T h e J o u rn a l of Industrial a n d Engineering Ghemistry
Published by T H E A M E R I G A N GHE MI GA L S O C I E T Y
Volume 1Y MARCH, 1912 No. 3
BOARD OF EDITORS.
Editor: M. C. Whitaker.
Associate Editors :
G. P. Adamson, E. G. Bailey, H. E. Barnard, G. E. Barton, A. V. Bleininger, Wm. Brady,
F. B. Carpenter, C. E. Caspari, V. Coblentz, W. C. Geer, W. F. Hillebrand, W. D. Horne, T. Kamoi, ™A. D.
Little, G. E. Lucke, P. C. Mcllhiney, Wm. McMurtrie, J . M. Matthews, T. J . Parker, J . D. Pennock, W. D.
Richardson, G. C. Stone, E. Twitchell, R . Wahl, W. H. Walker, W, R. Whitney, A. M. Wright.
P u b lis h e d m o n th ly . S u b s c rip tio n p rie c to n o n -m e m b e rs of th e A m e ric a n C hem ical Society, $6.00 y e arly . F o re ig n p o stag e , sev en ty -fiv e cen ts, C an a d a , C u b a a n d M exico e x ce p te d .
K n tc re d a t th e Post-O ffice, E a s to n , P a ., as Second-class M a tt e r .
t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s.
Ed i t o r i a l s :
Conservation.
Mi n e r a l Wa s t e s Sy m p o s i u m:
Carbon Wastes. B y J. A. Holmes...
Zinc Losses. B y W. H. B a sse tt...
Need of Spccial Alloys for Special Purposes. B y W.
H. Bassett ...
Waste and Conservation of Potash and Phosphoric Acid. B y F. K . Cameron...
Losses of Combined Nitrogen. B y John D. Pennock.
The Abuse of Brand. B y A. D. L ittle...
The Relation of the Silicate Industries to Conserva
tion. B y A. V. Bleininger...
New Uses to Reduce Abuses in Conservation. B y .. W. R . Whitney... ... • • • ...
Mineral Losses in Gases and Fumes. B y F. G. Cot
trell... ...
Miscellaneous Mineral Wastes. B y Chas. L. Parsons.
Or i g i n a l Pa p e r s:
A New Method for Testing Paint Films and Preserva- 'tive Coatings for Iron and Steel. B y \\ . C. Slade. . A- Short Method for the Determination of Soluble Arsenic in Commercial Lead Arsenates. B y B. E.
Curry and T. O. Sm ith... ...
Valuation of Fluorspar. B y E . Bid tel...
Determination of Manganese in Steel. B y Jam es J.
Boyle... • ■; ...
Carbon Dioxide: Its Volumetric Determination. B y Leon T. Bowser...
The Value of the Higher Phenols in Wood-Preserving Oils. B y Samuel Cabot... • • • • ■. ...
Composition of D ry Gluten and its Relation to the Protein Content of Flour. B y Geo. A. Olson.. . . . . A Comparative Study of Methods for the Determina
tion of Hard and Total Soft Resins in the Hop. B y H. V. Tartar and C. E. B radley...
The Chemistry of Anaesthetics, IV : Chloroform. B y Charles Baskerville and W. A. Hamor...
La b o r a t o r y a n d Pl a n t:
A Modified Wiley Extraction Apparatus. B y \ \ . D.
Richardson and E . F . Schcrubcl ...
A Substitute for the B last Lamp. B y W. A. E rn s t..
A Convenient-Filtering Apparatus. B y C. S. Wil
liams, J r ... ...
An Improvement oil the Kjeldalil Distilling Apparatus.
B y . W. L. Hadlock ...
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169 172 17 8
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182
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185
189 j
198 2 0 1 I
202 i
203 ! 206 - 206 ;
2°9 !
Co m m i t t e e Re p o r t s:
Committee on Fertilizer Legislation. Fertilizer Divi
sion ...
Committee on Potash. Fertilizer Division...
Committee on Phosphate Rock. Fertilizer Division Committee on Nitrogen. Fertilizer Division...
Committee on Standard Specifications and Methods of Analysis. Industrial Division...
Committee on Definition of Industrial Terms. In
dustrial Division...
Committee on Professional Code of Ethics. In
dustrial Division...
No t e s a n d Co r r e s p o n d e n c e:
A Note on Sampling. B y W. J. Sharwood...
Laboratory Preparation of Litmus Paper...
Perilla Oil...
Barleys Exhibited at the Second International Barley and Hop Prize E xh ibit...
Eighth International Congress Notes...
Ob i t u a r i e s:
Dr. Naokichi Matsui...
Co n s u l a r a n d Tr a d e No t e s:
German Bronze-Powder Industry...
Electrolytic Recovery of Zinc...
Sulphur Mines in Mexico...
Amalgamation of British Cement Companies..
Argentina’s Wine Industry...
Petroleum Output of the World _...
Oil from Sunflower Seed... '...
Gas Production and Consumption in England.
220 I
2 2 1 ! Ne w Pu b l i c a t i o n s.
2 23 224 225 225
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227 229 229
230 2 3 0
230
231231
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232232 2 32 232 232
Bo o k Re v i e w s:
Some Chemical Problems of To-day; The Manufacture of Chemical Manures; The Technical Analysis of Brass and the Non-ferrous Alloys; Pure Foods.
Their Adulteration, Nutritive Value and Cost;
Plant Food. Its Sources, Conservation, Prepara
tion and Application...
