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By H. Ding

Calcium carbonate/Titanium dioxide composite, characterized by coating TiO2 on the surface of CaCO3 particles, is an important substitute for titanium dioxide. This paper studies preparation method of CaCO3/TiO2 ,composites based on mechano-chemical effects, measures its properties as a pigment, analyzes the binding form and interface reaction mechanism between CaCO3 and TiO2. Through single finely grinding of CaCO3, co-grinding of CaCO3 together with TiO2, and mecha-no-chemical effects produced in the course of grinding, CaCO3/TiO2 composites can be prepared successfully. Results indicate that grinding fineness of CaCO3, co-grinding time of CaCO3 and TiO2, the weight ratio of grinding media to mineral feeding, and the amount of TiO2 have much influence on the properties of CaCO3/TiO2 composites. CaCO3/TiO2 composites have the properties same as titanium dioxide pigment, oil adsorption and ultraviolet adsorption same as TiO2, and 90% of hiding power as that of TiO2. Wet grinding of CaCO3 causes the production of mechano-chemical effect and hydroxyl group, through which CaCO3 and TiO2 can be bonded together. Repulsion occurs between the particles of CaCO3 and the particles of TiO2, respectively, they are both in good dispersion. But attraction occurs between CaCO3 and TiO2. TiO2 particles are distributed evenly on the surface of CaCO3. Therefore, coating of TiO2 on the surface of CaCO3 particles and chemical bond between them make CaCO3/TiO2 compo-sites have pigment properties of Titanium.

Jan 1, 2014

By Kenji Morinaga, Shigeru Fujino

"Preparation and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) transmission spectra of aluminum fluoroberyllate glasses, MgF2-CaF2-SrF2-A1Fr BeF2 (MCSA-Be) and MgF2-CaF2-SrF2-AlFrYFrBeF2 (MCSAY-Be), were studied. The influence of YF3 and BeF2 on the thermal stabilization against crystallization and VUV transmittance was investigated. With increasing the BeF2 content, the crystallization tendency decreased and the absorption edge shifted to shorter wavelength in the MCSA-Be and MCSAY-Be glasses. The MCSA-20Be glass composition exhibited the shortest wavelength UV absorption edge (-147 nm) and the highest transmittance at 157 nm (60% for 2 mm sample thickness). The transmission values at 157 nm and the slope (steepness) of the absorption edge were found to be significantly influenced by the trace amount of Fe2+ derived from the BeF2 raw materials.IntroductionPure beryllium fluoride is known to be an only fluoride that forms one component glass on cooling from the molten state and is structurally similar to silica with [SiO4]4- tetrahedra. Molten BeF2 is highly viscous with a viscosity of about 106 poise near its liquidus temperature at 550""C[l]. The addition of modifying fluorides such as LiF, NaF or KF to BeF2 substantially decreases the viscosity[2]. Glass forming region of binary fluoroberyllate glasses has been mainly reported by several authors [3]. LiFBeF2 binary system is structually analogy for Mg0-Si02 system from their phase diagram and ratio of ionic radius for each cation and anion, respectively. LiF-BeF2 binary glasses seems to be promising candidates for the extreme deep vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) transmitting optical materials owing to their larger band gap. However, it is chemically unstable, and so, have no practical application for lens systems in micro lithography equipments and substrate materials for F2 (157nm) excimer laser[4]. There are also few reports on the VUV transparency of multicomponent aluminium fluoroberyllate glasses from the view point of their compositional dependencies. The purpose of this paper is to prepare deep VUV transmitting optical materials and determine the optimum glass compositions for aluminium fluoroberyllate glasses investigating their thermal stabilization against crystallization."

Jan 1, 2000

By Z. F. Hu

Tourmaline has the characteristics of piezoelectricity, thermoelectricity, spontaneous polarization and far-off infrared radiations. Ultra-fine powders of tourmaline have extensive applications in the fields of electron, chemical and environment protection, as well as health protection. The preparation technology of ultra-fine tourmaline powder is discussed. The key equipment of a pilot plant for producing ultra-fine tourmaline powder with jet mill and stirred ball mill is described. Using this pilot plant facility it is possible to produce tourmaline powder with particle size smaller than 100 nm, and a continuous production process can be realized. The final powder product has many superior performance such as high whiteness and large specific surface area, and it?s a negative ions emission can reach the value of 7190 ions per cubic centimeter.

