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By W. O. Philbrook, A. H. Jolly, T. R. Henry

In the course of a study of slag-control methods, the authors devised a laboratory technique by which the basicity of basic open-hearth furnace slags could be estimated with sufficient accuracy to make the method of possible interest for slag-control purposes. The process consisted of measuring the slight basicity of an extract of the powdered slag in water. The procedure was presented, for the benefit of those who might care to experiment with it, in a paper submitted in the 1944 McKune Award Contest and presented at the 1944 Open-hearth Conference in Pittsburgh.' Interest expressed at that meeting and favorable operating experience with the method at a neighboring plant, as described in a related paper by Michael Tenenbaum and C. C. Brown,; have encouraged us to present further details of the development, technique, and pitfalls of the method and some additional data not included in our first report. At the outset it must be admitted that this method of estimation of slag basicity is not perfect; neither is any other that we know of. It is subject to somewhat greater errors than would be desirable, but compares favorably with other techniques in this respect. It has the disadvantage that it places the final determination of slag basicity in the hands of a laboratory technician rather than the furnace oper- ator, although it can be operated in a control laboratory adjacent to the furnaces. It requires close attention to certain details, as do most laboratory procedures. On the favorable side, it eliminates the "human factor" of personal judgment inherent in estimation from pancakes or powdered samples. The procedure can be placed in practice much more rapidly and presents much less of a training problem than visual methods of estimation. The principle and operation of the method are so simple that it would not be surprising if others have experimented with the same or similar procedures, but we are not aware of any prior publication of details. Our own shop has been operating fairly successfully for several years with the aid of slag pancakes. Since the past year or two have not been favorable for the expenditure of time and energy where the need was not urgent, we have not introduced the new practice for actual slag control and hence do not have extensive operating data. In presenting this method, therefore, we make no claims as to theoretical justification nor guarantees as to practical applicability, but offer it as an empirical observation. We believe it has sufficient merit to warrant its investigation by those just instituting a slag-control program or in search of supplementary methods for judging slag basicity Principle of the Method It is well known that when burnt lime or slaked lime is shaken up with water it

Jan 1, 1945

Furnace Builder. Engineer with extensive experience in furnace building. Position with well-established firm, branching into new fields. Location Ohio. 11-1343. Erecting and Operating Engineer to take charge of erection of gas-producer equipment and to teach customers how to operate such equipment. Location Ohio. Salary $250 per month. R-1339. Assistant Professor in Mining School, for instruction work; must have had experience in ore dressing and metallurgy. Location Missouri. Salary $1500-$2100 per school year (8 mo.). R-1332. Consulting Engineer, familiar with construction of artesian wells to act in a consulting capacity. Location New York City. R-1324. Mining Engineer and Investigator to do non-metallic mineral investigations in both field and office for United States Government. Position will last at least a year, and may become permanent. Location Washington, D. C. Salary $1800-$2700 depending on qualifications of appointee. R.-1317. Crushing Plant Superintendent, cement mill and construction experience essential. Prefer man who has had limestone crushing experience. Location New York. R-1314. Assistant Professor of Coal Mining, must be a graduate of mining engineering and have had some coal mining experience. Location Philadelphia.. Salary $2200 for school year of 10 months. R-1312.

