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By G. T. Smith, R. C. Moyer

Cadmium, along with other impurities such as lead, gallium, germanium and indium, is characteristically found associated with zinc ores, the average ratio of zinc to cadmium being about 200 to 1. The increasing demand for cadmium has led most zinc producers to develop a means for its recovery. The separation and recovery of this byproduct constitutes an important development in the metallurgical field. Zinc sulphide concentrates, principally from domestic sources, are processed at Donora Zinc Works and they assay approximately 60 pct zinc, 30 pct sulphur, 0.37 pct cadmium, and 0.8 pct lead. Concentrates are roasted to convert zinc sulphide to zinc oxide. Sulphur evolved as sulphur dioxide is used to manufacture 60º Baume sulphuric acid by the lead chamber process. The roasted calcine is sintered to remove the remaining sulphur and volatile impurities. Fume from the sintering machines is collected by Cottrell pre-cipitators and sent to the Cadmium Department for cadmium removal. The sintered product, a crude zinc oxide, is then mixed with coke and salt and charged into horizontal retorts for reduction to zinc metal. Furnace residues are then passed through a Waelz kiln which recovers practically all of the remaining zinc as an oxide. This oxide is collected by Cottrell precipi-tators and returned to the sintering plant for further processing. The following discussion covers operating procedure, and equipment used in the Cadmium Department for the manufacture of cadmium and its byproducts. (See attached Flow Sheet, Fig 1.) The production of cadmium may be divided into several steps, each of which will be discussed separately. These steps are as follows: 1. Raw Materials—Sinter Plant Cottrell dust, acid sludge and sulphuric acid. 2. Sulphating—Separation of lead. 3. Purification—Separation of impurities other than zinc. 4. Precipitation—Separation of cadmium from zinc. 5. Briquetting—Preparation of sponge for charging to furnace. 6. Smelting—Distillation of cadmium metal. 7. Remelting—Casting into commercial shapes. 8. Recovery of Rare Metals—Separation of germanium, gallium and indium. Raw Materials The raw material, or Sinter Plant Cottrell dust, from which the cadmium is manufactured, is recovered by Cottrell units collecting fume from two Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines. An average analysis of this dust is 36 pct zinc, 1.5 pct sulphur, 17 pct lead, and 5.5 pct cadmium, with associated elements in smaller amounts. A lesser tonnage of material removed from the sintering machine fans, and called fan cleanings, is also treated for cadmium. It is lower grade material and analyzes approximately 41 pct zinc, 1.2 pct sulphur, 14 pct lead, and 4 pct cadmium. Cottrell dust and fan cleanings are delivered to the Cadmium Department by monorail crane in bell-bottomed dump buckets. Acid sludge and 60" Bauine sulphuric acid are received from the Acid Department. The acid sludge is a mixture of lead sulphate, sulphuric acid and zinc sulphate, and is recovered mainly from the floors of the acid chambers or storage tanks. The acid sludge is delivered to the Cadmium Plant in a lead lined bucket. The 60º Baume sulphuric acid is delivered through a lead pipe to a lead lined storage tank. Sulphating Four well ventilated lead lined sulphating tanks, 8 1/2 ft in diam by 12 ft deep, are used. These are steel tanks lined with 20 lb lead on the bottom and 16 lb lead on the ides, equipped with Hastelloy side agitators. 15 hp motors drive 24 in. propellers at 450 rpm. There are water connections to stuffing boxes to keep sludge from entering the bearings. The tanks are covered with removable wooden lids and are connected to marine plywood

Jan 1, 1950

By W. H. Emmons

This paper is the third of a series treating of the relations of ores of the metals to igneous rocks. The first' outlined the general problem; the second2 proposed a classification of lode ores, and showed how the distribution of the deposits is in a certain measure controlled by the contour of the roof of the parent batholith. A number of mining districts were discussed, the examples being selected chiefly from group 2 of the classification. The proposed classification of lode deposits, briefly stated, is as follows: 1. Cryptobatholithic: near hidden batholiths which have not yet been exhumed by erosion. 2. Acrobatholithic: in and near cupolas or domes of batholiths—the high points of larger underlying masses. 3. Epibatholithic: on batholiths, near their rims, but below eroded cupolas, or below the highest points of the roofs. 4. Embatholithic: among closely-spaced outcrops which probably are parts of a single bathohth. The outcrops of invaded rocks predominate. 5. Endobatholithic. in and near roof pendants of large batholiths. The invading rocks predominate. 6. Hypobatholithic: in deeply-eroded batholiths, where even roof pendants have been eroded. Deposits of certain metals on the roofs of the batholiths are much more numerous in some positions than deposits of other metals, and the horizontal zonal arrangements of lodes of different metals are shown characteristically only in certain groups. In a large measure, also, the character of the fracturing and metallization is determined by the position on the roof of the batholith. The disseminated copper ores in porphyry constitute a clearly-defined type. All the deposits of these ores, as far as known, are in group 2. They appear to have been formed only in and around small upward projections of the parent granitic masses, and not low on the walls of the

