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By E. C. Lane

[This is the eleventh in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. The first report contained data, on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The present report presents analytical data for 2,020 samples, reprecenting the products of approximately 120 companies, which, as in previous surveys, include both large and small suppliers. In addition, the Pacific coast is represented by data averaged the Pacific Coast Technical Group before being submitted and' are published exactly as they were received. As in previous surveys, the data are divided into the three groups of samples of regular-price, premium-price, and third-grade gasoline each group has been averaged separately. The number of samples, items, and old brands comprising each group, exclusive of the of the Pacific coast, axe as follows: Regular price, 1,071 samples, 29 items, and 77 brands; premium price, 608 samples, 235 items, and 72 brands; third-grade gasoline, 341 samples, 196 items, 78 brands. The meanings of these terms as used in tae surveys are as follows:]

Jan 1, 1941

By E. C. Lane

[This is the eleventh in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. The first report contained data, on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The present report presents analytical data for 2,020 samples, representing the products of approximately 120 companies, which, as in previous surveys, include both large and small suppliers. In addition, the Pacific coast is represented by data averaged by the Pacific Coast Technical Group before being submitted and are published exactly as they were received. As in previous surveys, the data are divided into the three groups of samples of regular-price, premium-price, and third-grade gasolines, and each group has been averaged separately. The number of samples, items, and brands comprising each group, exclusive of the of the Pacific coast, axe as follows: Regular price, 1,071 samples, 29 items, and 77 brands premium Price, 608 samples, 235 items, and 72 brands; third-grade gasoline, 341 samples, 196 items, and 78 brands. The meanings of these terms as used in tae surveys are as follows: Sample: The individual sup of gasoline o1 obtained at the filling station and analyzed in the laboratory.]

Jan 1, 1941

By R. G. Dressler

The Federal Bureau of Mines designed, constructed, and operated a demonstration plant at Louisiana, Mo., to produce gasoline, liquid fuels, and organic compounds from coal by a modified Fischer-Tropsch gas-synthesis process. Satisfactory equipment was developed to produce and purify synthesis gas and convert it into the desired products. Coal or coke was gasified with oxygen and steam to make a gas consisting essentially of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Dust in the raw gas was removed by cyclone separation, water scrubbing, and electrostatic precipitation. Carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and organic sulfur were removed with diethanolamine, iron oxide, and activated carbon. The gas was passed over iron catalyst and was converted into synthetic liquids, which were then separated and fractionated into gasoline, diesel oil, other liquid fuels, and oxygenated organic compounds. A 39-day continuous run demonstrated the feasibility of the process. Addition of 3 milliliters of tetraethylead per gallon of upgraded (or finished) gasoline gave a product with an octane rating up to 90 by the research method. After a caustic wash, the diesel oil was of a superior quality; its cetane number was 60 or above.

Jan 1, 1961

By T. SPOLAN, G. W. Jones, R. E. Kennedy

Information relative to the explosibility of acetylene at elevated pressures and means of handling acetylene safely under these conditions is of considerable interest at present. American practice limits the pressure at which acetylene may be generated and distributed to poiIits of' use. The pressure in portable acetylene generators is 15 pounds per square inch gage. Tests made by the Bureau of Mines have shown that 15 pounds per square inch gage is too high to prevent explosiofiS of gaseous acetylene in the absence of air; in fact, dry acetylene gai can be exploded at pressures greater than 5.9 pounds per square inch gage. The Bureau has been interested in the explosibility of acetylene for many years because of its continued: use for illumination in many metal mines and its general use in cutting 1illd~--eldifigoperations in the mining maus-try.

