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By James R. Kerr

This study reviews the sulfur and suliuric acid industries in Eastern United States with emphasis on patterns of consumption and marketing. Output of sulfur in the East is relatively small, and most of the area's sulfur requirements are met by gulf coast Frasch sulfur. Over the long ten recovered elemental sulfur from sour natural gas and petroleum may become the East's major source of sulfur. In 1958 sulfuric acid manufacture consumed over 80 percent of the area's sulfur requirements. The leading uses for sulfuric acid were the manufacture of superphosphates and chemicals. Over the years, unit requirements for sulfur and acid in many major markets have been reduced through improved technology, but new markets always have been developed to keep the industry vital and growing.

Jan 1, 1965

By James R. Kerr

This study reviews the sulfur and suliuric acid industries in Eastern United States with emphasis on patterns of consumption and marketing. Output of sulfur in the East is relatively small, and most of the area's sulfur requirements are met by gulf coast Frasch sulfur. Over the long ten recovered elemental sulfur from sour natural gas and petroleum may become the East's major source of sulfur. In 1958 sulfuric acid manufacture consumed over 80 percent of the area's sulfur requirements. The leading uses for sulfuric acid were the manufacture of superphosphates and chemicals. Over the years, unit requirements for sulfur and acid in many major markets have been reduced through improved technology, but new markets always have been developed to keep the industry vital and growing.

Jan 1, 1965

By Paul L. Campbell

Investigations by the Federal Bureau of Mines of methods of upgrading tar obtained by low-temperature carbonization of lignite showed that ß,ß?-oxydipropionitrile, ß,ß?-iminodipropionitrile, and ß,ß'-thiodipropionitrile were effective solvents for extracting aromatics (aromatic hydrocarbons plus polar compounds) from coal-tar neutral distillate fractions. Batch extraction showed that these solvents extracted approximately the same percentage of aromatics from various neutral oil fractions boiling between approximately 170° and 350° C. In continuous countercurrent extractions using oxydipropionitrile and iminodipropionitrile, approximately 30 to 35 vol.-pct, and 65 to 70 vol.-pct, of the aromatics in 170° to 350° C. neutral distillate oil were extracted at room temperature when solvent-to-oil ratios were 2:1 and 12:1, respectively. As the concentration of aromatics in the neutral distillate oil fraction decreased, the capacities and, to some extent, the selectivities of these solvents for the remaining aromatics decreased. Aromatics were isolated from the extracts and the solvents recovered by washing the extract fractions with a low-boiling paraffinic hydrocarbon such as heptane, using hydrocarbon-to-extract ratios of at least 2:1. The heptane wash removed most of the aromatics but only part of the polar compounds (compounds containing oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen) from the extracts. The recovered oxydipropionitrile and iminodipropionitrile, containing polar compounds, were effective in extracting aromatics from neutral distillate oils. The contaminated solvents showed essentially the same capacities and selectivities as the pure solvents.

Jan 1, 1961

By R. O. Dannenberg

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory batch and small-scale continuous tests to remove traces of dissolved molybdenum from water simulating waste discharged from a molybdenum concentrator, Molybdenum concentrations, initially ranging from 2 to 10 ppm, were decreased to 0.5 ppm or less by coprecipitation of the molybdenum with freshly precipitated ferric hydroxide" The precipitate was separated as a froth by dissolved-air flotation for subsequent disposal. Although the treated water met current environmental standards for contained molybdenum, contained particulate iron might have to be removed by filtration for the water to be acceptable. Estimated costs for treating concentrator effluent water were 55 cents, 57 cents, and 64 cents per 1,000 gal at initial molybdenum concentrations of 2, 4, and 10 ppm, respectively.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. B. Elizondo

This paper, which describes mining methods and practices at the Piokee mining unit and the Piokee expertmental mining project of The Eagle-Picher Co. in northeast Oklahoma, is one of a series being prepared by the Federal Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States. The Piokee unit, comprising the Piokee, Rowe, Lucky Syndicate, and parts of the Netta White and Otis White leases, is in the SW1/4, W1/2NW1/4SE1/4, and W1/2SW1/4SE1/4 sec. 17, T. 29 N., R. 23 E., Ottawa County, Okla. (figs. 1 and 2), The 200-acre tract is adjacent to the town of Picher and near the heart of the Picher field of the Tri-State zinc-lead mining district.

