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By E. A. Sondreal, P. H. Tufte

Flue gas desulfurization when burning western U.S. coals can be expected to be easier to achieve and less costly than when burning higher sulfur eastern and central coals. However, western coals cannot generally be burned in compliance with federal and state new source emission standards without some degree of control. Western coals and lignite represent about 20% of total U.S. recoverable reserves with 90% of that strip minable, and their production is predicted to increase from the 60 million tons mined in 1973 to 300 million tons in 1985. Most will be used for electric power generation, where low sulfur content is a paramount concern. Western coals are predominantly below 1% sulfur; low compared with typical values of 2 and 3% for eastern and central coals. Coal cleaning for removal of sulfur is not commercially practiced on Western coals, which typically contain half organic and half pyritic sulfur. A fraction of the pyrite sulfur could possibly be removed, but the

Jan 1, 1976

Jan 1, 1910

By Bernard Moore

THE last few decades have witnessed the introduction of many new nonmetallic mineral products and changes in the use of many of those already well known. Among these is diatomite, formerly employed as a mild abrasive and, at one time, as the absorbent material in dynamite. Now nearly 100,000 tons a year are mined and milled into such things as filter aids, cement admixtures, insulants, fillers, absorbents, cosmetics, cleansers, etc. Pumice, commonly regarded as only an abrasive, is now also employed as an insulant, as light-weight aggregate and as a concrete admixture. With increasing use of insulants, light-weight aggregates, and acoustic stuccos and plasters in the building trades, both these mate-rials should find increased application. Very large deposits occur in eastern Oregon and have been studied by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oregon State Mining Board.

Jan 1, 1934

By Orville R. Lyons

THE removal of moisture from coal has been a coal-preparation problem ever since the first wet-washing preparation plant was placed in operation. Today, when most of the coal produced in the United States is wetted at the working face when mined, or is cleaned by wet methods, the removal of moisture is a necessity for any one or a combination of the following reasons; (1) to avoid freezing difficulties during shipment, (2) to increase the B.t.u. content, (3) to effect savings in freight costs, and (4) to so improve the coal that it may be used for specific purposes-for instance, in the production of briquettes or the production of metallurgical coke-or so that it can be treated by dry cleaning methods. In general, the amount of water retained by coal particles varies with the size-consist of the coal. Fine coal has a larger surface area per unit weight than does coarse coal, so its capacity for retaining moisture is proportionately greater. The removal of moisture from coarse coal is relatively easy, while the removal of water from minus 10-mesh coal or finer is a major problem, usually requiring an individual solution at each preparation plant. As a result, a multitude of methods and a variety of equipment have been designed to solve both general and specific moisture-removal problems. Definitions In order that misunderstanding may be eliminated insofar as possible, it is necessary to define the terms to be used. The moisture content of any given increment of wet, washed coal is made up of two parts, inherent and surface moisture. Inherent moisture has been defined in various ways and as yet no standard definition has been agreed upon. However, in general, it is considered as the moisture that is present in the coal in the bed. The important point to remember is that coal with any amount of inherent moisture, whether 2 or 20 per cent, will appear dry if there is no surface moisture. Also important is the fact that inherent moisture can be removed, in part, by air drying at atmospheric temperatures. Surface moisture is that attached to the surface of the coal particles or that retained in cracks and fissures other than capillary openings in the coal substance. Essentially, insofar as the bituminous coal and anthracite indus-

Jan 1, 1950

By S. J. CRAIGHEAD

IN 1912 the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company made a large investment in a number of coal properties in Utah and in 1915 a subsidiary, the United States Fuel Co., was organized to take over these properties. Operations started in 1916 and the Company soon became, and remains, one of the major coal producers of the State. It now produces approximately one million tons of coal annually, which is about 22 per cent of Utah's output. The U. S. Fuel Co. owns large reserves of good coal and is in a position to expand operations with the industrial growth now taking place in the West. Traveling through the Western States, one is struck by numerous advertising signs portraying the picture of jovial Old King Cole of nursery rhyme fame. His rotund figure and beaming countenance are the symbols of Utah King Coal, the product of the King mine of U. S. Fuel Co. King Coal is a by-word of quality coal throughout all the Western States.

