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By Tignor E. M.

The Brenneman oil field in Grant District, Hancock County, W. VA., was selected for study by Bureau of Mines engineers because it was typical of many of the smaller petroleum reservoirs in the Appalachian region. In 1906, E. W. Marland & Co. discovered the Brenneman field by drilling a well that readied the oil-bearing .Berea sandstone at a depth of 750 feet and initially produced 200 barrels of oil a day. Most of the oil-productive area (348 acres) of the field was developed in a comparatively short time, and the initial daily production rates of some of the wells were as high as 1,000 barrels of oil a day. Although the field was a prolific producer of oil for several years, it was abandoned in 1923 when the production rate was less than 1,000 barrels of oil a year and 705,000 barrels of oil had been produced. Secondary-recovery operations were started in the Brenneman field in 1927 after useable old wells had been repaired and unsatisfactory wells had been plugged; drilling of new wells was started in 1929. The peak of the redevelopment program was reached in 1942 when 92 oil-producing wells and 26 injection wells were in use; both air And mixtures of air and natural gas were used for injection purposes. It is estimated that approximately 357,000 barrels of oil, equivalent to 1,030 barrels per acre, 105 barrels per acre-foot, 8.5 percent of the total pore volume, or 11.9 percent of the original oil in place will be produced as a result of gas-injection secondary-recovery operations. Engineers of the Bureau of Mines Petroleum Field Office, Franklin, Pa., are studying secondary-recovery projects in the Appalachian region as a part, of the Bureau's secondary recovery research and are reporting these studies so that others: can profit by the experience gained from the operations. In common with most of the other Appalachian oil fields, there was no natural water drive in the Brenneman field. The estimated oil saturation in the Brenneman reservoir at the end of economic gas-injection operation indicates that additional oil might be recovered economically by water flooding and that a pilot flood would be warranted.

Jan 1, 1950

By R. S. Dean

In the early days, most smelters were erected in nonarable land and at some distance from settled communities. The movement of population, which resulted in many instances from employment at the smelters, has brought to most smelterman in the United States the problem of preventing damage to plant and animal life in the territory adjacent to the smelters by sulphur dioxide gas (S02). This problem has been met, broadly, in two ways: (1) By diluting and removing the S02 by means of air currents and (2) by converting the S02 to a liquid or solid compound of sulphur and disposing of the compound.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Dean

In the early days, most smelters were erected in nonarable land and at some distance from settled communities. The movement of population, which resulted in many instances from employment at the smelters, has brought to most smelterman in the United States the problem of preventing damage to plant and animal life in the territory adjacent to the smelters by sulphur dioxide gas (S02). This problem has been met, broadly, in two ways: (1) By diluting and removing the S02 by means of air currents and (2) by converting the S02 to a liquid or solid compound of sulphur and disposing of the compound.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. Harry Benedict

This paper presents the details of milling practice and costs at the conglomerate mill of the Calumet & Hecla Consolidated Copper Co., Lake Linden, Mich., and is one of a series on milling methods being published by the Bureau of Mines. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The mines of the Calumet & Hecla. Consolidated Copper Co. are located in the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan. The mines of this district lie in a belt not over 4 miles wide and 100 miles long, which contains more or lees commercial ore. The Calumet & Hecla properties are the farthest north, except for the Seneca, of the operating mines. The district borders on Lake Superior, and by means of the Portage and Torch Lake waterways the largest lane vessels, can transport coal and other supplies from the lower Lakes directly to the company docks.

Jan 1, 1930

By Alfred E. Schwaneke

The surface tension from 240° to 844° C and the density from 236° to 583° C of 99.999 percent purity liquid tin has been measured using the maximum-bubble-pressure method. Results for surface tension (y) show y (dynes/em) = 566.84 -4.76 X 10-2 T (° C) with a standard error of 1.9 dynes/cm. Results for density (p) show p (g/cm3) = 7.16 -6.3 X 10-4 T (° C) with a standard error of 0.012 g/cm3. Comparisons with other data found in the literature are discussed. The experimental results are considered to be as good as any data presently available.

