Search Documents

A PAPER on "Iron and Steel Scrap in Blast-fur-nace Burdens," by W. C. McKee, general super-intendent, Federal Furnace plant, By-Products Coke Corp., Chicago, was published in the October issue of MINING AND METALLURGY, and written discussion by Richard Moldenke was published in the December issue. Following is the stenographic report of the oral discus-sion that took place when this paper was presented at Pittsburgh. J. N. REESE, Monessen, Pa.-I came to the conclusion that Mr. McKee must be using a poor grade of scrap, therefore his loss was high. Mr. Franchot said that there was ex-cess heat in the stack. There is no excess heat in the hearth, therefore, any heat that is used to melt this scrap must come from the stack. By using scrap in a blast furnace you can utilize this excess heat in the stack. The amount of scrap that can be used in any particular furnace involves a direct relation to the efficiency of that furnace. If a furnace is running on a very low-coke rate, you will not be able to use much; if on a high-coke rate, you can use considerable scrap, probably several times as much as that mentioned in these papers-without using any additional coke. This excess heat can be utilized with-out practically any serious mechanical and operating diffi-culties such as might be occasioned by removing gas from a point other than the top of the furnace. I do not think, scrap has any effect on the iron, although I think some foundrymen are trying to prove that it has, and perhaps some open-hearth men may have that idea.

Jan 1, 1927

By Fred W. Gordon

Apart from the character of pig-iron to be manufactured, other than that it shall be well reduced and open-grained, the selection of the materials should be such as to produce it at the lowest cost. As a rule, the sources of fuels and limestones are not so extensively varied as those of the ores. Many Eastern furnaces are now using Lake Superior ores, and but recently a part of the supply came from foreign ports. It is, however, of the highest importance that the character of fuels and limestones, as well as ores, should be carefully considered in determining their value and making judicious selection among those available. The formulas here offered are based upon the assumption that the heat-requirements for a given mixture are measured by a constant required by the oxide of iron, added to that required for a unit of slag, multiplied by the weight of that slag per unit of iron. The heat-requirements for oxide of iron per unit of pig-iron made are assumed to be 2854 centigrade units. This is taken from the careful analysis of Sir Lowthian Bell, and, so far as the writer is able to determine, is very nearly correct. Dividing this by the quantity of heat that may be evolved and utilized within the furnace per unit of carbon, determines the quantity of carbon required per unit of pigiron ; and if to this be added the quantity of carbon absorbed by the pig-iron, the total requirements in carbon are determined, on the assumption that pure oxide of iron is reduced with pure carbon by the ordinary process of the blast-furnace. Calculating the quantity of slag that would be made from a given mixture of ores, smelted with a given impure fuel and fluxed with a given impure limestone, multiplying this weight of slag by the heat-requirements of its unit (taken at 1050 C. H. U.), and dividing the product by the heat-units evolved and utilized within the furnace per unit of carbon, will determine the quantity of carbon required per unit of pig-iron for the slag.

Jan 1, 1893

Edward Halse, Puerto Berrio, Colombia, So. Amer. (communication to the Secretary*): The Taviche mining-district is generally known as " Taviches," being named from the two villages called respectively San Pedro Taviche and San Jero-nimo Taviche. It is so called by Jose G. Aguilera, in his paper on the Geographical and Geological Distribution of the Mineral Deposits of Mexico;' and in published reports by the late N. W. Rudston Read ;2 and by Juan de Dios Villarello3 The region is a large one, measuring about 24 miles long and 7 miles wide. Dr. Chance, in his interesting paper, tells us very little about the nature of the ores, and, with regard to the geology of the district, contents himself with observing that " the country, as a rule, consists of eruptive rocks; and no evidences of sedimentary strata appear near the mines." The latter part of the above statement is hardly correct. The formation is mainly

