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By N. Mungan, F. W. Smith, J. L. Thompson

Adsorption of polymers and transport, rheology and oil recovery efficiency of their solutions were studied in the laboratory to evaluate the use of polymers in waterflood-ing. While a tenfold mobility reduction was obtained with polymer concentrations as low as 0.05 per cent by weight, the mobility reduction depended on the type of polymer, molecular weight, salinity and pH of water, crude oil and capillary properties of the porous media. Choice of a suitable polymer and a workable concentration will have to be tailored for each application. Little reduction in the residual oil saturation can be expected from polymer flooding. Improvement in the volumetric sweep efficiency is possible hut the extent of the improvement can best be evaluated by properly designed field testing. Some aspects of the field use of polymer floods are discussed. INTRODUCTION Waterflooding is a simple, inexpensive secondary recovery method and is being used widely. Innumerable laboratory studies have been made to unravel the fundamentals of the displacement of oil by water and to find the ways of most efficient oil recovery. These studies and a great many field case histories have revealed that the prime cause of poor oil recovery is the inefficient and incomplete sweep of reservoir volume by the injected water. Sweep efficiency is affected by many factors of which the mobility ratio is an important one. Mobility ratio M is defined here as the ratio of water to oil mobilities: M = (k»/y,r)/(k,JJJJ........(1) In Eq. I, the permeabilities are the effective permeabilities and depend on fluid saturations and, hence, change during the different depletion stages in a flood. A wide practice is to use the effective water permeability at residual oil saturation and the effective oil permeability at interstitial water saturation in Eq. 1. If the mobility ratio is greater than one, the mobility ratio is unfavorable and water, being more mobile than oil, would finger through the oil zone resulting in poor oil recovery efficiency. If the mobility ratio is favorable (one or less) the displacement of oil by water occurs more or less in a pistonlike fashion. In some waterfloods. the mobility ratio is unfavorable and any additives by which the mobility of water can be decreased would favor more efficient oil recovery. The thing to bear in mind, however, is whether or not the improvement in oil recovery is sufficient to more than pay out the cost of the additives needed. For example, materials like sugars, alcohols and glycerine reduce water mobility by thickening the water, but the cost of material requirement precludes any field application. For an additive to be useful in water-flooding, it must bring about a large reduction in water mobility at low concentrations; it must be adsorbed only negligibly; and it must not completely plug up the formation. Some synthetic organic polymers have shown promise of meeting these requirements and have been used in the field.'-W owever, no in-depth studies of the rheological, adsorption and oil displacement characteristics of polymer solutions have been reported. The present work is a study of these properties. EXPERIMENTAL In this work, concentrations are given on a weight per volume basis; 0.5 per cent concentration means 0.5 gm of polymer is dissolved in enough water (or NaCl solution) to make 100 ml. A bactericide, usually 0.1 to 0.2 per cent by volume of 38 per cent formaldehyde solution, was used in the polymer solutions. The NaCl solution was 30,000 ppm. Some properties of the polymers studied are given in Table I. Physical properties of all cores used are in Table 2. Flow behavior of polymer solutions was studied by three consecutive flow tests in cores. First, water (or brine) was injected at constant rate of about 1 ft/D to obtain the water mobility. Then, filtered polymer solution (prepared in water or brine) was flowed through the core. Since the rate was constant, increase in the pressure drop across the core reflects decrease in the mobility. Finally, the core was flooded with water (or brine) to study recovery of mobility. The Alundum cores which were used in

Jan 1, 1967

By Frederick Laist

IT IS obviously impossible to design a copper smelting plant which could be considered, ideal under all conditions. For example, a plant properly designed to smelt the concentrates resulting from the treatment of porphyry ores by flotation would not be the kind of plant that one would design for the treatment of a coarse pyritous copper ore. The smelting of flotation or other fine concentrates is generally accomplished in a reverberatory plant, although occasionally the concentrates are sintered and then smelted in blast furnaces. On the other hand, coarse self-fluxing ores, whether pyritic or semi-pyritic, are generally smelted in a blast-furnace plant. Even this statement is only- approximately true, since the choice will be influenced by many factors; for example, the kind of fuel available (coal, oil or coke), the value of power (electric or steam), the uses to which waste steam may be put (heating, drying, etc.), the cost of refractories (silica and fire brick), the permanence and continuity of the ore supply and the relative first costs of the two types of plant (the reverberatory plant is generally more expensive to construct and to shut down), the contour of the site on which the plant is to be built (rugged, rolling or flat), the intelligence and character of the labor avail-able, and many other factors. From these remarks, it is evident that no copper smelter can be ideal for all conditions of ore and locality, and inasmuch as most of the copper now being pro-duced comes from fine or flotation concentrates and these are generally smelted in reverberatory furnaces, I shall confine my remarks to this type of smelt-ing plant.

