The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-02-12
DATA ABOUT SAND
TO Be PUBLISHED
United States Geological Survey
Will Publish Valuable Vol
ume About Glass.
STUDY OF SUITABLE
SANDS FOR GLASS
Scope of Industry Liable to
Greatly Widen in the
United States.

The cost of material used approXimates
SlS,OpO.0Oo, of which $500. .0OO exclusive OF
freight charges, was paid for glass sand
Within the half century preceding 1900 the
value of glass products showed aver
age increase in value of 30 per cent fol
each decade and the growth Is still Wig
orous In view or the remarkable develop
meDt of an industry so largely dependent
for It's raw material upon mineral depos-
Its, IL is interesting TO note that Mr. r
+. Burchard of the United States geolog-
ical survey made brief study last sum
mer of the principal sand-producing areas
OF the middle Mississippi basin and OF
their relations 10 manufacturing centcrs
in the same district. Undeyeloped sands
In Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Wis
consin were examined In connection with
geologic surveying In progress In those
States.
Will Make Report.
In the report which Mr.. BurChard will
make OF his studies the characteristics
which render a sand suitable or unit for
making glass will be outlined He VIII
give In tabular form data concerning the
chemical composition and physical oharac-
ter of several sands which are ut present
In successful use. Similar data regarding
sands OF hitherto unknown or doubtful
value Will be given separately. Properties
VIII be described in which the conditions
OF successful operation and their limta-
tlons arc illustrated.
How Glass Is Made.
Glass is fused mixture of the silicates
OF alkales. OF alkaline earths and the
more common metals Sand Is the most
important factor in glass. constituting
from % TO e. per cent OF the mass OF the
original mixture, or from 90 TO 10 per cent
OF the finished product after melting has
driven of carbon dioXidc, sulphur dioXidc
and other volatile materials. To the sand
is due the absence OF color according tc
its purityl the transparency brilliancy
and hardness OF glass. In other words
n n fgl1 lar
the quality or the sand For the finest
flint ware such as optical and cut glass.
water whiteness' or absolute transpar-
cncy, great brilllanCy- and uniform den
sity are the qualities desired and only the
Durest sand can be employed in the man
ufacture of this ware. since slight impuri-
ties, especially small quantities of iron
tend to destroy those qualities.
Sand for Plate Glass.
For plate and window glass which are
commonly pale green. absolute purity il
not so essential but 1t is desirable that
the sand should carry not more than one
tenth per cent of ferric oxide. Green and
amber glass for bottles, Jars and rough
structural work can be made from sand
relatively high in impurities. An excess
of the chief impurity. Iron, is usually
avoided In the quarries by careful Sc
lection of the whitest sand although the
whitest sand Is not invariably the purcst.
Iron Is sometimes removed by repeated
washing, sometimes by magnetic sep0ra-
when the iron is present in the form OF
magnetic Clay materials are objection
able because they cloud the glass. AS
these are usually very finely divided
washing helps to remove them MagneSia,
more apt TO be introduced into glass ma
tcr!als through limestone than through
sand, is troublesome because II renders
the batch less fusible.
Points to Be Observed.
The best preliminary test in examining
sand for giass-maklng Is made with a
magnfyng glass. The following points
should be observed. The sand should be
nearly white in color; IT should be of me-
dirm Aneness (passing twenty 10 nifty
be uniform In size and angular. or less
preferably. they may be rounded.
simple chemical test may be employed by
heating the sand in dilute acid Effcr-
vescence indicates the presence OF lime.
loss of color the presence Of clay lmpuri-
ties. Iron in the most minute quantity
may be detected by dissolying sand in n.y.
dro1uorc acid and adding potassium fer
rocyanide. which produces a blue prcci-
plate II iron IS present Complete guam
titative analyses as well as a furnace test
should be made az a final determination OF
the character OF a prospective glass sand.
Smooth Sand Demanded
The impression has long prevailed that
round grained sands are at a decided dis
advantage In comparison with tho sharp.
angular variety Practice seems to dis
OF the Mississippi valley plants. where
only smooth. rounded sand is used for all
ordinary varieties of glass and for some
fine flint ware Sand uniformly finer than
oEe-sixtieth of an inch is said to burn
out. in the batch and not to produce as
:nuoh glass per unit OF weight as does
coarSer sand. In a mixture of coarse and
.lne sand the finer sand is liable to settle
10 tho bottom OF the batch. thus prevent
Ing an even mixture OF the materials and
producing in consequence glass that is
uneven In texture.
Lime Should Be Avoided
Probably much Of the impurity which
Nnds It's way Into the batch comes unsus-
pectedly from the limestone, which con-
stltutes about Is per cent OF the mass
Limestone therefore. should be analyzed
frequently. as II may carry clay and Iron
pyr!tes, as well as carbonates OF iron ana
magnesia, all of which are objectionable
Analyses OF certain limcstones used in the
g!aes- making industry given by Mr.
Burchard.
Where Supply Comes From.
The majority OF the glass factories of
the middle Mississippi basin may be
grouped into two districts, eight in the ST
Louis district and twenty-one In the
southeast Kansas district. Their main
characteristics have been briefly summar-
lied by Mr. Burchard The sand proper
ties of Illinois and Missouri which to-
tho total supply OF glass sand in the
United States are described In considerable
detail, and the methods used In preparing
the sand are carefully explained. A chap
ter on the undeveloped resources of glass
sand In this territory will be highly Inter
estlag 10 many
Factors to Be Considered.
Summing up the factors on which the
value of a deposit of glass sand depends
MT. Burchard says they are % chemical
composition. t2) physical character (0
the amount available "a the location with
respect TO fuel supplies. (5 the conditions
OF quarrying or mining, (6) the location
WIN respect TO transportation routes. "a
the location with respect to markets 4
ncposit OF sand twenty feet thick should |
saVe an areal extent Of at least twenty |
nVo acres TO warrant the erection OF a |
nilI and trackage, Most deposits are |
lhicker than twenty feet. but Ii would be |
SAFER to have much higher ratio between |
thickness and areal extent than the mini |
mum given Every plant turning out glass
sand in quantity sufficient to net a profit |
must be equipped with power for moving
me sand and drying 1t. and in most cases |
with equipment for cleaning 1t as well.