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THE composition and quality of finished steel depend upon selection and proportioning of the raw materials of the charge as well as upon control of furnace practice. This chapter deals only with the raw materials of the basic open-hearth process that are important in determining the composition of the steel or slag. They are the metallic charge, oxygen-bearing materials, fluxes, alloying and deoxidizing additions, and certain refractory materials used for maintenance of bottoms. Other refractories, which may affect the slag composition, are discussed in Chapter 3. Wide variations are possible in the type and composition of charged materials but certain limiting relations among the elements of the charge must be observed. Since the process consists essentially of refining by the oxidation of undesired dements, a balance must be established between the sources of oxygen and the elements in the charge that are subject to oxidation (see Chapters 2 and 7). For example, if it is desired to use a high ratio of blast-furnace hot metal to scrap, it is necessary to add an oxygen-bearing material such as ore or mill scale to eliminate the excess carbon and silicon that are present in the hot metal. An example of the opposite extreme is the use of a metallic charge composed entirely of steel scrap. With this type of charge, it is common practice to substitute burnt lime for limestone as a flux and to charge some carbonaceous material such as coke to avoid an excess of oxygen in relation to the elements of the charge that are subject to oxidation. Elements such as copper and nickel, which are not oxidized or eliminated by, any other reaction, may be introduced into the charge only to the extent to which they are permissible in the finished steel. An example of adjustment of the charge for elements of this type is found in the use of steel scrap high in copper. In this case, metallic components of the charge other than the scrap should be low in copper, or a sufficiently high ratio of pig iron to scrap should be charged to dilute the copper from the

Jan 1, 1951

Discussion of the paper of A. P. WATT, presented at the St. Louis meeting, October, 1917, and printed in Bulletin No. 130, October, 1917, pp. 1476 to 1563. THE CHAIRMAN (0. M. _BILHARZ, Miami, Okla.).-Mr. Watt's reference to sorting or hand-picking of the ore in the lead district, which is being introduced at Mine La Motte, is especially interesting. I believe, from my former experience in the district, that hand-picking should be practised to some extent by all the companies in the Lead Belt. I know that a great many thousand tons containing only very small amounts of lead are passed through the mills, which, of course, is not to the advantage of milling machinery. That procedure may be Warranted at times of high prices, but I think that hand-picking should ordinarily be adopted to some extent: ERNEST GAYFORD, Salt Lake City, Utah.-On page 1525, speaking of the settling of slime previous to treatment either on slime tables or by flotation, Mr. Watt states: "The settling area allowed per ton of dry slime varies from 11 to 16 sq. ft.-an average for the district would be about 13 sq. ft. of settling area per ton of dry slime. This figure applies when the, discharge contains 20 per cent. solids." Mr. Ramsey, of the Dorr company, is here and I would like to ask him whether a settling area of 13 sq. ft. per ton of dry slime per 24 hr. is not considerably above the average area of Dorr settling tanks, and whether 20 per cent. solids is not above the general dilution for that' capacity? I should also like to know what is the general average on slimes of that character. E. R. RAMSEY, Denver, Colo.-An allowance of 13 sq. ft. per ton does seem rather large. I am not familiar with the settling characteristics of the dolomitic gangue, but as an average over the country, I should say that 6 or 7 sq. ft. would be nearer correct for discharge at that consistency. L. A. DELANO, Bowie Terre, Mo.-We have had an opportunity to try our tanks at the highest capacity, and-find that by thickening the slime to 30 per cent. solids we average 12 sq. ft. per ton of dry slime. ERNEST GAYFORD.-DO you find any definite ratio between the thickness of the discharge and the settling capacity of the tank? Do you consider that the tank has a larger capacity if the discharge is 3 to 1 than if it is 50 per cent. solids? L. A. DELANO.-I think it has greater capacity with the thinner discharge. It depends a good deal on the density of feed to the tanks; in our case the feed contains 2.5 per cent. solids.