Jan 1, 1927

By A. Mitchell

An approximate phase diagram has been developed for the CaF2-CaC2 system, indicating a eutectic point at 1240°C, Ncac2 = 0.13, and no detectable solid solution in either phase. The liquidus line is shown to correspond to a simple c22- ion in solution. A thermo-chemical study of&apos; the reaction between carbon-saturated Ni-Ca alloys and CaC2-CaF2 liquids indicates that lhe Raoullian activity coefficient of CaC2 in dilute solution in Cap2 al 1500°C lies between 8 and 10. Some effects of the stabilily of Cap2-CaC2 solutions at high temperatures on electroslag remelting praclice are outlined. THE alkaline earth acetylides. MIIC2, have a reasonably high thermochemical stability at high temperature in the solid state,&apos; with the exception of magnesium, which forms an unstable acetylide at low temperatures (-500°C) and a carbide, Mg2C3, in the range 700&apos; to 1000°C. The acetylides of calcium and barium have been shown to have limited solubility in their respective chlorides,&apos; and further these solutions contain the acetylide as a C: ion.&apos; The equivalent magnesium solutions have not been studied. Although calcium "carbide" is used as a desulfuriz-ing reagent in steelmaking. and is possibly present as an acetylide-oxide phase in very basic electric arc practice slags, the acetylide ion appears to be substantially unstable in a silicate slag.* As a conse- *This instability arises from equilibria in the reaction: CaC2 + CO = (Ca0) + 3C where the low intrinsic solubility of CaC2 in silicate lattice, and the low activity of CaO in a silicate solution where CaO/Si02 < 1, combine to give a very small equilibrium concentration of CaC2 in solution in such silicate slags at temperatures in the region of I 500°c, even under carbon-saturated conditions. Under highly basic conditions, a liquid CaO-CaC2 phase may separate from the silicate system quence of this, the possibility that reactions involving CaC2 in silicate solutions are of importance to general steelmaking practice is remote. However, in operations involving a slag primarily based on a halide, or alkaline earth oxide, we must take into account the possibility that CaC2 will appear in quantities sufficient to significantly affect both the chemical and physical properties of the slag. The work outlined below presents a study of the CaF2-CaC2 system intended to provide sufficient data to allow an estimate of the importance of this system to electroslag remelting and welding practice. However, we should indicate at this point that there will be other processes, e.g., heat treatment, flux cleaning of castings, fused salt electrolysis, and so forth, where alkaline-earth halide fluxes are in contact with carbon, graphite, or carbides, and where halide-acetylide solutions must be taken into account. EXPERIMENTAL 1) Structural Studies. In view of the difficulty ex-perienced in handling CaC2 prepared from calcium turnings and propane gas at 700°C, it was decided to use solutions prepared directly in the equilibration apparatus, Fig. 1. The starting materials were: a) Ni-Ca-C alloy, prepared by adding calcium to liquid nickel held under calcium fluoride in an induction-heated graphite crucible; b) calcium fluoride, prepared by fusing calcium fluoride powder (British Drug House "EXTRA PURE") calcium fluoride in an induction-heated graphite crucible, in air, followed by electrolysis between graphite electrodes at 1 amp cm-2 density, for 10&apos; coulombs per g CaF2. This procedure decomposes the CaO produced by hydrolysis during the fusion step, replacing it by CaC2; Ca2+ + 2e-Ca*(l) Ca*(l) + 2C(gr)-(CaC2)caF2 O2- -2e-O*(g) O*(g) +C(gr)-CO(g) This results in a composition of between 2 and 5 wt pct CaC2 in CaF2. Fifty grams (in lumps) of this material were placed in a graphite crucible, together with Ni-Ca-C alloy (averaging 20 wt pct Ca), and the equilibration apparatus assembled. The alloy reacted with the crucible at high temperature to give CaC2, which dissolved in the calcium fluoride solution to give the desired composition. Cooling curves were plotted manually for these liquids, with rapid stirring and CaF2 seeding to minimize supercooling, and using a Pt/Pt 13 Rh thermocouple calibrated on the freezing points of nickel and copper. This gave a reproducibility of ±0.l°C. and an absolute accuracy of the thermocouple of ±l°C. An example curve is shown in Fig. 2, with the CaF2 end of the binary system in Fig. 3. The CaF2-CaC2 ingots were crushed, under dry nitrogen, and sampled for chemical analysis and X-ray examination. Analytical details are given in the Appendix. Powder diffraction data indicated that the only phases present in all samples examined were calcium fluoride and tetragonal (Types I and 111) calcium acetylide,4 with no evidence of solid solutions or compound formation. 2) Thermochemical Studies. The apparatus used to obtain activity data on CaC2 in these systems is shown in Fig. 4. It consists of an arrangement whereby the graphite crucible and its contents (CaF2-CaC2. Ni-Ca-C) can be rapidly cooled without exposure to air. Trial experiments to determine an equilibration time by ap-

