Search Documents

By O. J. Hassel, W. T. Maidens, J. H. Calbeck

The rotary gas fired reheating furnace used by the American Zinc Oxide Co. at Columbus, Ohio for Therotarygasfiredreheatingfurnacerefining lead-free zinc oxide is described. The outstanding features of this operation are that the color of the zinc oxide is greatly improved, sulphur is eliminated, and cadmium arethatrecovered without densifying the product to an objectionable degree. IN 1919 Leland S. Wemple obtained a patent for a process of reheating zinc oxide wherein the "coarsening of grain due to excessive heating was avoided." He taught in his specification that if solid carbonaceous material, such as lamp black, was added to the zinc oxide in proper amounts prior to reheating, objectionable sulphur compounds could be removed and the color would accordingly be improved and no objectionable densification would occur because of the relatively low temperature required. The situation that made this invention imperative was the newly opened zinc oxide plant of the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. in Hills-boro, Ill. This was one of the early Western Type American Process zinc oxide operations. Characteristic of all of these early Western operations using Tri-State and Western ores was the great difficulty encountered in obtaining a product low enough in sulphur to compete with the Eastern Type American Process zinc oxides which were made from ores containing very low sulphur percentages. Wemple demonstrated that the refining process of his invention produced a superior color and although this was true and a most welcome feature, the primary purpose of the early refining operations at Hillsboro was to reduce substantially the high sulphur content of the crude zinc oxide. Although many and varied attempts had been made for refining zinc oxide none of the processes had a commercial history of any consequence until Wemple's invention became standard practice for the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. in 1919 and their operations have been unique in that substantially all of their lead-free zinc oxide has been reheated since the first installation at Hillsboro. This process has become known in the industry as refining. The furnace developed by Wemple and continued in use by the company from 1919 until 1943 was unusual and merits some consideration by way of review in this paper. The furnace was essentially a double hearth coal-fired muffle furnace with a mechanical raking system consisting of a central shaft supporting six rabble arms in each muffle. The untreated or "crude" zinc oxide was fed onto the outer rim of the top muffle, moved to the center where it dropped to the lower muffle and progressed to the outer rim where it was discharged into an alloy screw conveyor. The retention in this furnace was extremely short, about 5 min, and the shallow zinc oxide bed on the hearths of the muffles was being continuously turned by the fast moving rabbles. Soft coal was burned on the grates below the lower muffle and the long yellow flame necessary to carry the heat around both muffles resulted in a very inefficient combustion of the fuel. The temperature of the top of the lower muffle seldom exceeded 65 °C although the oxide itself often reached 700°C before discharge. The capacity of this furnace was approximately 1/2 ton per hr. In our plant at Columbus it was necessary to keep four of these furnaces running in parallel to take care of the production because, as mentioned above, every pound of zinc oxide produced during these 24 yr passed through one of these refining furnaces. An essential part of this refining operation was the use of carbonaceous material admixed with the zinc oxide fed to the furnaces. Between 1 and 2 pct of a bran produced in the processing of cotton seed was added to all zinc oxide charged to the furnaces. The bran ignited on the top hearth and was still burning when the charge fell from the top hearth to the bottom hearth making a cascade of sparks. The rapid turning of the zinc oxide caused these particles of bran to flash on the hearths behind each rabble; but the combustion, of necessity, had to be complete by the time the charge reached the outer rim of the bottom hearth, otherwise the finished product would be contaminated with the charred particles of bran which would give the zinc oxide an unsatisfactory color. Although this operation was initiated to reduce objectionable sulphur percentages, as time went on new properties of the product were appreciated which made advisable continuing the refining process long after other methods of sulphur reduction became known in the industry. The particle size and particle size distribution, the absence of colloidal fines and perhaps a unique surface condition gave this product an outstanding performance when used in paints. The Wemple furnaces installed in Columbus in 1919 had to be rebuilt frequently and were extravagant in the use of fuel. The raking mechanism and the muffles required excessive maintenance expense and as the furnaces wore out the problem arose whether to continue along this line or to explore the possibilities of obtaining similar or better results in the simpler and more commonly used rotary furnace. To this end special research was initiated in 1941 on a small laboratory rotary

