CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris,
France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL."-A communication from Charles
J. Eames, residing in the City, County, and State of New York,
United States of America.
Scaled the 11th June 1875, and dated the 17th December 1874.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 17th December 1874, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue
de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "CERTAIN NEW AND
USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL," communicated

page_text: to me by Charles J. Eames, a person resident in the City, County, and
State of New York, United States of America, and have petitioned
Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and made solemn
Declaration that it is a communication.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
scal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being had
to the accompanying Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thercon, which form a part of this Specification, that is to say :-
The nature of the Invention consists in constructing an ordinary open
or sinking furnace for the production of charcoal iron by substituting
for the ordinary tuyere of such furnaco an improved petroleum or other
hydrocarbon vapor burner, and also in using this structure to carry out :
the new and useful process for producing a substitute for charcoal iron
by means of petroleum or other hydrocarbon vapor instead of charcoal,
and also in a certain manner of preparing a bottom of quartz and sand
or charcoal dust as will more fully herein-after appear.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the Invention I 1
will now proceed to more fully describe its construction and operation.
In the Drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the Invention, and
Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged detail views of the same.
A is the ordinary open or sinking furnace; D, the pipe supplying air
from any
suitable blower, and has a cock I with which to regulate the
supply and power of the air blast; C is the burner. This burner is
formed of three tubes concentrically placed so that between the outsido
one C¹ and the one next to it marked F there is an annular chamber
open at both ends, and a like but smaller chamber between this tube F
and the inner and smallest tube G, but this chamber is closed at one end
and is connected with a pipe E at one side, and the smallest tube G is
open at both ends. The enclosing tube C³ is at one end, just at the ends
of the inner tubes nearest the furnace, made to taper for about six
inches or to the end projecting into the furnace, and changed from a
cylindrical to a semi-cylindrical form to resemble the blast end of the
ordinary tuyere.

page_text: The burner C is connected with the air supply pipe D, as very clearly
illustrated in Fig. 1. The burner C is by pipe D supplied by a current
of air that passes (when cock I is opened) between pipes C¹ and F and
through tube G around the gas chamber between tubes F and G, the
current of air commingling with the gas that is supplied from pipe E,.
which communicates with a generator of petroleum or hydrocarbon
vapor or gas. This vapor or gas readily flowing from pipe E when cock
J is turned into tube F and thence into the tuyere like end d of tube C',.
where it commingles and begins to burn upon the principle and with the
fierce and effecient heat of the argand burner.
In the ordinary process of manufacturing charcoal iron there is
formed a bottom of lump charcoal on the hearth B, then a layer of
scrap iron or iron ore combined with a flux is laid over the bottom, then
alternate layers of the metal or ore and flux until the furnace is filled.
The blast of air is then turned on through the tuyere into the previously
ignited charcoal bottom, and from thenco the heat passes upward,
igniting successively each of the superposed layers of charcoal, causing
the metal or oro and flux, as the case may be, to sink or fuse toward the
hearth. This mass, as it settles down upon the hearth, has added to it
additional layers of the materials in alternate layers as when the mass
was first arranged, and when the whole mass that has settled down on
the hearth has formed a loop of suitable size and weight to be worked as
a bloom the process is ended.
From the use of such an immense quantity of charcoal the iron made
by this process is very expensive, and this process will substitute the
less expensive petroleum vapor or gas for the charcoal and thus reduce
the cost of this metal.
In order to carry out this process the apparatus is constructed as
above, and if intended to be used the charcoal dust bottom is made by
packing the dust on the hearth B several inches deep at the sides and
corners and hollowed out in the centre in hemispherical shape, or some-
what shallower at the centre of such hollow, the charcoal dust to be
about two inches deep. This hollow to receive the mass as it settles
down from the effect of the heat, or if it is intended to use tho quartz
and sand enough is placed on the hearth B so that when this sand and
quartz bottom has been fused, which is done previous to beginning to
work the furnace, it shall be about two inches deep. The bottom having

page_text: been prepared, the scrap iron or iron ore and flux, as the case may be, is
then piled upon the hearth B until the furnace is filled. The cocks I
and J are then turned so as to permit a modcrate blast to pass through
the burner, and at this moment the vapor blast is ignited when the
charcoal dust bottom is used. The ignited vapor blast impinges upon
the centre of the hearth and passes on up through the mass to be
reduced to a loop. A moderate blast is continued until the whole mass
has been homogeneously heated. When the mass has been heated by
the moderate blast to the proper degree the full blast is then turned on
so as to supply sufficient vapor to rapidly reduce the mass without
burning or wasting the metal. The mass is then added to with fresh
materials until enough has been added to form a loop, which when
reduced to the proper form is taken out and hammered into a bloom, or
when it is wished to convert the loop into steel the whole mass, when it
has been reduced to the size of a loop, is covered with charcoal dust to
the depth of about four or five inches. The air-cock I is partially closed
so as to diminish the supply of air, and cock J is turned on so as to
furnish a copious supply of petroleum vapor to form a rich carbon flame,
the loop then being carefully turned from time to time so as to receive
the direct action of the flame on all its parts, always keeping it covered
with charcoal dust, until the process is completed, the time of its
completion depending upon the size and weight of the loop and the
quality of the steel required.
It is sufficiently obvious that such a great increase in the amount of
the charcoal dust and richness of the hydrocarbon flame makes it possible
for the iron loop to rapidly absorb and assimilate the necessary elements
of carbon to convert the loop into steel; it is found advisable in order to
attain a high grade of steel to combine during the formation of the loop
with the mass of scrap iron or iron ore and flux various proportions of
spiegel eisen and oxide of manganese. A working proportion will be
found in about ten per cent. of spiegel eisen and four per cent. of the
oxide of manganese to the mass of scrap iron.
Any excessive accumulation of cinder or oxide of iron or other
impurities is drawn off in liquid state through the apertures provided for
that purpose in the ordinary open furnace from time to time, and only
sufficient cinder is permitted to come in contact with the loop during its
formation as is desirable. The cinder that falls from the bloom while
being hammered may be put into the furnace and economise any iron

page_text: therein, and also aiding and furthering the process as in the old or
ordinary process.
Having thus fully described the Invention, what I claim as new, and
desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
'
1st. The process of producing a substitute for charcoal iron by using
petroleum or other hydrocarbon vapor in an open or sinking furnace,
substantially in the manner herein described. .
2ndly. The combination of burner O, pipes D and E, with cocks I and
J, furnace A, B, and quartz and sand or charcoal dust bottom, con-
structed and operating substantially in the manner and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, Henri Adrien Bonneville, have hereto set
my hand seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.