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By W. H. Young

The thickness of the coal seam is one of the more important items influencing the productivity and general overall efficiency of operation of a coal mine. The average thickness of coal seams mined in the United States has changed very little in the past 40 years. The first measurement of thickness of bituminous coal and lignite seams was made for 1920, when the average thickness was 5.3 feet.4/ The average thickness for later years was as follows: 1945, 5.4 feet; 1950, 5.3 feet; 1955, 5.2 feet; and 1960, 5.5 feet.5/ Table 1 includes data on number and production of bituminous coal and lignite mines classified by I-foot intervals of seam thickness mined in 1920, 1945, 1950, 1955, and 1960. Though bituminous coal and lignite are mined today from seams of exceedingly variable thickness -less than 2 feet to more than 50 feet - a large majority of the production, 62 percent in 1960, came from seams 3 to 6 feet thick. This is not surprising since the coal seam of moderate thickness presents the least mining difficulties.

Jan 1, 1962

THE Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act (30 U.S.C., 321-325, and amendments) became law April 5, 1944, and a period of intensive research and development in this field was begun by the Federal Bureau of Mines. As part of this program, bulletins were published on pressure hydrogenation,3 the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis,4 and nil stifle.5 The. Bureau also has published a short bibliography on coal gasification,6 mostly of a theoretical nature. Because anal gasification is prerequisite to either the Fischer-Tropsch or coal-hydrogenation processes, publishing this sizable collection of technical information in this form Will Ire valuable. The material will he presented in three parts. as follows I. United Stares Patents. II. United Kingdom, Australian, Canadian, and South African Patents. III. Other Foreign Patents. Part I appeared in early 1960. Part II follows.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. D. Davis

THIS report gives results of an investigation of the carbonizing properties of the following eastern Kentucky coals: Elkhorn No. I bed, No. 28 mine, Wayland, Floyd County; Elkhorn No. 2 bed, Turner No. 5 mine, Drift, Flood County; Leatherwood (Haddix No. 5) bed, Leatherwood mine, Leatherwood. Perry County; and Harlan bed, Path Fork mine, Path Fork, Harlan County. The carbonizing properties were determined by Bureau of Mines-American Gas Association (BM-AGA) tests at 800° and 900° C. and by expansion tests in the sole-heated oven. Plastic properties were determined by tests in the Gieseler and Davis plastometers. The coals were tested singly and as blends with 20- and 30-percent low-volatile Pocahontas No. 3 coal. The dry, mineral-matter-free, fixed-carbon content of the carbonizing samples ranged from 56.7 percent for Elkhorn No. 2 to 59.7 percent for Leatherwood, and the heating values on the moist, mineral-matter-free basis ranged from 14,420 B. t. u. per pound for Elkhorn No. 2 to 14,720 for Harlan. The percentage of ash ranged from 2.9 to 6.1. The fluidity of three coals, measurer. In the Gieseler plastometer, ranged from 230 to 670 dial divisions; the fluidity of Elkhorn No. 2 could not be determined by this method. Blending lowered the fluidity of each coal; the fluidity of the blends containing 20 and 30 percent Pocahontas No. 3 ranged from 16 to 53 and from 8 to 17 dial divisions, respectively. Agglutinating values determined on silicon carbide-coal mixtures in the ratio 15:1 ranged from 3.8 to 6.3.

Jan 1, 1952

By G. W. Jones

[A survey of the Ii terature reJ.l....ting to iE;li tion temperatures of acet-ylene-air and acetylene-oxygen mixtures reveals rather '.'fide disagreement in the reported results. In SO!':1e instances the i ition temperatures of acet?-ylene-air mixtures were reported to be lower than those of acetylene-oTjgan mixtlU'es, which is contrary to experience 'tri th other combustibles. ':10 clea.r up some of t!le reported discrepancies, the authorn have icvestigated the igni tion temperatures of acetylene both in air anri oxygen, and their results are presented in this report.]

Jan 1, 1941

By C. E. Wicks, F. E. Block, F. D. Stevenson

The vapor pressures of tungsten (VI ) chloride ( WC1 ) and hafnium ( IV ) iodide ( HFI ) were measured by a metal diaphragm technique . Vapor pressure values were obtained to permit calculation of the thermodynamic properties of the vaporization processes of the compounds . The vapor pressure data of WC16 are represented by the following equations for the liquid , B - solid , and a- solid over the temperature intervals indicated : - log P = 8.194 3,253 /T Liquid , 281.5 ° to 325 ° C : B - solid 230.0 ° to 281.5 ° C : log P a - solid 185.0 ° to 230.0 ° C : log Pam *** = 8.794 - 3,588 / T = 9.615 - 3,996 /T where T is the absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin . The heats of vaporization and sublimation are 14.9 , 16.4 , and 18.3 kcal / g mole , respectively . The entropy of vaporization at the normal boiling point , 330 ° C , was 24.3 eu . The fusion temperature , 281.5 ° C , and transition temperatures , 230.0 ° and 185 ° C , were found by thermal analysis .

