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By O. Jay Myers

THE war effort has furnished the necessary impetus for better magnesium foundry practice. Four or five years ago, there were but a few formulas in general use for cores and mixtures for magnesium castings. Certain sands, binders, and inhibitors were specified and the proportions of these materials in each mixture were maintained between very narrow limits. As more and more war industries entered the field, much research was carried out and methods and practices were improved. Magnesium founding is still in a state of flux; therefore it is not uncommon to find one foundry spraying inhibitors on its cores, and another foundry using sand mixtures with incorporated protective agents. The basic core or dry-sand mold mixture for magnesium in use today is compounded with sand, core oil or resin binder, cereal, and moisture. Core oil or resin binder are added for baked strength while the cereal binder and moisture are for green strength. The normal mixtures (based on the weight of the sand) contain from 0.5 to 1.5 per cent of both cereal binder and core oil, and the moisture content varies between 1.5 and 5 per cent. The ratio of core oil to cereal binder varies from 60:40 to 40:60, while the correct amount of moisture depends upon the method of coremaking. PROTECTIVE AGENTS In all magnesium practice, protective agents are used in conjunction with the core and molding sands to prevent oxidation of the metal. The use of these inhibitors is not novel, but publications covering this field are not entirely adequate. Beck1 says Magnesium alloys decompose water to form magnesium oxide, hydrogen being liberated in the process (Mg + H20 -+ H21 + MgO). This reaction results in the blackening of the skin and the appearance of areas of porosity on the casting surface, the cavities of which are filled with a grey oxide powder (these are termed `burns'). Although sand cores for magnesium castings are thoroughly dried during the baking cycle, burning will take place on the castings unless the metal is protected properly. This type of burning is more difficult to define than the "water-magnesium" reaction cited by Beck. A possible explanation may lie in the following equation: 2Mg + 02 -s 2MgO Here, the source of the oxygen is not water, but the air in the mold cavity, together with the chemically combined oxygen in the core-binding media. Generally, two methods are used to prevent this reaction from taking place.

Jan 1, 1945

By Y. Fukunaka, Y. Kondo, Z. Asaki, S. Nakashita

The pyrite smelting process in which about half amount of sulfur is recovered from pyrite by thermal decomposition in an oxygen-free high-temperature combustion gas flow in the flash smelting furnace is being conducted at Kokkola Works in Finland. A mathematical model of this process was developed, and the rates of thermal decomposition and fusion of suspended sulfide particles in the reaction shaft of furnace was calculated. This model is thought to be appropriate because of a fairly good coincidence of the calculated length of reaction zone with the shaft height of the furnace at Kokkola Works. The calculated reaction zone in which the thermal decomposition and fusion of sulfide particles occur becomes longer when pyrite particles of larger sizes are fed. The feeding rate of pyrite particles and the gas velocity at the nozzle exit are also the important operating factors. These two factors are closely related to the volume fraction and the residence time of suspended particles in the gas stream, and the optimal combined levels of these factors at which the length of reaction zone becomes minimal were obtained.

