The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-09
.INVENTS NEW STEEL
 MAKING PROCESS
Henry Kooth of Birmingham
 Obtains a Patent
SAVES 100 PER CENT COST
Invention Does Away With the Use of of Scrap Metal-Process Will, 1t Is Claimed, RevoIutionize
 Steel Manufacture.

Henry Knoth of Birmingham is the in- ventor of new continuous process for manufacturing open hearth steel which be claims to be of the greatest interest to this district. MT. Knoth is a practical steel maker of many years experience in both acid and basic. Bessemer and open hearth processes. having praeticed all methods in Germany and in the United States.
 For a year past he has been in the employ of the Republic Iron and Steel company and is now in charge of it's steel furnace at the Birmingham rolling mills.
 It is said that MT. Knoth's process will not only increase the output of the pres ent open hearth furnaces more than 100 per cent, but that by dispensing with the use of scrap metal in the manufacture of open hearth steel, it will relieve man. ufacturers from the present scarcity and high prices of the scrap, and also from the possibility of a scrap famine.
 By this process molten steel reserved from a previous heat is charged as substitute for scrap. Thus instead of dumping ton after ton of scrap and pig metal, both cold, into the furnace as Is done under the present processes, about third of the steel from furnace heat is reserved in the ladle into which 1t was tapped after the greater part of the heat has been poured into the moulds, as usual This reserve of molten steel in the ladle is charged back into the fur mace from which 1t was poured, after this has been repaired and is ready for the succeeding heat.
 The pig metal used in this process is always charged in a molten condition, so that nothing but hot metal goes into the furnace, and the reaction beginning at once, the heat Is ready to be tapped in four or five hours.
 Mir. Knoth in his patent describes sev- eral ways of handling and charging these two molten metals, but the preferable manner is to pour the entire contents of the furnace. into the ladle in the usual way, from which about two-thirds is poured into the moulds, then the ladle, with the remaining molten steel therein, is run to a heating furnace, located op- posite to or near the moulds for con- venience, which contains the molten pig metal. From this furnace a quantity of molten pig metal sufficient with the steel already in the ladle to make a furnace charge, is tapped Into the ladle and it's impurities diluted by mixture with the refined metal then the ladle is run back to the furnace and its partially refined contents poured therein to constitute succeeding charge.
 The process will save time, because 1t is not necessary to charge and heat cold stock, and will reduce expenses by sav- ing the wages paid to the stockers and yardmen, which were required to handle the scrap and pig by the old process. It will give greater uniformity of pro- duct because the melter works with metal of known composition.
 Another advantage claimed for the new process, and 1t is one of great impor- tance, Is that 1t can be used in the old furnaces, it being only necessary to pro- vide machinery for charging the molten metals.