US596992A

US596992A - Xmethod o of and apparatus for-bgssemerizinq matte

Info

Publication number: US596992A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1898-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 1915-01-11

Description

(No Model.) 3 shets-sneet 1.

' 10. S. GARRETSON.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING- MATTE. No. 596,992. Patented Jan. 11, 1898.

WITNESSES: N

J M ("6:24 m INVENTOR- lv Q s f ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

0. s. G'ARRETSON. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING MATTE.

NO. 596392. Patented Jan. 11, 1898.

WITH ESSES. @azym Hy W 4 d ATTORNEYS,

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 3.

0. S. GARRETSON. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING MATTE.

No. 596,992. Patented Jan. 11,1898.

I jazenzor. m WZM J mm UNITED Sjr TEs PATENT FFEQEe omvsn s. GARRETSON. on BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

METHOD oFANo APPARATUS ros-se sesmseizmo MATTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters E'stent No. 595,992, dated January 11, 1 B95- r resent an n vemberle, 1396. Serial 1o. 611,987. (No model.)

To and whom/it may concern;

Be it known thatil, OLIVER S. GARRETSON,- a citizen of the United States,.residing at- B'ufialo, in the county of Erie and State of is a specification.

This invention has reference to the treat mm of matte by the converting orbessemerizing process. This process is now generally carried on in converting vessels which are provided with a silicious liniug,vwhich fur- Irish es the silica. for the combination with the ironoxid produced by the action of the blast upon thegiron contained in the matte. The motto is treated in these con verter's in a'charge eta time, and the lining is eaten away by each charge to. a certain extent, so that the lining is required to be renewed after a certain number of charges have been treated. The operetion of these converters is intermittent. The slag is poured off by tipping the converter when the propervstage has been reached, and the finished charge is finally poured out.

The converter is then ready to receive another c charge unless the lining has been eaten out .to such an extent that the converter requires to he relined. The converter is then relined and dried, which operations consume considerable time and labor. My invention has f'orone of its objects to convert or bessemerize the matte one continnous operation, in which the silicions matter is supplied to the converter from time to time, as may be necessary to maintain the proper amount of silicious matter in the con- Verter, and in which the matte is supplied to the converter continuously, or nearly so, so that fuel, consisting of the oxidizableingre. dients contained in. raw matte, is contin uously supplied to the charge in the coneerter.'--

lily-invention has for a further object the separationof different metals contained in complex ore or mattes by converting or beslemerizing the matte successively in different communicating chambers or compartments, whereby the metallic constituents of the ore or matte which are most readily precipitated are separated and deposited first, and other lollreadily-precipitated motels are seperetcd arranged on opposite sides of the furnace,

and deposited in the following compartment or compartments. 7 I

In the accompanying drawings, consistingof three sheets, Figurel is a longitudinal vertical section of a smelting-furnace which is provided with twocommunicating convertin'g-furneces accordingto m y invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section in line 2 2, Fig. 1.' Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionof a' detached converting-furnace by which my'iniprotfed' method of converting" or 'hessemerizing \can be practiced. Fig. 4 is a horizontal 58011011 in line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is afragmentary cross-section of the top of the furnace at right angles to Fig.1 on an enlarged scale. Fig.

'6 is a sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of the gasrescape valves.

' Like letters of reference refer tolike parts in the several figures.

5 A represents a smelting or. main furnace,

which has a slag-outlet a; at one end or side and a matte-outlet b at the opposite end or f side and which is preferably long'and narrow. The bottom 0 ofthe furnace is prefer: ably slightly sloped from the slag-outlet toward the matte-outlet, so that the flow of the heavier ingredients of the molten material is directed toward the matte-outlet. The lower edge of the matte outlet is preferably arranged on a slightly lower level than the lower edge of the slag-outlet. v

, 07, represents the tap-hole,th re ugh which the metal or metallic compounds can he withdrawn from the bottom of the furnace when desired. t

