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By H. W. Page

Petroleum requirements since V-J day have been appreciably higher than predicted. Foreign operations now exceed maximum wartime levels by about 14 per cent. Domestic operations since V-J day have averaged 92 Per cent of the wartime peak. In spite of maximum foreign refinery runs, large exports of all products, except residual fuel oil, are necessary to meet foreign demand. During the next few years it is expected that foreign operations will continue at capacity, including new installations, but that, because of increases in foreign demand, exports will continue at about their present level. Domestic operations will increase during this period and crude production probably will exceed maximum efficient rates. Even after 10 years some exports probably will be required, but eventually these will be supplanted by increased output of foreign refineries, except for small tributary exports. The increase in domestic requirements will exceed the decline in exports. Unless findings of crude oil exceed present expectations, the increasing demand will be met by increased imports and synthetic methods-—such as the Hydrocarbon Synthesis Process for conversion of natural gas and coal to gasoline and distillates. Catalytic cracking installations will increase as crude availability decreases. This will help to meet the increasing demand for gasoline but will intensify the domestic shortage of residual fuel oil. Eventually larger imports will be required to satisfy the demand for this product. Introduction Under the pressure of the wartime period, there was time only occasionaly to look ahead in anticipation of what the postwar era held for the petroleum industry. Perhaps the general expectation was that a rather pronounced decline in the level of industry petroleum operations would take place shortly after the end of the war, with the impact felt mainly on the economy of the United States- It is of interest now, nine months after V-J day, to take inventory of the near-term situation and see what significant forces are at work. With this as a starting point, it should be possible to engage in something more satisfactory than pure speculation concerning trends in the immediate future and 10 to 20 years ahead. Present and Near-term Situation During the nine-month period following V-J day, foreign crude oil production and rebery operations have actually increased the These activities were at maximum capacity on V-J day but the continuation of drilling programs, the completion of new and rehabilitated refineries and of transportation facilities during the Past nine months have increased the foreign capacity. This added capacity has been fully utilized. Foreign crude oil production in May 1946 is about 14 per cent higher than during July 1945 and refining operations some 12 per cent higher' During the same period there has been a falling off in similar activities within the

Jan 1, 1947

By Willis T. Burns

I. Introduction.......................................... 703 II. History................................................ 703 III. General Description of Plant......................... 704 IV. AnoDes................................................. 711 V. Cathodes............................................... 714 VI. Electrolyte............................................ 718 VII. Electrolytic Slime..................................... 727 VIII. Power................................................. 728 IX. Operating Details..................................... 732 X. Furnace Refining...................................... 736 XI. Physical Testing oF Products.......................... 739 I. Introduction. These notes are submitted, not as a discussion of the modern practice of electrolytic-copper refining, but as the record of a refinery that was among the pioneers in the field and that is to-day, and has been for 17 years, operating under conditions not to be found in any similar plant in the country. I refer to the current density, which is at least 60 per cent. higher than that regularly employed elsewhere, and to the fact that the anodes treated are the direct product of the converter rather than of the reverberatory furnace. The writer has no knowledge of any other refinery treating anodes of this character. II. History. This refinery, now one of the oldest plants of its kind operating in this country, was built in 1892 by the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining CO. to refine the product of its Great Falls reduction works. The estimated capacity of the plant as designed was 65,000 lb. of cathodes per day at a current density of 16 amperes per square foot.