Jan 1, 1964

By E. L. Garton

[AnalY3e s of Qany crude t) i 1 s prod.uced in Loui sia.na are incl udeo" in re!Jor~ ~ th'l t have b en u~li shed by the BurOllU 0: i?{ine s. The first rc-port,j} givin..; analyseG of 6 Louisiana crude oils, '-vas pUblluhed in 1921'l.s,nd this was 1'0110\ cd a year later by P.ep rt of InvBstign.tions 21a6t~ givi~ 7 addi tional analyses. The G7even :,ost il'!lportant of these analyses were incol"]lorated in Bulle~in 91,.2, is~ued in 1928. In 1934, analyses of 26 cl ... ude oils j)roduced in southern Louisiana ",ere published ? .§! The present report I)renonts analysos of 72 ad(~itional samples of crude oil frorl 4-, fields in 23 "l)ari shefl in Loui f",io.r]

Jan 1, 1939

By Raymond B. Ladoo

Cne of t·: . .:: i::,portt recent developrr.ents in the feldspar industcy l:.a.s beer. tl:.e r,:ipid. rise of Ne·N H.v-:psr.ire as a. feldspar producing State. Tl:.e unusual size and purity of t: e deposit now 'being worked ne3.r Keene, and tr.a i.nproved metl:.ods ot:' rr.ining srd ir,illing used l:.ave been responsible foe tt.is situation. ti'eldsp'.:l. w'ls occ':tsiona.lly produced sorr.e ye1rs ago in srr.a.ll (tuantities in New Hrunpshi :e, but t::.e State had not been considered a producer of" feldspar ui til lS3l. In the s::ring of tr .. at yea!', t:.e '[eane iic Products co. of Keene, N.H., beg3Il in a srr.9.ll way tl:e production of feldspar fro:n t1eir property in Gilsum, H.H., whicr. l-.a.d long been opera.tei a.s a :tl.ca mine. The purity of the feldspar at enoe '\ttracted f''.lvorai)le attention. and tt.e production of crude ore rapidly in­ cre'.\sed. Early in 1922, a new company, t'he Golding-Keene Co,

Sep 1, 1922

Reduce the potential for injuries in underground mines by providing an alternative to manually lifting and holding heavy roof-support beams. The Problem I-beams, rail sections, and wooden cross-beams are often used in mine haulageways where extensive roof support is needed. Studies by the Bureau of Mines have shown that many mines must resort to manually lifting, moving and installing these beams. Such manual-handling activities have the potential for causing injury to mine workers, particularly back injuries. I-beams used for roof support can typically weigh from 400-500 lbs. Rail sections weigh about the same as the I-beams. Wooden beams can weigh from 200 to 300 lbs. To lift a single beam usually requires the efforts of 3 to 5 mine personnel.

Jan 1, 1988

By A. B. Hooker, L. C. IlsLey

In lare-scal e blasting, it is customary to fire me.l'\Y shot.!:l simu1. taneously. The electric !atonators ara usually conneced in seies, ard are fired either from a power circuit or :from a blasting ma.chine with large capacity, operated by hand. "!hen :'::ri111; with a blasting ca.chine, trouble with missed shots has been freqi.,.ently e>:pert0nced.. Unit1:i:' thes ,:::rcu:ns tances, the shots that fail to fire are often a gr"up in the t.:E"nter r,f t>e series, Various explaz,.a.tions hs.ve been given as to the cause of the failurs. Tis paper covers a few tests made cy the electrical section of tl:.e Dti..'t'cau. cf Mines, wh;.r.;h may be helpful in understanding the -probable cuse of tl1e misfiring of c.:anter shots, Wh3tever th9 source ot the firir. current generator, magneto, or batter, the CUl"rent delivered th:·01.1.gh a shot-f:?·ing circu.it is determined by t.ae total resistance of ,;he clrcili +.; c:1nd all cure:it leaving th9 p,si tive terminal must return to tre negative te1-minal. If a. metallic circuit is well i1,.sul.:tted, praeti­ccl. l;1 a.ll of the t.'Urrent keepo within the circu.it; but in a. shot-!11·.irig ci.rc1li t, Nhere the ·.vires f:ll·e often 1n c.c,i.cact with the eru:"!ih as i11 wet holer., end whero the ins".lla.tion of the leg wires :i. inadecpa.te to prc·,ent lea.l.tage, the current ma.v tu.e v a.r ious pa the: thro-.. .. gh the nr r. earth.

