, 1879-06-26
'SNELTING WITHOUT FUElal

l ~ "t"Gl ~ u4iXs-HGus CWtE1,
H. HAFSAMs, a, A. A. O.
'SAELT1NG WITHOUT FUEL
| Obtaining 1fcat from PYr,teA
tondea Timer, s1,ine ID.
a snort t1'no bipcc wa briefly noticed ne.
cfsf1n! experiment In copper smelling br new
process, tho discovery Of Mr.. John Holisa7, Of
London. The object here ta to utiIIxo1l,o Ieat
obfsincd BY tho rapia oxidation f:rertain MIN
! erai substances, such rs pyritcz, which. l.ayc
never before been ut.1ized as source. ri. s~~ssrt
stnctfug operations. 1'lI< heat thus obtained Is
used IN the placn Of dlat Of ordinary carbona-
ceuus fuel ia thr reduction of the furnace
charge, which nsay 10 composed partly Of sut-
ptilcs anil ps1tay of si1tceoua ores. Mr.. Toll
way l1as been successfully experimenting with
this process on practical scale for Some months
! past al ons tstnc at Mcstrs. Cammctl's works
At Pensstonc, MD rucently at Afessrs.
'lohn Brown d Co.'S works at Sheffield,
The tnrcnf1on consists In forcing a current
OF mir through the molten sulphtdes, by which
MEANS they arn oxidizcd very rnp!diY. tlecat
heat Is thus Developed. ami serves to render tho
process Of smoiting seifsunporttag operation,
no cxsraneous fuel being required after onco
the furnncc has been started. AL the carbon
accous fuel necessary Is little coko to start tho
furnace, nnd which stands In tic sun,e selnttvo
position 10 tue 0sts ns wood docs to the ctja In
MI ordinary fire. HcaIcs tile necessary heat for
smelling i!'c ores being developed, lorge prs,-
portion, Of the SULPHUR is expelled In frco
state, u1.d il afterwards collected, IN order to
demonstrate these points on q working scale. q
portion Of the Dcshcmcs apparatus at aicasrs.
l'roTn's works has been adaptcd by alteration
10 suit Mr. ilollwny's puFposc- The plant con.
sssB us fur cslpolas. she lirst one being closed
| At tic top an,l fitted With Bessemer hearth,
shc blast i'eng supplied through i to tho
cepsaelc for tue Stag and reealus, which flow
into 1t as they arc formed. The sIug runs con-
tnuousiy OF At tlle top, while the rcguius set-
ties at tile bottom. whence tt is tapptd OF at In
teryals. Tie orc Is fct t0 tho ctipoia by Ineahs
| Ut q cup and conc arrangement p1nce,l pear thu
tou, aud which prevents the escape OF tho gases.
These arc leu oil Into the second cupo1a, which
closed ~ ,hi ,ns to sse M sley encounter @ Jet
/ the crude sulphur AMI other sublImatcs. The
| uncondcnsed portion Of the vRpor passes on to
tie third ard fourth cnpolas successfully. which
| aru open at the top, usid In each pt which il
showcr-ba.h Of wa,cr, By mems Of which final
condensation Is effected. The conticNslns water.
is led away ton tank, where uny sub1MQtcs TINT
NAV be carried With It nrc afterWart collected,
In The tlr.t experiment, tho cupola No was
first heated with Il coke fire und The blast
star,cl Some RIO Tnto cuprcous pgrites (con-
tanng only o'e-6cyeHth OF copocr by wet nssay)
ctipo!n mud when q fluid bath Of tho mn1ten
! e,ilDh[de had becn obtained, pyrtes and sand
Btonu aone were fed In at tic rate Of flyc tons
| per hour. When twelve tons llns thus been dis
| posed OF, the deposit Of sulphur In cupnn No. .
Ind hecome so great that It c1oked tic passure
between it AMI No. 3, ami the experiment was
| brought 10 . premature close. It Was. aowcycr.
satisfactorily, proved that, the heat developed
frou the pyrltca was amply sufficient for melt
ing the chnrEe, while thc successful coll1cnsn-
| tlon OF the SULPHUR was but too evident. The
| copper AID Iron nrodurta were. moreover, con-
crntrascd into rcgaus Of excellent quality.
hi nf fffrtH n1frlSn
to show that d good reEuus coula be obtatacd
without great loss OF copper in the alag. Upon
these NJ upon the previous occasions tiicrc MAS
large attendance OF thu representatives Of tho
copper trade md OF American and ut1lcr mines,
Az the collection Of The SULPHUR had already
hccn satisfaetorlly demonstrated. te srnelttng
cunola WAS disconnected from tho condunscrs
experiments, however, defects developed them
selves In The apparatus which, tt will bo borne
IN lu!nd, had hcen oxteulpotszed ont Of tlat used
M fno.es r1fess n Ind
fects led to tho experiments being: onfy
partlal,y carried out. but they established
beyond question thu value Of pyr!tcs as : source
iurnace had been accidentally lowered by under.
feeding, II was speedily ralsct to q htgl Intensity
simply by fcctlnE In more pyFttcs. It was liz
tlceL remarkable to ser how tho temperature
was rapidly raised and then maintained by h
fuel which eau only be compared to atonos. On
Analvzing the slac, 1t WIS found that It only
c,ntatncd Oh per cent Of copper thus concili-
siscly proving another point. Upon assay, tho
rrrulus was found to contain within = traction
Of tho whole OF the n,utal known To exist in tic
orc used. Tic incornptutencss Of the moro
recent experiments In no way dotraet. from tho
merits Of the system, US was fully shown
by previous experience. Mr.. llotlway'a In
Esnlous. discovery is ,ot great impor-
tauct In connection with countries Whcre
these hcat-bcaTing minerals nbound Aila
where carbonaceoas fuel Is corrcspondtngLy
source, aud the prucess promises to exert d coi,-
siderable Influence upon the practice 0t copper
smelling generally. Tho chief exponse as Re.
tic hinwl',s engines. Whore, however. wa.or
power Is available, It can ne utilized tor tho par-
poso uull steam boilers dispensed With. This
subject wus brought before the Society OF Arts
short time since hy Alr. llollway, mud q
further discussion Of Ills paper was held recent
" ut fte socltty's ,noctlns, when Prof. Roscoe,
r. Il. s., presided. Ample testimony was borno
by the speakers to thc valno OF Sir. fiollWay's
fIlycution aill the success OF his experiments,
although they wcrc carried out With crude and
inadequate appliances. pruf. koscoe expressed
| u lecfdrd opinion upon tllo process, which to
considered valuable urd tneritortuus tnycu-
I finn