Jan 1, 1918

By W. S. Landis

IN brief, this is the story of an attempt to Americanize a process originally developed in Europe. The story will be recited in two sections, the first dealing with the process as developed by the European engineers; the second containing the improvements and modifications of American origin, together with some details of the operating results of the unit as finally assembled. Developments in other directions in this same field have not, up to the present, pointed out an economic future for the process, therefore our record here is largely a report of development progress. Whether some particularly favorable location will be found at some future time for a commercial installation cannot as yet be fore-told. The project is now at a standstill. The peculiar tools of the electrometallurgist should be of great interest to the zinc smelter. The low thermal efficiency of the zinc retort, its comparatively small-scale unit and its intermittent cycle as it stood in 1925, should make this art a particularly fertile field for the electric fur-nace. Yet in spite of years of work recorded in volumes of literature, and an expenditure of large sums of money, there is not a single electrothermic zinc smelter operating anywhere in the world. In this industry the electric furnace plays only a secondary part today.

Jan 1, 1936

By H. R. Spedden, A. M. Gaudin, M. P. Corriveau

A preliminary study of silver ion adsorption by sphalerite in ion exchange column with influent electrolyte marked with radiosilver is described. Rapid ion exchange occurs at first followed by slow reaction controlled perhaps by solid state diffusion. One experiment with radiocopper instead of radiosilver is reported briefly. IT has been known for many years that sphalerite is floated after it has been activated by a metallic cation, particularly copper.' The activation of sphalerite by copper is known to be an exchange of an atom of copper for an atom of zinc at the surface of the sphalerite.2,3 It has been estimated from various guesses of the available mineral surface that the depth of the copper-bearing coating is of the order of thickness of one atom. However, the exact mechanism of the activation process is unknown. A number of metals other than copper act in the same general manner."' " In particular, it has been known that silver replaces zinc at the surface of sphalerite. As copper is usually divalent, whereas silver is monovalent, it may well be assumed that there are differences, perhaps major differences, in the detailed scheme of activation by these two cations. Furthermore, since silver has unusual photoelectric properties and may be a contributor to the fluorescence of sphalerite, a study of its activating mechanism might open up some interesting avenues for exploring these other phenomena. The choice of silver as an activator of sphalerite was suggested also by the fact that its radioactive tracer, silver 110, is particularly convenient in that it has a long half-life and is energetic enough to permit counting through a counter window. The experimental technique selected, therefore, included the preparation of solutions of silver nitrate con- taining a proportion of active silver nitrate sufficient to give convenient counting data. In further considering the method to be used, a desirable choice seemed the use of batch experimentation in which a given solution was allowed to act on a certain lot of mineral for a given length of time at a given temperature, this period of mutual reaction being followed by analyses of the separated solid and solution. But an alternative method seemed more attractive. This is the method now so familiar to the users of ion-exchange resins, which was first made famous by the Russian chromatographer, Tswett.6-8 It consists in forming the mineral into a porous column through which the solution is allowed to flow at a constant rate. The usual method of allowing a batch of solid to react with solution is the equivalent of a single plate distillation operation while the chromatographic or ion-exchange column is a multiple-plate method—the multiplicity of the plates being represented by the reciprocal of the rate of flow of solution through the column. It seemed to us that the chromatographic method had such

Jan 1, 1952

By A. E. J. Engel

INDUSTRIAL talcs and ground soapstones both include earth materials of different chemical and mineral compositions. In general, the industrial talcs are composed of silicates that contain appreciable amounts of magnesia. Generally talc, the mineral, is a predominant or at least common constituent. Talc, the mineral, is a hydrous magnesium silicate, with a suggested theoretical formula H2Mg3 (SiO3)4 or H2O.3MgO.4SiO2, which postulates 63.5 pct SiO2, 31.7 pct MgO, and 4.8 pct H20.11 Actually different single grains or leaves of pure talc have variations in water content ranging from 3.5 pct to more than 7 pct, as well as slight differences in the proportions of MgO and Si02.16 Only a very small percentage of the ground industrial talcs produced in the United States approaches the composition given above (see Table 1). The purer talcs invariably occur as alteration products of magnesium carbonate rocks. Some of these relatively pure talcs include compact, massive types largely mined in California, which are designated as steatite.38,58 In general, steatites cannot contain in excess of 1.5 pct CaO, 1.5 pct combined FeO and Fe203, and 4 pct A1203. The less pure varieties of massive talc and mixtures of magnesian silicates are commonly called soapstones, or merely talc. Many industrial earth products classified as talc or as soapstone contain a variety of minerals, especially serpentine (H4Mg,Si2O9), chlorites (hydrous magnesium, iron, aluminum silicates), tremolite (Ca2Mg5H2[SiO3]8), anthophyllite ([MgCa]SiO3), diopside (CaMg[SiO3]2), and quartz (SiO2). The carbonates calcite (CaC03), dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2), and magnesite (MgCO3) are also present in some industrial talcs and soapstones. Some of these minerals, as well as sulphides, sulphates, and iron and manganese oxides, if present at all or in excess of minute amounts, may alter the composition of the industrial talc sufficiently to restrict materially its use or to lower or destroy its value. These factors are discussed in a subsequent section of this chapter.