Jan 1, 2014

By William R. Wayment, Wayne S. Cusitar

INTRODUCTION The process of mining removes valuable and eco¬nomically recoverable minerals from the earth. In the case of hard-rock mining, this process involves breaking and removing ore, while leaving the waste rock or host rock as intact as possible. Prior to mining, ground stresses exist in the ore and the host rock as a result of weight and tectonic forces; for the purposes of this chapter, the ore is considered to support the host rock on both the hanging and footwall sides. Two basic phenomena accompany mining. First, the hanging walls and footwalls tend to move together as the ore is removed. Second, high stress gradients de¬velop in the rock periphery of the opening; the magni¬tudes of the stress gradients vary widely, depending upon the local geometry and conditions. At various times, mining methods have used square¬set timbers, waste-rock backfill, alluvial sand fill, and tailings backfill materials, with or without cement, to replace the loss of support caused by the removal of the ore. Cut-and-fill mining has evolved to use hydraulically placed tailings for the backfill. In the stope, this fill provides massive support to the walls, thereby reducing stresses in the back. It also provides a floor from which men and machines can work to drill and blast, to haul ore, and to scale and bolt the back. In many cases, the addition of cement provides a competent free-standing wall when the fill is exposed during mining of adjacent stopes or during pillar recovery operations. In most cases, the use of fill does not eliminate standard tem¬porary or local roof control measures such as roof bolts and wire mesh. Fill Characteristics It is important that backfill used for ground support be of maximum stiffness in relation to wall closure. The stiffness of the fill is related to its placement bulk density or void ratio. In the case of cemented tailings, this is enhanced by the cement bonds. During stope closure, individual fill particles experience rotation and crushing at point contacts, but they are subject to little relative translation. The stiffness approaches infinity as the void ratio approaches zero, until the ground forces reach equilibrium, and closure stops. The gradation of particle sizes and minimal segregation resulting from good hy¬draulic placement both contribute to a high degree of early stiffness in the closure history of classified tailings backfill. This also implies that the fill should be resistant to creeping under high static loads. All mines experience shock loading situations such as blasting, and many mines experience rock bursts that can apply sudden and very high loads to the fill. Certain conditions of void ratio, particle size, and moisture con¬tent can result in mass fluidization of unconsolidated fill during such shock loading. Two key factors in avoid¬ing fluid behavior are the provision of a well-drained fill through desliming or classification and the achievement of a small degree of consolidation through the addition of cement in ratios as lean as 40 to 1 (2.4% cement). The acceptance of classified mill tailings as backfill material has been enhanced by its relative economy, including its source, preparation, delivery, and stope distribution. Transportation from the backfill prepara¬tion plant on the surface into the stope usually can be accomplished with low power consumption, with low labor costs, with few capital costs, and at high tonnage rates. An additional benefit is a reduction of the storage volume required for surface disposal of the tailings stream, with a resultant improvement in the environ¬ment. The costs of placing cemented tailings backfill generally range from $1.65 to $6.61/t ($1.50 to $6.00 per st) of fill depending upon the cement ratio used. Scope This chapter examines a major backfill program at a mine and mill complex where the backfill facilities are included as a part of the original planning. The backfill preparation plant is intended to make maximum use of remote controls and automation. The logistics asso¬ciated with material storage, handling, and metering in the plant are outlined. Important considerations in specifying equipment for typical service conditions are discussed. The fill delivery system is described, includ¬ing the boreholes, level lines, and stope distribution lines. Stope preparations for fill confinement and drain¬age are described, as are the techniques of placement and distribution. Methods of controlling and directing the flow of drainage water and slimes are presented, along with the facilities and equipment for clarification, pumping, and sludge removal. As shown in Fig. 1, the fill program encompasses most aspects of the mining and refining facilities, so the discussion is brief in each area. The preparation of backfill of a uniform and con¬trollable quality is presented here as a material handling problem. The balance of the presentation concentrates on the logic of the system, the costs where meaningful (in 1977 US $ unless otherwise specified), and some operating "tricks" that have contributed to system per¬formance and reliability. SURFACE PREPARATION PLANT A backfill preparation plant is required on the surface. This plant generates suitable fill material from the stream of mill tailings. Among the functions of the plant are: 1) Slimes are removed to improve the percolation characteristics of the fill; typically, particles finer than 325 mesh are removed from the tailings. 2) Tailings and sand storages are provided so that the steady stream of tailings produced by the mill can be accepted. Provision is made to accommodate the cyclic high-volume demand from the mine. 3) The plant stores the cement and contains meter¬ing and mixing facilities to provide fill of a controllable and uniform quality. 4) The hydraulic backfill delivery system is a part

