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By R. E. Morgan

Two sizes of Pennsylvania anthracite were gasified in the new-type Lurgi pressure generator at the Dorsten, Germany, works of the Steinkohlengas, A. G. These tests demonstrated that Chestnut-size anthracite and a Rice-Buckwheat mixture containing 27 and 19 percent ash, respectively, could be gasified satisfactorily at an elevated pressure in a fixed bed with oxygen and steam. These coals were especially prepared to approximate a rough-cleaned coal and a washed and screened product. The operating data obtained from the two tests and materials requirements are summarized. A wide range of reactant ratios could not be tested, nor could optimum operating conditions be determined, as the generator was being used throughout the testing program, employing normal operating practices, to produce gas for the gas grid; and the most economical coal, steam, and oxygen ratios may not have been used. Comparative costs are presented of the raw materials required for producing a high-B.t.u. gas, based on the operational data obtained from these tests and, to some extent, on data extrapolated from laboratory experimentation. A flowsheet of a proposed process for producing a high-B.t.u. gas by Lurgi gasification, followed by methanation, is also included.

Jan 1, 1958

By A. J. Kraemer

This paper is the third and concluding report of the results of the United States Bureau of Mines twenty-third semiannual survey of motor fuel marketed in the United States. The first paper, reporting data relative to gravity, vapor pressure, and distillation range of the samples, was published as Report of Investigations 3129. The second report dealt with the data of the twenty-third survey in accordance with the revised specifications for United States Government Motor Gasoline. These data were published as Report of Investigations 3142.

Jan 1, 1931

By A. J. Kraemer

This paper is the third and concluding report of the results of the United States Bureau of Mines twenty-third semiannual survey of motor fuel marketed in the United States. The first paper, reporting data relative to gravity, vapor pressure, and distillation range of the samples, was published as Report of Investigations 3129.7 The second report dealt with the data of the twenty-third survey in accordance with the revised specifications for United States Government Motor Gasoline. These data were published as Report of Investigations 3142.8

Jan 1, 1931

By J. S. Dunning

Recent developments in energy conversion, mining and minerals processing, pollution control, and chemical equipment have placed in-creased demands on heat-resistant alloys. Higher corrosion rates from oxidation, hot corrosion, and sulfidation have increased consumption of materials that contain critical and strategic minerals and in many cases have limited productivity. The Bureau of Mines is conducting re-search on substitute materials having greater resistance to high-temperature corrosive atmospheres above 6000 C compared to austenitic stainless steels such as AISI 304, 316, and 310, with the goal of conserving critical metals such as Cr and Ni. The substitute materials are based on Fe-Cr-Ni-Al compositions. Aluminum additions to Fe-Cr-Ni alloys significantly improve high-temperature corrosion resistance, particularly sulfidation resistance. In the alloy, devised by Bureau researchers, aluminum additions are held in the form of a second-phase precipitate, 8NiAl. Minor additions of Ti, Mn, and Si improve workability.

