IMPROVEMENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Redfern, of the General Patent Office,
4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REVERBERATORY FURNACES." A communi-
cation from abroad by William Mann, of Newcastle, in the County of Lawrence,
and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Frederick Redfern at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th August 1878.
GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the General Patent Office, 4, South Street,
Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REVERBERATORY FURNACES." [A communication from abroad by William Mann,
of Newcastle, in the County of Lawrence, and State of Pennsylvania, United
States of America.]
The Invention communicated to me relates to improvements in reverberatory
furnaces, such as are used in metallurgy for puddling, boiling, heating, and other-
wise; and the improvements refer to that form of reverberatory furnace in which
the fuel is charged first to one compartment of the furnace where the gases are
partially driven off, and the remaining coke afterwards pushed into the main fire
chamber.
The improvements consist in combining with a furnace hot-air chambers at each
side and at the top of the fire chamber, and a cokeing chamber arranged in front of
the fire chamber opening laterally into the said fire chamber, and another heating
chamber located under the cokeing chamber opening into the said fire chamber, so
as to allow the heat from the fire chamber to strike under and heat the bottom of
the cokeing chamber, and decompose the slack and generate gas or carbonic oxide,
whereby the whole of the slack or fine coal is consumed as fuel, and a greater
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page_text: amount of heat obtained from a smaller quantity of fuel, and a great saving is
effected.
The coke is pushed into the fire chamber and keeps up a live fire, so as to ignite
the smoke and air together over the fire; the carbonic oxide generated rises up and
receives a portion of the hot air, and is then converted into flame in the converting
chamber where the combustion takes place. One great advantage in thus decom-
posing the fuel is, that nearly all the sulphur in the coal is driven off in a gaseous.
state, and thus sulphurous acid mingling with the air over the fire is at once driven
off before it can attack the iron in the melting chamber. By thus protecting the
iron from the action of the sulphur a finer and better grade or quality of iron is
produced, both with regard to tensile strength and fibre, and is particularly suitable
for making steel and fine.sheet iron.
The fire chamber is similar to the ordinary reverberatory or puddling furnace,
but is built with double walls on the sides and top, forming an intermediate air
chamber, which communicates with the openings below, and also through the inner
wall up through the top and down through an opening, or through the sides if
desired. These chambers form a passage-way for the air to pass up through the
hot wall, so as to heat the air to any required degree.
The cokeing chamber in which the fuel is first charged and heated and converted
into gas or carbonic oxide before it is fed forward upon the grate is constructed at
the front end of the fire chamber and the bottom of the cokeing chamber, consisting
of an arch built across the front of the fire chamber, and is heated from a chamber
underneath from the fire. The cokeing chamber is charged, through its door with
slack or small coal, and the fire is started in, the grate as in an ordinary furnace;
when the fire becomes burnt up in the grate it heats the cokeing chamber and
develops the gases from the contents of the cokeing oven, which gases pass into the
fire chamber, where they become thoroughly mixed with the hot air from the
chambers between the walls and ignite, producing a flame of much greater intensity
than can be obtained from any ordinary fire chamber. After the contents of the
cokeing. oven. have become thoroughly coked..they are pushed off into the fire
chamber to keep up the supply of live coals in the said chamber, a new supply
being then charged in the cokeing oven.
These improvements can be applied to existing furnaces at a very slight expense,
and a great saving thereby effected.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Frederick Redfern in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
March 1879.
+
GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the General Patent Office, 4, South Street,
Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REVERBERATORY FURNACES." A communication from abroad by William Mann,
of Newcastle, in the County of Lawrence, and State of Pennsylvania, United
States of America.
! .
The Invention communicated to me relates to improvements in reverberatory
furnaces, such as are employed in metallurgy for puddling, boiling, heating, and
other purposes; and the improvements refer to that form of reverberatory furnace
in which the fuel is charged first to one compartment of the furnace where the
gases are partially driven off, and the remaining coke afterwards pushed into the
main fire chamber.
The improvements consist in combining with a furnace hot-air chambers at each
side and at the top of the fire chamber, and a cokeing chamber arranged in front of
the fire chamber opening laterally into the said fire chamber, and another heating
chamber located under the cokeing chamber opening into the said fire chamber, so
as to allow the heat from the fire chamber to strike under and beat the bottom of
the cokeing chamber, and decompose the slack and generate gas (carbonic oxide),
whereby the whole of the slack or fine coal is consumed as fuel, and a greater
amount of heat obtained from a smaller quantity of fuel, and a great saving is
effected.
But to make the Invention communicated to me better understood I will proceed
to describe the same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which,-
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a reverberatory furnace provided
with my improvements.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section.
And Figure 3, a vertical transverse section on line y, y, Figure 1.
Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar parts.
A is the stack or chimney; B, the melting chamber; and C, the fire bridge.
The coke is pushed into the fire chamber D and keeps up a live fire, so as to
ignite the smoke and air together immediately over the fire; the carbonic oxide
generated rises up and receives a portion of the hot air, and is then converted into
flame in the converting chamber where the combustion takes place. One great
advantage in thus decomposing the fuel is that nearly all the sulphur in the coal is
driven off in a gaseous state, and thus sulphurous acid mingling with the air over
the fire is at once driven off before it can attack the iron in the melting chamber B.
By thus protecting the iron from the action of the sulphur a finer and better gradé
or quality of iron is produced, both with regard to tensile strength and fibre, and is
particularly suitable for making steel and fine sheet iron.
The fire chamber D is similar to that in the ordinary reverberatory or puddling
furnace, but is built with double walls m, m, on the sides and top, forming an
intermediate air chamber g, which communicates with the openings G, H, below,
and also through the openings K into the chamber F (or through the sides if
desired). These chambers form a passage-way for the air to pass up through the
hot wall so as to beat the air to any required degree.
The cokeing chamber F, in which the fuel is first charged and heated, and
converted into gas or carbonic oxide before it is fed forward upon the grate, is
constructed at the front end of the fire chamber D, and the bottom J of the cokeing
chamber F consists of an arch built across the front of the fire chamber D, and is
heated from the chamber E underneath the fire. Now in the operation of the
furnace thus described the cokeing chamber F is charged through its door I with
slack or small coal, and the fire is started in the grate D as in any ordinary furnace;

page_text: When the fire becomes burnt up in the grate D it heats the cokeing chamber F and
develops the gases from the contents of the cokeing oven, which gases pass into the
fire chamber D, where they become thoroughly mixed with the hot air from the
chambers g, H, and g, between the walls m, m, and ignite, producing a flame of
much greater intensity than can be obtained from any ordinary fire chamber.
After, the contents of the cokeing oven F have become thoroughly coked they are
pushed off into the fire chamber D to keep up the supply of live coal in said
chamber, a new supply being then charged in the cokeing oven F.
These improvements can be applied to existing furnaces at a very slight expense,
and a great saving may be thereby effected.
Having thus described the Invention communicated to me, and the best means
with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that what is claimed is, the improvements, substantially as herein-before
described, and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick Redfern, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.