Jan 1, 1948

By William Hume-Rothery

MR. CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I need not say how much I appreciate the honor of being asked to lecture to you, and how much I would thank you for your kind invitation. It is encouraging to feel that the abnormal restrictions of the war have been relaxed sufficiently to allow a free exchange of scientists between our two countries, and I hope that some of you will be persuaded to go to England, and to visit us at Oxford, so that I may repay a little of the kindness I have received from you. As this is one of the first lectures since the end of the war, I have thought it well to describe some of the advances in the theory of alloys which were made in the years between the two World Wars. From the point of view of theoretical science, these years have been of outstanding interest in the history of metallurgy. They have been years in which the development of new and more accurate experimental methods has led to the revelation of many new facts. At the same time, the theoretical developments have enabled some of these facts to be viewed as parts of a general scheme, and we may say that some of the foundations of metallurgical science have been laid. This work was naturally stopped by the Second World War, and it can therefore be reviewed as one definite stage in the development of our Science. To illustrate the new advances, I shall deal mainly with the alloys of copper and silver, since these have revealed many of the general principles. SOLID SOLUTION At the beginning of our period, the first steps in X-ray crystal analysis had been taken, and copper had been found to crystallize in the face-centered cubic structure (Fig I). The determination of this structure naturally was of immense importance in the understanding of our subject, because it meant that we were at last in a position to appreciate the underlying structure out of which the crystal of copper was built. The earlier science of metallography had shown that in many alloys of copper the addition of a second metal in not too large proportions resulted in the formation of a homogeneous alloy which was regarded as a solid solution of the one metal in copper. Fig 2, for example, shows the so-called equilibrium diagram of the copper-zinc alloys, and here you will see that there is a solid solution of zinc in copper extending to something of the order 35 to 40 at. pct zinc.

Jan 1, 1947

By AIME

THE wind howls almost incessantly over the mining engineers working in the near desert that is the Division of Namaqualand, the upper Atlantic coastal corner of South Africa's Cape of Good Hope Province. But when these men at the U. S.-owned mines called Nababeep South and East O'okiep (pronounced Oh-keep) tell you about their achievements, they can be heard above the wind. For their O'okiep Copper Co. Ltd. now produces over half the Union of South Africa's annual output of 30,000 tons of copper metal. Moreover, it is a very decent sample of U. S. geotechnical imagination. financial daring, and managerial skill, all operating successfully in a

Jan 1, 1947

By G. H. BUCHANAN

ALTHOUGH the nomenclature of the chemical tools of flotation is probably familiar to you, it will do no harm to review it; . In order to make the terms more real I have employed an illustration which likens flotation to an old-fashioned balloon ascension, such as we witnessed in boyhood at the county fair. The mineral to be floated is the aeronaut, conspicuous in his gilt-spangled tights, who is to be separated from you and me and the other small boys who are standing about, said boys being the g-a-n-g-u-e, or g-a-n-g, as we would have spelled it. The oil film surrounding the bubble is the counterpart of the silken fabric of the balloon, and bubble and balloon will rise for. the same reason, namely. that the fluid outside it is heavier than the fluid within. In flotation reagent nomenclature the material of which the bubble is made is called the "frother.",

Jan 1, 1930

By T. A. Wright

THE SAMPLING of waste materials containing copper, lead and tin has taken on a new significance within recent years, and is of increasing importance, on account of the entry of some of the copper refineries into this field and the tendency towards consolidations among the smelters. In the past, such material was sold on the basis either of a rough or grab sample or of casual inspection of the lot. The two principal sources of this waste are the processes of fabrication and the scrapping of automobile, electrical, plumbing, railroad and other equipment. In both cases much material can be sorted, salvaged and sold by classification and grade to be melted "as is" or with the addition of new or virgin metal. The increasing care in classifying exercised in the large manufacturing plants tends to increase the proportion of this usable scrap; on the contrary, the increasing use of more complex and special non-ferrous alloys tends to make sorting and grading more difficult in turnings, borings, clippings, etc., and consequently is making sampling of more moment. In tin, lead, aluminum, and zinc furnace by-products such as ashes, drosses, skimmings, etc., the trade practice of evaluation has not varied much. For instance, tin drosses, battery lead, and aluminum skimmings are ordinarily sold on what is called "metallic button" or "metallic recovery" or "metallic yield." Copper and lead waste, however, is being sold more and more on actual copper and lead contents based on sample and chemical analyses. This paper will be devoted chiefly to the sampling of materials suitable only for refining and recovery of one or more of the metals present. The methods described are often based on the fact that but one metal, such as copper, is to be paid for. The loss of volatile constituents in melting does not appreciably affect the final copper result, as the "after-melting" assay can he readily calculated to the "before-melting" basis, but if smelter efficiency continues to increase, so that in time zinc, for instance, may be recovered on a paying basis, the method of sampling dirty brass, for example, will have to be changed also. As a matter of fact, we may expect that improved refining processes will make possible the partial recovery of lead and tin which are now lost.