Jan 1, 1970

By F. W. Lane

Some months ago the Bureau of Mines began research of a fundamental character on sulphur in petroleum. In the course of this work, the usual qualitative test for sulphur in organic compounds1 was applied to certain oils that were believed to contain approximately 0.5 percent sulphur. No sulphur was found, and, as a check on the qualitative test, the oils were subjected to quantitative determination of this element by the oxygen-bomb method.2 The sulphur content of the oils ranged from 0.10 per cent to 0.50 per cent. This experience led to further trial of the qualitative test for organic sulphur, both on the oils mentioned above, and on common sulphur-containing organic substances. No difficulty was experienced in detecting the element in the latter, but with the petroleum oils the test, as usually performed, could not be relied upon to detect less than 0.60 per cent of sulphur consistently. The use of mechanically polished pure sheet copper for the detection of free sulphur, hydrogen sulphide, and perhaps other sulphur compounds has been recommended.3

Jan 1, 1927

By Henry C. Meeves

The Bureau of Mines investigated the silver production potential of the Leadville (California) mining district, Lake County, Colo., in 1966-67. The mining history of the district, the ground conditions encountered in mining, and the mine-support methods used are reviewed. The drainage problem is discussed in detail. An initial objective was to establish the existence of potential silver resources minable by low-cost open-pit methods, particularly in the silver-bearing manganese halos surrounding the major deposits. The report concludes that under present conditions, development of the deposits in the area is not economically feasible; however, a pioneer rotary noncore drilling program demonstrated that this type of exploration is technically feasible. Potential reserves of silver and associated metals are estimated. Possible mining methods for recovery of the reserves are discussed. Future production possibilities from the various subareas of the district are analysed, considering optimum operating size. Consolidation of small individual holdings for unit operation is recommended. Type of operation, amount of rehabilitation, size and type of concentrating plants required, drainage and other mining problems, and metal price trends are discussed as they bear on economic feasibility of development.

Jan 1, 1970

By Alton B. Cook

In the Scurry Reef field, Scurry County, Tex., a study was made to determine the physical properties of the oil in all parts of the reservoir by a new method developed for this study. The method involved correlation of data from a survey 1 of the gravity of the produced oil, from measurements of gas-oil ratios on key wells selected to give representative data for the entire reservoir, and from laboratory analyses of reservoir oil samples. A field survey was made of the API gravities of the produced oil by testing oil samples from 107 key wells. Precise gas-oil-ratio tests were made on 45 key wells that were producing under comparable separator-operating conditions. Subsurface-oil samples were obtained from seven wells, selected to provide reservoir oils ranging approximately from a minimum to a maximum in saturation pressure. The physical properties of the subsurface-oil samples were determined, and correlations were made of these laboratory data with the field gas-oil-ratio test data. These correlations were then used to estimate physical properties of the oil throughout the reservoir. A logical procedure of determining the variations in physical properties of reservoir oils in most fields is to obtain and analyze subsurface-oil samples from enough key wells to provide an ample coverage of the field. Under this procedure, data from a large number of samples would be needed to provide the desired information on the Scurry Reef field, as it is one of the largest known in the United States.

Jan 1, 1955

By John S. Ball

Aniline points have been used to some extent for more than 20 years. to indicate the types of structures in hydrocarbons and thus to analyze mixtures of hydrocarbons . This type of analysis has been applied - principally to the low -boiling hydrocarbons found in the gasoline range . Although there is some disagreement as to their merits , both aniline point and diesel index (aniline point in degrees Fahrenheit times A.P.I. gravity at 60 ° F. divided by 100) are used rather extensively for evaluating ignition qualities of diesel fuels . In recent years aniline points have been employed in the study of lubricating - oil fractions . They also have been used to predict : the tendency of different oils to cause swelling of synthetic rubbers.5/ Recent standardization of the aniline - point determination by the American Society for Testing Materials has encouraged wider use of this test . Considerable data concerning , aniline points and critical solution temperatures in aniline have been accumulated in the course of a study of related subjects . Thesc data , together with some original results , are presented here in the hope that they will prove useful to other worker's in this field ...

Oct 1, 1943

By P. E. King

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is conducting an ongoing research project to better understand the phenomena involved within electric arcs utilized in electric furnace steelmaking. With a better understanding of the physical and electrical characteristics involved, dynamic or predictive control of electric arc furnaces may be possible. A mathematical model is presented, but not solved, and the system of coupled equations is analyzed. Characteristic parameters are used to determine relative importance. In this manner, significant quantities are dermed. The parameters found to contribute little to the system of equations of motion are ignored. A resultant simplified system is identified, and directions for further study are indicated toward control of electric arc furnaces.

Jan 1, 1990

By PHILIP A. ZANG

The rapidly increasing use of motor vehicles in the United States has introduced an entirely new problem in the proper ventilation oftunnels , subways , and other confined spaces through which such machines must pass . This problem was brought to the attention of the Bureau of Mines by the New York and New Jersey State Bridge and Tunnel Commissions with reference to the ventilation of the proposed vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River . This tunnel , consisting of twin tubes 29 feet in diameter and 8500 feet long between entrance and exit , presented an unprecedented problem in ventilation both on account of its length and on account of the traffic density , which is expected to reach a maximum of 1900 vehicles per hour . An exhaustive study by the tunnel engineers of all available data on the amount and composition of automobile exhaust gas disclosed very little information on the percentage of carbon monoxide in motor exhaust gas from the average run of automobiles and trucks under actual operating conditions on the road. It was well known that carburetor adjustment and other operating factors changed the percentage of the poisonous constituent , carbon monoxide , from practically 0 to 12 or 13 per cent ; but no safe estimate could be made of the most probable figure without further investigation .