Jan 1, 1959

By James Westfield

This report covers the calendar year 1954 and has been prepared and submitted to the Congress of the United States in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 106(a) and Sec. 2l2(c) of the Federal Coal-Mine Safety Act (66 Stat. 692; 30 U.S.C. Sec. 451-483). Background The Federal Coal-Mine Inspection program was established to carry out the provisions of Public Law 49, 77th Congress, H. R. 2082, approved May 7, 1941. This act has since been amended to be known as Title I -Advisory Powers Relating to Health and Safety Conditions in Mines, under Public Law 552, 82d Congress, approved July 16, 1952, which also includes Title II -Prevention of Major Disasters in Mines. Public Law 552 is known as the Federal Coal-Mine Safety Act.

Jan 1, 1956

By R. A. Cummings

Certain roof shales in coal mines deteriorate upon exposure to the atmosphere, causing difficulties in the mining operations and adding to the cost. This report presents the results of both field investigations, in a West Virginia mine, and laboratory studies on the effects of atmospheric moisture on roof shales. Based on these observations, a conceptual procedure is presented on how shale deterioration might be predicted during exploration, and guidelines are given as to how air tempering or conditioning chambers may be designed to reduce moisture effects. Recommendations for further studies are included. An annotated bibliography of the literature constitutes the second volume.

Jan 1, 1981

By Jacqueline H. Jansky

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, did a linear analysis for a new underground coal mine in Grant County, WV, through the interpretation of LANDSAT imagery and high-altitude, color-infrared aerial photography, to identify areas of potentially unstable roof in advance of mining. The Bureau of Mines included this mine in its ongoing study of the correlation between geologic features and linears. Three years after the analysis, after mining had progressed through the plotted linears, a cooperative Bureau-MSHA study evaluated the effectiveness of the linear plot in predicting areas of unstable roof and defined the geology associated with the linears. Adverse roof conditions at this mine include roof falls, potted-out roof, water inflow, and local areas requiring supplemental support. At the time of this study, 34 pct of the mine workings were within 200 ft of a plotted linear. Fifty percent of the adverse roof area in the mine occurred within this area. The primary geologic anomaly associated with the linears is an increased frequency of jointing. The majority of the plotted linears coincide with the prominent joint orientations. Additional features observed in the linear zones include roof rolls and a sandstone channel that cuts into the coal seam.

Jan 1, 1983

By J. M. Davidson

The potassium mineral polyhalite (K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.2H20) found in large deposits in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico is associated with varying amounts of halite (sodium chloride, NaCl) and anhydrite (calcium sulphate, CaSO4). Although the anhydrite, because of its low solubility and slow rate of solution, is relatively inert, the halite is dissolved immediately in any process solution with which the polyhalite comes in contact. Limited quantities of sodium chloride in the liquors used for the hot extraction of polyhalite materially improve the results obtained,4 but only a very small sodium chloride content may be desired in the entering polyhalite in other procedures, such as Bureau of Mines process 75. In. all of the processes suggested for the recovery of potassium sulphate from polyhalite the control of the sodium chloride content will be desirable, if not absolutely essential to efficient operation. OCCURRENCE OF HALITE IN POLYHALITE A preliminary estimate of the amount of halite associated with typical deposits of polyhalite may be derived from drill cores, although it should be remembered that only 50 or 60 core tests have been made in the many hundreds of square miles of the Permian basin. From a mineralogical study of 41 of these cores, Schaller and Henderson6 state: In many of the sections of core that seem when viewed by the unaided eye to consist essentially of polyhalite, both halite and anhydrite are present in greatly varying quantities - with very minor quantities of clay and magnesite.

Jan 1, 1934

By V. L. SKITSKY

Geophysical Abstracts are published by the Division of Geophysical Explo- ration of the U. S. Bureau of Mines as an aid to those engaged in geophysical research and exploration. Inasmuch as geophysicists in the field may have little opportunity to consult libraries, the policy of the Division is to provide abstracts suffi- ciently informative in themselves to keep readers abreast of literature and patents published in the United States and abroad. - DISTRIBUTION. Abstracts 1-86 were issued as Information Circulars by the Burca of Mines; Abstracts 87-111 appeared as Bulletins of the Geological Survey; Abstracts 112-127 have been published as Information Circulars by the Bureau of Mines; succeeding issues will be resumed by the Geological Survey.