222 i Re c e n t In v e n t i o n s.
222 ! Ma r k e t Re p o r t...
233 233 236 238
i6o T H E J O U R N A L OF 1N D U S R T I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., 1 9 1 2
EDITORIALS
CONSERVATION.
In p u b lish in g the symposium upon conservation which occupies a large portion of this number of the Journal, a great service is being done. It should be realized that the problem of conservation is largely a chemical one and that the leaders in industrial chemistry have serious responsibility in respect to it.
In reference to many of the materials extracted from the earth there areT'certain common factors.
Most of them have been exploited for thousands of years. However, the drafts upon the reserves of the earth as compared /with , its- total capacity were small until the beginning of the nineteenth century. From the dawn of civilization until that time the amounts of fuels and metals mined had been so inconsiderable that there was no need of thought for the morrow.
B y the philosophers of any time before the nineteenth century, it might have been asserted that the stores of these substances were so large as compared with the need for them that they would last through the in
definite future.
In the early half of the nineteenth century there appeared a phenomenal increase in the drafts upon the various mineral resources; but still the amounts demanded were not so large as to suggest forethought.
Then came the latter half of the century, the age of scientific advance and invention, the industrial and commercial age. Any forecasts as to the future life of the mineral resources which might have been made upon earlier data became worthless; and the closing decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century show the rate of
CARBON W ASTES.
B y J . A . Ho l m e s.
In opening the discussion on the question of waste, it may be proper to say just a word or two on the general question of waste and the possibilities of its reduction.
The Bureau of Mines, created about one and a half years ago, has had. set before it two general purposes which illustrate the way that the Federal Government, as a government, is interested in this matter of pre
venting waste. One of these purposes is to lessen the loss of life, and the other is to lessen the waste of re
sources in the mining, metallurgical and general mineral industries of the country. Both of these lines of endeavor are essential to the permanent wel
fare of the nation as a whole.
In discussing problems of this kind under the topics of waste and conservation, we must bear in mind the fact that conservation, which in name though not in reality is a comparatively modem invention, has been
exploitation ever accelerated. Indeed in the United States for many substances the output has doubled in ten years or less, including the all-important coal and iron. So far as this is true, it means that the output of the first decade of this century has been more than equal to that of all previous decades.
In this modem era of stable government for great nations, with peace general, war exceptional, instead of war general and peace exceptional; with the de
velopment of agriculture, manufacture, and trans
portation,. there has come an enormous increase in population. This increase will continue until the habitable areas of the world are fully occupied. The natural resources must be so handled as to meet the needs of these billions of people through hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of years to come. From the point of view of coming generations, the problem o f ; "conservation is!;'the most fundamental and far- reaching of those that are presented to the race.
The conservation movement, following the White House conference in 1908, was taken up with great enthusiasm all over the country, and became almost at once a national policy; but the successful solution of the problem of conservation is one which will re
quire the work of the leaders in applied science through many years to come. Already the popular interest in the movement is waning. Now is the time when the staying powers of those who appreciate its im
portance is required. It is fortunate for the nation that the industrial and engineering chemists fully appreciate this situation, and are striving not only to keep the conservation movement alive but to push it forward with increasing power.
Ch a r l e s R. Va n H i s e.
used and abused to such an extent that while it has become more or less popular in the country-at-large, it has also become decidedly unpopular with certain classes of people in this country. I think it is the province of the chemists' and mining engineers, more than any other classes of people in the country, to give conservation the basis in practical affairs which it ought to have.
I know that many of us, from the geologic and engineering side, have been trying for years to get along without chemists or with fewer chemists. But we have found this impossible; instead, we have been almost swamped with the constantly increasing need for more chemists. It is therefore eminently proper, it seems to me, to discuss these waste problems with and among chemists.
The topic in this symposium which has been assigned to me, namely “ Carbon Wastes,” illustrates one or two’ general principles which also I trust I ma}’ be pardoned in calling attention to in opening this dis
MINERAL WASTES SYMPOSIUM
Mar., i 9n T H É J O U R N A L O f I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . 161
cussion, and that is, what is a real waste may or may not now be a preventable waste in the present state of knowledge or under existing economic conditions.
Thus the waste in the utilization of coal; those who are less familiar with the mining industry than you are with the metallurgy, may not be aware of the fact that for every ton of coal brought to the surface in the bituminous or soft coal mines of this country, not less than one-half a ton is left under the ground, and it will not be possible to bring it to the surface in the future at any reasonable cost, if at all. But more shocking still is the fact that in our anthracite coal fields, which are so limited in extent as to be confined to a territory comprising less than four hundred square miles, even with all modern improve
ments, not more than 50 per cent, of the anthracite coal of the areas mined is being brought to the surface.
The remainder of it, now aggregating 80,000,000 tons a year, is being left underground in such condition as to make its future recovery difficult if not im
possible. '
In the early days of anthracite mining there was brought to the surface an average of between 30 and 40 per cent, of the coal, so that from 60-70 per cent, remained under the ground, which was sufficient to give strength to the proof; and to-day mining engineers are bringing to the surface a part of the coal which was left in the mines 30 or 40 years ago. But as the percentage of coal mined has increased from time to time, the possibility of recovering what is left behind diminishes. It has been estimated that since the beginning of coal mining in the United States, more than 2,000,000,000 tons of anthracite coal and 3,- 000,000,000 tons of bituminous coal have been left underground in such condition as to make its future recovery doubtful or impossible.