Jan 5, 1923

By H. C. Johnson, J. K. Elliott

One of the primary requirements for successful operation of an enriched gas-drive project is to control the composition of injection gas. This can become a serious and difficult problem, particularly in cases where the enrichment material is being furnished from a number of field -produced gas streams. It is possible to effect control of the injection gas composition through frequent or continuous sampling; however, this can be extremely costly and, in many cases, impractical due to laboratory requirements of time. Another alternative would be to provide a calculation technique which would be flexible and sufficiently accurate to predict composition of the liquid and gas streams of interest at any point in the system. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a technique that was used successfully on an operating enriched gas-drive project for developing information which could be used for controlling composition of the injected gas. FIELD OPERATIONS The particular field (hereafter called Example field) in the example operation being discussed is composed of four oil reservoirs (A. B, C and E) and one gas condensate reservoir (D). Casinghead gas from the oil reservoirs and gas from the gas condensate reservoir are gathered through a field gathering system as shown in Fig. I for injection into Reservoir C. The gas mixture which is recovered from the five reservoirs for injection purposes is composed of gases liberated in 19 individual separators, each operating at a separate temperature and pressure. PROPOSED CALCULATION TECHNIQUE It is well known that vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations in general use throughout the petroleum industry can be used to predict reliably the phase behavior of hydrocarbon mixtures, particularly at pressures less than 1,000 psig. It is then a simple matter to account for the material on a ComPonent basis by m''ing flash and material balance calculations at each separation point in a hydrocarbon system. Accordingly, it was proposed to use vapor-liquid equilibrium and material balance cal- culations with a medium-sized electronic digital computer as a basis for developing a control procedure for use in controlling injection gas composition in the enriched gas-drive project. Although the approach is a simple one, the numerous vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations involved make the problem laborious; in this particular case, it would have been impractical to make sutficiently complete analysis without the aid of digital computing equipment. SAMPLING AND VERIFICATION OF CALCULATION PROCEDURE To obtain representative gas and liquid stream samples and to provide a quantitative measure of overall system Performance for comDarative purpLses, a thorough test of the field and plant system was conducted in the summer of 1957. Oil production at each battery was sta-

By E. A. Holbrook

IN my thirty years of educational work in the mineral industries and other engineering fields, this past year has been the most unusual and difficult one. Contact with educators from other schools leads to the conclusion that the same situation is countrywide. The first of our difficulties came from the shortsighted policy of the Selective Service in taking out of the colleges, continuously, all engineering students as soon as they had reached their eighteenth birthday. England, Canada, and Russia, too, even in the midst of their critical war situations, had the good sense to keep their young engineering brains in college, for they realized the vital necessity of a steady flow of engineering graduates into the war industries and into the postwar peace industries. As a result of the policy of our Government, our engineering schools were left with only a handful of students who had been rejected for military service. Our colleges, faced with the prospect of several years without students and without income, hastened to give leave of absence to many of their competent teachers who quickly were taken into industry and in many instances are now being retained there at higher salaries than colleges are accustomed or able to pay their teaching personnel. We are finding it most difficult to induce these men to return to their former engineering teaching work. In my judgment, it will take us three or four years to restore our engineering departments to their former level in quality of instruction.