Dec 1, 1948

By John Gross

In connection with some investigations being made at '!'he Ra.re uid Precious 1ets.ls Station of the U, S. Bu.rea.u of Mines, at Reno, Nev., on the precipitation of gol'i and silver from cyanide solutions, it wa.s sug­ gested tnat the use of acetylene for this purpose be investigated, A pa.tent was iss·.ied to Fre<!.erick W. Martin and Frederick Stl1.bbs in 1900 covering the precipitation of precious metals from cyanide solu­tions by acetylene, The acetylene used in the tests described below wa3 made f'rom a. corr.:nercial cal ci \'!Z:l carbid.e, A r..umber of exper:me11. +,s rezul ted in more or lP.ss ccmplete pree;p1tatien of silver, -but 1n no case was a11Y gold precipitated. As silver acetylide, obtained by precipitatir.g the silver from an ar:::ncni'i\.Ca.l so1ut1on of silver n,. tra.te by acetylene, is yellowish white, esn:, solu'.)le in cyanide and hlghly explosive, and the pr9cip1tate ob­tain£ frcvm the cy'31lide sclutions was black, not tlubla L., cyanide and not explooive, it 'Na.s deid-,d. to ir.·.restigate the na.tur.e of the slJ.ver pre­cipit.te !rem the cy;r:iide solu·t:i.i,ns, !n prepa;.•i::lg a lge (!\,wrttity ,:f the preci-pi tte 1 t. wa, fo·und that a.fter c,:.\i;:1 ete prEc"'.pi tat ion cf the eil ver the !IOl ution con ta.ined soluble eulphic.e • Thia p:!:'O'lided a el f!W "lt·d. a.ft er apr,ropri-9.te tests the preeipita.te VIO,I proved to 'be ailver sulphide.

Apr 1, 1922

By J. B. Gayle

Since the turn of this century, there has been increasing interest in the application of flotation processes to the beneficiation of finely divided minerals of various types, This is reflected by the large numbers of papers dealing with various aspects of this problem published annually both in this country and abroad. For the most part, such papers fall into one of three categories: 1. Those concerned with achieving, by various chemical and/or physical means, a set of conditions under which certain particles become potentially floatable while others do not. 2. Descriptive studies of plants and pilot plants effecting separations between such particles. 3. Studies of the effects of certain design and operating variables on the rates and efficiencies with which such separations can be effected.

Jan 1, 1959

By B. E. Davis

The Bureau of Mines conducted tests on samples of two Florida phosphate slimes t6 devise a technique to recover phosphate currently dis-carded because of its fine size. A flotation technique was devised to recover the phosphate contained in two fractions of each slime: the plus 37um fraction and the plus 20-um fraction. The technique involved conditioning the flotation feed with sodium silicate and a fatty acid-fuel oil emulsion, floating a rougher phosphate concentrate, and cleaning the concentrate in two cleaner stages with sodium silicate added to each for gangue depression. Concentrates containing 21.0 to 32.3 pct P20S were produced with recoveries of 68.1 to 84.2 pct of the P20S con-tained in the flotation feed.

Jan 1, 1987

By G. R. Hopkins

According to reports as of January 1, 1931, the total daily charging capacity of the cracking plants, hoth completed and under construction, in the United States amounted to 1,950,781 "barrels, an increase over the previous year of 14 per cent. The total daily capacity of the operating plants amounted to 1,594,990 "barrels, or 82 per cent of the grand total, the capacity of the in¬ operative plants was 244,661 "barrels, or 12 per cent of the total, while the capacity of the plants under construction amounted to 111,130 "barrels, or 6 per cent. In comparison with a year ago, these data indicate a decline in the total capacity of the plants "being "built "but show material increases in the capacity of "both the other two classes. The increase in total inoperative capacity and the decline in construction in 1930 undoubtedly resulted from un¬ satisfactory economic conditions. The total number of cracking units completed or under construction on January 1, 1931, totaled 1,863 as compared with 2,002 the previous year and with a high of 2,559 on June 1, 1926. During the period between June 1, 1926, and January 1, 1931, the total charging capacity of the cracking plants has more than doubled, but the number of units has shown a material decline. This condi¬ tion has been brought about largely through the dismantling of many Burton still of small capacity and through the tendency to increase the size of the new units The "largest unit that can be identified in this survey has a daily charging capacity of 10,000 barrels, but undoubtedly there are some that would exceed this in size. Texas, with a total of 575,300 barrels, ranked far ahead of the other States in charging capacity, and was followed in order by California, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Indiana, with only five refineries, ranked third in cracking capacity, which illustrates the importance of the Chicago district as a gasoline-producing center. Not all of the States showed a gain in capacity during the year; in fact, four of them, namely Illinois, Louisiana, New York, and Oklahoma, reported a decline.