Jan 1, 1906

By AIME AIME

ON Thursday, Oct. 9, oil men from far and wide gathered at Beaumont, Texas to participate in a three-day celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the completion of the famous Lucas gusher well at Spindletop field just south of Beaumont, and to pay tribute to Anthony F. Lucas, for whom the Lucas Medal of the A.I.M.E. is named. In the afternoon the gathered host drove to the site of the discovery well to dedicate a 58-ft. granite monu¬ment erected on the spot where the original derrick stood. Representatives of the A.I.M.E. took a prominent part in the dedication ceremonies, giving the two principal addresses of the afternoon's program. Everette DeGolyer, past President, paid a personal tribute to Capt. Lucas, as a pioneer producer, an engineer, and a friend and well wisher of all young engineers. He gave a splendid picture of the useful and full life of Capt. Lucas who always took a great interest in the activities of the Petroleum Division of the Institute, from its inception to the time of his death.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. WIFLARD HAYES

(New Haven Meeting, February, 1909.) I DESIRE to make it perfectly clear at the outset that I fully realize the hazardous nature of any attempt to estimate the quantity of iron-ore or any other mineral in the ground. I should not have had the temerity to venture upon an inventory of the iron-ore supplies of the United States except for the requirements of the Conservation Commission. During the preparation of this inventory I have been impressed by the wide diversity in estimates of those best qualified to. hold an opinion, and I am therefore prepared in advance for criticism of my figures. Inasmuch as this report was prepared in large part for unprofessional readers, I considered it necessary to classify and describe the commercial iron-ores in a somewhat elementary manner, in order to explain the reasons for the large element of uncertainty in the estimates. I have therefore given a chemical and a geological classification of iron-ores, which place the commercial deposits in six classes: (1) magmatic segregations in basic igneous rocks; (2) contact-deposits formed in connection with igneous intrusions; (3) concentration-deposits; (4) replacement-deposits; (5) bedded-deposits, and (6) gossan-deposits. The iron-ores are further distinguished under two classes available and not available. This classification is in large measure arbitrary, and it, is evident that it will vary front time to time. In the available class are placed those ores which can be worked at a profit under conditions essentially as they exist at present. Since it depends wholly on the question of costs, the various factors which affect cost will determine the classification of any particular deposit. Actual production, * Abstract of Report prepared for the Conservation Commission. t Chief Geologist, United States Geological Survey. .

Apr 1, 1909

By F. B. Foley

A description of tests made by a committee of the Division of Engineering of the National Research Council to determine whether velocity of impact affects the formation of Neumann bands. FOREWORD Not infrequently, in the case of the failure of a metal structure, such as a bridge, tank, airplane, gun carriage, etc., a doubt arises whether the failure was due, among other causes, to the effect of an overburden or of an explosive maliciously or accidentally exploded in contact with it. As few means of discriminating between the effects of these causes have been known and these means were of a rough qualitative character, it was surprising to find in the record of an inquiry into the failure of a structure, the statement that, by observations on the Neumann bands in the structure, it was possible to determine the speed of breakage in the metal and to distinguish between a fracture caused by an explosion and one caused by an ordinary mechanical strain. Such a criterion, if well proved, was of value to the explosives experts of the Bureau of Mines, the Ordnance Department of the United States Army and the Bureau of Ordnance of the United States Navy, but search showed no record of it in the literature nor did any of the metallurgists and metallographers consulted know of any data on which such a criterion could be based having been assembled and critically studied. However, it was universally held that there was promise in the idea and that there existed unique facilities at the Bureau of Mines Experiment Station at Pittsburgh for the preparation, under definitely known conditions, of material for study by metal-lographers, and that material of value might also be obtained from the proving grounds of the Army and Navy. Therefore, with the approval of the Director of the Bureau of Mines and the Chiefs of Ordnance of the War and Navy Departments, the Chairman of the Division of Engineering of the National Research Council, on April 12, 1919, appointed a Committee on the Investigation of Neumann Bands, which has since been engaged in this study and which, after some slight change in its personnel, consists now of the following: Dr. William Campbell, Advisory Metallurgist, Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department. F. B. Foley, Metallurgist, Bureau of Mines. S P. Howell, Explosives Engineer, Bureau of Mines. Comdr. O. M. Hustvedt, U. S. N., Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department. Dr. Charles E. Munroe, Chief Explosives Chemist, Bureau of Mines.