Jan 1, 1976

By R. B. Hoy, Stanley J. LeFond, K. Reckling

Reported world production of natural diamonds approximates 40,000,000 carats a year (1980). The Republic of Zaire is the leading producer, with an output which is primarily industrial rather than gem grade. The USSR ranks second, the Republic of South Africa third, and Botswana, fourth. Diamonds are also mined in South-West Africa (Namibia), Angola, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and other African countries. In the western hemisphere, Brazil and Venezuela are the principal producers (Fig. 1). A very small output of diamonds is mined today it India, which was the first source of commercial production. In the US, efforts at commercial diamond mining have been confined to a small area near Murfreesboro, AR. The first diamond was found in a kimberlite pipe there in 1906. Small-scale trial mining has not, however, proved economical. Since diamonds were first discovered over 2,000 years ago, only about 260 tons have been mined. In order to obtain I g (5 carats) of diamonds, it is necessary to remove and process approximately 25 tons of rock. Recovering this small percentage involves a combination of highly developed techniques in mining, quarrying, and earth-moving, and extremely sophisticated recovery processes. End Uses Diamonds are used for two unrelated end uses; gem diamonds are jewels of great beauty while industrial diamonds are essential materials of modern industry. Although imitation stones are substituted for the gem diamond, none of these matches its properties sufficiently well to offer real competition. Synthetic industrial diamonds are now of a quality and size that permit them to be substituted for natural diamond in numerous industrial applications. For example, synthetic diamonds are available today in sizes up to 100 stones per carat (14/16 US mesh size). In addition, polycrystalline synthetic diamond inserts, such as De Beers Syndite®, General Electric's Compax® and Stratapax® and Megadiamond's Megapax® have replaced natural diamond in turning tools, mining and oil drilling bits and dressing tool applications. Gem Diamonds A diamond is a natural prism. It has the ability to bounce light rays (reflection), to bend them (refraction), and to break them into all colors of the rainbow (dispersion). This ability to modify light gives the diamond three characteristics for providing beauty. First is brilliance, the reflection of light back to the eye. Second is fire, dispersion of light into the colors of the spectrum. Third is scintillation, the "twinkling" that occurs when the diamond is moved (Bauer, 1969). The skill of the diamond cutter is required to unlock the brilliant, fiery beauty of a gem diamond (Fisher, 1966). Diamond-cutting skills have gradually developed over the centuries. The first cutters, in India, learned how to grind one rough diamond against another to remove their "skins" and to give them various shapes. This revealed some fire and beauty, but little compared to that of the diamonds that are cut today.

Jan 1, 1983

By H. J. Hand

STATISTICAL methods are becoming increasingly important for inter-preting routine reports, or for analyzing special test data in industrial plants, such as steel plants. They have already become practically a necessity to the plant metallurgist. A paper by Chancellor,1 written in 1933, gives many examples of the benefits the plant metallurgist can derive from the use of these methods. The present paper discusses applications of importance to many others who must analyze reports in the steel plant, as well as other examples of interest to metallurgists. Statistical Methods Logically Suited to Plant Problems.-Statistical methods are not new as a branch of mathematics. Until comparatively recently, however, practical applications were confined mainly to actuarial science, biology, and economics; fields in which an observed result is obviously influenced (and often determined) by a complicated set of vari-ables more or less constantly tending to affect it. As pointed out by Daeves, 2 a decade or more ago, problems in industry are basically similar to those in these other fields in that a given result is at least partly due to that chance combination of causes happening to be present at the time. When trying to do the same thing repeatedly, constant results are never attained; they vary about the desired result with more or less well defined mathematical regularity. Such a condition arises out of the great number of factors tending to affect the final result. If statistical methods are so valuable to the biologist or economist, why then should they not also be of great value to plant managers and engineers, and to all who must interpret reports from various sources in the industrial plant? Within the last few years, industry has become conscious of this situation, and the use of these methods has been rapidly expanding in such plants. ?

Jan 1, 1938

By Bevan Presley

THERE has been developed at Latouche a rather unusual system of mining which, for want of a better name, has been called the "Latouche system of mining." It is a modified form of shrinkage stoping applicable to orebodies of large or fairly large size where the ground is such that timbering would not be required in stoping. Mention has been made of this method of mining by Birch,1 who gave no details as it had been in use only a short time and the final outcome undetermined. The system, however, has proved to be entirely successful and it is thought that a paper covering it might be of general interest. Before proceeding with a detailed description of the "Latouche system" a brief description of the property and the various mining methods previously used will be given. LOCATION The Beatson mine of the Kennecott Copper Corp. is situated on the west coast of Latouche Island-, in Prince William Sound, Southwestern Alaska, 45 miles east of Seward, the coast terminus of the U. S. Government Railroad. It is a regular port of call for ships on the Southwestern Alaska run. The island is about 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. A ridge of mountains runs the entire length with a maximum elevation of 2500 feet. CLIMATE Latouche has to contend with possibly the greatest amount of precipitation on the North American continent. The annual average precipitation for the past 4 years has been 188 in., with 248 in. for the year 1926. A rainfall of 4 in. per day is not uncommon. In the winter the thermometer rarely falls below +20° F. and the snowfall is usually heavy during the months of March and April.

