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By J. B. Umpleby

The subject of reservoir energy and its efficient utilization has been well explored in many papers. The present effort, therefore, is limited to a summary of existing information combined with an emphasis of the probability that the relative importance of controlling factors will change with advancing knowledge. Consequently the necessity for flexibility in laws and regulations, inherent in the problem, is emphasized. Definitions Many terms have been widely used in the literature without having been specifically defined. For example, confusion exists in the use of ((reservoir energy" and "gas energy." The latter is much more limited in meaning than the former. Other terms have been variously used. Consequently, I shall preface my remarks with definitions of a few of the more pertinent terms. Reservoir energy is that force or forces, active or potential, that is native to the reservoir and has the power to move oil through the reservoir rock. The energy may result from expanding gas, from hydrostatic head, from the weight of overburden, or from any other source. Gas energy is the expansive power of gas when pressure is reduced. It is one type of reservoir energy. An oil reservoir is that part of a geologic formation or formations in which oil occurs in commercial quantities wholly surrounded by nonproductive rock. The essence of this definition is effective separation rather than remoteness and under it oil reservoirs may be superimposed in the same oil pool. Conservation of reservoir energy means primarily its maximum use in the production of oil. Unit operation is a plan of development and production, which embraces an entire oil reservoir under a unity of engineering control. It is distinct from unitization, which has to do with arrangements of organization and equities to make unit operation possible in areas of divided ownership.

Jan 1, 1934

By Joseph Jensen

When the legal holders of Government permits in the Middle dome of Kettleman Hills entered into an agreement on May 27, 1929, to suspend all drilling activities on five permits, covering portions of the Kettleman Hills Middle dome, until Jan. 1, 1931, and the owners of fee lands contiguous thereto assured Secretary Ray Lyman Wilbur, of the Department of the Interior, that they too would respect a drilling suspension for a period of a little more than 19 months, none of these interested parties realized that this was the first step in a chain of events that would culminate, more than four years later, in the formation of the Middle Dome Corporation for the development of the Middle dome area in a unit plan that would be the first unit plan to be approved by the California Regional Producers Committee and recommended to the President as a satisfactory unit plan, under Section 7 of Article III of the Oil Code, approved Aug. 17, 1933. Neither did they realize that more than two million dollars would be spent before oil or gas would be successfully and continuously produced from wells drilled on that Middle dome area. On Oct. 1, 1933, under the terms of the Middle Dome Agreement, the Middle Dome Corporation assumes control of activities and is responsible for the division of all product's produced from the Middle dome area to members of the Middle Dome Corporation. This Middle dome plan is the second successful unit plan developed in California in the past three years, the first being the Kettleman North Dome Associationll formed under the agreement, of Jan. 31, 1931, for the unified operation and development of more than 12,000 acres of land on the North dome of the Kettleman Hills. All other unit plans discussed in the past four years in the state have not yet been completed, for one reason or another, but under Section 7 of Article 111 of the new Oil Code numerous plans of development, some of which may be unit plans, will be forthcoming within the next few months. There is much

Jan 1, 1934

By Earl Chairman Oliver

The major development in stabilization of the oil industry during 1933 was the transition in the United States from state control to federal control in many of the functions that government is presumed to exercise. A brief review of the influences leading to that transition is given here to suggest its significance and to assist in forecasting its further development. Bitumens were known to the ancients and have been applied to minor uses since earliest historic times, but it was not until after the discovery of oil in considerable quantities near Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859 that it was made the basis of extensive commercial undertakings. In 1859 little was known about the origin of oil and gas, the nature of these deposits, and the physical laws that controlled their accumulation. Scientists soon began to study them, but 50 years or more of active oil-field development had elapsed before sufficient geological information had been accumulated to point the way toward efficient recovery of these products. In fact, only within the past five years has the function of reservoir energy become widely understood, yet it is a primary factor in oil recovery. discovery near Titusville, this infant industry has developed into an industrial giant. In complete ignorance of their destructive effect, wasteful development methods were initiated in Oil Creek and these became industrial habits. These habits in turn became oil and gas law. Under that law vast sums of money have been expended, rights have become vested and development methods fastened on a great industry that not only bring upon it periodic demoralization but cause ruthless destruction of the nation's reserves of these important natural resources. This is occurring in the midst of a petroleum era when oil is essential to the nation's security, its industrial supremacy, and the personal convenience of every citizen. Its conservation, therefore, has become a question of grave national concern. Conflict between PHysical Facts and Oil Law This destruction of an important natural resource and periodic demoralization of a vast industry can be halted only by readjusting oil