Jan 1, 1949

By P. A. C. Wilson

Instantaneous outbursts of carbon dioxide in coal mines have occurred in Germany only in one part of the Waldenburg-Neurode mining district.' This mining region comprises the northeastern fold of the "Innersudetian" coal basin. The basin (Fig. 1) is in the form of a geologic trough approximately 60 km. (37 miles) long and 30 to 35 km. (19 to 22 miles) broad and is enclosed on three sides by ancient truncated mountain ranges—the Riesengebirge, the Bober-Katzbachgebirge and the Eulenge-birge. Only the southeastern part of the trough is not enclosed by mountains of older rock formation. The floor of the basin before the building up of the coal measures was formed on the western, northwestern and northeastern borders by the material from Archean rocks (gneiss and mica schists); in the northern part over this was deposited the Silurian formation. The carboniferous period is represented both by the Lower ("kulm") and Upper Carboniferous, with an unconformity between the stages; that is, the kulm was tilted up and partly eroded before the Upper Carboniferous was deposited. The kulm is a salt-water formation (with marine fauna) but Upper Carboniferous rocks are nonsaline water deposits, with fresh-water flora only. The Lower Silesian coal measures were thus formed in a lime basin fed by the running water coming down from the mountains. As already indicated, the bottom series of the Upper Carboniferous formation, termed "Waldenburg strata" were laid down unconformably on the Lower Carboniferous. Over the Waldenburg strata there are the "Weisstein strata," an intermediate barren stage without coal beds, 400 to 500 m. (1300 to 1600 ft.) thick. Another unconformity followed, which is overlain by the '(Saarbrucken" series, which contain the upper coal measures, and the ('Ottweil" strata. In the last named, it is only on the southwestern fold that beds of coal are developed.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. R. Kuzell

GEOGRAPHICAILY the industry of reducing and refining of copper continued to migrate from the .United States during 1931. While this country is losing the predominant position of its copper industry, our engineers still enjoy their pre-eminent position as leaders in the design and operation of the new plants being brought into production in the four quarters of the globe. Progress in the art, as indicated by the construction of the recently completed works, has not been revolutionary. Standard methods have been followed, augmented by novel features in flow-sheets demanded by the results of progress in the art of ore-dressing, and by reason of problems incidental to the peculiarities of the new ores being treated. Design and construction progress has likewise been orderly and without radical departure from less recent practice; new features in primary and secondary equipment being logical developments to provide for special conditions to keep abreast of improve¬ments in accessory apparatus. The new plants are being rapidly brought in without hazardous novelties and for the purpose of yielding the principal ingredient, copper, in as large a volume as it will he possible to market; the old United States procedure. In the meantime the domestic plants are shut down or operating at a very low capacity, threatened with untimely demise unless the metallurgist can extract and develop other valuable products from the ores. International agreements .and tariff protection may be a temporary reviving stimulant, but for many mines the days of profit will be numbered unless the ores can be made to yield as values the ingredients now being discarded. Invisible progress in this direction has been made during the past year, and it is to he hoped that time will prove that the outstanding progress of 1931 was in the development of processes for the ultimate recovery of by-products from copper ores, perhaps even relegating the value of the copper yield to secondary importance.

