US1073381A - Utilizing fine ores, flue-dust, and the like. - Google Patents

Description

H. c. WOYLLE &-. E. P. KENNEY; UTILIZING PINE ORES, FLUB DUST, AND THE LIKE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR.3, 1911.

1,073,381. Patented Sept. 16,1913.

messes,

NITED STATES PATENT HARTLEY G. WOLLE AND EDWARD F. KENNEY, OF WESTMONT BOROUGH, PENNSYL- VANIA.

UTILIZING FINE ORES, FLUTE-DUST, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

Application filed March 3, 19,11. Serial No. 612,082.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that we, HARTLEY C. WOLLE and EDWARD F. KENNEY, citizens of the United States, residing in the borough of lVestmont, in the county of Cambria and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Im rovenrenfts in Utilizing Fine Ores, Flueust, and the Like; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart. to which it a-ppertains to make and use the same.

In smelting ores in blast, shaft or other furnaces it is difiicul't to properly or regularly smelter reduce the finer portions thereof. This is partially due to the fact that the fine particles fill the spaces between the larger particles of the ore, fuel, flux, or

other portions of the charge, or commingle similar furnaces, and as fine-ores and fluedust are somewhat similar in their qualities, we will hereafter, ing the description, refer to both of these generically as fine-ores.

Our invention also relates to the product made as hereinafter described.

All ores contain a certain percentage of fine material which is capable of being utilized in the manner stated hereinafter, and we have discovered that our invention is particularly applicable to utilizin the fineores of the Mesaba range of lipnesota,

which, although produced in large quantities, cannot be smelted regularly Without trouble, for the reasons aforesaid and on other accounts as known to those skilled in this art, v

Charging, fine-ores directly into a blast furnace-produces a considerable loss thereof by being. carried out with the gases as dust,

for the sake of simpl1fy--.

and their use in this manner also causes slips and explosions in the furnace which are detrimental to the proper operation thereof, and at the same time dangerous to the men, being at times so violent as to tance apart, the ores passing over said screento be charged directly into the blast furnace, andthose portions of the fine-ores passing through the screen to be treated and utilized as hereinafter described.

Our invention comprises passing fine-ores between a pair of preferably hard cylindrical rolls arranged with their axes substantially parallel and adjusted with their adjoining surfaces at a suitable distance apart, say from 3-inch to -inch, or more, thereby compacting the material by rolling pressure into dense flakes, this operation causing the granular particles of fine-ores to interlock with each other and cohere. This rolling pressure is distinctive in its action in that it gradually compresses the materials as they enter into the so-called bite or curved wedge-shaped opening between the rolls, thereby expelling any entrained air, vapor or gases, and causing the granular materials to issue from'between the rolls in the form of a thin, compact sheet, which however, breaks up into flakes of thickness corresponding .to the distance between the rolls, but otherwise of irregularoutline.

The action of the pressure rolls in compacting the fine materials is such that the density of the flakes so produced is greater at the surfaces in contact with the rolls than in the interior portion of said flakes fart-her removed from the roll surfaces.

during their formation. This roduces a flake with an exterior surface 0 a considerable compactness, so. that it forms an envelop or container for the less compact and slightly more porous interior. The difference in density or compactness throughout the flakes is, however, comparatively small and all the material is highly com- 5 pressed,. although the exterior surfaces, which have been in. contact with the rolls, are more compressed. and dense. than the interior portions, as above described. By this method, therefore, we produce flakes which, on account of thir porosity, are well adapted for smelting, especially as the edges thereof, as, or after being charged into the blast furnace are. more porous than the sides which have been in contact with the 5 rolls, thus allowing the reducing gases to penetrate the flakes and reduce them.

We have found by actual trial that we can operate on fine-ores or similar materials when in their natural condition, provided 2 the moisture is within certain limits, say

from three to eleven per centum. This, we consider to be due tp the fact that the materials ofthe kind used will have a certain coherence as evidenced by their so-called angle of repose, if deposited in a pile, this being an indication of their semi-coherence which enables them to be compacted in the manner stated. If the condition of the ore, with respect to moisture, is such that it is 0 either too dry or too wet for compacting in' the 'manner mentioned, we then add moisture, if too dry, or dry the ore by exposure to the air, or otherwise, until the moisture content is such that the materials may be co pa'cted by rolling pressure.