Jan 1, 1982

By Arthur Knapp

NEARLY every technical man is called upon at some time in his life to deliver a paper before a technical audience or to write a technical paper for publication. It is not necessary to be an accomplished public speaker to deliver a technical paper successfully; it is only necessary to bear in mind a few obvious points. Poorly presented papers are nearly always the result of a few errors of deportment, but they are vital and at the same time so obvious that they are often overlooked. Experience is a good teacher but a little study and careful preparation will moderate the suffering of both an amateur speaker and his audience. An author's paper suffers, through poor delivery, in direct proportion to the suffering of his audience. The best test of a paper is to have it read aloud to the author. This will bring out faults not apparent when read silently by the author. Some of the things which will probably need correcting are improper phrasing, noneuphonic sequences, and long or involved sentences. Frequently authors write their papers in short crisp sentences for oral presentation, then rewrite them for publication.

Jan 1, 1942

By Mim Li, Huimin Lu, Lisha Yang

"CuInS2 thin films solar cells have drawn much attention for their low-cost, stability and high conversion efficiency. The electrodeposition of Cu-In precursor films, as the first step in making CuinS2 solar cells electrochemically in the air-and water-stable ionic liquid based on choline chloride/urea eutectic mixture has been investigated at constant potential. Compared with aqueous electrolytes, the large electrochemical window as well as the high thermal stability of this ionic liquid allow the direct electrodeposition of Cu-In precursor films. Then the precursor films were sulfuretted in a tube furnace at different sulfurization temperatures to optimize the films properties. The films obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).IntroductionCuInS2 is one of the most prospective absorber materials for low cost thin film solar cells, with a high conversion efficiency that exceeds 32% in terms of theory and nearly 13% in laboratory level [1-2]. In addition to its long-term stability, CuinS2 has a band gap energy Eg ranging from 1.3 to 1.55 eV and an optimal optical absorption coefficient reaching 105cm-1 [3-4]. CuinS2 thin films have been prepared by several methods such as spray pyrolysis [5-6], r.f.sputtering [7], vacuum evaporation [8-9] and electrodeposition. Comparing with vacuum methods, electrodeposition has lots of advantages such as less energy consumption, preparation big area thin film, stable system and enabling cheaper films.The electrodeposition of most technologically important metals has been shown to be possible from a wide range of ionic liquids. These ionic liquids are currently applied in a wide variety area. It is reported that the cell efficiency of chalcopyrite absorber layer (CIS, CISeS, and CIGS) via an electrodeposition route in laboratory condition has reached 11.3% [10]. Copper and indium alloy film is regarded as important precursor for the production of compound semiconductors with sulfur. The electrodeposition of the alloy film from room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) has not been widely investigated. Only few alloy films, such as ZnTe, CdTe, GaAs and AlSb have been electrodeposited."