Jan 1, 1969

By M. Lonoff

Byproducts are more important to the copper mining companies than to the copper market. Copper ores frequently contain gold, silver, molybdenum, lead, zinc, and cobalt. With the increase in the prices of these metals copper mining has become more profitable. If byproduct prices remain high, additional firms will be attracted to the copper industry; the increased supply of copper will reduce the long-run copper price. However, this is unlikely to happen because the markets for the copper byproducts, especially molybdenum and cobalt, are small. Increased recovery from copper and other sources will depress the prices of these byproducts before the copper price is significantly affected. Should byproduct prices remain high, the copper market will both settle at a lower long-run price and be more unstable in the short run. Since changes in the copper price do not affect the entire earnings of a multi-metal mine, the copper price must fall further before such mines reduce output in the short run. Higher byproduct revenues will make copper supply less responsive to copper prices; shifts in copper demand will result in greater copper price fluctuations in the short run than they did before.

Jan 1, 1984

By Ira B. Joralemon

The sampling of disseminated copper deposits has been describeu often but the method of combining assays to give the true shape and value of the orebody as it will be mined has received less attention. As the ore mined during five or ten years at several of the great disseminated properties has averaged materially lower in grade than the published estimates, the question of the sampling and estimating of these orebodies seems timely. In this paper, attention is given particularly to factors that may cause errors in the final estimate. Sampling of diamond-drill holes, churn-drill holes, and underground workings is briefly described in the first part of the paper; then the method of combining assays to give the average grade and tonnage that will be mined is taken up in some detail. The necessity of study of the geology of the deposit and of probable costs is emphasized. Finally, the methods of calculating tonnages are outlined. DlAMOND-DRILL SAMPLING There are three main requisites for accurate diamond-drill sampling. First, the core should be removed and the hole cleaned out at the beginning of every sampling interval, usually 5 ft. (1.5 m.). After the rods are let down, water should be run through them until it becomes clear. The water must be clear before drilling starts. &apos;In this way the material knocked down from the sides of the hole by the descending rods is washed away, instead of being left to salt the sludge sample. The second requisite is to save all the sludge and all the core from every sampling interval. Where the material is uniformly heavy, the cuttings will settle suffciently in a box, through which the sludge flows s1owly.l Where part of the material is too light to settle readily, the sludge should be run into barrels, and allowed to settle until the water becomes clear. Then the clear water is siphoned off, and the sludge evaporated to dryness over a slow fire, sacked, and assayed.2 To obtain

Jan 1, 1925

By Henry Schaefer

Solution by electric analogy of performance problems of reservoirs containing oil and gas has heretofore depended upon a process of successive approximations based on material-balance calculations, because of variation in fluid compressibility. By the addition or subtraction of electric condenser capacity, the analogy network can be adjusted automatically for changing compressibility due to evolution of gas in the reservoir. The addition of a condenser is accomplished by an electronic circuit, which is described; subtracting a condenser is done by merely opening the electrical circuit by means of a relay. Introduction V. Paschkis and H. D. Baker1 first developed in this country a method of applying the analogy of flow of electric current in noninductive circuits to solution of heat-flow problems and suggested its application for certain other problems, such as flow of fluids or mass transfer and chemical diffusion. Necessary details for applying the analogy to flow of fluids in porous media were developed by IV. A. Bruce;= he classified3 the types of analysis and predictions that can be made by the analogy in class I, when the reservoir contains oil but no gas for the period under consideration; in Class 2, when both oil and gas exist in the free state in the reservoir sometime during the period under consideration. Duplication of bottom-hole pressure history and predictions for class I reservoirs can be obtained directly by electric analogy. Until now, the solution of problems pertaining to reservoirs in class 2 was obtained by successive approximations along with material-balance calculations. The object of this paper is to present a method for simplifying the application of electric analogy to class 2 reservoirs, resulting in a solution of these problems as direct as is possible for class I reservoirs. This is accomplished by an electronic control circuit, which adjusts the analogy network for changing compressibilities of fluids contained in the reservoirs. Analogy Network In electrical phenomena the analogy to two-dimensional fluid flow in a porous media is that of current flow through an ideal conducting sheet. This sheet, perfectly insulated on both sides, has resistance and capacitance uniformly distributed throughout its area but is of negligible inductance. The need for having the surface boundaries perfectly insulated is that good correspondence may be had with a permeable fluid-conducting stratum bounded above and below by impermeable media. 111 actual application the ideal conducting sheet, which has distributed parameters, is replaced by a network having lumped values of resistance and capacitance—the resistances are series elements and the capacitances are shunt elements. The larger the number of lumped

