILLER, Canada. The nomination for President has attracted the attention of a large number of members, as is evidenced by the receipt of many hundreds of letters and postcards. Most of these favored either Sidney J. Jennings or Philip N. Moore, each of whom received many cordial endorsements. Such a wide interest on the part of the members is a very wholesome sign, but where there is so much activity it is natural to expect a certain amount of criticism. Some of the letters indicate that the authors feel that the nomination of President should be left entirely to the Committee on Nominations without any effort by the members at large to influence them. Others feel that the nominations are largely controlled by a small group and that the members at large can have little influence. As the result; of the experience of the last few months; a majority of the Committee on Nominations begs leave to suggest that the method of making nominations be changed so that two candidates, at least, for the various offices to be nominated, and suggests that the Directors appoint a committee to investigate this question thoroughly with. a view to making definite recommendations. In accordance with its opinion that the best interests of the Institute would be served by a change in the Constitution, allowing the nomination of two candidates, and in view of the fact that this Committee has no authority to make more than a single nomination for each office, considering the high standing of both Mr. Jennings and Mr. Moore and the large number of members favoring each of these gentlemen, this Committee respectfully suggests the desirability of ,the immediate nomination of Philip N. Moore by a petition of 25 members in accordance with the present Constitution. This Committee regrets, its inability to make two nominations. Respectfully submitted, S. W. MUDD, Chairman.

Jan 1, 1917

By L. G. E. Bignell

Surveying what was done in 1929 in meeting problems of oil-field equipment corrosion, one is struck by the fact that fewer meetings were held for discussion of these problems and fewer papers written than in any year since the subject engaged the attention of petroleum engineers. This does not mean that progress has not been made, for a great deal actually has been accomplished. Recommendations that accompanied field reports have been put into actual trial and some results obtained are gratifying. The type of papers prepared also has undergone a change, for they now deal with things accomplished rather than recite damages and suggest possible remedies. Some of the most notable work pointing the way for future solution of many pipe line problems is that done for the U. S. Bureau of Standards by Dr. K. H. Logan and Dr. Gordon N. Scott, dealing with tests of pipe coatings and reports on soil conditions. Many facts of great importance have been isolated and defined by these two men, not only indicating what may be done in some instances to retard corrosion, but showing that things formerly considered of importance have little bearing apparently upon the practical results. All-aluminum Storage Tanks In April, 1928, an all-aluminum 500-bbl. field storage tank was put into actual field use in Crane County, Texas, together with another tank of the same capacity but made with steel bottom and lower section of side sheets and aluminum upper ring of side sheets and deck. In April, 1929, after a little over one year's use these tanks were opened and examined by a group of engineers and chemists. The results of the test were enlightening. Other tanks made entirely of steel and used in the same battery with the two test tanks had some of their side and bottom sheets destroyed by corrosion in six to nine months, but the all-aluminum tank was in actual use for 18 months before holes were found corroded through the bottom, when the tank was examined for a second time in September, 1929. This field test of the aluminum tank confirmed the already known

Jan 1, 1930

By George Stone

THE stack gases from regenerative furnaces are very seldom utilized for the production of steam. If the temperature of the gases is not higher than 300° C. (572° F.) there is no economy in their use for this purpose, as the amount of available heat is very small and the temperature is so little above that of the steam that the interchange is too slow. With higher temperatures of the waste gases, however, good results can be obtained. At the plant of the New Jersey Zinc Co. (of Pa.) at Palmerton there are a number of return tubular boilers, each 6 ft. in diameter and 20 ft. long, with 96 3.5-in. tubes, which are heated by the waste gases from the spelter furnaces. These furnaces have continuous regenerators heating the air only and the stack gases reach the boilers at a temperature of about 450°. The gas producers for one of these furnaces require 14 tons of anthracite (a mixture of Nos. 2 and 3 buckwheat), and the waste heat from the furnace gives a little more than 42 h.p. in steam. The boilers are not well adapted for the purpose, as they are much too large for the amount of heat going to them and the area of the tubes is not sufficient to take the gas from two furnaces without causing an objectionable amount of back pressure. The plant was built without any idea of using waste-heat boilers, and it was impossible to place the latter as close to the furnaces as they should be. Furnace and boiler are connected by an underground brick flue in which the temperature of the gas drops about 100°, losing 40 per cent. of its available heat. If the .boilers were close to the furnaces the horse power of each would be 70 instead of 42. Even under these unfavorable conditions the boilers have been very advantageous, as one boiler easily supplies the steam necessary for two batteries of producers. With such low gas temperatures the heating surface of the boilers is, of course, not as efficient and the flue areas need to be considerably larger than for coal firing.

Jan 10, 1913

By A. B. Young

The difficulties encountered in the preparation of the lead smelter charge for the blast furnace and in the roasting and sintering of the ores, and the expert means taken for the preparation of these materials since the introduction of flotation concentrates into the lead smelter charge, have been described by W. H. Eardleyl and R. A. Wagstaff.² Function of Roasters and Blast Furnaces The lead smelter has first its roasters and its sintering devices, of which the primary object is the removal of sulfur from the ore or from the charge. The blast furnace follows; its function being the elimination of the gangue material left in the charge—the elimination of the insoluble, the iron, the zinc and the lime from the metallic lead. The secondary object is the separation of copper from the lead. A lead blast furnace is a sensitive apparatus. The materials composing the charge must be marshalled in certain proportions before they will make a fluid slag which will separate from the metallic lead. The silica, iron, lime and zinc must be put together in proportions that usually do not mist naturally in the ores, therefore fluxes are necessary. Function of the Flotation Cell The flotation cell—-speaking from the standpoint of a lead concentrate—has taken over part of the work hitherto performed entirely by either gravity concentration or the lead blast furnace. It has eliminated gangue from the concentrate and separated waste products from the lead. In so far as it has done that, it has usurped some of the function of the lead blast furnace; and it is much cheaper to run a flotation cell than a lead blast furnace. The effect in Utah, and it will be similar to effects in other districts. has been to remove a great deal of the gangue by means of flotation, whereas in the old clays it was eliminated by means of sme1ting. In this district, as in others, the insoluble content of the ores has been greatly out of proportion to the iron and lime content to make a proper slag

