Abstract: Sodium hydrosulfide is continuously produced from the reaction of hydrogen sulfide and with sodium sulfide by continuously introducing an aqueous sodium sulfide solution into an unvented reaction chamber, which may be a tower or tank, while maintaining a source of gaseous hydrogen sulfide in pressure demand relationship with the solution in the chamber, and continuously withdrawing aqueous sodium hydrosulfide solution from the chamber.

Abstract: The viscosity of phosphate rock slurries is reduced by incorporating in the slurry both sodium tripolyphosphate and an alkaline material, particularly sodium hydroxide. The combined amount of these two materials required to achieve a given viscosity reduction is significantly lower than the weighted average of the amounts required for each to produce individually the same viscosity reduction. The defined alkaline materials, other than sodium hydroxide, are sodium carbonate, ammonium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.

Abstract: Peroxycarboxylic acid compositions containing stabilizing ingredients are produced by the hydrogen peroxide peroxidation of corresponding carboxylic acids which are not substantially soluble in water by a continuous process in which the peroxidation reaction takes place in solution in concentrated sulfuric acid, or other strong acid, while that solution is intimately interdispersed, by means of agitation, with methylene chloride, or other organic solvent, in which the resulting peroxycarboxylic acid is soluble, but the carboxylic acid is not, and the sulfuric acid, or other acid, is recovered from the effluent of the process by reacting it with borax and caustic soda or soda ash to form crystals of boric acid and sodium salt of the strong acid which, in admixture with peroxycarboxylic acid recovered from the effluent, form the peroxycarboxylic acid composition product. The methylene chloride is also recovered from the effluent and recycled to the process.

Abstract: Oxidizable impurities, particularly hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, are removed from sodium chloride brines used for the electrolytic production of chlorine and caustic soda by oxidizing such impurities with hypochlorite at pH values at which the brines are commonly treated with sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate to remove calcium and magnesium ions. The hypochlorite oxidation can be accomplished by adding to the brine the waste liquor from a scrubber in which a gas stream containing chlorine is scrubbed with a sodium hydroxide solution, which can be cell liquor. The gas stream so scrubbed can be the tail gases from the liquefaction of the chlorine produced by electrolysis of the brine.

Abstract: The storage level of ore, supplied by an overhead loader to a bin or pile in the form of large, dense, hard fragments, up to a foot or more in diameter, is measured and controlled by repetitively lowering a line carrying a weight, having a mass at least as great as the largest ore fragments, from above the stored mass to the surface of the stored mass and measuring the distance traveled by the weight. Feed of ore is automatically stopped when maximum allowable level of stored mass is detected. Measurement of ore level is accomplished by counting, during the lowering of the weight, the pulses generated by a pulse generator operated by the turning of a winch upon which the line is reeled. The contact of the lowered weight with the stored ore mass is detected by the slowing of the rate of pulse generation as the weight ceases falling under the influence of gravity and the winch therefore ceases turning.

Abstract: An optical communication cable comprises one or more cores of light-transmitting optical fibers substantially decoupled mechanically from the rest of the cable structure. Surrounding each core is an inner jacket which forms a loose-fittng enveloping structure about the core. Surrounding the inner jacket or plurality of inner jackets is an outer jacket which is reinforced with primary strength members to carry expected tensile loads and to thereby relieve the fibers of the core or cores as cable strength members. The core fibers are also buckled into a slackened state under no-load conditions to allow for stress-free elongation of the core fibers during tensile pulling of the cable. In one embodiment, each core comprises linear arrays of optical fibers packaged in a plurality of ribbon structures which are stacked and helically stranded for further strain-relief. The arrays are specifically configured to permit mass cable splicing.