Jan 1, 1951

By James W. Myers

"Packaged fuel" is the trade name applied by the industry to a product consisting of coal screenings and a binder compressed into 3 -or 4-inch cubes and wrapped (six or eight in a package) in sturdy paper and sealed with gummed tape. Parry describes the product in greater detail and distinguishes clearly between packaged fuel and briquettes. The industry developed from the desire of retail coal dealers to improve utilization of the relatively large quantities of slack sizes that result from the degradation, during shipping and handling in the yard, of friable coal, particularly Pocahontas coal. During the war an attempt was made to apply this technique to anthracite fines, and a recent publication of the U. S. Bureau of Mines reported the results of physical and combustion tests on packaged fuels containing anthracite fines. References made in this report to the previous investigation on packaged fuels containing anthracite represent data or conclusions presented in Report of Investigations 3882. This investigation was conducted as a continuation of the previously reported studies and consisted of physical and combustion tests of packaged fuels made from high-volatile bituminous coal, as well as the low-volatile bituminous coal ordinarily used in the industry, to determine their relative suitability for domestic firing. Particular attention was given to the smoke-producing properties of the packaged fuels because of the increasing importance of the prevention or reduction of smoke from hand-fired domestic heating plants resulting from the widespread enactment of smoke-prevention ordinances.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. C. Fieldner

THE Bureau of Mines has received many requests for Information concerning the methods its laboratories use for analyzing coal and coke and determining their heating value. The fuel investigations now conducted by the Bureau of Mines are an outgrowth of the work undertaken at the Government coal-testing plant erected in 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and the methods for proximate and ultimate analysis of coal used by the Bureau of Mines are based on those originally adopted by the chemists of the coal-testing plant and followed in the subsequent chemical work of the Government fuel-testing plants at St. Louis, Mo., Norfolk, Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa. The many valuable suggestions and criticisms received from N. W. Lord, director of the School of Mines, and from E. E. Somermeier, professor of metallurgy, of Ohio State University, at that time, are greatly appreciated; development of many of the methods for the proximate and ultimate analysis of coal now used by the Bureau of Mines is chiefly clue to these men.

Jan 1, 1951

By L. H. Van Loon

INTRODUCTION THE property of Madsen Red Lake Gold Mines, Limited lies between Russet and Faulkenham lakes in Baird and Heyson townships, district of Patricia, Ontario. It is about six miles south west of the town of Red Lake, with which it is connected by an all-weather road. All orebodies found to date at the property are silicified lenticular bodies which lie within tuff beds. The ore bas a specific gravity of 2.95. It consists of mica and chlorite schist, silicified and containing a considerable amount of disseminated carbonate, and mineralized with pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite. Of these, pyrite, in coarse to fine disseminated grains, is by far the most abundant. Pyrrhotite occurs in ?the gangue material as medium to fine disseminated grains. A very small amount of arsenopyrite, in small crystals, is associated with the pyrite, and small grains of chalcopyrite occur in both gangue and pyrite. Although some of the gold present in the ore is quite coarse, a good deal of it is extremely fine.

Jan 1, 1951

By C. G. Dunn, F. W. Daniels, M. J. Bolton

IN recent investigations1. a data on relative grain boundary energies in silicon iron have been obtained. The present investigation is a continuation of this work along similar lines for the purpose of obtaining additional information on boundary energies. One aim has been to extend the data for a (110) series, which was formerly studied,' to small differences in orientation, since a recent theory3,4 based on a dislocation model of grain boundaries predicts a E. ? (A-ln ? )* form of energy curve for small differences in orientation. Another aim has been to provide data for a (100) series—all grains having (100) planes parallel with the surface of sheet speci-mens—and to compare the results with the predicted form of energy curve. Finally, information on the nature of approach to equilibrium conditions was to be obtained through observations on the movements of grain boundaries. Recently published papers2,3,5 have treated the mathematical problem of expressing equilibrium conditions for grain boundaries for the general case when boundary energy depends upon boundary orientation. The equilibrium equations, which relate equilibrium angles and grain boundary -free energies, contain additional terms that express the variation of energy with boundary rotation. It has been necessary in the present investigation, however, to neglect these additional terms since no data for their evaluation were available. Dropping the additional terms leads to the following approximate equations which were used: E12/sin ?3 = E18/sin?2 =E28/sin?1 or those of the form: E28 + E13 cos ?3 + E12 cos ?2 = 0 Experimental Procedure Except for sample F1, all specimens were made from two lots of silicon iron called C and L respectively. The compositions of these are listed in table I. In the preparation of 12 three-grain specimens for the present investigation, a controlled grain growth technique, which has been described previously,' was used. After preparation, the specimens were notched at the boundaries to shorten them as a means of providing more rapid approach to equilibrium in the anneals. Initial grain boundary angles were determined from micrographs taken at X500. Seven anneals, totaling about two days at 1300°C and two to four days at 1400°C, were run in an atmosphere of pure dry argon as described in a previous paper.' Boundary changes generally could be followed without metallographic surface preparation, because thermal etching occurred during the anneals. These observations indicated angle changes of as much as 35" in some instances, with the major changes occurring during the first anneal. Annealing was discontinued when the angles reached stationary values. Fig. 1 gives a schematic diagram for purposes of defining crystallographic and boundary directions for three grains with common plane parallel with the sheet. Differences in orientations (expressed by A) are the angles between [00l] directions. They can be calculated with the aid of the ?'s. The grain boundary angles can be calculated from the w'S. Results Results are given in table 11. Types of crystal-lographic planes refer to those parallel with the sheet. Orientations are given in terms of [00l] direc-tions as shown in fig. 1. Except for grain 3 of specimen H6, which was unintentionally tilted 7" out of a (100) plane, all grains generally were within 1" or 2" of the plane specified. The directions of boundaries were measured generally to within 1" on both upper and lower surfaces, and the average direc- tions were determined for use in calculating the grain boundary angles. Variations in grain boundary directions refer to deviations from average directions. Boundaries near the junction point for all specimens generally were very close to perpendicu-

