Search Documents

By Ernest G. Enck

"The Rockets' Red Glare" of the Fourth of July is produced by strontium compounds. However, strontium has a number of less spectacular uses; i.e. in, or in connection with, the manufacture of ceramics, caustic soda, glass, railway and truck signal flares, beet sugar and steel. The principal ore of strontium for use both as the mineral and for production of compounds is celestite (SrSO4). This mineral varies in color from white to pink or blue depending on presence of impurities. It has a hardness of about 3.5 and specific gravity of 3.9. It is brittle and has perfect basal and prismatic cleavages. The high grade ore is obtained from England, hence it has become the standard for all other producing areas. (See analyses, Table 1.) The most objectionable impurity in English celestite is iron, coming mostly from adhering clay. On the other hand, Mexican celestite, while no higher in strontium sulfate content, is extremely low in iron (less than 0.2 pct), hence it is more desirable for certain uses. Most of the celestite in Spain and in the United States is high in calcium and barium, and commonly high in iron, and requires some form of beneficiation in order to be equal to English ore. The natural carbonate (SrCO3), or strontianite, is less important than celestite as a source of strontium, because it is less abundant and is not so widespread in its occurrence. Furthermore, it generally occurs with calcite (CaCO3) and lead sulfide (PbS), and for most uses these impurities are detrimental. This mineral is generally white or yellowish, forming needle-like crystals. It has a hardness of about 3.7 and a specific gravity of 3.68-3.8. The mineral is brittle and has an imperfect cleavage. A typical analysis of German strontianite is shown in Table 1. [ ] Distribution of Deposits UNITED STATES Occurrences of strontium minerals are known in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Celestite occurs in the Vulture Mountains, Maricopa County, Arizona in beds three to ten feet thick associated with sandstone, gypsum, and barite. Because of the low strontium content, approximately 86 pct SrSO4, it has no commercial value. A large deposit of celestite occurs in San Bernardino County, California, in the Cady Mountains near Argus Station, about eight miles west of Ludlow. The celestite here is interbedded with shaly and clayey tuff in a zone about 300 ft thick. Massive, finely crystalline ore has been recovered with an analysis

Jan 1, 1960

PROF. Henry Louis, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary): I have read this paper with much pleasure. It presents a very accurate summary of a very interesting district. Like the authors, I was struck by the extreme General View, near French Co.'s Cyanide Works, Showing Horse-Whims, etc. flatness of this region, which looks strange to a gold-miner accustomed to other reef-districts. This prevailing absence_of relief in the contours is shown in Figs. 1 to 4, from photographs taken in August, 1897, some of which also show the horse-whims used here for hoisting. The flatness of contour is due, no doubt, to the fact that the rocks are similar in structure over large areas and are easily decomposed. I am quite at one with the authors in looking upon the so-called " placers " as the result of decom-

Jan 1, 1899

Meeting of Mar. 27, 1914.-President Thayer announced the appointment of H. S. Munroe as a member and E. Gybbon Spilsbury as Chairman of the Library Committee of the Institute. The President announced the appointment of the Committee on Papers and Publications, the Technical Committees, the Committee on Increase of Membership, and the Committee on Junior Members and Affiliated Student Societies. The President announced the appointment of Dr. George F. Kunz as a member of the Reception Committee of the International Engineering Congress, 1915. It was voted that the Institute accept the invitation of the Mining and Scientific Press to occupy space at the Panama-Pacific Exposition next to them and avail itself of the service of their representative to receive and register members of the Institute who visit this space during the exposition.

