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400 million pounds per yearmore than the entire U. S. capacity before World War II: this is the aluminum Chalmette can produce
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The Country’s Biggest. Seven miles downstream from Yen- Orleans, in the flat country near the Chalmette National Historical Park commemorating the battle of Kew Orleans, Kaiser Aluminum d Chemical Corp. has the biggest alumina reduction plant in the United States. The first primary aluminum was poured in time for a 1951 Christmas present, and the entire plant has been complete for a little over 2 years. Last month Assistant Editor Ken Reese, with W. H. Cundiff as his collaborator, described the Kaiser Baton Rouge, La., alumina plant, source of the major raw material for the
Chalmette installation. This month, in a double play, Ken, A1 Garcia, who was manager of the Chalmette reduction plant and is nom located in the Kaiser Oakland, Calif., office, and R. A. Lewis follow through to the facture of finished primary aluminum. Garcia made a fast tour of Europe in August to see what’s going on in the aluminum business over there. This left both authors out of pocket for a while, since Reese was on vacation, so Bssociate Editor Bixler and Kaiser’s Howard Church filled in during that period. A1 Garcia has been making pig aluminum for 1 5 l / 2 years (all of his professional life), so he knows his business. Ken reports that Garcia removed his cigar one day and imitated a reduction cell-something like “glug, glug.” Listening to the pots is one way that veteran operators keep tab on operat ion.
MANGANESE PROCESSING Some unusual combinations of difficulties occur in the processing of manganese ore, among them, problems in ore grinding and use of flotation reagents. Manganese Products, Inc., tried bench tests to improve flotation techniques in the mill, but found increasing difficulty in translating the laboratory findings directly to mill scale. A pilot plant was the answer, and F. A. Fischer tells how this pilot plant i s used to improve methods and process control. Stress i s on design for flexibility.
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SOME FUNDAMENTAL ENGINEERING is found in three articles in the general engineering, design, and equipment category. Low frequency bubble formation may be correlated in terms of bubble diameter, orifice diameter, and physical properties of liquid.. .Labeled COz i s used for studies on diffusion of gases at elevated pressures.. .The role of diffusion and influence of flow pattern i s shown for gasification reactions,
roduct and Process Development Section 2065
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