Jan 9, 1919

By John Jermain Porter

THe value of any particular ore, coke, or limestone, for iron-making, depends upon its effect, first, upon the quality or value of the resultant product; and second, upon the cost of smelting. The factors under the first head are the percentages of phosphorus, manganese, and other elements, which remain in the pig-iron ; while those under the second head are the percentages of iron, carbon, or lime, the slag-forming constituents, which must be fluxed, and any other ingredients which give rise to variations in cost of fuel and flux. The first of these criteria of value is perhaps not capable of being reduced to a general formula embracing all cases, since it must vary to a great extent with market-fluctuations. For example, Bessemer pig is worth sometimes more and sometimes less than foundry-pig; and the premium paid for high manganese varies within wide limits. The second, or smelt-ing-value, however, can be expressed numerically with a fair degree of accuracy; and it is with this phase of valuation that the present paper is concerned. The utility of a means of comparing numerically the relative smeltiug-values of difierent ores, cokes, and limestones, is self-evident, although it may not have importance in Northern practice, where materials are largely standardized. On the other hand, there are, especially in the South, many furnace-managers who must use a great variety of materials of widely varying grade; and it is with special reference to this district, and in connection with the efficiency-methods which I have elsewhere proposed,' that the methods herein described were devised.

Jan 1, 1913

By Sherwin F. Kelly

Drilling in the Oligocene potash basin of Alsace prior to 1927 had shown important differences of level in the salt beds thus encountered. TO explain this a somewhat unsatisfactory hypothesis of faulting had been advanced. During the latter part of 1926 and the beginning of 1927 our firm was engaged by two organizations1 for the purpose of trying to supplement, by an electrical survey, the geological data this far collected. As a result of this exploration it was possible to affirm that salt dome structures were present in the Oligocene basin of the Upper Rhine, something heretofore absolutely unknown in that region. Two salt domes were actually outlined: one, near Meyenheim, was made the subject of a communication to the Academy of Sciences, by G. Friedel;2 the other, near Hetten-schlag, was briefly discussed by C. and M. Schlumberger3 before the same academy. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the stratigraphic and structural conditions of the area where these salt domes were found; to discuss the results of the electrical survey which led to the location of the domes; and to indicate the new geological outlookwhich such a discovery suggests. Stratigraphy In the southern part of the Rhine graben the Oligocene rests almost directly on the Middle Jurassic and consists, in ascending order, of: 1. Green marls, not salt-bearing, composed of fresh and brackish water deposits. 2. Middle stage, salt-bearing, consisting of lower-schistose marls and upper, variegated marls. 3. Blue marls, not salt-bearing, but including gypsum deposits; hence sediments laid down in a bay more or less connected with the sea.

Jan 1, 1929

By E. L. Estabrook, H. H. Hill

This report summarizes the information that was obtained by the Committee on Unit Operation in Eastern United States and in the foreign countries. Letters and questionnaires were sent to all of the Eastern members of the Petroleum Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and to those who are living outside of the United States, asking them to advise the Committee of any unit operations that are in effect in the various countries of the world and to furnish the names of men to whom inquiries should be directed for detailed information on the different projects. The response to the Committee's request is worthy of note. Practically all of the members who had knowledge of foreign operations replied to the questionnaire and not only furnished information that was of value to the Committee, but they evidenced a real interest in the subject of unit operations and assured the Committee of their willingness to assist in every way possible in order to make the study a success. The Committee wishes, at this time, to express its appreciation of the excellent cooperation that was received from the members of the A. I. M. E. to whom questionnaires were sent. Unfortunately, the limited time that has been given to this survey did not permit the collection of detailed data on the different unit operations that are now in effect. It required several weeks to get back replies from the members located in some of the foreign countries and as a result the men who were asked to furnish information on the various projects have not had sufficient time to submit the detailed data that were requested. The Committee has been assured, however, that information relating to a number of unit operations will be furnished in the near future. Part of the delay has been due to the fact that the purpose of the study was not understood and because the terms "unit" and "near-unit" operations were not clearly defined. In the foreign countries, practically all of the operations in noncompetitive fields are on concessions or leases that have been granted to a single company and for that reason