Mar 1, 1921

By J. J. Demeter

As part of its work on converting coal to fluid fuels, the Federal Bureau of Mines has been studying the synthesis of liquid fuels from carbon monoxide and hydrogen by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. A fluidized bed of nitrided, fused-iron catalyst has been operated successfully to produce high yields of oxygenated compounds. Trouble-free operation continued for over 800 hours, and the test was terminated voluntarily. About 85 percent of the fresh feed was converted when the unit was operated at a space velocity of 500 hr.-1, a 12:1 recycle-to-fresh-feed-gas ratio, a 300-p. s. i. g. pressure, and a temperature of 252° C. When operating at a fresh-feed-gas space velocity of 1,000 hr.-l and a 9:1 ratio of recycle to fresh gas, conversion of fresh feed was 68 percent, and the product yield was 235.9 grams per cubic meter of synthesis gas converted. The oxygenate and C5 and heavier hydrocarbon yield was 110.6 grams per cubic meter of gas converted, 83 percent of this was oxygenates. The atom ratio of N:Fe of the catalyst, initially 0.455, decreased to 0.288 by the end of the 800-hour experiment. Nevertheless, the yield of oxygenated compounds per cubic meter of H2 + CO converted at the end of the run was approximately the same as that obtained 500 hours earlier with identical operating conditions. X-ray analysis of the discharged catalyst indicated that only ?-iron carbonitride was present. Sieve analysis of the discharged catalyst indicated that only 2 percent of fines was produced during the reduction, nitriding, and synthesis.

Jan 1, 1959

By E. G. King

Many of the existing thermodynamic values for the titanium halides are estimates, including all the entropies and high-temperature heat contents of their crystalline and liquid phases. This report contains the results of low-temperature heat capacity measurents (which lead to entropy values at 298.15° K,) and high-temperature heat-content measurements of four halides - trichloride, tribromide, tetrabromide, and tetraiodide. The new data are combined with selected heat-of-formation values at 298.15° K. to obtain improved values of the heats and free energies of formation of these halides at high temperatures, thus supplementing the previous data of Kelley and Mah.5/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This investigation was conducted under a cooperative arrangement between the Federal Bureau of Mines and the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research. The work was done by Bureau of Mines personnel using Bureau of Mines calorimetric equipment. The Office-of Naval Research supplied the supporting funds and arranged for procuring the samples of the titanium halides. The samples were prepared and analyzed by the Inorganic Chemistry Section, Division of Chemistry, National Bureau of Standards.

Jan 1, 1961

The Florida phosphate industry, which supplies about three-quarters of the domestic phosphate fertilizer, produces tremendous volumes of phosphatic clay wastes (slimes). These clays retain a high percentage of water for extended periods of time. The clays also pose an environmental hazard because the disposal technique involves aboveground storage behind earthen dams. Although much research has been undertaken by numerous organizations to dewater slime, no completely satisfactory solution has been developed. In June 1972, a cooperative effort by the Federal Bureau of Mines and the Florida phosphate mining industry was initiated to develop a solution for dewatering the Florida phosphatic slimes. This report discusses various aspects of the slimes problem, reviews past research, makes recommendations for future research, and includes a bibliography of references and patents dealing with the subject.

Jan 1, 1975

A symposium on the health hazards of respirable dust in the mining and milling of talc was held on May 8, 1973, in Washington, D.C. The results of medical effects on both human and animal subjects were presented. Methods for identification and classification of talc minerals were also presented. Analytical techniques discussed included X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope observation, electron probe, and optical microscopy.