Jan 9, 1922

By D. A. Dahlstrom

Although the liquid-solid cyclone is a relatively recent innovation in the field of coal preparation, various authors have already indicated three distinct applications to operations encountered in the modern tipple. Driessen's articles and work at the Dutch State Mines exhibited its possibilities in the beneficiation of fine coal with apparently high efficiencies down to the 200-mesh fraction. 1 2 3 4 Other publications point out its use as a recoverer, thickener, and preliminary dewatering agent of fine coal which in too many cases is being wasted due largely to former high operating cost limitations 5 6. Finally, certain authors have emphasized the practicability of applying the cyclone to the elimination of coarse and fine solids from water slurries in the tipple in order to produce a water suitable for recycle purposes containing only minute particles far below the 200-mesh size.6 This would result in a closed water system for many cases, with its accompanying economic and operating advantages to locations where water quantity and quality problems are severe; better operation of washing equipment using a consistent water devoid of injurious fine particles; lowered maintenance costs due to the lesser abrasion resulting when the fine abraiding particles are removed; and the greater ease of disposing of refuse streams of reduced volume containing greater percentages of solids.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. S. Simons

Manufacturers of filtering, thickening or clarifying equipment, have been active in developing machines to meet increasingly rigid operator requirements, and the innovations resulting from this effort are moving into commercial applications. In general, the results of these applications are reported to be good. Little has been reported on progress in theory. The growing insistence on the part of pollution control agencies that waste water discharged into streams contain less and less suspended solids is being felt by a broad cross section of industry. A new clarifier, based on the often rediscovered fact that suspended solids settle more rapidly in inclined channels, is being marketed by Neptune MicroFLOC of Corvallis, Ore. This unit employs modules of inclined tubes, mounted in the upper zone of the clarifier, which carry the water flow. These were developed for light solids, such as those encountered in domestic water treatment and in paper mill waste water. In these applications, flow rates up to about three times those permissible in conventional clarifiers are reported to give comparable overflow turbidity. By combining these units with mixed media filters, high clarity may be obtained with minimum capital. Use of such units in the metallurgical industry, particularly where water reuse or effluent quality is important, should grow.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. H. Davitt

While it is true that taxes, especially income taxes, whether they be federal, state, or local, are not usually thought of as a "cost" of doing business, it is equally true that these tax costs do reduce the distributable profits just as much as the cost of power, supplies, or labor. Therefore, the consideration given to taxes is often as important as that given to other costs. Hopefully you will recognize that, within certain limits, taxes can be controlled to an economic advantage. The tax laws as now imposed are quite complex. Many of these laws and the regulations thereunder involve many factual determinations, technical considerations, and specialized valuations that can best be made by people trained in the specific area concerned. A substantial amount of a tax liability turns on the proper consideration given to issues involving facts and principles which are peculiarly engineering in nature. The importance of these "engineering" issues in tax administration has been significantly increased in recent years by our rapidly advancing technology, automation, stepped-up mineral and oil exploitation, new industries such as electronics and nuclear power, and the extension of percentage depletion to all minerals. These specialized requirements incorporated in the law are so technical that full consideration can not be given by people with a non-engineering background.

Jan 7, 1974

By Donald W. Gentry

The recently established SME-AIME Education Board has completed its first full year of operation, and its six constituent committees-Accreditation, Career Guidance, Continuing Education, Educational Statistics, and Scholarship-have been extremely active in identifying and initiating programs to serve the educational needs of the Society of Mining Engineers and its members. The Continuing Education Committee-primarily concerned with the needs and problems associated with providing a continuing education program for SME members-is responsible for: (1) determining the need for short course offerings; (2) developing needed courses, along with new means and opportunities of presentation; and (3) scheduling and evaluating course presentation. In response to this charge, the committee has sponsored two short courses at the SME-AIME Fall Meeting in St. Louis and three short courses at the AIME Annual Meeting in Denver. Its major effort, however, has been directed toward the 1978 SME-AIME Fall Meeting to be held in Orlando, Fla., where 18 days of short-course instruction have been scheduled. A portion of these courses will be presented prior to the meeting, with the remainder to be presented in Nassau, Bahamas, immediately following the meeting.