Jan 1, 1951

By R. E. Gilmore

PREAMBLE THIS PAPER comprises material presented in two separate 'Papers at the British Commonwealth Scientific Specialist Conference on Fuel Research held in London, England, in July, 1950. These papers are now available for publication in Canada, since only essential parts of the conference discussions, in addition to the resolutions resulting therefrom, will be published in the official Proceedings of the Conference. Inasmuch as the information presented concerns Canadian organizations and training facilities for fuel research, it should be of general interest to Canadian scientists, and especially to the Coal Division of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Part I, the alternate title of which is Facilities in Canada for Fuel Research and for Exchange of Information and Staff, does not include research on peat, oil shale, petroleum oils in general, and natural gas, and omits studies of the geology, constitution, and production of coal. Special reference is, however, made to research on the heavy crude oils and bitumen of the Western Prairie Provinces, and particularly to their production and treatment to produce crudes for oil refinery processing.

Jan 1, 1951

By E. T. Turner

Introduction 1n assembling material for this paper on Wood Refuse Burning 1 turned first to the records of our early studies of the problem in order to learn how and why certain basic decisions were arrived at and also how it came about that the completed central steam plant differed so much from the original plans. It may be of interest, therefore, to outline the engineering problems as they presented themselves in the early part of 1948, and to indicate the economies involved. Although the principle of using wood refuse as boiler fuel instead of burning it to waste was quite sound, and in fact the practice had been in use for a long time in the boilers of many lumber companies, there was some guesswork as far as Hollinger was concerned in deciding how best to handle the large quantities of wood refuse involved and as to the type of boiler equipment necessary to .burn it efficiently. These problems will be examined first. Hollinger Boiler Equipment in 1948 Hollinger had four separate boiler houses, at Main, No. II, and No. 19 shafts, and a small unit at the compressor plant for heating purposes. Main and No. Il boiler houses operated all the year round; No. 19 and the compressor plant only in the winter. At Main there were four 36-year-old HRT boilers with total available h.p. of 500, at No. II, three 30-year-old HRT boilers with 195 available h.p., and at No. 19 two old field-type locomotive boilers capable of producing 95 h.p.

