US255135A - Desulphurizing-furnace - Google Patents

Description

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.A. BLAT'OHLY. DESULPHURIZING FURNACE. No. 255,135. Patented Mar. 21,1882.

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A. BLAT O HLY DESULPHURIZING FURNACE.

No. 255,135. Patented Mar. 21,1882.

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UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE BLATCHLY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DESULPHURlZlNG-FURN-ACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,135, dated March 21, 1882.

Application filed'May 11, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMBROSE BLATGHLY, of the city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented an Improved Desulphurizing-Furnace; and I do hereby dcclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates, first, to a new and improved method or process for desulphurizing ores; and it consists, first,in drying the ores;

I secondly, in subjecting them to the action of heat in a closed chamber, retort, or muffle; and, thirdly, in agitating or stirring the ore in the chamber, retort, or muffle, and at the same time injecting hot air which-has been dehydrated into, upon, and against the ore, so as to drive off the sulphur in the form of sulphnrous anhydride without the formation of any hy' drous acid. w

My invention relates, secondly, to a novel construction of furnace which is especially adapted for treating the ores by my anhydrous roasting process above mentioned.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through my improved furnace. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken above the traveling plow,in theplane indicated by the dotted line or on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a-transverse vertical section taken near the end of the furnace, showing the frictiongearing acting on the chain. Figs 1 and 5 show detail views of the reversible gear.

Let A represent a closed chamber, retort, or

muffle, the bottom of which can be made of tiles, while the remainder is made of cast-iron or brick. This chamber, retort, or muffle I place upon a brick-work foundation, B, and in this foundation, under the forward end of the retort or muffle, I construct a fire-place, O. From this fire-place a flue, D, runs along underneath the retort or chamber, thence up around its rear end, and then forward over its top to the stack or chimney E at its forward end, so that the heat and products of combustion are compelled to pass back under and against the tile bottom of the chamber, up behind it, and forward over its top, thus encircling it on three sides. Above the horizontal portion of this flue, which is-directly above the chamber, I construct a drying-floor, F, upon which the ore to be roasted is placed to dry preliminary to introducing it into the furnace through the feed passages, hereinafter described.

Inside of the chamber or muffle, near each -end, I construct a low bridge-wall or track, j,

which extends entirely across its bottom; but these bridge-walls or tracks only rest upon the bottom or floor at each side of the chamber, so that a space is left underneath them through which the ore can pass, as hereinafterdescribed.

A rod or beam, Gr, extends lengthwise of the chamber, and its opposite ends rest upon the bridge-walls or tracksf. This beam carries a number of plows or mold-boards, h, which extend downward from it so as to stir, agitate, and turn the ore over as the beam is moved from side toside of the chamber. This beam may be a hollow tube through which a stream of water can be passed in order to keep it from being unduly heated. An endless chain, S, passes through holes in the sides of the chamber opposite each end of thebeam G,and thence it passes around pulleysjj, Fig. 3, just outside of the furnace and down underneath the chamber. Each chain is connected with one end of the beam G, so that when the chains are caused to travel the beam and its plows will be drawn by it in thedirection in which the chain moves. The plows are so constructed that they will plow a furrow when traversingacross the chamber in either direction. Each chain I connect underneath or at one side of the chamberwith a shaft, H, which is driven by a reversing-gear, (shown at Figs. 4 and 5,) by meansof'which a continuous rotary motion is converted into a reciprocating semi-rotary motion, thus serving to draw the chains far enough in one direction to carry the beam and its plows across the chamber, and then to automatically reverse the motion, so as to carry the beam and its tached. Pinions dare mountedon a short shaft,

Y, on each side of the mutilatedgear-wheel, so

that when the driving-shaft is rotated the teeth of the mutilated gear-wheelwill alternately engage with one and then the other, so as to drive them partially around in opposite directions. A pinion, z, on each short shaft engages with a spur-wheel on the end of the shaft H, so that the motion of the pinions are transmitted to the shaft H, thus causing it to wind upon the chains alternately in opposite directions in the same way. By this means the beam and its plows are drawn from side to side of the chamber, but the plows do not move in the sametrack in both directions. At both ends of each bridge-wall or traekf, I construct an inclined plane, K, up which the beam will be carried as it approaches each side of the chamber, so that the plows are lifted clear of the ore on the bottom of the chamber and dropped again just before the return movementconnnences. Each vertical incline has a horizontal incline, I, on its side, so that, besides being lifted upward before itisdropped to return, the beam is shifted endwise the width of a plow. Thus each plow in its reverse movement takes the ore that was moved by its neighbor during the prior movement. The shitting inclines l on one end of the bridge-walls or tracks incline in an opposite direction from those at the opposite end, so thatthe beam is shifted back and forth the width of a plow at each side of the chamber, thus moving the ore continuously in one direction through thelength of the chamber, the

whole being performed automatically by a continuous rotary motion imparted to the main drive-shaft.