Jan 7, 1978

By Francis P. Sinn

LOW prices have made 1938 a difficult year for the zinc industry of the world. Particularly in the United States, output had to be radically curtailed to bring production into line with consumption. Despite these unfavorable conditions, some additional plant construction is contemplated. In Jugoslavia, through co-operation with the Government, Trepca Mines is lo build a zinc plant to produce 10,000 metric tons annually, the plant to be ready for operation in July, 1941). Cerro de Pasco is proceeding with its plans for an electrolytic plant in Peru. A pilot plant, to be ready next summer, is under construction. In eastern Canada an electrolytic plant is planned in Quebec to treat concentrates from Yoranda and other mines but no defi-

Jan 1, 1939

By Roger M. Nendick

The recovery of precious metals from heap leach solutions can be accomplished by two processes: 1. The Carbon Adsorption Process 2. The Merrill-Crowe Zinc Precipitation Process A brief review of the relative process economics is made. Each process presents certain design considerations that must be addressed during the evaluation and engineering design for the project. Discussion is presented on the design criteria for each process.

Jan 1, 1984

W. H. PORTH, New York, N.Y.-I would like to ask what effect segregation of lead would have upon the corrosion of sheet zinc; also what effect would abnormal percentages of iron have upon the ductility of Sheet zinc? One of our difficulties seemed to be that the cells, when standing on the shelf, corroded. We have attributed this to local action in the zinc sheet. We would like to know whether the segregation of, these impurities in this sheet zinc will have any effect on the local action occur-ring in sheet zinc. Lately we have had difficulty in punching some sheet zinc, in that the sheets split in the die. The section that split seemed to have an abnormallly high percentage of cadmium and iron; would that cause it to become brittle? C. H. MATHEWSON.-Iron is one of the most unwelcome impurities when high ductility is the principal requirement in rolled zinc. High

Jan 12, 1919

By David E. Hyatt

The chemical attributes of cyanides have long been exploited in ore pro- cessing schemes for the recovery of copper, molybdenum, gold, silver, and other metal values. Blast furnacing operations are significant unintentional producers of cyanides which find their way into process waters. Many of the more than 20,000 electroplating facilities in the United States utilize cyanide plating baths and generate cyanide containing wastes. As social, political, and economic pressures for water quality attainment, maintenance, and preservation grow, the requirements for the development of treatment technology to control cyanide levels in wastewater become increasingly apparent. Just as the chemistry of the cyanide ion 1s an integral part of its industrial applicability, so must this chemistry be a fundamental part of any decomposition or removal technology used to control its level in effluent or recycled waters. The complexity of this chemistry is substantial and it cannot be considered in a superficial or cursory manner if control system design is to be both efficient and reliable.

Jan 1, 1975

MRS. SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, President, MRS. ARTHUR S.. DWIGHT, First Vice-President, MRS. KARL EILERS, Second Vice-President, MRS. H. W. HARDINGE, Third Vice-President, MRS. BRADLEY STOUGHTON, Recording Secretary, MRS. AXEL 0. IHLSENG, Corresponding Secretary, MRS. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Acting Treasurer. Welfare Committee MRS. C. C. BURGER, Chairman, Sub-Committees Americanization Belgian Relief MRS. LEVI HOLBROOK, Chairman, MRS. HENRY H: KNOX, Chairman, Emergency MRS. HERMAN A. PROSSER, Chairman. Since the annual meeting held in February, 1917, when the Woman's Auxiliary to the A. I. M. E., was formed, the work of organization, which of necessity must be slow, has steadily gone forward. Under the Chairmanship of Mrs. C. C. Burger of the Welfare Committee, three active sub-committees have been formed: that of Americanization; under Mrs. Levi Holbrook, who is eminently fitted for such a position, by her active and valuable work in a number of the fine patriotic societies of our country; the Belgian Relief Committee, under Mrs. Henry H. Knox, which has clone phenomenal work in the three months of its existence, and whose report is later given in detail; and the Emergency Committee under Mrs. Herman A. Prosser, which has a fund already established, and is. in close touch with Major Arthur S. Dwight, ready to act when necessity arises. The officers of the Auxiliary feel more than gratified at the response so far received, and in a later issue will print extracts from letters, if permission can be gotten from the writers, showing the interest and enthusiasm that have beer aroused by the formation of a Woman's Auxiliary. Answers have even come from far Korea "the hermit nation," from Australia, from South America, showing what a bond of sympathy and, helpfulness is in process of growth. It is our sad duty to announce the death of our Treasurer, Mrs. George D. Baryon, who, from the very inception of our plan to organize, was an inspiring and valuable co-worker. Her place will be difficult to fill. Mrs. Arthur S. Dwight is Acting Treasurer at present. The Auxiliary wishes to express its heartiest thanks to Mr. Stoughton, the genial and efficient Secretary of the A. I. M. E., for his cooperation and valuable suggestions in the difficult work of organizing. He has indeed been "a guide, philosopher and friend." SUSANNE M. IHLSENG (MRS. AXEL 0.), Corresponding Secretary.