Jan 1, 1928

By T. Reed Woodbridge

The object of this paper is to bring to notice a method in use at the Cedar Point laboratory of Witherbees, Sherman & Co., for determining the phosphorus in the ore mined at Mineville, N. Y. This ore is magnetite, with a gangue containing crystals of apatite. In 1886, Mr. H. F. Dawes, then head chemist at the works, suggested that as all the phosphorus seemed to be in the apatite, it could be obtained in solution by dilute nitric acid. After some experimenting the following method was adopted, and has proved invaluable for rapidity and ease; half a dozen determinations requiring very little more time or trouble than one. From + to 10 grammes of ore are weighed into a 150 c.c. beaker; 50 C.C. hot water and 10 c.c. strong nitric acid are added; the beaker is covered and the contents are boiled for 1/2 hour (10 minutes sometimes proves sufficient; but 4 hour is safer). The bumping which ensues if more than & gramme is used need cause no trouble. The hot solution is filtered into a 250 C.C. beaker. The filtration and washing (with hot water) proceed rapidly, as the magnetite itself is but slightly acted upon. After the addition of 15 C.C. ammonia and 15 c.c. nitric acid, the solution is cooled to 45' C., and from 15 to 40 C.C. of molybdic acid solution is added and stirred vigorously. In 5 minutes the precipitate will be down, and the determination can be finished by any good method. At Cedar Point the method more commonly used is weighing as yellow salt. Good washed filter-paper is used, No. 0 Swedish being preferred; and dozen 3 1/2-inch filters are numbered and dried and weighed at 110°C. These are always kept in stock. The yellow salt is filtered on one of these, washed with dilute nitric acid (2 per cent. by volume); dried for 1 hour at 110' C., and then weighed, 1.63 per cent. of weight being calculated as phosphorus. The filters vary in the two weighings from

Jan 1, 1889

By Robert W. Hunt

The first pump of this character, made by H. R. Worthington, and, so far as the writer is informed, the first and only one of this kind ever constructed, is now in daily use in the above-named works. The water-pressure necessary for the working of the hydraulic machinery of this plant had been supplied, up to the time of the building of this pump, by two Worthington Duplex High Pressure Pumps, having steam-cylinders of 20 inches diameter and 12-inch stroke, with water-plungers of 71/2 inches diameter; eight inlet and eight outlet valves of 24 inches diameter, and pumping into a 6-inch pipe. These pumps required a large amount of steam, and, in consequence of the various additions to their duty, their capacity became far short of the work required. In preference to putting in another engine of the same class, it was decided to accept Mr. Worthington's proposition to build the compound one under description, he guaranteeing that it should be equal to the demands of the works, and at the same time cause a saving of from 5 to 6 tons of coal per day from the amount required to run the two old pumps. The new engine has been in operation about one month, and so far has exceeded the most sanguine expectations. It consists of two high-pressure cylinders of 21 inches and two low-pressure ones of 363/8 inches diameter, by 36-inch stroke, with water-plungers of 961/2 inches diameter. There are two air-pumps of 20 inches diameter by 18-inch stroke; the condenser being 24 inches diameter by 60 inches high. Both cylinders are jacketed with wood and felt, and the low-pressure cylinder also with live steam. The high and low pressure steamcylinders are in line and immediately adjoining each other, while the inconveniences attending an internal stuffing-box are avoided by having two piston-rods for each of the low-pressure cylinders, running through stuffing-boxes on the outside of the smaller high-pressure ones. The steam-valves are very ingeniously designed balanced

G. McMEANS*—This paper is a very good demonstration of the use of a new tool for the solution of industrial problems of a physical nature. To have solved this problem without the use of radioactive tracers would have required a far greater amount of investigation and work. The authors have described their work in such detail and in such a manner as to suggest the possibilities of the use of such tracer studies in the solution of many perplexing problems of industry. R. E. BREWER †—The authors are to be congratulated on this very excellent paper, which describes the results obtained by utilizing radioactive tracers in investigating the complicated reactions in the coking process. The paper has especial merit because the study was made under typical operating conditions in a commercial coke oven. Considering all the difficulties involved, the results obtained are excellent. My brief comments will relate primarily to the method used for determining the sulphur in the gas and to the value of the data obtained in stimulating further research. In discussing their results, the authors state (p. 17) that "Of the total sulphur charged to the oven in the coal 95 pct was accounted for in the coke and gas. Most of the sulphur unaccounted for is believed to have been lost in the gas, since the gas sampling system removed all the H2S but probably only part of the organic sulphur compounds present in the gas. Although sulphur in the acid-insoluble tar residue in the gas scrubbing bottles was determined and added to the total sulphur determination of each sample, it is doubtful whether an aliquot portion of tar for each sample was obtained." The reviewer believes that the authors might have obtained a better sulphur balance had they used an improved procedure for determining sulphur in the gas. The absorption train should have included a trap to remove the tar and am-moniacal liquor and a wash bottle containing 5 pct sulphuric acid to remove ammonia in the coke-oven gas before it entered the gas scrubbing bottles containing the ammoniacal cadmium chloride solution. Sulphur in the tar and

Jan 1, 1950