US102912A - Improvement in the manufacture of iron and steel - Google Patents

Description

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uAMEs-ratminnunn, OF'YSTALYFERA, NEAR SWANSEA," WALES.

llcttcrsl etcnt No. 102,9l2fdatd May 10, 1870; patentedin England March 8,1869.

IMPROVEMENT INTI-1r: MANUTACTURE or mow "AND srnnn.

The Schedule referred. to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all when it may conccr n Wales, a subjectof the Queen of Great Britain, have ifivented or discovered new and useful Improvements in the lvlanui'acture of Iron and Steel; and I, the

said JAMEs'PALMEn BUDD,do hereby declare the nature of the said'invention, and in whatmanner the same 18130 be performed, tobe particularly described and ascertained. in and. by the gi'ollowingstatement .t-llerebf', that is to say: p i

3 This invention has for its object the production of plate-iron, or refiuedmetal, as it is sometimes called,

suitable for pudtllihg or steel-making, without the necessity of remelting the pig-iron and 'blowing'air into it. K i e The invent-ion. consistsin refining the metal in, the

plate mold by running the molten pig-metal into. shallow pans, which have previouslybeen coated with apaste of soft hematite iron ore, or other oxideof iron, with or without nitrate of soda. The pans. should be'similartothemold used for receiving the iron from theordinary refinefls fire,.and capable of holding from three tqfive inches in depth' of the molten metal. i

Whenthe fluid jr'netal is poured into the pans, a.

violentebullition takes place, and a large proportion of the silica, together with some of the carbon, phosphorus, and sulphur,contained in the iron is carried ofi' in the slag, so that, when the slabs of purified metal When my object is to produce bars ofwrought iron,

.which are to be rolled into black plate or thin sheetiron, to be afterwards converted into tin-plate, I line theshallow pans, intoiwhich the cast-iron is run previous to puddling, with a composition composed of hematite iron ore and nitrate of soda.

I mix togethera quantity of hematite iron ore con- .taining, if. possible, no phosphorus or sulphur, and only a moderate quantity of silica, and mix therewith halt by bulk, or two-fifths by weight, of nitrate -of soda, or thirty pounds of hematite ore to twenty pounds of nitrate of soda. Having well mixed these together mechanically, I pass the mixture through a pairof clayrolls, by which the grit is reduced, and it becomes Be it knowuth'atl I,IJAMns' PAL 1 m- BUDD, of Ystalyfera, near Sw'ansemin the count-yof Glamorgan,

more plastic. Ithen form a paste of the mixture,

which requires about three-tenths of" its weight of water to be added. It is then sufficientlyliquid to be I filled into a bucket. I place as near as convenient to the tapping-hole of the blast-furnace, from which the fluid cast-iron is' to be obtained, 'a series of shallow v molds of cast-iron. I V 3 Those I use, which I find convenient, are to the following dimensions: length, seven feet nine inches" at top,'tapering.'to seven'feet fourand one-half inches at bottom width, two feet two inches at top, tapering' to foot nine and onc half inches at bottom; depth,

four inches.

that the plate of cast-iron shall be more easily removed from it.

, These molds hold about thirteen hundred weight of cast i'ronwhen filled about three 'andone half inches deep. I run into those molds molten cast-iron every four hours, or oftener, takingcaretofill them often enough that they shall-retain their heat or drying power ht.- tween the casts. As the casts from the furnace must thus be frequent, I pot the iron' from the furnace; that is I take out what iron I require from an opening into the furnace at the upper part of the tapping-hole, without emptying the whole of the iron in the hearth. H While the molds are hot from the previous cast I pour into each of them aloucket-fnll, or aboutsixty-tbur pounds, of the'refining mixture before described, and

spread it evenly over the bottom and sides. The water evaporates, and the mixture lies at the bottom as an adhering paste. I then proceed to run the molten iron from the furnace, or from the remelting c'upola, orfrom the refinery or other furnace, as the case may be, until I have filled the molds about three and onehalf inches. A great ebullition takes place; fumes in large quantity are evolved; jets of flame burn from the surface of the metal for a considerable time; a quantity of 'scorim 'is thrown up violently to the surface and separates from the plate of iron that fills the mold, and t,

whencold can be stripped therefrom.

The weight of the scorize so thrown up is from thirty to forty pounds from each plate of metal weighing about thirteenhundred weight.

The iron contained in the hematite ore used in the paste is converted into cast-iron, and adheres to the bottom of the plate.

The refined iron, when broken, presents a honey: comb, or cellular, appearance throughout, and. resembles over-blown refined metal, and a large proportion of the silica will have-been removed from it.'

' The iron thus refined is ready for the'puddling 'process as advanced refined metal. I find it advantageous to use some pig-iron with iron, refined as above de- The use of thelbevellng, or tapering, in the mold is scribed, in puddliug. About one-third of pig-iron I iron scorize are largely used as material in the blastfurnace, will make excellent puddled bars, and work to a good yield.

The process of puddliug is shortened, and the sides and the bottom of the furnace are less acted on than with unrefined iron. r

The quantities in proportion to the refining-paste, which I have given, are suitable for the quality of' cast-iron known as white iron. When gray, or carbureted iron is used, the quantity of nitrate of soda to be used with the hematite ore should be increased. I prefer to use thirty pounds of nitrate of soda, instead of twenty pounds, as in the composition first mentioned, with thirty pounds of hematite ore.

When the malleableiron sought to be made in the puddling-furnace is not to be of the quality suitable paste, but make it of hematite ore alone. When used alone a great ebullition'takes place when the molten iron runs over it. The oxide of iron in the hematite is reduced, jets of white flame burn on the surface for a considerable time, and a large, proportion of the silica is separated from the iron. The refined iron in this state is much preferred-by the puddlers, as it lessens and helps their work.

In place of hematite ore other oxide of iron, which can similarly be formed into a paste, may be employed as, for example, the refuse of iron pyrites', from which thesulphur has been abstracted for the manufacture drama of sulphuric acid, and from which the copper and other metals contained in it have been extracted. Oxide of manganese, iron scale, or other substances capable of yielding oxygen when exposed to heat, may be incorporated with the paste.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner of performing thesame, I declare that I am aware that powdered oxide of iron and iron ore have heretofore been employed to improve the quality and deearbonize pig-iron in several modes, as, for example, by mixing it with the molten metal in the puddlingfurnace, by charging it into the paddling-furnace, running the molten pig-iron over it, and mixing the two together, and by sprinkling it upon molten pig-iron and running molten metal over it. I am also aware that nitrite of soda has been used in like manner. I, therefore, ,do not claim, broadly, the employment of iron ore and nitrate of soda in the manufacture of iron, but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The process of manufacturing plate-iron by running the molten pig metal into pans which have previously been coated with a'paste of iron ore, and per- I'nitting the metal to harden into aplate, as before described.

Also,the process of manufacturing plate-iron by running the molten pig metal into pans, which have previously been coated with a paste of iron ore and nitrate of soda, and permitting the metal to harden into G. F. W Ankara} Both of N0. 17 Grace-ehm-ch J OHN DEAN, Street, London.