Jan 1, 1934

By Earl Oliver

Dean Roscoe Pound, of Harvard Law School, in addressing the A.I.M.E. Petroleum Division on Feb. 22, 1934, said, "When you are able to work out a program that is mechanically feasible, that is economicaIly advisable, and which seems in your judgment, which is just as good as that of anyone, to be politically wise, you will not have very much trouble in the end in inducing the courts of today to find that it is legally sound." The purpose of this paper is to show: first, legal conditions necessary to promote conservation and stabilization; and second, to suggest operating procedure when those legal conditions are established. The proposal is mechanically feasible and economically advisable. A growing public understanding should make it politically wise. The disappointing progress in the development of conservation and stabilization can be attributed to the lack of two legal concepts as integral parts of oil and gas law; i.e., (1) a practical substitute for the capture rule, (2) collective ownership control for the individual oil and gas pool. When these two concepts are established on an equitable basis, conservation and stabilization procedure will become a comparatively simple process, more or less automatic in its adaptation and operation. Establishing these concepts is the function of the law-making agencies and might well be left to them for discussion except that the mechanical processes that give them form and substance must first be developed by the engineer. A Substitute for the Capture Rule Much has been written on these subjects, but the most concrete statement that has come to the attention of this writer is the following from an article by Charles G. Haglund in the Kentucky Law Journal of May, 1934: The Oxford1 case is not only authority for the proposition that it is competent for the legislature to modify the old property law of capture with respect to oil and gas but that it may also delegate such authority to a subordinate body.

Jan 1, 1935

By Henry M. Bates, Roscoe Pound

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: I accepted your Chairman's invitation to speak to a group of experts in this field with the greatest hesitation, because I know little or nothing about it. Certainly I can make no detailed suggestions, or suggest planning along very definite lines. You cannot do that sort of thing in a vacuum, and as I have suggested, my knowledge of the whole oil problem is next to nothing. It is possible that as a student of our public law, constitutional law particularly, for a number of years, I have acquired a perspective that may enable me to offer, for what they are worth, some general thoughts on these problems. I think that nothing in the whole field of law requires more definitely and clearly the functional approach than does the problem of a sound legal solution of the difficulties of the oil and gas industry. The industry is dealing with substances that are peculiar, and one must know how those substances act and what has been the history of the industry, to undertake to make anything like specific suggestions. I certainly am not qualified.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. Norman Bowers, Blaine B. Wescott

Marked improvement in the serviceability of sucker rods has been effected in the last two years, partly because of the insistent necessity for greater economy in the operating costs of crude oil production growing out of the general industrial depression and partly because many of the recently developed fields have imposed more severe operating conditions upon both surface and underground equipment. The latter is particularly true of Kansas, where practically all of the oil produced is associated with damaging amounts of hydrogen sulfide brine and where the method of establishing potential production demands equipment capable of being operated at maximum capacity without interruptions. The decline of flush production in the Oklahoma City field created new problems in deep-well pumping on a scale heretofore unequaled and the increased proportion of water it has been necessary to produce in the fields of the Greater Seminole area presented conditions that were acutely in need of betterment. The problem in the latter fields was complicated by the shift towards sulfide characteristics, which accompanied water encroachment, and it is probably true that nowhere, at the present time, are pumping conditions generally as severe as in this territory. The Mid-Continent district, therefore, has become the proving ground for the numerous materials that have been proposed for sucker-rod fabrication. The information that ultimately will be obtained from an unprecedented amount of field experimentation will pay ample dividends when the decline of East Texas increases the demand for the vast reserves of sour crude in West Texas. It is a rare occurrence in industry that the use of such a simple piece of equipment as a sucker rod presents so complicated a problem for solution. As proof of this, it is only necessary to consider the numerous types of sucker rods on the market at the present time and contrast this condition with that of less than four years ago, when it was the common aim of manufacturers to develop a single sucker rod for all conditions of

