IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SMELTING IRON ORES AND OTHER ORES, AND REHEATING IRON AND OTHER METALS, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO OTHER PURPOSES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stanhope Baynes Smith, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Electro-Metallurgist, and John William
Willaus, of Middlesbrough, in the County of York, Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR
SMELTING IRON ORES AND OTHER ORES, AND REHEATING IRON AND OTHER
METALS, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stanhope Baynes Smith
and John William Willans at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st June 1872.
We, STANHOPE BAYNES SMITH, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Electro-Metallurgist, and JOHN WILLIAM WILLANS, of
Middlesbrough, in the County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN THE PROCESS OF and
APPARATUS FOR SMELTING IRON ORES AND OTHER ORES, AND REHEATING IRON AND

page_text: OTHER METALS, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
:-
In smelting iron ores according to our Invention the said ores
prepared in the usual way and mixed with the required proportions of
coke or coal and flux are charged into the blast furnace, and reduced
or smelted by the combustion of the mixture of inflammable gas and
air herein-after described, introduced into the furnace through tuyeres.
The inflammable gas is produced by passing steam over red hot coke or
other carbonaceous matter contained in heated vessels.
The gases
produced are passed through a lime or other purifier before entering the 1
furnace through the tuyeres. In the buyeres they meet and mix with
a current of atmospheric air by which combustion with an intensc
dcoxidizing flame is produced.
In place of the inflammable gas produced in the way described or
in addition thereto, coal gas or other gaseous hydrocarbon may be 1
employed.
The process described may be applied to the reheating of iron and
other metals as well as to the reduction of their ores.
The apparatus which we employ in carrying our Invention into
effect consists essentially of a distillatory apparatus for producing gas 2
from peat, coal, or other solid hydrocarbon, and a generator for pro-
ducing by the action of steam or heated carbonaceous matter the
inflammable gas licrein-before referred to.
The distillatory apparatus is a compound retort composed of a series
of vessels arranged upon a central hollow trunnion or axis in the direction
of radii. The retort may either be placed within a stove, or preferably
each vessel may be surrounded by a flame chamber carried with the
vessel during the rotation of the retort. By means of suitable com-
munications flame may be introduced into the said flame chambers, and
the gas generated in the several vessels is carried away by the hollow a
trunnion which is suitably divided and is furnished with the required
valves. The outer end of each of the radial vessels has a cover, by the
removal of which, when the vessel is at its highest point it may be
charged, and when at its lowest point may be emptied. We prefer to
introduce a perforated diaphragm within cach vessel and near its side
for the purpose of permitting of the ready escape of the gas generated.
By the rotation of the compound retort and the charging and discharging

page_text: of its several portions in succession, the manufacture of gas may be
made a continuous process. The solid carbonaceous matter or coke
from the compound retort described may be introduced while still hot
into the generator in which it is treated by a current of steam. This
generator consists of a series of vertical vessels with lids at top and
bottom for charging and discharging. A series of these vessels. is
arranged about a vertical hollow axis and parallel thereto. Each of the
tubular vessels is surrounded by a flame chamber whereby it may be
heated and the coke within it kept at the required temperature. By
means of suitable inlet pipes and communications steam is introduced
at one end of each of the vessels, and being made to traverse the whole
length of the said vessel is decomposed, and forms with the heated
carbon the gaseous mixture which we use cither in conjunction with
atmospheric air alone, or in addition thereto coal gas or other gaseous
hydrocarbon. By means of outlet pipes and communications the gaseous
mixture is conveyed from the generator to the furnace.
The purifiers which we employ do not differ from those ordinarily
employed in purifying gas. The apparatus which we employ consists
further of a compound tuycre. This tuyere has a fixed or moveable
outer nozzle through which air enters, and a sliding or adjustable nozzle
within the former by which inflammable gas enters. In the axis of
the adjustable nozzle is a rod or hollow nozzle having a pointed end.
By means of the adjustable nozzle and pointed rod the required pro-
portion between the air and inflammable gas can be determined as well
as a large or small flame produced.
·
The compound retort herein-before described may be employed in the
manufacture of illuminating gas, and for other purposes, and the
generator and tuyere besides being applicable to the smelting and re-
heating of iron and other metals may also be used for other like
purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters. Patent,
filed by the said Stanhope Baynes Smith and John William
Willans in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th December
1872.