Jan 1, 1951

By R. I. Jaffee, H. R. Ogden, D. J. Maykuth

IN THE past year, Jaffee and Campbell&apos; and Finlay and Snyder2 reported on the mechanical properties of titanium-base alloys, some of which were in the same ranges of composition as are covered in this paper. In this paper, evidence confirming that given by Finlay and Snyder on the effects of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen on titanium will be presented; and, in addition, new data will be given on the effects of these elements on the flow properties and phase transformation of titanium. Materials and Preparation of Alloys The preparation and general properties of iodide titanium have been adequately described elsewhere.&apos; , As-deposited iodide titanium rod, prepared at Battelle, of Vickers hardness less than 90 was employed as the base metal in the present work. This was the same material as that used by Finlay and Snyder.2 The probable analysis reported by them for standard quality metal holds here also: N 0.005 pct, 0 0.01 pct, C 0.03 pct, Fe <0.04 pct, A1 <0.05 pct, Si <0.03 pct, and Ti 99.85 pct. Carbon was added in the form of flake graphite supplied by the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co. Oxygen was added in the form of c.p. grade TiO, powder, produced by J. T. Baker Chemical Co. Nitrogen was added in Ti3N4 powder, supplied by the Remington Arms Co. Individual ingots weighed 7 or 8 g. Carbon, oxygen, or nitrogen was added by placing the corresponding powder in a capsule made from as-deposited iodide titanium rods and melting the capsule with the balance of the charge. The charge was are-melted with a tungsten electrode on a water-cooled copper hearth under a partial vacuum of very pure argon (99.92 pct minimum). Melting was practically contamination free. Vick-ers hardness increases of less than 10 points were normal for unalloyed iodide titanium control melts. Nitrogen analyses of are-melted iodide titanium showed a nitrogen content of 0.005 pct, about the same as is present in the as-deposited rod. No tungsten pickup was found in a melt of iodide titanium analyzed for tungsten. Weight losses in melting nitrogen-free alloys were very small and varied consistently from nil to 0.015 g (0 to 0.2 pct). This permitted the use of nominal composition for these alloys. Chemical analyses made for carbon, which can be analyzed conveniently by combustion methods, justified this procedure. Where nitrogen was added, considerable splattering took place. Here it was necessary to analyze for nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method. The ingots were hot rolled at 850°C to about 0.045 in. thick. After hot rolling, the strips were descaled by mechanical grinding, and then given a cold reduction of 5 to 10 pct to insure a uniform thickness throughout the length of the specimen. The edge strips and the tensile strips were annealed in a vacuum of 1x10-4 mm Hg pressure for 3 1/2 hr at 850°C and furnace cooled. Methods of Investigation Hardness Measurements: At least five Vickers hardness measurements were taken using a 10-kg load on each sample in the following conditions: (1) top and bottom of each ingot, (2) top and bottom surface of as-rolled and annealed sheet, and (3) on cross-section of annealed sheet and all quenched specimens. Tensile Tests: Tensile tests were conducted on Baldwin-Southwark testing machines having load ranges of 600 or 2000 lb. Tests were made on 1-in. gauge-length specimens, 3 1/4-in. overall length, 1/2 in. wide, 0.040 in. thick, with a reduced section 1 1/4 in. long and 0.250 in. wide. Two SR-4, A-7 strain gauges, one mounted on each side of the specimen, were used to measure the strain over a limited range to determine the modulus of elasticity. After the modulus of elasticity readings had been taken, load vs. strain readings were taken, using only one strain gauge, at increments of 0.0001 in. until the yield points were passed and then at 0.001-in. increments to the limit of the strain-gauge indicator (0.02 in.). Strain readings above 0.02 in. per in. were taken every 0.01 in., using dividers to measure the strain between the 1-in. gauge marks until the maximum load had been reached. Crosshead speed, when using the SR-4 gauges, was 0.005 in. per min, and, when using dividers, 0.01 in. per min. Flow Curves: Flow curves were determined using the true stress-true strain data obtained during the tension test. The usefulness of this type of information has been dealt with very adequately elsewhere by L. R. Jackson,&apos; J. H. Hollomon,6 and many others. Flow curves of true stress vs. true strain could be converted to the more conventional cold-work curve of 0.2 pct offset yield strength vs. percentage of cold reduction by means of the transformation, 1/1 = 1/1-R, where R is the fraction reduction in cold working. Thus, the true strains corresponding to percentage reduction can be calculated, and the 0.2 pct offset yield strengths scaled off the — 6 curve by taking the true stresses corresponding to the values of 6 + 0.002 strain. Heat Treatment: For the transformation studies, the alloys were heat treated in a horizontal-tube furnace using a dried 99.92 pct argon atmosphere, and quenched into water. Essentially no contamination was found after several hours of heat treatment at temperatures up to 1050°C. Metallography: Specimens were prepared in the

Jan 1, 1951

By T. T. Tigert

INTRODUCTION THE PURPOSE of this article on methane is to present the simple basic facts of the characteristics, detection, occurrence, and control of this natural gas in metal mines, so that operators and .safety men may deal with it with some degree of confidence. Fortunately, although methane has been noted at many metal mines throughout Canada, the occurrences usually are small flows of short duration, and the ignitions experienced have, in most cases, had minor consequences. However, methane does present a hazard that can be of serious proportions, and ?any complacent attitude toward this gas that might exist in the minds .of people engaged in underground mining operations should be dispelled when it is ,pointed out that, in Ontario alone, ignitions of this gas have resulted in at least four fatalities, and eight men seriously injured and burned, during the past three years. lt is well-known that liberation of methane can and does .occur suddenly, often in mines where no gas has been found before, and that many ignitions and explosions have occurred in so called non-gassy mines. In view of this, it is apparent that no mine can, with any degree of certainty, be classified as non-gassy. CHARACTERISTICS OF METHANIZ The characteristics of natural gas encountered in most of the Ontario mines indicate that methane is the chief constituent. Methane (CH4), commonly termed &apos;marsh gas&apos;, and by the coal miner &apos;firedamp&apos;, is a colourless, odourless, and non-poisonous gas considerably lighter than air, and is the explosive gas frequently found in coal mines. Its physiological effects, closely resemble those resulting from nitrogen.