Jan 1, 1914

By J. H. East, E. R. Maize

INTRODUCTION PROBABLY no other type of equipment is now being introduced into American underground mines about which less is known and about which there is more misinformation than the Diesel mine locomotive. Any equipment installed underground brings with it hazards that were not present before, and it is the purpose of this paper to show that Diesel-powered equipment can be used with safety in underground mining if certain feasible but very important precautions are taken. Diesel locomotives are not new in underground mining, since they have been used successfully in European mines for at least 19 years, but their use in American mines is exceedingly limited; so far as is known, only five Diesel mine locomotives are operating at present in United States mines. Diesel locomotives were permitted underground in Great Britain for the first time in 1939, and the rapid increase in the number in use in those mines, testifies to their safety and efficiency. More than 1300 Diesel mine locomotives are in use in European mines, according to the latest statistics; these locomotives are employed in coal, iron, lead-zinc and mercury mines. So far as is known, the Diesel mine locomotive has not yet caused an explosion or mine fire, and has not been the cause of any fatalities from toxic gases in the mines in which it has been used. ADJUSTMENTS OF DIESEL ENGINES FOR UNDERGROUND USE A Diesel engine adjusted to work in an underground mine should not be confused with the same engine adjusted for use outside the mine. Adjustment of the air:fuel ratio for engines that are used on the surface is intended to give the maximum fuel economy, and little or no attention is given to the chemical composition of the exhaust gas produced. Many such engines are poorly adjusted and perhaps poorly maintained, with the result that the engine emits smoke in quantity as well as the disagreeable odor familiarly associated with Diesel engines. The air:fuel ratio in the case of Diesel engines operated on the surface is generally around 15:1; that is, 15 lb of air to burn 1 lb of fuel. Diesel engines adjusted to work underground usually have an air:fuel ratio of about 20:I, as at this ratio the minimum quantity of toxic gases is given off in the engine exhaust. Diesel engines operated underground must be maintained in better condition than similar engines used on the surface; otherwise, the smoke emitted in the exhaust becomes objectionable if not unendurable. Practically normal air is required for safe operation of Diesel engines underground or in confined places; failure to provide virtually normal air for Diesel engine operation is almost certain to result in trouble. Bureau of Mines engineers have determined that the air in which a Diesel operates in confined places should contain less than 1/2 pct of carbon dioxide and at least 20 pct of

Jan 1, 1947

Jan 1, 1936

By Dennis A. Clark, Brent Larsson

Tunnelling today is a lot more than drilling and blasting. The developments in drilling and blasting technique have made it pos¬sible to save costs both by increasing the advance per round and optimizing the demands on the final contour. Increasing the hole depth by using longer feeds and bigger dril¬ling rigs make the drilling time shorter compared to the set up time. It is important that the deeper holes are followed up by using a suitable cut. The most common cut in Sweden today is a parallel hole cut with one or more large holes; with a diameter corresponding to the hole depth and wanted advance per round. It is often specified that smooth blasting is to be carried out with a specific drill hole spacing. It is extremely rare, however, for specifications to be issued concerning the alignment of the raw of holes closest to the contour holes. It is very easy to ruin the effect of smooth blasting altogether by firing the rest of the round carelessly with an excessively high charge distribution. The drilling and blasting of the contour holes and the line of holes closest to the contour holes is therefore an extremely important part of any underground work. Accuracy and care in connection with the drilling of contour holes is also extremely important since it is possible to reduce the amount of overbreak, the result being more rapid mucking out, smoother and more durable surfaces and also less consumption of concrete for lining purposes.

Jan 1, 1983

By Herbert Johnson

DURING the past 10 or 12 years very little information has been made generally available concerning the commercial possibilities of separating materials by means of static electricity; and yet during that same period important improvements have been made in various branches of the science of electricity, which, when taken together, and applied to electro-static separation, have resulted in important improvements in that art as well. For example, much improvement has been made in high-voltage electrical equipment such as full-wave vacuum-tube rectification and improved mechanical rectification. Great strides have likewise been made in the development of insulators for high-voltage work, not only in the materials used but also in the design of the insulators themselves. Again, in another field, the development of air-conditioning equipment has improved the technique of controlling the surface condition, through drying or humidifying, of the various materials that are passed through the electrostatic separator. In many authoritative publications and textbooks, the electrostatic separation process is declared to require a balance far too sensitive for general commercial application. For example, one publication1 in the past has referred to an unfavorable effect on the process caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as humidity. Some2 have even gone so far as to state that sunlight and shadows may seriously affect the separating efficiency of the process. Such statements may have been true in the early development of the art, when the source of static elec-tricity was derived from a friction disk machine, such as the Wimshurst. The Blake Mosher equipment and the work of Huff in applying motor-generator sets, transformers and mechanical rectification overcame much of this kind of objection to the commercial application of the elec-trostatic separating process.

Jan 1, 1938

The total estimated production of coal in the United States during the first century and a quarter of mining is shown in Table 20. This is the total of the production of the various states already shown in the various tables, and is believed to be the first statement of this sort made. No such table prepared from limited data can be accurate, but it is the writer's opinion that the totals shown are less than those actually produced. It was thought that this study would enable a reasonably accurate account of the movement of coal down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to be written. The searches made have shown that at this time the data do not exist from which such a study can be made, but some of the facts collected may be useful to future students.