page_text: Metallurgist, and JOHN WILLIAM WILLANS, of Middlesbrough, in the
County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Stanhope Baynes Smith and John
William Willans, Her special licence that we, the said Stanhope Baynes
Smith and John William Willans, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Stanhope Baynes Smith and
John William Willans, our 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 PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS
FOR SMELTING IRON ORES AND OTHER ORES AND REHEATING IRON AND OTHER
METALS, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO OTHER
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Stanhope Baynes Smith and John William Willans, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should par-
ticularly 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 a
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Stanhope Baynes Smith, on behalf
of myself and the said John William Willaus, 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 a
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
In smelting iron ores according to our Invention the said ores
prepared in the usual way and mixed with the required proportions of
coke or coal and flux are charged into the blast furnace and reduced or
smelted by the combustion of the mixture of inflammable gas and air 3
herein-after described introduced into the furnace through tuyeres in
conjunction with. the action of the coal or coke and flux mixed with the
said ores.

page_text: The inflammable gas is produced by passing steam over red hot coke
or other carbonaceous matter contained in heated vessels. The gases
produced may be passed through a lime or other purifier before entering
the furnace through the tuyeres. In the tuyeres they meet and mix
with a current of atmospheric air, by which combustion with an intensc
deoxidizing flame is produced. Where greater heat is required than
is obtained by the use of atmospheric air, oxygen may be used in place
of or in addition to atmospheric air.
The inflammable gas is produced by passing steam over red hot coke
or other carbonaceous matter contained in heated vessels. The gases
produced may be passed through a lime or other purifier before entering
the furnace through the tuyeres. In the tuyeres they meet and mix
with a current of atmospheric air, by which combustion with an intensc
deoxidizing flame is produced. Where greater heat is required than
is obtained by the use of atmospheric air, oxygen may be used in place
of or in addition to atmospheric air.
In place of the inflammable gas produced in the way described or
in addition thereto, coal gas or other gaseous hydrocarbon may be
employed.
The process described may be applied to the re-heating of iron and
other metals as well as to the reduction of their ores and to the heating
of furnaces generally.
The apparatus which we employ in carrying our Invention into effect
consists essentially of a distillatory apparatus for producing gas from
peat, coal, or other solid or liquid hydrocarbon and a generator or con-
verter for producing by the action of steam on heated carbonaceous
matter the inflammable gas herein-before referred to. The distillatory
apparatus is a compound retort composed of a series of vessels arranged
upon a central hollow trunnion or axis in the direction of radii or
otherwise. The retort may either be placed within a stove, or preferably
each vessel may be surrounded by a flame chamber carried with the
vessel during the rotation of the retort. By means of suitable communi-
cations flame may be introduced into the said flame chambers, and the
gas generated in the several vessels is carried away by the hollow trunnion,
which is suitably divided and is furnished with the required valves. The
outer end of each of the radial vessels has a cover, by the removal of
which when the vessel is at its highest point it may be charged, and
when at its lowest point may be emptied. We prefer to introduce a
perforated diaphragm within each vessel and near its side for the
purpose of permitting of the ready escape of the gas generated. Or we
use a modification of the afore-mentioned revolving retorts as herein-
after described. By the rotation of the compound retort and the
charging and discharging of its several portions in succession the manu-
facture of gas may be made a continuous process. The solid carbo-
naceous matter or coke from the compound retort described may be
introduced while still hot into the generator or converter in which it is