Jan 1, 1951

By S. Kodama

Starting on a small scale, the equipment for processing synthesis gas to form liquid hydrocarbons was expanded to handle 100 m) 3/hr. This reactor was successfully designed and constructed, and a basis for future design methods was established. Because, however, this work was carried out on an empirical basis, it is felt that a more thorough theoretical study should be made in an effort to increase the efficiency of the process, particularly in the development of a simpler converter.

Jan 1, 1951

By Arthur Grounds

Historical In the course of a paper which is necessarily limited in length, such as the present one, it is obviously impossible to describe in detail the history, development, and present position of coal preparation in Western Europe. Great Britain has been blessed with large deposits of excellent coal of nearly every type, ranging from the high-grade anthracites of South Wales, which are characterised by their very low ash and volatile con-tents, to the superb coking coals of South Wales and Durham -probably the finest in the world -with their low ash and sulphur contents, the latter constituent often well be-low l per cent. Gas coals abound in Lancashire and Yorkshire, while coals from the East Midlands, Northumberland, and Scotland are excellent for steam-raising and other industrial purposes. The excellent quality of these various coals has, in years gone by, ensured ready .sales abroad and it is not surprising, therefore; that methods of coal preparation were largely developed on the Continent in an endeavour to upgrade the inferior fuels found there, so that the prepared product could compete with British coals on the European market.

Jan 1, 1951

By J. H. Jackson, P. D. Frost, C. H. Lorig, A. C. Loonam

THIS paper describes (1) the effect of sodium on the tensile ductility of magnesium-lithium base alloys, and (2) the precautions necessary to avoid sodium contamination. Effect of Sodium on Properties The harmful effect of sodium in magnesium-lithium base alloys has been recognized by other investigators.1,2 However, quantitative data on its effect have not hitherto been published. The effect of sodium on the ductility of an 87 pct Mg-9 pct Li-4 pct Zn alloy is shown in fig. 1. The sodium was introduced by adding sodium chloride to the flux, which consisted of 50 pct LiC1-50 pct KC1. Moderately high ductility was obtained at an indicated sodium content of about 0.05 pct. Actually, the value probably was less than 0.05 pct, be-cause analyses of the lithium, which were more accurate than those of the alloy, indicated that the highest ductility was obtained when its sodium content was 0.02 pct or less. In fact, in alloys having somewhat greater strength than this particular composition, the sodium content of the lithium must be under 0.01 pct to avoid embrittlement. The effect of sodium on the ductility of several alloys having fairly low strength levels is shown in fig. 2. These alloys were melted with a flux containing 75 pct LiC1-25 pct LiF, to which various quantities of sodium chloride had been added. Sodium had no significant effect in pure magnesium but markedly decreased the ductility of the magnesium-lithium-zinc alloy, even though the alloy contained only 3 pct Li. As the lithium content of the binary alloys was increased, the ductility of the sodium-free alloys also increased. However, the effect of sodium on ductility became progressively more pronounced. Sodium raised the minimum hot-rolling temperatures, particularly those of the high-strength alloys, but its effect, in this respect, was less critical than its effect on tensile ductility. For optimum cold roll-ability, a low-sodium content was required. No deleterious effect of sodium on the stability of properties at slightly elevated temperatures was found. Control of Sodium in the Alloys Optimum ductility is obtained in the magnesium-lithium base alloys when sodium-free materials are used. Commercial lithium was formerly the chief source of contamination. Now purified lithium is usually available. When lithium of ordinary purity is used, the effects of sodium can be minimized by using a flux consisting of 75 pct LiC1-25 pct LiF. Bubbling nitrogen through the melt also helps remove sodium. The damaging influence of sodium on the ductility of the magnesium-lithium base alloys was observed very early in the alloy development program. The discovery came about as a result of chemical analyses made on the lithium used in the alloys. Ductile alloys had been made from lithium containing about 0.2 pct Na, whereas the lithium used in the brittle alloys contained about 0.9 pct Na. The first magnesium-lithium alloys were melted under commercial fluxes ordinarily used in melting magnesium alloys. These fluxes were unsuited for scavenging the contaminating sodium, and the resulting alloys were not ductile. Next, a flux containing 50 pct KC1-50 pct LiCl was tried. This was somewhat more effective but still was not satisfactory. After a number of different experimental fluxes had been investigated, one containing 75 pct LiC1-25 pct LiF was adopted. This flux made it possible to obtain good ductility in the alloys. The