I know of no other American industry which to-day is in so deplorable an economic condition as is the bituminous coal industry. The operators, unable under existing laws to combine and fix prices of coal or any trade agreements, are adopting what appears to be the only alternative—ruinous competition, which entourages or enforces wasteful and dangerous mining.
It seems essential that Federal or joint state legislation be enacted authorizing such reorganization of this great industry as will permit reasonable returns on the money invested and at the same time properly safe
guard the public interests. You realize that it is often less expensive per ton for the operator to bring the first half of his coal to the surface than it is for him to bring out the remaining half, because this second half will support the roof while the first half is being removed; but while he removes the second half he must often temporarily support the roof with timbers; this entails additional expense to meet which there is generally neither an accumulated surplus from which to draw, nor a temporary profit from which to meet this extra expense; hence the coal is abandoned.
It is only fair to the coal operator that he is not in the mining business for his health, but to make a living b y , earning a reasonable return on his investment.
Therefore, what we may consider a waste may be a
necessary waste under existing economic conditions;
a waste, however, that is preventable and should be prevented by improvements in our economic condi
tions, and necessary legislative requirements.
Therefore, I think it is up to the people of the United States before condemning the coal operator for this waste, to make it profitable and possible for him to mine all the coal and then to see that he does it. I shall not now attempt, with the limited time set apart for this discussion, to inflict you with statistical details. The figures I have given you represent some of the largest preventable losses in carbon. Other large wastes of carbon come in the burning of coal for power and lighting purposes, flue losses, radiation losses, losses in imperfect burning, losses in the engines, and the transformation of steam into mechanical work, or electric light. Many of these losses we cannot see how to avoid now. They may be, for years to come, necessary losses. Both chemists and engineers should do everything in their power, and they are doing much, to reduce these losses and render them preventable. You and I to-day perhaps pay all that we ought to pay for coal laid down at our furnaces, but not enough of that goes back to the mine to repay the operator and the miners for the cost of their labor and other mining expenses. The coal repays to the operator and the laborer together scarcely more than $1.00 per ton for the responsible and dangerous work of getting out and putting on board the cars most of the bituminous coal in the United States. The operator in Europe gets twice as much per ton out of his coal after getting it on board cars, as does the American operator. I know cases where the profit per ton on European coal at the mine is greater than the total price received for American coal of the same quality on board cars at the mines.
Our American operator is right when he says that he cannot prevent this waste, nor can he spend much on safety devices, at the present prices of coal. With facts and justice on his side, he says: “ What can we do? We have to earn a living.”
Our waste of natural gas is a crime, and thoroughly discreditable to the nation. It is far worse than the waste of coal. The statistics for last year (1910), according to the Geological Survey, showed that some 480,000,000,000 cubic feet of gas were turned into the atmosphere and forever lost. In the above as in other cases, the individual operator finds it easier to save a part, than all, of these resources, yes, cheaper for him to waste a large part of these resources than to save all. In the case of natural gas he says: “ I want to get oil, and if I can get the oil cheaper by letting the gas escape, that is the operation I will pursue.” And the state and the nation stand by and watch the operation.
In connection with petroleum, we have less losses than in almost any other branch of the American fuel industry. The losses in this branch of the industry, which may be considered in any sense preventable losses, probably do not exceed 10 per cent.; but a loss of 10 per cent, in a great industry like the petro
leum industry is a ««rious matter and worthy of con-
IÖ2 T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., 19x2
sideration. The waste, if such it be called, in the petroleum industry, is rather that of the misuse of certain products, but that may be passed by for the
present. -
When the waste products prove injurious in the atmosphere a new factor is brought into place, which aids in developing prohibitory legislation; but pro
hibitory legislation without the aid of the chemist accomplishes little. If we turn some 4,000 tons of sulphur per day into the atmosphere, as S0 2, the chemist must discover how that sulphur can be caught and utilized again, or stored until the need for it has developed. If we are now turning more than 100 tons of arsenic into the atmosphere daily, the chemist must show us how we can use this arsenic. The operator says: "Y o u must show me some way in which I can prevent these losses and still make my business pay.”
A remedy of one waste may bring about a waste in some other direction. In coal mining, for example, we have been trying to stop the gas explosions, and found that one way to stop them is to pump two or three hundred thousand cubic feet of air through the mine and sweep out these gases; but we found that in doing this the coal dust itself becomes, during the cold weather, more dangerous than the gas, because this very ventilation keeps it dry. Then when we turn exhaust steam through the mine, trying to moisten the coal dust and cause it to settle, and trying to prevent that being explosive, we find we have de
veloped conditions in that mine which in turn are especially favorable to the hookworm and other trouble.
So we can develop along the best lines only by cooperation between the chemists and the engineers, in trying to find out what wastes can be prevented to-day, and how the necessary waste of to-day can be made a preventable waste of to-morrow on a fair, business-like basis.
There are many other examples of extensive and serious carbon waste in this country. Thus, in the coking industry the beehive coke ovens have turned into the atmosphere more than 100,000,000,000 cubic feet of valuable gas which, if properly treated, will yield not only gas but other important carbon by
products.
There is also turned loose into the atmosphere from the blast furnaces of the country enormous quantities of valuable gas. During the past few years there has been considerable progress made in the utilization of this gas for power purposes, but a large portion of it still goes to waste.
