USRE1453E - Improvement in the manufacture of metallic zinc - Google Patents

Description

A. MONNIER.

Manufacture of-Meta|lic Zinc. No. 1,453. I Reissued April'14, 1863,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Alll" inn MONNIER, or PHILADELPHIA, rnss si'nvasra.

l MF 'ROVE M ENT IN THE MANuFAoTuR .OF METALLIC zmc;

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,291, datgdlh iay 18,1358; Reissue No. L453, dated r rr'n- 14, recs;

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, ALFRED MONNIER,I10W

of the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Penn sylvania, formerly ofthe city of Camden, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Iniprovement in, the Manufacture of Metallic Zinc; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full clear, and exact description of the same, re erence being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a vertical section of an apparatus for carrying on the first portion of my process, and Fig. 2 represents a vertical seeti'on'of an apparatus for finishing the pro- 0888. l o

, Heretofore in the manufacture of zinc fromthe native or impure ores it has been always mm'y i0lli:1liltfacture metallic Z'inei'u a single process by heating the ore and carbon mixed together in a mufiie or retort, the ore having undergone no treatment preliminary to being mixed with carbon and placed in the muflie or retort, except merely the application of the low degree of heat necessary for driving oil water, carbonic acid, orsulphur. The gangue or earthy impurities remain with the ore, united with the zinc, and when that ore was placed in the niufile or retort with carbon it was necessary, in order to reduce it and obtain metallic zinc, to apply to the mixture a high degree of heat, and maintain such. heat for a considerable length of time, in order to reduce the zinc disseminated through the mass of gangue. It was also necessary to crush the ore very fine before it was introduced into the muflie or retort. This high degree of heat and its long continuance destroys the lnufliers or retorts, besides consuming a large amount of fuel. y

My improvement consists in obtaining metallic zinc by a combination of two metallurgic operations-via, first separating the oxides of zinc from the rest of the ore by applying to the ore, in a suitable furnace, a degree of heat such as would separate the oxide ofvzinc, or a large portion of it, by volatilization, from the gangue or other metals contained in the ore,

or by treating the ore vwith heat in connection with lime or other flux, the more eflectually to -remove the gangue and other metals from the l oxide of zinc; and, second, treating the oxide of zinc so obtained by heat and carbon in a suitable retort or muflle, and thereby obtaining therefrom metallic zinc.

The apparatus required to carry-out the first-mentioucd operation will consist ofa furnace in which theore is subjected to the necessary heat to effect the separation of the oxides and other volatile matters, and cause densing apparatus connected with such fur i resemblin g in its general character that which has been heretofore used in the manufacture of oxide of zinc for other purposes, but-being The second operation may be performed in been heretofore used in the manufactnre' cf "l'ii'emllic zinc direct from the ore.

The furnace (represented in Fig. 1) rehearth, a tuyere at E, and a movable cap, F,

the condenser consists of a chamber, H H,

troughs, and also has a series of partitions, K K 1 K K K, which extend alternately distance of the top. The said chamber beii g connected at one endwith the upper part of ore in its native state, or after it has been .a suitable quantity of fuel through the opening under the movable cap F, and the blast is applied through the tuyere to develop heat enough to cause the oxide of zinc inan int-.-

-trom the gangue. eoxides and other volafurnace, and are then conducted by the tube G G into the chamber H H, wherein they are caused bythe partitions to pursue a tortuous;

posit in the troughs at the bottom of the said chamber, whence they can be afterward collected and removed through openings I I I in the sides, and the refuse gaseous products them to pass oif from the ga-ngue, and a-connace to collect such matters, such apparatus capable of many variations and modifications.

muflies or retorts similar to those which have semblesacomm nblast-furnace,havinga solid at the top for introducing the charges; and

which has its bottom formed with a series of from the top to within a short distance of the bottom, and from the bottom to within a short the furnace by a descending tube, G G, and having at the other end a chimney, L. The

roasted or dried to remove the water, carbonic acid or sulphur, is put into the furnace wlth,

pure state, mixed: with pure oxide, to pass 911 tile matters evolyedpass to the top of the course, and the oxides are thus caused was finally escape through the chimney, L. I pre' fer, however, in all cases'to introduce, in the first instance, into the blast-inrnace along with theore and coal, lime or other flux in proportion varying according to the quantity ,ot'silica or other earthy material or metals contained in the ore. This finx unites with the slag, rcmovesthc gangue and other metals contained. in the ore, and greatly facilitates the separation of the oxide of zinc from the gangu'e;

V After having collected the oxide of zinc and other matters evolved from the blast furnace at the apertures I I 1",1 place them in the close muffle or retort M, Fig. 2, with carbon in the proportion, by Weight, of about one of carbon and two of the oxide of zinc. Heat is applied. by a furnace below the retort in the ordinary manner. The retortterminates in a conical receiver, m,- and a smaller receiver, a, from which the metallic zinc is removed in the 0 'dinar'y manner.

The advantages of obtaining the metallic zinc by the two operations as above described is that the gangue or other metals contained in the ore being removed in the first instance in the blast furnace, the heat required in the inufiic For the reduction ofthe oxide, when separated, is much less, and the durability of the muffle is greatly increased over theold process, and, besides, it admits of thepro'duc tion of metallic zinc from ores containing other metals, (as in case of the franliliuite of New Jersey which cannot be treated by the ordinary process of making metallic zinc.

VVhenl usethetcrm carbon, I mean either charcoal, anthracite, or bituminous coal, either of which will answer.

1 do not confine myself to any particular form of apparatusto separate and obtain the oxide of zinc from thc gangue and the other metals contained in the ore; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The process of obtaining metallic zinc by the combination of the two metallurgic operations, substantially as herein specified.

ALFRED MONNI E R

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