E represents the twyers of the furnace, by which a blast suitable for smelting is supplied, to the furnace and which are arranged above the slag-level in a common manner. The blastwhich is supplied to these twyers is preferably heated by any suitable heating apparatus, but I prefer for that purpose the hot-blast apparatus which forms'the subjectmatterof my application for Letters Patent filedOctoher 29, 1896, Serial No, 610,403. In

this hot-blast apparatus the blast is heated by the discharged molten slag in a conduit F,

through which the slag is conducted by an endless carrier 9. The blast passes from this conduit through two conduits G, which are wellknown manner.

and from which. the twyers are supplied in a The .conduits G are provided with valves g for regulating or shutting off the blast and with suitable hand-- holes G and permitting the escape of the gases through the uptakes Ii. I

I represents the forche'arth orsettling-well, which receives the slag from the slag-outlet a of the furnace and which may be constructed in any suitable manner. I prefer, however, a forehcarth constructed as described and claimed in my application for Letters Patent filed November 7, 1896, Serial No. (311,32h In this forehearth the bottom 2. is arranged practically .on a level with the bottom of the slag-outlet a of the furnace or slopcs slightly toward said outlet, so that matte or other molten metallic compounds which may settle to the bottom of the forev hearth flow back into the furnace.

z" is the slag-outlet of the forcl1earth,whlch outlet isarrangcd higher than the slag-level.

of the furnace. The air-pressure in the furnaccdrivcs the slag to the outlet of the forehearth, from which it"passcs to the slaginlet 7 of the hot-blast apparatus.

This pressure is maintained in the f u rnace,as is wellknown, because the stack of the furnace is filled with a column of ore and fuel, through which the blast must force its way in order to escape. If necessary, the'forchearth maybe kept filled with charcoal, through which the slag is filtered before escaping and whereby any f urther values contained in the slagare filtered out or reduced. The forehearth may be pro vided with twyers J for supplying anto burn a part of the charcoal suflicient to maintain the. heat which is necessary to keep the slag sufiiciently fluid,

K represents the pipe through which the gases escape from the forehearth and which is preferably connected with the forehearth immediately above its slag-outlet. I

L represents the bell or cover in the feedhopper Zof the forchearth.

M represents an upright converting-fu' rnace or bessemeriziug apparatus which is arranged adjacent to the matte-outlet b of the furnace and receives the'mattc therefrom. M represents a second converting-furnace arranged adjacent to the first converting-furnace M andrcceiving the matte therefrom. Each of these converting-furnaces has its body composed of an upright water-jacketed column, stack, or shell m of cylindrical, prismatic, or other suitable form, and has a depressed bottom m, provided with a suitable tap-hole m".

The first converting-furnace M- is provided in the-side of its shell with an opening 0, whichcoincides with the matteontlet b of the furnace, and on its opposite side with an opening 0', which coincides with jected into the molten matte.

the opening hof the second con\-'erting; furnace M. The openings h o oare made of sufi'icient area to permit of the free escape of the gases from the converting-furnaces to the main furnace. Each of the com'erting-furnaces may, however, be provided with a sup plemental gas-escape passage I, which leads to the uptake of the main furnace and which is closed by a weighted valve 1) of any suitable construction, (indicated by dotted lines inFig. 1,) so that the gases can-escape through this supplemental passage u po'n forcing said valve open should .their escape to and through the main furnace be obstructed. 'Each,of