Jan 1, 1974

By G. E. McClelland

The Bureau of Mines investigated chemical methods for producing high- purity gold from precious-metal-bearing zinc precipitates and steel wool cathodes. Precious-metal-bearing zinc precipitates and steel wool cathodes are unrefined products from conventional cyanidation and heap leaching-cyanidation operations. The zinc precipitates contained 14,40 pct Au and 0.35 pct Ag. The precious-metal-bearing steel wool cathodes contained 20.65 pct Au and 4.84 pct Ag. The precipitates and cathodes were treated with dilute acid to solubilize the silver and/or base metals. The gold-bearing residue was leached in dilute aqua reqia to solubilize the gold. High-purity gold was precipitated from the aqua regia solution with oxalic acid, sulfurous acid, sodium bisulfite, and gaseous sulfur dioxide. The leaching-precipitation experiments recovered 99.9 pct of the gold. The gold precipitates ranged in fineness from 997 to 999 fine. The chemical refining method provides a viable technique for the smaller operator to produce high-purity gold without using pyrometallurgical refining methods.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. F. Willmott

The Bureau of Mines at Morgantown, W. Va., has been investigating, on a pilot plant scale, various methods of gasifying bituminous coal with oxygen and superheated steam to produce synthesis gas, as part of the broader program of finding new uses for coal. Differences in the pressure gasification methods used have depended on differences in the manner in which the pulverized coal is fed to the gasifier. One of the methods of feeding the coal that was investigated was the continuous, integrated coal-water slurry system. Goal and water were first mixed to produce a slurry; then the slurry was pumped through a heated coil. to evaporate the water fraction; the resulting steam was superheated, and some of it was separated so as to adjust the ratio of the residual steam to the coal fraction and make the resulting mixture suitable for partial combustion with oxygen in a pressure gasifier. Both before and during this reported3 developmental work it was necessary to make an extensive literature search into the technology of aqueous slurries in order to establish design criteria for the pilot plant and to correlate results of various phases of the work with that of other investigators, The pilot work coincided with the commercial development of a long-distance pipeline for the transportation of coal as a coal-water slurry, and this fact tended to broaden the scope of the pilot plant work and the extent of the literature search. This bibliography is the compilation of the material that was collected.

Jan 1, 1963

By S. L. May

Procedures for separating columbium and tantalum have been developed by the Bureau of Mines as part of a broad research program on the utilization of low-grade ores of columbium and tantalum, Columbium and tantalum compounds of greater than 99 percent purity have been obtained by application of the solvent extraction separation system: Hydrofluoric acid-sulfuric acid-methyl iso-butyl ketone. This system is unique in that it not only separates columbium from tantalum, but also separates these two metals from other metallic impurities. The system is effective for separating the metals irrespective of the tantalum and columbium ratio of the starting materials. Investigations in which the spent feed obtained from the initial coextraction step was recycled to the system indicated that efficiency was increased, and cost was reduced without impairing product purity. Continuous tests demonstrated that this solvent extraction system could be used in large-scale equipment without loss in efficiency or in purity of products. The separation of columbium and tantalum has been difficult because of the similarity in their chemical bahavior. Many methods have been proposed for separating these two elements, but most methods either did not achieve satisfactory separation or were tedious and time consuming. The Marignac process (3, 4)4 developed in 1866 was the only method used commercially until recently. This separation procedure is based on the difference in solubility in aqueous solution of potassium tantalum fluoride and potassium columbium oxyfluoride. Current commercial practice appears to favor solvent extraction as a method for separating tantalum from columbium (1). Several efficient methods for separating columbium from tantalum by solvent extraction (2, 9, 8) were reported earlier from this laboratory.

Jan 1, 1961

By Robinson Newcomb

Gypsum is a form of hydrated calcium sulfate (CaS04.2H20) which is widely distributed over the earth's surface. The two varieties worked commercially are rock gypsum and incite. Rock gypsum, the variety commonly mined for commercial purposes, is a relatively soft mineral having a specific gravity of about 2.3 and weighing about 150 pounds per cubic foot. The chief producing States are New York, Michigan, and Iowa. Before being used the crude gypsum is ground and generally calcined. The predominant use of gypsum is for building purposes (the manufacture of plaster), for which calcined gypsum is required. Gypsum is also used as a retarder in Portland cement, as fertilizer, and for other purposes. GYPSUM MINING Crude gypsum is mined by two methods - underground and open-pit. Although the use of the former method predominates, open-pit mining increased in relative importance during the early twenties and contributed about two-fifths of the output during the period 1925-38.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. H. Oppelt

The Federal Bureau of Mines investigated combustion of lignite in domes-tic heating equipment to obtain information on equipment performance and to evaluate testing procedures. Three types of domestic heating equipment were tested, ranging from a hand-tilled, magazine-type space heater to a ram-type overfeed stoker. Lignite was readily burned in each of the three units under various test conditions. Burnoff rates determined by adding weighed charges to the magazine were found to be in error because of shrinkage of the lignite when only a portion of the magazine capacity was consumed during a test. More reliable burnoff rates could be determined by carbon-nitrogen balances. A hand-fired magazine-type space heater (Booker heater) was operated without the furnace attachment at efficiencies to 75 pct. One test series was run with minimum supervision under conditions encountered in actual household operation. No mechanical trouble was encountered.

Jan 1, 1960