Jan 1, 1946

By J. M. Hartman

ONE of the most important subjects to the blast-furnace engineer is a thorough knowledge of the conditions affecting the temperature in the different portions of the furnace. All efforts to decrease the consumption of fuel and improve the working of the furnace must be based upon it, and I may, therefore, be permitted to place before you the results of my observations, and detail the conclusions to which they have led me. Tracing the thermic conditions from below upwards we have at the bottom of a blast furnace making No. 3 iron a temperature of 2900° F., which increases slightly to a point a little below the tuyeres. In the immediate vicinity of the tuyeres the temperature is somewhat lower, owing to the entering blast ; but a short distance above the tuyeres, where all the oxygen of the blast has been converted into carbonic acid, the highest temperature in the furnace must be attained. This carbonic acid is, however, almost as soon as formed, converted by the glowing coal into carbonic oxide, a process which absorbs heat, reduces the temperature, and provides the active agent for the reduction of the iron ores. In its ascent the hot carbonic oxide gradually parts with its heat, first melting the descending iron and earthy materials, which drop down to the hearth of the furnace. The limit of this zone of fusion is rather sharply defined, and the temperature above this zone suddenly decreases. In its further ascent the hot gas drives off the carbonic acid from the limestone, which causes a further absorption of heat, and finally the gas escapes at the top, at a temperature of about 250° F. if the furnace is working well. These changes of temperature 1 have attempted to represent graphically,

Jan 1, 1880

By C. A. Heiland

WITH seventeen papers submitted. and thirteen presented in three sessions, the geophysicists had a most successful meeting at New York in February. The first paper on Monday morning dealt with the location of a diabase dike near Chapel Hill, N. C., by magnetic and resistivity methods. The magnetic indications were pronounced directly over the dike. whereas the anomalies of apparent resistivity were less distinct and displaced away from the dike. In the second paper, Professor Keys reported on the results obtained with four different methods of depth calculation on known portions of the Falconbridge

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

T. E. PURCELL, general chairman . of the local committee, opened the seventh meeting of the Fuels Division A.S.M.E. and the Coal Division A.I.M.E., at the William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Oct. 28-29, by introducing Harry M. Moses, president, H. C. Frick Coke Co., who welcomed the 500 registrants to "our town." Mr. Moses, in his brief talk, declared that in the postwar period each of the new centers must have a reason for existence. Pittsburgh, he said, has no iron ore, or bauxite, and limestone is scattered and not near by; but Pittsburgh does have low-cost fuel within reasonable distance. Its problem is the economical utilization of the low-cost fuels that remain, as the high-quality fuels are gone. Mr. Moses expressed confidence in this group in the solution of the problem and looked forward to what they would do. Harold V. Coes, the first A.S.M.E. president to attend one of these conferences, responded. He thoroughly believed in these joint meetings - in the cross-fertilization of ideas. Each Division learns from the other. Mr. Purcell then turned the meeting over to J. E. Tobey who presided over the coal research session that followed.

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert T. MacMillan

Of all the mineral substances utilized by man, salt or sodium chloride has one of the longest and most varied histories. Because all animal life is descended from marine organisms, sodium and chlorine became necessary to life, and as sodium chloride meets requirements most readily, common salt has been essential to human and animal diets from earliest times. As civilization progressed, man learned to evaporate sea water and brines of saline lakes and springs to obtain salt, and gradually ceased to depend on the flesh of animals and the occasional salt outcrops or "salt licks" they frequented. He also learned that salt had a multitude of uses, particularly as a preservative of meat and other foods. The importance of salt in the minds of early men may be readily seen from many allusions in the Bible and other ancient writings. Expressions such as "not worth his salt," and "the salt of the earth" are deeply embedded in the English language. Salt has symbolized friendship, fidelity, purity, and hospitality. It has been used as currency; had religious significance; caused wars; and has been a favorite commodity for taxation. The English word "salary" stems from the Latin word for salt, in which Roman soldiers received part of their pay. Although salt today retains its dietary importance, it has thousands of other uses. Of each 100 pounds produced in the United States less than three pounds is for table use. The other 97 pounds goes for agricultural, industrial, and chemical uses. Fortunately, reserves of salt are enormous and reasonably well distributed on the face of the earth. The sea is an inexhaustible source of salt which may be had at prices which vary with climate and other factors. In addition, large underground salt deposits and many salt lakes, springs and playas are scattered throughout the world. Most countries have access to a salt supply, although some are more favored than others. Properties Crystallized sodium chloride or common salt is known as halite. Its molecular weight is 58.454 and it contains, by weight, 39.34 pct sodium and 60.66 pct chlorine. Alternate positions in the cubic lattice are occupied, respectively, by negative chloride and positive sodium ions; the crystal form is isometric. Crystallization from water produces concentric shells, and when broken, a crystal shows conchoidal fracture. Salt has a hardness of 2.5; its specific gravity ranges from 2.1 to 2.6 for rock salt and is 2.165 for the pure crystal. The refractive index is 1.554; it melts at 800.8 ± 0.5°C and boils at 1413°C. Its heat of fusion is 123.59 cal/ gram. Salt is transparent or translucent and highly diathermous. It is colorless when pure and has a vitreous luster. Salt containing traces of iron oxides has varying shades of yellow, orange, brown, pink, or red. The peculiar shade of red sometimes found in that produced by solar evaporation of sea water has been attributed to tiny organisms. Blue mottlings sometimes seen in halite crystals have been attributed to colloidal sodium. Salt is soluble in water to the extent of 35.7 parts per 100 parts of water at 0°C and 39.8 parts per 100 of water at 100°C. The small difference in solubility with increasing temperature is important in the economics of producing salt by evaporating brine. Salt has a negative heat of solution which is 1.281 kg-cal/ mole at 18°C in 200 moles of water.