Jan 1, 1932

By C. W. Gennet

Announcement was made in the spring of 1926 that the Boston & Maine R. R. Co. had contracted with the well-known German steelmakers, Messrs. Fried Krupp, for the manufacture of 15,000 tons of basic open-hearth steel rails at the Rheinhausen Works, for delivery to Boston, Mass. The manufacture of rails in the United States has for many years been almost a national pride, and as this feeling is chiefly the result of a long-time liberal and consistent patronage of American rails by American railroads, it is not strange that this somewhat unusual announcement should arouse more than ordinary interest. Since the end of the World War, the importation of foreign rail has been fairly large, principally because the newly created economic conditions have rendered some American competition more difficult, but the tonnage imported, for the most part, has been made up of small orders for miscellaneous use; and the contract referred to constitutes the largest single importation of foreign rail in over ten years. In 1915, the Algoma Steel Co. of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, supplied the Illinois Central R. R. with 30,000 tons of rails,' and various other American roads with smaller amounts. In 1902, 1903 and 1904, large tonnages of rail from abroad were purchased, the Louisville & Nashville R. R. alone obtaining 30,000 tons from German mills. It is the object of this paper to present, in what is believed to be a new and concise form, figures showing the production and consumption of rails in the United States, and to record some of the testing and inspection results of the recent Krupp rails; also, to direct attention to two quite unique departures from American practice that were regular features of the Krupp process and which are worthy, it is thought, of careful study. Production and Consumption of Rails in the United States Table 1 shows the tonnage of rail produced in the United States and the amount imported, exported, and consumed by years since 1849. That, evidently, was the first year of record, for the statistics of the American Iron and Steel Institute and its predecessor, the American Iron and

J. B. MCGRAW, New York, N. Y. (written discussion*).-In Mr. Burke Baker's description of the process of the American Briquet Co., he speaks only of the attractive features, but every process which uses a compound or emulsified binder has certain undesirable features which must be considered. In making an emulsion, the success of which depends upon the introduction of the various ingredients at certain fixed temperatures and the complete intermixing of a soluble solution with an oil which has absolutely no affinity for it, considerable difficulty is found in keeping the various factors in strict accordance with the formula. To serve its purpose properly or, in other words, to be right for easy mixing with the coal, it should be of a certain predetermined density. Among the controlling factors of this ate the proportion of moisture contained and the temperature of the oil when introduced. If the latter is higher than intended, a greater proportion of moisture will be evaporated than is proper, and if the oil is not sufficiently hot the process of emulsification is retarded. These various factors can be controlled with more or less certainty where working in a laboratory or in a small experimental way, but when it is attempted on a large commercial scale, certain obstacles not otherwise apparent are likely to be encountered.

Jan 5, 1918

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 modern 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

Jan 1, 1941

By Joseph F. Shirley

A froth flotation plant to recover byproduct molybdenite must be designed specifically for the selected separation process and the type of ore being treated. However, some general rules concerning byproduct molybdenite plant design can be suggested that would be valid for most processes. The term byproduct molybdenite in this paper is limited to the recovery of molybdenite from copper porphyry ores, which essentially amounts to selectively separating molybdenite from copper and iron sulfide concentrates. In addition, most of the discussions would apply only to the almost universally used approach of floating the molybdenite and depressing the copper and iron sulfide minerals. Thickener It is considered essential that the feed to a byproduct molybdenite plant be thickened prior to being treated for molybdenite recovery for the following reasons: 1) Thickening allows the rougher and any preconditioning stages to be operated consistently at the optimum percent solids. 2) Generally, the size of equipment used for pretreatment and the rougher flotation is considerably smaller and less expensive than if the copper flotation concentrates were treated directly. 3) The removal of as much water as practical by thickening removes flotation reagents added in the copper flotation circuit, especially frother which can be quite troublesome in a byproduct molybdenite plant. Although thickening of the molybdenite plant feed has long been recognized as necessary to optimum metallurigcal results, very often this area has been designed poorly. The thickener should be sized so that it can produce a consistent thickened product containing 60 to 65% solids without the use of flocculants. Some plants are only able to thicken to 45 to 50% solids consistently while other plants let the percent solids vary from 45 to 60% over a 24-hr period. While the former is more desirable than the latter, in many cases better metallurgical results could be obtained if the percent solids could be held consistently close to 60%. Probably the simplest and most satisfactory system of handling the thickener underflow is to spigot it into a sump, using a sphincter type valve for the orifice, controlled by a density meter. Another satisfactory approach is to use an ODS type pump to meter the underflow. There are other methods of handling thickener underflow which work satisfactorily as long as the amount of copper concentrates entering the thickener is relatively uniform. However, they often fail to operate satisfactorily when there are large fluctuations in the thickener feed rate due to fluctuations in ore tonnage and/or copper grade. If the percent solids in the plant feed could be held close to 65%. There is the possibility the molybdenite plant tailing would not have to be thickened prior to the copper filter plant. This means that the molybdenite rougher float would have to be conducted at 45 to 50% solids with all the cleaner tailings returned to the rougher for dilution. Admittedly, in some situations this approach would be impossible, but if capital or plant area is limited, it should be considered.