Jan 1, 2011

By J. R. Long, E. L. Anderson, R. S. Dean, F. S. Wartman

TITANIUM has been estimated to comprise about 0.65 per cent of the earth's crust and ranks fourth in abundance among the metallic elements suitable for engineering uses. In spite of this, applications of titanium for structural purposes have not as yet been developed. Its commercial exploitation has been largely confined to the chemical industries and the production of paints and pigments; no doubt because of the difficulties that lie in the way of preparing the pure ductile metal. Published reports, however, indicate that ductile titanium can be prepared and possesses some unique properties. This, together with the occurrence in this country of several important titaniferous deposits, has led the Bureau of Mines to investigate processes for the production of metallic titanium, 'methods required for its fabrication, and the properties that may be produced in this interesting metal. METHODS OF PREPARING METALLIC TITANIUM Many early investigators claimed to have isolated metallic titanium; but in the light of present knowledge, it seems that they really had produced various mixtures of carbides and nitrides that have a metallic appearance but are brittle, hard, and unworkable. The first metallic titanium pure enough to be malleable when cold was produced by Hunter1 in the early part of the twentieth century. Kroll,2 van Arkel,3 and Fast,4 subsequently confirmed the facts that pure titanium is a ductile metal and that small amounts of impurities were responsible for previous reports of brittleness. When heated, titanium reacts chemically with various gases, such as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen; if the volume of gas thus absorbed is too great, the metal becomes brittle and unworkable. The principal difficulty in making ductile titanium is prevention of such contamination, and the success of a given process may be judged by the completeness with which it solves this difficulty in a practical manner. Of the gases mentioned, hydrogen is the least objectionable, since its absorption by the metal is completely reversible and, although dimensional changes occur and absorption of hydrogen embrittles the metal, the gas may be removed readily by heating in a high vacuum for a short time. On the other hand, the absorption of oxygen or nitrogen results in the formation of permanent 'solid solutions of the oxide and nitride, which cannot be decomposed by the strongest reducing agents2 with sufficient completeness to restore the inherent ductility of the metal. Because of

Jan 1, 1946

By P. Ramakrishnan, Ramjilal

Fine powders of lead zirconate titanate have been prepared by three different methods such as ball milling, conventional coprecipitation and spray drying. Different powders have also been prepared by changing the process variables in each method. These powders were analysed for particle size chemical composition and reactivity. DTA, TGA and x-ray analysis have been carried out to study the lead zirconate titanate formation with reference to calcination temperatures. The calcined powders were then consolidated by compaction and sintering. An attempt has bean made to explain the consolidation behaviour of these powders on the basis of powder characteristics.

Jan 1, 1980

By Kenji Morinaga, Hiromichi Takebe

"Ge-S binary glasses in the range 57 to 90 at %S at 0.5 to 3 at %S intervals were prepared by a conventional melting technique using fused quartz ampoules as melting containers. Impurities contaminated during preparation process are evaluated by IR spectroscopy. The causes of impurity contaminations are discussed. Density data in a systematic series of Ge-S glasses is demonstrated. IntroductionSulfide glasses are of particular interest for new laser and nonlinear optical materials in the near-infrared and infrared regions [1]. Sulfide glasses have the features of low-phonon-energy and high refractive index with moderate rare-earth ion solubility. The low-phonon-energy is favorable for the reduction of nonradiative rate for the emission of rare-earth ions. The high refractive index results in a high radiative-rate and in a high third-order nonlinearity. However, impurities may degrade the superior optical properties of sulfide glasses.In this work Ge-S glasses were prepared by a conventional melting technique. Impurities contaminated during the preparation process are evaluated and their causes are discussed for future improvements. The measured densities of Ge-S glass samples were compared with the results of previous studies [2], [3]. Ge-S glasses have some favorable properties for practical .applications including non-toxicity, good thermal and chemical stabilities."

Jan 1, 2000

By K. Ski

Three series of membranes were prepared by blending polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) or poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF/HFP)] with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (S-PEEK), sulfonated polysulfone (SPU), or sulfonated polystyrene, in order to develop novel PEM membranes suitable for melt processing. By means of incorporating fluorine-containing block copolymer into the blended system, acceptable proton conductivity and low water containing PEM materials were prepared. The effect of sulfonated poly([vinylidene difluoride-co¬hexafluoropropylene]-b-styrene) block copolymers as compatiblizers was investigated: conductivity was enhanced for S-PEEK/fluoropolymer blends. Microstructures for the blends were examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Jan 1, 2005

By X. J. Lyu, Q. Liu, M. J. Lian, X. Q. Cao, X. F. You, B. O. Erdenekhuyag, H. Y. Zang

