N o v e m b e r 10, 1931
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
An Apatite Plant beyond the Arctic Circle B A S I L E W . DELGASS. 501 Fifth Ave., N e w York, Ν . Y .
The Khibiny Mountains, the site of a new apatite flotation plant constructed by the Soviet, are located about 80 miles north of the White Sea and 120 miles south of the Murmansk Coast. The chief peaks, named by the Finnish tribes and Samoyeds living in the tundra, are Kukiswomchorr, Raswomchorr, Woodyawchorr, and Yuksporr. The area of the mountains is approximately 1600 square kilometers and their mean height is about 1250 meters. It is a bleak forbidding region. Huge stones, remnants of t h e glacial periods, block the entrances t o the valleys; the peaks are covered by perpetual snows and dreary tundra lies for hundreds of miles around. Extensive Deposits of Apatite-Nephehlite Found I n 1923 an expedition of Russian scientists, sent by the Russian Academy of Science to investigate the tundra, scaled the moun tain Raswomchorr. On its top they found deposits of a grayish mineral with deep green infiltrations, which analysis showed to b e apatite with nephelite infiltrations. Subsequent expeditions to t h e same place resulted in the discovery of extensive deposits of apatite-nephelite ores amount ing to 4 0 0 million tons. Apatite, Ca 6 (Cl,F,OH)(P0 4 )3, is a translucent mineral, which occurs principally in primitive rocks and veins. I t is used a s a fertilizer. Expedition after expedition "was sent to the Khibiny range. Other minerals discovered were titanomagnetites, molybdenum, zirconium, and thorium ores, diatomites, lime, etc. However, nothing was done with respect to exploitation of the apatite until 1928 when the shortage of foreign currency necessary for imports influenced the Soviet Government to start the study of t h e Khibiny phosphates and German scientists were invited to devise a process of extraction of apatite from the ores. Soviet Russia i s very poor i n phosphate deposits and such as were worked i n the interior of Russia were known to be of an inferior quality. Russia has always imported phosphates, chiefly from Morocco, as Russians claimed that the iron content of American phosphates was higher than Moroccan. T h e P2O6 content of the original ores was too low to utilize it directly or for the production of superphosphates, and the large amount of silica in the apatite-nephelite ores had to be considered. Finally, a process of flotation was evolved. After trying many flotation agents, i t was found that oleic acid and water glass would serve perfectly, oleic acid acting as the foamercollector of apatite and water glass as the depressor of nephelite and other admixtures. A pilot plant was built, with the result that the concentration of P2O6 was raised to 38 per cent. Crushing and Flotation Plant P u t in Operation H a v i n g verified the results in the pilot plant, Russian engineers designed a project for a plant with an annual production of 250,000 tons of concentrates. The project was brought to the United States and American specialists were consulted. The General Engineering Co. went over the project, American machinery was bought, and the construction of the plant started. In the meantime the mines were established, transportation facilities from the mines t o the plant arranged, and mining was begun· T h e crushing and flotation plant was put in action this autumn. The ore from the mines is brought in railway cars t o the plant in t h e valley where i t is unloaded into storage bunkers, from which i t is carried t o the crushing plant by conveyors. The capacity of the crusher is from 175 to 200 tons per hour. A second crusher of the same capacity is kept in reserve. After passing through a series of crushers, the ore in granular form is brought to t h e flotation plant, where it passes through a mill. It w a s found that the finer the milling, the better the extraction. Then t h e meal is mixed with oleic acid, birch tar, and water glass and sent through the flotation machines. The extracted and enriched apatite is dried and shipped t o superphosphate plants in t h e interior of Russia, a s there is no superphosphate plant in Khibiny. T w o grades are produced: 34 and 3 8 per cent P2O5 content. T h e cost of the plant is 5,000,000 gold rubles, a n d it has a scheduled production of 1,100.000 tons in 1931, 2 million tons in 1932, and 3 million tons in 1933. Part of the apatite produced is exported t o Europe, and it is rumored that negotiations are being conducted with a view t o exporting apatite concentrates to the United States. An appropriation of 60 million gold rubles h a s been recently voted by the Council of Peoples' Com missars to increase t h e existing plant and to construct other chemical plants i n this region. Owing to the absence of sulfur deposits in Russia, sulfuric acid is produced chiefly from pyrites and metallurgical gases, and is rather expensive. T h e capacity of the sulfuric acid plants in Soviet Russia is, moreover, in sufficient and certain quantities are imported from abroad. The nearest sulfuric acid plant t o Khibinogorsk is located more than 1000 miles away. The railroad connecting t h e Murman