Jan 1, 1930

By Arthur F. Taggart

ENGINEERING education today is like a crazy quilt of somber wools and gaudy shoddy, chain-stitched on an academic assembly line, and sold at ever mounting prices to inexperienced youths for lifetime use. Each engineering school offers a half-dozen or so patterns with essentially the same skimpy wool content. Sales appeal is in the color of the shoddy, denoted by the hopeful adjectives chemical, civil and the like. This article is argument for an all wool product made by slow, careful handwork. Bluntly it proposes a thorough four-year undergraduate drill in fundamental science and general engineering empirics, leavened by continuing study of the third of the engineer's troubles: Man. It is not contended that existing methods of engineering education have failed to start men on the path to successful engineering practice (too many of you have started that way); rather, social conditions and the bounds of knowledge have changed tremendously, and corresponding alterations in the pattern of engineering education are overdue. We'll Teach the Specifics The first part of this contention is illustrated by excerpts from a letter received recently from an officer of one of the largest corporations: "We are interested in employing two or three outstanding young engineers to be placed on a special training program to develop them as design and construction engineers.... "We propose to put these men on a four-month indoctrination and orientation course after which they would be given job-training assignments for a period that will vary from about six months to about a year and a half depending upon the aptitudes, abilities and intelligence of the candidates.... "I am not too fussy about what kind of engineers the men might be insofar as academic courses are concerned. They could be.. . in almost any engineering classification.... We can furnish the additional training beyond the academic fundamentals. "The starting rate for these jobs would be $326 per month...." This letter is not unique; rather it is representative of a practice that has become common. It is industry's enforced response to the general refusal by young graduates to submit to union domination in order to gain operating experience at the labor level. The message to engineering schoolteachers is plain: You teach the fundamentals; we'll teach our practice and pay the graduate to learn it. The letter means to the student that time spent in school studying the specific practices of particular industries is waste compounded. The school can't give the equivalent of what industry teaches, wherefore industry will still demand apprenticeship. The student must pay for the specific instruction at school instead of being paid to take it later. And time-consuming specifics crowd out drill in basic scientific and technical subjects as well as liberal arts.

Jan 1, 1952

By N. M. Langdon

The calculation of slags may be considered under three cases: I. A certain percentage of silica is required, it being known, in a

Jan 1, 1893

By Keith Leonard Sutherland, Ian William Wark

Mercaptobenzthiazole and its sodium salt are marketed under the trade names Flotagen and Flotagen S respectively, for use as collectors for cerussite and other minerals. The structural formulas for sodium rnercaptobenzthiazole and for sodium ethyl xanthate are: Chemically there is a resemblance between the two compounds, though the free acid (mercaptobenzthiazole itself) is much more stable than xanthic acid. Both are readily oxidized, e.g., by iodine to disulphides, and can be estimated by iodometric titration. Qualitatively they are similar as collectors in flotation, although there are quantitative differences between them that may be important in practice. It is deduced that the influence of the nitrogen atom is subordinated to that of the sulphur atoms, and that the dominant group of these compounds is the mercapto group —SH or —5Na. The general method of investigation has been based on contact tests. Two temperatures, 10" and 35" C., have been chosen, and with a standard concentration of 20 mg. per liter of mercaptobenzthiazole (i.e., of the free acid) the influence of alkali, cyanide and copper sulphate on contact at sulphide mineral surfaces has been studied. This standard concentration corresponds to about 19 mg. per liter potassium ethyl xanthate; it brings out the differences between the minerals better than a higher concentra-

Jan 1, 1939

By Ian William Wark, Keith Leonard Sutherland

Mercaptobenzthiazole and its sodium salt are marketed under the trade names Flotagen and Flotagen S respectively, for use as collectors for cerussite and other minerals. The structural formulas for sodium rnercaptobenzthiazole and for sodium ethyl xanthate are: Chemically there is a resemblance between the two compounds, though the free acid (mercaptobenzthiazole itself) is much more stable than xanthic acid. Both are readily oxidized, e.g., by iodine to disulphides, and can be estimated by iodometric titration. Qualitatively they are similar as collectors in flotation, although there are quantitative differences between them that may be important in practice. It is deduced that the influence of the nitrogen atom is subordinated to that of the sulphur atoms, and that the dominant group of these compounds is the mercapto group —SH or —5Na. The general method of investigation has been based on contact tests. Two temperatures, 10" and 35" C., have been chosen, and with a standard concentration of 20 mg. per liter of mercaptobenzthiazole (i.e., of the free acid) the influence of alkali, cyanide and copper sulphate on contact at sulphide mineral surfaces has been studied. This standard concentration corresponds to about 19 mg. per liter potassium ethyl xanthate; it brings out the differences between the minerals better than a higher concentra-