The slag-tailings based artificial reef concrete (ARC) is made of CaO-CaSO4 activated granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) as cementitious material and deslimed gold ore tailings as aggregate. In order to investigate the potential application of the material as ARC, the strength development, hydration characteristics and application performance were investigated under different preparation conditions. Results indicated that using seawater as the mixing water can effectively promote the hydration of slag and generate a large amount of hydration products such as ettringite, CSH gel, hydrotalcite and Friedel ’s salt in the early curing period and so render the material with good early compressive strength. Seawater curing can also accelerate the hydration reaction in the early stage of hydration. The hydration reaction of slag and the compressive strength of ARC can be effectively promoted by increasing the specific surface area of slag. The 28-day compressive strength of the slag-tailings based ARC prepared with 30-50% CaO-CaSO4 activated slag and 50-70% tailings can reach to 19.88-42.87 MPa. Also, the material has a low surface pH value, good resistance to chloride ion penetration, and sulfate corrosion. Keywords: Artificial reef concrete, granulated blast furnace slag, deslimed gold ore tailings, compressive strength, hydration characteristics

Jan 1, 2020

By C. Y. Garber

INTEREST in the sink-float plant operated by the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Co. at Kellogg, Idaho, has recently been largely confined to the preparation and reconditioning of the galena medium. The ease and simplicity of these operations in a concentrating mill producing a flotation lead concentrate has occasioned enough comment to possibly justify a brief description. The subject is treated from an operator's viewpoint only; no effort is made to discuss it in a theoretical or technical manner. PLANT AT BUNKER HILL The sink-float plant was first operated in December 1941. It was built for the purpose of quickly increasing mill capacity with a minimum of equipment. It is the Huntington-Heberlein sink and float process using galena medium and is operated under license from the Sink and Float Corporation, New York city. Lead-zinc ore from the Bunker Hill mine is crushed to pass a I ¼ in. screen and is then washed and separated on vibrating screens having 4 ½ -mm. round-hole punched plates. The screen undersize, amounting to 33 per cent of the mill feed, is dewatered and sent to the ball-mill feed bins. The screen oversize goes to the sink-float plant, where 50 per cent of the oversize, or 33 per cent of the mill feed, is float, which is washed free of medium and disposed of as a tailing. The remaining 33 per cent is sink, which, after washing, is crushed to pass ½ in. and joins the undersize in the ball-mill feed bins. The normal plant capacity is 1700 tons per 24 hr. About 1.7 per cent of the total lead and 3.3 per cent of the total zinc in the feed is lost with the sink-float tailings (Table I). [ ] More complete descriptions of the H. H. process and Bunker Hill sink-float plant are given in several recent articles, listed at the end of the paper. PREPARATION OF MEDIUM AT BUNKER HILL New medium is made intermittently as needed, usually 12 hr. in each 6 days. A small portion of the current mill flotation concentrate is diverted from the lead cleaner cells to a I-in. vertical sand pump and pumped to a two-cell 36-in. Agitair flotation machine, where NaCn and ZnSO4 are added and the grade of concentrate is improved as shown in Table 2. Tailing from this operation is returned by gravity

Jan 1, 1946

By A. J. Phillips, A. A. Smith, J. S. Smart

THE preparation of a sufficient quantity of high-purity copper for extensive laboratory use in the study of impurity effects has been an integral part of a research program in progress at the Central Research Laboratory of the American Smelting and Refining Co. for the past several years. Initially the degree of purity desired was that necessary to meet two essential requirements for experimental accuracy: (I) no impurity was to be present in the copper in an amount capable of producing a detectable effect on the properties to be studied, (2) even the minor changes in properties caused by the addition of extremely small amounts of individual elements were to be measured without significant interference from contaminants. In the course of the investigation, evidence has accumulated to justify the conclusion that this copper is of exceptional purity; in fact, no impurity can be detected by any chemical method or spectrographic technique known to the authors. The present paper describes the method of production of the copper and presents some of its properties. PREPARATION OF HIGH-PURITY COPPER The elimination of impurities from commercial electrolytic copper is accomplished by a three-step purification process. The first operation consists of an electrolysis through a purified CuS04-H2SO4 electrolyte using bagged anodes, low current .density (5 amp. per sq. ft.) and low temperature (25°C. max.). The electrolyte is prepared from commercial Cu2SO4 and is purified by heating the solution and adding I gram Fe as Fe 2(S04)3 to each 100 grams dissolved copper; sufficient hydrated oxide of copper, prepared from Cu2SO4 and NaOH, is supplied to precipitate Fe(OH)3, which carries down arsenic, antimony, tin, selenium, tellurium and other minor constituents. Silver and remaining traces of lead are removed by addition of Na2S to the acidified filtrate, which is then refiltered after standing hot overnight. The cold solution is made up to 30 grams per liter Cu and 150 grams per liter H2S04 and introduced without addition agents into the electrolytic system, which consists of a double row of hard-rubber battery boxes with the inside webbing and partitions removed, arranged in seven steps of ascending height. Electrolyte is uniformly supplied to the two highest cells by glass siphons operating from a constant-level reservoir, and flows by gravity through the bank of seven cells, entering each at the bottom and leaving at the top. Glass air lifts continuously supply the returning liquid to the constant-level reservoir for recirculation. Each cell contains three 434 by 43a by I-in anodes cast from high-quality electrolytic wire bar copper, various lots of which have been used with equal success. The anodes are pinned to sheet copper hangars shaped to prevent crawl of the electrolyte to the multiple-wired bus bars-which would result in fouling of the contacts and hang inside wool flannel bags stretched over open wood frames. The deposit