So, too, there is a loss of large quantities of carbon growing out of the making of coke b y the beehive instead of the by-product process. There are still other important carbon wastes, if time permitted even their mention.
In this discussion I have made no attempt to cover the losses of carbon in the consumption or the waste of forest products, lumber, etc., but in any complete treatment of the subject this, of course, would deserve consideration.
The important proposition before us is, knowing something of the extent of this waste, to find the remedy.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. Ke n t:
I enter this discussion by request of Dr. Holmes. I have been familiar with the work done by him for a great many years, and ju st want to supplement w hat he says on the ques
tion of wastes of coal in mining operations, by saying something with regard to the wastes of coal after it is mined and is in the market. As he says, 50 per cent, of the coal now' mined is wasted in the mines, and then of the 50 per cent, that gets into the market, perhaps 50 per cent, of that coal is wasted b y the consumer. I have no statistics on this, but it is a pretty good guess.
I11 the best boiler practice, we can get nearly 80 per cent, efficiency out of the coal, but such a high efficiency is reached only when we have the aid of the chemist to control the com
position of the waste gases. The latest boiler experiments indicate that the condition of maximum efficicncy is that the free oxygen in the gases ranges within the narrow limits of 5 and 8 per cent. B ut we have as yet no gauge or indicator by which the fireman can tell whether the gas is of the proper composition and whether he is firing right or not. He has a steam gauge to tell him the pressure of the steam, but whether he is firing that fire so as to have between 5 and 8 per cent, oxygen, he docs not know'. So instead of 70-80 per cent, efficiency in boilers, we have in practice only 40-60 per cent.
Now as to steam, wc all know that there is a tremendous loss in the steam engine, and in the gas engine too; but there is one feature of loss that is not generally considered; that is, the increase in the use of power which is not really necessary except to satisfy our desire for luxury: for instance, it takes, four times as much coal to take a vessel across the Atlantic in four days as it would in eight days. Of course, burning four times the amount of coal, enabling it to cross the Atlantic in four days, m ay be offset by a saving in the time of passengers and crew, but as far as the coal is concerned, high speed in
volves a tremendous waste.
There is also a waste here in Washington and in every other city, an immense waste of coal— in the electric lights used purely for advertising purposes.
We are burning up coal at an ever increasing rate and charging the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, which floats around the world until it is absorbed by vegetation. I t is hoped that the agricultural chemists some day will be able to devise a process by which thfcy can catch some of that carbon dioxide and put it back into the soil and produce carbon compounds, such as alcohol, which we can use for heat and light and power, and thus diminish the waste of coal.
Mr. Wh i t n e y:
I rise to oppose the suggestion of Mr. K ent that you arc wasting too much energy in lighting the great white ways.
Owing to recent reductions in costs of producing light, you are nowhere near using your “ velvet” in lighting your great white ways to which he referred.
Mr. Li t t l e:
The paper industry is one which is peculiarly conservative.
They arc not particularly anxious to be shown. I remember an early experience of mine when, after much trouble, I finally made a contract with a large paper mill. The first thing I did when I went there was to collect samples of all of their waste waters, and determine the amount, proportion and kind of ma
terial that was going into the stream. The mill had never paid, though it was well located. One reason for their failure to pay a dividend, as I found, was that 17 per cent, of the product was going down the river. I told the manager about it. Well,
Mar., 1.912 T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
he paid my salary for a year and never allowed me to come
#into the mill again.
Steps have already been taken to utilize a large quantity of the timber waste for the production of ethyl alcohol. Some of our lay friends have expressed skepticism as to the possi
bility of getting grain alcohol from wood, but everything be
comes clear when we simply tell them that we make it from the grain of the wood.
However, that industry is one which is bound to expand very largely. There is one plant in operation making two thousand gallons per day, and when the new plant comes in it will make from five to seven thousand gallons per day, and probably will be followed b y many others of similar proportions.
The paper trade is not the only one that permits itself to indulge in needless waste and even the best intentions sometimes lead to extravagance. There is a story of an automobile con
cern which was led, by a laudable desire to maintain a dustless testing track, into sprinkling the track with twenty-seven barrels of cylinder oil.
Mr. Lo e b:
'I should like to call attention to a plan which Professor Bone, of England, related to us recently in New York, and which seems to be well adapted toward reducing at least some of the waste of coal. It appears that considerable waste occurs through running dynamos of high capacity continuously at a low duty, merely to be ready for a maximum load at any time. They overcome this in England, especially in Yorkshire and Durham County, by coupling all the electric plants throughout the country in a single wiring system, so that each manufacturer can draw 011 all the combined dynamos of the region when he needs an excess of power, and transfer his own surplus when his demand is less than his actual capacity; in other words the entire group of plants insure each other against individual over
loading and, consequently, need not keep excessively large units in operation. The saving resulting from this system in England is Very large, according to Professor Bone.
Mr. He r t y:
In connection with the enormous waste of wood in the southern lumber mills, I think it only fair to the southern lumberman to say this: They are fully aware now of the waste that is going on, and I do not suppose you will find any body of men in this country who arc more anxious to avert that waste than the very men who are making it. What they arc suffering from, however, is the lack of guidance in how to do it, or rational methods of how to avoid it. I have talked with a number of these men in years past, and they are alive, wide-awake, and anxious to know how to do it. That part of it, the educational problem, is finished, so far as arousing interest is conccrncd.