Jan 1, 1935

By Walter M. Stephen

Modern developments in alloy steels have been so rapid and diverse that engineering practice has scarcely had time to re-appraise all items of past experience wherein conclusions became axiomatic under conditions that no longer apply. A case in point is the wet screening of abrasive ores within the fine range still looked upon as belonging exclusively to classifiers. By virtue of the development of stainless steels (18 per cent Cr, 8 per cent Ni), it is no longer true that classifiers are more economical than screens in closed circuit with large-tonnage ball or rod mills at 65 or even 100 mesh, provided a selective overgrind of the higher-gravity constituents of the ore is not desired. Wet screening of ores is a highly corrosive as well as an abrasive operation, because of the inevitably high degree of oxygenation of the water. Screen cloth of ordinary or spring-steel wire almost at once becomes pitted and covered with a film of corrosion products, which causes rust-blinding of fine-mesh screens and offers high frictional impedance to the flow of ore particles. On the other hand, the well-known properties of stainless steel enable it to maintain a bright surface, and so to eliminate blinding either by ore particles or by corrosion products. That a large-tonnage mill grinding hard ore to 65 mesh can be operated economically in closed circuit with screens instead of classifiers has recently been demonstrated at the Copper Cliff concentrator of the International Nickel Co.; in the test to be described, a 6½ by 12½-ft. Marcy rod mill ground from 625 to 820 tons of ore per day to approximately 65 mesh, operating in closed circuit with three 4 by 5-ft. Hum-mer screens, without any classifier. Stainless-steel cloth gave an indicated life of several months. There was no difficulty with blinding, yet dilution and spray water could be controlled so that screen undersize averaged not less than 40 per cent solids. In contrast, ordinary carbon steel was pitted and blind with rust within 40 hours.

Jan 1, 1939

By Walter M. Stephen

Modern developments in alloy steels have been so rapid and diverse that engineering practice has scarcely had time to re-appraise all items of past experience wherein conclusions became axiomatic under conditions that no longer apply. A case in point is the wet screening of abrasive ores within the fine range still looked upon as belonging exclusively to classifiers. By virtue of the development of stainless steels (18 per cent Cr, 8 per cent Ni), it is no longer true that classifiers are more economical than screens in closed circuit with large-tonnage ball or rod mills at 65 or even 100 mesh, provided a selective overgrind of the higher-gravity constituents of the ore is not desired. Wet screening of ores is a highly corrosive as well as an abrasive operation, because of the inevitably high degree of oxygenation of the water. Screen cloth of ordinary or spring-steel wire almost at once becomes pitted and covered with a film of corrosion products, which causes rust-blinding of fine-mesh screens and offers high frictional impedance to the flow of ore particles. On the other hand, the well-known properties of stainless steel enable it to maintain a bright surface, and so to eliminate blinding either by ore particles or by corrosion products. That a large-tonnage mill grinding hard ore to 65 mesh can be operated economically in closed circuit with screens instead of classifiers has recently been demonstrated at the Copper Cliff concentrator of the International Nickel Co.; in the test to be described, a 6½ by 12½-ft. Marcy rod mill ground from 625 to 820 tons of ore per day to approximately 65 mesh, operating in closed circuit with three 4 by 5-ft. Hum-mer screens, without any classifier. Stainless-steel cloth gave an indicated life of several months. There was no difficulty with blinding, yet dilution and spray water could be controlled so that screen undersize averaged not less than 40 per cent solids. In contrast, ordinary carbon steel was pitted and blind with rust within 40 hours.