Jan 1, 1941

By Xiyun Yang

Magnetite was prepared by hydrogen reduction method. For a conversion to cobalt-modified magnetite, magnetite particles were suspended into a solution containing Co2+ and Fe2+ to precipitate a cobalt ferrite layer on the surface. pH value influences the particle composition directly, the desirable CoFe2O4 is obtained when pH value is 12. The coercivity increases with the increase of cobalt content, cobalt efficiency reaches a maximum value at cobalt content of 2.71wt%. With cobalt modification, magnetite particles have similar lattice constant and squareness ratio to that without cobalt modification. TEM and XPS analyses indicate that acicular morphology is retained during the coating process, the epitaxial growth layer consists of CoFe2O4and 0.3Co2O3CoFe2O4 at cobalt content of 2.71wt% and 5.03wt%, respectively.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. H. Forester, John D. Cooner

ANTHRACITE ALTHOUGH the unmined anthracite will last for approximately 150 years, most of the thicker and cleaner coal beds have been almost entirely first-mined and pretty well robbed, leaving much of the present and future production to come from thin and dirtier beds. Herewith is a section of one of the dirty beds being mined in the Wyoming region [ ] This section shows that 45.8 per cent of the bed is made up of impurities and that the 45 in. of coal in the bed is in five benches, the thickest of which is 19 inches. In some localities of the anthracite region there are 14 beds of minable coal. Orderly and proper mining of the coal makes it necessary to rob or second-mine-almost all beds have already been first-mined-in sequence from the top downward. Therefore the robbing of the few remaining portions of the thicker and cleaner beds is in many instances being held up by the mining of the overlying thin and dirtier coal beds. Impurities Impurities consist of fire clay, slate, rock, and bone. The latter, which is black, contains 40 to 60 per cent carbon and often resembles good coal. In some beds there are also bands of "blue" coal, which, as the name implies, is of a bluish slaty color. Although much of this "blue" coal has a carbon content almost as high as the good anthracite, it is not

Jan 1, 1943

By M. H. Forester, John D. Cooner

ALTHOUGH the unmined anthracite will last for approximately 150 years, most of the thicker and cleaner coal beds have been almost entirely first-mined and pretty well robbed, leaving much of the present and future production to come from thin and dirtier beds. Herewith is a section of one of the dirty beds being mined in the Wyoming region [ ] This section shows that 45.8 per cent of the bed is made up of impurities and that the 45 in. of coal in the bed is in five benches, the thickest of which is 19 in. In some localities of the anthracite region there are 14 beds of minable coal. Orderly and proper mining of the coal makes it necessary to rob or second-mine--almost all beds have already been first-mined-in sequence from the top downward. Therefore the robbing of the few remaining portions of the thicker and cleaner beds is in many instances being held up by the mining of the overlying thin and dirtier coal beds. Impurities Impurities consist of fire clay, slate, rock, and bone. The latter, which is black, contains 40 to 60 per cent carbon and often resembles good coal. In some beds there are also bands of "blue" coal, which, as the name implies,