Jan 1, 1960

By Clemens Jones

A FORM of apparatus for volumetric determinations which shall possess the features requisite for the constant use of potassium permanganate, is a very desirable fixture in a well-appointed laboratory. Expedients to economize time and insure accuracy are generously employed for various other reagents, while the permanganate seems to have been consigned to the use of an ordinary burette, and a black bottle of the standardized solution. But the introduction of new, methods dependent on the permanganate, and the urgency of technical requirements where it has long been indispensable, require a revision of practice more scientific and convenient. The apparatus designed by the writer for the laboratory of the Thomas Iron Company at Hokendauqua, Pa., is so simply contrived and works with such entire satisfaction that a description of it may be of use. It may be prefaced that the characteristics of a suitable device offer some mechanical difficulties when combined in a continuous appliance. The burette, B (50 C.C. to 1/10 c.c.), shown in Fig. 1, consists of the graduated tube proper and an arm, E, fused to it below the 50 c.c. mark. At its top are rubber connections with the blast-aspirator, shown in the cut (Fig. 2) of the front view. By means of an extra stopcock, D, connection through E is established with the reservoir F. The burette is clamped Securely to a slide, C, which is counterpoised and moves freely on guides between two parallel sides, L, suitably

Jan 1, 1887

By E. T. Turkdogan

This paper deals with an analysis of the conditions leading to the formation of blowholes and surface and subsurface defects in cast low-carbon steels. The theoretical analysis of the problem is based on the concept of the occurrence of deoxidation reactions during cooling of liquid steel and during its solidification. The reaction equilibrium data are given on deoxidation of steel by carbon, silicon, and manganese. The details of the calculations are given on the simultaneous deoxidation of steel by silico-manganese additions to produce a desired level of deoxidation at certain residual concentrations. Based on an idealized model, an attempt is made to calculate the enrichment of solutes in the solidifying liquid entrapped within the interdendritic cells which are known to be less than 200 µ thick. Formulae are derived for the calculation of the change in the residual oxygen content of the enriched liquid steel, controlled by Si/Mn deoxidation. It is shown that for every particular initial silicon, manganese, and oxygen concentration in steel (as residuals in liquid solution at the beginning of solidification) there is a particular carbon concentration below which carbon monoxide, leading to blowholes or pinholes, is not expected to form. There are a number of independent variables which have a decisive influence on the formation of blowholes. For example, it is shown that the position of the curve depicting the critical relation between initial silicon and carbon content for suppression of the evolution of carbon monoxide) can be shifted to lower silicon or higher carbon levels by: increasing manganese content; decreasing oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen content; or increasing external pressure on the solidifying mass. FOR the production of sound castings it is essential to prevent the formation of interdendritic worm-holes or pinholes brought about by gas evolution during solidification. Another major problem encountered in solidification of ingots is the formation of surface defects. These problems are thought to be closely associated with the deoxidation reaction occurring in liquid steel during cooling and subsequent solidification. As the liquid becomes richer in impurities during dendritic solidification of steel, a series of reactions may occur in the liquid phase trapped within the branches of growing dendrite platelets. Because of the strong interaction between dissolved oxygen and impurities in liquid steel, the reactions most likely to occur are of the deoxidation type. However, inherent to the extreme complexity of the problem in question, numerous simplifying assump-