Jan 1, 1947

By Henry Schaefer

Solution by electric analogy of performance problems of reservoirs containing oil and gas has heretofore depended upon a process of successive approximations based on material-balance calculations, because of variation in fluid compressibility. By the addition or subtraction of electric condenser capacity, the analogy network can be adjusted automatically for changing compressibility due to evolution of gas in the reservoir. The addition of a condenser is accomplished by an electronic circuit, which is described; subtracting a condenser is done by merely opening the electrical circuit by means of a relay. Introduction V. Paschkis and H. D. Baker1 first developed in this country a method of applying the analogy of flow of electric current in noninductive circuits to solution of heat-flow problems and suggested its application for certain other problems, such as flow of fluids or mass transfer and chemical diffusion. Necessary details for applying the analogy to flow of fluids in porous media were developed by IV. A. Bruce;= he classified3 the types of analysis and predictions that can be made by the analogy in class I, when the reservoir contains oil but no gas for the period under consideration; in Class 2, when both oil and gas exist in the free state in the reservoir sometime during the period under consideration. Duplication of bottom-hole pressure history and predictions for class I reservoirs can be obtained directly by electric analogy. Until now, the solution of problems pertaining to reservoirs in class 2 was obtained by successive approximations along with material-balance calculations. The object of this paper is to present a method for simplifying the application of electric analogy to class 2 reservoirs, resulting in a solution of these problems as direct as is possible for class I reservoirs. This is accomplished by an electronic control circuit, which adjusts the analogy network for changing compressibilities of fluids contained in the reservoirs. Analogy Network In electrical phenomena the analogy to two-dimensional fluid flow in a porous media is that of current flow through an ideal conducting sheet. This sheet, perfectly insulated on both sides, has resistance and capacitance uniformly distributed throughout its area but is of negligible inductance. The need for having the surface boundaries perfectly insulated is that good correspondence may be had with a permeable fluid-conducting stratum bounded above and below by impermeable media. 111 actual application the ideal conducting sheet, which has distributed parameters, is replaced by a network having lumped values of resistance and capacitance—the resistances are series elements and the capacitances are shunt elements. The larger the number of lumped

Jan 1, 1947

By W. L. McMorris

The Convertol process was first described in Germany by Muschenborn&apos; in 1952. In the U. S. Fraser&apos; reported this new process in 1953, and Brisse and McMorris" presented the results of a Convertol pilot plant at the Alpheus preparation plant in Gary, W. Va., illustrating the mechanics of the process by a series of sketches. The purpose of the present investigation was threefold: 1) to determine the relative effectiveness of various oils and hydrocarbons for recovering coal by the Convertol process, 2) to ascertain the behavior of coal pulps in this process under various operational conditions, and 3) to compare Convertol with flotation in the recovery of fine coals. APPARATUS, PROCEDURE, AND COAL SAMPLES In laboratory work with the Convertol process a Waring Blender equipped with a speed-regulating rheostat was used for wetting, conditioning, inversion, and retention of the coal pulp. A 5-in. International centrifuge was adapted to dewater the agglomerated clean coal product by installation of a 100-mesh screen inside the regular bronze basket of the centrifuge. Except where otherwise stated, the Convertol testing was performed by the following steps: 1) A 450 to 500-cc coal slurry, containing 24 pct by weight of solids, was agitated in the blender for 10 min at 100 rpm to insure complete wetting and mixing. 2) Eight percent by weight of oil was added to the coal slurry in the blender and agitated for 1 min at 11,000 rpm to result in the phase inversion or agglomeration of oil-coated coal particles. 3) The agglomerated coal slurry was poured onto a 100-mesh sieve and wet-screened for about 2 min to remove most of the ash and some of the water. 4) The material remaining on the screen was transferred into the centrifuge for final dewatering. 5) A portion of the clean coal was immediately weighed out for moisture determination, while the