Jan 1, 1950

By M. H. Forester, John D. Cooner

ALTHOUGH the unmined anthracite will last for approximately A 150 years, most of the thicker and cleaner coal beds have been almost entirely first-mined and pretty well robbed, leaving much of the present and future production to come from thin and dirtier beds. Herewith is a section of one of the dirty beds being mined in the Wyoming region This section shows that 45.8 per cent of the bed is made up of impurities and that the 45 in. of coal in the bed is in five benches, the thickest of which is 19 inches. In some localities of the anthracite region there are 14 beds of minable coal. Orderly and proper mining of the coal makes it necessary to rob or second-mine-almost all beds have already been first-mined-in sequence from the top downward. Therefore the robbing of the few remaining portions of the thicker and cleaner beds is in many instances being held up by the mining of the overlying thin and dirtier coal beds. Impurities Impurities consist of fire clay, slate, rock, and bone. The latter, which is black, contains 40 to 60 per cent carbon and often resembles good coal. In some beds there are also bands of "blue" coal, which, as the name implies, is of a bluish slaty color. Although much of this "blue" coal has a carban content almost as high as the good anthracite, it is not

Jan 1, 1943

By Thomas Fraser

WHEN the Bureau of Mines initiated the program of large-scale research and development in the field of synthetic liquid fuels authorized in the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1044, the Coal Preparation Section was assigned the task of obtaining data on the preparation characteristics of the coal in large reserves that might be adaptable to use in this new industry. It is natural that, as the rapidly developing general research program brought about new concepts of raw-material quality, preferred geographical location, and the like, the orientation of coal-preparation investigations should have undergone some change. The first major assignment was the sampling and testing of a series of typical American coals deemed to he suitable for hydrogenation based on early research work conducted by the Bureau of Mines. This first series of tests has been completed and is reported in this paper.

Jan 1, 1950

By Kenneth K. Humphreys

INTRODUCTION At the time the 4th edition of this book was published in 1979, the coal industry had experienced a sharp upturn in prices for its product. From 1950 throgh 1969, steam coal prices had held almost flat at about $5 US per st (about $5.50/t). Thus, when considering the effects of inflation, the price of coal had actually been declining for two decades. The passage of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act in 1969 and its cost effects started an upward trend in coal prices which was rapidly accelerated by the effects of the Mid-East oil embargo in 1972. Prices of steam coal on the spot market eventually climbed to over $30 US per st ($33/t) and higher in some cases. Metallurgical coal prices skyrocketed in a similar manner and the industry at long last appeared assured of an adequate return on investment. Many companies did expend large sums of money to upgrade and expand their mining and preparation facilities. Unfortunately the bubble eventually burst, in great measure due to the downturn in the US domestic steel industry and the resultant decline in metallurgical coal demand, loss of export markets to other nations and even imports of large amounts of foreign coal to the United States, and more stringent environmental regulations which made many high sulfur coal measures uneconomical to mine. Compounding the problem was the rapid world decline in oil prices in the mid-1980s which encouraged many consumers to utilize oil rather than coal. During the 1980s, metallurgical coal dropped over 20% in price, which, when considering inflation, actually amounted to about a 40% decrease in value. Export coal decreased a similar amount in price. Steam coal prices held nearly constant, thus also losing considerable value when inflation is considered. All of these factors make it even more imperative than ever that the industry do everything in its power to make wise economic decisions and to examine carefully all existing operations and planned future expenditures to be certain that their full cost implications are understood and that they can be justified on the basis of an adequate return on investment. It cannot be assumed that the price of coal will increase. To the contrary, as indicated previously, when considering inflation, coal decreased in value in the 1980s, just as it also did in the 1950s and 1960s. The price surges in the 1970s merely were a catchup game, and in truth the true market value of coal is in reality even lower than it was in 1950. CAPITAL AND OPERATING COST ESTIMATION Prior to constructing a new plant or expanding existing facilities, a detailed preliminary cost estimate is necessary to determine the capital investment

Jan 1, 1991

By Wufeng Jiang, Jiann-Yang Hwang, Suju Hao, Yuzhu Zhang

Lime was made by the calcination of limestone in a high pressure resistance furnace. The lime mineralogical phases and micro-morphologies was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The lime activity degree was determined by acid-base titration, and the lime pore distribution was measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results show that with the increase of calcination pressure, the lime activity degree is increased, and the lime develops a large pore structure. The desulphurization experiments were carried out in the induction melting furnace using active lime with different activity degrees as a desulfurizer. The results show that the desulfurization performance of lime is closely related to the activity degree. There is a strong positive linear relationship between the desulfurization rate and the lime ’s activity degree.

Mar 1, 2018