Jan 5, 1914

By Hans Allenius, R. T. Hukki

This paper describes in quantitative terms the effect of sharpness of classification on the performance of the closed grinding circuit. The analysis is based on a large number of laboratory experiments designed to simulate the two most common industrial closed grinding systems. The experimental results show quantitatively the degree of improvement achievable by more efficient classification. In an earlier paper1 the senior author has presented a trend showing qualitative analysis of mill and classifier performance in tile closed grinding circuit. According to this analysis, the master key to a major improvement appeared to be effective removal of finished fine material from the classifier sands, or in other words, improved sharpness of classification, leading simultaneously to a substantial reduction of the circulating load. One purpose of this paper is to present the results of a quantitative investigation of the closed grinding circuit. Another is to set forth the essential pertinent variables revealed by the quantitative experiments carried out by the junior author. In the two most common systems of closed-circuit grinding, (1) feed to the circuit is introduced into the grinding unit, normally the ball mill, operating in closed circuit with the classifier; or (2) feed to the grinding circuit is introduced into the primary grinding unit, normally the rod mill, discharging into the classifier in closed circuit with the secondary grinding unit, normally the ball mill. In the following discussion, these two systems are analyzed separately in the indicated order. BALL MILL - CLASSIFIER CIRCUIT The Test Apparatus and Procedure: The test appara- tus included: (1) a F 195 mm x 220 mm laboratory ball mill rotated at a speed 77% of the theoretical critical speed, and a 7-kg batch of F 20 mm-F 50 mm steel balls; (2) a conventional 65-mesh test sieve and a Ro-Tap sieve shaker serving as a classifier; and (3) a Permaran instrument manufactured by Outo-kumpu Co. for surface area determinations by the permeability method. As no continuous closed-circuit experiments could be brought about on a laboratory scale, the process was broken down into alternating grinding and sizing steps in such a way that the new feed plus the returning sands always formed a batch of 1000 gm. For each selected grinding period and for each selected sharpness of classification the basic steps were repeated six times. Steady-state conditions were then reached. Crystalline vein quartz was used as a test material. Feed to the process consisted of -10-mesh fraction of this quartz crushed in rolls. This fraction included 15% of-65-mesh material. Experimental Results: The general flowsheet is shown in Fig. 1. Table I gives the essential data obtained representing steady-state conditions under the indicated set of variables. The table is based on 110 grinding experiments, 440 screen analyses and an equal number of specific surface area determinations. Fig. 2 shows the relationship between the cumulative net energy consumption and the cumulative number of mill rotations as evaluated by separate experiments. Note that this relationship is not linear but is instead represented by a slight curve. The data given in Table I are presented in graphical form as follows: Fig. 3 shows the produced -65-mesh material in grams per minute vs. time of grinding in minutes; the sharpnesses of classification at 65 mesh were 100%, 75% and 50%. It is clearly indicated that the highest-capacity figures call for relatively short grinding times and for the sharpest possible classification. Fig. 4 presents the specific surface area on the final -65-mesh product in square centimeters per gm vs. time of grinding in minutes. In conventional mineral dressing processes, a final product characterized

Jan 1, 1969

By Henry P. Ehrlinger

The Alta and St. Louis mines of the Alta Mines, Inc., produce a somewhat oxidized ore with a talc gangue that presents quite a problem in milling. For several years the mill recoveries were relatively low and there seemed to be no cure for this condition even with increasing the various collecting agents and frothers to two or three times of what they should be. The usual alibi of "oxidized ore" was given as the reason for these results and the matter stood there for some time until these investigations were started. Flowsheet As a brief outline of the flowsheet the ore is crushed to minus I in. in a Telsmith jaw crusher and then fed to a 64½ Marcy grate mill. The resulting product from the grate mill is passed over a trommel where the coarse particles (plus 7 mesh) are returned to the grinding circuit through the classifier. The under 7-mesh pulp is passed over two Denver mineral jigs where a high grade concentrate is produced, thence over two Wilfley tables where a table concentrate is produced and about 80 pct of the oxide lead recovered. The tailings from these tables are pumped back to the classifier and after classification the 30 pct pulp density product, which overflows the lip, is passed into a series of 10 Denver economy flotation cells where a lead-copper concentrate is produced. Three products are made and shipped to the smelter termed jig, table and float concentrates. Results with various Reagents In March of this year work was started on the metallurgical problems of the mill and, as is shown in Table I, the results obtained were not too efficient. Tests were run with various reagent combinations that were recommended for ores of this nature but there was no appreciable effect on the recoveries. The grades of the flotation concentrates were reduced by the insoluble picked up and retained by these more powerful collectors and frothers. Results with "Metso" In past work on ores of this type the use of "Metso" had improved gold and lead recoveries, but no effect on the silver and copper recoveries had been noted. To

