Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-17


| forming our age into one OF steel instead
! of iron, was Introduced into the United
| States and the first basic open hearth
| steel made at the Homestead works of
| the Carnegie Steel company, near Pitts
| burg, Pa. The early use of the Siemens-
Martin regenerative gas furnace was
confined to the acid open hearth pro-
cess, and the iron used was and is SINH
lar to that required for the ordinary acid
Bessemer. From the nature of the mate
rails employed in the Bessemer converter,
it was frequently found impossible to
generate the necessary heat, which is de-
pendent upon the oxidation or combus-
ton of the silicon and carbon contained
in the original pig, and that process is
necessarily confined to an iron contain
ing sufficient quantity of these two ele-
ments, the burning of which serves to
generate the necessary heat.
The Bessemer process was discovered
by Sir Henry Bessemer in the year 1856.
The discovery of Mr.. Robert f. Mushet,
on the 22d day of September of the same
year, by which, by addition to the metal
while in a molten state of a compound
of iron, of which carbon and manganese
are predominating elements, and of
which spiegel-eisen is perhaps the cheap
est and most convenient form, the car
bon and manganese are restored to the
metal, gave great value to the inven-
tion of Mr.. Bessemer, which, as originally
conceived by him, had no commercial or
the conversion of pig metal into steel
wholly or practically decarboniZed as
well as desiliconized; in fact, by the
nature of the process the product was so
completely deprived of its carbon as to
render 1t of no value. We shall see, also,
that Mr. Mushet's discovery bears most
important relationship to the basic OPEN
hearth process, and that 1t provides
simple, economical and effectual means
of making high carbon steel for rails and
tI1N., I'll. Ia
required.
High PHOSPHORUS irons are not avail
able for use by either the acid Bessemer
or the acid open-hearth process, silicon
and carbon only being the elements with
which they deal. In the acid open
hearth. by using a Bessemer iron con-
tanning, say 10 phosphorus and so per
cent scrap iron containing not over 06
or .07 phosphorus, 1t may be seen that
the phosphorus in the mixture may be
reduced to some extent, although the pro-
cess does not in any manner treat with
it, and the reduction comes wholly from
a mechanical manipulation of the mate
rails. Very important, therefore, was the
| discovery of Messrs. Thomas and Gil
| christ both of London, England, of the
| basic process, by which the use of an iron
| containing a large percentage of phos-
phorus was rendered possible. This oc-
Cured in November of the year 1877, and
the application of the process to the
| Siemens-M Martin open-hearth furnace
| gives us what is known as the basic open
| hearth process. The one difference be-
tween the basic and the acid furnace
| is in the composition of the lining or bot
| tom, it being In the case of the basic
| open-hearth usually dolomite or mag
| nestle prepared by roasting or calclnlng,
| then pulverizing and mixing with tar,
crude oil or any other material free from
| Objectionable elements which will serve
| to render it plastic or adhesive. In the
acid sand is employed as bottom ma
| teria1 j would call your attention to the
| interesting fact that In the basic practice
dolomite as a lining is rapidly growing
| in favor and is used today by practically
all the large basic steel makers In this
country in preference to the magnesite;
it's cost is insignificant compared with
magnesite, every pound of which must
be imported into this country from Rus
STA Austria or Greece. The time will
soon come, we think, when dolomite or
magnetism limestone will be used exciu-
sively.
AS before stated, the first basic open
| hearth steel produced in the United
States was at the Homestead works on
| the 2Sth day Of March, 1888. That day
| marks the advent into this country of a
| process, the growth and expansion of
| which is truly phenomenal. 1t has rem
| dered possible the manufacture of steel
commercially and successfully in the
| south, which now offers an Inviting field
| for investment and development. Unfor-
| tunate statistics do not give us the
| production of open hearth basic steel
separate and apart from acid, but include
| both under the common head of 'open
hearth" steel; but from the following fig
| ures it may be seen that a most remarka-
| BILE expansion of the industry and in
| crease in production has taken place.
Production of open hearth steel in
| production for 1895 partially esti-
| mated)-
Tons
| 1890. ... .......... ...... 80. 513, 232
1881. .....'..... ......'..... ...'..'.'o DO 100
| 1S92...... .......... .....-...... .....oo9,ooi
1885. ......-...... ......-.!. toi, oso
| lo94. ..'.'''. '...' iof'soo
| 1880. ABOUT l,000.O00
| Undoubtedly the basic open hearth has
shared the greatest portion of this in
| crease, attributable to the superiority
| and adaptability of Its product over that
| of the acid open hearth or the Bessemer
| 1t is daily growing in favor, and the de-
mand is constantly increasing. There
| were in the United States in 1892 but II
| open hearth plants. consisting of 1854 fur
naces; in 1894 there We're 81 plants. with
| 1879 furnaces, and In January of the pres
| ent year SO plants with 225 furnaces
| complete and 20 in process of erection.
| The first basic open hearth furnaces were
| built in this country at Homestead in
1 1890, when eight furnaces. at that time
considered to be of large capacity, were
completed. Later on twelve additional
| furnaces, ranging In capacity from go 900
| to $4,000 pounds per heat were built, CIV
| ing the Carnegie company a plant of 20
furnaces, all basic, running to their full
4 est capacity and yet unable to supply
| the enormous and rapidly increasing de-
| mand for that class of steel. In this con-
| nection I may say that when in Pitts
| burg recently heard that the Carnegie
| company intended to dismantle and
move away its Bessemer plant at Home
stead, which has a capacity about equal
to that of the open hearth plant. and
| that 1t was their intention to build 20 ad-
| ditional open hearth furnaces of so tons
capacity each at the Homestead works.
| 1t being stated at the time that they had
acquired the land adjoining Homestead
| at great cost with this object in view. 1t
is now officially announced that this will
be done, and, If istake not. they are at
| present engaged in dismantling the Bes-
| semer plant.
This development has not by any
means been confined to the Carnegie
company, but has been participated in
by nearly all the large producers In this