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By E. C. Mahan

THE text of my talk was suggested by the invita-tion of your secretary, who said that the excess productive capacity of the bituminous industry was a matter of common concern to engineers and coal operators. Cognizant of the depressed condition of the industry, he tactfully added that in common council we might find wisdom. Certainly it would seem that the application of the best engineering knowledge available would be helpful in solving mining problems. There is no doubt that clear thinking, characteristic of the engineering type of mind, is essential to untangle the shapeless pattern which increased complication, so often mistaken for progress, has developed. There is much thinking today which neither looks forward to a logical combination of ideas nor backward to simple fundamentals. The result of that sort of thinking is hopeless confusion. Lately we have heard much about excess capacity and overproduction, along with their attendant evils. Respecting the bituminous coal industry, these terms have been frequently misused. How many of us have seen them applied to the coal industry but how few of us have understood them. I am reminded of a state-ment which William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor and a former miner from the Ohio field, gave to the Associated Press last month, in which he was quoted as saying: "The coal men must realize that conditions have altered since the World War. To-day they are producing a billion tons a year, with a market for only half that tonnage." I cite this instance as a glaring example of the flood of. loose statements about the bituminous industry with which the public is being deluged. If the general public, or some of the newspapers, had any passion for the facts, this sort of misleading statement would not get very far. Unfor-tunately, in these days, opinions are more sought after than facts, and statements by such a person as Mr. Green and are promptly accepted by a credulous public.

Jan 4, 1928

By W. W. Scott

The application of engineering methods to the problems connected with drilling and producing in the oil industry has led to the development of the science that is variously termed "petroleum engineering," "production engineering," "petroleum production engineering," and even Itpolitical engineering." It would require much detail to enumerate the qualifications of a petroleum engineer, just as it would for an engineer in any major industry. For those who have a genuine liking for the oil industry, there is a wide selection of pathways to achievement. The oil industry is now highly specialized. Its products are necessary to all civilized people and are indispensable in the security of our nation and also in the well-being of our families. The business structure of our country depends in a large measure upon oil, and the welfare of this group as individuals is certainly linked with the welfare of the oil industry. What Is the Trend of Engineering? The oil industry offers a fertile field of opportunity for engineering; probably more so than any other industry. The sciences of geology, physics, chemistry and mathematics are all used in some phase of the oil industry and to a very considerable extent in the production division, which embraces the geological, drilling and producing departments. In drilling and production alone, research programs of considerable magnitude are being carried on at this time, and no doubt the future will see a great deal more of this kind of work. Through the cooperation of the engineer, the equipment manufacturer, and the American Petroleum Institute, immense savings have been made by the standardization of drilling and production equipment. Drilling equipment in itself offers a wide scope for study, in that continued efforts are being made to improve the equipment so that it can be made to drill faster and to greater depths. The improvements in drilling equipment are required because new reserves of oil are being found at progressively greater depths. In order to produce such oil in competition with oil now being produced from reservoirs

Jan 1, 1937

By E. W. Davis

The mixing of fine ores with fuel and burning under induced draft is called sintering in iron-ore practice and either sintering or roasting in copper and lead metallurgy. The first development of sintering was the Huntington-Heberlein process, in which fine sulfide ores mixed with fuel were charged into a pot and burned under the action of an upcast current of air introduced at the bottom of the pot. Modern development has resulted in two types of machine; the continuous Dwight-Lloyd machine, which consists of heat-resisting grates and a moving beltlike type of hearth constructed of metal, in which air is drawn downward through the bed, and the stationary Greenawalt batch process, which operates in the same manner as the Dwight-Lloyd except that the hearth is stationary. The recent rapid increase in the use of sintering has been the result of two great advances in metallurgical process—flotation and the treatment of flue dust. The Dwight-Lloyd machine is used in many plants for agglomerating flotation concentrates and at the same time reducing the sulfur content to furnace requirements and it has become standard practice to treat iron blast-furnace flue dust by either the Greenawalt or Dwight-Lloyd machine, so that it can be recharged into the furnace. The mining of low-grade magnetite iron deposits and their beneficiat-ing by grinding and magnetic separation resulted in a fine concentrate extremely detrimental to blast-furnace practice. These concentrates are sintered and made into ideal material for blast-furnace use. Incidentally, coke savings of about 400 lb. per ton of pig are reported. Sintering at Evergreen Plant The application to limonitic iron ores is the most recent development of the sintering process. The first plant in the Lake Superior region was erected by the Minnesota Sintering Co., a subsidiary of the Evergreen Mining Co., at Ironton, Minn., in 1924. This plant was designed to treat Cuyuna Range iron and manganiferous ores containing low silica, high moisture and a structure objectionable because of a large proportion