Jan 1, 1965

By M. Shelef, A. W. Fletcher

The effect of alkali sulfates in promoting the sul-fation of nickel and copper in a bulk sulfide flota -tion concentrate by fluidized bed roasting has been studied in the laboratory, and it was shown that the various alkali sulfates promote sulfation to approximately the same extent. The sulfation of a mixture of synthetically prepared iron and nickel oxide and of nickel ferrite has also been studied. Nickel sulfation was promoted by high ratios of Fe:Ni and by the presence of sodium sulfate. THE work described in this paper was a continuation of earlier studies into the role of alkali sulfates in promoting the sulfation roasting of nickel sulfides1,2 in an endeavor to determine how the system was affected by the presence of compounds of iron and copper. The earlier work1 showed that, in the sulfation of NiO at 680°C, the reaction was limited by the formation of an impermeable film of nickel sulfate on the oxide surface. The relative effect of the various alkali sulfates in promoting nickel sulfation varied in the order: Li > Na >Cs > Rb > K A study of alkali sulfate/ nickel sulfate interactions at high temperatures showed that the promoting action was due to the fact that the nickel sulfate product layer sintered and agglomerated only when the more active additives were present. This resulted in the formation of discontinuities in the nickel sulfate layer so that diffusion of the sulfating gases to the NiO surface was no longer impeded and the reaction could proceed to completion. A similar explanation was used for the observation that sodium and lithium sulfates promote the oxidation of NiS to NiO at temperatures below 750°C since small amounts of nickel sulfate were formed during oxidation.2 It was of interest to study the effect of alkali sulfates on the sulfate roasting of a sulfide flotation concentrate which is typical of material treated commercially. In order to control temperature it is essential to roast sulfides in a fluidized bed and this technique was therefore used, although the batchwise operation of a small-scale laboratory reactor does not reproduce all conditions which prevail in full-scale continuous plant. The results obtained are therefore only comparative, and cannot be used for predicting the optimum conditions for metal extraction. The sulfation of synthetically prepared mixed oxides of nickel + copper and nickel + iron and of nickel ferrite was also studied to evaluate the relative effects of alkali sulfates with more complex systems. SULFATION ROASTING OF A SULFIDE FLOTATION CONCENTRATE The bulk sulfide flotation concentrate used in this work contained 7.92 pct Ni, 1.74 pct Cu, 35.66 pct Fe, and 31.28 pct S. The sulfide minerals present in order of abundance were pyrrhotite FeS, pyrite FeS2, pentlandite (FeNi)S, and chalcopyrite CuFeS2. Two samples described as coarse and fine were used. The coarse sample, which was a flotation concentrate (58 pct plus 300 mesh), was ground to 100 pct minus 350 mesh to produce the fine sample. Before roasting, the sample of sulfide concentrate was agglomerated by wetting witli a solution of the alkali sulfate (or water), thoroughly mixing, and drying at 110°C. This gave a cake which was gently crushed and screened, the -18 +100 mesh fraction being used for fluidized bed roasting. A similar-size fraction had been used by the authors in pilot plant work with a 4-in.-diam fluidized bed reactor.' In this work it was found that the molar ratio of additive to the total iron + nickel + copper content of the sulfide sample should be adjusted to a value of approximately 0.06, as this was the optimum amount necessary for nickel sulfation. Experimental. The fluidized bed reactor consisted of a quartz tube approximately 60 cm long and 30 mm in diameter resting in a vertical tube furnace. The sulfide bed (30 g) was supported on a bed of -4 +12 mesh quartz particles 3 cm high, which rested on a sintered quartz disc welded to the tube. The temperature of the furnace was controlled with a variable transformer to give a final bed temperature of 680°C. The bed was fluidized with air or mixtures of air + 10 pct v/v SO2, at a total apparent gas velocity of 60 to 65 cm per sec at 680°C. The SO2 was introduced into the fluidizing air stream only when the oxidation of the sulfides was completed. At the end of the roasting period the calcine was leached with boiling water and the