Jan 1, 1928

By H. W. Maynor, C. J. McHargue

DURING the course of an investigation of materials suitable for use as thermocouples at elevated temperatures by one of the authors, several nlolybdenum-rhenium alloys were prepared. Micrographs of an annealed alloy containing 25 pct Re (intended concentration; analysis not obtained) showed a number of twins, Fig. 1, suggesting a face-centered cubic structure. This note reports the structure and recrystallized wire texture of an alloy containing 25 wt pct Re. Alloys were prepared from 99.9 pct Mo (Fansteel Metallurgical Corp.) and rhenium obtained from the University of Tennessee (purity unreported). Powders were combined and briquetted at 56,000 psi and sintering was carried out at 2400°C for 5 hr in vacuum. Ingots so prepared were swaged at 982.2" to 1037.8oC into wires 0.036 in. diameter, a reduction in diameter of 85.6 pct. These wires were vacuum-annealed 1 hr at 2000°C. A North American Philips 114.59 mm powder camera and nickel-filtered copper radiation were used for structure determination. For the texture determination a Laue-type camera was used with zirconium-filtered molybdenum radiation and, because of the high background, aluminum foil was mounted next to the film. Exposures were taken with the wire perpendicular to the X-ray beam and tilted by 10". It was found that the X-ray pattern could be indexed on the basis of a face-centered cubic structure. Because of difficulties associated with obtaining a good X-ray pattern for this material, accurate parameter determinations were not made. An indicated parameter value of 3.70A was obtained. The X-ray data are given in Table I. The annealed wire texture was observed to be a sharp [111] texture. The spread about this fiber axis was k8" at the surface of the 0.036 in. wire. The annealed wire textures of aluminum have been reported as retention of the [Ill] deformation texture for anneals below 500°C and a new [1121 texture for anneals above 600°C.1 In copper wires, with a [Ill] plus [loo] deformation texture, results indicate a retention of this texture for annealing at lower temperatures and new components or the disappearance of components for annealing at higher temperatures.' The presence of the strong [I111 texture in the molybdenum-rhenium alloy after a 2000 °C anneal suggests that the deformation texture was the same. Acknowledgment The wires used in this study were prepared and heat-treated at the Institute for Atomic Research, and Ames Laboratory, Iowa State College, and the authors wish to express their thanks to the Institute for allowing the use of the material and permission to publish the results.

Jan 1, 1954

By T. D. Thomas

CONTENTS PAGE T. D. Thomas-Misfires in Anthracite Coal Mines 3 W. H. Forbes-Misfires in Bituminous Coal Mines 12 A. W. Worthington-Misfires in Non-metallic Mining (Limestone) 18 Misfires in Anthracite Coal Mines BY T. D. THOMAS, * LANSFORD, PA. (New York Meeting, February, 1929) IN THIS paper, major attention is given to misfires in mines where electric multiple shot-firing is the system used. Misfires are sometimes caused by one action or condition and at other times by a combination of two or more. They may be divided into two classes: (1) those caused by workers in the mines, (2) mechanical or manufacturer's causes. The second cause will be discussed first.

Jan 1, 1929

By George S. Koch

Since 1882, world zinc production has increased. In contrast, US zinc production rose until about 1915, but since then has remained nearly constant, with a slight tendency to decrease. Production from the Tri-State district, the largest early source of zinc in the US, has gone down steadily; this decline has been balanced by a growth in the rate of other districts. These changes in US production are due to economic, not geological, factors. Recent exploration has located large minable ore bodies: additional deposits will undoubtedly be found in the stratabound carbonate rock and volcanogenic environments. A statistical analysis of the exploration effort in the Middle Tennessee district indicates that new discoveries can be expected there. Thus, the US is in an early stage of the production cycle for zinc. Of major mining districts in the US, only the Tri-State is exhausted under current economic conditions; large zinc resources of low-grade material, which would repay mining at higher prices or improved technology, are known to exist in that district .