What is to be avoided in the future is the men who arc not scientifically trained, who arc promoters of the worst type, who are crippling the wfork of the real scientific men of the country. I cannot point out to chemists any more resourceful field for work, than this. I can assure you that these lumber
men are anxious to know how to help themselves in preventing this form of waste of the carbon of the country.
Mr. Co m e y:
Speaking of the paper industry: I was in the Adirondacks this summer and saw them cutting up spruce trees 100 feet tall and 2 feet or more in diameter into cordwood to send down to New York to make New Y ork Journals. I think that is about as complete a waste of good material as can be found anywhere. Several thousand cords of that wood were used to make one Sunday edition of the New York Journal.
Mr. Pa r r:
I simply want to mention one source of carbon waste which, at first thought, m ay be a little absurd, but any manufacturer appreciates the very considerable expense attached to the
matter of crating, and when he begins to figure out especially that crating material is rather expensive to recover and put together again, he prefers to make a bonfire of that material rather than store it and utilize it again. A change is gradually coming into vogue in certain forms of cheap material, which will not make it so expensive as with the better grades of ma
terial that have been used in crating, but still there is a waste, and it is growing.
Mr. Br e n e m a n:
It m ay surprise many to know that in New York B ay, for a mile or two below the Narrows, I have seen, for many years past, accumulations of driftwood along the shore, sometimes as much as fifty cords of perfectly good wood, which could have been utilized to great advantage as kindling wood in the city if any one would take the trouble to collect and use it. The people along the shore get all the firewood they want from this driftwood, which is composed of lost or discarded timber from vessels, broken piles and lop from the city piers, carpenters’
waste, etc. A t Seagate, the western end of Coney Island, it used to be burned in large heaps to be rid of it.
Mr. Ca l d w e l l:
In conncction with what has been said in regard to the waste of lumbcrmill materials, I m ay simply state that I visited not long ago a mill which made use of sawmill slabs, also sawdust, in the manufacture of producer gas. While I have no figures to report, I expect it wras a very profitable operation, so that people arc now becoming more wide awake to the necessity of using these waste materials. I do not think I can illustrate that any better than to relate the fond hope which somebody had the other day. He came into my laboratory with a cubic foot of dried swamp land, which of course contained an immense amount of carbon, and he expressed the hope that it might be used for fuel.
Mr. Bi r d:
In connection with the subject of carbon waste, a most crying n(fed of conserving carbon is to correct what is going, on now so extensively in the neighboring Appalachian mountains; namely, the burning of the forests, depredations by insects, etc. For a future supply of forest products, we must protect the young trees, and bring about a rational system of cutting the older trees.
Mr. Fr a n k f o r t e r:
■ I have been interested in the matter of the lumber and wood waste in the lumber mills for a number of years. Actual e x periments show that nearly 60 per cent, of the total weight of timber is wasted. Forty per cent, of the tree is the best that the lumber mill can do at the present time. I have seen trees, 8 -12 feet in diameter, cut 20 feet above ground in order to avoid the resin which is frequently so abundant as to make the lower part of the tree of little value for lumber. You can imagine what the waste would be in trees of that type. On the Pacific Coast the mills save between 25 and 30 per ccnt. on the big trees.
Mr. Ro b e r t s:
A rather unusual variety of utilization of a carbon waste product is involved in the proposal to extinguish fires and kill vermin in mines, ships and other enclosed places, by blowing the burnt gases from the furnaces into the burning compartment.
The gases first are cleaned and cooled by a shower of water.
The basic idea is the subject of an expired patent, but the earlier machinery was crude. An efficient machine for the purpose is covered by a recent patent (Harker, 1909, U. S.
No. 9 1 5 , 4 3 1 ) - The machine has been thoroughly tried out and approved by the Australian authorities, and the U. S. Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service is now installing one for trial on a quarantine steamer.
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., 1 9 12
Mr. Ho l m e s:
The practice in Belgium and Germany to-day of filling in the mines with sand and other materials known as flushing makes possible not only the taking out of all the coal, but prevents the settling of the surface, and it also prevents explosions and mine fires of which latter, in this country, we have so many. So there are many reasons why that ought to be done, and in European countries the added cost has not exceeded twenty
's vc cents per ton on the extra coal recovered b y this flushing process.
The losses of carbon in m any of these ways which have been mentioned, blast furnaces, cupolas, etc., are tremendous.
Mr. Pa r s o n s:
There is one point in connection with this question of carbon waste that has not been dwelt upon, and that is, the tremendous waste in carbon and in energy in the beehive coke oven. It has been figured, I believe, by Mr. Parker, of the Geological Survey, that the energy allowed to go to waste in the produc
tion of coke in this country alone amounts to one million horse
power per day, which is four times the amount of 'energy they hope to utilize in Sweden for the fixing of atmospheric nitrogen.
They expect in two or three years to have 250,000 horsepower actually at work in fixing the nitrogen of the atmosphere, and there is actually one million horsepower going to waste in the coke industry in this country alone.
I doubt if this audience realizes that by the utilization of the new cup system of gathering turpentine in the South, probably thirteen million dollars has been saved in the turpentine in
dustry.
ZINC LOSSES.
B y W . H . Ba s s e t t.
A considerable loss in the brass manufacturing industry arises through the volatilization of the zinc in the process of melting and ^alloying. This loss owing to want of reliable statistics cannot be even approximately estimated.
The copper losses in most of the more progressive manufacturing establishments are very small. These have not been difficult to take care of, but the zinc losses, on the other hand, have presented a much more difficult problem on account of the volatile nature of the metal.