Jan 1, 1964

By Paul D. Foote

Most of the treatises on metallurgy intimate that simultaneously with the development by the atomic physicist of a really satisfactory theory of the atom will be inaugurated a new epoch in the science of metals. Metallurgically and metaphorically, we shall dwell in the Utopia of Sir Thomas More. It is my privilege this afternoon to demonstrate that this state has not arrived. An atom is a miniature planetary system consisting of a positively charged nuclear sun about which revolve electrons each carrying the negative charge e. The charge on the nucleus is + Ze where Z is the atomic number and the number of planetary electrons in a neutral atom is equal to Z. These electrons are arranged in several groups having different binding energies. Ordinary x-ray phenomena relate to processes occurring deep within the atom, usually with electrons in the so-called K or L shells. Such electrons in the heavier atoms are so closely bound to the nucleus that the forces exerted by neighboring atoms in a solid are relatively inappreciable. For most practical x-ray investigation, the atom may be considered as in the gaseous phase completely isolated from its neighbors. The K radiation from an element in the gaseous state, in the solid or liquid phase, or even in combination with other elements in all its possible valences, is almost identical.‡ Visual and ultraviolet spectroscopy is concerned with disturbances of the most loosely bound outer or valence electrons of the atom, always in the vapor state. The remarkable progress of the last year in both theo-

Jan 1, 1926

By C. L. Siebenthal

C. E. SIEBENTHAL, ? Washington, D. C.-From being one of the most maligned of metals-a veritable bugaboo-cadmium has almost overnight become respectable, though its slender claim to respectability rests almost wholly on the possibility of its substitution for tin. Preliminary to any campaign for such substitution, particularly for enforced substitution, the possible supply of cadmium should he determined as closely as possible; for that reason the statistical inquiry of which this paper embodies the results was undertaken. Production Cadmium is marketed in two forms, as metallic cadmium, in sticks or bars, and as cadmium sulfide, the pigment. The metal has found its greatest field of use in this country as a component of an easily fusible alloy that is used in automatic fire extinguishers. The sulfide is .used to some extent in paints but chiefly to give color and luster to glass and porcelain. The metal was first made in this country by the Grasselli Chemical

Jan 12, 1918

By Robert Ignouf

MY REMARKS, which I feel highly honored in being invited to make, shall be limited to a consideration of -the mining and metallurgical problems involved in this question; in fact, these problems alone might well be considered as suffi¬cient to explain the existence of the Ruhr situation and to justify the steps taken by France in this affair. Comparing the France of pre-war days with the France of the period following the Versailles treaty indicates clearly how the Ruhr question is a direct consequence of the new economic conditions which have prevailed in Europe since peace was signed between the Allies and Germany. Before the war, in 1913 for instance, the French out¬put of iron ore was 22,000,000 tons. This output, which decreased considerably during and immediately after the war, has about regained its previous level. It should be noted that 96 per cent. of the production of iron in France is obtained from the eastern part of the country, in the districts of Nancy, Briey,. Longwy, Metz, and Thionville. This concentration of practi¬cally all the iron mines into one district creates a very serious problem for France, involving strategic and economic consequences. The strategic problem arises from the fact that the whole iron resources of France lie close to the frontier of Germany, at a distance of only a few miles; hence it is of the' utmost importance for France to be assured that her eastern frontier shall not be at the mercy of a sudden invasion by an army which could in a few hours deprive France of her iron resources and render her powerless to defend herself. Invaded by her Eastern neighbor three times during the past 100 years, France has had dire experience with what such invasions mean for her. Wherever the German armies have passed, they have left an inefface¬able trail of desolation. France, therefore, intends to protect herself by sufficient and efficient guarantees against renewed invasions of her territory.

