Milford chronicle., 1895-01-04
rLgcTRic sMELTNlo.
4 a-..en rhat Can BE Used In conHectipn
with water Power.

A ev-tenn Tfat Can BE Used In eon"eo-ii'A
with Water Power
rhs now Taussia electric smelling proc
.ss rghieh IS now passing through tAe =
,erimental state in Germany, gives exc
fional promise, and should 81 liaeli..
test nrove satisfactory % will nealiy g
cent eleotro-metallurgical oeVtlopA'ei'is'
7,-,,,res=ive as they have hecA. 70 q =
,,,esi.able extent. The process consists y
frst reducing and smelling Pe ore an"
tbsn in casting the metal. Both process
arc carried on 10 o Vacuum inc i'4e.-
tion III the air has the effect oil reinol ~
an bubbles Of gas or air and llle eas,iH
a tborourhly homogeneous. inc "p
ve+us consists essentially of Tong ati ~
s,neltinq chamber, in which tho he-l.A I.
cIines toward central opemls' tiI'-
yrbieh the metal passes INTO lAe
Tbe chamber is packed with ore ahi ts
or metal. as the case may be, ana 90,
naca is lined with glazed fire bricks
8, +lor,n,ohlv insulate it that There IS p
asoane of current Within 3 mila'
tbe tnrning On Of the currenttha Ae.l g
veloped win melt pig iron, ana J.. 'A"
but little longer to melt SiemeA7 -'-'f-
steel As no carbon is present ile 4'7
metals are almost pure O2ldftia.l' q.
flieterinr. and the deleteal1us eAtet 81
e,ases evolved are prevented by the i"tt
st,nospbere. which at the same tiL-.
creases the nmdity of the Iue .1l AHi
coetfoes produced are dense nud uouioe
neous. .....i
Tbe most Obvious advantage ciaimoa
for this process. in che smei.us
ores. is that it can be wetsed "
water power This ability 20
with fuel is a matter of great MOI -t 70
mountainous and remote or1 pfoiae
districts. which have abundau water u''
no coal In the fusing of iron Y l5 e.a''i
tbot the operation is rapid and aiA iia
Ia continuous working that 10 ilplo.
the quality Of the castings, ana tilt.N t'Nt
where steam power is used to gentrata
ourrept. it gives a saving OF so O. 70
cent in fuel The practical lm1 ,i tle
process as at present organized "ould 'H
nee. to be the handling OF about ] l'A7
of metal in one charge, which Wpuld ie-
ouire a furnace or fusion channel OF iloih
SO to 40 feet in length.
BY applying to such a furnace current
Of 80 600 nnperes and 90 volts or sAyr
about 2 600 horsepower the entire char @
~ r 600 hounds can be fused and run into
castings in a quarter Of an hour In the
n,alsinu of steel and iron castings by smeit
inc i'm a Siemens Martin regcnemtve lur
mace 600 to 400 pounds of coal are
burned to smelt 1000 pounds of iron Ih
the Taussig process. even assuming tAa'
v,ator mower is not available and that 4ho
DYNAMO and air pumps must be worked ~
steam. 10 is claimed that the slneltlhg
Q 900 pounds of iron and steel cg'f ~
fected by tho consumption Of 'fol" ~ ~
500 pounds of steam eoul, am eeoi'"i"y ''
nearly so Der cent tn fuel Wheie inc
steel Is treated iu crucihles the economy Is
still greater. especially If the coal useu ne
of an inferior quality
by means of this process. 1t Is sialeo.
pip iron containing under per cent tola
carbon has been produced. and 20 Is be-
lieved that, where desirable the cart ~
limit can be brought down 10 that OF steel
1t is estimated that plant equipped WIN
800 or 500 horsepower, using good qua-
ity as per cent ore, can produce Pig IRON
for IS 10 so so per ton, allowing $40 for
tho cost OF ore. Certain plants IN the
south already turn ont iron at q lower cost
than this. but the figure can bo greatly re-
duced where water power is available for
the generation Of electric current III TINS
system can De put ON % commercial basis
ID viii De most valuable for tie treatment
of ores in the noiehborhood Of water poW-
error even where water power exists h,ar
enough to permit of the cheap ir1nsnA-
sion of current, fuel being pres uma4y
hirh priced For instance an electric gem
Grating plant might be erected near tine
coal mines, and power could DE generated
by using slack coal in producers The gas
thus obtained heating the boilers. From
hero the current could be transmitted %
the ore mines where the smelling furnaces
were erected The working of tAe plants
now being put mp i'm France and sweden
will be watched with interest by the iron
smelters of the south which, with its nu-
morous waterways, would be "a most Ia
vorablo field for the utilization Of any such
successful system. Boston Transcript