Jan 1, 1949

By W. W. Eckles

This paper is presented as a suniniary report of the use of well gas composition correlations obtained from mass spectrometer recordings as a means of identification and determination of reservoir continuity. Conventional methods for detecting composition differences are en-pensive, elaborate, and difficult to obtain. This excludes the use of extensive composition data for most applications. During recent years the mass spec-trometer has come into general use as an analytical tool in petroleum refineries. The use of mass spectrometer composition patterns ir~ characterizing or "finger-printing" the produced gas from a reservoir, presents a novel method for correlatitlg gas samples from well to well. The mass spectrometer provides a trace similar to an electric log. having peaks which represent the abuntlnnce of certaitz hydrocarbons in the well gas sample. Without going further into the detailed analysis the idea has been advanced that these traces or patterns could be used as a means of identifying a particular natural gas. This theory has proven to be essentially correct. The mass spectrometer pattern method is simple and cheap as COi?7pared to other standard methods. It greatly facilitates the solution of reservoir and geological problems in which correlation of well gas Com-positions is a factor. Specific field applications have been made. This paper concerns the results obtained in 465 individual gas analyses from 35 fields and 77 res- ervoirs. In a number of cases it has been found that such data have been extremely valuable in the determination of reservoir continuity. In at least one case, the method was a valuable contribution in tracing a reservoir from sand to sand in a coinplex fnulted field involving n11rnerous gas reservoirs. Field applications are presented to illustrate the possibilities of the method at the present stage of developnient and to stimulate the ernployrnent of this new approach by geologists and petroleum engineers in the industry. INTRODUCTION Identification of producing horizons and the determination of reservoir continuity are often a problem in those areas where dome structures and highly faulted sands are encountered. To complicate the picture further, there may be numerous sands, one on top of the other which dip and diverge in different directions. Even though it may be possible to develop some solutions to the preceding problems on the basis of the geological and reservoir data on hand. it is readily recognized that substantiating data based on independent methods would he extremely valuable. It has been found through field studies that correiation of well gas composition can be used to advantage in the geological and engineering study of a complex reservoir identification problem. METHOD FOR COMPARISON AND CORRELATION OF WELL GAS SAMPLES Since a large number of well gas samples are required in a gas identification or reservoir con- tinuity problem, it is necessary that a method of analysis be employed which can detect differences in composition readily and inexpensively. Although detection would be possible by means of low temperature fractional distillation (POD) analpsis, the method requires a relatively large sample and is comparatively slow and expensive to run. The mass spectrometer affords an inexpensive and precise analysis of small well gas samples taken at the surface which are about 1/300 as large as a POD sample. These samples can be obtained by regular field personnei and shipped to the spectrometer for analysis. It is, therefore, a practical approach to the problem. A typical record from the mass spectrometer is illustrated in Fig. I. The peaks on the record represent the abundance of ions produced from the different hydrocarbon molecules making up the gas sam-ple. In well gas comparisons only five peaks are employed, since the other peaks are formed from the same gas molecules and furnish no additional information. The five peaks used represent the abundance of methane, propane, ethane, butane and heavier, and oxygen. They are referred to respectively as the 16, 29, 30, 43, and 32 peaks. The oxygen peak is used to correct for air content in

Jan 1, 1958

The practice of fine-grinding is now being so succeesfully carried on in some fields, notably in West Australia, and its advisability has been so frequently pointed out,l that the matter in this paper is not put forward as new; its chief object being to call attention to the importance of fine-grinding in the treatment of comparatively low-grade oree. I' have been engaged daring the last five years in the cyanide-treatment of ores in the Ohinemuri district (North Island), New Zealand, and I consider that, in the near future, extremely fine-grinding (almost sliming) will become a very im-

Jan 1, 1906

[Appalachian Petroleum Section: James M. Kimbrough, chairman; John H. Adair, first vice-chairman; Walter L. Diddle, second vice-chairman; Byron M. Finch, secretary-treasurer. Balcones Section: Robert V. West, chairman; Frank W. Jessen, first vice-chairman; Zane V. Morgan, second vice-chairman; Brantley G. Myers, secretary-treasurer. Meets 4th Wed., Petroleum Club (San Antonio) or Terrace Dining Room (Austin) Billings Petroleum Section: Charles B. Evans, chairman; L. M. Lyon, first vice-chairman; Gordon E. Lansford, second vice-chairman; Fred. A. Haddenhorst, secretary-treasurer. Meets 3rd Tues., Billings Petroleum Club. California Coastal Section: Robert L. Richardson, chairman; David K. Hayward, first vice-chairman; W. Jackson Bransford, secretary; William N. Harwell, treasurer. Meets 3rd Thurs., Pierport Inn, Ventura. Caracas Petroleum Section: Edwin A. Moo re, chairman;. Jose Cirigliano, vice-chairman; Frank B. Davis, secretary; Robert N. Powers, treasurer. Meets 2nd Tues., Caracas Theater Club.]