Jan 1, 1981

By Basil Prescott

Resume.—The district of Santa Eulalia lies 12 miles to the southeast of the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. The ore deposits occur in a Cretaceous limestone of unknown thickness, overlain by a series of rhyolitic tuffs and flows. The limestone is very gently folded and is cut by several systems of fissures, of which only those with a general north-south strike are pre-mineral and control the deposition. The deposits are of two main types; the earlier silver-bearing iron sulphide type occurs as high-grade tabular bodies resembling veins and as large masses of relatively low-grade ore, The gangue of this type is composed of lime-iron silicates that point toward a close association with an igneous rock mass which has not yet been encountered. In the later silver-lead-zinc type the ore occurs in vertical chimneys and horizontal mantas, principally as oxides, though at a depth of 1,500 ft. some sulphides have been encountered. During oxidation the ore chambers have increased in size owing to the solution of the walls by the sulphuric acid generated in the process, and a substitution has taken place of nearly one-half part by weight of the original constituents of the ore, by newly introduced elements and radicals. Both types are believed to have come from greater depths than those yet reached by mining, and their ultimate source, from a consideration of similar deposits, is believed to be an igneous rock in contact with the limestone at some horizon below. The deposits are believed to have been formed at unusually great depths, as indicated by the proved great vertical range of the silicate minerals coupled with the absence of the igneous rock, and by the practically unchanged character of the silver-lead-zinc ores as far as developed. The volcanic capping is believed to be distinctly later than the economically important ore deposition. Introduction The Santa Eulalia district is situated in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and lies about 12 miles southeast of the capital, the city of Chihuahua. (See map, Fig. 1.) The district embraces the Sierra de La

Jan 1, 1915

By M. S. Klima, P. T. Luckie

Interfacing new or improved unit operations SUBMODULES with the EXECUTIVE of a macro analysis simulator usually requires modification of the input data. For example, particle processing SUBMODULES that are sufficiently general in nature to provide useful predictions require input data for rather narrow size fractions. Such data is not always available for the EXECUTIVE and must therefore be generated by the SUBMODULE. A successful interface to allow incorporation of a new SUBMODULE for comminution and one for classification in a general stream state flowsheet simulator is presented. The general nature of the SUBMODULES, as well as the logic of expanding and contracting the required data input is discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By Frederick C. Hull, Robert F. Mehl, Robert A. Colton

IT is known that pearlite forms from austenite by a process of nucleation and growth, and that the rate of formation of pearlite may be described by a rate of nucleation and a rate of growth 12 The manner in which these two quantities operate to produce the observed isothermal reaction curve has been analyzed in a paper published in 1939 3 Two types of process were described (I) that in which nucleation occurs at the grain boundaries of the parent phase, with the nodules growing toward the centers of the grains, initially as hemispheres and then after impingement as roughly radial-columnar structures, and (2) that in which nucleation occurs generally, with the nodules growing to full spheres until impingement with other growing nodules restricts growth Both cases are met in the formation of pearlite from austenite (Fig 1),2,3 the former, occurring near the knee of the S-curve has been named "grain-boundary transformation," and the latter, occurring at temperatures near AeI, has been named "group-nodule transformation " In developing our knowledge of the factors that determine the rate of formation of pearlite from austenite, it is important''' to obtain data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite Such data, when obtained near the knee of the S-curve, will furnish information of use in understanding the actors that affect hardenability, when obtained at higher temperatures, such data will be useful in understanding the behavior of steels that during heat-treatment react to pearlite 2 It is the purpose of this paper to present data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite in dependence upon composition, grain size, temperature,, and the degree of homogeneity of the parent austenite The studies are restricted chiefly to plain carbon commercial steels PREVIOUS DATA ON RAID OF NUCLEATION AND RATE OF GROWTH Data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite have been published by Scheil and Lange-Weise,5 by Mirkin and Blanter,6,7 by Mehl,1 and by Dorn, De Garmo and Flanigan22 It is difficult to interpret the data, for in most cases too little information is given on austenitizing temperatures and times, the state of homogeneity of the austenite (presence or absence of carbide, etc ), austenite grain size, and mode of formation of pearlite at the temperatures given