Jan 5, 1923

By H. H. Lowry

Science attracts the attention and interest of an individual or an industry in general only in proportion to the apparent direct application to its immediate welfare or benefit. Engineering accomplishments, as aphlied science, therefore receive more recognition than the scientific discoveries on which they are based. Even self-evident truth needs endless repetition before recognition: engineering as applied science cannot advance beyond the science on which it is founded. Scientific research, and discovery, is sometimes forced by the limitations recognized by those active in its development for the use of society and industry and sometimes results from an apparently superficially illogical curiosity about natural phenomena. Research has received inadequate support except in industries born in the laboratory, the chemical and electrical industries, from which many lessons might well be drawn by their elder associates. The rapid growth of these industries has been largely due to close cooperation of scientists and engineers. Most rapid advance is made when the research worker and the engineer keep in close touch with each other's ideas and problems. Many of the developments of modern industry are based on discoveries buried for years in scientific journals because the "time was not ripe" at their discovery. The situation with regard to utilization of coal is quite the oppositre. The fundamental facts in regard to the scientific aspects of the problem of developing the energy from coal are scarcely known. The engineer, without much scientific cooperation, has accomplished much in increasing the number of kilowatt-hours per pound of coal from 0.31 in 1919 to 0.69 in 1934, in increasing the 1000 gross ton-miles of freight hauled from 12.2 to 16.4 per ton of coal in the same period, in fuel economy in production of coke, and in developing the production of motor fuel in Germany and England by hydrogenation of coal. This lack of scientific research on the utilization of our most important natural resource, coal, has been due undoubtedly in large part to the reluctance of investigators to study the interrelationships involved in the complicated processes in which coal is used. These complexities are made

Jan 1, 1936

By H. H. Lowry

Science attracts the attention and interest of an individual or an industry in general only in proportion to the apparent direct application to its immediate welfare or benefit. Engineering accomplishments, as aphlied science, therefore receive more recognition than the scientific discoveries on which they are based. Even self-evident truth needs endless repetition before recognition: engineering as applied science cannot advance beyond the science on which it is founded. Scientific research, and discovery, is sometimes forced by the limitations recognized by those active in its development for the use of society and industry and sometimes results from an apparently superficially illogical curiosity about natural phenomena. Research has received inadequate support except in industries born in the laboratory, the chemical and electrical industries, from which many lessons might well be drawn by their elder associates. The rapid growth of these industries has been largely due to close cooperation of scientists and engineers. Most rapid advance is made when the research worker and the engineer keep in close touch with each other's ideas and problems. Many of the developments of modern industry are based on discoveries buried for years in scientific journals because the "time was not ripe" at their discovery. The situation with regard to utilization of coal is quite the oppositre. The fundamental facts in regard to the scientific aspects of the problem of developing the energy from coal are scarcely known. The engineer, without much scientific cooperation, has accomplished much in increasing the number of kilowatt-hours per pound of coal from 0.31 in 1919 to 0.69 in 1934, in increasing the 1000 gross ton-miles of freight hauled from 12.2 to 16.4 per ton of coal in the same period, in fuel economy in production of coke, and in developing the production of motor fuel in Germany and England by hydrogenation of coal. This lack of scientific research on the utilization of our most important natural resource, coal, has been due undoubtedly in large part to the reluctance of investigators to study the interrelationships involved in the complicated processes in which coal is used. These complexities are made

Jan 1, 1936

By Frank A. Wilder

The most important process in a gypsum mill is calcining the crude mineral. There seems, however, to be little progress or change in calcining methods. This would not be surprising if the industry was not, in other ways, developing. The demand for gypsum in its various forms, however, is growing rapidly. The output has more than doubled in six years, while the value of gypsum products, through the introduction of higher priced. specialties like wall board, has nearly trebled in the same period. In other industries, under somewhat similar conditions, calcining in rotating cylinders, either by direct or indirect heat, has replaced the method that still prevails in gypsum mills. Efforts were made to use rotary calciners in manufacturing plaster of Paris in the early days of the industry in America; 25 years ago rotary calciners were in use in Germany. At that time there was great diversity of opinion in regard to their merit. In 1923, the output of calcined gypsum in the United States was 3,101,378 tons. About nine-tenths of this material was calcined in kettles, the remainder in rotary calciners. The ratio was about the same 10 years ago. During these 10 years, rotary calcining made relatively no gains, and there were no important changes in the construction of kettles. In their manipulation, the only change of consequence was in connection with the length of time that the gypsum is left in the kettle. For wall-plaster purposes, all producers who had not previously done so changed from second-settled to first-settled calcined gypsum, thereby reducing production costs and improving the plasticity and sand-carrying capacity of their plaster. Nevertheless, in the few mills in which they were installed, rotary calciners continue to operate, with possibly one or two exceptions, and to be highly successful. In these 10 years, the Cummer type of rotary calciner has disappeared. All rotaries now used are of the cement-mill type with a diameter of 6 or 7 ft. and length of 80 to 120 feet.