Aug 1, 1922

By Joan C. Biordi

[Composition profiles for atomic, radical, and stable species, as well as temperature and area expansion ratio profiles, have been determined for a nearly stoichiometric CH4-02-Ar flame and one to which 0.3 percent CF5Br inhibitor had been added. Net reaction rate profiles were calculated for all the observed species. For the normal flame, these and the mole fraction profiles gave rate coefficient information about the elementary reactions in the methane flame, for example, CH. + 0 4- H2CO 0 H, k4 = 1.05 X 1014CM3 mole-1sec-1 for 1,550§T 0,725' K; CO + OH 4 C02 + H, k6= 4.7 X 1011 for 1,350{T X1,750° K. Comparison between the inhibited and normal flame showed that A] and [CH3] were significantly reduced at the lower temperatures in the inhibited flame even though in the hot gas region the [E] [OH!, and [0] were essentially the same in both flames. The CF3Br disappears very early in the flame, relative to the fuel, and the reaction primarily responsible for its disappearance is H v CF3Br 4 HBr + CF3, where k7 is found to be 2.2 X 1014 exp(-9460/RT) for 700-1,550° K. Reaction of the inhibitor with methyl radicals provides for the relatively small amounts of CH3Br observed, but CH3 + Br2 - CHs Br + Br must also occur. The HBr formed reacts rapidly with H atoms to form H2 and Br, but the reaction is soon "balanced" in the flame as may be demonstrated by calculation of the equilibrium constant at various temperatures. The fluoro-carbon fragment produced in reaction (7) also reacts rapidly, in part with methyl radicals to give the observed elimination product CH2CF2 Later in the flame, above -1,400' K, F2CO is formed from the reaction CH2CF2 + 0 P F2CO + CH2 and k., -1.5 X 1013 at 1,600° K. The rather slow decay of carbonyl fluoride is attributed to reaction with H atoms according to the sequence F2CO I H - HF + FCO and FCO + H HF + CO.]

Jan 1, 1975

By John E. Husted

Quantities of kaolin in Georgia in-contiguous or single bodies had been established by previous work to be sufficient for an alumina industry. The need for characterization of this kaolin to determine its suitability as an ore of aluminum resulted in the studies described herein. It was determined in an area roughly 7 x 27 miles, known as the Wrens district that approximately 5.9 billion short tons of kaolin averaging 35.55 percent A1203 exist in an essentially continuous clay body. The Macon-Sandersville district consists of discontinuous kaolin bodies averaging 35.28 percent A1203 with an average thickness of 28 feet. Tonnages for this district are not available. One hundred and twenty core samples of kaolin were analyzed for K20, CaO, MgO, Al203, T102, Cr203, Fe203, Si02, P205, and F. The P205 and F were analyzed by wet chemistry methods and the others by electron microprobe. Seventy-nine of the samples were from the Wrens district forty from the Sandersville-Macon district and one from the Andersonville district. Emission spectroscopic analyses were also made to qualitatively determine all elements present for each core. X-ray diffraction studies were made of each core to determine mineral species present. Scanning and transmission electron microscope pictures also are given for each I' core sample. Elevations, overburden thickness, and kaolin thickness are given for each core site as well as map locations. Isopachs for over-burden and kaolin thickness are given for the Wrens district.

Jan 1, 1983

By Sidney Katell

The present report, a continuation of the series of Bibliography of Investment and Operating Costs for Chemical and Petroleum Plants, is concerned with articles published from January 1958 through December 1958. The periods covered in previous reports are as follows: January 1930 - August 1948 I. C. 7516 September 1948 - June 1952 I. C. 7705 July 1952 - June 1954 1. C. 7751 July 1954 - December 1956 I. C. 7847 January 1957 - December 1957 I. C. The following sources were used to obtain the references to and the abstracts of the published articles included in this report: 1. Bureau of Mines Information Circulars. 2. Bureau of Mines Reports of Investigations. 3. Chemical Engineering. 4. Chemical Engineering Progress. 5. Coal Age. 6. Coal Utilization. 7. Cost Engineering. 8. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 9. Nucleonics. 10. Oil and Gas Journal. 11. Petroleum Engineering. 12. Petroleum Refiner. 13. World Oil.