these converting-furnaces is provided with twyers q, through which a blast suitable for converting or bessemerizing the matte is in These twyers are arranged at such a height above the bottom of the furnace that they'deliver the blast intothe zone occupied by the molten matte, which zone lies above the zone occupied by the metal on the bottom of the convertingfurnace and below the slag-level. The blast which is supplied to these twyers need not be heated and can be conducted to the twyers by flexible pipes q. Each of these converting-furnaces may also be provided abovethe slag-levelwith twyers (1 through which an additional air-supply maybe injected, if nec essary. der a sufficiently high pressure to enable the blast to penetrate the molten matte, which The converting-blast is injected un- Y pressure may range from four to' five pounds or more per square inch, while the smeltingblast is injected at a much lower pressure, which may range from one-half to one and one-half poundsz- A The bottom of each converting-furnace is arranged so far below the matte-inlet opening 0 in the'side of the furnace that the molten metal or metallic compound which col-' lects on the bottom of the convertin g-fu rnace will remain there and will not flow back to the main furnace or pass on to the next con-- ing sulfid ores in the presence of a suitable flux, such as quartz, dioritc, die. The matte accumulates on the bottom of the smeltingfurnaceand flows slowly toward the first converting furnace and enters the same and passes from the first to the second convertingfurnace. The matte may become so concentrated in the smelting-furnace that the metals which are .mosteasilyprecipitated, such as bismuth and lead, separate themselvcsjrom through the tap-hole d.

whereby the. combustible ingredients--such tcnt burned out.

are. filled with a column of flux in lumps-f- .taining a large percentage of silica.

teases a the matte-and collect on the bottom of the smelting-furnace. The metal which'is there depositedfis drawn off from. time to time The bulk of the matte enters the first converting-furnace Maud is subjected in the same tothe converting-blast,

as sulfur, iron, arsenic, rhc.-are to a large ex- The converting-furnaces such as quartz, diorite, or other mineral conweight of this column keeps the lower portion of the same pressed down into the layer of matte, so that the iron oxid which is being formed in the matte by the oxidizing-blast'can come in contact with once is very complex,

the silica and combine with the same to a silicate, which forms aliquid slag. The latter rises to the surface of the-molten material and flows back into the main furnace through joins the slag produced in the'main furnace.-

The matte which is treated in the first con jected to the action. of a-converting-blast in the second converting-furnace, and the metal which is precipitated in the second converting-furnace consists'largely of copper. If the ore which is being smelted in the main fur a third. converting-furnace may. be employed. When the matte flows successively through several of these converting-furnaces, the metals contained in the matte are separated to a greater or less extent and precipitated in, the several furtraces as alloys injy/hich one or the other metal predominates. The slag which is formedin the second converting-furnace flows back to I nace.

the first furnace and thence into the main fur- The slags formed in the convertingfurnaces are comparatively rich and are compolled 'to pass through the main furnace before they can reach the forehearth or final slag-outlet.

is there in excess and the poor matte which is rich in sulfur. The sulfur combines with the'metal and O'XldS carried by the slag and forms therewith matte, which joins the matte with the same to In this manner a being formed, and returns the converting-furnaces.

' iio'wofmatte is kept up through themain furuace toward and through'the converting-fun naccs andof slag from the converting-furnaccs to and through the main furnace. The slag which enters the forehearth parts in the latter with any v ides which it may still con- The the openings 0 b and t In passing through the main fur-' nace these slags encounter-the sulfur which tain and which return to the main furnace, while the slag is finally discharged in a practically clean state. The metal which is precipitated in the main furnace and in the converting-furnaces is drawn off from time to time through the tap-holes.

In the above-described method of conversion or bessemerizing the converting-chamher is constantly supplied with fresh matte,

and as the latter carries in its constituents a sufficient amount of oxidizable substances,

such as sulfur and iron, to serve as fuel in the converting or bessemerizing operation the latter can-he continued indefinitely without danger of chilling for want of fuel. The supply of flux or silica is-also constant, or nearly so; as the column of flux in each converting furnace is replenished at the top from time to time, as may be required, so that the silicais always abundantly present for combination with-the iron oxid which is being formed. A water-jacketed furnace can therefore he used in this converting process, as indicated in the drawings, because no silicious lining is required for furnishing the silica necessary for forming slag, as in an ordinary converter.

' As the converting process is continuous and the/slag flows off continuously,a large amoupt of time and labor is saved, no handling being required for supplying the matte or returning the slag to the main furnace for. treatmen t, it how g only necessaryto maintain the supply of ore and flux and to remove the fiu- V,

ished product from time to time,

In some cases it may not be desirable to carry the process of conversion to' the extent I that metal is actually precipitated, but only far enough to concentrate or enrich the matte preparatory tofurther treatment. This de pends largely upon upon localand other conditions andcan be readily accoinp1ished,when desired, by prop.- eriy regulati,-, g, the converting operation.