page_text: treated by a current of steam. This generator or converter consists of a
series of vertical vessels with lids at top and bottom for charging and
discharging. A series of these vessels is arranged about a vertical
hollow axis and parallel thereto. The vessels are surrounded by a flame
chamber whereby they may be heated and the coke within them kept
at the required temperature. By means of suitable inlet pipes and
communications, steam is introduced at one end of each of the vessels,
and being made to traverse the whole length of the said vessel is
decomposed and forms with the heated carbon the gaseous mixture,
which we use either in conjunction with atmospheric air alone or in
addition thereto coal gas or other gaseous hydrocarbon. By means of
outlet pipes and communications the gaseous [mixture is conveyed from
the generator or converter to the furnace. The purifiers which we
employ do not differ from those ordinarily employed in purifying gas.
The apparatus which we employ consists further of a compound tuyere.
This tuyere has a fixed or moveable outer nozzle through which air
enters, and a sliding or adjustable nozzle within the former by which
inflammable gas enters. In the axis of the adjustable nozzle is a rod or
hollow nozzle having a pointed end. By means of the adjustable nozzle
and pointed rod the required proportion between the air and inflammable
gas can be determined as well as a large or small flame produced.
The compound retorts herein-before described may be employed in the
manufacture of illuminating gas and for other purposes, and the
generator or converter and tuyere besides being applicable to the
smelting and re-heating of iron and other metals may also be used for
other like purposes.
Having explained the nature of our Invention we will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1, Sheet A, represents in vertical section our revolving or a
rotating compound retort; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same,
and Figure 3 is a back elevation of the same; Figure 4 represents in
section a portion of the same. The said revolving or rotating retort
consists of a series of vessels or single retorts marked A., arranged by
preference concentrically with the periphery of the discs B and C, and a
communicating by means of the annular pipe D and the divisional
pipe E with the hydraulic main F. The disks B and C revolve upon
rollers G working within the rings H and I, which rings rest upon and

page_text: are built into the ovens or furnaces at any required angle, so that the
retorts may be either vertical or horizontal or situated at any intermediate
angle. The oven in which the retort revolves is heated by coal or coke
burnt upon the grate K, or the said oven may be heated by liquid or
gaseous fuel instead of by solid fuel. The vessels or retorts A, A, are
provided with moveable covers (not shown in the Drawing) at top and
bottom for the purpose of charging and discharging the same.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-Coal is introduced into
the retort when in its highest position, the bottom of the retort having
been previously closed by its cover. The top lid or cover is then closed
and secured, and the process of distillation is at once commenced, the
gas being allowed to escape through the pipe D into one of the divisions
of the pipe E and thence into the hydraulic main F. When the retorts
have been severally filled with coal, and when the coal charged into
the first retort is sufficiently coked, the retort is brought to its highest
position, and the bottom lid being opened the whole mass may be
discharged into wagons or other receptacles to be conveyed away, or
We do not limit
the coke may be dropped and stacked out at once.
ourselves to the form of retort represented.
Figure 1, Sheet B, represents in elevation partly in section, and
Figure 2 in plan partly in section, one of our converters; Figures 3
and 4 represent parts of the same in section.
E, E, Figures 1 and 2, are the converters, and G, F, are the pipes
which conduct the steam and gas to their respective chambers and pipes.
The said pipes G, F, may be coiled or doubled to increase their exposed
surface; H is the chamber into which the gas escapes; I is a hollow
spindle having one opening less than the number of the retorts, as
shown; K is a chamber into which the steam passes after leaving the
pipe M and hollow column L on its way to the converter E through the
pipe G; O is a furnace gas inlet tube, there being a corresponding
outlet tube on the other side communicating with the chimney main.
When furnace gas is not available we heat the retorts by coal or
coke burnt on an ordinary grate or by means of liquid or gaseous fuel.
The working faces of the apparatus are or may be provided with lubri-
cators or kept cool by means of currents of water circulating through
tubes or hollow spaces made in the required places. The mode of
working is as follows :-The steam is admitted through the valve R
and pipe M, which communicate with the hollow column L, and