Jan 1, 1927

R. W. Raymond, New York City: As was announced in the Secretary's note, appended to the pamphlet edition of Dr. Ledoux's paper, I have undertaken to superintend the preparation of the samples required by his plan, and the ollation for publication of the results reported. Promises of cordial co-operation hare been received already from a number of leading assayers;? and it is to he expected that the data thus collected, and the discussion to be based upon them, will shed much light upon the important question raised in this paper. Although a detailed discussion of methods on the present occasion might be deemed premature, I am sure that suggestions on the subject from members engaged in assaying would be timely and valuable as a preliminary to later and more detailed criticism. Herbert G. Torrey (U. S. Assay Office), New York City : I may say in relation to the losses in the furnace that I have made a number of experiments, and on my little blank form years ago I put down a place for the losses in the cupel. It met with a good deal of opposition among the smelters, but I claimed that it was my duty to give the full amount of the gold and silver present, and that it

Jan 1, 1895

Jan 1, 1923

By J. K. Furst

THE reasons for manufacturing steel by the duplex process are, briefly: saving of time; increasing output for capital invested; and avoiding the difficulty sometimes experienced in obtaining scrap. On account of the latter reason, some plants duplex only at such times as the price and quantity of scrap in the open market warrant. At some plants the use of the duplex process enables, the blast-furnace practice to be simplified, because the furnaces run more smoothly and produce more iron when not held to a strict specification as to the silicon and phosphorus therein. The duplex process was practiced in Witkowitz as far back as 1878, but it was left to the steel makers of this country to develop it along practical, commercial lines. The American companies manufacturing steel by the duplex process at the present time are: Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., Maryland Steel Co., Bethlehem Steel Co., Pennsylvania Steel Co.; Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., Lacka-wanna Steel Co., Dominion Iron & Steel Co. of Canada. All of these companies, except the Dominion Iron & Steel Co., combine the acid Bessemer with the basic open-hearth process, while the latter combines the basic Bessemer with the basic open hearth. The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.'s Plant The installation of a converter of 15 tons capacity at the Ensley plant of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. in 1904 marked the introduction into this country of the duplex system. The experience gained in the employment of the Bessemer converter had demonstrated that there was a shortening of .the time required in the open-hearth furnace and a reduction of the outlay for fuel and lime, thus affording substantial evidence of the economies resulting from this method.

Jan 10, 1914

By W. O. Philbrook, C. W. McCoy

The reduction of chromous oxide from lime silica alumina slags by carbon-saturated iron behaves as a first-order process having a rate of 0.001 grams Cr min 1 cm 2 (pct Cr ) , substantially independent of slag composition and temperature over an important range for iron smelting. The equilibrium ratio (pct Cr)/[pct Crl is below 0.04 for slags having lime-silica ratios above 0.6. MANY studies have been conducted on chromium in slag-metal systems under oxidized conditions. The Purpose of these investigations has been twofold; namely, (1) to determine those conditions which lead to greater chromium recovery in electric-furnace and open-hearth practice, and (2) to determine the nature of oxide inclusions and de-

Jan 1, 1959

By Lewis Delano

IT HAS been generally recognized that, owing to the extreme friability of, galena, fine grinding has a tendency to cause excessive sliming of the mineral, so operators of lead mills have attempted to avoid this condition by commencing concentration at as coarse sizes as any mineral is freed. Jigging has been the basis of the milling process, making a clean coarse concentrate and a large amount of tailing, which was considered sufficiently low-grade to be rejected. However, developments and improvements in concentration processes are everywhere changing the low-grade tailing of yesterday into material worth retreating today. Investigations of the work of the Hancock jig on the Bonne Terre ore- have shown that the best results to be expected will give a tailing assaying 0.75 per cent. lead; the average over all conditions and grades of ore will be between .0.80 and 0.90 per cent. By crushing the jig tailings in ball-mills and retreating by tables and flotation, a tailing of considerably lower grade can be made; the problem then becomes an economic one of increased crushing costs versus higher recovery. In considering the entire elimination of jigging, the increased smelting charges; due to a greater amount of slime galena will be counterbalanced by the lower operating cost, in-creased recovery, and the many advantages of a simpler flow sheet. In developing these problems in the Bonne Terre mill of the' St. Joseph Lead Co., a long series of tests has been carried out covering every stage of crushing and concentration, and a large number of possible flow sheets were considered and tried. Only the final results and a few comparisons will be given here. At the same time, a careful and detailed cost-keeping system has enabled us to compare milling costs with the various flow sheets, and to calculate the economics of the problem' with great accuracy. .