Althougi we may treat ores of widely arying composition, we give below certain sample analyses of ore and flue-dust which we have successfully compacted into flakes 40 by rolling pressure.

Mesaba Fine Ores.

Per cent.

Iron (as iron oxids) 82. Silica-SiO 1.9 Alumina-Al,Q .8 Manganese (as manganese oxids) .3

Cal), Mg.O, combined, water (H O) and other items .0 Moisture-H O about 10.

F lac-Dust. .Pcrccnt. Iron (as iron oxids) 70. SilicaSiO 7. Alumina-A1 0,. 2.8 Manganese (as manganese oxids) .8 CaO, Mg.O, combined, water (H O) and other items 3.4 Loss on ignition, mostly coke, etc., and with some moisture 16.

Although we have given the approximate compositions, as'indicated above, of certain ore and flue-dust which have been successgully compacted by our invention, we do not limit ourselves to materials of this compoeign mineral ingredients.

sition, but may treat any of these materials which are capable of being made into dense flakes by rolling pressure. 4

The compacting of material by rolling pressure may be due to the interlocking and coherence of the particles of the principal ingredients and might be assisted in part by reason ofthe plastic, or semi-plastic impurities contained in the tine-ores, such as clay or any other mineral or organic matters.. We have, however, successfully compacted fine-ores, such as that shown by the foregoing analysis of Mesaba ore, which contains so little foreign mineral material that the said foreign constituents can not 30 reasonably be considered to have much appreciable effect in, making the particles ad-. here, so that our process. is not altogether dependent on the binding action of the for I The addition of moisture appears to be helpful in that it lessens the friction between the granular particles and permits them to come into more intimate contact with each other, thereby firmly cohering, besides which, some of the moisture may chemically combine with the fine-ores, thereby hydrating the same and making the particles more amenable to coherence. ,The rolling pressure as we appl itto fine-ores, while having the physical e et of compacting them as described, is also believed to bring the particles or ultimate elements thereof, into such close contact that a chemical action and consolidation occurs, there by aiding in the production of dense andsolid flakes.

Having thus given a general description of our invention, we will now, in order to make same more clear,'refer to'the sheet of drawin s accompanying this s ecification and in w ich like numbers re er to like parts. t

, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional elevation through a pair of cylindrical rolls showing the housings and appurtenances thereof, this view being taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the delivery side of our ap aratus. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional e ovation simllar 115 to Fig. 1, except that "the means and apparatus for feed ng fine-ore to the rolls is different. Fig. 4 is' a vertical sectional -ele-- vation of a. portion of the ore-feed chute with shaking apparatus connected there- 12:)

with to insure the feeding, if desired; Fig. 5 is a pers ective view of one of the dense flakes pro need by "our invention, and we wish it understood that these flakes may be larger or smaller, as desired. 7

Referring now to the figures of reference on the drawing, 1 represents our lower cylindrical roll; 2 represents the upper cylindrical. or companion roll; these being preferably set at an angle in order to facilitate 130 i is arranged approximately at an angle ofthe feed of the material thereto, although the rolls may be placed vertically, one above the other, or side by side, if desired, as will ;be readily understood. The rolls 1 and 2 are preferably made with hard smooth surfaces and formed of chilled iron-or hard steel. The rolls El and 2 are each driven by suitable means, (.not shown.) which is preferably arranged by means of :pinions and coupling spindles so that .the surfacespeeds of .the rolls are substantially equal, thereby producing the desired .compacting rolling pressure.

The frameworkor housingbf the rolls, is represented by 3 while 4 are the bearings for the upper roll, and 5 the bearings'for the :lower roll; 16 .are adjusting screws to maintain the upper roll .at the required distance from the lower roll, While 7 laresliners inserted in the spaces 8 between the ad- .joining bearings 41 and 5 which assist in maintaining the distance between them; the liners 7 may be thick or thin, as desired, and by screwing the :roll bearings down against them by means of the screws 6, the opening can be adjusted as may be necessary. The chute for delivering the fineore to the rolls is represented by-9, the said chute bein'g' supported by the beams 20 and 21.