Jan 1, 1930

By Walter Crafts

Tests carried out at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc., on the effects of grain-refining deoxidizers are in substantial agreement with the data presented by Mr. Comstock. Notable is the observation that, although boron and aluminum increased hardenability, the steel was of poor quality in comparison with the other boron-treated steels to which at least two grain refiners were added. The effect of zirconium in improving the ductility of the chromium-nickel steel is in agreement with our experience that zirconium is specifically beneficial to chromium steels. In order to amplify Mr. Comstock's results and to indicate some of the basic principles of special deoxidation, the primary observations of our study have been summarized. The effect of boron in increasing hardenability was described by R. Walther, U. S. Patent No. 1519388, Dec. 16, 1924, but effective amounts in incompletely deoxidized steel are sufficient to harm hot workability and room-temperature ductility. Work at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc., has shown that in order to obtain deep hardening without using such large amounts of boron as to result in impairment of ductility, the steel must be thoroughly deoxidized. This may be accomplished by a high silicon content or a grain-refining addition of strong deoxidizers. The degree of grain refinement and hardenability are inclined to be erratic when only one grain-refining element is used, although aluminum, zirconium, titanium, and vanadium have been used singly and resulted in increased. although somewhat erratic, hardenability. The ductility likewise was inclined to be inconsisterlt when only one grain-refining deoxidizer was added. By combinations of grain-refining elements, it was found possible to combine the specific virtues and counteract some of the defects of each clement. In addition, the complex deoxidizers gave more consistent grain refinement and hardenability. When used in combinations, each element adds its own specific influence as well as modifying the character of the other elements. The function of aluminum is primarily to give consistent results and to minimize abnormalities resulting from too

Jan 1, 1943

By L. H Levenson, Charles S. Barrett

The orientation of metal crystals and grains, both large and small, can be detcrmined conveniently and accurately without the use of X-ray apparatus. This seems to be appreciated by so few metallurgists that it may be useful to explain in detail the method we have found most satisfactory in the laboratory—the reflection of light from crystallographie etch pits. This note includes a description of a suitable inexpensive instrument and instructions for etching various metals and for plotting the data. As the stereographie projection is used to facilitate handling the data, this note may he considered as an appendix to an earlier review of the metallurgical uses of the stercographie projection.' Various methods involving etch pits have been used by other investigators. Bridgman's method2 consists of attaching the specimen to a sphere (a transparent sphere is convenient4 , holding it at arm's length, and marking a spot on it when it has been turned so that the eteh pits reflect light into the eye of the observer from a lamp standing behind him. It has an accuracy of about 2" and is extrernely rapid. A greater accuracy can be obtained by having the reflected light fall on a screen, as has been done by Czochralski,5 Chalmers,6 and Schubnikov.7 All of these methods have been intended for undeformed single crystals. Tammann and his coworkers3,8 developed a method for estimating the number of grains in a polyerystalline aggregate having orientations in a given region of the stereographic triangle and thus obtained statistical information about deformation and reerystallization textures. While the method has had some use in recent years,9 it is not applicable to the majority of problems in physical metallurgy. Smith and Mehl10 determined orientations by plotting the directions of the sides of individual etch pits on a stereographic projection. The accuracy is limited to about 3" and the method requires careful polishing and high magnification.

