Refining and/or alloying of a 3 percent to 6 percent carbon iron, cobalt, or nickel on a molten silver surface at temperatures 1000.degree. C .degree. C. producing an iron cobalt or nickel powder, or their alloys and a petroleum product

An iron containing 3% to 6% carbon and small quantities of manganese, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus produced by the blast furnace, electric furnace, or other well-known furnace requires a relatively low temperature to convert to the molten state. This molten iron can be refined on the surface of molten silver at temperatures from 1000.degree. C. to 1525.degree. C. containing on the surface of the molten metal an oxide of lead or oxides of nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and other metals whose oxides are reducible to the elemental state by carbon resulting in a refined or alloyed steel. The carbon monoxide formed in this reaction may be combined with hydrogen at temperatures from 400.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. and 100 atmospheres to 150 atmospheres in the presence of a proper catalyst according to the known Fischer-Tropsch reaction to form a petroleum product. Alternately a finely ground iron containing 3% carbon to 6% carbon can be furnaced at 1000.degree. C. to 1525.degree. C. to produce either iron powder to fabricate iron powder parts or a steel billet to make steels of any shape or form with rolling equipment. Also the carbides of nickel, cobalt, and other elements can be converted to the elemental state by reaction with an oxide on the surface of the molten metal.

This invention relates to the use of molten silver on whose surface a large 
number of chemical reactions occur at temperatures from 1000.degree. C. to 
1525.degree. C. 
The object of the invention is to provide an alternate method for the 
manufacture of steel alloys of varying composition and iron powder on a 
molten metal surface forming carbon monoxide which combines with hydrogen 
to form a petroleum product by the known Fischer-Tropsch process. 
Another object of this invention is to reduce an oxide of a reducible metal 
on the surface of the same molten metal with varying forms of carbon to 
produce increasing amounts of the reducible metal and carbon monoxide. 
An advantage of this invention in the processing of steel is the 
substantial lower temperature required to melt a 4% to 6% carbon iron. 
Also all by-products of these reactions are used. 
The following information is taken mostly from the text: Hansen, Max, 
`Constitution of Binary Alloys`, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, 1958. 
These elements do not alloy with iron and have these properties: 
______________________________________ 
Melting Boiling Density 
Element Point .degree.C. 
Point .degree.C. 
g/cm.sup.3 
______________________________________ 
Lithium 180.54 1317 0.534 
Sodium 97.8 883 0.97 
Potassium 63.6 774 0.86 
Rubidium 38.9 688 1.532 
Cesium 28.4 678 1.88 
Magnesium 649 1107 1.74 
Calcium 839 1484 1.54 
Strontium 769 1384 2.6 
Barium 725 1640 3.51 
Silver 962 2212 10.5 
Cadmium 321 765 8.642 
Mercury -38.9 356.6 13.59 
Thallium 303.5 1457 11.85 
Lead 327.5 1740 11.3 
Bismuth 271.3 1560 9.8 
______________________________________ 
Iron has a melting point of 1535.degree. C. and a boiling point of 
2750.degree. C. with a density of 7.86 g/cm.sup.3. Since we wish to reach 
about 1500.degree. C., barium, silver, lead and bismuth can be considered. 
We eliminate barium since its density is too low. Therefore the molten 
medium on which the reaction 2C+O.sub.2 =2CO can occur includes lead, 
silver, and bismuth. Because silver has the highest melting point and the 
highest boiling point, silver is the element of choice. 
Further, these facts can be taken from the above text: 
Iron and lead are completely insoluble both in the solid state and the 
liquid state. Iron and silver are completely insoluble both in the solid 
state and the liquid state. Cobalt and silver are virtually insoluble both 
in the solid state and the liquid state. Similarly nickel and silver are 
virtually insoluble in each other both in the solid state and the liquid 
state. The compound Co.sub.2 C forms at a composition of 9.25% carbon. 
Also the compound Co.sub.3 C forms at 6.30% carbon. Nickel carbide 
Ni.sub.3 C forms at a composition of 6.39% carbon. Iron carbide Fe.sub.3 C 
forms at a composition of 6.67% carbon. 
Many oxides are readily reduced with carbon at high temperatures. 
Basically steel is produced by reducing iron oxide ore with coke in a blast 
furnace and refining this molten product by the basic oxygen process. 
Continuous casting and rolling results in a final steel product. In these 
refining processes the carbon ends ultimately as carbon dioxide CO.sub.2 
vented into the air. 
