The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1872-05-04
#iusralosu.
Dephosphorixing Iron Ore.

Mctallurgists have for long time
past made great efforts to utilize iron
ores which are contaminated BY phos.
Phorus, and which in consequence Weld
an iron Of inferior quality, it being al
most invariably cold short. The auan.
tity OF iron orc so contaminated is enor.
nous in many Of the more recent ceo.
logical formations, such as the oolitic
erctaceous aud tertiary formations where
the ore Is either found 10 the shane Of
carbonate or hydrate Of iron. always
intimately contaminated phosphate Of
lime. of this character arc the heavy
beds OF IRON ore in the Middesbroueh
district, in Luxembourg, Lothringep
Bavaria; Hanover, Bohemia. and manv
other localities. It was the phosphor.
US which forbade the use of q number
OF these ores for many years, until mod.
ern metallurgists had learnt by using
larger furnaces and more limestone,
end by adopting judicious admixture
OF other ores, TO extract a cheap and
tolerable iron from them. Neyertbo.
less, il has always been a desideratum
to seutralise the injurious influence Of
the phosphorus in one way or the other.
Some engineers have endevored to ex.
tract the phosphorus from the ore
wherein it is contained in the shane Of
basic phosphate of lime, which is so 10.
soluble 10 water, aud the object of all
their exertious being to reudcr this com.
pound soluble by converting IL ipto
acid phosphate Of lime BY the action az
other mineral acids. which would com.
bine with part Of the lime, and SC, an
equivalent of phosphoric acid free to
combine with the rest Of the phosphate
OF lime, thus forming a superphosphate
III. idea is stated to have been lately
successfully carried out BY T. jacob.
Of Adalberthutte at kladuo, near
Prague, BY exposing tho ore to a sou.
ilon OF sulphureous acid in wator or 70
the simultaneous action OF sulphurous
vapo-s aud cold water, when this acid
forms slluable compound with the
iime, nd at the same time converts the
r 81 OF tho phosphate to the soluble form.
80 that IL can be washed away with
cold water. The inventor exhibited
his process during tho last meeting of
tho Association of German Engineers
and Architects, ut Prague, on Noyem.
Der 8, 1871. The samples Of ibrous
and hne,grain bar iron aud puddIed
steel made from such dephosphorixed
orc, and produced to the Association.
we're OF an excellent character, found
unanimous approval. The sulphureous
gas Is either produced by burning sui
phur or BY the calciuation Of pyrites or
other minerals Containing sulphur.
The same end has been attained by
another engineer, B. 0sann, of Potsdam.
by employing iu similar way diluted
hydrochlorie acid, which is obtained
very cheaply in quite novel mode.
At the above mentioned rock salt mines
oil Stassfurt and Leopold.shall, large
masses Of chloyide Of magnesium are
obtained, together with the salts OF
potassium, aud are thrown away as
valueless. Now. il this chloride Of
magnesium, which contains always
considerable amount OF water, be heated
TO about ll0o Cent. or 230o Fair, il
gives up so much water as to form
trihydrated salt of chloride of r,agnes.
ium, and If this is rapidly heated to the
melting point of lead il is decomposed
giving up vapors Of hydrochloric acid,
when hydrate Of maguesia is left as
residue in the rctort The hydrochlorio
vapor acts exactly as was described Of
the sulphureous acid. Both Of the
processes above described are worthy
OF attention but the information we
have received concerning them is not
as yet sufficiently detailed TO enable US
to form any decided opinion regarding
their practical merits.
Other metallurgists have sought to
get rid OF the phosphorus during tho