As shown in Fig. 1, the delivery-chute 9 forty-five degrees from the horizontal, whereas the angle of repose or slope of the fine-ore is shown to be .less than this. With the arrangement as shown in Fig. 1 the body or-layer of fine-one which is present to the rolls, rests fora considerable. distance on said roll surfaces. on each side of the narrow space between them, thus presenting at all times a considerable thickness. of material to insure the regular feed thereof.

As shown in Fig. 3 .the feed .is regulated by means'ojf a gate 24 which mayberaised or lowered and set as desired to present a layer such as .30, of any predetermined thickness to the bite of the rolls. The amount of compression produced eby :the

rolls, is to a certain extent, dependent upon the thickness anduniformity of the layer .presented thereto, and we vlave therefore arranged our apparatus so thatathis tea-- ture maybe properly controlled.

As shown particularly in Fig. -1 the lower portion of the layer of granular material rests upon .the upper surface of thelower roll to a considerable distance from the narrow opening between the pair ofrolls, and by meanso are carried by the friction .of the revolving rolls into the narrow passage between the same.

10 represents the sides of our deliserychute for guiding the material-therein; 11 represents the discharge-chute which mag be arrangedata less angle .to the-horizontal thisarrangement the materials (XE :the screen 15, and 17 are the standards Carrying same.

18 represents the belt-conveyer and pulleys for carrying the compressed flakes from the discharge-chute to any convenient receptacle, such as 19.. The receptacle 19 may be either a car, boxj gbr in certain cases, it may :be the skip or bu cket which carries the materials to the top of a blast furnace for the purpose of char ing the same therein. We may, if desired, pleliver'the compressed flakes directly into the ship or bucket aforesaid, for the purpose of avoiding unnecessar-y handling and insuring that the materials are delivered to the blast furnace in the best condition for further utilization.

As shown in Fig. 4, 22 is a reinforcing piece secured to the bottom ofthe deliverychute 9.,and 23 represents acain-wheel with means (net shown) for revolving the same, whereby a jarring motion is given to the delivery-chute;to assist the movement ofthe material therein. This jarringmechanism is not essential to our apparatus, but we have shown .itns an auxiliary which might be useful. The finepresor similar materials on which we operateare contained in a bin,

the Slower portion of which is indicated at 14 and provided with a door or gate 25 which may be opened or closed to discharge the required amount of material therefrom, the operating ilever .of said gate being indicated as 26. The' fine-ore or similar ma- 'terial, prior to our treatment, is indicated as 27 and the pile or talus thereof as presented touthe rolls, is indicated as 28 in Fig. 1. The compressed flakes or particles are indicated as 29, one of these being shown in Fig. 5, in full size, but we wish it understood that they may be thicker tor thinner than shown, and the otherdimensions may also vary, the essence being that these compressed flakes shall be of considerably larger size than the original granulesor particles of fine-.ore. It will be noted that'the width of the stream or layer of material presented .to the .rolls ,is comparatively narrow inorder to insure sufficient rolling pressure thereto, whereby the particles of material will interlock and cohere. lVe prefer, however, .to make the rolls considerably longer than the width of ,the stream of the material delivered ito'them, so that as.one-.pactof the rolls becomes worn,

1 moved longitudinally of the rolls to use another portion of the surface thereof. By

means of this arrangement we can have a.

number of wearingsurfaces on the rolls available, thereby conducing to economy and regularity of operation. The delivery-chute is slidably mounted on the beams '20 and 21 to permit it to be adjusted to deliver a comparatively narrow stream or layer to any part of the rolls, and at the same time be in position, by reason of its wider upper portion, to receive the material from the beltconveyer 13, or otherwise. The dischargechute 11 is similarly adjustable so as to re ceive the compressed flakes.