Jan 1, 1984

By A. C. Burr

This progress report covers the period from January 1949 to the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1950. Three runs were successfully completed, and one run was terminated as the result of failure of a cast reaction tube. Including the abbreviated run, the gasifier was operated for 1,915 hours, during which some 428 tons of natural and steam- dried lignite was partly gasified In producing 20 million cubic feet of gas. Gas-production rates varied from 7.8 to 16.4 thousand cubic feet per hour, the latter being the highest production rate yet reached; hydrogen-carbon monoxide ratios of the product gas varied from 1.85, the lowest ratio yet produced, to 6.5; and heat-transfer rates through the heated wall of the outer tube varied from 2,100 to 4,400 B.t.u. per square foot an hour. The general objective of the project is to establish the technology and economy of the gasification of lignite in an externally heated, metal, annular retort. Specific objectives include determination of the useful life of the metal retort tube, which is a continuing problem, and special objectives that were established for each run as part of the systematic investigation of the basic variables of the gasification process. For runs 10 and 11 the special objective was the influence of the lignite feed rate on gasification; for run 12, a comparison of dried and natural lignite, and the production of gas having a hydrogen-carbon monoxide ratio less than 2; and for run 13, the influence of a gradually increasing steam rate with steam admitted to either the upper or lower reaction zones. In addition, during each run the sulfur distribution and concentration in the product gas and char were investigated. Experimental results obtained using the lignite feed rate as the variable indicated that the gas yield per ton of natural lignite varied inversely with the feed rate. Comparison of the gasification of natural and steam-dried Dakota Star lignite indicated that the dried lignite was a superior gasification material because: 1. The hourly gas production was higher at normal combustion space temperatures under nearly equal experimental conditions. 2. On the moisture- and ash-free basis, a considerably higher feed rate could be maintained at a relatively high percentage of carbon gasified. 3. At nearly equal moisture- and ash-free feed rates, the specific gas yield was higher. The location of steam admission was found to be important because the gas yield per ton of natural lignite was higher when at least a portion of' the process steam was admitted to the upper reaction zone. Heat balances showed the potential heat in the gas and char to be 71.8 to 83.6 percent of the total heat input. The sulfur concentration in the product gas was low, being in the range of 35 to 140 grains per 100 cu. ft., of which 1.5 to 2.3 grains was organic sulfur. Careful measurements and inspection of the 310-alloy rolled plate tube following runs 11, 12, and 13 showed no excessive corrosion; however, some radial deformation had occurred indicating that deformation or creep might be the limiting factor in the life of the tube.

Jan 1, 1953

By B. J. Moore

This publication contains analyses and related source data for 234 natural gas samples from wells and pipelines in 21 States and 1 foreign country. All of the samples were obtained and analyzed during calendar year 1975 as a part of Bureau of Mines investigations of the occurrences of helium in natural gases of countries with free market economies. This survey has been conducted in the United States by the Bureau of Mines since 1917. In late 1965, the survey was expanded to include foreign gasfields. The analyses published herein were made by mass spectrometer and n special helium analysis apparatus, which are described in Bureau of Mines Bulletins 4862 and 576.3 The results of the investigation of the occurrences of helium are published annually to make the information available as soon as possible to the gas industry and the public in general. Seventeen previous publications have presented the results of 10,831 gas analyses prior to 1975. The first 3, Bulletins 486,4 576,5 and 617,6 contain analyses and related source data on 5,218 gas samples collected from 1917 through 1960. The other 14

Jan 1, 1976

By Verne E. Hooker

In situ stresses, based on isotropic and anisotropic relations, were evaluated using computer techniques from overcoring data obtained in dimension stone quarries along the Appalachian Piedmont, the Ozark Uplift, and the Ouachita Tectonic Belt. Stresses in the horizontal plane near the surface are compressive and range from 100 to 4,500 psi. The direction of maximum compressive stress seems to be alined with the general tectonic structure for most of the determinations. The ratio of the maximum to minimum elastic parameters in the horizontal plane ranges from 1.05 to 2.46 for these competent rocks. Isotropic versus anisotropic stress determinations show differences only as great as 25 percent in stress magnitude and 25° in orientation.

Jan 1, 1969

By J. R. Ruark

Because of the importance of oil-shale reserves the Bureau or Mines resumed research investigations in this field beginning in 1944. The Bureau early decided to build a Large-scale demonstration plant to accomplish the dual purpose of obtaining design data and to produce crude shale oil for refining studies. Two 40-ton-Capacity batch N-T-U (Nevada-Texas-Utah) retorts were completed for this purpose in 1947. After a preliminary operation, the plant was used to investigate process variables of air rate, recycle gas rate, and shale particle size and crude. Correlations obtained from these variables are presented in this report. Researchers concluded that recycle gas was not necessary for efficient operation of the process. Short comings of the batch method of processing the oil shale are pointed out in the report. Several periods of prolonged production operations were carried out. During these periods, the retorts were operated to produce as much crude oil per day as possible. The lifetime operation of the N-T-U retorts was divides into three periods, namely, preliminary operation, process variable study, and production operation. During the preliminary operation, 187 runs were made with a total of 7,596 tons of raw shale used to produce 3,688 barrels of crude shale oil. During the process variable study, 179 runs were made with a consumption of 7,494 tons of raw shale and a production of 4,218 barrels of crude shale oil. The production operation consisted of 554 runs in which 22,457 tons of raw shale was used to produce 12,359 barrels of crude shale ail. The overall total for the lifetime operation of the retorts consisted of 920 runs with a total consumption of 37,547 tons of raw shale and a production if 20,265 barrels of crude shale oil.