Jan 1, 1982

By C. M. EYE

IN the spring of 1905 I was employed by Messrs. Bradley and Requa, under our fellow member, Thomas Cox, on the mill plans for the Nevada Consolidated, when an opportunity came to go to the Philippines to erect a small mill on the property of the Benguet Consolidated. This I accepted, expecting to be away eight months or so, but it was seven years before I got back. .I sailed in May, on the Coptic, having as room-mate as far as Kobe, A. E. Drucker, who was going out to Korea for the Oriental Consolidated. It was the first trans-ocean trip for either of us, and we had some rather unusual experiences. This was toward the close of the Russo-Japanese war and the Russian fleet was known to be on the way from Suez to Asiatic waters, but it was a matter of doubt whether they would risk a passage between Japan and the mainland, or take the longer but obviously safer route outside of Japan. The Coptic carried much contraband of war for Japan, so naturally did not care to meet this fleet. No definite word being available at Honolulu, we went to the Midway Islands, but the cable station there had very little information to offer, so we proceeded cautiously toward Japan. On the last afternoon out, we steamed due north at half speed for several hours, and finally sneaked into Yokohama at night, to learn that ' the Russian fleet had met the Japanese the day before and had been annihilated. We sailed over the spot in the Sea of Japan a week later, and when we got to Manila we found three of the Russian boats interned and being guarded by the monitor Monadnock and a cruiser. This was only a matter of form, as the Russians were only too glad to be there for the rest of the war, and the boats could not have gone far anyway, for they were literally shot to pieces. The Admiral's flagship had a hole within 3 ft. of the water line, for ward, through which a man could enter by stooping.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. Eilers

COMPOSITION OF CHARGES AND CONSUMPTION OF FUEL AT VARIOUS WORKS. A MARKED peculiarity of most of the smelting-works of the Far West is the looseness with which accounts of the operations are kept. Indeed, probably over half of the works do not keep any detailed accounts at all, the yearly gross statement of profit or loss being considered sufficient for all purposes. The reasons for this must apparently be sought in the as yet unsettled state of all business relations, and in the deplorable fact that only in isolated cases educated metallurgists are in charge of the smelting-works. Continual and regular assays of the ores, by-products, and slags, are almost unknown, so that it is impracticable to ascertain, even approximately, the losses in the smelting processes. Of cases where regular accounts are kept of the quantities of ore smelted, of the composition of charges, and of the fuel consumed, I know only two or three. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult to collect figures which cover the operations for a considerable length of time, and which are so valuable for the metallurgist, who wishes to get an insight into the economy of smelting operations, as shown by practice. Figures obtained by personal observation, which can of course cover only the brief space of the visit of the travelling metallurgist, must, therefore, be made to replace the more valuable data. The writer has had occasion, during the last and the preceding summer, to visit the larger number of the Western lead-smelting works, and offers, in the following pages, such data relating to the economy of lead-smelting in the blast furnace at various works, as he has been able to obtain. The only object in doing so is to place these figures on record, so that they may be from time to time supplemented with other data, which are now wanting. I. EUREKA CONSOLIDATED COMPANY'S SMELTING-WORKS. These works smelt the ores from the mines of the same company on Ruby Hill, Eureka, Nevada. The supply is almost unlimited,

Jan 1, 1873

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Feb. 10, 1916 to Mar. 10, 1916. ALLAN, FERGUS L., Min. Engr., Cons. Min. Engr., Mexico Mines of El Oro, El Oro, Mex. ARMSTRONG, EMERSON WARREN, Met.,. Mina Bibilonia, La Libertad, Nicaragua, C. A. BABB, P. A Blaisdell Coscotitlan Syndicate, Pachuca, Hgo., Mex. BANDY, PERCY J Fundicion Delicias, Calle Delicias, Mexico, D. F. BELLWALD, J. N Apartado 1488, Mexico, D. F. BILLICK, DON CARLOS, Min. Engr., Supt., Hess Gold Mines Co., Alturas, Modoc Co., Cal. BITLER, FRANK L., Cons. Min. Engr., Birkinbine Engineering Offices, Parkway Bldg., Broad and Cherry Sts.. Philadelphia. Pa.