Jan 1, 1960

By Jack Fox

Last time there was a Take Five in these pages, it dealt largely with the matters considered by your Board of Directors at the meeting on October 20, 1970, in St. Louis, Mo. It was impossible to cover all the points worthy of discussion in the space available. So, at the end of the Take Five in the December issue of [i=], I promised to continue in the next installment. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep that promise. On December 2 your humble servant joined the ranks of those who have suffered a coronary occlusion. While I was away from the office, the very excellent SME staff team that we have built up over the years kept things going without bothering the "old man" unnecessarily. Assistant Executive Secretary, John V. Beall, Mrs. Lillian E. Donaldson, Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ruth Orologio, Administrative Assistant, and Mrs. Alice Ruiz exceeded even their usual dedicated efforts. As a result, the SME came up to the Centennial-Annual Meeting in great shape.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. E. Anderson, T. M. Brady

As part of a larger study to identify factors influencing the practical operating life of wire rope used on large draglines in surface coal mining, field trips to operating surface coal mines were made during late 1975. Wire rope performance information was obtained from personnel at 13 mine sites west of the Appalachians. Seventeen pieces of equipment, utilizing bucket sizes ranging from 30 to 220 cu yd (23 to 168 m), were documented. Draglines at large US surface coal mines can be represented as 120 machines having 60-cu yd (46-m3) buckets, moving 1.8 x 10[9] cu yd (1.4 X 10[9] m3) of overburden during 6650 hours of productive availability per year. Based on the limited field study, the calculated downtime resulting from rope-related causes averages 105.6 hours per year for each typical 60-cu yd (43-m3) dragline. The total loss in production from this source alone is thereby estimated at about 25 X 10[6] cu yd (19 X 10[6] m3) annually.

Jan 11, 1979

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., May 22, 1913. TO THE PRESIDENT, American Institute of Mining Engineers. Dear Sir: Referring to Mr. J. WV. Finch&apos;s letter printed in the Institute Forum of the May Bulletin, I am very much in sympathy with his suggestion that the Transactions be printed in several volumes devoted separately to the various subjects covered by the Institute papers, such as " Iron and Steel," "Mining Geology," " Precious and Base Metals," etc. The advantages of this plan appear to me so great and so obvious as to far outweigh any possible objections. At a meeting of the Iron and Steel Division Committee held on June 28, 1912, I moved that the Committee recommend to the Council that papers on Iron and Steel be published in separate annual volumes. The motion was seconded and passed. Since then I have never failed to repeat my request whenever an occasion presented itself, and I welcome the opportunity offered by Mr. Finch&apos;s communication to again call the attention of those interested to an innovation which appears to me so highly desirable. ALBERT SAUVEUR.

Jan 6, 1913

By R. W. Kobler, D. A. Dahlstrom

Since the development of the pelletizing process in the fifties for relatively high purity pellets from low grade taconites, there have been several distinctive changes in filter construction for the dewatering step preceding balling. In the original large pilot plant run by Reserve Mining Co. in Babbitt, MN, the disk type filter employing agitation (Agidisc filter) was selected as the most economical. Size was limited to 2.1 m (6 ft, 9 in.) in diameter. The second generation occurred in the sixties with a jump to 2.70 m (8 ft, 10 in.) in diameter to reduce capital costs per annual ton of pellet. In the early seventies, the third generation was the steam drying disk filter which became necessary to achieve balling moistures with specific surface areas of 2200 cm2/g to as high as 3800 cm2/g caused by finer grinding to obtain higher purities. Finally, the fourth generation has recently been developed to reduce maintenance costs and further improve hydraulics to ensure minimum moisture contents.