Jan 1, 1939

By B. M. Larsen, T. E. Brower

In two previous paperslJ dealing with the carbon-oxygcn reaction, and the simultaneous content of each, in liquid steel in the furnace, we have made use of the quantity A[O], defined as the excess oxygen beyond what would be in equilibrium with carbon then present if the pressure of carbon monoxide were I atm.; that is, if [C] X [O] is taken as 0.00222, A[O] = [O] - 0.0022[C] where [O] is the percentage of oxygen by weight as measured by the method described earlier.3 This quantity ?[O] proves to be substantially independent of carbon content over the range 0.08 to I,z per cent, as well as of the basicity of the slag, and is nearly always within the limits o.o15 to o.oz5 per cent when the bath is boiling normally and is in what we have termed a steady state, Apparently it must be at least about 0.014 per cent before boiling occurs; but this threshold value seems to depend upon the ease of bubble formation at the metal-hearth interface, hence upon the condition of the surface of the hearth. In any case, ~(01, on the average, changes considerably following any disturbance of the bath, as by addition of ore. The present paper deals with the average changes in A[O] level following addition of spiegel or crop ends, or after procedures to promote stirring, or by tapping of the steel from the furnace. The observations were made on a large number of commercial heats, and consequently are subject to the influence of various disturbing factors; the results have the compensating merit of showing the consistency obtainable under the limitations imposed by practical operation. Variability of Excess Oxygen in Normal Open-hearth Operation The preceding genera' statements refer to the average value of A[0] particularly in heats that are boiling actively; on individual heats, which are less active, there may be a variable time lag between the disturbance and its effect, which complicates the interpretation of what is going on. For instance, if in the normal refining process boiling is sluggish, the slag usually is gaining Oxygen from the gas phase above it, Or from added Ore$ faster than it is losing oxygen to the metal; Yet when the bath starts to boil vigorously, the opposite condition may prevail for Some time. The consequence of this lag is a variation of A[o], the interpretation of which in a sing1e heat may not be immediately obvious. This condition is illustrated in Figs. I and 2. In Fig. 1, A[0] at the beginning of the test period was near the lower limit of its usual range (dashed lines) in the steady state as a consequence of the lime boil, which had ended about as indicated. The bath is now cold, carbon drop is slow, and the first small orc feed causes only a small rise in A[O]; as the temperature rises and as lime dissolves in the slag, and the bath becomes more active, the

