The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-10-18
CHANGES MADE IN
SMELLING OF ORES
Blast Furnace Now Taking True
Position as 0Xidizing
Apparatus.
PROCESSES REVERSED IN
PAST FEW YEARS
Raw SuIphides Furnish FluX
and Fuel for Present
Day Plants.

In looking over the great copper smeit-
Ing works Of Montana 80 is interesting
In note the complete change that has
occurred in tho relative position of blast
and rsvcrbcratory smelling furnaces.
writes Edward D. Peters in Engineering
and Mining Journal 1t is only few
Years since We valued tic reverheratory
especially as a producer o. high-erade
matte. knowing that. even though its
suirbidc charge might not he SO Wen
roasted rs would be- desired. yet the gen
orally neutral atmosphere Of inc hcart'
and tho consequent free hand Tor ir
bcucGcsnt reactions between sulphide ana
oxide might he depended upon TO remove
some 2u or - per cont OF the SulPilH!
,tiil present and ihus aid tho Imperfect
cast The blast furnace, on the con
trary. WAS looked upon merely as an
apparatus for tusing. Its high coke
cnarsc gathered In both the fixed ana the
volatile oxygen pretty thoroughly. ana
my attempt 10 use even small proper
lion OF poorly roasted orc was toGoWeo
promptly by heavy now OF low grade
matte and SlliciouS SlaE. nreding tne
prompt adding OF limestone or iron oxides.
These conditions have been changing
rapidly Tor some time. ana are na'lcularlE
striking TO a person Ike myself, who mas
not visited tho district for some years
The situation at present Is apsolNteiS
reversed; the neutral reNerhefatory Is
now regarded merely as a meiter-aown
sulphur that II removes from the ch6rg'
during the IusinE operation sinks INTO
insiCniiCancc in comparison 10 tne re-
suits obtained from it's rival Inc mast
furnace is now beginning 10 take It's
true position as an oSiGlTlng apparatus o.
extraordinary efficiency: and az Anaconda
Great Falls. and Salt Lake CITY is run
50 as 10 remove as to 81 per cent OF
lho sulphur in the charge. and 10 pro
ducc n matte containing usually aoout
f5 per cent OF copper. When one re-
nocts that the orc charged into these FUR
uaccs consists only OF raw sulphdes; that
less than . per cont calculated on weight
" charge) OF very indifferent coke Is
used; and that TWO tons OF Air is blown
into the furnace for each ton OF ore
ing the conditions OF the pyrite furnace.
IL is curious TO note the eGEcrncss or
The blast furnace superintendent for raw
sulphideS with which 10 increase the cal
orifc power OF his charge. He is as
eager now 10 secure them as we used
To be the reverse. knowing they are TO
him both nUX and fuel, aud that: as their
percentage increases. the coke bill dimin-
isheS corrcspoudinglY
In this connection ! may mention an
interesting circumstance related 10 rne oN
the netallurgiSt who had been conduct
ing a series of experiments in TINS par
Tial pVrite smelling at one Of the great
plants lie assured ME that so long as
blg percentage Of coke and percentage
,nf sulphur on tho charge added up 10
IS Il seemed TO make little difference
IN the running OF the furnace. whether
he had II per cent coke or per cent
SULPHUR He did not. of course. suppose
,hat q pound nj sulphur. with its ac-
rompanyinG iron. Yielded as much heat
As n pound of coke. but attributed the
curious result IN part 10 the Increased
rusibi.i,v Of the Stag that resulted from
tho extra iron belonging TO the sulphur