Jun 1, 1947

By P. R. Jones

A computer program was written for design and cost of a shell and tube heat exchanger in which the total cost, which includes annual fixed charges and annual operating costs, was minimized. The program was written for the type of heat exchanger in which only the tube side pumping costs were significant and for triangular pitch, single or multiple pass, heating or cooling, and no change in phase. Tube diameter was not optimized since the tube dimensions do not affect the cost very much. However, the tube dimensions do affect the shell diameter, number of tubes, and length of tubes; and price optimum design was obtained for four standard tube diameters. Standard heat exchangers having at least the required area are also listed. The program was made adaptable to various fluids and to various tube dimensions by including many of the required data such as physical properties of the fluids, tube data, and standard shell data as input data.

Jan 1, 1969

By Robert E. Johnson

1962 was the second year of recovery from the mild 1960-61 recession. The year-to-year gain in constant dollar gross national product, our most comprehensive measure of the country's economic performance, was 6.0 percent (from $447.7 billion in 1961 to $474.8 billion in 1962). The unemployment rate declined from 6.7 percent to 5.6 percent. Although it was a good year, there were still unused resources of labor and capital which implied that the economy was operating below its potential. The year-to-year change in the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) index of industrial production of 7.6 percent masked the fact that more than one-third of the growth took place within 196L The monthly index rose only 4.8 percent during 1962, from 114.3 in January to 117.8 in September. The fact that the economy as shown by the industrial index, rose rapidly in the first half of the year only to remain on a plateau of 119-120 during the second half, led some people to fear an imminent downward turn. This did not occur. Neither production nor consumption of mineral fuels advanced as fast as the total economy. But consumption showed more gain than production, 5 percent compared with somewhat less than 4 percent. Production of both crude oil and natural gas reached new highs while bituminous coal production was the highest in 5 years.

Jan 1, 1963

By Eugene T. Sheridan

The Bureau of Mines annually canvasses the fuel-briquet and packaged-fuel producers in the United States and publishes economic data on these industries, based upon reports submitted voluntarily by producers. This publication lists all producers that reported commercial production to the Bureau for 1960 and presents data on individual plants. The companies named herein represent virtually all producers of processed minerals fuels. A few small plants may not have been canvassed or failed to respond to the survey because some of the smaller plants operate intermittently and the survey is voluntary. All plants that reported commercial production were included; regardless of size. Specifically excluded were plants that manufactured briquets from wood charcoal. Fuel briquets and packaged fuel are manufactured solid fuels, produced by mixing fine-sized mineral fuels with binding materials and compressing into small individual shapes, Briquets are produced in pillow-shaped and cylindrical form, are 2 to 4 inches long, and weigh 2 to 4 ounces. Packaged fuel consists of 3- or 4-inch cubes; 6 or 8 of which are wrapped together in heavy kraft paper to form a package weighing 10 to 15 pounds, Briquets are durable and may be stored and handled as bulk fuel; packaged fuel breaks easily and must be stored indoors to prevent it from deteriorating. Whereas briquets are consumed in many areas as a general residential fuel, packaged fuel is more of a specialty item, used at times to supplement other fuels. Packaged fuel is burned without re-moving the paper and is referred to as the "white glove" fuel.

Jan 1, 1961

By A. C. Fieldner

"Decline of the Beehive Coke OvenTwenty years ago a favorite theme of the crusader for fuel conservation was the enormous waste of valuable by-products incurred in the manufacture of blast-furnace coke in beehive ovens. Indeed, there was good reason for arousing the national conscience to this needless' loss of an irreplaceable mineral resource. In 1910, 83 per cent of the coke production was made in beehive ovens, from which surplus gas, tar, light oil, and ammonia, aggregating in value (at 1910 prices) 40 million dollars annually, were discharged into the atmosphere.In 1929, proportions were reversed and 90 per cent of the production was made in by-product ovens. The average value of by-products obtained in the production of 1 ton of coke in 1929 was $3.60, as compared with $1.16 in 1910, although the value of a ton of coke had increased only from $3.47 to $4.80. As shown in Figure 1,1 the production of by-product coke progressed rather slowly until 1915. War needs suddenly expanded the demand for coke and the by-products benzol and toluol for the manufacture of explosives. Except during the depression of 1921, this accelerating rate of production was maintained up to 1929, largely at the expense of beehive plants. The 1929 production of 60 million tons of coke will probably remain a record-breaking figure for several years. The developments which are now in progress in long-distance transmission of rural gas and in the utilization of volatile petroleum products and refinery gases for augmenting, city gas supplies may retard an other- wise accelerating demand for coke and coke-oven gas for domestic and industrial heating, Trends in Value of By-ProductsThe increasing value of by-products in comparison to the value of coke is shown in Figure 2. In 1913, the average value of by-product coke was $3.38, the value of the by-products per ton of coke was $1.41, and the cost of coal per ton of coke was $3,27, In 1929 not shown in figure) the value of the coke had risen to $4.80 per ton, the value of the by-products to $3.60, and the cost of coal per ton of coke to $5.07. The by-product values in were 155 per cent higher than in 1913, although the coke value had increased only 25 per And the cost of the coal 55 per cent. Actually the increase or the total value of coke plus by-products in this period was very little more than the increase in the coat of the coal, being 55per cent for coal and 60 per cent for coke plus by-products."