Jun 1, 1931

By John M. Gomes

The Bureau of Mines investigated two techniques for removing CaO from scheelite (CaW04) prior to electrolysis. In the first technique, a crude tungstic oxide (WO3) containing 0.15-percent lime (CaO) was prepared by digesting scheelite concentrates in hot hydrochloric acid. This oxide was used as cell feed to produce tungsten of 99.9-percent purity. The second technique used a high-temperature, two-phase separation, resulting in extraction of 99 percent of the WO3 in the halide-tungstate phase, while 90 percent of the CaO was retained in the silicate phase. Tungsten of 99.9-percent purity was deposited from the halide-tungstate melt after B203 and NaPO3 were added to form an electrolyte. The two methods were compared with a previously developed technique of depositing tungsten from scheelite concentrate fed directly to the electrolytic cell.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. W. Paul

Mine foremen are employed in coal mines for two reasons: First, so that the underground work. may proceed in an orderly manner and that each employee gives attention to his duties; and second, by reason of the State law which re- quires the employment of such officials to see that the laws relating to safety are carried out. It may be seen that, with these two duties, the foreman has wide scope of authority and much responsibility. As foreman of operations he has to meet certain economic questions that contribute to the cost of producing the coal, and as the agent of the State he must also supervise and coordinate the work in such manner as to insure that the employees work under safe conditions. As the roof of coal mines is the source of the greatest hazard naturally the care of the roof must take much thought and planning on the part of the fore- man; and this circular is therefore presented to call attention to some things he may do to prevent injury to the workmen by falls of the roof material or coal. Mine foremen, in the principal coal-producing States, are certified by a State board which prescribes certain qualifications, experience, and character, attested by examination and personal endorsement. Certified foremen, therefore, are men who have had experience underground and know roof conditions and timber- ing methods. The suggestions herein are based upon observations made at many mines and collectively embrace practices that have been found to be in effect and pro- moted by experienced mine foremen:

Sep 1, 1930

By J. H. Jacobs

The first authorization, in November 1940, was for a plant of only several hundred pounds capacity at Boulder City, Nev. Improvements in the process and subsequent additions to some sections have enabled the plant to produce more than 2,000 pounds of manganese per day for substantial periods. By the time pilot-plant operations were suspended in June 1945, over 1,500,000 pounds of metal had been produced. The future of electrolytic manganese production obviously depends not only on satisfactory development of methods but on availability of raw material and demonstration of valuable uses. Investigations of manganese-ore deposits in this country, made since 1938 by the Bureau of Mines, have revealed large amounts of ore suitable for making electrolytic manganese. At first the pilot plant was operated on ore from the Three Kids mine near Las Vegas, Nev. After practical features of the process had been worked out, other ores from throughout the United States were tested in the pilot plant. The purpose of this paper is to compare the results obtained on the following ores: Three Kids; Ladd mine, Tracy, Calif.; Chamberlain, S. Dak., nodules; and ore from Metals Reserve stockpiles at Deming, N. Mex.; Cushman, Ark.; and Philipsburg, Mont.

Dec 1, 1947

By John B. Gayle

During studies of the various methods for determining and specifying the factors that indicate whether a particular coke is better or worse than other cokes for metallurgical uses, questions arose as to the precision of screen-analysis tests on coke. Although the usual index of precision, the standard deviation of the test result, gives a measure of the precision of these data, the experimental determination of the standard deviation for a particular set of conditions requires tests on a large number of duplicate samples. Because this procedure necessaily involves a great deal of labor, an equation for predicting standard deviations from theoretical considerations has been developed. Results predicted with this equation agree satisfactorily with the experimental values and are applicable to tests on coal, coke, gravel, and other bulk materials.

Jan 1, 1952

In 2007, a total of 7,199 sand and gravel mining operations reported employment to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).1 ? Sand and gravel mines were the largest mining sector, comprising 48.4% of all mining operations. ? Sand and gravel mines were found throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Aug 1, 2009

By Richard N. Spencer

This report describes investigations of the economic merits of multiple zone mining and beneficiation versus selective mining of altered Western phosphate rock. The same deposit was considered in both instances and it was assumed that the grade of selectively mined ore was comparable to the grade of the concentrate from beneficiation. The beneficiating scheme used for the investigation was one proved by small continuous circuit operation. All economic factors were found to favor multiple zone mining plus beneficiation. Capital requirements and production costs were lower, and production life of the deposit was extended 4.5 times. The concentrate from beneficiation would be a uniform high-quality feed for acidulation and would be low in stable metallic oxide (R203) content. Such a feed would permit improved plant operating control, and the low R203 would promote more rapid filtration and minimize sludge formation in the phosphoric acid. With the proposed treatment, the concentrate produced by flotation from this deposit would cost about 1.5 times as much per ton as the concentrate produced by classification sizing. Therefore, inclusion of a flotation step in treatment schemes requires an economic analysis for each ore deposit.