Jan 1, 1959

[~lis is the f'fth in a ~erieG of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance 1,'Vi t:h fl cooperative ae,ree-ment betwGon tho Cooperative Fuel ReRRarch (e.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of I ines of the Dcpart~ent nf the Interior. The first report gave data on motor r-asolino~ sold during the wintor of 935-36.31 Thi~ report covers 84 brands of ga~oline represented by l,722 samples exclurling the Pacific Coast. T 3)Se J.rom th~. ?~'tcific Coast IV .ro avnrL)f:od b~r tho Pacific Coa!3t tecilnical group "bofore o8ing submi ttcd ruld arc p~.lbl:'shcd GX Gtl~r as they were submi tted. In some areas r~lJort~ . erc roceivod f~om ~ ix to eicht compD.l1ie~ on the same brands of gasoline. whoruar. in other areas only one company reported on a brond. Thut., it CU .. "! be senn that BO .. 0 uf the dnt ;.U'e more rCY>l'c entat vc thM others. The inclusion of r~0rts fro:n several ci tie. w' thin somo of tho di stricts has ir.rpr,)vcd the report by reducinc; tr.e numb~r of brand rcportel by only ono company. ]

Jan 1, 1938

[~lis is the f'fth in a ~erieG of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance 1,'Vi t:h fl cooperative ae,ree-ment betwGon tho Cooperative Fuel ReRRarch (e.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of I ines of the Dcpart~ent nf the Interior. The first report gave data on motor r-asolino~ sold during the wintor of 935-36.31 Thi~ report covers 84 brands of ga~oline represented by l,722 samples exclurling the Pacific Coast. T 3)Se J.rom th~. ?~'tcific Coast IV .ro avnrL)f:od b~r tho Pacific Coa!3t tecilnical group "bofore o8ing submi ttcd ruld arc p~.lbl:'shcd GX Gtl~r as they were submi tted. In some areas r~lJort~ . erc roceivod f~om ~ ix to eicht compD.l1ie~ on the same brands of gasoline. whoruar. in other areas only one company reported on a brond. Thut., it CU .. "! be senn that BO .. 0 uf the dnt ;.U'e more rCY>l'c entat vc thM others. The inclusion of r~0rts fro:n several ci tie. w' thin somo of tho di stricts has ir.rpr,)vcd the report by reducinc; tr.e numb~r of brand rcportel by only ono company.]

Jan 1, 1938

By Roy F. Abernethy

All samples tested showed some loss of heating value for the 5-month period under all 4 storage conditions. The losses increased as the time of storage increased, with the pan-storage samples showing somewhat greater losses than those in cans. The individual daily analyses for the first 2 weeks and the analyses every other day for the third and fourth weeks of storage vary within the approximate tolerance of the test for heating value. During the first 2 months of storage the changes in heating values were not Significant for the samples from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Colorado. The Ohio coal indicated some loss by the end of I month, which increased to a value measurable with certainty by the end of 2 months. These data show that (1) small changes may occur even to samples in closed cans and (2) the laboratory sample should be handled as expeditiously as is practical until the analysis is completed. The statement by the ASTM that "If the B.t.u. determination is an important consideration in the sale of coal, the time elapsed between sampling and analysis shall not exceed 30 days,"3/ is quite adequate for 3 of the 4 coals tested. The change in the Ohio coal stored for 30 days is merely indicated and could not be determined with certainty by the techniques normally employed. The data on free-swelling indexes determined on can samples, after 30° C. air drying, show that only the Indiana coal lost more than one unit in free-swelling index number in 120 days. No significant changes were observed with the samples from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado in the 5-month period.

Jan 1, 1958

By F. W. Davis

For some years this subject has been of interest to metallurgists. Previous to the War some work was done in :Belgium. on the enrich.ntSnt of the blast with oxygen i.."'l. connection with the smelting of iron orei.; in the blast furnace. In the United States, the late .J. E. ,Joh."lson, .Jr., \ve.s :interested in the possible use of 0J1.:ygen for metallurgical operations ar.:i cerried on some experic:.ental work along these lines pre..,,-ious to his de.e.hft Dr. F. G. Cottrell, formerly Director of the :Bureau of Mines, De7?,H''(;:,-of,,:a:t: of the Interior, and now Direc'cor of the Fixed lifi trogen Itesearc:l-1 La -:c r;a.-o='Y, Depart­ment of .Agriculture, first directed. the Eurec:ru 1 s attention to this subject. When it first began this work, the Director of the Burea.t1. of Mines, beca11se of his interest in this investigatio:::i, asked :Mr. M. H. Roberts: Vice-President of the FraU:din Railway Supply Company to select an Advisory Corr:nittee to work with the BJ::eau on tl1is subject; it also asked Mx-. Robez·ts to act as Cha.irman of this C<)1.,_1l!lHtce. T!le personneJ. of the Comrnitee which was selected. by r. Roberts is as follows:

Jul 1, 1923

By Mohan K. Wali

Soil and vegetation development were studied on abandoned mine sites near Velva in Ward County, North Dakota. The sites studied were 1, 7, 17, 30 and 45 years old since abandonment; unmined sites were also studied to provide measures of comparison. Species diversity was the highest at unmined sites (114) and lowest at the I year old site (26); sites 7, 17,30 and 45 years old had 37, 52, 43 and 68 species, respectively. Stand ordination revealed that site ages were the most important in influencing species diversity and composition. Stand-environ-mental complex ordinations encompassing 53 variables showed topographic variables to be the most important followed by site ages. Rates of nutrient accumulations were as follows: organic carbon 13.1 g m-2 yr-1; nitrogen 2.5 g m-2 yr-1; phosphorus 0.01 g m-2 yr-1; potassium 0.49 g m-2 yr-1. Carbon-nitrogen ratios showed the widest range for 1 year old sites (5-40) but 70 percent of the 45 year old sites showed values below 15 which were com-parable to the unmined mixed grass prairie sites. Species distributional diagrams are provided to show their habitat preferences which may be helpful in formulating species prescriptions for revegetation.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. C. Fowler

[This i.untra t hds bmii III c&apos;IIILt fur till- past 1&apos;:?:u yrlr;, Till-- wurir pnrfor rw:it &apos;. ,JS hlui.rn dawn Ilttf lit Iu i eel i ih?IS( S. 1 hesrt aIII, Phase I Candor tlri I a lest It) donurnSlrale SeiSrrlir nurihudS to hu USi!d lot ttlr? rti?tei thin and Iu" ainnl ul trapped rrlinc:rs hitting (-)it the roof with a harnrner, Phase I&apos; Design and cunStrur.t a permanent Seismic monitor System to rrlunrtur roof (ails arm r:xploslun&apos;, III ,r &apos;Vol king mine. Phase III - Ire dII an an i i irr for sVstl rtl Ii i`&apos;Smltur air quality in till, niitii iiH II ? ir,iti tin; niln !III ;I I ,, i; Phase I V - Conduct 11(21 d tests of the seismic IT IUnit UT ieq system fur a period nl two 11IUIIIIIS. Phase, V - Condirct three test periods of the seismic system over a period of six mimilis. Detailed reports covering the wurk. done in Phases I, 11, and IV have been i : . r tr I - i t report will, therefore, cuni.entrate on the work perfurmed in Phases III anti V.]

Jan 1, 1975

THE Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act (30 U.S.C., 321-325, and amendments) become law April 5, 1644, and a period of intensive research and development in this field was begun by the Bureau of Mines. As part of this program bulletins were published on a pressure hydrogenation,3 the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis,4 and oil shale.5 The Bureau also has published a short bibliography on coal gasification,6 mostly of a theoretical nature. Because coal gasification is prerequisite to Hither the Fischer-Tropsch or coal-hydrogenation processes, publishing this sizable, collection of technical information in this form will be valuable. The material is presented in three parts, as follows: I. United States Patents. II. United Kingdom, Australian, Canadian, and South African Patents. III. Belgium, French, German, Italian, and Swedish Patents. The domestic patents for this bulletin were collected between 1963 and 1955. Some of the Foreign Patents were collected at the same time and a few of them later in 1961. Part I was published in 1960; Part II was published in 1962.

Jan 1, 1964

By G. R. Palmer

Preliminary studies by the Bureau of Mines were conducted to determine the feasibility of a multiple-compartment, ion-exchange (MCIX) column simulator for examining the effect of multiple-orifice plates in the column. A rectangular, five-orifice, three-compartment, MCIX simulator with a cross-sectional plate area of 0.66 ft2 was used for the investigation. Orifices with open areas of 1, 3, and 5 percent were used with various operating conditions. The study was separated into three separate sections: (1) solution flow effect, (2) fluidization effect, and (3) resin transfer effect. The solution flow and fluidization studies showed that for solution flow rates of about 3 gpm/ft2, a I-percent open area plate functioned best, while at solution flow rates of 9 and 15 gpm/ft2, the best open areas were 3 and 5 percent, respectively.

Jan 1, 1981