page_text: thence passes through the port into the chamber K, and finally enters
the converters E, E, through the pipe G, in which pipe it is greatly
superheated. It now passes up the converters E, E, which are filled
with red hot coke, and while so doing is decomposed into its component
gases, in which condition it passes through the pipe F, in which it is
superheated into the chamber H, and finally enters the gas main
through the pipe P and valve Q. The converters E, E, are filled with
red hot coke through the top lid, and emptied by opening the bottom
lid and allowing the contents to fall into barrows, when it may be
conveyed to the furnace to be burned therein, or it may be used for any
other purpose to which coke is applicable. The gas thus formed may
be purified by passing it through an ordinary lime or oxide of iron
purifier, such as is used in the purification of coal gas, after which it
passes into the furnace through our improved tuyere, herein-after
described, where it comes into contact with an annular current of
atmospheric air moving in the same direction as itself; the result is
the union of the gases and the production of an intense heat; or in
place of or in addition to atmospheric air oxygen may be used. The
joints of the lids, together with any other lids used in connection with
our apparatus may be made steam or gas-tight by means of a copper
ring or rings inserted between the faces.
Figure 5, Sheet B, represents in longitudinal section, and Figure 6
in cross section our improved tuyere. The inflammable or water gas
enters the tuycre through the pipe a into the central tapering chamber
or adjusting nozzle b, whence it issues at the point c of the tuyere.
Surrounding the chamber or nozzle 6 is the casing e firmly supported
by the pipe a conveying the water gas, into which casing air or oxygen
or air and oxygen. combined enters in the manner indicated by the
arrows in Figure 5. d is a central sliding rod or spear in the axis of
the adjusting nozzle b. By sliding 'the adjusting rod or spear d to a
greater or less distance within the adjusting nozzle b, the quantity of
gas passing from the point c of the tuyere may be adjusted, and by
sliding the adjusting nozzle within the casing e the quantity of air
passing out and mixing with the gas at c may be adjusted.
Our improved rotating compound retort may be applied to the
manufacture of gaseous fuel in the following way:-One of the said
rotating retorts may be filled with carbonate of lime or limestone
broken into small pieces and mixed with coke. The heating of these.

page_text: materials produces carbonic oxide gas, which may pass to the tuyeres
with the other gaseous fuel.
Our improved retort may be applied to the manufacture of gas for
illuminating purposes by distilling coal in one of the rotating retorts
and passing the gas produced through a second rotating retort filled
with coke and maintained at a high temperature, superheated steam
being introduced into the coal gas. The result is the production of a
large quantity of gas of a highly illuminating quality. When gas for
heating purposes is required a larger quantity of steam may be used
than when gas for illuminating purposes is required, but the exact
amount of steam in either case depends upon the nature of the coal
employed. The gas may be purified as usual before being burned.
From the facility with which our rotating retort may be charged and
discharged it may be used with advantage for the purpose of obtaining
illuminating gas from coal dust and other matters containing carbon
and hydrogen, as well as for obtaining coal gas by the distillation of coal
in the ordinary way.
The gaseous fuel produced by the use of our Invention as well as
our improved tuyere may be applied to the heating of blast furnaces,
refinery furnaces, stationary and rotating puddling furnaces, and reheating
furnaces for smelting and melting metals generally, glass-house furnaces,
and furnaces or kilns for baking or burning china and earthenware.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly. The smelting of iron ores and other ores, and the reheating
and melting of iron and other metals, and the heating of furnaces, kilns,
and ovens generally by the use of gaseous fuel obtained by passing
steam over heated carbonaceous matter, the said gaseous fuel being
used in conjunction with atmospheric air or oxygen, whether the said
gaseous fuel be used with or without the admixture of carburetted
hydrogen or other gaseous hydrocarbon, substantially as herein-before
described.

page_text: and in part illustrated in Sheet A of the accompanying Drawings for
producing inflammable gas from peat, coal, or other solid or liquid
hydrocarbon.
Thirdly. The construction and arrangement of parts constituting the
generator or converter herein-before described and illustrated in Sheet B
of the accompanying Drawings, for producing inflammable gas by the
action of steam on heated carbonaceous matter.
Lastly. The construction and arrangement of parts of the tuyere
berein-before described and illustrated in Sheet B of the accompanying
Drawings.
..
In witness whereof, I, the said Stanhope Baynes Smith, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
STANHOPE BAYNES SMITH.
(L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.