Jan 1, 1980

By F. W. Bloecher, A. M. Gaudin

H. H. Kellogg—There is one point that the author has failed to emphasize sufficiently in his paper. What is commonly called the equilibrium contact-angle (the author&apos;s "maximum contact-angle") can have only one value on a smooth, flat, homogeneous surface under a given set of conditions. The equilibrium contact-angle is defined, for such a system, as the angle between the solid-liquid and liquid-gas interfaces, measured through the liquid. The value of the equilibrium contact-angle is uniquely determined by the value of the interfacial energies of the three intersecting interfaces and is independent of other forces in the system. When the liquid-gas interface intersects the solid at an edge—as was the case for all the experiments reported in this paper—the orientation of the solid-liquid interface is indeterminate or varies through 90" for a right-angle edge. Mr. Morris has called the angle between the horizontal and the liquid-gas interface for this edge condition a "static contact-angle." I feel that this term is unnecessarily misleading. In the first place, "static contact-angle" sounds too much like "equilibrium contact-angle." In the second place, the magnitude of the "static contact-angle," which I would prefer to call the "supporting angle," is determined by the forces in the system other than those derived from the interfacial energies, hence "contact angle" is misleading. If Mr. Morris had said that the "supporting-angle" is variable and depends on the weight of the particle and size of the bubble and that it has a maximum possible value equal to the equilibrium contact-angle, his discussion would have been more accurate. T. M. Morris (author&apos;s reply)—Mr. Kellogg puts forth a reasonable criticism of some of the terminology used in the paper. I agree that the term "static contact angle" may be misleading. Substitution of the term "supporting angle" or "vector angle" may be more suitable. F. X. Tartaron—In this paper the author presents a very interesting mathematical development of the forces present when a mineral particle adheres to an air bubble. Excellent concordance is obtained between mathematical formulation and experimental results. It is the writer&apos;s understanding that when the mineral surface presented to an air bubble is greater than the area of contact, the maximum contact angle is obtained. However, this contact angle represents distortion of the bubble, the normal shape of which is spherical or in cross-section, circular. This distortion produces a force that acts in opposition to the force of adhesion between the bubble and particle. Hence, at maximum contact angle, the force of adhesion between bubble and particle is at a minimum for static conditions. However, when the size of bubble is increased, the size of particle remaining the same (and all other conditions remaining the same), the contact angle decreases, the distortion of the bubble decreases and the force in opposition to adherence of bubble and particle also decreases. Thus, there is stronger attachment between bubble and particle. When this situation is applied to actual flotation conditions, it is doubtful that it has any significance. The reason is that the bubbles are normally so much larger than the particles, that in substantially all cases, it is probable that negligible distortion of the bubble takes place. In table IV, the author makes computations for bubbles from 0.50 to 2 mm diam. This is from 0.02 in. to 0.08 in. Certainly the bubbles generated in a flotation machine are far larger than this. The surfaces of the author&apos;s bubbles range from 0.79 to 12.6 sq mm. The area of contact of the glass rod (0.15 mm diam) is 0.017 sq mm. Thus, ratio of bubble surface to mineral area of contact ranges from 47 to 741 in round numbers. If we take a %-in. diam bubble and a 65-mesh (0.208 mm) particle of cubical shape, the ratio of bubble surface to mineral area of contact is 2931. Mineral particles do not readily become attached to air bubbles. Taggart has shown that in pneumatic flotation machines collector-coated particles are only temporarily attached to bubbles. They keep falling off and down in the froth but at a delayed rate as compared with gangue. Spedden and Hannan&apos;s motion pictures confirm the difficulty of attaching particles to air bubbles. In the agitation froth process, according to Taggart, air is precipitated from the water selectively on to the collector-coated particles and these

