REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS
PLATINUM BY BISHOP
Platinum, the miracle metal of so many uses, is surprisingly economical to use. Platinum metals resist high temperatures, provide exceptional resistance to corrosion and erosion, perform catalytic actions. Yet, after years of service, the original metal can be recovered at a dollar value almost equal to original cost. This makes Platinum the soundest possible investment. Bishop's broad line of lab ware, tubing, wire, gauze, sheet, strip, salts, and chemicals and. Bishop's facilities and capabilities are described in detail in our catalog. Request a copy.
J. B I S H O P & C O .
platinum works MALVERN, IN
PENNSYLVANIA
CANADA:
Johnson Maithey& MalloryLimited 110 Industry Street, Toronto 15. IN THE
U.K.:
Johnson Matthey & Co., Limited 73-83 Hathm Garden, London E.C. 1 Circle No. 36 on Readers' Service Card
matographic column and then is measured by means of a conductivity cell. T h e Carbon Analyzer made by Research and Control I n struments, Inc., gives results 45 seconds after completion of furnace burn time. Results are presented directly in carbon points (1 carbon point equals 0.01%) on a digital voltmeter display for 1-gram samples containing up to 2 . 5 % carbon. T h e Leco Automatic Low C a r bon Analyzer, recently introduced by Laboratory E q u i p m e n t Corp., is particularly valuable for samples containing less t h a n 0.05% carbon. I t gives results in I1/? to 2 x / 2 minutes. Leco's widely used Automatic Carbon Analyzer is a direct reading instrument t h a t gives results in 70 to 80 seconds. Prior to World W a r I I , the analysis of sulfur in iron and steel was a time consuming process. T h e two most widely used methods were the gravimetric method, which took 8 to 24 hours to complete and the evolution method, which, although more rapid, was not satisfactory for certain steels. The Leco R a p i d Sulfur Determinator, manufactured by Laboratory E q u i p m e n t Corp., has reduced analysis time for sulfur to 2 to 7 minutes. W i t h this instrument the sulfur in the sample burns to SO2 in a furnace. T h e SO2 is then t i t r a t e d in a solution containing HC1, H I , and starch, using standard KIO3. T h e a m o u n t of K I 0 3 titer used is read on a buret directly as percent sulfur in the sample. T h e use of this instrument and also the vacuum emission spectrometer has greatly simplified the determination of sulfur in steel.
Analysis of Raw Materials T h e improvement in quality of raw materials going into iron and steel m a k i n g has stressed the need for more rapid, accurate analytical methods for these materials. Although wet chemical techniques are still widely used, certain instrumental techniques t h a t provide faster, more accurate determinations have come into prominence. One instrumental technique t h a t has aided in the rapid analysis of
raw materials is x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. T h e technique has been particularly valuable in the determination of ore purity, and it is also finding use in the analysis of materials made in the agglomerating process. A number of companies m a k e instruments for x-ray analysis. Commercial instruments being used for x-ray fluorescence work are the Vacuum X - R a y Quantometer m a d e by Applied Research Laboratories, the Automatic X - R a y Spectrometer produced by Philips Electronic I n struments, and the Automatic V a c uum X - R a y Fluorescence Spectrometer developed by Elliot Quality Automation, Ltd., in England. Other x-ray spectrometers are produced by General Electric Co., Picker X - R a y Corp., and Siemens America, Inc. These commercial instruments can be used to analyze for elements down to atomic n u m ber 12 (magnesium), from trace amounts up to high percentages. The determination of moisture is of special importance in the analysis of r a w materials, particularly ore and coke in pig iron production. Moisture content in these materials can v a r y from 6 % to 1 8 % . T h u s , in order to calculate the correct weight of these materials to use in a blast furnace run, it is necessary to have a reliable analysis of their moisture content. T h e moisture content of sinterp l a n t r a w mixtures has a p r o nounced effect upon the permeability of the mixtures and hence the rate of sinter production. A continuous measuring instrument has been developed recently a t Stewarts & Lloyds, Ltd., Corby, England, for the determination of moisture by means of electrical resistance measurement [ P . M . Berry, J. Iron Steel Inst. (London), 202, 569 (1964)]. One of the most serious p r o b lems in the analysis of raw m a terials in the iron a n d steel industry is sampling. The raw materials are usually nonhomogeneous and come in extremely large batches, such as railroad cars, trucks, and barges. Getting a representative sample of coke from a railroad car for moisture analysis, for example, can be an extremely difficult task. More