Jan 1, 1948

By B. M. Larsen, T. E. Brower

In two previous paperslJ dealing with the carbon-oxygcn reaction, and the simultaneous content of each, in liquid steel in the furnace, we have made use of the quantity A[O], defined as the excess oxygen beyond what would be in equilibrium with carbon then present if the pressure of carbon monoxide were I atm.; that is, if [C] X [O] is taken as 0.00222, A[O] = [O] - 0.0022[C] where [O] is the percentage of oxygen by weight as measured by the method described earlier.3 This quantity ?[O] proves to be substantially independent of carbon content over the range 0.08 to I,z per cent, as well as of the basicity of the slag, and is nearly always within the limits o.o15 to o.oz5 per cent when the bath is boiling normally and is in what we have termed a steady state, Apparently it must be at least about 0.014 per cent before boiling occurs; but this threshold value seems to depend upon the ease of bubble formation at the metal-hearth interface, hence upon the condition of the surface of the hearth. In any case, ~(01, on the average, changes considerably following any disturbance of the bath, as by addition of ore. The present paper deals with the average changes in A[O] level following addition of spiegel or crop ends, or after procedures to promote stirring, or by tapping of the steel from the furnace. The observations were made on a large number of commercial heats, and consequently are subject to the influence of various disturbing factors; the results have the compensating merit of showing the consistency obtainable under the limitations imposed by practical operation. Variability of Excess Oxygen in Normal Open-hearth Operation The preceding genera' statements refer to the average value of A[0] particularly in heats that are boiling actively; on individual heats, which are less active, there may be a variable time lag between the disturbance and its effect, which complicates the interpretation of what is going on. For instance, if in the normal refining process boiling is sluggish, the slag usually is gaining Oxygen from the gas phase above it, Or from added Ore$ faster than it is losing oxygen to the metal; Yet when the bath starts to boil vigorously, the opposite condition may prevail for Some time. The consequence of this lag is a variation of A[o], the interpretation of which in a sing1e heat may not be immediately obvious. This condition is illustrated in Figs. I and 2. In Fig. 1, A[0] at the beginning of the test period was near the lower limit of its usual range (dashed lines) in the steady state as a consequence of the lime boil, which had ended about as indicated. The bath is now cold, carbon drop is slow, and the first small orc feed causes only a small rise in A[O]; as the temperature rises and as lime dissolves in the slag, and the bath becomes more active, the

Jan 1, 1948

By A. C. Milner

In a gold standard world which possesses insufficient metal to meet the every-day needs of all, confidence becomes the vital factor, the very foundation upon which the machinery for the expansion of gold into currency, and credit, rests. The gold supply, affected by many influences, moves constantly from one point to another, but not always to that point where it is most needed. In the period 1928-1930, the combined gold holdings of the United States and France increased $1,370,936,-000, and this with new gold adding only $600,000,000 to the monetary gold stock.Theref ore, the gold stocks of other countries must have been depleted during the period by $770,936,000. This uncontrolled shifting throws the delicately adjusted instrumentalities of both credit and commerce out of equilibrium. If a given nation's gold stock shifts so as to bring it substantially below the legal reserve ratio set up against it for currency issues, the effect can easily extend to the currency issues and banking credit volume of one or more nations which may have based their gold exchange standards upon the gold stock of such nation. Thus the substitution of paper based on gold in place of the actual gold is an inflation of the currency, which carries through into an uncontrolled pyramiding upon the entire machinery of credit based on gold. In 1929 Europe, South America, Africa and Asia had overissued currency based on gold. America, Oceanica and Japan, which have not overissued their gold currencies, would in normal times require their entire present gold stocks and, as Continental Asia is largely upon a silver credit basis, from a domestic standpoint, it would appear that the gold problem is not so much one of maldistribution, as it is one of inadequate supply. It would appear that some method of increasing greatly the velocity of gold, within the safe reserve point, should be devised, or that silver, of which estimates indicate that 7,000,000,000 oz. are available for

Jan 1, 1931

By Charles A. Ashburner

THE appliances which have been proposed, and the modifications in the construction of boiler-furnaces which have been made for the prevention of smoke, and the utilization of what are ordinarily called the waste products of combustion, have been innumerable.