The operation of our invention is as followsz Fine-ores or other similar materials are used as received, or, are prepared by screening, if necessary, and, if required, the moisture content ofsame is adjusted between the limits found by experience to be suitable to enable them to be compacted by 1 rolling pressure. With the materials which we have used, we find that the range of moisture is between three per'centum (or in some cases a minimum of five per centum) and eleven per centum by weight, but we do not limit ourselves to these exact proportions. The material in the bin l t being in a somewhat semi-coherent condition, although still finely granular and lacking in density, is thence discharged, as indicated at 27, to the conveyer 13 and carried to the inclined delivery-chute -9, down which it slides and is presented t'o the bite of the rolls as shown either in Fig. 1 or Fig. 3. If necessary, the material may be forced against the rolls by a manually operated tamping'tool, or otherwise.- The rolls 1 and 2 are revolved by means of any suitable power (not shown), at substantially equal surface velocities thereby drawing the fine material in between the same and compacting it in a thin sheet, which sheet, however, as it issues from said rolls, breaks into dense flakes by reason of its thinness, due to the action of gravity or other forces. The material is discharged from the rolls down the discharge-chute 11, thence on to the belt-conveyer 18-and, from there into the receptacle 19. As the material passes between the rolls it is compacted by rolling pressure into a thin sheet, which, as it issues from the discharge side of the rolls, projects therefrom in the form of a dense layer, which, however, by the action of gravity, or other forces thereon, is broken into small pieces of irregular fracture, which are then conveyed by gravity down the discharge chute 11. The typical form of one of these flakes is indicated as 29 in Fig. 5, the two opposing surfaces of which are substantially parallel, with irregular edges as shown. These dense flakes are in a very convenient form and well adapted for further handling, treatment and smelting in a blast furnace.

By meansof this recess and apparatus the operation is continuous and capable of producing a large quantity of flakes in a given time, being therefore, practical and economical in a very high degree. y

We wish it understood that our invention is applicable to the treatment and utilization of fine-ores, flue-dust and similar materials, and that the apparatus, process and product may be varied and modified without terials, and that the apparatus, process and practice thereof, as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus given a description of our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is 1. The steps in the process of utilizing fine-ores consisting of adjusting the moisture therein to make the material 'semi-co herent and then compacting same into flakes by rolling pressure.

2. The steps in the process of utilizing fineores consisting of adjusting the moisture therein tomake the material semi-coherent, and rolling into a sheet of substantially uniform thickness, which after rolling separates into flakes of irregular size.

3. The steps in the process of utilizing fine-ores consisting of subjecting the same, while in a semi-coherent condition, to rolling pressure, thereby expelling the entrained air, vapor, etc., and causing the particles to interlock and cohere in the form of dense flakes.

fine-ores consisting of first adjusting the moisture therein to make the material recep:

tive to coherence by rolling pressure, and then rolling the same, whereby it is compressed into flakes. I 5. The steps in the process of utilizing fine-ores consisting of first adjusting the moisture therein to make the material capable of coherence, then rolling a comparatively thick and regular layer of the material, whereby it is compacted into flakes.

6. The steps in the process of utilizing fine-ores consisting of subjecting the same in a granular layer to rolling pressure, there- ;by forming dense flakes of less thickness than said layer.

7. The steps in the process of utilizingfine ores consisting in submitting the same in a moist, granular, semi-coherentlayer to rolling compressing fmeans, carrying said layer by the frictional action thereof into a narrow space arranged between the afore said rolllng compressing means, thereby compacting said layer into dense flakes.

8. In the process of utilizing fine-ores, adjusting the moisture thereof between the limits of three and eleven per centum and then compacting the said ores by rolling pressure,thereby forming dense flakes.

ing dense flakes of greater size than the original particles and then charging said flakes into a smelting or blast furnace.

10. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of smooth-faced cylindrical rolls, means for adjusting and maintaining the distance between the adjoining surfaces thereof, thereby forming a narrow opening between the same, an inclined delivery-chute arranged to be adjusted longitudinally in' various locations alon said rolls with its lower end ad oinlng the upper surface of the lower roll near said narrow openmg and adapted to present a layer of fine-ore thereto.

11. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of smooth-faced rolls adjusted With a narrow opening between the adjoining surfaces thereof, a delivery chute much narrower than the length of said rolls and means for adjusting said chute in various locations longitudinally of said rolls, whereby different portions of said roll surfaces may be utilized.

12. A new article of manufacture comprising thin dense flakes composed of fineore with approximately parallel opposite surfaces of greater density than the interior and irregular edges formed by the fractures of a sheet thereof produced by rolling pressure.

In testimony whereof we hereto affix our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

' HARTLEY C. WVOLLE. EDWARD F. KENNEY. Witnesses:

ELMER SEAVEY, ROBERT A. BEERS.

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