Jan 7, 1917

By AIME AIME

FEW indeed are the sections of the country where trained or partly trained workers have not already been hired by a war industry plant or will be within the near future. Yet right in the midst of the heavily industrialized East lies the anthracite area, home of a million people, whose productive power has persistently been by-passed either by private industry or by the Government Plant Site Board. The chief reason given for not locating war plants in the area is that it is not within the strategic zone, but in numerous instances elsewhere this rule has been waived. Furthermore, the anthracite region is well protected on all sides by mountains and is at all points more than 100 miles inland. Continued depression in the anthracite industry and a crippling blow dealt by the war emergency to the production of silk and rayon goods, the chief manufacturing activity of the area, have resulted in a heavy migration, particularly of trained young workers, into near-by industrial areas. At least 50,000 people are currently unemployed, with the likelihood of an increase in coming months, and as many families are on relief.

Jan 1, 1942

By Ross W. Smith, Nikhil Trivedi

The variation of point of zero charge (PZC) of both simple and complex oxide minerals was studied as a function of aging time in water. In most cases the PZC's of the simple oxides moved toward more basic pH values with aging time. Evidence to date suggests that this phenomenon relates to dissolution of disturbed layers on the mineral's surface accompanied by later readsorption of metal hydroxy species back onto these surfaces. The readsorption takes place after the solution becomes supersaturated with respect to some crystalline phase. The variation of PZC's of complex oxides as a function of aging time in water is apparently related to several different mechanisms. In a few cases PZC shifted toward more basic values with time. This shift could be attributed to much the same mechanism as for simple oxides. In most cases, however, PZC of complex oxides shifted toward more acid values with aging time, probably because of loss to solution of soluble cations whose oxides possess basic PZC's.

Jan 1, 1975

By A. H. Larson, T. P. McNulty

RECENTLY, an investigation of the absorption of sulfur dioxide gas in molten binary copper alloys was conducted. A Sieverts-type apparatus, consisting of a mercury-filled gas dispensing buret and a mercury manometer, was used initially for determining the volume of gas absorbed as a function of pressure. The equilibration behavior of the alloys studied indicated that the mercury in the gas measuring system was absorbing sulfur dioxide. Owing to the widespread use of mercury as a displacement medium in absorption studies, an investigation was made to determine the nature and magnitude of the mercury - sulfur dioxide absorption effect. The gas measuring system was modified by substituting a Worden Quartz Products Type PDHV fused-quartz-spiral pressure gage for the mercury-filled dispenser and manometer. The dispensed gas volume at known temperature and atmospheric pressure was measured by evacuating a Pyrex vessel of known volume and by admitting sulfur dioxide into the vessel until the attached quartz pressure gage registered atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure was measured concurrently with a separate mercury barometer. The volume of the empty sample chamber and its attendant apparatus was determined by measuring the equilibrium pressure accompanying the addition of a measured volume of sulfur dioxide into the initially evacuated system. The volume of the mercury sample was calculated from the density of mercury at the temperature of the study (25°C). Measured volumes of sulfur dioxide were then dispensed into the system and the equilibrium pressure accompanying each gas addition was determined. From the difference between the system volume and the mercury volume, the number of moles of gaseous sulfur dioxide remaining in the system at each pressure was calculated. The difference between the number of moles of gas dispensed into the system, denoted Enso2: and the number of moles of gas remaining in the system after absorption equilibrium had been attained, denoted nso2(g), was equal to the number of moles of absorbed gas, denoted nSO2. The number of moles of absorbed gas was then converted to absorbed volume, denoted VSo2, in cu cm at stp conditions of (PC and 760 mm Hg. Table I contains calculated values of Snso2, nSo2(g), and VSo2 for different sulfur dioxide pressures. In the original system, denoted Run I, volume limitations of the gas dispensing system prevented absorption studies at equilibrium pressures near atmospheric pressure, so a different gas dispensing system, denoted Run 11, was used for determining the last pressure reading in Table I. The data in Table I are expressed in terms of the absorption of sulfur dioxide in 49.68 cu cm of mercury. In Fig. 1, these data are expressed in terms of the absorption of sulfur dioxide in 100 cu cm of mercury. Since the absorption data plotted in Fig. 1 show a linear relationship, the volume of sulfur dioxide absorbed in mercury is a function of the first power of pressure. The absorption reaction is So2(gas) = SO2 (in Hg) The first-power pressure dependence, coupled with the fact that the sulfur dioxide could be removed from the mercury by applying vacuum, indicated reversible