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles S. Barrett, L. H. Levenson

The orientation of metal crystals and grains, both large and small, can be detcrmined conveniently and accurately without the use of X-ray apparatus. This seems to be appreciated by so few metallurgists that it may be useful to explain in detail the method we have found most satisfactory in the laboratory—the reflection of light from crystallographie etch pits. This note includes a description of a suitable inexpensive instrument and instructions for etching various metals and for plotting the data. As the stereographie projection is used to facilitate handling the data, this note may he considered as an appendix to an earlier review of the metallurgical uses of the stercographie projection.' Various methods involving etch pits have been used by other investigators. Bridgman's method2 consists of attaching the specimen to a sphere (a transparent sphere is convenient4 , holding it at arm's length, and marking a spot on it when it has been turned so that the eteh pits reflect light into the eye of the observer from a lamp standing behind him. It has an accuracy of about 2" and is extrernely rapid. A greater accuracy can be obtained by having the reflected light fall on a screen, as has been done by Czochralski,5 Chalmers,6 and Schubnikov.7 All of these methods have been intended for undeformed single crystals. Tammann and his coworkers3,8 developed a method for estimating the number of grains in a polyerystalline aggregate having orientations in a given region of the stereographic triangle and thus obtained statistical information about deformation and reerystallization textures. While the method has had some use in recent years,9 it is not applicable to the majority of problems in physical metallurgy. Smith and Mehl10 determined orientations by plotting the directions of the sides of individual etch pits on a stereographic projection. The accuracy is limited to about 3" and the method requires careful polishing and high magnification.

Jan 1, 1940

By H. T. Mercer

THE composition of steel and the theory of its heat treatment have been so ably discussed elsewhere that it is unnecessary to go into the subject here. The purpose of this paper is to describe briefly the method of treating drill steel at the Copper Range mines, giving some of the troubles encountered and the manner in which they were overcome or corrected. To study the matter properly, it was necessary to devise a system of records that would show the actual underground performance of the drills. To illustrate this system, the records of the Champion mine are used, as it is at this mine that most of the work along these lines has been done. Reports from each drill machine are made daily by the shop and mine, and tables compiled from these reports show the footage drilled, steel broken, drills received and sent out at the shop, drills sharpened, and bits cut off. These data show what each machine or party is doing and whether the miners' supply of drills is kept up to date. There have been times when the supply of drills has been short and time lost by the miner in looking for drills. The daily records show the number and condition of drills on hand at all times. Under the old method of sharpening, the drills were heated in a coke furnace, the proper degree of heat being judged by color. Then they were sharpened in a word drill-sharpening machine, reheated in a second coke furnace where the proper heat was again determined by color, and quenched in water. While this method was fairly successful in the hands of a careful workman and for the solid steel used in the old piston drill machine, the introduction of the faster water machine, using hollow steel, produced changes both underground and in the shop. Much more was expected of the hollow-steel and' hammer-type machine, with its improved method of rotation, but troubles due to breakage, burnt bits, uneven tempering, etc., at once began to appear.

Jan 8, 1920

By H. Beecher Charmbury

Water is a most remarkable substance. It is essential for life of all kinds. Not only can no one live without water, but man has always needed water for farming, raising animals, manufacturing, transportation, and recreation. When our country was young and inhabited by few people, the streams, rivers, and lakes were able to provide all the clean water needed by man and take away all the wastes created by man. However, with our growing population and our ever-increasing demand for goods and services, the public, industry, and government at all levels have become aware of the need to more efficiently manage the water resources of this nation. Coal has helped this nation to become the greatest industrial nation in the world. Coal has generated our electricity, run our railroads, and helped arm our nation during wartime. The result has been the highest standard of living in the world, a time of widespread prosperity, and a national defense potential that has delivered the hardware during four wars in this century. The use of water in coal mining is somewhat different than in most industries. With the exception of the small amount of water used in cleaning plants and for fire protection, most of the water encountered in coal mining operations is unwanted since it serves no useful purpose. In other words, it must be removed, otherwise it will interfere with mining operations by flooding. In the past, removing water from working areas of most mines was usually a fairly simple matter. Pumps with piping were installed at sumps or low spots in the mine and the water was pumped to the surface. Ditches were often used to drain the water by gravity to the outside or to main sumps for pump discharge. In either case, the water was allowed to flow into the nearest stream or river. The concept of "water is water" was generally accepted without too much concern over what