Jan 1, 1951

By F. W. Bloecher, A. M. Gaudin

H. H. Kellogg—There is one point that the author has failed to emphasize sufficiently in his paper. What is commonly called the equilibrium contact-angle (the author&apos;s "maximum contact-angle") can have only one value on a smooth, flat, homogeneous surface under a given set of conditions. The equilibrium contact-angle is defined, for such a system, as the angle between the solid-liquid and liquid-gas interfaces, measured through the liquid. The value of the equilibrium contact-angle is uniquely determined by the value of the interfacial energies of the three intersecting interfaces and is independent of other forces in the system. When the liquid-gas interface intersects the solid at an edge—as was the case for all the experiments reported in this paper—the orientation of the solid-liquid interface is indeterminate or varies through 90" for a right-angle edge. Mr. Morris has called the angle between the horizontal and the liquid-gas interface for this edge condition a "static contact-angle." I feel that this term is unnecessarily misleading. In the first place, "static contact-angle" sounds too much like "equilibrium contact-angle." In the second place, the magnitude of the "static contact-angle," which I would prefer to call the "supporting angle," is determined by the forces in the system other than those derived from the interfacial energies, hence "contact angle" is misleading. If Mr. Morris had said that the "supporting-angle" is variable and depends on the weight of the particle and size of the bubble and that it has a maximum possible value equal to the equilibrium contact-angle, his discussion would have been more accurate. T. M. Morris (author&apos;s reply)—Mr. Kellogg puts forth a reasonable criticism of some of the terminology used in the paper. I agree that the term "static contact angle" may be misleading. Substitution of the term "supporting angle" or "vector angle" may be more suitable. F. X. Tartaron—In this paper the author presents a very interesting mathematical development of the forces present when a mineral particle adheres to an air bubble. Excellent concordance is obtained between mathematical formulation and experimental results. It is the writer&apos;s understanding that when the mineral surface presented to an air bubble is greater than the area of contact, the maximum contact angle is obtained. However, this contact angle represents distortion of the bubble, the normal shape of which is spherical or in cross-section, circular. This distortion produces a force that acts in opposition to the force of adhesion between the bubble and particle. Hence, at maximum contact angle, the force of adhesion between bubble and particle is at a minimum for static conditions. However, when the size of bubble is increased, the size of particle remaining the same (and all other conditions remaining the same), the contact angle decreases, the distortion of the bubble decreases and the force in opposition to adherence of bubble and particle also decreases. Thus, there is stronger attachment between bubble and particle. When this situation is applied to actual flotation conditions, it is doubtful that it has any significance. The reason is that the bubbles are normally so much larger than the particles, that in substantially all cases, it is probable that negligible distortion of the bubble takes place. In table IV, the author makes computations for bubbles from 0.50 to 2 mm diam. This is from 0.02 in. to 0.08 in. Certainly the bubbles generated in a flotation machine are far larger than this. The surfaces of the author&apos;s bubbles range from 0.79 to 12.6 sq mm. The area of contact of the glass rod (0.15 mm diam) is 0.017 sq mm. Thus, ratio of bubble surface to mineral area of contact ranges from 47 to 741 in round numbers. If we take a %-in. diam bubble and a 65-mesh (0.208 mm) particle of cubical shape, the ratio of bubble surface to mineral area of contact is 2931. Mineral particles do not readily become attached to air bubbles. Taggart has shown that in pneumatic flotation machines collector-coated particles are only temporarily attached to bubbles. They keep falling off and down in the froth but at a delayed rate as compared with gangue. Spedden and Hannan&apos;s motion pictures confirm the difficulty of attaching particles to air bubbles. In the agitation froth process, according to Taggart, air is precipitated from the water selectively on to the collector-coated particles and these

Jan 1, 1951

By J. W. Eckerd, P. S. Lewis, N. H. Coates

USBM designed, constructed, and operated an 18-in.-diam fluidized-bed combustor for highly caking coals to evaluate the method for possible application to power generation. In initial tests, combustion was carried on successfully, with carbon losses as low as 0.8%+ Coal ash was not satisfactory as a bed material, but mullite proved to be acceptable. Overall heat-transfer coeffients from the bed (-20 t 50 mesh mullite) to a water-cooled tube were about 75 Btuper hr-sq ft. Fluidized-bed combustion is being investigated by the U. S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) as a potentially cheaper method of firing power plant boilers. Lower combustion temperatures in fluidized beds—only 1400" to 1800°F-—should reduce fireside deposition and corrosion and nitrogen oxides production. Fluidized-bed combustion also offers possible advantages in the use of additives to control SO, emissions and amenability to processing of high-ash, high-moisture coals without special preparation. This paper describes development of a fluidized-bed combustor and the results of preliminary tests. Equipment and Procedure Fig. 1 shows the 8-ft-high combustor. A cone-shaped plate perforated by I/8-in.-diam holes supports the fuel bed and admits the fluidizing air; water passing through the 3/4-in. pipe extracts heat from the combustion bed. Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of the system. Coal is fed pneumatically to the base of the fuel bed. Combustion products are passed through two centrifugal separators to remove most of the entrained solids, then to a water

Jan 1, 1971

By R. L., Fullman

During the past year there have been a number of significant investigations that have furnished evidence on the driving forces governing grain growth and on the role played by boundary impurities. Thus Burke has shown that in high purity alpha brass the rate of grain growth in the earliest stages is approximately inversely proportional to the existing grain size. This relation agrees with one derived by Zener assuming that surface energy was the driving force in grain growth. Also in confirmation of the surface energy hypothesis, Burke found that growth virtually stopped when the grain boundaries or even only the grain corners were melted.

