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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 111. 



development of new methods of analysis, 

 or in the routine analyses afifecting the in- 

 terests of producer and consumer. 



But the amount of work already done 

 and in daily progress in connection with 

 this substance is not all that may be said in 

 regard to it. The complexity of pig iron is 

 very great, and consequently the analytical 

 problems presented are far from being easy 

 of solution. It may not be uninteresting to 

 enumerate some of the substances which 

 have already been found in pig iron. We 

 find, besides the element iron, carbon, 

 phosphorus, silicon, sulphur, manganese, 

 copper, chromium, tungsten, titanium, 

 vanadium, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, potas- 

 sium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and 

 lithium. It is fair to say that there is ap- 

 parently well grounded belief that the last 

 five are characteristic of intermingled slag, 

 rather than of the metal itself It is not 

 intended that it should be understood that 

 all of these substances have been found in 

 any one sample of pig iron, but that all 

 these substances have actually been de- 

 tected in the analysis of this alloy. Indeed, 

 there seems no reason why any. element 

 which either occurs in the metallic condi- 

 , tion in nature or which is reducible to that 

 condition by carbon, and which is not vola- 

 tile at the temperature of the blast furnace, 

 may not occur in pig iron, provided, of 

 course, it will alloy with the metal. Quite 

 a large number of other substances besides 

 those mentioned above have actually been 

 alloyed with some form of iron or steel. 

 Among these may be mentioned zinc, tin, 

 lead, antimony, bismuth, molybdenum, sil- 

 ver, platinum, rhodium, irridium, palladium 

 and gold. Nor is this all that may confront 

 the analyst who devotes himself to the chem- 

 istry of iron and steel. Not less than three 

 elements which usually exist in nature in 

 the gaseous form occur in these metals, and 

 ■ are believed to have important influences 

 on their physical properties. These are 



oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen ; while the 

 numerous analyses show that the presence 

 of carbon monoxide in both cast iron, 

 wrought iron and steel. It seems quite 

 evident that the chemist who hopes to cope 

 successfully with the problems which are 

 involved in even the ultimate analysis of 

 iron and steel in their various forms must 

 be well equipped with a liberal share of the 

 methods and processes known to mineral 

 chemistry, and, on the other hand, if he at- 

 tempt the proximate analysis of these sub- 

 stances, or the separation and determination 

 of the various compounds of the elements 

 present, with iron or with each other, he 

 will, at least, be brought on the border 

 ground of organic chemistry. Some of the 

 carbon compounds which are characteristic 

 of the brilliant work of the present Presi- 

 dent of the French Chemical Society are 

 known to occur in or have already been 

 isolated from pig-iron. 



It would lead us too far from our present 

 purpose to do anything more than enumer- 

 ate the largest number of the elements given 

 above. Suffice it to say that in what follows 

 we shall confine ourselves to the five first 

 mentioned; viz., carbon, phosphorus, silicon, 

 sulphur and manganese. And the question 

 which we shall ask ourselves is, ' What is 

 the present condition of a portion of the 

 analytical methods for the determination of 

 these substances, considering these methods 

 both in regard to their accuracy and speed ?' 

 One word of precaution. It would be man- 

 ifestly impossible to comment on all the 

 methods in use for determining these con- 

 stituents. To enumerate them alone would 

 weary your patience. We shall confine our- 

 selves, therefore, principally to methods 

 which may be or are used when the diverse 

 interests of producer and consumer are in- 

 volved. 



Beginning, then, with total carbon in pig 

 iron, wrought iron and steel, we deem it 

 safe to say that the method by combustion 