Jan 1, 1951

By B. L. Averbach

THE rolling process may be considered as a case of a nonhomogeneous plastic flow. In such a heterogeneous deformation there is no direct general solution, and the plastic deformation varies from point to point as a function of the coordinates. It is practicable to determine these plastic strains only at the conclusion of the rolling process, and the local strains can be studied by observing the deformations produced in a suitably placed grid system. Strains at the surface of a bar after rolling have been reported by MacGregor and Coffin,&apos; but the strain distributions within the bar have not been previously observed. Siebel² has investigated the plastic deformations resulting from wire-drawing by splitting the wire along its axis, milling a grid coordinate system on the inner plane surfaces, and binding the .wire together so that it would pull through a die as a single unit. This method was possible because of the rotational symmetry of the die. In the rolling process, however, such a system was not readily applicable. This paper describes another method of including a grid system, and reports some preliminary data on the plastic rolling strains within a square bar. Experimental Procedure 2.1 mm wide (144 network squares per sq in.) was punched from a thin lead sheet with a steel die and supported in a brass mold by thin copper wires. Pure tin was then poured around the grid to form a solid bar, with the network securely imbedded at. a given position. This bar was then machined to a square 15.2 mm (0.60 in.) wide, and then radiographed. The lead grid was quite adherent and sufficiently ductile to follow the deformation of the bar faithfully. The network lines also remained sharp enough to maintain a high radiographic contrast, and the tin bar, with the grid included, could withstand considerable deformation at room temperature without splitting at the interface. In order to fill the mold, it was necessary to cast the tin at 260-280°C and during pouring the lead grid was supported at short intervals to prevent warping. Some shrinkage cavities were encountered, but only bars which were free of shrinkage in the network region were used. This method is similar to the one employed by Steinberg" in an investigation of the strain distribution in a tensile specimen. Before rolling, the machined bars were radiographed in two directions to obtain accurate initial dimensions of each square and to observe whether the grid was straight and correctly positioned. The rolling was performed in a small hand mill with 2 in. diam rolls at room temperature, and a 20 pct reduction based on the original height was employed. The rolls were clean and no lubricant was used. Halfway through the bar, at the center of the network, the rolls were reversed and the bar extracted. These bars were then radiographed again

Jan 1, 1951

By R. E. Shinkosk

This paper outlines the development of a program for increasing the life of woolen bags used for filtering Dwight-Lloyd gases by treating the bags and gases with hydrated lime. Methods and apparatus are described for determining alkalinity of dusts, acidity and breaking strength of bag cloth. Procedure and results, based on several years of operation, are presented. DURING 1939, additional facilities were constructed in the Dwight-Lloyd Blast Furnace and Baghouse departments at the Selby, California, Plant of the American Smelting and Refining Co. In order to handle adequately the increased volume of gases from the resultant increase in production, it was necessary to increase gradually the amount of water used for cooling gases ahead of the sinter machine baghouse. As a result of this increased water cooling, the average bag life dropped from 27 months in 1939 to 14 months in 1941. (Table I). This drop in life meant an increased. bag cost, as well as lower recovery of dust and some curtailment of operation. During 1941, it was found new bags showed as high as 0.3 pct acidity* after two weeks of opera- tion and as much as 2.0 pct acidity after some months of operation. This high acidity was present in spite of the fact that free oxide or relative alkalinity of the unburned dust ran from 5 to 6 pct. In view of these circumstances, a twofold program was started in Nov. 1941.t Part one of this program consisted of vigorously dipping all new bags in a weak lime solution, containing 50 lb of hydrated lime per 50 gal of water. Part two consisted of feeding fine, dry, hydrated lime into the gas stream intake of the sinter baghouse fan. Apparatus for feeding this lime is shown in fig. 1. All baghouse chambers are shaken in rotation about once each hour. On alternate hours, the baghouse operator places 50 lb of hydrated lime (one sack) into the lime feeder, starts feeder and immediately starts the bag shaking machinery. The rate at which lime is fed is set to coincide with the approximate time necessary to shake all sinter bag-house chambers, or about 15 min. It is felt this method of lime addition is most effective for getting lime into the woolen bag fabric. The amount of lime so fed averages about 600 lb per day. The amount of lime fed per day is varied to keep a minimum relative alkalinity of 9 pct in the unburned sinter dust. A daily dust sample is taken for alkalinity by allowing dust to accumulate in a sample pipe over a 24-hr period. This sample pipe, placed in any chamber cellar, is 2 in. in diam, 4 ft long, is sealed on the inner end, and capped on the outer end. It has a 1/2 in. slot cut for 18 in. along the tip end. This slot faces upward and allows the pipe to fill gradually with dust as bags are shaken. Breaking strength of bags has, in most cases, been the deciding factor in bag replacement. Bags that normally test 100 psi breaking strength when new are replaced when they test under 35 lb. The method for determining breaking strength is shown in the description accompanying fig. 2. Since the start of the liming program in 1941, bag life has increased from 14 months to an average of over 23 months, with a consequent material decrease in bag cost per year. Acidity, as per cent sulphuric acid, may be determined by means of a Beckman pH meter as follows: From a piece of bag cloth. which has been thoroughly cleaned of dust, a 5 g sample is weighed on a balance. Cut the sample into fine pieces and place in a 400 cc beaker. Add 100 cc (measured) of distilled water and stir vigorously. Filter on suction funnel, holding cloth pulp in beaker with a stirring rod. Wash cloth sample and filter wash water four additional times, each time with 20 cc distilled water, the last time squeezing cloth pulp over funnel. Discard pulp and rinse funnel and filter paper. Pour wash solution jnto measuring graduate and make up to exactly 300 cc with distilled water. Place into clean 600 cc beaker and measure the pH on meter. The per cent acid in bag cloth is read from the following table:—

