IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF ZINC, AND IN COMBINATIONS OF ZINC WITH OTHER METALLIC BODIES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GODFREY KNELLER, of Wimbledon, in the County of Surry, Chymist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fourteenth day of March, in the seventh year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Godfrey Kneller, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, my exors, adiñors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, my exors,
adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PREPARATION OF ZINC, AND IN COMBINATIONS OF ZINC WITH OTHER METALLIC
BODIES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said William Godfrey Kneller, shall cause a particular description of the

page_text: nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Godfrey Kneller, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that
is to say:
My Invention eonsists of treating zinc by melting it with lead, and retaining
them together in a melted state, whereby the zinc will be purified, and, if
desired, the zinc may be obtained combined with small quantities of lead; and
by the employment of zinc so previously treated with lead I am enabled to
obtain combinations of zinc with copper and other metallic bodies of a more
useful character; for it is well known in making combinations of zinc with
copper and other metallic bodies that it is of great importance to obtain the
zinc free from impurities; and in order that my Invention may be more fully
understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to explain the process
as practised by me :-
I take any quantity of zinc and put it into a suitable vessel in order that
the same may be melted, and I introduce into the same vessel a like quantity or
a greater or a smaller proportion of lead, though equal quantities is preferable,
and the two metals being melted they are stirred well together, and the im-
purities which rise to the surface are to be skimmed off, and I then throw on
to the surface of the melted metals powder of charcoal to prevent oxydation.
I allow the metals to stand for about three hours, keeping them in the melted
state, by which means the lead will descend to the bottom of the vessel, the
purified zinc floating at top. I have generally used a melting pot of the
ordinary description for melting fourteen hundredweight of lead, but rather
deeper. Into this vessel I put seven hundredweight of lead and seven
hundredweight of zinc, and I melt and treat them as above described; and
when I wish to obtain a portion of the zinc combined with lead, then I do not
allow the zinc to stand so long with the lead, but draw off the larger portion
of the zinc at the end of an hour, and leave about an inch of zinc on the lead,
and allow the same to cool on the surface of the lead, and skim it off as it
cakes in cooling, and the lead remaining will be formed, combined with zinc,
and a valuable alloy of lead and zinc will thus be obtained. The zinc drawn

page_text: off will be found to contain lead, which may be separated by retaining it in
a melted state as above stated. The zinc so purified, and floating on the
surface of the lead with which it has been melted, may be drawn off by having
a pipe in the vessel just above the height where the lead will come to in the
vessel; and before drawing off the zinc from the vessel, I skim off the charcoal
and any impurities on the surface. It is well known that in making alloys of
zinc and copper it is very important that the zinc should be as pure as as
possible; a very small per-centage of impurities materially changes the
character of an alloy, and such is the case more or less with respect to other
metals; hence it will be found that improved compounds or alloys of zinc with
copper and other metals may be obtained by applying zinc purified by the
treatment with lead as herein described, and for such purposes I use zinc from
which the lead has completely separated itself, which will generally be in
about three hours, as above explained. And it only remains to be stated that
in making alloys of such purified zinc with other metallic bodies, that the
workman will combine the zinc with such quantities of copper or other metals
as may be desired, in the same manner as heretofore, and which is well under-
stood to persons engaged in making alloys of zinc with other metals, and the
workman will use more or less of the purified zinc in respect to the other
metals according to the nature of the alloy it is desired should be produced as
heretofore.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
I perform the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the details herein described as long as the peculiar character of my Inven-
tion be retained, whereby zinc and lead mixed together are kept melted for
some time, allowing the lead to separate from the zinc, by which the zinc
obtained will be rendered very pure, and suitable for manufactures where pure
zinc is required, and at the same time combinations of such zinc with other
metallic bodies will, owing to the purity of the zinc, render the alloys thus
obtained of a better character. And I would therefore wish it to be under-
stood that what I claim is the mode herein described of preparing zinc by
retaining that metal melted with lead, and allowing the lead to separate, as
herein described; and I also claim the manufacturing alloys of such purified
zinc with other metallic bodies.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
W. G. (LS.) KNELLER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twelfth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid William Godfrey Kneller came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.