Jan 4, 1916

By Louis D. Huntoon

(New Haven Meeting, February, 1909.) THE Hammond Mining and Metallurgical Laboratory is the gift of Prof. John Hays Hammond to the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. Professor Hammond was graduated from this school in the class of 1876, and has always shown great interest in its welfare and progress. In 1903, he offered to build and equip for it a mining and metallurgical laboratory. This offer was gratefully accepted by the trustees; and in October of the same year the architect, W. Gedney Beatty, and the writer were employed to draw up plans for the building, which is the largest of its kind in this country. The Treasurer's report shows the total gift of Professor Hammond, including land, building, and equipment, to have been $128,741.53. This does not include $5,000 given by Professor Hammond to defray incidental expenses. The detailed cost of the machinery and installation, included in the above sum, is as follows: Machinery, $9,846.00 Pipe and fittings, 925.05 Hangers, shafting, pulleys, belts, etc., . 357.83 Steel-work, tanks, launders, etc., . 272.19 Screens for sizing ore, 411.37 Lumber, 1,896.36 General Supplies Hardware, . $135.96 Tools, 263.66 Paints, . 04.63 Electric and incidental, . 439.57 - 1,043.82 Machine-shop material, 259.44 Labor, 722.29 - 981.73

Mar 1, 1909

By Joseph Kaye Wood

A metal is said to be overstrained when it is deformed beyond the elastic limit at a temperature well below the critical range, as in cold working. Quantitatively, overstrain might be considered as that part of the total elastic deformation of the piece of metal, left over after the external load is removed, that added to the permanent deformation due to plastic action will give the total permanent deformation. Ordinarily the effects of this phenomenon, which vary with the internal residual stress probably in accordance with Hooke's law, are more noticeable when the yield point of the metal is exceeded, but they probably also exist to a smaller degree when the load is just large enough to cause the least amount of permanent set. These effects, which we recognize as the result of overstrain, are as follows: 1. An apparent increase of the elastic limit in tension and a decrease of the elastic limit in compression, provided the external load is tensile. The reverse is true when the load is compressive. 2. An elastic after-effeet in which time and temperature are important factors. 3. A state of imperfect elasticity in which Hooke's straight line becomes slightly curved, giving rise to an hysteresis loop. 4. In addition to the apparent increase in the elastic limit, such properties as the hardness, ultimate strength, and resistance to fatigue failure are increased, provided the overstraining has not been carried far enough to make the metal brittle. 5. Correspondingly the ultimate elongation, reduction in area, magnetic quality, ratio of endurance limit (fatigue breaking stress) to elastic limit, and resistance to season cracking (in certain copper alloys) are decreased. The question naturally arises: how do these changes in the properties of a metal resulting from overstrain influence our method of design? The fact that most of the desirable qualities are increased makes overstraining a favorable process, from an engineering standpoint; but on the other hand, the loss of such qualities as perfect elasticity and complete

Jan 1, 1924

By P. K. Koh, H. A. Lewis, H. F. Graff

New data on the distribution of silicon between slag and carbon-saturated iron at 1600Oand 1700OC are presented which, in combination with previously published data, permit the determination of silica activities over a broad range of compositions in the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. The distribution of silicon between graphite-saturated Fe-Si-C alloys and blast furnace-type slags in equilibrium with CO has been described in previous publications.1"3 In this past work the silica-silicon relation was established at temperatures of 1425" to 1'700°C for slags containing up to 20 pct A12O3. This paper presents the results of additional studies at 1600" and 1700° C which extend the silicon distribution data at these temperatures for CaO-A12O3-SiO, slags over a range from zero pct Al2O3 to saturation with Al2O3, or CaO.2Al2O3. The upper limit of SiO2 is set by the occurrence of Sic as a stable phase when the metal contains 23.0 or 23.7 pct Si at 1600" or 1700°C, respectively. The activity of silica over the expanded range is determined directly from the distribution data.3 Recently4-7 other investigators have studied the activities of SiO, and CaO, principally in the binary system, using different methods and obtaining somewhat different results. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY The experimental apparatus and procedure have been fully described in previous publications.1, 3 Six new series of experimental heats have been made, four at 1600° and two at 1700°C. Master slags of several fixed CaO/Al203 ratios were pre-melted in graphite crucibles, and these were used with additions of silica to prepare the initial slag for each experiment. Slag and metal were stirred at 100 rpm and CO was passed through the furnace at 150 cc per min. The initial sample was taken 1 hr after addition of slag at 1600°C or 1/2 hr after addition at 1700°C. The run was normally continued for 8 hr at 1600°C or 7 hr at 1700°C, and the final sample was taken at the end of this period. Changes in Si and SiO2 content indicate the direction of approach to equilibrium, and in a series of runs where the approach is from both sides this permits approximate location of the equilibrium line. Fig. 1 shows the results of such a series of 15 runs at 1600°C for slags of CaO/Al,O3 = 1.50 by weight. Figs. 2 and 3 record other series at 1600°C and Fig. 5 a series at 1700°C with fixed CaO/Al0 ratios. The results of the experiments at 162003°C have been reported in part in a preliminary note.3 In the experiments recorded in Figs. 4 and 6, the slags were saturated with A12O3 (or with CaO.2A12O3 within its field of stability) by suspending a pure alumina tube in the melt during the course of the run. The final slag analyses were used to establish the liquidus boundaries8 in the stability fields of CaO.2Al2O3 and of Al20,. ACTIVITY OF SILICA The free-energy change in the reaction has been calculated by Fulton and chipman2 from recent and trustworthy data including heats of formation, entropies, and heat capacities. The more recent determination by Olette of the high-temperature enthalpy of liquid silicon is in satisfactory agreement with the values used and therefore requires no revision of the result which is expressed in the equation: SiO2 (crist) + 2C (graph) = Si + 2CO(g.) [1] &F° = + 161,500 - 87.4T The standard state for silica is taken as pure cristobalite and that of Si as the pure liquid metal. Since the melts were made under 1 atm of CO and were graphite-saturated, the equilibrium constant for Eq. [I] reduces to K1 = asi /asio2. The value of this constant is 1.77 at 1600°C and 16.2 at 1700°C. Through K1, the activity of silica in the slag is directly related to the activity of silicon in the equilibrium metal.

