Critical Review of the Second Series of Analyses of Materials for the Portland Cement Industry Made Under the Auspices of the New York Section of the Society of Chemical Industry.

Abstract

Receis ed September 22 1903 ' h E efforts of a committee of the S e w York Section of the Society of Chemical Industry, headed by Mr. Clifford Richardson, to improve the state of techiiical analysis in this country are doubtless known to many, if not most readers of this Journal. T h e subjects thus far taken up h a r e been Portland cement and copper slag analysis, the latter initiated by l f r , Thorn Smith, of Isabella, Tennessee. Carefully prepared samples were sent to many chemists and the tabulated results of analysis were handed over to me for examination and criticism. A report on each subject was rendered. The first, on Portland cement and raw limestone mixture, was published as a part of the Committee's report in the Jouriial of tlrc Society of Chctiiical Iiidzistrj. January I j , 1902.~ In the number of October 15, 1902, there is a criticism of 1 I n this connection a paragraph from a r e p x t "The Examination of Foods, Drugs and Public Water Supplies," from the laboratory of hygiene of the State of Kern Jersey, b y R. 0. Brooks, recently published, is most pertinent "Fifty-seven samples of what purported to be distilled water were received and analyzed. only twelve of which were pure and only twenty-two of which had any claim to the title 'distilled water.' The residues ranged from 260 parts(!) per million to 8 parts, sixteen being abore IOO ports and t h e average being 81 parts. All the samples with the exception of the aforementioned tweuty-two gave tests for either chlorides, sulphates, calcium salts, carbonates or metallic impurities, usually several of these being present in oue sample."

Reference Samples in Geology and Geochemistry

“…Blount (1904) published a method for the analysis of cement. Hillebrand (1905) discussed the condition of analytical chemistry.…”

“…A material that corresponds to our present concept of a reference sample is the argillaceous limestone for which cooperative analyses were reported by Hillebrand, Dudley, Richardson, and Stokes (1906). The sample of about 200 lb was prepared and furnished by the Northhampton Portland Cement Company of Stockerton, Pa.; 94 percent of the powder passed a 200-mesh sieve.…”

“…The short list of samples available from the [National] Bureau of Standards (Hillebrand, 1909) appears to have been the first for samples of interest to earth scientists. Silicate rock standards were mentioned by Curtiss and others (1 940), who gave the rock names of the 12 samples that were later known as Rock Standards-Radium Rock Samples in National Bureau of Standards Circular 552, 3d ed., (1959).…”

“…The National Bureau of Standards has furnished standards for industry since the announcement by Hillebrand (1909) of the availability of the argillaceous limestone (NBS-1) and Zinc Ore D. In contrast to this humble beginning, a recent (1979-80) edition of the NBS Standard Reference Materials Catalog of 102 pages lists a seemingly infinite number of reference samples.…”

“…In the following year, Ebaugh (1909) mentioned in an editorial the preparation of iron standards by a foundrymen's association [American Foundrymen's Association (Cochrane, 1966, p. 93)], the standardized irons and steels of the NBS (Hillebrand, 1909), the four phosphate rocks of the American Fertilizer Association (Hagedorn and others, 1909), and the samples of products that were prepared and distributed by the Committee on Analysis of Fats, Soaps, and Glycerine of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Ebaugh believed that the ACS Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry might do yeoman's service by preparing, standardizing, and distributing samples for which there might be a demand.…”