Jan 1, 1971

By P. M. Ambrose

This report describes an accident, which took place in the Chemical Corrosion Laboratory at the College Park, Md., Station of the Federal Bureau of Mines. The accident occurred while Walter L. Acherman, chemist, was performing a routine manipulation during a corrosion experiment involving commercially pure titanium and red-fuming nitric acid. There was a sudden and very violent reaction, and a large quantity of acid was thrown in the face and over the body of Acherman, causing serious injury. L. B. Golden, chief of the Chemical Corrosion Section, was exposed to nitric acid fumes during the ensuing rescue and first-aid operations and died on January 25, 1954. According to the medical report, the direct cause of Mr. Golden&apos;s death was pulmonary edema and confluent bronchopneumonia; the contributary cause, was inhalation of fumes from red fuming nitric acid. The following employees of the College Park Station contributed to this report by supplying information on the accident and assisted in the rescue operation: L. B. Golden, chief, Chemical Corrosion Section; T. E. Green, chemist; Robert Warf field, chemist; L. A. DeVivo, laboratory mechanic; D. W. Chalkley, laboratory mechanic; E. H. Neagle, laboratory welder; and R. L. Heath, laboratory general mechanic.

Jan 1, 1955

By M. H. Kersten, G. A. Brady, Jerry W. Ramsey

Anthracite samples were oxidized with nitric acid to prepare products representing intermediate stages of oxidation . Similar oxidizing conditions affected different anthracites to varying degrees as characterized by peptization behavior with 0.1 N NaOH . Techniques used in attempts to separate and characterize the products included esterification , absorption spectrophotometry , sublimation , chromatography , electrophoresis , metal salt formation , and solvent extraction . Mellitic acid , either free or in the form of metallic salts , was identified in the acid- soluble products from 10 tests in which the anthracite was treated with nitric acid for periods varying from 24 to 1,000 hours . pentacarboxylic acid was also found in some products . Other benzene carboxylic acids were not present in amounts detectable by the methods used in this study . The acid- insoluble residue from nitric acid treatment varied significantly in solubility behavior toward different classes of solvents . The most effective ones tried included polar oxygenated solvents and pyridine . Infrared spectra of the extracted material indicated that similar compounds were extracted by the different solvents . Aliphatic amines and aniline peptized the residue and o- toluidine reacted with it . Organic material separated from the residue by peptization with dimethylformamide contained 1 percent ash , consisting of more than 50 percent zirconium .

Jan 1, 1964

By NIOSH Publication

In 2004, a total of 7,074 sand and gravel mining operations reported employment to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Sep 1, 2007

By K. K. Kershner, J. G. Donaldson

This investigation was conducted to obtain data on optimum conditions for chloridizing metal sulfides . Salt- roasting galena at 450° C for 8 hours chloridized 75 percent of the lead ; in an equal time of treatment at 750° C , the process chloridized 42 percent of the zinc in sphalerite . Hydrogen chloride at 500° C completely chloridized galena in 15 minutes , and at 600° C converted all of the zinc in sphalerite to the chloride in 4 hours .

Jan 1, 1963

By L. H. Adami, E. G. King

The heats of formation of four sulfides --MnS ( alabandite ) , FeS ( hexagonal pyrrhotite ) , ZnS ( wurtzite ) , and CdS ( greenockite ) -- were determined by hydrochloric acid solution calorimetry . The heats of formation from the metals and rhombic sulfur at 298.15 ° K are , respectively , -51.01 ± 0.19 , -23.81 ± 0.24 , -45.86 ± 0.20 , and -35.70 ± 0.30 kcal /mole . The corresponding free energies of formation were calculated from the heats of formation and the pertinent entropy values .

Jan 1, 1964

By H. M. Smith

Data from the Bureau of Mines routine method for the analysis of crude petroleum are used to characterize crude oils. Some data are used directly while other data are used to calculate the aromatic) naphthene) and paraffin contents of the distillation fractions and the correlation index of the paraffin-naphthene portion of the fractions. The calculated properties show significant differences in composition between crude oils. The methods of calculation and interpretation of data are explained and illustrated.

Jan 1, 1966