Jan 8, 1920

By James Aston

THREE years ago the writer presented a paper on the trend of development in the wrought iron industry,1 wherein was described a process in the development of which he has been a factor, which at that time had passed through several years of progressive experimental development but which had not then been put upon a commercial scale of operation. The present paper deals with two years of observation and experience in the commercial operation of a plant by the A. A Byers Co. at Warren, Ohio. It will not enter into the controversial field of the relative merit of wrought iron and steel in various classes of service, nor will it elaborate upon the characteristic services or fields of utility to which wrought iron is particularly adapted. It is sufficient to state that the wrought iron industry is upon a substantial basis and that the material finds service in pipe, where its advantages are in superior corrosion, fatigue, welding and threading qualities; in bar iron for staybolts, engine bolts, and rivets, demanding maximum service against corrosion and fatigue; in plates for corrosion service; and in chains, because of welding and shock-resisting characteristics. In short, ability to withstand the stresses of shock and vibration, or the ravages of corrosion, to hold protective coatings, and to give maximum efficiency in welding, are its features of relative superiority. If these features were not well recognized, the wrought iron industry would have shrunk to insignificance in the face of high costs and acknowledged limitations in manufacture. To charge that this industry is built upon a structure of assumption, psychology, and improperly weighed evidence is an impeachment of the integrity or belittling of the powers of observation of users through many centuries of service experiences.

Jan 1, 1929

By C. G. Black

The purpose of this paper is to present data obtained from an investigation conducted on the grindability of coal by the American Society for Testing Materials Tentative Standard ball-mill method. This investigation has been conducted over a period of a year, during which time several hundred tests were run on a wide selection of different coals coming from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. The data herewith presented tend to show that the tentative standard ball-mill method might give results that are misleading and that a volume measure might be more indicative of the true grindability of materials of varying specific gravity. A means whereby the time element might be reduced has been studied and other phases of this work such as preparation of samples, mechanical screening, reporting results and duplicating tests have been investigated. It is hoped that all criticism offered in this paper will be taken as constructive, with the purpose ill mind of perfecting the method now tentative to show the true conditions 2nd of making optional the manner in which certain parts of the test might be conducted to meet diversified laboratory conditions. Weight and Volume The results of grindability on extraneous material from the coal scam obtained with the present tentative standard ball mill method indicate easier grinding of these materials as compared to most coals. Varying amounts of these impurities in the coal therefore may cause a raising of the grindability index and may lead to the erroneous conclusion that coals containing large amounts of these foreign materials are easier to grind. For a true comparison of grindability, it would seem necessary to grind to the same particle weight. If material were sized in a commercial mill by means of an air current set at a velocity to remove 1.60 sp. gr. float coal ground to 80 per cent minus 200 mesh, any 1.60 sink particles would be left behind, and in order to remove this 1.60 sink material by the same current it would be necessary to grind finer and produce a