Jan 1, 1942

By W. W. Stephens, W. J. Kroll, H. P. Holmes

THE only two methods for producing commercial quantities of malleable zirconium, up to now, have been using magnesium reduction of the anhydrous chloride under a neutral gas, and using purification of raw zirconium by the iodide dissociation method on a hot filament. The purity of the metal obtained by the latter process is about the same as that resulting from the chloride reduction, with the exception of the oxygen content, which may be about 0.05 pct lower in the iodide metal. Even traces of oxygen have a strong hardening effect on zirconium. Since, in the iodide process, the impurities, Si, Al, Fe, Ni, and Mg in the raw zirconium used, are carried over, it would appear uneconomical to use this method of refining solely to eliminate the traces of oxygen, unless very soft metal is desired. One important step to improve the iodide method, namely, dissociating pure iodide made from carbide and recycling the iodine, which would change this refining process into a method for extracting zirconium from the ore, has not yet been made. The Bureau of Mines, by using the chloride reduction, wanted to produce quantities of a reasonably pure and malleable metal at low cost for large-scale industrial use. This aim has been achieved, and a pilot plant permitting production of 600 lb of malleable zirconium per week will be described (fig. 1). Briefly, the Bureau of Mines process consists of reducing purified gaseous anhydrous zirconium chloride with fused magnesium under a noble-gas atmosphere. The reaction product, magnesium chloride, and any excess magnesium metal present are removed from the sponge zirconium in the next step by fusion and evaporation in a good vacuum at about 925°C. In this process, care is taken to keep air out of contact with the hot metal, which otherwise would contaminate the product with oxygen and nitrogen. Both these impurities embrittle zirconium even when present in an amount as low as 0.1 pct. A number of previous reports1-3 describe the method and the various improvements that finally led to a workable process. The major steps made were the production of large quantities of carbide, which is the raw material for producing the chloride, its chlorination with reasonable efficiencies, and the elimination of iron trichloride contained in the raw chloride, as well as that of the zirconium oxide which is always present in this product. The physical nature of the anhydrous chloride, which sublimes at 331°C at atmospheric pressure and melts at 420°C under a pressure of 25 atm, made it necessary to provide a special safety device on the purification and reduction vessels in the form of a lead-alloy seal, permitting escape of excess gases if pressure tended to build up. The main difficulties encountered in the reduction and in the following step, salt separation in a vacuum at elevated temperature, were caused by the material from which the reaction pot was constructed—iron. This metal reacts with zirconium at about 940°C with formation of a eutectic. The last step, salt separation by evaporation of the magnesium and magnesium chloride in a vacuum, is quite unconventional and has not been used before on such a scale. It is only due to the improved construction of high-vacuum pumps, especially oil-diffusion pumps, that such a method could be used. The various steps of the Bureau of Mines process, as described in the general outline above, may be summarized as follows: (1) production of the carbide, (2) chlorination of the carbide, (3) purification of the raw chloride, (4) reduction of the pure chloride with fused magnesium, (5) separation of excess magnesium and magnesium chloride in vacuum at elevated temperature, and (6) melting of the sponge obtained. Production of Carbide The arc furnace, described in a previous report,' was improved both to reduce the graphite consumption caused by the burning of the bottom plates and to concentrate the heat in order to obtain better power efficiency. This was achieved by providing the bottom with graphite plates entirely embedded in refractory bricks, the contact with the current being made with three water-cooled copper plugs. Figs. 2 and 3 show the arrangement. The crucible, made

