September 17, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



277 



ized, and in the immediate future will be turned 

 out in such quantity as to increase proceeds from 

 sale of products to a point where all expenses will 

 be equaled and a profit established. In the mean- 

 time other by-products of proven value, such as 

 ammonia, are being developed and soon will be put 

 on a commercial basis. 



The reactions of coal sulfur in the coining proc- 

 ess:^ Alfred E. Powell. Previous work has indi- 

 cated that sulfur exists in coal in three typical 

 forms — pyrite or marcasite, sulfates and organic 

 sulfur. A study of the changes which these forms 

 undergo during coking has been made on a va- 

 riety of coals, and the following five classes of re- 

 actions established. (1) Complete decomposition 

 of the pyrite and marcasite to ferrous sulfide, and 

 hydrogen sulfide. (2) Eeduction of sulfates to 

 sulfides. (3) Decomposition of the organic sulfur 

 to form hydrogen sulfide. (4) Decomposition of a 

 small part of the organic sulfur to form volatile 

 organic sulfur compounds. (5) Disappearance of 

 a portion of the ferrous sulfide and pyrrhotite, the 

 sulfur apparently entering into combination with 

 the carbon. 



The desulfurizing action of hydrogen on coTce:^ 

 Alfred R. Powell. A complete study has been 

 made of the efficiency of hydrogen and gases con- 

 taining hydrogen as desulfurizing agents when 

 passed through coal in the process of coking. The 

 effect of the hydrogen on the removal of siilfur 

 from coke was very noticeable, in some cases nearly 

 all of the sulfur being removed as hydrogen sul- 

 fide during a period of three hours. The ordinary 

 sulfur coking reactions were affected in two ways 

 by the passage of hydrogen through the coking 

 mass: (1) the pyrite was caused to decompose at a 

 much lower temperature, (2) the coke sulfur, which 

 is presumably in combination with carbon, was 

 elimination at an almost constant rate at the higher 

 temperatures of the coking process. The size of 

 the particles of coal did not seem to affect the 

 rate of evolution of hydrogen sulfide. For gases 

 containing hydrogen, the desulfurizing efficiency 

 seemed to be proportional to the partial pressure 

 of the hydrogen. 



The analysis of sulfur forms in coal:s Alfred E. 

 Powell. An investigation of the applicability to 



1 Published by permission of the director of the 

 Bureau of Mines. 



2 Published by permission of the director of the 

 Bureau of Mines. 



3 Published by permission of the director of the 

 Bureau of Mines. 



a variety of coals other than those from Illinois of 

 the Powell and Parr method of analysis for the 

 forms of sulfur in coal (Bui. Ill, University of 

 Illinois Engineering Experiment Station, Urbana, 

 111., 1919). A complete study was made of the 

 sulfur as it existed in the following coals — Upper 

 Freeport, Pa., Pittsburgh seam, Pa., Pocahontas 

 No. 3, W. Va., Letcher Co., Ky., Morgan Co., Tenn., 

 and Cherokee Co., Kan. The method of analysis 

 gave excellent results when applied to these coals. 

 In the determination of pyrite, the iron-sulfur ratio 

 checked in every case with the theoretical. After 

 the extraction of the pyrite and sulfates, the re- 

 maining sulfur was proved to be organic in nature. 



division of water, sewerage and sanitation 

 J. W. Ellms, chairman 

 W. W. Skinner, secretary 

 Sewage disposal committee of the National Se- 

 seareh Council: Edward Bartow. This committee 

 has been appointed to consider the many problems 

 connected with sewage disposal and the recovery of 

 valuable ingredients. The problems to be consid- 

 ered include: 



1. Colloids and their effect on sewage disposal. 



2. Fertilizer value of sewage sludges. 



3. Content and value of grease. 



4. Special processes of sewage disposal. 

 ?. Bacteriological problems. 



6. Pacific Coast problems. 



7. Sewage experiment stations. 



8. Primary sewage treatment including use of 



screens and tanks. 

 The committee asks the cooperation of officials, 

 engineers, chemists, bacteriologists and others who 

 are in charge of or connected with treatment plants 

 or experiment stations, or who may be consultants 

 on the design, construction or operation of such 

 plants. Those willing to assist in the work may 

 notify the chairman, E. Bartow, Urbana, Illinois. 



Belationship of H-ion concentration of natural 

 waters to carbon dioxide content: E. E. Green- 

 field and G. C. Baker. The H-ion concentration 

 of most natural waters may be fairly accurately 

 calculated by use of the simple mass law equation 

 of the primary ionization of carbonic acid. Bi- 

 carbonates and free carbonic acid are determined 

 as directed in Standard Methods of Water Analy- 

 sis A.P.H.A. Bicarbonates are considered 85 per 

 cent, ionized and the carbonic acid determination 

 is corrected for the free carbonic acid still left in 

 the solution at the endpoint of the titration. 

 When the free carbonic acid is expressed in parts 



