AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
60, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL."-A communi-
cation from abroad by James Henderson, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd February 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, GG, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a process for removing carbon, silicon,
sulphur, and phosphorus from crude cast iron, and consists in the

page_text: combined use of fluor spar with titaniferous iron or titaniferous iron
ores.
In carrying out the Invention the pig iron is remelted in a cupola
furnace in admixture with titanifcrous iron ore and suitable fluxes,
and the molten metal is run into crucibles, or reverberatory or refining
or steel melting or converting furnaces previously charged with fluor
spar rendered plastic by being mixed with starch or gum water or
other equivalent mucilaginous substance, and in that condition applied
to the inner surface of the crucibles or converters and dried. When
the molten metal is poured into the crucibles or converters so prepared
the heat ignites and burns out tho combustible matter of the mucilago
and then dissolves the fluor spar, which combines with the titanium
in the molten metal, and by reason of the affinities of these two sub-
stances for carbon, silicon, sulphur; and phosphorus these substances
are taken from the iron in the form of vapour or slag, leaving the
resulting metal to be hammered or rolled as malleable iron or to bo
converted into steel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great' Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting. .
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, ler special licence
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands; and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN

page_text: THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL," being a com-
munication to me from abroad by James Henderson, of the City
and State of New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exċ-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or,
their, o
, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters. Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say):―
This Invention relates to a process for removing carbon, silicon,
sulphur, and phosphorus from crudo cast iron, and consists in the
combined use of fluor spar with titaniferous iron or titaniferous iron
ores.
.
The mode of application of the said process which has been tried with.
success, and which is deemed to be the best, is to remelt pig iron in a.
cupola furnace in admixture with titaniferous iron ore and suitable.
fluxes, and to run the molten metal into crucibles or reverberatory or
refining or steel melting or converting furnaces, previously charged with
fluor spar rendered plastic by being mixed with starch or gum water or
other equivalent mucilaginous substance, and in that condition applied to
the inner surface of the crucibles or converters and dried. When the
molten metal is poured into the crucibles or converters so prepared
the heat ignites and burns out the combustible matter of the mucilage
and then dissolves the fluor spar, which combines with the titanium
in the molten metal, and by reason of the affinities of theso two sub-
stances for carbon, silicon, sulphur, and phosphorus these latter
substances are taken from the iron in the form of vapor or slag, leaving
the resulting metal to be hammered or rolled as malleable iron or to be
converted into steel.
The following proportions have been found to produce a good result,
viz.-Seven hundredweights of titaniferous ore such as that found in
Norway, and composed of peroxide of iron 22-63, protexide of iron 28-90,
protoxide of manganese 0-50, titanic acid 40-95, alumina 2-11, magnesia

page_text: 4:72, silica 0-42, and two hundredweight of fluor spar to the ton of
pig iron. And when the resulting titaniferous cast iron has a larger
per-centage of silica than that above stated it will be well to increase
the above proportion of fluor spar. three-fourths per cent. for cach
additional per-centage of silica in the iron. ..
*I do not however wish to be understood as limiting my claim of
Invention to the proportions stated, having merely given the above as
suitable for producing good results.
Nor do I wish to be understood as limiting my claim of Invention
to. the mode above described for working the said Invention, as the
titaniferous iron or ores and the fluor spar may be applied together
as and if desired with other fluxes in any of the processes for preparing
crude cast iron for the production of wrought iron or steel, and it will be
obvious from the foregoing that titaniferous iron may be substituted for
ţitaniferous iron ores. :
-
:
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improve-
ment in the Process of Manufacturing Wrought Iron or Steel," as
communicated to me from abroad, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited. Letters Patent I claim, the combined use of
fluor spar and titaniferous iron ores or titaniferous iron in the manu- 2
facture of wrought iron and steel, as set forth.
c'.
☐ In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the 2nd day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.s.) ·2