Jan 1, 1973

By William G. Krantz

The increased service demands on some of the products of the National Mallcable Castings Co. prompted it about eight years ago to investigate the electric furnace, both in America and in Europe. The process had already been sufficiently developed in Europe to lead us to believe that the electric furnace would most nearly meet our requirements. After further investigation and consultation with the highest authorities on the subject, we decided upon the Heroult type as the simplest and most practicable. In 1910, we built a furnace of this type, of 300 Ib. capacity, for experimental purposes, and although it was crudely constructed the quality of the material we were able to make justified the installation of a 6-ton Heroult furnace in 1912. This furnace has three electrodes, 17 in. in diameter, uses three-phase, 60-cycle current, and is equipped with Thury regulators, which give US good regulation and a uniform load on the line even when cold melting. The power factor of the furnace is 04 per cent. Since July, 1912, the furnace has been in continuous operation, producing up to the present time over 20,000 tons of both carbon and alloy steels of varying analyses and of exceptional quality. Both cold-and hot-metal charges have been used, with a power consumption of about 150 kw-hr. per ton in the case of hot-metal charges and from 500 to 600 kw-hr. per ton in the case of cold charges. The electric energy consumed varies according to the final analysis of the steel and the amount of refining required. Too much cannot be said about the refining possibilities of the electric furnace, for no other method of steel manufacture can compete with the electric in this respect. In proper operation lies the whole secret of success. That steel has been made electrically means nothing, for when the furnace is operated under oxidizing conditions the quality is no better than that of open-hearth material; but when properly made, electric steel is as good as

Jan 1, 1916

By Edward M. Weiss

THE emphasis in some political quarters on hemispheric unity and defense indicates Latin American mineral resources should be more extensively developed. However, United States mining companies have, in many instances, been discouraged by the laws of southern neighbors. At the same time, some of the countries have liberalized their mining laws in an effort to attract investments from the United States. The resultant confusion has been detrimental to all concerned. Ownership of Mineral Deposits Examination of the mining codes of Latin American countries shows that, without exception, governments reserve the right of direct ownership of all mineral resources. Ownership can be divided between the Feredal Government and the states or among the Federal Government, the states, and private individuals. However, in the majority of the nations constitutional authority vests all mineral rights solely in the Federal Government. Mexico is the only country that has expressed Federal ownership as imprescriptible; the other republics have not defined the exact significance of government ownership. The implication derived from the general economic and political climate is that all mineral resources are ultimately to be regarded as a national heritage. Whether a concession granted to an individual or corporation carries any right of private property is shaded with a variety of meanings. The exceptions at one extreme are Argentina and Bolivia, whose laws state explicitly that a concession granted to a juridical person is an act of the state, and the land becomes the private property of the individual, and the concessions constitute real property. However, in Mexico mining concessions or grants do not create rights of fee-simple ownership. The concession only conveys the exclusive right to explore, develop, and work the deposits. The mining property remains the property of the state. In some instances exploitation concessions represent a compromise between private and government ownership. In Honduras the period granted to a mining enterprise is fixed at 90 years. At the end of that time, the enterprise and all installations revert to the state without compensation.

Jan 1, 1952

By A. Eilers

A MARKED peculiarity of most of the smelting-works of the Far West is the looseness with which accounts of the operations are kept. Indeed, probably over half of the works do not keep any detailed accounts at all, the yearly gross statement of profit or loss being considered sufficient for all purposes. The reasons for this must apparently be sought in the as yet unsettled state of all business relations, and in the deplorable fact that only in isolated cases educated metallurgists are in charge of the smelting-works. Continual and regular assays of the ores, by-products, and slags, are almost unknown, so that it is impracticable to ascertain, even approximately, the losses in the smelting processes. Of cases where regular accounts are kept of the quantities of ore smelted, of the composition of charges, and of the fuel consumed, I know only two or three. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult to collect figures which cover the operations for a considerable length of time, and which are so valuable for the metallurgist, who wishes to get an insight into the economy of smelting operations, as shown by practice. Figures obtained by personal observation, which can of course cover only the brief space of the visit of the travelling metallurgist, must, therefore, be made to replace the more valuable data. The writer has had occasion, during the last and the preceding summer, to visit the larger number of the Western lead-smelting works, and offers, in the following pages, such data relating to the economy of lead-smelting in the blast furnace at various works, as he has been able to obtain. The only object in doing so is to place these figures on record, so that they may be from time to time supplemented with other data, which are now wanting. I. EUREKA CONSOLIDATED COMPANY'S SMELTING-WORKS. These works smelt the ores from the mines of the same company on Ruby Hill, Eureka, Nevada. The supply is almost unlimited,