Jan 1, 1882

By Joseph Lindmayer, Karl M. Busen

If silicon is in contact with silicon oxide, a heterojunction is formed which induces an inversion layer ("channel"). Influences of impurities and structural parameters on the channel are discussed. There seems to be no relation between surface damage in silicon and the channel. Phosphorz~s doping of the silicon oxide has no pronounced effect on the channel. Channels which were well above the range predicted by the heterojunction model were related to the action of H* at the silicon/silicon oxide interface. Channels which were well below tlze range predicted by the heterojunc-tion model were related to a transition region in the oxide adjacent to the interface. In support of the assumed transition region and the H+ are the ex-periments described on the paper. Furthermore, the concept of metastable OH groups in silzca, known from other publications, has been used to explain certain channel characteristics by the formation and the accommodation of hydrogen in the silicon oxide. THE electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device in many cases are influenced by the conditions of its surface. Because these conditions often are changing with temperature, time, ambient, or other parameters, numerous attempts have been undertaken to stabilize them by suitable processes. Several years ago Atallal studied the silicon/silicon dioxide interface and since then increasing attention has been given to the silicon dioxide as a means to stabilize silicon surfaces. This led to the evolution of the planar silicon devices where oxide layers are used to protect places at which the junctions are intersecting the surface. The formation of the oxide layers on silicon can be carried out by a variety of processes: high-temperature thermal oxidation (exposing the silicon surface to oxidizing agents such as 02, HzO, COz), evaporation of SiOz, or anodic oxidation of silicon. Originally the oxides were considered able to "passivate" the silicon surface and it was understood that they 1) protected the surface against any influence from the ambient and 2) stabilized surface conditions which were necessary for proper device performance. It soon was realized that the second quality was not always obtainable: Atalla and Tannenbaum showed that, in the process of forming a layer on doped silicon by thermal oxida- tion, electrically active impurities in the silicon near the interface are redistributed, thus giving rise eventually to the formation of unwanted charge distributions. The degradation of planar junctions during reoxidation of silicon was observed by Barson et a. Surface studies with silicon planar junction structures indicated that the breakdown voltage depended on the kind of procedure which was applied during or after oxidation.*" Yamin and worthinge report on charge storage and dielectric properties of SiOz films at elevated temperatures. Another influential parameter on the silicon surface is discussed by Lindmayer and usen,' namely the appearance of a surface potential on silicon as a consequence of the heterojunction formed by the silicon/silicon oxide interface. In the present paper the influence of impurities and structural parameters in silicon oxide in connection with the heterojunction is a particular object of our investigations. I) EXPERIMENTAL The material used was 10 ohm-cm p-type silicon slices with either damaged surfaces (mechanically lapped or polished) or damage-free surfaces (chemically polished). The majority of the slices were oxidized for 1 hr and 20 min at 1250°C in a steam + oxygen atmosphere generated by passing O2 through HzO at 90°C (wet oxygen). This led to oxide layers of about 9000 A. On some slices oxide layers were grown in pure oxygen (dry oxygen). By a photoresist process a set of 20 by 200 mil windows was then etched out from the oxide layer. The pattern of the windows is shown in Fig. 1. In a subsequent process n-type pockets with surface concentrations between 2 x 10" and 5 x 10" cm"3 were formed by phosphorus diffusion. This allowed ohmic contacts between the silicon surface and tungsten probes which for electrical measurements were placed into two adjoining windows and

Jan 1, 1965

By S. R. Krogh

In this investigation, a method to measure the basic characteristics of comminution has been developed. These characteristics are expressed by the three major comminution functions - crushing probability function, energy function, and breakage function. By testing three different minerals, quartz, calcite, and jasper, these three functions are determined. It is shown that the crushing qualities of a material can be valued by three constants which define the two first comminution functions. These two functions give the relation between particle size, probability of crushing, and the energy input.

Jan 1, 1980

By Charles Macdonald

It may seem to be almost unnecessary to occupy the time of the Institute in further consideration of a question which has been so comprehensively treated in papers already on file in our own Transactions and in those of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Unfortunately, however, the results of these concerted efforts have not been materially to increase our stock of Knowledge in the direction sought for; and as the necessity for this information is becoming.more and more apparent as the demand for structural materials increases, it is believed that by continuing the agitation by means of discussions in this and kindred societies, whose members are vitally interested in obtaining reliable data as to the properties of the materials they are called upon to work with, public opinion may be educated up to the importance of exerting such an influence upon the law-makers of the country as will result in the formation of a competent board, with adequate means at its disposal, to carry out this great work in a manner alike acceptable to the makers and users of the materials in question. It may be proper in the first place to glance briefly at what has been attempted thus hr, then to indicate some of the more important lines of needed investigation, and finally to consider reasons why government aid may with propriety be sought for in carrying on the work. At a convention of the Society of Civil Engineers held at Chicago June 5th, 1872, it was, on motion of General William Sooy Smith, resolved, that, " Whereas, American engineers are now mainly dependent upon formula for the calculation of strength of the different form of iron and steel, not based on experiments upon American materials and manufacture; and " Whereas, There differ greatly in many of their ch~racteristics front thoae of foreign production, both in their nature and forma: therefore,