Zinc melts at about 4200 C. and boils at about 9300 C. Copper melts at about 10800 C. and, in making brass, has to be sufficiently heated to take the zinc without chilling before it is all added. Brass for working is poured into iron chills, and must be sufficiently hot when cast to give a smooth surface free from cold sets and other flaws. On this account the pouring temperature for high brass is about 1050° C. The melting point of the alloy copper 70 zinc 30 is given by Charpy as 945°C., and that of the alloy 60 copper 40 zinc as S8o° C. Two and one brass melts at approximately 9200 C., that is, very nearly at the boiling point of zinc. It is con
sequently evident that, when most of the brasses are sufficiently fluid to pour freely, the zinc is rapidly distilling from them.
. The actual loss of zinc, in flue dust and in zinc fumes which pass into the atmosphere in the melting and casting of brass for rolling, amounts to approxi
mately 6 per cent, of the zinc used.
Most commercial brand*; of zinc carry both lead and cadmium. Either of these elements may run as high as 0.75 per cent, in the common brands used in brass-making. The cadmium in the Western brands average 0.30 per cent, to 0.50 per cent.
The composition of the flue dust from the fires in which brass is melted is interesting as it indicates a much more rapid volatilization of cadmium and lead than of zinc. Samples taken from flues in the casting shops of two different mills gave the following com
position:
“ A ." “ B .”
P e r cen t. P e r cen t.
C o p p er o x id e ... ... 2 .8 5 2 .5 0 I r o n o x id e ... ... 2 .4 3
Z inc o x id e ... ... 3 2 .1 3 2 4 .7 4 C ad m iu m o x id e ... ... 1 .5 6 0 .8 9 L e a d o x id e ... ... 0 .3 1 1.9 2 P e r cen t, c ad m iu m o x id e a m o u n ts to 4 .9 -3.6 p e r cen t., re-
sp ec tiv e ly , of th e Z nO p re sen t.
In some instances we have found 6 per cent, as much cadmium oxide as zinc oxide. A search for cadmium in sheet brass made from zinc carrying */, per cent, of that element failed to reveal an amount sufficiently large for determination, indicating that in ordinary practice the cadmium is substantially all volatilized.
Part of the zinc lost , b y volatilization remains in the fluxes mixed with fine ashes as flue dust and part goes off into the atmosphere. Numerous sug
gestions have been made for the saving of all of the zinc oxide, but none of these have seemed likely to succeed commercially on account of the expensive plant required and the low value of the recovered material. It is practically impossible to get enough for the flue dust to pay for the transportation charges.
Apparently the better grade of material is now lost into the atmosphere, and if this could be recovered the total product might be of higher quality.
One of the reasons for the difficulty in recovering the zinc fume is the great dilution of the flue gases, caused by opening the furnace to add to the charges in the crucibles and to work the material down into the pots. The new idea of separating solids from flue gases by means of an electrical discharge, which has been worked out b y Professor Cottrell, appears to be a possible solution of this problem.
It also appears that zinc is decidedly volatile and escapes from its alloys at temperatures considerably below its boiling point. On a number of occasions white deposits, which proved on analysis to be zinc oxide, have been observed on the annealing pans.
This occurred when the temperature of the heat treat
ment had not been above 500° C. during the opera
tion.
It has also been frequently noted that strips of cop
per or copper colored alloys heated in loose contact with brass became brass colored and, in fact, that the surface of copper would be changed to brass for a depth of 0.2 to 0.3 mm. On account of these ob
servations the following experiment was undertaken:
Pieces of hard rolled brass made from 2 parts copper to 1 part zinc 2.5 cm. X 12 cm. X 0.1 cm. were wrapped in thin sheet copper and packed with fine charcoal
Mar., 1 9 1 2 T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y .
in a sealed copper pipe, and heated in a Sauveur furnace for one hour and for 10 hours. A t 350° C. and at 4500 C. there was no apparent loss. A t 550° C.
the loss was 0.3 gram per square meter of surface exposed in 10 hours. A t 650° C. the loss wasVi.5 grams per square meter in one hour and 5.4 grams per square meter in ten hours. A t 750° C. it was 46 grams per square meter in one hour and 63Tgrams per square meter in ten hours. The copper envelope, in the heats where there was noticeable volatilization of zinc, was changed to brass on the inside surface.
This means that soft brass 15 mm. thick in the usual processes of annealing in being reduced to thin sheets has lost about 1.3 per cent, of its weight, due to the volatilization of zinc. In other words, 4 per cent, of the zinc in the brass is lost by volatilization. In annealing, as it is usually carried out in the open furnace, the loss is greater on account of oxidation.
Since the annealing is done at varying temperatures, it is difficult to estimate this loss, but it is probably not far from 3 per cent.
The use of chlorides as fluxes in melting promotes the volatilization of zinc. The action of vapors of common salt at temperatures considerably below the melting point of brass will completely dezincify the alloy. This is illustrated by the following experience:
Brass 2.5 mm. thick was heated for one hour at ap
proximately 650° C. in a wood-fired annealing furnace with wood which had been soaked in sea water. The result was that all but about 0.2 mm. in the center was completely dezincified, had the color of copper, and cracked apart when bent. A similar experience was had through the accidental placing in the an
nealing furnace of the heads and staves of an old salt barrel.