Jan 1, 1939

By Charles F. Ramseyer

The manufacture of iron and steel is one of the largest of our industries; and in point of size of single plant and equipment certainly the biggest of all industries. By the general public it is generally considered a prime example both of the marvelous technical advances achieved by modern science and engineering in the design and operation of equipment and of the efficiency of big business in the coordination of men and materials. Actually the operation of its basic processes has not changed significantly in either theory or fundamental design of equipment in the past 75 years. Though many other process industries have been born and developed, and not seldom completely revolutionized, during this period, the primary processes of making iron and steel are still carried out along the lines laid down, and in the equipment originated so long ago, by Bessemer, Siemens and Martin, and subsequently expanded to practically the modern scale by Carnegie, Schwab and Captain Bill Jones in the eighteen eighties and nineties. The application of the principles underlying the continuous counter-current physical and chemical interaction of solids, liquids and gases, which have been so successfully used in the rapid evolution of our chemical process industries, has been very largely lacking in the steel industry. In the days of the last-named giants, especially Carnegie, the steel industry made great and rapid technical progress. Carnegie's ever driving idea (as later with Ford in the production of automobiles) was the finding of new and better ways of making cheaper steel. Carnegie himself was a steelman, and so long as he dominated the industry its technical progress was rapid; and he, like Ford, was vastly successful financially as well, since his costs were continually being driven lower than those of his competitors by his advances in steelmaking technique.

Jan 1, 1935

By Charles F. Ramseyer

The manufacture of iron and steel is one of the largest of our industries; and in point of size of single plant and equipment certainly the biggest of all industries. By the general public it is generally considered a prime example both of the marvelous technical advances achieved by modern science and engineering in the design and operation of equipment and of the efficiency of big business in the coordination of men and materials. Actually the operation of its basic processes has not changed significantly in either theory or fundamental design of equipment in the past 75 years. Though many other process industries have been born and developed, and not seldom completely revolutionized, during this period, the primary processes of making iron and steel are still carried out along the lines laid down, and in the equipment originated so long ago, by Bessemer, Siemens and Martin, and subsequently expanded to practically the modern scale by Carnegie, Schwab and Captain Bill Jones in the eighteen eighties and nineties. The application of the principles underlying the continuous counter-current physical and chemical interaction of solids, liquids and gases, which have been so successfully used in the rapid evolution of our chemical process industries, has been very largely lacking in the steel industry. In the days of the last-named giants, especially Carnegie, the steel industry made great and rapid technical progress. Carnegie's ever driving idea (as later with Ford in the production of automobiles) was the finding of new and better ways of making cheaper steel. Carnegie himself was a steelman, and so long as he dominated the industry its technical progress was rapid; and he, like Ford, was vastly successful financially as well, since his costs were continually being driven lower than those of his competitors by his advances in steelmaking technique.

Jan 1, 1935

By P. H. Delano, Will H. Coghill, G. D. Coe

Data concerning the actual net energy required for pulverizing coal are lacking from the literature on coal pulverization. Power data given in the literature concern gross power and frequently include the power expended on the air blast or product-conveyor system, as well as power lost through friction in the pulverizer itself. Consequently, such data supply no information regarding the net energy consumed in pulverizing or the relative grinding resistance of various coals. In the study of coal pulverizing much work has been done on what is known as " grindability-index numbers," but grind-ability tests have seldom considered the energy input (that is, the "cause" part of the system "cause and effect"). There are many records of the effect, but even these have questionable value because the "grindability" tests did not make a pull'erized product by a method comparabLe with- commercial pulverizers. In many of the tests, only a selected part of the coal was ground, and the remainder continued to be an unknown factor. Furthermore, none of the grindability tests provide the balanced circulating load common to all modern commercial pulverizing. In order to obtain better understanding of the fundamental principles of coal pulvcrizing, the Bureau of Mines is investigating the "cause" phase; that is, the net energy input or net power excluding friction between the moving parts of the machine. As a first step in the investigation,it was necessary to design and construct a laboratory machine in which no friction-loss corrections are involved, which could grind and finish a minus-¾-inch feed, which could be emptied rapidly and completely, which could operate with a continuous feed and finish in an air separator; and, most essential of all, which would be equipped with a measuring device for recording only that portion of the total power consumed in actual pulverizing, hereafter referred to as "net energy input" or "net horsepower-hours." The channel-roller pulverizer hereinafter described is believed to meet these requirements. History oF the Machine The, work started when Ralph W. smith, engineer, St. Genevieve Lime Co., St. Cenevieve, Mo., was appointed one of the consultants of the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama, to develop a machine for testing the abrasiveness of coal. Smith had already developed a machine for testing the abrasive-ness of dentifrices,1 and it was thought the same principles might be applied to coal, Smith's machine had a revolving disk with an annular channel in which the sample was placed. Riding in the channel was a small block or runner of selected soft metal held