Jan 1, 1961

Jan 1, 1931

By Henry P. Ehrlinger

THE Alta and St. Louis mines of the Alta Mines, Inc., produce a somewhat oxidized ore with a talc gangue that presents quite a problem in milling. For several years the mill recoveries were relatively low and there seemed to be no cure for this condition even with increasing the various collecting agents and frothers to two or three times of what they should be. The usual alibi of "oxidized ore" was given as the reason for these results and the matter stood there for some time until these investigations were started. FLOWSHEET As a brief outline of the flowsheet the ore is crushed to minus I in. in a Telsmith jaw crusher and then fed to a 64 1/2 Marcy grate mill. The resulting product from the grate mill is passed over a trommel where the coarse particles (plus 7 mesh) are returned to the grinding circuit through the classifier. The under 7-mesh pulp is passed over two Denver mineral jigs where a high grade concentrate is produced, thence over two Wilfley tables where a table concentrate is produced and about 80 pct of the oxide lead recovered. The tailings from these tables are pumped back to the classifier and after classification the 30 pct pulp density product, which overflows the lip, is passed into a series of 10 Denver economy flotation cells where a lead-copper concentrate is produced. Three products are made and shipped to the smelter termed jig, table and float concentrates. RESULTS WITH VARIOUS REAGENTS In March of this year work was started on the metallurgical problems of the mill and, as is shown in Table I, the results obtained were not too efficient. [ ] Tests were run with various reagent combinations that were recommended for ores of this nature but there was no appreciable effect on the recoveries. The grades of the flotation concentrates were reduced by the insoluble picked up and retained by these more powerful collectors and frothers. RESULTS WITH "METSO" In past work on ores of this type the use of "Metso" had improved gold and lead recoveries, but no effect on the silver and copper recoveries had been noted. To

Jan 1, 1947

By Y. Nakada, U. F. Kocks, B. Chalrners

THE orientation dependence of work hardening has previously been studied over the entire range, i.e., including special orientations of high symmetry, in aluminum1-3 and silver.* The differences between various orientations are substantial, and the trend is the same in all fcc crystals. However, there are quantitative differences in behavior between aluminum and silver at room temperature, particularly in the (100) orientation. While many experiments on gold have been reported,5'9 none included the special orientations. We therefore undertook tension tests on gold crystals of the axial orientations (100),(110), (Ill), (211), and, as a representative of single slip, one whose Schmid factor was 0.5 (hereafter referred to as m = 0.5). Single crystals of dimensions 1/4 by .1/4 by 6 in. were grown from the melt1' at a rate of 4 in. per hr, using gold of 99.99 pct purity obtained from Handy and Harman. A growth rate of 1/8 in. per hr, or a purity of 99.999 pct,ll produced no difference in results. The crystals were annealed at 1000°C in air for 24 hr and furnace-cooled down to room temperature, after which they were electro-polished in a solution of potassium cyanide (40 g), potassium ferrocyanide (10 g), soda (20 g), and enough distilled water to make 1 liter of solution, at a current density of 0.02 amp per sq mm. After 2 or 3 hr, a very smooth surface was obtained by this method. Nine m = 0.5, two (loo), one (110), three (Ill), and one (211; crystals were tested at room temperature in a floor-model Instron machine at a tensile strain rate of 0.5 pct per min. The accuracy of the stress measurement was k10 g per sq mm up to 500 g per sq mm, k2 pct for higher stresses. The strain measurement was accurate to t2 pct. The scatter of stress at a given strain among the crystals of the same orientation was small, *5 pct being the largest. The representative stress-strain curves for various orientations are shown in Fig. 1. Table I summarizes the work-hardening parameters as used by seeger.12 Results of other investigators are also included in this table for comparison. There are no previous data for the corner orientations. Values for m = 0.5 crystals agree fairly well with those of Berner. Tm is defined as the stress at which the stress-strain curve begins to deviate from linearity of Stage 11. However, in practice this is a very difficult value to estimate because each investigator has a different idea of linearity. Therefore, the comparison with the values of other investigators may not be valid. In the present experiment, (100) crystals had the highest 111, followed by (111) crystals. The work-hardening rate in Stage I1 was highest for the (111) crystal followed by the (100) crystals. Our value for 0x1 of m = 0.5 orientation agrees very well with those of other investigators. 1) Single-Slip orientation (m = 0.5). These crystals were oriented so that the primary-slip vector was contained in one side face. The dimension perpendicular to this side should then not change if single slip indeed takes place. Within the accuracy of measurement, this dimension did not change during the deformation. Since the accuracy is k0.2 pct, the amount of secondary slip is less than 0.7 pct of the slip on the primary-slip system at 30 pct tensile strain. This is in conformity with the results obtained by Kocks" for aluminum crystals. The tensile axis moved toward (211) during the deformation. Slip bands, Fig. 2(a), were very fine and closely spaced. Some deformation bands were observed. There were no clear-cut cross-slip traces such as the ones observed on aluminum m = 0.5 crystals. 2) (111) Crystals. The orientation of the tensile axis was stable during the deformation. From this observation, one can deduce that at least three slip systems must have operated, and probably all six because the remaining three all have cross-slip relation to one of the first three.' It was very difficult to observe the slip markings. Consequently, we could not confirm by this method that six systems were operative during the deformation. At high strains (above 50 pct shear strain), this orientation had the highest stress-strain curve. At 80