My improveconverting or hessemerizing the nature of the ores and method can also be practicedwithout return ing the slag to the smelting or main furnace. In Fig. 3 is represented semeriing furnace M rial respects constructed like the convertingfurnaces M M hereinbefore described, but which is not directly connected with a smelting-furnace. This converting-furnace is supplied with molten matte through a spoutu either continuouslyorfroin time to time, as

maybe most convenient, andjthe liquid slag escapes through an outlet it either'coutinuously or from time to time. The furnace is kept charged witha column of silicious materiai,.as hereinbefore described, which material is supplied through a door u? in the upper portion ofthe furnace, and the gases es cape through a pipe a discharged from this furnace must be treated a converting or has which is in all mater Theslag which is 4 separately it it is suflicien'tly rich to warrant;r3d

such treatm ent. If necessary, a small amount of carbonaceous fuel may be supplied to this furnace with the flux. If desired, the matte may be supplied to this furnace in lumps or pigs instead of in a molten condition.

I claim as my invention 1. The herein-described method of converting or bessemerizing matte which consists in subjecting the molten matte to a converting or bessemerizi'ng blast underneath a column of flux or silicious material, substantially as set forth. 2. The herein-described method of converting or'bessemerizing matte which consists in supplying the molten matte continue usly to a convertingorbessemerizingchamberandsubjecting the matte to a converting or bessemerizing blast therein underneath a column v of flux orsilioious material, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described method of converting or bessemerizing matte which consists in supplying the molten matte continuously to a from the smelting-chamber to a converting or bessemerizing chamber, subjecting the matter therein to a converting or bessemerizing blast underneath a column of flux or silicious material, and removing the slag continuously from said chamber,-substan'tially as set forth. 4. The herein-described method of smelting and converting or bessemerizing matte which consists in smelting the ore to produce matte, causing the matte to flow continuously separate cone verting or bessemerizing chamber, subjecting the matte in the latter to a converting or bessemerizing blast underneath a column of fiux or silicious material, and causing the slag to flow from said converting or bessemerizing chamber to said smelting-chamber, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described method of separating the metallic constituents contained in complex ores or 'mat'tes which consists in smelting the ore to produce matte, causing the matte to flow from the smelting-furnace lntoseveral successive converting or bessemerizing furnaces, subjecting the matte to having a stack adapted nace and is subjected converting or bessemerizing blasts in the latter ,and forming a fluid slag therein, causing furnaces to said smelting-furnace where the slag isacted upon by the sulfur and sulfids before it is discharged from the smelting-furnace, and posited metallic constituents separately from said converting or bessemerizing furnaces, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a smelting-furnace, of a separate converting or bessemerizing furnace having air-ports or twyers and having a stack adapted to hold flux, said 0011'- vertingfurnace communicating with the smelting-furnace by a passage which is arranged in the lower-portions of the adjacent side walls of said furnaces and adapted to allow the matte to flow from the smelting-furnace into the converting-furnace and the slag to flow from the converting-furnace into the smelting-furnace; substantially as set forth.

-7. The combination with a smelting-furnace, of a separate converting or bessemerizing furnace having air-ports or twyers and to hold flux, said converting-furnace communicating with said smelting-furnace by a passage which is arranged in the lower portions of the adjacent side walls of said furnaces and adapted to allow the matte to flow from the smelting-furnace into the converting-furnace and the slag to flow from the converting-furnace into the smelting-furnace and a forehearth arranged at the opposite side of the smelting-furnace and receiving the slag therefrom, whereby the'slag formed in the converting-furnace is compelled to flow through the smelting-furto the action of the sulfur and sulfids therein in passing to the forehearth, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 10th day of November, '1896.

OLQIVER s. GARRETSON.

withdrawing the de--