Jan 1, 1942

By Will H. Coghill, P. H. Delano, G. D. Coe

Data concerning the actual net energy required for pulverizing coal are lacking from the literature on coal pulverization. Power data given in the literature concern gross power and frequently include the power expended on the air blast or product-conveyor system, as well as power lost through friction in the pulverizer itself. Consequently, such data supply no information regarding the net energy consumed in pulverizing or the relative grinding resistance of various coals. In the study of coal pulverizing much work has been done on what is known as " grindability-index numbers," but grind-ability tests have seldom considered the energy input (that is, the "cause" part of the system "cause and effect"). There are many records of the effect, but even these have questionable value because the "grindability" tests did not make a pull'erized product by a method comparabLe with- commercial pulverizers. In many of the tests, only a selected part of the coal was ground, and the remainder continued to be an unknown factor. Furthermore, none of the grindability tests provide the balanced circulating load common to all modern commercial pulverizing. In order to obtain better understanding of the fundamental principles of coal pulvcrizing, the Bureau of Mines is investigating the "cause" phase; that is, the net energy input or net power excluding friction between the moving parts of the machine. As a first step in the investigation,it was necessary to design and construct a laboratory machine in which no friction-loss corrections are involved, which could grind and finish a minus-¾-inch feed, which could be emptied rapidly and completely, which could operate with a continuous feed and finish in an air separator; and, most essential of all, which would be equipped with a measuring device for recording only that portion of the total power consumed in actual pulverizing, hereafter referred to as "net energy input" or "net horsepower-hours." The channel-roller pulverizer hereinafter described is believed to meet these requirements. History oF the Machine The, work started when Ralph W. smith, engineer, St. Genevieve Lime Co., St. Cenevieve, Mo., was appointed one of the consultants of the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama, to develop a machine for testing the abrasiveness of coal. Smith had already developed a machine for testing the abrasive-ness of dentifrices,1 and it was thought the same principles might be applied to coal, Smith's machine had a revolving disk with an annular channel in which the sample was placed. Riding in the channel was a small block or runner of selected soft metal held

Jan 1, 1942

By E. S. Grumell

The correct sampling of coal and coke is becoming important to an ever increasing number of producers and consumers. This, therefore, may be an opportune moment to examine where we stand with regard to existing and proposed methods. In this paper an attempt will be made to review, as briefly as possible, some of the considerable amount of painstaking research which has been done in the last 10 years, and which has unquestionably led to a much better understanding of the subject. In so doing we shall try, on the one hand, to make clear where substantial progress has been made, and on the other hand, to draw attention to points that require further investigation. The paper is divided into sections in order to emphasize the major divisions of the subject; further, in order to retain this emphasis, detailed consideration of some of the points has been relegated to appendixes. No attempt has been made to give a complete survey of the literature, as this has already been done by L. A. Bushell.2 The following abbreviations will be used: A.E., average error; P.E., probable error; S.W.R., size-weight ratio; B.S.I., British Standards Institution. Section 1.—Cost It has often been stated that the cost of sampling should bear some relationship to the value of the product, and since coal is a relatively cheap raw material it would be a major error to specify, for ordinary commercial purposes, elaborate and costly methods of sampling which nobody would adopt. Specifications must be of such a nature that they will be used. We believe that one of the achievements of the last 10 years has been to reduce the cost of sampling. There is, however, another point to be considered; via., that the cost of sampling should bear some relationship to the value of the investigation. Correct sampling is a cog (possibly a small one) in the wheel

