US2010981A

US2010981A - Art of pulverizing mineral substances or aggregates

Info

Publication number: US2010981A
Application number: US515890A
Authority: US
Inventors: Reginald S Dean; Gross John
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1931-02-14
Filing date: 1931-02-14
Publication date: 1935-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 1952-08-13

Description

Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ART OF PULVERIZING LHNERAL SUBSTANCES OR AGGREGATES Reginald s. Dean, Washington, D. 0.. and John Gross, Salt Lake City, Utah No Drawing.

Application February 14, 1931, Serial No. 515,890

2 Claims. (01. ass-94) The object of this invention is to reduce certain mineral substances or aggregates to a finely divided condition for any purpose whatever but reduction of mineral substances or aggregates to a finely divided condition is accomplished by the application of forces applied externally such as in crushing rolls stamp mills, ball mills or similar devices. In these devices the energy input is inefficiently used in producing fine particles. Our invention makes use of forces exerted by a controlled expansion of a substance existing or introduced into the pores or structure of the mineral substance or aggregate and is based in part on the discovery that many mineral substances are more porous or permeable to liquids than heretofore supposed. I This invention differs from the method sometimes used to break apart large pieces of rock by freezing water in the crevices of the rock since it is applicable to rocks with a different order of openings and is controlled so that it may be made to take place suddenly. The same objection of lack of control applies to the very old art of heat chipping as applied by savages to the forming of flint rocks or to various processes which have been proposed which involve sudden heating or cooling of rocks. In all of these cases only the surface may be strained sufficiently to break.

We are also aware that a number of processes have been patented but not greatly usedin the art whereby the crevices existing in rocks or minerals or mineral aggregates are subjected to widening by means of corrosive agents or by means of introducing into such crevices solutions which give off a gas such as hydrogen peroxide. We are also aware that minerals having water in their constitution such as vermiculite have been disintegrated by heating and that mineral aggregates have been to some extent disintegrated by the repeated application of a vacuum. We are also aware that materials have been pulverized by the sudden expansion of a liquid placed in contact with them when heated in a confined space.

We are also aware that substances have been disintegrated by confining them in a closed vessel with gaseous explosive agents.

We do not claim any of these processes but claim our process is different therefrom in' that an explosive substance or one of its constituents is introduced into the pores or structure for minpores or on its surface.

. Percent zinc in material crushed thru 200 eral substance or aggregate by means of contact with a liquid or solution and the expansion within a mineral aggregate may, accordingly, be so conirolled that one or more constituents of the aggregate ore pulverized more than others. 5

Further, our process does not require the confinement of the mineral or aggregate with the explosive or liquid.

The explosive, after being formed within the pores or structure of the mineral is detonated by means of heat and shock. We do not claim any of these processes but claim that our process is generically different therefromin that the expansion within the substance is controllable so that it may be made to take place suddenly. The results of such a sudden expansion are as different from the heretofore practiced slow expansions as is the burning of black powder in an open space to its explosion when confined or controlled. I

One form of our process is to treat the mineral substance or aggregate so that explosive material, such as silver acetylide is absorbed in its This may be accomplished by impregnating the mineral, for exam- 5 ple iron ore, with a solution of silver nitrate and subjecting it to acetylene gas. The explosive material is then caused to explode by heat or percussion.

The pulverization produced by our method is notlimited to the tearing apart of the mineral or aggregate by the expansion of the material within its pores or structure but additional pulverization is caused by the impact of the partiticles with the sides of the container and with each other.

Percent zinc before crushing 1.7

mesh by our process 10.9

This specification does not attempt to point out all the advantages which may be obtained by our invention nor the changes and substitutions in form that may be made within the scope and spirit which are to be limited only by the appended cIaims.

We claim:

1. The process of pulverizing mineral substance which comprises dispersing an explosive substance .in a liquid, soaking the mineral substance with the liquid to impregnate the mineral with the explosive, and detonating the explosive 6 substance.

2. The process of pulverizing mineral substances which comprises treating the mineral substances with a plurality of chemical sub stances to form an explosive from said substances within the pores and structure of the mineral and detonating said explosive,

JOHN GROSS. REGINALD s. DEAN.