Mar 1, 1931

By E. R. Maize

[In report of Investigations 3452,5/ baling with roof movement in the Crucible mine, reference was made do to the fact tart timber decay was being studied at the time of writing. This roper, written after completion of that study, describes s the work and summarizes the data obtained. When the study of roof movement as begun at Crucible two ideas were advanced on decay Of timber by some of the officials: (1) That timber decay vas unusually rapid in the Crucible mine, and (2) that timber coated with rock dust decayed more rapidly than those teat were not so coated. There yore no records by which these ideas could be tested, and it appeared wise to make a limited; investigation particularly of the effect of rock dusting on decay, as rock dusting is an important means of preventing coal-dust explosions.]

Jan 1, 1940

By Arno C. Fieldner

From July 1, 1949, to July 1, 1950, the Bureau of Mines conducted the research and technologic work on coal and coal products that is summarized in this report. The research, described in this fifteenth of a series of resumes, is presented in more detail in publications (see footnote references) that appeared during the fiscal year, though in some cases research data are given that have not been published elsewhere. Results of research in the experimental coal mine, on explosives, and on gas and dust explosions will be found in Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4228, Annual Report of Research and Technologic Work on Explosives, Explosions, and Flames, Fiscal Year 1950. An over-all view of our coal, oil, end natural-gas reserves was presented, and the future possibilities for the, production of synthetic liquid fuels from coal were delineated.3/

Jan 1, 1951

The principal activities of the Bureau of Mines Explosives Research Center from July 1, 1962, to June 30, 1963, are described briefly in part 1. Part 2 gives short abstracts of publications that appeared during fiscal year 1963; in general, the research reported in these publications antedates the report period.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. Q. Shotts

Factors of geological structure and occurrence of coalbeds, plus the resulting mining conditions, have required more care in preparing coals in Alabama than in most other districts almost since mining Alabama coals began. For this reason, literature on these coals may be interesting to those in areas where prime coals have been mined out, and thinner and less regular beds must now be exploited. This literature review has been arranged in order of subject matter. Some references have been listed more than once, but each separate review is limited to the material pertaining to the subject matter being discussed. For those seeking specific information, the authors have indicated which items repeat material and which items are most complete or specific. Geology, preparation, and carbonization of coal have been reviewed the most frequently.

Jan 1, 1963

By A. R. T. Denues

Liquid oxygen explosives are ordinarily made from a carbonaceous absorbent and from liquid oxygen of high purity. These explosives have a limited but definite field of usefulness; their properties have been described in the literature, which includes several publications of the Bureau of Mines, the most recent dealing with fire-retardant treatments.3/ It seems generally conceded that the outstanding hazards in the use of these explosives are their high inflammability and their relative sensitivity to mechanical action. Each of these topics has been studied, and some interesting practical results have been obtained. Treatments have been described[7] that render liquid-oxygen explosives prepared from granular carbonaceous absorbents practically immune to the action of igniting agents representing or exceeding practical hazards in violence.

Jan 1, 1941

By Alan H. Goode

Glass wool meeting requirements for commercial use was made from glassy fractions of urban solid wastes by the Bureau of Mines. This research was a part of the Bureau's program to develop building products and other usable materials from reclaimed urban waste materials. Mixes of molten glass were fiberized into glass wool during laboratory studies by impingement of a jet of compressed air on a stream of the molten glass. The principal test variable studied was composition of the melt; this was varied by adding dolomite and alumina to obtain molten glass with the handling characteristics required for producing final wool products of the desired composition and physical characteristics. When no charge is made for the waste glass and approximately $75 per ton can be obtained for the wool product, an interest rate of return on investment after taxes of about 12 percent can be obtained. If a charge of $5 per ton is required for the waste glass, a selling price of about $78 per ton would be necessary to obtain a l2-percent-interest rate of return on investment after taxes.

Jan 1, 1972