US1043490A - Recovering copper from compounds containing the same. - Google Patents

Description

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UTLEY WEDGE, OEARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA.'ASSIGNOR T0 THE FURNACE PATENT v COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYL- VANIA.

ASpecification of Letters Pat-ent,

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application filed February 7, 1910.' Serial No. 542,630.

To u?! I11a/"loin it nul-y concern:

Be it ltnown that l, l'rLnr VEDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Recovering Copper from Compounds lontaining the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide acinnmereially practicable method of re covering copper from oxids, carbonates or silicates of copper, or ores or concentrates containingv the same, whose values have, in many cases, not been utilized because of difliculties in their treatment by ordinary smelting or blast furnace methods. In some cases these ores have been of such a character as to malte concentration or separation ofvalues by gravity methods impossible` and in other cases by reason of the physical or chemical character of the ore or the gangne contents it has not been comniercially practicable to secure the values by fusion in blast furnace or other smelting furnaces. l have found that if such oXids, carbonates, or silicates are subjected t-o the action of sulfnrous gases, such forfinstance as sulfur dioxid, sulfur trioXid, or sulfuric `acid vapor, the copper will be reduced to fore patente-:l by me, and in the accompany-l ing drawing l have shown such a furnace in vertical sect-ion.

vBy preference a furnace of the inutile type is used. said furnace haring a series of superposcd hearths l and having, between each hearth and the arch of the chamber below it. a heating chamber Q to which the heating vgases are Ysupplied from a fireplace 3 at one side ofthe furinlcesaid heating gases. after traversing the chambers Qes coping through dues-4 to a stack or other draft inducing means.

The furnace has a central shaft 5 carrying arms G which are intended to be provided with feeding and stirring blades or 'abbles in the usual manner, whereby the material in powdered or .granular formdeposited upon each hearth will be, constantly stirred or agitated and will be fed overthe hearth from the inner to the outer portion of the same, or in the reverse direction, the mate- .which will permit of heating and agitating the material so'as to expose all portions of ne cass to the atmosphere of sulfurous gas maintained in the furnace.

The sulfur-ous gas desired from any available source may' be introduced into the. furnace at the lower hearth, as for instance at 9,' and may then pass upwardly through the furnace so as to actI upon the material on the successive hearths, finally escaping as at l0, or the gas may be introduced at the top hearth and caused to How downwardly through the furnace, or it. may be introi duced at an intermediate point and caused to flow upwardly to the outlet, especially *in cases where it may be advisable to subject the ore to subsequent treatment which can. in such case, be effected upon the heart-h -or hearths below the gas inlet, or the gas introduced at the upper portion of the furnace may be taken off at any intermediate point.

The sulfurous gas will be effective for the desired purpose if it contains a percentage of sulfur dioxid as low as three per cent. by volume, but its action is developed to a much better effectI if 'the percentage of sulfur dioxid is increased to say about fourteen'to sixteen per cent.

ll'here sulfur dioxid is used the presence of some oxygen is necessary to permit of the formation of copper sulfate in the furnace and therefore in such case the sulfurous gas will in practice be diluted with atmospheric air in'quantity suliicient to supply the neoessary oxygen.

The material under treatment shouldbe maintained at a temperature of from 800 to 1100O F., and whatever construction of furnace may be employed it should be designed with the view of maintaining the hearth or hearths at a temperature which will effect the desired heating of the material upon the hearth. Care should be taken to prevent sulfate after the saine has been formed, or

on the other hand, to prevent the tempera.- ture of the material from falling below that at which the reaction Will take place.

In the operation of the furnace the firing of the same Will be effected in such manner as to produce thetemperature of the material which is best calculated to effect the desired reaction With the particular material which is being acted upon. Where the temperature. of the sulfurous gas employed is suiciently. high, any other heating of the furnace -may be dispensed with, but Where .such additional heating is required coal, oil,

or lotherfuel may be employed, the furnace, in the latter ca-se, being one of the -muffle type, as shown, so that the products of combustion will not unnecessarily dilute the sulfurous gas employed'. An effective `method of carrying out my invention is to employ' .the furnace 1n which the operation is effected in connection with an ordinary rdasting furnace in which sulfurous gas is developed, such gas being conveyed directly from said roasting furnace to the furnace in which the material is being subjected to my improved treatment, or .a furnace constructed to carry out Iny invention may be employed in connection with an ordinary blast furnace or converter, either with orA the latter with lsulfur dioxid the addition of oxygen may not be necessary.

I claim:

`The mode herein described of recovering copper from oxids, carbonates, silicates or like compounds, said mode consisting in subjecting the material-to an atmosphere containing sulfurous gas and at the same time heating the compound, Without direct access of the heating gases thereto, to such temperature that the reaction will form copper sulfate, and then recovering the copper from such sulfate.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

' UTLEY WEDGE.

Witnesses.

KATE A. BEADLE, HAMILTON D. TURNER.

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