Jan 1, 1956

By Arthur B. Johnson

The Bureau of Mines investigated the concentration characteristics of high-clay sylvinite ores from four potash companies operating in the Permian Basin near Carlsbad, N. Mex. These ores, containing 13 to 22 percent K20 and 3 to 7 percent clay slimes, cannot be effectively processed by current commercial flotation methods because of their high slime content. A solution to this problem was shown to be the use of two-stage moderate scrubbing conditions and washing of the ore as opposed to strenuous attritioning. Bench-scale physical beneficiation techniques for recovering potash minerals and the development of ore-dressing systems by flotation resulted in obtaining acceptable product grades and recoveries. By using a coarse grind, emphasis was placed on production of premium granular and coarse products. Flotation results showed that concentrates of 58.7 to 60.4 percent K20 with recoveries of 71.0 to 83.4 percent 0f the K20 values can be obtained.

Jan 1, 1971

By C. C. Popoff

The Dunkleberg district is in the Flint Creek Range of the northern Rocky Mountains, about 45 miles northwest of Butte, Mont. Silver - lead and zinc mineralization occurs over an area 4 miles long from north to south and 1 to 2 miles wide from west to east. Ore in appreciable quantity has been produced, mostly from the Forest Rose group of mines in the southern part of the district. The Forest Rose mine was the largest producer of lead and the Wasa mine, a mile farther south, the main producer of zinc. The total output of ore from these properties during World War II was 113,000 tons, or 98.2 percent of the total recorded production of the district. The Wasa mine was examined by a Bureau of Mines engineer2/ in 1944. Subsequent investigations during 1946, 1947, and 1948 included trenching and drilling Fn the Wasa area and examination of the Forest Rose and other mines.

Jan 1, 1953

By Gerald M. Bandholz

Exxon Minerals Company, a division of Exxon Corporation, has been exploring for base metal deposits in the Precambrian volcanic rocks in northern Wisconsin since 1970. Aerial electromagnetic surveys of the area, conducted in 1974, reported an anomaly, near Crandon, in Forest County. In the summer of 1975, the first diamond drill entered the anomaly, representing the 25th prospect Exxon had drilled in Wisconsin. This first hole revealed significant mineralization containing zinc and copper. Subsequent drilling confirmed the discovery of a sizeable zinc-copper massive sulfide are body. 1.1.2 Location The deposit is located in northeastern Wisconsin within a topographical high called the Northern Highlands region. The deposit lies about 5 miles directly south of Crandon and about 2 miles east of State Highway 55 on Sand Lake Road (see fig. 1). Other local communities include Rhinelander 28 miles west, Antigo 45 miles south, and Iron River and Iron Mountain, in Michigan, 75 and 44 miles east and north of Crandon respectively. In relation to the lakes and streams, the deposit lies 0.25 miles north of Little Sand Lake, and about 1 mile south of Swamp Creek.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. D. Brown

The electron optics, vacuum system, and sample stage assembly for the Bureau of Mines? electron probe X-ray spectrograph were purchased. Four scanning curved-crystal spectrometers, two reflection- and two transmission-type, were designed and constructed by the authors. The reflection spectrometers are placed in a vacuum chamber for measurement of long-wave-length X-radiation. Detection, pulse-amplitude discrimination, and recording circuits are provided for the simultaneous measurement of four X-ray spectral lines. Minimum spot size is approximately 2 microns in diameter at 30 kilovolts and a sample-to-ground current of 5 x 10-8 ampere. At this voltage and current the limit of detection with reflection spectrometers is less than 0.05 weight-percent for most elements. The limit of detection for elements determined by transmission-type spectrometers, evaluated at 35 kilovolts and 5 x 10-8 ampere, is approximately 0.1 weight--percent for all elements having excitation voltages below 20 kilovolts. In general, reflection spectrometers exhibited satisfactory but poorer resolution than the transmission type, resolution of the spectrometers being limited primarily by crystal imperfections, with greater mosaic structure being introduced by the grinding process for the reflection crystals. Several applications of the electron probe X-ray spectrograph are described. Analysis of a uranium-steel is discussed in detail to illustrate calculation of composition from measured X-ray intensities.