Jan 1, 1967

By Henry S. Munroe

THE plan of organizing a summer class of students of the School of Mines, for the practical study of mining and miner's work, received at the outset the following cordial indorsement : I have thought over the plan proposed by you of taking the students to the mines during the summer, and of having them actually take part, under the direction of skilled workmen, in all the various kinds of mining work; and of using them as a carps of engineers to make Inside and outside surveys, particularly with a view to the detailed study of the geology of the mine. I have no hesitation in saying, that if the students have been previously instructed in the theoretical part of their studies, by lectures and practice during the winter, the plan would be an admirable one. Of course experience will suggest modifications of detail. From the work you have done at our mines this spring, I feel sure that you would be perfectly competent to carry out your plan, and I shall gladly aid you in any way I can. "Yours, sincerely, T. B. Coxe." The plan of the proposed summer school thus indorsed by Mr. Coxe was adopted by the trustees of Columbia College, and an appropriation of one thousand dollars, or so much thereof as might be necessary, was voted for the experiment. A volunteer class of thirteen students was formed, and the first summer school was held at Drifton, in July and August of that. year (1877). The following extract, from an editorial notice in the Engineering and Mining Journal, of August 11, 1877, will give an idea of the 'organization of the school and the work required of the students. "The students, on reporting to Professor Munroe, were divided into squads of two or three men each, and on Monday, July 2d, were assigned to the Care of skilled miners, selected for the purpose by the mine boss, for instruction in gangway work. Half of the students worked in the morning and the other half in the afternoon, one squad at a time with each miner. The times of going and coming to and from work were so arranged that each student spent four to four and a half hours in the mine each day. While in the mine they assisted the miner to load his car, thereby learning readily to distinguish 'slate ' and

Jan 1, 1881

By Willis H. Carrier

PARTICULAR interest in the ventilation of deep mines, especially those in South Africa, has been created by a very complete system of cooling of the world's deepest mine, the Turf shaft of the Robinson Deep in Johannesburg. The writer visited this mine in January, 1936, and again in 1937. During these visits and subsequently, a considerable part of the theory involved in rock cooling in tunnels was developed and this has been checked by practical observations of the rates of rock cooling made within mines. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the method of attack of the mine problem. The cooling or air conditioning of mines by the use of mechanical refrigeration was not wholly new 1-5 when the Robinson Deep installation was made. The first mine to be cooled was the Morro Velho mine, in Brazil. The first installation in this mine was put into operation in December 1920, the refrigerant being ammonia.5 The surface cooling gave considerable benefit but it proved inadequate as greater depths were reached, therefore in 1929 two centrifugal refrigerating machines were installed at the 6000-ft. level. These were used in conjunction with the surface cooling system to furnish additional cooling at the lower levels. This later installation used Carrene as a refrigerant. This nonflammable refrigerant, having a boiling point of 104º at sea level, insured reasonable safety, since all parts of the machine operated at subatmospheric pressure. Very favorable reports have been received on the effectiveness of this installation, but no recent data are available. An interesting feature of that plant is that the condenser water is cooled by spraying it into the exhaust air from the mine at the base of the ventilation upcast, which permits the water to be cooled within a few degrees of the wet-bulb temperature of the air entering the upcast, and the only water that has to be supplied for condensing purposes is that lost by evaporation, or about 0.5 per cent of the volume circulating through the condenser. This plan affords an ideal means for the removal of the heat load from the refrigerating system, and of course also from the mine itself. In many mines, however, especially those in South Africa, there is no

Jan 1, 1938