Jan 1, 1960

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Dec. 10, 1915 to Jan. 10, 1916. ANDERSON, FRANK BASIL, Min. Engr., Sampler, Copper Queen Cons. Min. Co., Bisbee, Ariz. BAILEY, LEWIS NEWTON, Min. -Engr 4227 St. James Place, Sail Diego, Cal. BELL, JAMES E., Min. Engr., Care Chile Exploration Co., Chuquicamata, Chile, South America. BONILLAS, YGNACIO SAFFORD, Min. Geol., Copper Queen Cons. Min. Co., Bisbee, Ariz. BRADLEY, GEORGE OLIVER, Mech. Engr Hobart Bldg., San Francisco, Cal. CLARK, GEORGE L., Min. Engr Vipond Mine, Schumacher, Ont., Canada. CONKLING, RICHARD A., Geol., Roxana Petroleum Co. of Oklahoma, Tulsa, Okla. GOHRING, W. B.. Geol., Supt. of Mines, Calumet and Arizona Min. Co., Warren, Ariz.

Jan 2, 1916

By Robert D. Pehlke, Arden L. Bement

A mass transfer coefficient for the removal of hydrogen from liquid aluminum by inert flush degassing has been determined experimentally at 700°C. A mathematical model has been derived, assuming transport control, which adequately describes the experimental data. The removal of hydrogen is shown to increase with decreasing bubble size, and with increasing flow of flushing gas. The presence of hydrogen in liquid metals in amounts which exceed the solid solubility at one atmosphere hydrogen pressure is highly undesirable, causing unsound ingots or castings, or resulting in difficulties during further fabrication. The removal of hydrogen from liquid metals can be accomplished by several methods, the principal two being vacuum treating and inert flush degassing. The design of a process involving either of these techniques is based on the mass transfer coefficient for hydrogen between the liquid metal and a hydrogen-dilute gas phase. In an effort to extend our knowledge in this area, an investigation of the rate of removal of hydrogen from liquid metals by inert gas flushing was undertaken. In view of the difficulties encountered with gas porosity in the casting of aluminum and aluminum alloys, and because of certain experimental advantages, liquid aluminum was selected for the study. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS The removal of gases from liquid metals, particularly steel, has received considerable attention in recent years, The first definitive work of a theoretical nature was presented by Geller1 who considered the case where equilibrium exists between purging gases and metal bath during flushing, and also deviations from this ideal case. Hulme2 has surveyed a number of experimental studies and discussed some of the practical limitations of removing dissolved gases from molten metals. More recently a number of studies have been reported on degassing of steel melts by flushing with an inert gas.3'4 Considerable work has also been reported on aqueous and organic liquid-gas systems, and an excellent summary prepared by Hovis.5 The treatment of liquid aluminum by a flushing gas to remove dissolved hydrogen has been known for several decades.6 A number of gases have been used for this purpose, including nitrogen, argon, and chlorine, or mixtures of these gases. Tikkanen and Erkko7 have studied the relative density changes of aluminum castings poured from melts degassed with chlorine, nitrogen, and mixtures of the two gases. Their

Jan 1, 1962