GB596208A - Improvements in producing oxygen-free copper - Google Patents

Abstract

Substantially oxygen-free copper is produced by subjecting a body of molten copper to the action of a hydrogenous reducing-agent to provide copper containing hydrogen in solution, and then removing the hydrogen by treating the copper with substantially pure boron or a boron-copper alloy, e.g. one containing 0.5-5.0 per cent of boron and less than 1 per cent of impurities, in amount preferably exceeding that required to remove all the hydrogen, generally 0.005-0.02 per cent by weight of the copper treated. The copper may be saturated with hydrogen, e.g. by melting copper under a reducing atmosphere containing hydrogen in a reverberatory furnace or by melting the copper in a reverberatory furnace in contact with the heating gases and "over poling" the copper with green wood poles. The resulting degassed copper may be cast in vertical moulds and has a density exceeding 8.9 grams per cubic centimetre. The copper may contain 0.001-0.01 per cent of boron, e.g. 0.005 per cent. U.S.A. Specification 2,195,433 is referred to.