Jan 1, 1951

By Donald Cummings

CERTAIN dusts are dangerous when inhaled, but most hazardous of all dusts are quartz or other forms of pure crystalline silica. The inhalation of dusts containing silica in combination with other elements gives rise to changes in the lung which differ from those produced by pure silica. As a generality, silicates are less dangerous than pure crystalline silica and vary greatly among themselves in harmfulness. Repeated analyses have shown that approximately 70 per cent of the total number of particles involved in any dust-producing operation are below 1 to 2 microns in diameter. (A micron is. approximately 1/25,000 in.) Similar studies of dusts recovered from silicotic lungs post mortem have demonstrated essentially the same size frequency distribu-tion, except that the upper limit of size retained in the air sacs is approxi-mately 10 microns. Experiments carried on by Gardner and the author have further demonstrated that greater changes were produced by a fixed weight of very fine quartz particles (2 to 3 microns and smaller) than by the same weight of slightly larger particles (8 to 10 microns). Any attempt to control a dust hazard should therefore be directed toward the removal from the working atmosphere of particles less than 10 microns in size, and particularly those below 3 microns. All industrial hygienists agree on this matter, but there remains considerable dispute as to the lower limit of particle size capable of causing injury. It has been gen-erally conceded, however, that particles of harmful dusts smaller than ¼ to ½ micron are not essentially concerned in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. This opinion is partly substantiated by the existence of large numbers of these small particles in practically all atmospheres that are, not associated with any known hazard. Such particles are so small that they have very little mass, fail to settle even in quiet air, and probably are not easily retained in the lung. Until further research proves that they are involved in the dangers provoked by the inhalation of certain dusts, engineers will generally agree that it is better to dis-regard them.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. Ries

THE stabilization of a gravel road with soil is a method of treatment developed in recent years by the United States Bureau of Public Roads for the purpose of binding the constituents together better, and maintain-ing a more durable surface. The process consists in adding to the gravel or crushed stone and sand, a soil mortar, so-called, of fine sand, silt and clay, mixed in the proper proportions. The coarse gravel and sand supply structural strength and hardness; the fine sand adds embedment support to the coarse sand; the silt acts as a filler to prevent the granular particles from rocking; while the clay serves not only as a binder but also provides pores minute enough to cause connecting moisture films which are supposed to have high cohesive properties1. It will be recognized that the clay is an important ingredient both when wet and dry, and should not show excessive expansion when wet, nor correspondingly high shrinkage in drying, as otherwise there is danger of unseating the nonplastic particles. Such a stabilized road, although an improvement on one with a floating surface, will in course of time be subject to wear, and become dusty when the clay dries out and breaks up. It has been found that if some salts are added to the road mixture they tend to maintain the soil moisture and prevent dustiness of the road or raveling of the road surface. In addition to this, it is claimed that these dissolved salts cause a thinning of the moisture films on the particles, thus permitting greater compaction of the road mixture, and thereby increasing its density. This fact can be proved by noting the increased compaction which a road mixture shows when certain salts are added to the soil water. Since certain chemical substances such as sodium chloride are electro-lytes, the question arises whether they cannot have some effect on. the qualities of the clay in the soil mortar, and perhaps improve them. In view of the fact that certain salts seem to exert a favorable effect on the road mixture it is desirable that they be held in the road soil as long a time as possible.

Jan 1, 1936

By Eugene Guccione

Before answering the question raised in the title, let's briefly consider how East-West trade is viewed within the entire US political spectrum. Essentially, there are four major schools of thought: (1) The Peaceful-Coexistence School. Advocates of this school call themselves free-traders and hold to the premise that: (a) trade benefits all parties involved, hence it is the best tool to achieve peace; (b) US trade barriers should be removed, and the quicker the better; and (c) negotiations, cultural exchanges, and political compromise should be used extensively.