The residue and slags from the casting shops gen
erally find their w ay back to the copper smelter, and, in the process of smelting, all of the zinc which these contain is lost. This loss amounts probably to a little more than 1 per cent, of the total spelter consumed in the manufacturing of wrought metals.
Taking all of these sources of loss together, it seems probable that fully 10 per cent, of the spelter used in making wrought brass is at present a total loss.
In the cast brass industry, in spite of the fact that the alloys used generally contain but a small pro
portion of zinc, the losses must be very large on ac
count of the use of small oil reverberatory furnaces of various types and also crucible melting furnaces which have been devised more with an idea of con
venience than of preventing metallurgical losses.
D IS C U S S IO N . Mr. Pa r s o n s:
In order to start this discussion, I will bring out one or two points that have impressed me and I hope a good many others in the audience will have something to add. One of the first things of prime importance is to remember that most of the zinc which is mined each year is ultimately wasted. Copper, platinum, gold, or metals of that character are to a great extent stored up and accumulated and used over and over again.
Probably this is less true of zinc than of any other of our im
portant metals. For example, there are now about 59,000 tons
of zinc oxide made each year and used in paint, rubber goods, and some other industries, practically none of which is ever recovered. I understand that the automobile industry is using at the present time approximately forty million pounds of zinc oxide as a filler for automobile tires.
Approximately two-thirds of all the zinc produced is used in galvanizing iron. Now that zinc, while it preserves the iron, is for the most part ultimately lost; the iron m ay be recovered as scrap, but little zinc is recovered from galvanized iron.
There does not seem to be much prospect of very great re
covery as long as the price of zinc is low. Also in the mining of zinc there is fully as much loss as in the mining of carbon.
Immense amounts of zinc are left in the ground, sim ply for the reason that a royalty is charged on the basis of the zinc mined and the producing companies naturally take out of the ground only that part which can be readily disposed of, and leave in the mine that which does not immediately pay them.
Later the mine is covered up, filled in, and abandoned, and that part of the zinc left in the ground has little probability of ever being recovered.
Also, the peculiiu: chemistry of zinc—its volatility, the diffi
culty of its condensation when mixed with inert gases, the ease with which it reduces carbon dioxide at temperatures but little above its boiling point—makes losses in the smelting of zinc almost inevitable.
Now in the brass industry, from seven to ten per cent, of the zinc used is wasted. In Waterbury alone, there are probably 7500 pounds of zinc in the form of zinc oxide passing out of the chimneys every day. Such scrap as cannot be directly melted in the brass industry goes to a smelter in New Jersey, and if I am correctly informed as to the methods they use, the copper alone is saved. They use reverberatory furnaces with oxidizing, flame, and the zinc oxide accordingly passes off into the atmos
phere and is wasted.
The Geological Survey estimates that probably something like $45,000,000 of metal scrap are produced each year. These figures, as I understand them, include all scrap, both that of definite and known composition which b y simple remelting can be readily used again and that of varying and unknown com
position, such as is obtained through junk dealers. In the first case, there is very little waste of material, and I am person
ally doubtful if it should be considered "scrap” at all, for it is simply remeltcd to be used again in much the same way as the dough from which doughnuts are cut is again kneaded to
gether and rolled out into sheet for further use. Even here, there is, however, a considerable loss of zinc in the rcmclting in crucibles, which has to be made up b y the addition of more spelter.
With true scrap picked up as junk the case is quite different.
This is remelted in reverberating furnaces for the copper alone and the zinc passes off with the waste gases. I t is impossible to accurately estimate this loss at the present time, but I know of one company that recovered 2,000,000 lbs. of copper last year from this kind of material, the corresponding zinc going to waste. The whole of this material formerly went to waste and it was some time after the waste was known before the chemist of the company could persuade the managers to let him have the necessary apparatus to recover it. I t is recovered b y Wiflcy tables, and the chemist mentioned told me that they saved $40 the first day their experimental table was installed, and S80 the second day. After that he could not buy tables fast enough to suit the management. I speak of this particu
larly to bring out the fact that chemists often have other prob
lems than scientific ones to solve, namely half-hearted support from those in control, and the 17 per cent, loss mentioned by Mr. Little in the paper industry is another good example.
Mr. It t n e r:
The loss in the brass industry seems to be considerable, and most of it appears to be due to volatilization and oxida
i66 T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y Mar., 1 9 1'2
tion. I would like to ask if it is not possible to prevent a large amount of this volatilization b y simply confining the zinc during the melting process. I am not in the brass industry a t all, but I have to deal with some other liquids which arc more volatile than zinc, and I find that we can prevent losses by confining these liquids. If you put water in an open dish and heat it, you know that the water volatilizes; but if you con
fine it by a tight cover, you can heat it up to the boiling point, and over the boiling point, and not lose the water. If you want to heat it to the boiling point and do not want to have pressure, you can conncct the" dish, with • a tube, so that the pressure m ay be relieved.
Therefore, if zinc is lost, i would like to know why they can
not melt it in elosed vessels, and if necessary to relieve any possible pressure, connect tubes with these vessels so that zinc, if it is distilled off, can be collected as metallic zinc or as oxide.
Mr. Do r e m u s:
A great saving of metallic zinc is effected by. the substitution of dynamos for primary batteries'. A t the Western Union offices at the corner of Dey Street and Broadway, N. Y ., there were some 30,000 primary cells in use before the introduction of dynamos. Not only was the zinc sulphate thrown, away, but also most of the metallic zinc left as stubs.