Jan 1, 1940

By E. S. Grumell

The correct sampling of coal and coke is becoming important to an ever increasing number of producers and consumers. This, therefore, may be an opportune moment to examine where we stand with regard to existing and proposed methods. In this paper an attempt will be made to review, as briefly as possible, some of the considerable amount of painstaking research which has been done in the last 10 years, and which has unquestionably led to a much better understanding of the subject. In so doing we shall try, on the one hand, to make clear where substantial progress has been made, and on the other hand, to draw attention to points that require further investigation. The paper is divided into sections in order to emphasize the major divisions of the subject; further, in order to retain this emphasis, detailed consideration of some of the points has been relegated to appendixes. No attempt has been made to give a complete survey of the literature, as this has already been done by L. A. Bushell.2 The following abbreviations will be used: A.E., average error; P.E., probable error; S.W.R., size-weight ratio; B.S.I., British Standards Institution. Section 1.—Cost It has often been stated that the cost of sampling should bear some relationship to the value of the product, and since coal is a relatively cheap raw material it would be a major error to specify, for ordinary commercial purposes, elaborate and costly methods of sampling which nobody would adopt. Specifications must be of such a nature that they will be used. We believe that one of the achievements of the last 10 years has been to reduce the cost of sampling. There is, however, another point to be considered; via., that the cost of sampling should bear some relationship to the value of the investigation. Correct sampling is a cog (possibly a small one) in the wheel

Jan 1, 1940

By Bruce W. Gonser, A. U. Seybolt

A few copper-zinc-hasp alloys mppt die-casting requirements reasonably well, although improvements are desired. Aluminum bronzes, high-tin bronzes and some copper-nickel-zinc alloys can be die-cast, according to Herb,' but seldom are because of such factors as higher melting ranges and greater cost than certain of the brasses. Fox2 has summarized the copper-base die-casting alloys that were in commercial use in 1937 and has given the effects of different alloying constituents. Table 1 gives some of the properties of these alloys as reported by Fox. a Properties reported by Fox.2 b Trade name of Brastil, Doehler Die Casting Co., similar to Webert Alloy,34 American Brass Co., and Tombasil Alloy,5 Ajax Metal Co. e Trade name Tinicosil, Titan Metal Manufacturing Co. Melting point (liquidus) of the yellow brass is given by Herb1 as 1650" F., of the high-silicon Brastil (with 4.5 to 5 per cent Si) as 1600" F., and of the nickel silver as 1675" F. d Criterion not stated.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. U. Seybolt, Bruce W. Gonser

A few copper-zinc-hasp alloys mppt die-casting requirements reasonably well, although improvements are desired. Aluminum bronzes, high-tin bronzes and some copper-nickel-zinc alloys can be die-cast, according to Herb,' but seldom are because of such factors as higher melting ranges and greater cost than certain of the brasses. Fox2 has summarized the copper-base die-casting alloys that were in commercial use in 1937 and has given the effects of different alloying constituents. Table 1 gives some of the properties of these alloys as reported by Fox. a Properties reported by Fox.2 b Trade name of Brastil, Doehler Die Casting Co., similar to Webert Alloy,34 American Brass Co., and Tombasil Alloy,5 Ajax Metal Co. e Trade name Tinicosil, Titan Metal Manufacturing Co. Melting point (liquidus) of the yellow brass is given by Herb1 as 1650" F., of the high-silicon Brastil (with 4.5 to 5 per cent Si) as 1600" F., and of the nickel silver as 1675" F. d Criterion not stated.