Jan 1, 1962

By W. A. Calhoun

This investigation of low-grade bauxites as potential sources of aluminum by caustic desilication and alumina extraction was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines to develop extractive methods for winning alumina from domestic deposits of low-grade bauxites. This report is the second of a series covering the work by the Bureau of Mines' Rolla, Mo., and Bauxite, Ark., laboratories. The first report published in the Journal of Metals, December 1951,3/ and dealt with kaolin and halloysite. The present investigation is concerned with low-grade bauxites only. The purpose of these investigations is to increase the domestic supply of aluminum ores. With eventual depletion of high-grade deposits, aluminous materials, such as low-grade bauxite, clays, shales, and high-iron laterites, will become our principal domestic sources of aluminum. The development of extractive processes for winning alumina from these low-grade materials is one of the many national security measures undertaken by the Bureau of Mines. A method has-been developed in the laboratory for successfully treating high-silica bauxites from domestic deposits. In this process the bauxite was calcined at 980° C. to form amorphous silica and alumina. The calcine was then leached by percolation with 15-percent sodium hydroxide solution at 940 to 96° C., removing 67 to 77 percent of the silica with a loss of 4.1 to 5.0 percent of the alumina. The sodium hydroxide in the spent liquor used in desilication was 95 percent recoverable, and comparable desilication results were obtained with 100-percent reclaimed liquor, The indicated cost of reagents, for sodium hydroxide and lime used in the desilication and regenera¬tion of spent liquor, was about $4.00 per ton of calcine treated.

Jan 1, 1954

By J. G. Kirby

The number of petroleum refineries in the United States continued to decline during 1954, and according to the Bureau of Mines annual survey there were 326 refineries with a total daily throughput capacity of 8,420,630 barrels, as of January 1, 1955. The increase in capacity for the year was 413,733 barrels daily, while the number of refineries declined 11. The capacity of the average refinery to process crude oil increased during 1954 from 23,759 barrels daily to 25,830. Breaking down the crude-oil capacity increase, by refining districts; 32 percent was installed at refin¬eries located in the Texas Gulf Coast district, 25 percent in the East Coast district, and 13 percent in both the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the California districts. The Appalachian No. 1, Texas Inland, and New Mexico refining districts reported declines in capacity during the year. Additional crude-oil capacity under construction, January 1, 1955, totaled 146,800 barrels daily. Included in this total are 4 new refineries, 1 each in California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Washington. In addition to the' new facilities, equipment producing 1.49,550 barrels daily is being replaced.

Jan 1, 1955

By Hewitt Wilson

A review is given of the nomenclature, sources, imports, statistics, common methods of preparation, and testing of mineral pigments. A description of the Deer Park-Spokane colored-clay district and the laboratory methods of preparation of these colored clays, others, and siennas follows. The mineral pigments were prepared by washing or grinding the original material as received and by calcination of the yellow ocher and brown sienna with and without manganese dioxide to produce red, brown, and black colors. These prepared powders were tested for fineness, oil absorption, and color as compared with well-known brands of commercial pigments. Similar tests were made with several basalt red clays occurring in the neighborhood of Salem, Oreg., and Kalama, Eatonville, and Clay City, Wash. The color particularly was studied, since this property is the most important commercial characteristic of the minerals. PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION Since the development of the clay industry in the Pacific Northwest, some curiosity and interest have been aroused by the red and yellow clay or ocherouslike material that has often been found associated with the commercial clay deposits. These include the red and yellow "paint pots" near Deer Park and Spokane in eastern Washington, a red clay at Clay City, another close to Eatonville in western Washington, and red basalt earths near Salem, Oreg., and along the Columbia River near Kalama, Wash. Several companies have been organized to produce pigment colors from two of these deposits but have either discontinued or never started operations.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. J. Leary