A demonstration of the melting of metallic lead was given the other day in N. Y . using the “ Bonecourt’.’ system ofsurface combustion. The heat is. applied internally. An explosive mixture of gas and air is fed, under, slight.pressure, into an iron pipe of 1 1/ 2 inches diameter which passes down to the .bottom of the melting pot where it is united by a couple of right-angle elbows to a three-inch upright iron pipe. A t the bottom of the upright pipe a plug, of non-conducting, material is placed, having a central hole through which the gaseous mixture passes.
Broken pieces of porous contact material arc placed in thethrec-.
inch pipe above the plug and the, combustion of the. gaseous mixture is confined to.the space.occupied.by tli.ese pieces. The.
heat is applied below the surface of the molten lead and.when the walls of the melting pot are suitably insulated there, is great economy in the consumption.of gas. The apparatus is applicable, not only to the melting of lead, but also to that of type.metal,
and other alloys. >
Mr. Bu e l l: ' : .
We have had considerable experience' the last few years:'in trying to hold down the1 zinc losses and recover the oxide from the furnace gases. We have tried a good many deviccs-and spent a good many thousand' dollars without getting, results which were of enough value to use, and so' appreciate the de
sirability as well as the difficulty"of the subject. . . Most of the devices that have been used and suggested for recovering zinc oxide arc such as arc/hard to use in connection with foundry work where the making of brass-is the prime object, and recovery of the zinc oxide a secondary consideration.
With most of the methods, efficient modifications in the con- trol of the furnace arc necessary and this usually works to the disadvantage of the brass.
I am hoping to hear of the work which Professor Cottrell has done in regard to reclaiming such material, from the chimney, gases, and I agree with Mr. Bassett that this process of Pro
fessor Cottrell’s promises to be a solution of the present diffi
culty.
Mr. Pr i c e:
I should like to say that under the present condition of melting brass by means of coal, it would not pay to recover these zinc oxide fumes, because they are so contaminated by dirt and ashes. The only means of attacking that problem would be by means of producer gas or. oil furnaces, or. the solution m ay come some day by means of electric furnaces. I do not
think it is practicable, under existing circumstances, to distil the zinc oxide fumes. You could not confine them under the operations of manufacturing practiccd at the present time.
Mr. Er i c s o n:
I am chiefly interested in the losses in zinc smelting, and it varies between 8 and 22 per cent., depending on the character of the ore. In regard to recovering zinc once used, it m ust be remembered ■ that practically two-thirds of all spelter madq is used in galvanizing, and consequently it covers a very large surface area,’ which, in connection with the cheapness of the metal, makes de-zincing impossible, such as is possible with tin, a very much higher priced metal.
In reference to electric zinc smelting, I will say that there arc at present two electric zinc smelters in operation in Scandinavia, both working, under the D cLaval patents, one at Trollhattan, Sweden, and- the other at Sarpsborg, Norway. The cheap waterpower available makes them possible, after the technical difficulties have been overcome, and I do not believe that elec
trical energy generated. from coal has any chance in the near future to supplant the, present retort practice.
However, I have been informed that the plant at Trollhattan has contracted for 10,000 additional horsepower for enlargement.
The difficulty with electric smelting with ores tried so far is that the: recovery’ on th e ziric content is so low that it can be applied only to cheap complex ores, and that a second dis
tillation-is necessary 'before a high-grade spelter can be ob
tained.
■ Mr. Gr e y-: ' :
I cannot agree with the gentleman that the furnaces arc not satisfactory for condensing zinc.- A few years ago we had a loss of 200,000 pounds of.copper out of-5,000,000. B y increas
ing. our dust chamber capacity we cut the loss down 50 per cent. You could not go.bplow 50 per cent., because the sulphur would be converted into sulphuric acid and ruin your dust chambers. They would'fall down some day after the gas was cold.
Mr. P a r s o n s :
You w ill.be interested to know that the Bureau o f Mines is planning to take up the question of electric furnaces for these noii-fcrrous alloys. The problem is one of the greatest impor
tance in the conservation, of waste, for it strikes at the basis of the whole difficulty in-zinc losses in alloy manufacture. The vapor pressure of pu re. zinc, of course, reaches atmospheric pressure at its boiling point’, which Mr. Bassett has just given as about 930°. When zinc is diluted with copper, the temper
ature necessary for the mixture to “ boil” will of course be greatly, increased! Zinc losses, now occur, as Mr. Ittner has indicated, simply bccausc the melting is done in crucibles or other open containers; over which a current of air or flue gases are passing, giving every possible aid to the-volatilization and oxidation of zinc. It is not at all surprising that zinc will sublime from brass under such conditions at 5000 or even lower.
I t is exactly the same situation as the well known evaporation of water at temperatures even below its freezing point when freely exposed -in open vessels. Neither zinc nor water will evaporate below their boiling point if kept in dosed vessels at atmospheric pressure and of course the boiling .point of zinc is raised by the addition of copper exactly as the. boiling point of.aqueous solutions is raised by the addition of a non-volatile solute, which under certain conditions m ay combine with it.
Accordingly, an electric furnace properly enclosed and so con
structed as to overcome other difficulties, of which there are many, would be ideal. The cost of fusion would be high but other advantages,. such as large units, easy stirring, low labor cost, non-intermittent firing, saving of zinc, etc., would, in my opinion, more than compensate. I personally believe that the object to be striven for is a closed furnace, and it now looks