Jan 1, 1951

By Allen D. Look

In the prevention of accidents in milling operations, the proper installation and guarding of electrical and mechanical equipment, safe clearances, good housekeeping, adequate fire protection, adequate ventilation, dust and fume control, and good illumination, as well as safe practices, are essential. In the new concentrator of the Magna Copper Co., Superior, Ariz., many safeguards were incorporated and safe practices instituted to minimize accident hazards. The purpose of this paper is to describe some of these features and practices.

Jan 1, 1951

By William L. Crentz

In the past, Westmoreland County together with Fayette County produced about one-third of the bituminous coal mined in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh bed in Westmoreland County has furnished enormous quantities of coal to the by-product and beehive ovens, gas-manufacturing plants, and general industrial manufacturers over a wide area until about 20 years ago. Little attention was paid to the thinner beds because of the superior quality of the Pittsburgh. The approaching exhaustion of Pittsburgh coal will require accelerated-exploitation of these coals if Westmoreland County is to continue as an important source of bituminous coal, Much of the Pittsburgh coal in Westmoreland County is low-sulfur and requires no mechanical cleaning for the preparation of a metallurgical fuel. Even those areas where the sulfur percentage increased to a maximum of about 2 percent, a relatively easy washing operation usually produced a cleaned coal, which found ready acceptance by the coke industry. Davis reported the remaining recoverable reserves of the .Pittsburgh bed in Westmoreland County to be 255,439,000 tons as of January 1, 1937. Since that date, more than 100,000,000 tons of Pittsburgh coal has been extracted so that the time is not too distant when this important coal bed will be depleted. A study of the Pittsburgh bed in Westmoreland -County has not been made a part of this report as the remaining reserves of the coal can be used in coke making with a, minimum of preparation. The production from the Upper &apos;Freeport bed will increase as the supply of coal from the Pittsburgh bed diminishes, and as of the present time it supplies a substantial proportion of the county&apos;s coal output.

Jan 1, 1951

By Walter E. Lewis

The Fort Randall Reservoir project, on the Missouri River at Pickstown, S. Dak., was designed by the Corps of Engineers and is part of the Missouri River Basin Development Program. The location of the project with respect to adjacent features is shown&apos; in figure 1. When the project is finished, it will include a large earthwork dam and 12 circular tunnels, 8 of which will be equipped for power and 4 for flood control. Various phases of the construction have been contracted to independent companies, and at present four companies are working on different phases of the project under a rigid time schedule. Western Contracting Corp. is the contractor on stage II, earthwork; Johnson-Winston Construction Co. is the contractor for construction of the intake towers at the upstream side of the dam; McCarthy Improvement Co. has the contract for the power house and the outlet works on the downstream side; and Silas Mason Co. has the contract for driving the power and flood-control tunnels. The latter two companies use the same roads for ingress and egress to their respective work areas and the same general waste dump area. Under such circumstances, it is necessary that each company stay on a time schedule in regular sequence to avoid interference with the other.