Jan 1, 1940

By Gordon M. Yocom

A pRopeR consideration of the subject of this paper should include economic aspects as well as the technical phases of the metallurgy, production, and properties of the product. The metallurgical phases of the processing and properties of the product will be considered only from practical aspects and within the scope of the writer's experience with tonnage production. The Bessemer process was invented 85 years ago and became important because it put steel manufacture upon a larger and less costly basis. In America the Bessemer production has declined for many years and has not maintained its proportionate place with the rapid advances of the open hearth. The achievements in the open-hearth field were attained by the greater number of technical people attracted to that branch of the industry. The antipathy of technical students for the older and less popular Bessemer field gradually weakened the forces defending it and retarded the development of new and better methods. In Europe the economic advantage of the basic Bessemer process has not been overlooked and the tonnage usually is greater than that of the open hearth. The acid process has been the subject of renewed attention in America during the past few years and those who are more familiar with it are striving to show that the method is too valuable to abandon. A considerable tonnage of Bessemer-blown metal, in both molten and ingot forms, used in connection with the open-hearth practice makes it an important auxiliary unit to the industry. This practice aids in modifying the price level of heavy remelting scrap in addition to speeding up the open-hearth operation. The use of Bessemer steel has continued not only because of periodic economic advantages but also because of certain inherent qualities of machinability, weldability and stiffness, which are valuable for many applications. The properties of stiffness and rather high reaction to cold-work require some modification in order to meet the demands of modem methods of processing, which involve cold-reduction and cold-forming. At least one factor contributing to the stiffness of this steel is the relatively high phosphorus content of the acid product. The phosphorus content of the Thomas or basic Bessemer steel of Europe is considerably lower than the normal acid product in America. The American industry has continued the use of the acid process chiefly for the reason that the available ores are more easily adapted to this process from both metallurgical and economic standpoints. In European practice the basic process is necessary with the highly phosphoric ores available and it is sustained to some degree by the sale of the rich phosphate slag as a by-product. The basic process was used in this country at several plants many years ago, but was abandoned for economic reasons. A part of the past history of these trials is given here because the author believes it has not been published and it has some bearing on the subject of this paper. The information is authentic to the extent that he possesses chemical laboratory notebooks

Jan 1, 1941

By Gordon M. Yocom

A pRopeR consideration of the subject of this paper should include economic aspects as well as the technical phases of the metallurgy, production, and properties of the product. The metallurgical phases of the processing and properties of the product will be considered only from practical aspects and within the scope of the writer's experience with tonnage production. The Bessemer process was invented 85 years ago and became important because it put steel manufacture upon a larger and less costly basis. In America the Bessemer production has declined for many years and has not maintained its proportionate place with the rapid advances of the open hearth. The achievements in the open-hearth field were attained by the greater number of technical people attracted to that branch of the industry. The antipathy of technical students for the older and less popular Bessemer field gradually weakened the forces defending it and retarded the development of new and better methods. In Europe the economic advantage of the basic Bessemer process has not been overlooked and the tonnage usually is greater than that of the open hearth. The acid process has been the subject of renewed attention in America during the past few years and those who are more familiar with it are striving to show that the method is too valuable to abandon. A considerable tonnage of Bessemer-blown metal, in both molten and ingot forms, used in connection with the open-hearth practice makes it an important auxiliary unit to the industry. This practice aids in modifying the price level of heavy remelting scrap in addition to speeding up the open-hearth operation. The use of Bessemer steel has continued not only because of periodic economic advantages but also because of certain inherent qualities of machinability, weldability and stiffness, which are valuable for many applications. The properties of stiffness and rather high reaction to cold-work require some modification in order to meet the demands of modem methods of processing, which involve cold-reduction and cold-forming. At least one factor contributing to the stiffness of this steel is the relatively high phosphorus content of the acid product. The phosphorus content of the Thomas or basic Bessemer steel of Europe is considerably lower than the normal acid product in America. The American industry has continued the use of the acid process chiefly for the reason that the available ores are more easily adapted to this process from both metallurgical and economic standpoints. In European practice the basic process is necessary with the highly phosphoric ores available and it is sustained to some degree by the sale of the rich phosphate slag as a by-product. The basic process was used in this country at several plants many years ago, but was abandoned for economic reasons. A part of the past history of these trials is given here because the author believes it has not been published and it has some bearing on the subject of this paper. The information is authentic to the extent that he possesses chemical laboratory notebooks