Jan 1, 1936

By H. F. Yancey, M. R. Greer

At the annual meeting of this Institute held two years ago a new method1 of estimating the grindability of coal was described, based on experimental work carried on by the Bureau of Mines at its Northwest Experiment Station. Since that time, several organizations concerned with the testing or utilization of coal as pulverized fuel have adopted and used the method in determining the grindability of several hundred samples of coal. In addition, a series of comparative tests of this method and three others has been carried out in five laboratories under the auspices of Committee D-5 of the American Society for Testing Materials. As a result the Committee has recommended that the Bureau of Mines method, designated as the "ball-mill method," and the Hardgrove method2, previously advanced, be accepted as tentative standards3. Since the ball-mill method was originally developed and published, an opportunity has been presented to apply it to a larger number of coals and to study intensively some of the principles upon which the method is based. This paper presents a résumé of these further studies and includes a comparison with the Hardgrove-machine method. Trial runs were also made with another procedure recently proposed—the C.I.T. roll-test method4. Principles of Methods In the ball-mill method, the relative amounts of energy necessary to grind coals to the same fineness are determined by the number of revolutions of the mill required to reduce 80 per cent of the feed (500 grams of 10 to 200-mesh coal) fine enough to pass a 200-mesh screen. This is a

Jan 1, 1936

By C. G. Black

The purpose of this paper is to present data obtained from an investigation conducted on the grindability of coal by the American Society for Testing Materials Tentative Standard ball-mill method. This investigation has been conducted over a period of a year, during which time several hundred tests were run on a wide selection of different coals coming from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. The data herewith presented tend to show that the tentative standard ball-mill method might give results that are misleading and that a volume measure might be more indicative of the true grindability of materials of varying specific gravity. A means whereby the time element might be reduced has been studied and other phases of this work such as preparation of samples, mechanical screening, reporting results and duplicating tests have been investigated. It is hoped that all criticism offered in this paper will be taken as constructive, with the purpose ill mind of perfecting the method now tentative to show the true conditions 2nd of making optional the manner in which certain parts of the test might be conducted to meet diversified laboratory conditions. Weight and Volume The results of grindability on extraneous material from the coal scam obtained with the present tentative standard ball mill method indicate easier grinding of these materials as compared to most coals. Varying amounts of these impurities in the coal therefore may cause a raising of the grindability index and may lead to the erroneous conclusion that coals containing large amounts of these foreign materials are easier to grind. For a true comparison of grindability, it would seem necessary to grind to the same particle weight. If material were sized in a commercial mill by means of an air current set at a velocity to remove 1.60 sp. gr. float coal ground to 80 per cent minus 200 mesh, any 1.60 sink particles would be left behind, and in order to remove this 1.60 sink material by the same current it would be necessary to grind finer and produce a

Jan 1, 1936

By R. H. Olds, B. H. Sage

The formation volume and volume of the liquid phase of oil and gas obtained from four fields in the San Joaquin Valley have been investigated at pressures, temperature, and gas-oil ratios comparable to those encountered in underground reservoirs. All the fields covered in this investigation yielded a product of a gas-oil ratio in excess of 5000 cu ft per barrel and the gravity of the tank oil for the four fields in question varied between 52° and 63' API. The results of the investigation, together with analytical data concerning the composition of the oil and gas, are submitted in tabular form. Rough correlations of the formation volume as a function of pressure, temperature, and gas-oil ratio and of the retrograde dew-point pressure as a function of gas-oil ratio, temperature, and gravity of tank oil are presented. It was not found feasible to correlate simply the formation volume of the liquid phase as a function of the applicable variable. It is desired to emphasize that these correlations are considered applicable only to the range of conditions covered in this investigation and for systems of similar nature and composition. Introduction Information concerning the physical properties of mixtures of oil and gas from particular fields have often been employed in predicting the situations obtaining in underground reservoirs. One of the earlier studies of this nature was the work of Beecher and Parkhurst,1 while a more recent study of the Dominguez Field2 presented detailed volumetric data in the two-phase as well as in the single-phase regions. Although these studies were confined to individual fields, their results proved of value in application to other fields. It has recently been shown 3,4 that it is possible in the region of low gas-oil ratios* to correlate the volumetric behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures from a single geographical area with sufficient accuracy to be of industrial value. For this reason it is considered of interest to submit information concerning the volumetric behavior of oil and gas mixtures from four different fields in the San Joaquin Valley and, in combination with similar published data5 concerning mixtures of oil and gas from the Paloma field in the same area, to show rough correlations between the composition and the behavior of materials from these fields. This effort seems particularly worth while since all of the