The pulleys marked j, around which the chains pass at each side of the chamber, are

friction-pulleys, and their object is to prevent any slipping of the chains as they are drawn from side to side. The pulleys of each set are arranged in pairs horizontally and vertically, and the chain passes over and under them alternately, as represented at Fig. 3. The driving-pulleys of the chains S (shown on one side of the furnace in Fig. 3) are geared together and are driven from one driving-shaft, so that their speed is uniform, and each driving-pulley applies power and assists in moving the chain. The friction of the chains passing in this manner around and between them will prevent the chains from slipping, so that their pull upon the beam G is steady and uniform.

The ore is introduced into the roastingchamber behind the rear bridge-wall through two or more pipes or tubes, M, which lead from the rear end of the drying-floor down into the chamber near its bottom. These feedpipes enter the chamber at intervals apart, so as to distribute the ore upon the chamberfloor. Their upper ends areenlarged, so as to form hoppers N, into which the dry ore on the drying-floor can be readilyshoveled. The ore passes from the lower ends of the pipes M into the rear end ofthe chamber, as before stated, behind the bridge-wall. The plows traveling back and forth, from side to side, move it gradually toward the opposite end of the cham her, where there is an opening, 0, through which the roasted ore is discharged into a box orother receptacle arranged beneath it, but not shown in the drawings. The movement of the ore through the furnace is necessarily slow, as the plows move it step by step, and as the ore is moved forward that which is behind the bridge-wall will move by its gravity down through the space under the bridge-wall and take the place of that which is displaced, thus providing a continuous feed and disehargeinto, through, and from the chamber.

Outside of the chamber, at some convenient point, I place an air-blower, Q, from which a pipe, It, leads into and through a box, 8, in which chloride of calcium or other dehydrating substance is contained. I prefer to extend this pipe into the flue D at the frontend ofthe furnace,and pass it along over the chamber to its rear end, thence downward and then forward under the chamber to the tire-place O,in which it may be coiled. This arrangement of the pipe is not shown in the annexed drawings. The tube R is connected with a large tube, T, which extends transversely across the chamher at a shortdistance above the traveling beam G. A similar tube extends across the opposite end of the chamber at the same level, and a number of small horizontal tubes, V, connect these large tubes. Each of the small tubes V has a number of nipples or perforations, 10, projecting downward from it toward the bottom of the chamber. I

The blower is driven by a suitable power, so as to drive a current of air into the dehydrating-box s, in which it is deprived of its moisture. Thence the airtraverses through the pipe B, being heated in its passage through the flue and fire-place, and is finally ejected through the nozzles upon and against the ore as it is moved, turned, and agitated by the plows. By this means the ore is dried before itenters the chamber, and the air which is introduced into the chamber is deprived 0f.its moisture, so that no hydrous acid is formed.

Through the top of the chamber or muflie I make a number of holes or perforations, 3 through which the air and gases will escape from the chamber after the air has been ejected into and against the ore, and as these holes are distributed over the roof-surface the upward flow of air and gases will beuniform and steady without creating adraft. The perforations or nozzles in the air-pipes eject the air downward upon the ore uniformly at all points of the oresurface in the corners, as wellasin the middle of the floor, so that no portion of ore escapes the oxidizing influence of the air and no current is created to scatter or raise and carry off the fine dust particles, as in other furnaces where a draft or blast of air is used.

. I have above stated that theair which I forciblyinject into the furnace among the ore is detacle for containing thedehydratingsubstance lIO .130 prived of its moisture, and I have shown a recep-.

through which the air is compelled to pass before itenters the furnace. By thus treating the air I furnish only a sufficient amount of hydrogen to unite with the sulphur and form a free sulphurous anhydride, which is driven 05 without the formation of anhydrous acid.

If the air is charged with moisture, steam will be formed in the furnace and decomposed into its elements, which is not desirable.

Having thus described my invention,\vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The process of desulphuriziug ores, consisting of the following successive steps: first, drying the ore; second, subjecting the dried ore in a close chamber to thorough agitation third, subjecting the ore to the action of heat; and, fourth, injecting hot air which has been dehydrated, or deprived of its moisture, substantially as described.

2. A desulphurizing-furnace consisting of the closed chamber, retort, or muffle A, mounted over the fire-place G, and having the flue D, leading underneath, around the rear end, and

over the top of the chamber to a stack, E, at

the front of the furnace, the drying-floor F, arranged over the chamber and flue, the stirrers h, the blower Q, box s, air-pipe R, and distributing-pipes V, with their perforations or nozzles w, all combined and arranged to operate substantially as above described.

3. In an ore-roasting muffle or retort furnace, the automatic stirring apparatus consistin g of the beam G, with its plows or stirrers I1, operated by the chains S and automatic reversing-gear, in combination with the bridgewalls or tracks f, with their vertical inclined planes K and horizontal inclines l, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination, in a furnace for desulphurizing ores, of the ore chamber having holes through its top wall, the perforated airinjecting pipes, arranged across the furnace AMBROSE BLATGHLY.

Attest: t WM. F. CLARK,

EDWARD E. OsBoRN.

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