Jan 1, 1964

By R. Taggart, J. W. Barton, G. R. Purdy, J. G. Parr

The constitution and mechanical properties of heat-treated alloys containing up to 10 pct* Ni in Ti have been investigated. The effects of quenching and of various isothermal treatments ale described, and C-curves are presented. The production of the precipitated and the martensitic hexagonal phases on quenching is discussed. MARGOLIN, Ence, and Nielsenl have determined the titanium-nickel phase diagram. A study of the transformations in gas-quenched and tempered powder specimens was made by Polonis and Parr.' Some isothermal transformation work was carried out by Margolin and ~unshah, who determined transformation curves for 4 and 6 wt pct alloys, while Robinson et al.investigated the formation of the w phase in a quenched and tempered alloy, Margolin and Bunshah showed that while a martensitic transformation could be obtained on quench- ing thin sections of a 4 wt pct alloy, a 6 wt pct alloy precipitated a nonmartensitic phase. The present investigation was undertaken to obtain more information on the transformations in quenched, quenched and tempered, and isothermally transformed lump specimens of alloys containing up to 10 pct Ni. Isothermal transformation curves have been determined for 7 and 10 pct alloys and cooling curves have been obtained for quenched alloys containing up to 7 pct Ni. The mechanical properties of 2, 5, and 10 pct alloys were studied, with the object of relating properties to microstructures. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Alloys containing up to 10 pct Ni were prepared from sponge titanium and spectrographic standard nickel by levitation-melting and chill-casting in a split copper mold. The 5 and 10 pet alloys were prepared from sponge Ti having an as-melted hardness of 115 Vpn. The other alloys were made from a sec-