Jan 1, 1882

By Chas. A. Ashburnea

THE appliances which have been proposed, and the modifications in the construction of boiler-furnaces which have been made for the prevention of smoke, and the utilization of what are ordinarily called the waste products of combustion, have been innumerable.† †There is now open in London an exhibition "of apparatus of all kinds devised to prevent smoke."

Jan 1, 1882

By S. Fróes Abreu

The importation of liquid fuels in Brazil amounts to about 1,300,000 tons; 30 per cent of this total being gasoline for automobiles and airplanes. Statistics show an increasing consumption of gasoline notwithstanding the use, daily greater, of fuel alcohol, a domestic fuel of low cost in the producing areas. The Brazilian market for petroleum products has shown a tendency to grow as the country has steadily developed— expansion of the industries in the areas already developed, and also the recent occupation and population of new zones. The war has brought many difficulties to Brazil. It has limited the importation of petroleum products, which came mostly from the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. During the first days of the present crisis automobile and truck traffic was vastly curtailed; but the national activity in the production of more fuel alcohol, and principally in the development of producer gas, has done much to provide a solution for the transportation crisis threatened at the beginning of the gasoline shortage. Many thousands of cars and trucks in Brazil are now burning producer gas made from charcoal. Producer gas for automobiles has been improved by Brazilian engineers and many new types have appeared. - Production There is only one producing oil field in Brazil—the one in the State of Baia, near the Baia de Todos os Santos. The first producing oil well was drilled in Lobato in 1939 by the Federal Government following studies carried on in that area by Oscar Cordeiro, S. Froes Abreu, G. Paiva and J. Amarai. The field and laboratory work done by these men was published in 1936 in a paper entitled " ContribuicBes para a Geologiado Petroleo no Reconcavo (Baia)," which indicated the potentialities of the area as an oil producer. After the discovery of the first producing well, the Brazilian Government issued a decree establishing an area, 60 km. in radius, as a National Reservation. This first well was drilled in Lobato. In no other locality in Brazil is any petroleum produced. Although many wells have been drilled in the southern part of Brazil, on the northeastern coast and in the Amazon Basin, they yield nothing. Actual production is below 1000 bbl. daily. The producing area covers Itaparica Island, Candeias and Arath, Joanes Island and Lobato. Since very little geological information was available, especially about subsurface structure, it was necessary to drill several wildcats in order to collect the data essential in the choosing of good locations. The United Geophysical Co. was contracted to perform a geophysical survey to clear up the major problems concerning the oil deposits in the Reconcavo beds. The best wells in Reconcavo are on Itaparica Island, where the daily flow amounts to about zoo bbl.; in other sectors production is considerably lower and most of the wells are pumping. In the Aratfi sector, near an area of very light oil, there is an important gas field, with wells producing about I0,000,000 cu. ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1944