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1935

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Jan 1, 1938

New Products Equipment

Jan 11, 1950

By W. P. Frey

The briquet plant of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co., at Lansford, Pa., has previously been referred to.' It has passed the stage of experiment and now rests on a foundation practically and financially sound. The purpose of this' paper is to explain how success has been attained, and to set standards for the development of hard-coal briquetting which may eliminate future failures. All the conclusions are based on actual results, avoiding speculation and theory. Up to three years ago, the L. C. & N. Co. used coal-tar pitch as a binder in making hard-coal briquets. The plant operated with a monthly output of 300 to 600 tons and was unable to meet its own expenses. Naturally, no one was satisfied, especially as the ideals of a smokeless briquet were still unrealized. Then came the Dutch oil process, introduced in this country by the General Briquetting Co. of New York. This process uses as binder a small percentage of heavy residue of petroleum, which, being liquid, permits great economy of handling; it also did away with the most objectionable fumes of the former briquets. This oil2 is not absolutely smokeless; heating the fresh fuel to red heat liberates some low-volatile hydrocarbons, yielding a white smoke which is not objectionable. On the other hand, this oil adds to the briquet about 7 per cent. of volatile matter, giving the product a heating capacity equal to that of the best free-burning anthracite coal. The average silt used in the manufacture of these boulets averages 16.5 per cent. chemical ash, corresponding to 12,000 B.t.u. per pound of coal. The Hydrolene used as binder runs about 17,500 B.t.u. per pound, and approximately 7 per cent. of it enters into the mixture, hence 12,000 X 0.93..........................11,160 B.t.n. 17,500 X 0.07.......................... 1,125 B.t.u. Total.....................................12,385 B.t.u. per pound of briquets

Jan 1, 1918

By George F. Comstock

It has been known for many years that the alloy containing 90 per cent. copper and 10 per cent. aluminum can be hardened, like steel, by quenching from a suitable temperature, and that the hardened alloy can be softened again by annealing or drawing the temper. It does not seem to be generally appreciated, however, that the effect of the first slight reheating after quenching is actually increased hardness, the softening effect not taking place until a certain temperature of "drawing" has been exceeded. This paper gives the results of a few experiments on various specimens of cast 10 per cent. aluminum bronze, quenched for maximum hardness, and subsequcntly annealed at different temperatures. The hardness measurements were made with both a scleroscope and a standard Swedish Brinell machine; some peculiarities of the scleroscope test on this material are described. The author is not aware of many previous investigations of the hardness of this alloy when quenched and drawn, but two important papers on the subject should be mentioned. The earliest was by Portevin and Arnou,1 in which it was stated that tempering quenched 10 per cent. aluminum bronze at 400" C. increased the hardness as compared with the quenched untempered alloy and that reheating above that temperature ' was necessary to obtain any softening effect. A later paper was by Seidell and Horvitz,2 who mentioned Portevin and Arnou's work, but did not report any increase in hardness obtained

Jan 1, 1925

Jan 1, 1912

1. List of Manuscripts Seen in America 2. List of Manuscripts Seen in England 3. List of Maps Examined 4. List of Newspapers Examined 5. General Bibliography - Numbered Reference List

Jan 1, 1942

By Edmund C. Pechin

I REGRET that I am unable to present this subject in definite form and detail. All I shall attempt at this meeting is to lay before you some curious facts, the bearings and explanations of which must be reserved for future consideration. I hope before the next meeting to have carried experiments far enough to furnish a more important contribution to the science of iron metallurgy. The Wickersham process consists in the introduction into the molten metal, as it runs from the furnace, of air from the hot blast. Mr. Samuel Wickersham is the originator of the plan, as applied in practice, although Mr. Martien had the idea a long time ago, and, I believe, .went to England about it. But at that time Mr. Bessemer was coming before the public with his invention, which engrossed the attention of iron-masters, and Mr. Martien accomplished nothing. The principal difficulty in our experiments at Dunbar was to get a practicable runner or trough, through which the molten metal should pass, and in which it should be exposed to the action of the blast. The runner we used was ten feet long, and perforated on the sides to permit the entrance of the air-currents. When we used a cast-iron and fire-clay runner, the heat was so great that before we were more than half done with a run, the lower part of the runner was melted, and we had a magnificent Fourth of July display of fireworks until the blast was shut off. We had to abandon fire clay. The runner with which we have had the best success ,is made of wrought-iron tubes, 2 1/2 inches in diameter, attached to a wrought-iron frame, and lined with a mixture of crushed conglomerate (quartz) and a little fire clay to give it cohesion. The wrought-iron shell curves inward over the upper edges, so as to catch and throw back into the current the flying sparks and particles of metal thrown out by ebullition. With this we have been able to run 12 to 14 tons at a heat with great ease. Mr. Wickersham has since prepared this material (pounded quartz) into a shaped brick or tile, with the necessary perforations for the passage of the air, which promises to answer every requirement for steady working. As regards the improvement in the quality of the iron, there seems to be no question. A large number of practical tests were made in