By J. E. Tobey, David R. Mitchell, J. H. Kerrick

DETAILED knowledge of purchase specifications established by coal consumers is essential to the successful design and operation of a coal-preparation plant. ANTHRACITE Specifications should be considered by both the consumer and the producer as guide posts outlining a certain path for both to follow. Plants differ, therefore specifications must differ to meet the varied requirements. Specifications are not of themselves a "cure all" or an assurance of complete satisfaction in fuel utilization. Specifications should not be regarded as a license to engage in an orgy of buying any and all coals that may happen to fall within their limits. This would lead to the-indiscriminate mixing of coals which may vary in their burning characteristics. Different coals of equal grade tend to be individualistic in their burning characteristics. Rather, specifications should be used to help simplify coal selection, to reduce the actual number of coals used over a given period; in other words, to have a stabilizing influence on coal or customer turnover. In the final analysis, the use of too many coals per year in a plant is costly to both the consumer and the producer. Too many sources usually result in higher operating and maintenance costs for the consumer and higher sales costs for the producer. Finally, the statement included in the report accompanying the comprehensive Coal Selection Charts prepared by the Coal Committee of the National Association of Purchasing Agents, and released in 1938, is significant. This Committee worked diligently for a period of 15 years seeking to find a scientific and reliable method for selecting coals. The two following paragraphs are quoted from its report: More important is the fact that no ready-made classification or set of specifications can possibly replace the judgment and resourcefulness of an experienced combustion engineer, or fuel technologist, nor the usual need for full scale plant tests under the exact conditions of use before a final decision is made . . .

Jan 1, 1943

By H. C. Fiedler

A high degree of cuhe-on-edge grain orientation and good magnetic properties were obtained in Si-Fe strip processed from laboratory heats containing vanadium nitride inclusions. The higher the nitrogen content the greater was the restraint on normal grain growth and the greater was the ability to undergo secondary recrystal-lization. The degree of restraint in a heat containing magnanese sulfide inclusions was slightly greater than that in the lowest nitrogen vanadium nitride heat. The high rate of diffusion of nitrogen in the temperature range in which the texture is developed makes it necessary to retard the loss of the inclusions until the texture has been developed. MAY and Turnbulll have shown that to develop the cube-on-edge secondary recrystallization texture in Si-Fe it is necessary that inclusions, such as manganese sulfide, be present to prevent normal grain growth. They showed that the driving force for the growth of the secondary grains is inversely proportional to the diameter of the matrix grains, and that the function of the inclusions is to maintain a small matrix grain size. Fast3has developed cube-on- edge texture in Si-Fe by nitriding the hot rolled band. The silicon nitride thereby formed promotes secondary recrystallization during the anneal of the final gage strip. To obtain the best magnetic properties, the inclusions must be removed from the strip after the grain orientation has been developed. Nitride inclusions have an inherent advantage over sulfide inclusions in that the greater diffusivity of nitrogen as comared to sulfur permits the use of shorter times and or lower temperatures for the purification heat treatment. The purpose of the work to be described was to examine the usefulness of vanadium nitride inclusions in developing the cube-on-edge texture and to determine the magnetic properties of oriented strip made from heats containing these inclusions. A comparison is made with a heat having had iden-