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1950

By Irving B. Cadoff, Ernest Levine

The crack formation and propagation in the single -phase Cu-4 pct Ag alloys were studied. The alloys were loaded in mercury to various stress levels, the mercury was removed, and the specimen examined for cracks. Cracks were found to develop below the fracture stress; the frequency of such cracks increased with increasing stress level. Some cracks were nmpropagative. Fracture in mercury was found to occur by the link-up of cracks formed at various stress levels rather than by the growth and propagation of a single crack. If the mercury environment is removed prior to a critical amount of crack formation, then continued loading results in ductile fracture. The appearance of the cracks at selected grain boundaries is related to the relative orientation of the boundaries, as are the propaga-tive characteristics of the crack. The mercury interaction appears to be one of lowering the strength of the metal-metal bonds in the high-stress area of the grain boundary. GRIFFITH&apos;S microcrack theory1 proposed a critical crack size above which a crack in an elastic material grows with decreasing energy at a stress of From his theory it was proposed that the presence of a liquid tends to lower the surface energy of the microcrack faces2 leading to a decrease in the critical crack size necessary for spontaneous fracture propagation. stroh3 proposed that the stress concentration at a grain boundary due to pile-up may initiate a microcrack at the grain boundary. petch4 and Stroh5 evaluated the stress distribution at the head of a pile-up in a polycrystal-line material and deduced that the critical crack size and hence of is dependent on the grain size. Experimental verification of this dependence was found by petch6 for hydrogen embrittlement of steel. Studies in stress-corrosion cracking7 have provided a picture of fracture which shows that initial separations occur in a scattered, independent fashion in regions of high tensile stress. A minimum or threshold stress is necessary to produce a sufficient stress concentration to initiate frac- ture. These separations join up to form a crack. The extension of fracture is largely discontinuous and consists of a joining up of cracks. In recent worka evidence of this scattered crack network was found in a Cu-Ag alloy embrittled by mercury. For the Cu alloy-Hg couple, the crack path has also been found to be dependent on the orientation of adjacent grains, and with the addition of zinc to mercury a reduction in embrittlement along with a change in fracture morphology was found.9 In this present study, a mercury-dewetting method was used to observe crack initiation and fracture morphology when a Cu-4 pct Ag alloy is deformed in mercury and Hg-Zn solutions. PROCEDURE Specimens of Cu-4 pct Ag were prepared as in previous crack-path studies.&apos; The specimens were heated at 770°C for 24 hr and water-quenched Tension tests using a table-model Instron were carried out in mercury and in various concentrations of Hg-Zn. Loading was in steps up to the fracture stress, with the load being removed and the specimen examined for surface cracks at each step. The specimens were dewetted after each load to permit examination of the surface structure and rewetted prior to continued loading. The specimens were wetted by electro polish ing in phosphoric acid, rinsing in alcohol, and then immersing in a pool of mercury. Dewetting was accomplished by flame heating the specimen for 30 sec in a vacuum. Some surface contamination was found, but not enough to obscure crack configurations and grain boundaries. RESULTS Fracture Characteristics in Mercury. Fig. 1 is a stress-strain curve showing the progressive step-wise loading of the specimen. As may be seen from the graph, the first position stopped at a is at a stress 5000 psi below the expected fracture stress of 25,000 psi. Examination of the specimen after removal of mercury showed only one crack. The appearance of this crack at a stress far below the fracture stress of this alloy in mercury did not affect the stress-strain curve in any manner. The specimen was then recoated with mercury and deformation was continued (curve b, Fig. 1) raising the stress by 4000 psi, and the same procedure re~eated. The initial crack was located and appeared as in Fig. 2 (crack lb). In this figure the crack is

Jan 1, 1964

By RICHARD MAIZE

IN this critical period of our history, the coal industry of the nation, faced with many obstacles, performed its work safely during the first ten months of 1943. Thousands of the younger mine workers were inducted into the armed forces of our country and in many instances their jobs have been filled by others without much if any experience and training. This situation alone would seem to be sufficient to interfere with the safe and orderly operation of the industry but the Government&apos;s demand for a substantial increase in coal tonnage over that produced in normal times introduced a hazard which always accompanies speed, regardless of the skill of the worker.

Jan 1, 1944

By Murl R., Schrock

THE use of diamond-drill holes at the Moctezuma Copper Co., Pilares mine, Pilares de Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, for the ventilation of raises has resulted from experiments that were made in an effort to secure continuous and efficient ventilation in hot and gaseous raises. The method is particularly applicable in long raises and in raises run from development levels where the source of fresh air is distant. In order that the CO, concentration shall not become excessive, 30 cu. ft. per min. per man must be supplied to a heading for breathing purposes:&apos; The quantity of air that will pass through a diamond-drill hole by

Jan 1, 1929