Jan 1, 1941

By G. A. Vissac

In the presentation which follows, wash-ability curves, such as are commonly used in making studies preliminary to the cleaning of any coal or to the concentration of any mineral, have been reduced in each instance to a single straight line; thus all the most important characteristics of the coal or mineral are represented in a form more advantageous than that in which such data usually are shown. To obtain consistent results, float-and-sink data must be based on a single definite narrow size range, which may be designated "a coal unit." It will be shown that such units, each embodying a different size range, can be grouped to form what may be termed "a composite coal." A three-dimensional presentation will emerge, which will closely identify the coal, illustrate its characteristics in a new manner and explain many obscure facts. Float-and-sink Tests For the preliminary study of any cleaning or concentration problem, or in the control of any operation, float-and-sink tests must be made. The results of these tests are grouped in tabular form and then illustrated in various systems of curves; but if such a graphic representation is to have the utmost practical value, it must offer at least the following advantages: (I) It must be easier to read than the tabular results, and (2) it must be easy to plot, check and interpolate. The first requirement will be attained by reducing the number of curves to a minimum, and the second by some system of representation that will use only straight lines. Of the many washing curves now in use, only the "recovery curve," often known as the "composite curve"—a somewhat misleading term—will be considered; Any point on the recovery curve will show what percentage of weight of clean coal can be recovered when the mineral is washed at a certain specific gravity. As an example, the tests listed below Fig. I are illustrated in the drawing by a curve obtained by plotting (I) as abscissas the ash content of the coal recovered and (2) as ordinates the corresponding percentage of refuse discarded; but, in general practice, instead of writing down that weight, it is customary to set down its complement, which is the corresponding weight of coal recovered. From this curve can be deduced the information necessary for the solution of most practical problems. New Form of Graphic Presentation The resemblance of the recovery curve ill Fig. 1, or, for that matter, the recovery curve obtained in common practice! to a Power curve is apparent. The general equation of such a curve is Y = axn, where n is negative. Taking logarithms: log y = a + n log x. Using a logarithmic scale, the equation of the recovery curve will be Y = A + bX. On this logarithmic basis! the recovery graph will be a straight line, using the same variables as in Fig. I; namely, the ash con-

Jan 1, 1942

By G. A. Vissac

In the presentation which follows, wash-ability curves, such as are commonly used in making studies preliminary to the cleaning of any coal or to the concentration of any mineral, have been reduced in each instance to a single straight line; thus all the most important characteristics of the coal or mineral are represented in a form more advantageous than that in which such data usually are shown. To obtain consistent results, float-and-sink data must be based on a single definite narrow size range, which may be designated "a coal unit." It will be shown that such units, each embodying a different size range, can be grouped to form what may be termed "a composite coal." A three-dimensional presentation will emerge, which will closely identify the coal, illustrate its characteristics in a new manner and explain many obscure facts. Float-and-sink Tests For the preliminary study of any cleaning or concentration problem, or in the control of any operation, float-and-sink tests must be made. The results of these tests are grouped in tabular form and then illustrated in various systems of curves; but if such a graphic representation is to have the utmost practical value, it must offer at least the following advantages: (I) It must be easier to read than the tabular results, and (2) it must be easy to plot, check and interpolate. The first requirement will be attained by reducing the number of curves to a minimum, and the second by some system of representation that will use only straight lines. Of the many washing curves now in use, only the "recovery curve," often known as the "composite curve"—a somewhat misleading term—will be considered; Any point on the recovery curve will show what percentage of weight of clean coal can be recovered when the mineral is washed at a certain specific gravity. As an example, the tests listed below Fig. I are illustrated in the drawing by a curve obtained by plotting (I) as abscissas the ash content of the coal recovered and (2) as ordinates the corresponding percentage of refuse discarded; but, in general practice, instead of writing down that weight, it is customary to set down its complement, which is the corresponding weight of coal recovered. From this curve can be deduced the information necessary for the solution of most practical problems. New Form of Graphic Presentation The resemblance of the recovery curve ill Fig. 1, or, for that matter, the recovery curve obtained in common practice! to a Power curve is apparent. The general equation of such a curve is Y = axn, where n is negative. Taking logarithms: log y = a + n log x. Using a logarithmic scale, the equation of the recovery curve will be Y = A + bX. On this logarithmic basis! the recovery graph will be a straight line, using the same variables as in Fig. I; namely, the ash con-

Jan 1, 1942