Jan 1, 1962

By Albert R. Ledoux

I AM indebted to The Kaolin Co. of West Cornwall, Conn., and particularly to its engineer, Mr. M. Wanner, for permission to make public, through the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, the interesting results of his experiments, having in view the winning of kaolin from deep deposits without shaft-sinking or removing of the overburden. So far as I am aware, nothing like it has been accomplished heretofore, although it reminds one of the methods successfully employed in Louisiana for the winning of sulphur from deep beds by the sinking of pipes one within another, injecting superheated steam under pressure through one pipe, the heat of the steam liquefying the sulphur and the pressure forcing it up through the other pipe to bins at the surface. The kaolin-deposit at Nest Cornwall is an alteration in situ-that is, it is not sedimentary. A series of clay-veins dipping about 500 from the vertical, lie between a foot-wall of limonite and a hanging-wall of gneiss and hornblende schist. The clay-veins alternate with veins or seams of more or less broken quartz, and unaltered feldspar. The deposit, which occurs at a point about 600 ft. above the Housatonic river, was opened five years ago, and about 5,000 tons of a superior grade of washed kaolin has been extracted from open pits and sold. It soon became evident that this node of extracting the product would prove unremunerative, by reason of the dip of the vein and the intercalary strata and lenses of -quartz, and a more satisfactory method of working the deposit was sought. It is well understood, that, in the preparation of all clays for market, especially residuary kaolin, the most important as well as the most difficult step is the washing of the crude product. The difficulties increase with the percentage of foreign matter, especially quartz and mica, contained in the product, hence a sys-

May 1, 1906

By I. M. Roberts

The war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-%urnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. Coking Characteristics OF Coals Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944

By I. M. Roberts

The war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-%urnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. Coking Characteristics OF Coals Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944

By C. C. Wright, R. J. Day

ALTHOUGH data on the exact tonnage of recoverable coal silt are not known, the quantity produced in 1943 was estimated to be over five million tons for the anthracite region of Pennsylvania alone. Since that time the recovery of the No. 5 buck- wheat size previously included in silt estimates has increased greatly thus reducing the total silt tonnage. As a compensating factor, however, the methods of recovering silt previously escaping into the rivers and streams have been markedly improved so that the net figure may not have changed materially. Comparable estimates for bituminous coal are lacking, but undoubtedly the silt represents a significant tonnage. With the trend toward increased wet cleaning of the smaller sizes of bituminous coal, it is to be expected that even greater quantities of silt will be available in the future. The raw silt from anthracite collieries usually contains a high mineral matter content, but technological developments in fine coal cleaning have been making rapid advances and it appears probable that more extensive use of these methods will be employed in the near future. Bituminous coal silt in many instances contains a similar high mineral matter content. As with anthracite silt, however, the cleaning of this material, where necessary, appears both technologically and economically feasible. With a view to upgrading the size and value of silt, considerable laboratory and pilot plant work has been conducted by a number of organizations on what is commonly known as pelletization. Actually the process is one of extrusion in which the moist silt is extruded from a die in the form of rods, which usually break into relatively short lengths-a few inches long-as they fall from the die. Fig I is a photograph of some extruded 3/8-in. diam pellets and of the anthracite silt from which they were produced. This technique of producing larger sized material from fines is by no means new, having been used extensively by the industrial carbon and clay industries for years.' The application of the process to coal silt appears, however, to be relatively new. The first major program of investigation dates back only to July 1945, when a group of engineers representing the Anthracite Institute, The Pennsylvania State College and the J. F. Pritchard and Co. conducted preliminary tests on the extrusion of anthracite silt at the Floridin Co. plant at Warren, Pa. Since that time these three organizations-individually, together, and in co- operation with other interested groups- have actively pursued work on various phases of the problem. Much of the early history and details of the laboratory and pilot plant work by the Anthracite Institute, has been reported by Mulcey and Eckerd.2 It is the purpose of this paper to report additional information on the process, especially with respect to the factors influencing the quality and use properties of the product, and the current develop

Jan 1, 1948

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

It has long been accepted that blastfurnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirablc in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blastfurnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: . Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the pro duction of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. Functions of Coke and Qualities Required to Perform These Functions Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1942

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

It has long been accepted that blastfurnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirablc in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blastfurnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: . Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the pro duction of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. Functions of Coke and Qualities Required to Perform These Functions Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1942

By I. M. Roberts

THE war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-furnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to. meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19 ¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. COKING CHARACTERISTICS OF COALS Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944