In this invention the molten iron from the blast furnace is produced with 
carbon as the only impurity and the other impurity elements, manganese, 
silicon, sulfur, and phosphorus, in low percentages or electric melting of 
scrap steel with coke, broken electrodes, graphite, or any other carbon 
source, resulting in a 4% to 6% carbon iron, is the raw material. When the 
molten iron is poured on the molten metal containing oxygen, a chemical 
reaction occurs according to this equation: 
EQU Fe(C)+Metal Oxide(O)=CO+Fe+Metal 
The oxygen is obtained in a number of ways: 
Iron oxide is added to the surface of the metal. 
Molten metal is oxidized with pure oxygen, oxygen in air, steam H.sub.2 O, 
or carbon dioxide CO.sub.2. 
Other oxides like nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, manganese oxide, etc. is/are 
applied to the surface of the molten metal resulting in alloying of the 
steel with these elements. 
Alternately these oxides may be mixed with a ground iron containing 4% to 
6% carbon, applied to the molten metal surface forming an iron powder or a 
solid cake for rolling. 
Cobalt based alloys are produced by melting cobalt metal with from 4% to 6% 
carbon, shotting the molten product and furnacing the ground product mixed 
with oxides of copper, manganese, nickel, iron, or other reducible oxides 
at temperatures 1000.degree. C. to 1500.degree. C. on molten silver. This 
reaction occurs: 
EQU Co(C)+FeO=CO+CoFe 
Approximately 20% of iron can be alloyed with 80% of cobalt. If the carbon 
content of the cobalt is raised the amount of alloying of either iron or 
any other reducible element is increased. The carbon content in the cobalt 
can be controlled to any desired level below 1% by controlling the 
quantity of reducible oxide added to the shotted product. 
Nickel based alloys are produced by melting nickel metal with 4% to 6% 
carbon, shotting the molten product and furnacing the ground product mixed 
with oxides of copper, manganese, cobalt, iron, or other reducible oxides 
at temperatures 1000.degree. C. to 1500.degree. C. on molten silver. This 
reaction occurs: 
EQU Ni(C)+FeO=CO+NiFe 
Approximately 21% of iron can be alloyed with 80% of nickel. The carbon 
content in the nickel can be controlled to any desired level below 1% by 
controlling the quantity of reducible oxide added to the ground product. 
A unique product is formed by furnacing at temperatures 1100.degree. C. to 
1500.degree. C., 1/8 to 3/4 inch ground mix on 1/64 to 1/2 inch thick 
steel plate (or alloy steel plate, stainless steel plate, nickel plate, or 
any high melting point metal plate) producing a metallurgical bond between 
the porous structure of the ground shot and the solid steel plate. This 
clad product consists of a porous structure metallurgically bonded to a 
steel backing or to any alloy backing. The clad product can be rolled to 
any desired commercial cross section. These variables can be controlled: 
1. Size of the particles of the porous structure 
2. Shape of the particles of the porous structure 
3. Hardness of the particles of the porous structure 
4. Thickness of the porous structure and the backing 
5. Chemistry of the porous structure and the backing 
This unique clad product leads to a number of desirable applications. The 
porous structure is an admirable surface for catalytic reactions. 
Catalytic reaction chambers can be welded together with the clad product 
with the catalyst facing the interior of the chamber. These chambers can 
be of any desired configuration. 
The addition of platinum in either the molten shot or the oxide of the 
porous structure of the clad product results in the manufacture of a car 
muffler which acts as a catalytic converter as well as a muffler. 
Liners for cylinders of diesel engines may use this unique clad product as 
the property of the porous structure can be changed to the optimum 
property for this application. The possibility of designing a suitable 
seal for Wankel engines exists for this clad product as the optimum 
property may be produced by varying the hardness, porosity, and alloying 
content of the porous structure as well as the chemistry of the backing. 
These applications are examples where the clad product may be 
advantageously used. Many more applications may come to mind for the 
knowing reader. 
In all of the possible reactions at the higher temperatures carbon monoxide 
is formed which combined with hydrogen reacts to a petroleum product by 
the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. The hydrogen is obtained from an outside 
source or from the reaction of steam on metal. 
The Fischer-Tropsch reaction combines hydrogen and carbon monoxide at 
temperatures of 400.degree. C. to 500.degree. C., at pressures of 100 
atmospheres to 150 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst to form a 
petroleum like product: 
EQU 13H.sub.2 +6CO=C.sub.6 H.sub.14 +6H.sub.2 O 
If 100 grams molten iron containing 4% carbon reacts completely with excess 
oxygen on the molten metal surface, 96 grams of pure iron and 10 grams of 
carbon monoxide yields ideally 5 grams of C.sub.6 H.sub.14. Thus a million 
metric tons of steel extrapolates to 52,000 metric tons of C.sub.6 
H.sub.14. 
The advantage of this process is that no heat is required to produce the 
petroleum like product by the Fischer-Tropsch process.