Jan 1, 1925

INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY THEORY The mathematical theory of probability provides the foundation for the interpretations and inferences that can be made from statistical techniques. Probability theory is a broad field of study in itself, and can only be touched on here in order to provide the necessary back- ground for a more complete understanding of statistical analysis. Probability is concerned with the outcome of random events. It had its beginnings in the theory of games of chance which were of great interest to European mathematicians during the last half of the 17th century. The outcome of a random process or experiment is defined as an event. The collection of all mathematical points associated with each event is called the sample space for an experiment. Consider a random experiment having a finite number, n, of possible outcomes, some of which have a characteristic A. What is the probability that A will result from a single

Jan 1, 1980

E. G. WOODRUFF, Houston, Tex. (communication to the Secretary*). -Mr. Matteson has presented to us an idea worthy of our careful consideration. We have real troubles in the petroleum industry and as the supply of crude is exhausted our problems become more complicated and more numerous. Therefore, we who are engaged in field work are forced to consider all possible means which promise assistance in the location of prospective pools and the economic development of pools already located. In our country we are accustomed to turn to the. Government for relief in all our troubles. Do we want an Oil and Gas Bureau doctoring us? Will such a bureau do us practical good? The principal point Mr. Matteson suggests is that such a bureau should he authorized to receive and file all well logs. In analyzing such function, I am led to the following conclusions: If well logs are simply to be filed they would be useless. If they are to be filed and the files opened to the public, what benefit will be derived and can such action be taken justly? There is no doubt that if the record of all wells drilled in the United States were available the petroleum industry would be saved an immense amount of needless expense. Accumulating conditions would be better understood and prospecting more intelligently directed. Our other consideration is: can the oil companies be required to open well records to the public justly? I think all will agree that if any one should have the advantage of a well record it should be the company that drilled the well. If the oil companies are forced to file such record and open the files to the public, the company drilling the well cannot derive the exclusive benefit from the money expended. Would it be just for a small company to be compelled to reveal its records of a well it had recently completed, to its strong competitor who holds near or even adjacent leases? Would it have been just to the successful companies, in the Gulf Coast country to have been forced to display their hard-earned knowledge of 15 years to the host of younger competitors who have recently flocked to the Gulf Coast attracted by the success of those who have labored so long and learned of the conditions controlling the fields through the hazards of the industry.

Jan 10, 1917

By M. H. De Hora

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) IN giving my opinion of the importance of Colombia as a field for investment for those interested' in mining for the precious metals, I must begin by quoting Sir Clement Markham, who, in one of his presidential addresses to the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, called the attention of its members to the fact that " although Colombia is the least known and least developed of the South American republics, it is far and away the richest mineral country of them all." This to American investors is extremely interesting, as the country is the most accessible of all the South American republics from the United States. .Almost all of the gold shipped by the Spaniards from Madre de Dios, now Colon, came from Colombia, and statistics from the Mint at Medellin, the capital of the Department of Antioquia, go to show that the . total production of the precious metals of Colombia, dating from the Spanish conquest in the fifteenth century to the present time, aggregates the enormous total of $700,000,000. Of this amount, nearly 70 per cent. represents gold obtained from the placers of the Republic, more than one-half of which came from the Department of Antioquia, the balance, being divided between the placers of the Choco and the rest of the Republic. The remaining 30 per cent. of the $700,000,000 represents the silver and gold obtained from the quartz mines, the silver greatly predominating. A glance at the map of Colombia shows the territory somewhat in the shape of an outspread human left hand extended palm downwards on the paper, with the wrist adjoining the Republic of Ecuador, the bones of the hand, fingers, and thumb representing the divisions of the great Andean mountain chain known as the Cordilleras of Colombia. The first finger represents the Eastern Cordillera, with the thumb as the extension to the Nevada de Santa Maria, forming

Jan 7, 1913