Jan 1, 1961

By U. Andres

U. Andres (The Technion, Haifa, Israel)-The authors are to be congratulated on their research, new and interesting, in a field which, however, the present writer and his assistants have been trying since 1962 to bring to the attention of the scientific and technical world, by means of publications covering several different aspects of this many-sided problem. We announced, in these publications, the results of magneto-hydrostatic (MHD) separation of magnetic and nonmagnetic minerals which we made in magnetic fluids (in paramagnetic solutions and suspensions of magnetic particles) which interact with permanent" and impermanent" inhomogeneous magnetic fields. There is no doubt that the authors have succeeded in creating ferrimagnetic colloids made by dispergation of 10-30 wt % of magnetite in kerosene in the presence of 7-10 vl % oleic acid. It may be judged by [Figs. 3 and 4] that the suspensions represent great stability systems and also "hysteresisless" fluids [(Fig. 5)] which bear witness to the existence of superparamagnetic suspensions. If the viscosity of these colloids is not so high, and the cost of preparing them can be covered, the fluids which have here been received can possibly be of interest to the technology of mineral separation. The potential possibility and technological perspective of similar media is demonstrated in our joint work with G. Bunin18 in 1965. The research carried out on the pushing out of cylinders and spheres from magnetic fluid is impressive; it would, however, have been interesting if the authors had compared their results with those on the pushing out of bodies from magnetic fluids adduced from our work." In my books" there happens to be described an experiment on the pushing out of a sphere in magnetic wedge field, in which the pushing out force of suspension with 5 vl % of magnetite reached 125 g per cc. This testifies to interesting possibilities of these media. Our works' shows also, on the basis of Laplace's equation the receiving of an interesting distribution of pushing out forces by selection of corresponding configurations of magnetic poles. Objection must be made to the authors' introduction of the term "antigravity force." The direction of this force does not depend on the direction of the gravity force and their opposition, i.e., antigravity is only one particular case. I am in full agreement with the authors' statement that magnetic pushing out forces "can be utilized to separate nonmagnetic objects according to variations in their densities." It is, however, necessary to make only one important addition, which can be found in our research on MHS at the Technion in Haifa, namely, that magnetic fluids in magnetic fields can be utilized in the separation of minerals according to variations in their magnetic susceptibility. The authors' conclusion is especially important considering the fact that in our publications" (including one in English") some designs of MHS separators and some technological results received on MHS-separators have already been described. S. E. Khalafalla and G. W. Reimers (Authors' Reply)We were aware (mostly through Chemical Abstracts of the American Chemical Society) of the use of solutions of paramagnetic salts such as manganous sulfate in agnetohydrodynamic separations by the Russian school headed by G. Bunin."n Professor Andres' contributions to this school are also evident in his application of the ponderomotive forces in an electrolyte placed in electric and magnetic cross-fields to separate coal and other useful minerals." It must be realized, however, that the foregoing research by Bunin et al." involved the use of magnetic fields and field gradients of very large magnitudes, i.e., such that H • grad H - 101 Oe2 per cm. The magnetization of paramagnetic salt solutions range from 0.1 to 0.5 gauss (at fields of a few thousand Oersteds) and never reach saturation. The magnetization of our superparamagnetic ferrofluids ranges from 100 to 500 gauss and reach saturation at fields of a few hundred Oersteds. Hence, to effect the same separation, the quantity "H

Jan 1, 1974

By William Hilliard

IN any manufacturing business, it is of vital importance that the management should know the exact cost of the units of production. Without such knowledge, a company can sell blindly in the open market, obtaining the best prices it can in competition with other firms, and manage perhaps to continue in business for a time; but at any moment, and especially in a period of falling prices, such a firm is at a loss to know exactly at what point it can sell at a profit and exactly how much it is losing per unit if it sells below that point. Furthermore, it is necessary not simply to know the exact total cost per unit, but to know definitely all the different-factors which enter into that cost. A firm manufacturing pocket knives had been doing a profitable business for many years when it began to earn smaller and smaller profits, until there was scarcely any profit at all being realized. Being unable to determine exactly what its future policy should be, it called in experts who studied the past records carefully and followed out for a period a better cost, system. Investigation then showed that on several different kinds of knives in common use, a small profit per unit was being made. On a number of special kinds of knives, of which the firm was very proud, it had been forced to cut prices under the pressure of outside competition and had believed that a small profit per unit was still being made on that product, while a detailed cost analysis showed that a loss was being incurred on each knife of that kind produced. It then became clear that the company must either give up the special line and concentrate wholly on the cheaper knives and extend their sales to territory not yet developed; or expand its plant and produce more of the higher grade knives and thus lower the cost per unit enough to make money on the higher grade knives also, if conditions warranted such expansion. Investigation revealed that the market for large quantities of the high-grade -knives was decidedly uncertain and that the most promising move would be to manufacture only the less expensive knives on a larger scale. That plan was carried out and the concern began again to make a better profit.