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Peninsula with, the center of Russia was built during the World War and is still more or less a temporary affair. All Russian railroad, however, are in a state of disrepair and cannot cope with t h e transportation problem. These considerations, as well as the desire t o avoid the production of calcium sulfate which would b e a waste product in the tundra, indicated the use of phosphoric acid for the superphosphates. Uses Developed for Apatite-Nephelite Ores The problem of production of superphosphates in Russia is far from being solved. I n spite of all the technical help received by the Russians from Germany and extensive study of the process in the United States (Russian engineers visited several plants in this country under the pretense of negotiations for the purchase of t h e process), superphosphate plants in Russia do not work satisfactorily. The recent trial of several engineers of the plant in White Russia gave interesting details in this respec Of course no trials can help when there is lack of knowledge and where untrained men are appointed as managers of chemical plants. The experiments conducted in the laboratory of the Chernorechensky chemical combine, t h e Soviets claim, showed that the apatite-nephelite ores can be successfully used for the electrothermic production of phosphorus anhydride and phosphorus, that the slags can be utilized in the glass and cement industries, and the carbon monoxide used for production of synthetic ammonia and methanol. It was decided, therefore, to construct a pilot plant in Khibiny; later large phosphorus and super phosphate plants will be built. Soviet scientists claim that nephelite, the other component of the ore, can be used successfully for production of aluminum, and that it is a good raw material for the production of bottle glass. They have also found that, if used in the leather industry, it will surpass tanning extracts and chrome tanning in tanning qualities. Of course most of the Soviet claims have to be taken with a large amount of the Attic salt. Textiles impregnated with nephdite, they say, are waterproof and almost fireproof. Wood becomes fireproof. Experiments are also being conducted to use nephelite in ultramarine production. October 16, 1931
Fellowships Offered for Graduate Study Abroad Under the auspices of the various student exchanges of the Institute of International Education a limited number of fellow ships are available for study abroad. These fellowships cover board, lodging, and tuition in the majority of cases, but the candidate must pay his own traveling and incidental expenses. Fellowships a r e offered in Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Ger many, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. Candidates must be United States citizens, hold a degree from an institution of recognized standing, b e of good moral character and intellectual ability, in good health, able to do independent study and research, and have a practical reading, writing, and speaking knowledge of the foreign country in which the award is made. Applications must be filed before February 1 (before January 15 in the case of Germany) with the Institute of international Education, 2 West Forty-fifth St., New York, Ν . Υ.
American Institute of Physics Formed There has recently been formed the American Institute of Physics, which is an agency of cooperation in the interest of physics, established by the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, the Acoustical Society of America, and the Society of Rheology. The board of management has as its chairman Karl T . Compton, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Henry A. Barton, formerly research engineer with the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., has been made the full-time executive secretary, with offices at 654 Madison Ave., New York. N Y., and John T . Tate, of the University of Minne sota, will devote part of his time during the coming year to aiding to perfect a plan for t h e most effective service in publication. The Chemical Foundation, Inc., has undertaken to finance the initial stages o f the Institute of Physics and has afforded office space and clexical assistance t o the institute. W. W. Buffum, manager of t h e Chemical Foundation, is treasurer of the institute.
World's Largest Glass Contract The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. has received what has been termed the world's largest glass contract. This calls for supply ing all the glass, t o be used in the construction of the so-called "radio city," New York. This involves more than 1,000,000 square feet of glass, to b e used in 28,000 windows, 10,000 doors, and the panels for office partitions in t h e t e n buildings t o be constructed.