Jan 1, 1947

By R. H. Olds, B. H. Sage

The formation volume and volume of the liquid phase of oil and gas obtained from four fields in the San Joaquin Valley have been investigated at pressures, temperature, and gas-oil ratios comparable to those encountered in underground reservoirs. All the fields covered in this investigation yielded a product of a gas-oil ratio in excess of 5000 cu ft per barrel and the gravity of the tank oil for the four fields in question varied between 52° and 63' API. The results of the investigation, together with analytical data concerning the composition of the oil and gas, are submitted in tabular form. Rough correlations of the formation volume as a function of pressure, temperature, and gas-oil ratio and of the retrograde dew-point pressure as a function of gas-oil ratio, temperature, and gravity of tank oil are presented. It was not found feasible to correlate simply the formation volume of the liquid phase as a function of the applicable variable. It is desired to emphasize that these correlations are considered applicable only to the range of conditions covered in this investigation and for systems of similar nature and composition. Introduction Information concerning the physical properties of mixtures of oil and gas from particular fields have often been employed in predicting the situations obtaining in underground reservoirs. One of the earlier studies of this nature was the work of Beecher and Parkhurst,1 while a more recent study of the Dominguez Field2 presented detailed volumetric data in the two-phase as well as in the single-phase regions. Although these studies were confined to individual fields, their results proved of value in application to other fields. It has recently been shown 3,4 that it is possible in the region of low gas-oil ratios* to correlate the volumetric behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures from a single geographical area with sufficient accuracy to be of industrial value. For this reason it is considered of interest to submit information concerning the volumetric behavior of oil and gas mixtures from four different fields in the San Joaquin Valley and, in combination with similar published data5 concerning mixtures of oil and gas from the Paloma field in the same area, to show rough correlations between the composition and the behavior of materials from these fields. This effort seems particularly worth while since all of the

Jan 1, 1947

By H. F. Yancey, M. R. Greer

At the annual meeting of this Institute held two years ago a new method1 of estimating the grindability of coal was described, based on experimental work carried on by the Bureau of Mines at its Northwest Experiment Station. Since that time, several organizations concerned with the testing or utilization of coal as pulverized fuel have adopted and used the method in determining the grindability of several hundred samples of coal. In addition, a series of comparative tests of this method and three others has been carried out in five laboratories under the auspices of Committee D-5 of the American Society for Testing Materials. As a result the Committee has recommended that the Bureau of Mines method, designated as the "ball-mill method," and the Hardgrove method2, previously advanced, be accepted as tentative standards3. Since the ball-mill method was originally developed and published, an opportunity has been presented to apply it to a larger number of coals and to study intensively some of the principles upon which the method is based. This paper presents a résumé of these further studies and includes a comparison with the Hardgrove-machine method. Trial runs were also made with another procedure recently proposed—the C.I.T. roll-test method4. Principles of Methods In the ball-mill method, the relative amounts of energy necessary to grind coals to the same fineness are determined by the number of revolutions of the mill required to reduce 80 per cent of the feed (500 grams of 10 to 200-mesh coal) fine enough to pass a 200-mesh screen. This is a

Jan 1, 1936

By Frederick Becket

DOCTOR Albert Sauveur, distinguished scientist and Honorary Mem-ber of this Institute, predicted in the first Howe Memorial Lecture that the privilege of delivering this annual address would be considered a highly significant honor. The intervening years have well borne out Sauveur's prophecy. I wish to assure the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers that I also deeply appreciate this honor, recognizing at the same time the present and even more the future respon-sibilities with which it is accompanied. Several of the previous lecturers had the good fortune to attend the classes of Professor Howe and to work in his laboratories. I was similarly favored, although in my instance and to my great regret the period was all too short. However, Howe's book, published in 1903, "Iron, Steel and Other Alloys," afforded me abundant opportunity to continue these studies. How well I remember the inspiration I derived from this famous book by Howe, the metallurgical master, pioneer, and educator! Remembering that Professor Howe contributed numerous papers to The Metallographist, a magazine supported from a technical point of view by the world's pioneers in metallography, I was curious a few days ago to learn the nature of Howe's early contributions to this magazine. The first paper by Howe in the first year of The Metallographist (1898) dealt with the allotropic theory; the second also treated of allotropy, and I quote the first sentence. of that paper: The allotropic theory of the hardening of steel may, like so many other important theories, have to be accepted or rejected not on direct proof or disproof, but on the accumulation of circumstantial evidence for or against it.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. K. Stoddard, R. G. Knickerbocker, E. T. Leidigh, R. R. Lloyd, K. L. Mattingly