Jan 1, 1932

J. L. CHRISTIE, Chairman T. S. FULLER, Past-chairman W. M. PEIRCE, Vice-chairman W. A. SCHEUCH, Vice-chairman E. M. WISE, Secretary International Nickel Co., Bayonne, N. J. W. M. CORSE, Treasurer Executive Committee H. A. BEDWORTH G. O. HIERS D. K. CRAMPTON R. H. LEACH E. H. DIX, JR. R. F. MEHL J. A. GANN J. WALTER SCOTT' JEROME STRAUSS Finance Committee T. S. FULLER, Chairman W. M. CORSE H. S. RAWDON C. H. MATHEWSON SAM TOUR

Jan 1, 1934

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-

[ ]

Jan 1, 1946

By J. D. Sullivan, Chester R. Austin, J. L. Nunes

IT is characteristic of most shales and surface clays that a bloated or vesicular structure is produced by burning to a sufficiently high temperature, usually about 150° to 200°F. above the normal maturing temperature used when making common brick of the same material. Early investigators recognized this phenomenon and attributed it to the release or expansion of gases in the vitrified piece. A number of theories have been advanced on the source of the gas and the manner in which it is evolved, but none has been proved conclusively. T. E. Jackson's1 early theory that bloating was due to oxygen evolved by ferric oxide in forming ferrous oxide or ferrous silicate was never substantiated by experimental work. Orton2 thought this explanation unlikely, as all clays should bloat at the same temperature, if this were true. He found that clays bloated in the range from 1100° to I700°C. Also, many clays containing iron did not bloat at all, but fused. Orton also stated that oxidation of different types of carbon was a source of gas during burning of clay and should be expelled before vitrification was reached. Seger3 said that he had dissolved ferric oxide in glass with no apparent evolution of gas. Matson4 came to the conclusion that ferruginous clays burned to vitrification in an oxidizing atmosphere did not have the iron in a ferrous form. According to Wilson,5 the gases responsible for bloating might be entrapped air, water, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen, and hydrocarbons. He spoke of two causes of bloating: (I) incomplete oxidation below the vitrification temperature, and (2) decomposition of compounds and evolution of gases above the vitrification temperature. Decomposition of calcium sulphate was given as the principal example of the latter. Bleininger and Montgomery6 stated that if any time after vitrification began the evolution of gaseous matter was rapid enough so that pressure was produced within the clay, bloating was certain to take place, and a vesicular structure would be formed. They recognized that initial structure, rate of heating, kiln atmosphere, and many other variables affected bloating. Work done by the Emergency Fleet Corporation7 indicated that clays suitable for bloating should be high in compounds of metallic oxides, carbon, sulphur, sodium, potassium, or other equivalent compounds, which either act as a flux or give off gas. Orton2 studied the chemical status of the carbon, iron, and sulphur in clays during various stages of burning, using a Huron shale that bloated under oxidizing or reducing conditions. He found that only a small amount of sulphur remained in the clay and that it could be detected only by dissolving the clay in hydrofluoric acid,i.e., the sulphur was in combination with the silica. Orton said that this sulphur was probably in the form of iron sulphide dissolved in the glass phase. The iron sulphide was not broken down by heating, but was dissolved in the basic slag or glass,

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

FOR constructive research in copper and brass and other non-ferrous metals and their alloys, and his contributions to the establishment of the present accepted high standards of quality William H. Bassett, technical superintendent and metallurgist of the American Brass Co., has been awarded the James Douglas Gold Medal for 1925. Mr. Bassett was born in New Bedford, Mass., on March 7, 1868, and was graduated in chemistry at the - Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1891. In the same year he went to Pope's Island Manufacturing Co., at New Bedford, as chemist where he remained until 1895, where he became a teacher in chemistry at the Swain Free School, which position he retained until 1900. He then became chemist for the New Jersey Zinc Co., at Newark N. J., and in 1902 went to the Coe Brass branch at Torrington, Conn., as Chemist. In 1903 he became chief chemist and metallurgist and since 1912 has been technical superintendent and metallurgist of the American Brass Co., with head- quarters at Waterbury, Conn.

Jan 1, 1924

POSITIONS VACANT (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons.) Position open as assistant superintendent at a steel plant. Practical experience in the manufacture of crucible and open-hearth steel and heat treatment of steel and alloy steels required. This position offers an excellent future. No. 9. A company in Virginia desires a man with experience in Western mines to act as superintendent of its pyrite mine. No. 15. Position open as instructor at a University in Middle West to teach the mechanical side of mining, such as hoisting, haulage, drilling, and mine surveying. Salary, $1,500 to $1,800. No. 16. Experienced amalgamator wanted at a mill in Ivory Coast, Africa. An American speaking French preferred. No. 18.

Jan 5, 1914