Jan 1, 1873

By W. R. Ingalls

Jan 1, 1922

By W. R. Ingalls

Jan 1, 1922

By E. B. Fitch, E. C. Johnson

The operating behavior of liquid-solid cyclones is outlined, together with the nature and range of the process results obtainable, to serve as a background for engineers wishing to consider application of this new process tool. BY now most engineers are familiar with the liquid-solid or Dutch State Mines cyclone. However, it should be helpful to know exactly what it is that the equipment does and what its limits are. Without going into cyclone theory, this paper will describe the operating characteristics of Dutch State Mines cyclones. These are manufactured under license in this country and sold under the trade-marked name of DorrClone. The physical construction of the liquid-solid cyclone has been covered in many papers,'-' the DorrClone in particular being described in some detail by Weems. Fig. 1 shows the unit in cross-section. The feed enters at C. The coarse, heavy particles are thrown centrifugally to the periphery and make their way down the wall to the apex where their rate of discharge as underflow is controlled by an adjustable rubber apex valve. As the apex diameter is decreased the solids build up behind the valve, producing a denser underflow. Meanwhile the fine particles are swept into the upward flowing vortex stream which exits as overflow through the vortex finder, F. Flexibility to produce the specific result desired in a particular process is achieved by providing means for varying the areas of the entrance, vortex discharge, and apex discharge. The entrance area may be varied by insertion of special shims. Vortex discharge area may be changed by use of different-sized vortex finders which are interchangeable. Similarly, the different sizes of apex valves are interchangeable and in addition each apex valve is variable down to about 60 pct of its maximum diameter. A most significant primary distinction to make is that although liquid-solid cyclones have been sometimes called thickeners, they actually are classifiers, and very potent ones. They are almost never thickeners in the special sense that many metallurgical engineers understand the term. There would be no profit in quibbling over the definition of a word, but when the application of cyclones is considered, it will help to understand the difference be- tween two mechanisms, one of which will be called classification, and the other thickening. In what is called thickening the fine solid particles present in the feed hold together by surface attraction during the sedimentation process. The loose network of particles thus held together constrains all particles to settle at approximately the same rate, the larger ones dragging the smaller ones down. As a result, pulp settles with a sharp line of demarcation between solids and a relatively clear supernatant liquid. Essentially all the solids, regardless of their fineness, pass into the thickened underflow, and a clear overflow is separated. In classification, on the other hand, the interparti-cle forces are relatively insignificant as compared to the settling force on the individual particles, and are insufficient to prevent independent movement of the particles. The coarsest, heaviest particles settle most rapidly through the pulp, passing more slowly settling fines. Particles coarser than the mesh-of-separation essentially all settle into the underflow, but if the feed contains any particles finer than the mesh of separation, at least part of them will appear in the overflow. A clear supernatant or overflow can be obtained only if there are no undersize particles present in the feed. Thus it will be seen that classification is impossible under ideal thickening conditions. The finer particles are pulled down at essentially the same rate as coarser particles, and there is no separation on the basis of particle size. The surface attraction holding the particles together in a thickener is usually feeble. Whenever the sedimentation force on any particle is strong with respect to the interparticle forces, that particle can pass through the tenuous structure and settle independently. There are at least four ways of making the sedimentation force strong, with respect to the interparticle forces, and obtaining classification. First, and most obvious, the particles may be large and heavy. Thus coarse sands settle out in a beaker or Dorr thickener ahead of the rest of the thickening solids. Second, the interparticle forces may be altered by physicochemical means; i.e., it is often necessary to add dispersing agents to destroy the interparticle forces and permit classification to take place. Third, the interparticle forces may be reduced by dilution of pulp. It is well known that to obtain the most efficient separation of

Jan 1, 1954

By Walter Weeks

THE process of cooling air by allowing it to expand and do work in an engine is well known, but the theory of obtaining cold air by free expansion without the aid of an engine operating with cutoff has been little discussed. CASE I If compressed air is allowed to expand to the atmospheric pressure through an orifice in an air line that is supplied by a running compressor, no cooling results except the negligible one due to the Joule-Thompson effect, which will not be considered in this discussion. The effect of moisture will also be neglected.

Jan 1, 1937