DURING July 1941, a study was initiated at the Boulder City Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines on proposed methods for the production of magnesium metal. The major emphasis was placed upon development of a process that required minimum reliance upon the sale or utilization of by-products to meet economic competition from processes already in operation. It was felt that only through the development of such a process could the nation's vast resources of dolomite and low-grade magnesite that are contiguous to large blocks of firm power be properly utilized. During the course of exploratory tests on electrolytic and electrothermic processes, it was noted that fused magnesium chloride would dissolve appreciable quantities of magnesium oxide in the presence of small amounts of boric oxide. The use of such a solution in an electrolytic cell employing a graphite anode and a steel cathode caused the deposition of magnesium at the cathode and the evolution of carbon oxides at the anode with minimal amounts of chlorine The original results were sufficiently encouraging to justify further investigation on an enlarged scale, since the process seemed to present advantages over other proposed processes 1.2 for the direct use of magnesium oxide in a fused chloride electrolyte. When work on a larger scale was initiated it was found that the addition of boric oxide to the electrolyte resulted in dispersion of metal and constantly decreasing current efficiency. However, by this time solubility studies had shown that magnesium oxide was sufficiently soluble in magnesium chloride melts containing no boric oxide to effect the same anode reactions, and development work was continued. Over two years of development work have been carried out, and considerable work remains to be done. It is desired to emphasize the fact that many of the difficulties met require a long period of continuous operation before they become serious enough to affect operation of the cell. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper is one of many reporting on various aspects of the Bureau of Mines' program initiated in August 1939 by passage of the Strategic Minerals Act the scope of which was greatly expanded by subsequent legislation. Some of these papers are published as war minerals reports. others as bulletins, technical papers, reports of investigations

Jan 1, 1945

By O. George Specht, Carl A. Zapffe

IN recent print, some remarkably contradictory statements have appeared regarding the importance to be attached to sponge iron,1-6 a metallurgical commodity whose history goes back at least to the time of Diodorus Siculus in the fourth century B.C. This disagreement, however, expresses the lack of a satisfactory method for producing sponge iron rather than defection in the commodity. The blast furnace is admitted to have certain inherent disadvantages, such as a general unsuitability for magnetite and the heating and blowing of vast quantities of undesirable nitrogen, so that a workable sponge-iron process remains attractive. In this respect, low-temperature gaseous reduction shows especial promise; but confusion persists regarding the factors involved. The present paper, therefore, has three principal divisions: (I) an exhaustive examination of all previous work on low-temperature gaseous reduction, (2) experimentation on the reduction of a magnetite with hydrogen, and (3) development of certain thermodynamic relationships in reduction, with a summarized depiction of the factors in the general process. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS Gaseous media used in the reduction processes under discussion can be classified in three types: (I) H2, (2) CO, and (3) other gases. In the second, the CO is often admixed with H2. The third principally comprises hydrogeniferous gases, such as natural gas and producer gas, and in addition includes chlorine. Because hydrogen therefore features in all three, a study of hydrogen reduction based on investigations using pure hydrogen alone may be incomplete. The present paper reviews the three groups of investigations in the listed order, paying particular attention to hydrogen reduction. For the benefit of future workers, an exhaustive bibliography has been prepared and similarly classified. GROUP I: REDUCTION WITH HYDROGEN Equilibria Although the present problem is specifically one of kinetics, a first consideration is the equilibrium of the system, since the reactions to be studied comprise that equilibrium, and their direction and end points are defined by it. The historic development of these researches is interesting and informative.

Jan 1, 1946