By S. Fróes Abreu

The importation of liquid fuels in Brazil amounts to about 1,300,000 tons; 30 per cent of this total being gasoline for automobiles and airplanes. Statistics show an increasing consumption of gasoline notwithstanding the use, daily greater, of fuel alcohol, a domestic fuel of low cost in the producing areas. The Brazilian market for petroleum products has shown a tendency to grow as the country has steadily developed— expansion of the industries in the areas already developed, and also the recent occupation and population of new zones. The war has brought many difficulties to Brazil. It has limited the importation of petroleum products, which came mostly from the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. During the first days of the present crisis automobile and truck traffic was vastly curtailed; but the national activity in the production of more fuel alcohol, and principally in the development of producer gas, has done much to provide a solution for the transportation crisis threatened at the beginning of the gasoline shortage. Many thousands of cars and trucks in Brazil are now burning producer gas made from charcoal. Producer gas for automobiles has been improved by Brazilian engineers and many new types have appeared. - Production There is only one producing oil field in Brazil—the one in the State of Baia, near the Baia de Todos os Santos. The first producing oil well was drilled in Lobato in 1939 by the Federal Government following studies carried on in that area by Oscar Cordeiro, S. Froes Abreu, G. Paiva and J. Amarai. The field and laboratory work done by these men was published in 1936 in a paper entitled " ContribuicBes para a Geologiado Petroleo no Reconcavo (Baia)," which indicated the potentialities of the area as an oil producer. After the discovery of the first producing well, the Brazilian Government issued a decree establishing an area, 60 km. in radius, as a National Reservation. This first well was drilled in Lobato. In no other locality in Brazil is any petroleum produced. Although many wells have been drilled in the southern part of Brazil, on the northeastern coast and in the Amazon Basin, they yield nothing. Actual production is below 1000 bbl. daily. The producing area covers Itaparica Island, Candeias and Arath, Joanes Island and Lobato. Since very little geological information was available, especially about subsurface structure, it was necessary to drill several wildcats in order to collect the data essential in the choosing of good locations. The United Geophysical Co. was contracted to perform a geophysical survey to clear up the major problems concerning the oil deposits in the Reconcavo beds. The best wells in Reconcavo are on Itaparica Island, where the daily flow amounts to about zoo bbl.; in other sectors production is considerably lower and most of the wells are pumping. In the Aratfi sector, near an area of very light oil, there is an important gas field, with wells producing about I0,000,000 cu. ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1944

Dimitri Konstantinovitch Tschernoff, was horn in Petrograd, Russia, on Nov. 1, 1839, and died in Yalta (Crimea) in the south of Russia, on Jan. 2, 1921. He obtained his early education in the Russian Gymnasium, corresponding to the American high school, and in the Technologic Institute. On graduation from this Institute in 1858, he was engaged as a professor of geometry and algebra and later became a librarian and superintendent of the museum in the same Institute. He also attended lectures in the mathematical physics section at the Univrrsity of Petrograd from 1859 to 1862. In 1866, Professor Tschernoff left the Technologic Institute and entered the employ of the Obouchoff steel plant, founded in 1863 for the manufacture of guns. Here he did his most important work on the heat treatment of steel, its crystallization and metallography. In 1880, he left the Obouchoff plant and went to the south of European Russia, where he discovered and developed some rock-salt mines. This enterprise brought him a rather large fortune. In 1884, he returned to Petrograd and during the next four years held several prominent positions in government departments. In 1899, he became professor of metallurgy in the Michael Artillery Academy, and retained that position until the time of the Russian Revolution. In 1902, Professor Tschernoff was elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. In September, 1917, Professor Tschernoff was sponding his vacation, as usual, in the city of Yalta (Crimea) in the south of Russia, with his wife and one of his daughters. The revolution progressed so rapidly that they were unable to return to Petrograd, and were compelled to stay in Yalta without provision for the winter season. Suffering from hunger. and lack of sufficient clothing, and deprived of his books, Tschernoff nevertheless continued his studies and gave a number of lectures on steel at the Polytechnic Institute. At the same time he worked hard on some. mathematical problems. His health broke down through long-continued under-nourishment. His works in the metallurgical field are well known to the students of metallurgy; good abstracts of his most important papers were published in Revue de Metallurgie (1915, pp. 829-882) in commemoration of his 75th birthday.

Jan 1, 1922