Jan 9, 1974

INTRODUCTION It has been impossible for the student, the practicing engineer, and the geologist to find all of the essential elements of mineral appraisal and mineral economic analysis in a single text. Indeed, the most recent texts on mine evaluation are over 20 years old. Many of the basic principles of mine sampling and evaluation have not changed over the ensuing years, but with the advent of the digital computer the entire scope of mineral evaluation has been expanded to encompass superior techniques that heretofore were not possible when using manual methods. The old manual methods for ore reserve computations and the techniques for assignment of area of influence to drill-hole samples are now as antiquated as the Model-T Ford. With the computer making possible solutions that had not been practicable in terms of time and effort, it is important for the practicing explorationist and mining engineer to understand many of the new concepts and principles that can be applied with the resolving power of the computer. Many practicing mineral industry professionals have been disappointed by certain computer programs and thus have some reservations about computers being able to solve their very real problems. Often the gap between the practicing engineer and the ivory tower theoretician applying modern computer techniques is too broad to be bridged with scattered, fragmented publications. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF TEXT It is the intent of this book to update and to unify a great many scattered reference works used in the mineral industry today. The ensuing pages are addressed both to the professional already working in the mineral industry who needs information on computerized methods as well as to the serious student seeking to grasp the fundamentals and modern techniques of mineral appraisal and feasibility. These techniques are based on sound mathematical principles and theory, with the computer as a tool-but a very essential tool-for the solution of the problems involved. The computer can be of value only if it is programmed by those having sufficient expertise to use its inherent problem-solving capability, and the output is interpreted by those who are sufficiently acquainted with its operation to understand the data it produces. In the pages that follow the author intends to outline in considerable detail all the essen-

Jan 1, 1980

By T. L. Joseph

A study is made of the amount of solution loss necessary to maintain the reducing power of the gas stream in the blast furnace. Curves are presented to show the effect of solution loss, moisture in the blast, and carbon dioxide from the flux on the nitrogen in the THE blast furnace process is based upon the counter flow of gases and solids. As CO, N, and H, flow upward from the combustion zones, oxygen is acquired from the descending charge. In the reduction of iron ore, a portion of CO is converted to CO, and similarly a portion of H, is converted to water vapor. The inert N,, from the air used in combustion, passes through the furnace with little change. Its concentration is, however, decreased by reactions such as direct reduction and solution loss which increase the volume of CO in the gas stream; Similarly the evolution of C02 from the limestone also dilutes the nitrogen. he purpose of this paper is to illustrate an idealized and simplified method of studying furnace processes by following changes in the gas phase between the tuyeres and the stock line. A more specific objective is to evaluate the effect of solution loss upon the CO/CO, ratio in that region of the furnace in which FeO is reduced to metallic iron. This last stage of reduction requires relatively high CO/CO, ratios to exceed the equilibrium requirements. Solution loss or the reaction of COZ with C to produce CO has a pronounced effect upon the ratio of the carbon gases and is necessary to maintain the reducing power of the gas stream if the consumption of coke is low. It will be explained later that indirect reduction followed by solution loss is stoichiometri-cally equivalent to direct reduction. Calculations will be made to show how the composition of the gas in the region of the mantle varies with coke consumption and with different amounts of solution loss. Such calculations show the condi- tions under which gasification of C with oxygen in the charge is needed to maintain the reducing power of the gas. Equilibrium conditions for FeO and the carbon gases will be used to establish a minimum CO/CO, ratio below which reduction will not proceed. The manner in which carbon is gasified in the furnace, at the tuyeres with oxygen in the air or above the tuyeres with oxygen from the charge, will be a basic feature of all calculations. It is hoped that greater interest in the use of top gas as a means of following furnace reactions will be aroused by the calculations and generalized curves which are presented. Bosh Gas Equations Subject to some alteration by the amount of moisture in the blast and by direct reduction, the gas leaving the combustion zones of a blast furnace has a definite composition. Because a relatively small amount of oxygen is acquired from the charge in the bosh and in the crucible, the products of combustion undergo little change until they enter the shaft. Bosh gas is, therefore, essentially the products of combustion of carbon in a deep fuel bed with air. The relative weights and volumes of reacting materials are expressed by the equation: 2~ + 0? + 3.76N, = 2C0 $ 3.76NZ [I] Air Bosh Gas -air = 79% N? = 3.76) 21% 02 Starting with a known mass of C consumed largely by air, Eq 1, but partly by water vapor, Eq 2, the volume and C + H2O = CO $ H? [21 composition of the bosh gas can be calculated and subsequent changes followed as reactions take place at various elevations in the furnace. As shown in

Jan 1, 1952