This investigation was conducted to determine the effects of various rare-earth metal addition practices upon the macrostructure and the pattern of sulfur distribution in steel ingots. Heats of plain carbon steel were melted in a 1-ton, basic electric-arc furnace. Melts were treated with mixtures of rare-earth silicides, aluminum, and cryolite either in the furnace before tap or in the ladle after tap to determine the effects of this form of rare-earth treatment upon ingot macrostructure. Steels thus treated with rare earths in the furnace were characteristically free of the gross subsurface nonmetallics which typically result from conventional rare-earth treatments. Steel treated in the ladle showed only a few such nonmetallics, and practical techniques were developed for eliminating most of these. Results showed that furnace deoxidation was controlled by the concentration ratio of rare earths: aluminum. During casting, deoxidation was controlled by the concentration of rare earths. Oxygen contents equivalent to vacuum ladle degassing resulted from air-melt furnace treatments with the rare-earth mixtures described. Rare earths in steel inhibited the onset of equiaxed grain formation during ingot freezing, and also virtually prevented interdendritic segregation of sulfides.

Jan 1, 1968

By L. K. Weaver

The purposes of this Bureau of Mines report are to review the history of the domestic offshore hydrocarbon production; to project offshore oil and lease condensate production from 1971 through 1985; and to show the impact of offshore development on the onshore segment of the petroleum industry. Since 1954, offshore production has provided an increasingly larger portion of the domestic oil production. Domestic offshore oil and lease condensate production has increased from about 2.0 pct of the U.S. total in 1954 to 16.7 pct in 1970. Likewise, marketed gas production has increased from 1.0 pct of the U.S. total in 1954 to 15.0 pct in 1970. The past performance of exploration, leasing, development, and production of the offshore petroleum industry was used to make projections of offshore oil production. A comparison between onshore and offshore operations was also made. Assuming a tentative Department of the Interior offshore leasing schedule is completed by 1980, the authors estimate that by 1985, about 30 pct of domestic crude oil and lease condensate production from the lower 48 States will come from offshore areas. Currently, leasing of Federal offshore areas has been delayed due to environmental considerations. The rate at which off-shore hydrocarbons will enter the energy market will depend, to a large extent, on how soon environmental considerations are resolved. Assuming that offshore leasing will resume in the near future, U.S. offshore production of crude oil and lease condensate should be about 934 million barrels in 1985.

Jan 1, 1973

By D. A. Reynolds

Yields of ammonium sulfate obtained in the carbonization of coal frequently vary from plant to plant, because ammonia is an unstable compound at high temperatures and therefore sensitive, to changes in carbonizing conditions. Differences in byproduct yields of ammonium sulfate obtained at different plants generally are accounted for by variations in plant procedure, either in preparing the coal or in its carbonization. However, technicians of one large corporation,- which frequently obtained higher yields of ammonium sulfate in its Alabama plants than ever were attained in its Ohio plants, "could not reconcile the differences in yields with their plant operations. These investigators suspected that the Alabama, coal used in their southern plant yielded more ammonia because its composition differed inherently from that of the Pennsylvania and West Virginia coals fused in their Ohio plants, although this concept could not be proved readily in their large-scale operations. Their view is supported by experimental data obtained A Beau of Mines-American Gas Association (BM-AGA) carbonization tests) -21 of a large number of coals including those carbonized commercially in Alabama and Ohio.

Jan 1, 1949

By Foster Fraas

Under a very high vacuum of 10-8 torr the transfer of terrestrial mineral beneficiation methods to the vacuum ambient of extraterrestrial locations such as the lunar surface was investigated. In the size range for the electro-static and magnetic separation of ores (minus 35 plus 150 mesh) there is no adhesion of particles produced by crushing and grinding due to the limited contact area, and for repeated contacts area size has a frequency of occurrence in accordance to the normal law. The photoelectric effect which is successful in separating a few minerals in an air ambient has a wider application in a vacuum, while the lack of air viscosity and sound transmission provides for high feed velocities and the adaptation of particle vibration to dispersion and grinding. Contact electrification is reversible upon return to atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1970

By Charles M. McCulloch

This Bureau of Mines report discusses the principles of using computers to draw maps and plot geologic data of mining areas. The types of maps that can be drawn by a computer are reviewed, using as examples two separate areas where poor roof and gas emissions caused mining problems. Such maps can be used not only to help identify problem areas, but also to predict areas where problems could occur, thus giving mine operators time to work out solutions prior to mining. The average cost of a computer-drawn map for a mine property is less than $100, including computer time and man-hours for data preparation.

Jan 1, 1976