Jan 1, 1951

By B. F. Decker, D. Harker

The recrystallization reaction in OFHC and spectroscopically pure copper has been followed by X ray diffraction determinations of the amount of material with the cold-worked and recrystallized textures in specimens which had been given various heat treatments. The heats of activation for recrystallization are found to be: 29.9 kcal per rnol for OFHC copper and 22.4 kcal per rnol for spectroscopic copper. A reliable and speedy method for measuring the amount of recrystallized material in a piece of rolled metal, together with a new scheme for low temperature heat treatment, have made possible a determination of the activation energy for recrystallization in rolled copper. This method for studying recrystallization rates is different from others reported in the literature.&apos; Oxygen free, high conductivity copper—OFHC copper—of purity 99.98 pct gave an activation energy for recrystallization of 29.9 kcal per mol with recrystallization data taken in the temperature range 208-245°C. Copper of purity 99.999 pct from the American Smelting & Refining Co. gave an activation energy for recrystallization of 22.4 kcal per mol with recrystallization data taken in the temperature range 43-135°C. The great change in activation energy for recrystallization as the small amount of impurity in the metal is decreased suggests that the motion of grain boundaries is conditioned by the impurities which must be concentrated in them. Thus the OFHC copper recrystallizes with an activation energy of the order of magnitude to be expected for the diffusion of the kind of impurities likely to be present. The high purity copper, on the other hand, recrystallizes with a much lower activation energy, in accord with the notion that the grain boundaries need not wait for the impurities to diffuse with them. Copper when strongly cold-rolled has a well-defined crystallite texture which can be described by saying that the [111] direction of the face- centered cubic crystals is aligned approximately in the cross-rolling direction and that faces of the form {110} lie approximately in the rolling plane. When such rolled copper is completely annealed the crystallite texture is quite different: the [loo] direction is in the cross-rolling direction and faces of the form (100) are in the rolling plane. At intermediate stages of annealing, the copper contains both textures. If a Geiger counter X ray diffraction spectrometer is set up so as to measure the intensity of the (200) Bragg reflection from the rolled surface of a piece of copper strip, this intensity increases from a very small value in the cold-worked state to a maximum as the specimen is annealed. The same would be true for (200) reflections from planes normal to the rolling or cross-rolling directions. In view of this fact, the amount of material in the copper which has recrystallized can be measured by comparing the intensities of one of these reflections just mentioned with the intensity from a similar specimen after complete annealing. In much the same way the intensity of (111) reflections from planes normal to the cross-rolling direction could be used to measure the amount of unrecrystallized material in the specimen. In the work to be described here the amounts of recrystallized and unrecrystallized material in partly annealed rolled copper specimens were determined in this way. Experimental Procedure Samples of oxygen free high conductivity (OFHC) copper, cold-rolled 99.7 pct to 0.002 in. thickness, were subjected to heat treatments for various chosen times at four different temperatures, and high purity copper samples, cold-rolled 98.0 pct to 0.0015 in. thickness, at six different temperatures. Each sample, after treatment, was placed in an orientation sample holder for use with a Geiger counter X ray spectrometer and a reading was taken of the intensity of the (200) reflection from planes perpendicular to

Jan 1, 1951

By John W. Buch

In 1947, a Korfmann universal shearing machine was installed in a mine in the Southern field of the Pennsylvania anthracite region. The machine was obtained from Germany by the Bureau of Mines after the close of World War II as a part of a program of experimental work to increase the output and lower the cost of anthracite, which the Bureau of Mines initiated in 1944 when an agreement was made with an anthracite-producing company for use of one of the company&apos;s mines as a testing ground for certain mechanical equipment procured or developed by the Bureau. A major objective is to develop a mechanical mining method that will increase the rate of advance and reduce the coat of development of coal gangways in steeply pitching seams. In addition to the time to be saved in driving these openings by machine, it is felt that further economies will be affected by making it possible to concentrate producing sections into smaller compass and that savings will ensue in supervision, maintenance, and time required for mining a section. A higher percentage extraction also is an objective. Test work covered by this report was concentrated on the power characteristics, maneuverability, effectiveness, and general qualities of the Korfmann machine in cutting coal, the cutting tests representing the first use of a machine of this kind in steep-pitch mining in the United States.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. L. Engel

This report is a compilation of results of brief preliminary tests on sulfide ores that contained gold and silver and, in some cases base metals. It is a companion paper to a recent similar report on oxide ores. Simple treatment methods employing the least possible equipment sometimes produce satisfactory results on marginal ores and in small-scale operations. Investigations of typical ores from newly discovered or recently explored mining districts have been made in continuation of a long-established part of the hydrometallurgical and ore-dressing program of the Reno station, Bureau of Mines. The purpose of such investigations is to encourage the search for and development of mineral resources and particularly to assist in the economical exploitation of low-grade and marginal ores as well as the conservation and recovery .of values in products that were discarded from former operations because of inability to treat them profitably. Several of these investigations have been limited to preliminary tests of samples from prospecting operations, whereas same involved samples of old dumps or tailings piles. The test work in these cases was not extensive enough to warrant publication as individual reports, but is of considerable interest inasmuch as it indicates the possibilities as well as the limitations of treating the respective materials. The samples were representative of the districts from which they wore obtained, so this information should be helpful in the future development of these districts.

Jan 1, 1951