IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL."-A
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, E.C., Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL."-A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th July 1858.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, E.C., Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL," (communicated
to me by a foreigner residing abroad,) to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce cast steel from iron of any
description in one operation, and the Invention consists in cementing, in a
suitable crucible, fragments of iron of any description, by means of a mixture
composed of oxide of iron or of manganese, carbon, (either plain or hydro-
genized, such as resin,) and potash, soda, lime, alumina, or other alkaline or
earthy material in the state of an oxide or a salt. In order to produce the
required reactions between these substances, it is necessary to mix them
intimately by means of water or some other suitable liquid or solvent, and to
spread them as uniformly as possible among the fragments of iron. Instead
of employing alkaline or earthy materials in the state of oxides or salts, they
may be employed for the purposes of this Invention in a state of chloride, but

page_text: then it is necessary to employ hydrogenized and not pure carbon, or an
increased quantity of oxide of iron or of manganese to disengage the chlorine.
The remainder of the process is conducted as before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, E.C.,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL," (a communication
from a foreigner residing abroad,) upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to produce cast steel from iron of any
description in one operation, and the Invention consists in cementing, in a
suitable crucible or furnace, fragments of iron or steel of any description, by
means of a mixture composed of oxide of iron or of manganese, carbon, (either

page_text: plain or hydrogenized, such as resin or soot,) and potash, soda, lime, alumina,
or other alkaline or earthy material in the state of an oxide or a salt. In
order to produce the required reactions between these substances, it is
necessary to mix them intimately by means of water or some other suitable
liquid or solvent, and to spread them as uniformly as possible among the
fragments of iron or steel; or, instead of uniformly spreading the mixture in
this manner, the substances may be placed in layers in the crucible or furnace.
The carbon impregnated with the oxides and the salts is not affected by the
air, but combines intimately with the iron or steel. The combination is
favoured by the nascent state of the carbon, and by the electric action set up
by the oxides and salts. Instead of employing alkaline or earthy materials in
the state of oxides or salts, they may be employed for the purposes of this
Invention in a state of chloride, but then it is necessary to employ hydro-
genized and not pure carbon, or an increased quantity of oxide of iron or of
manganese to disengage the chlorine. The remainder of the process is con-
ducted as before. The alkaline or earthy materials under a high temperature
reach the nascent state in consequence of the action of the iron and carbon on
the oxides and the salts, and absorb the sulphur, phosphorous, and other
metalloids. The quantities of carbon and of oxides of iron and manganese,
as well as the number and quantities of the alkaline or earthy materials
requisite to the efficient performance of this Invention, vary considerably with
the variable nature of the metals operated upon and of the product desired,
so that no specific amounts can be fixed upon as the best in all cases; but, as
an example, it may be stated, that to convert iron or steel of inferior quality
into good cast steel, about three per cent. of alkaline material, and from 2 to 3
per cent. of carbon or carbonaceous matter, such as resin or soot.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim, the manufacture
of cast steel by cementing portions of iron or steel of any description in a
crucible or furnace, by means of alkaline or earthy materials in states of
oxides or salts, essentially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.s.)