IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF METALLIC ALLOYS OF MANGANESE
Year: 1870

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION
OF METALLIC ALLOYS OF MANGANESE." -A Communication from abroad
by Elliot Savage, of West Meriden, in the State of Connecticut, and
Joseph Mayer and Julius Waterman, both of the City and State of
New York, United States of America.
aled the 19th August 1870, and dated the 14th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th April 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PRODUCTION OF METALLIC ALLOYS OF MANGANESE," to be as follows:—
This Invention relates more particularly to the production of alloys of
mongnace with
and allons of
with
gonn
and

page_text: metals, and its principal object is to obtain an alloy which forms a cheap
substitute for German silver, and one which is superior for the manu-
facture of such articles as are commonly made of German silver, but it
is or may be applicable wholly or in part to the production of alloys of
manganese in which copper forms no part.
In the production of these alloys metallic manganese is obtained from
the black oxide of that metal by fusing the oxide in the presence of
carbonaceous substances either in a solid, liquid, or gaseous state. One
of the reducing agents employed is the cyanide of potassium, and the
manner of using it in the production of alloys is as follows:-
The oxide of manganese in a finely divided state is mixed with a
quantity of crushed charcoal and coal tar. These substances are placed
with the cyanide of potassium and the metal or metals with which the
manganese is to form an alloy in a crucible, pot, or suitable vessel, and
a layer of crushed charcoal is then placed over the whole, and a cover
being applied to the mouth of the crucible the vessel is heated in a
suitable furnace until the reduction of the oxide of manganese is accom-
plished. The other metal or metals having become fused during the
process readily unite with the metallic manganese, and the alloy thus
produced is poured into suitable moulds and allowed to cool.
One objection to the use of the cyanide of potassium is its cost, and
with a view to dispense with the necessity for its use, or at least for its
use in any large quantity, it is proposed to effect the reduction of the
manganese and its protection during its union with the other metal or
metals by such a regulation of the supply of oxygen to the furnace as to
produce and maintain in that part of the furnace where the crucibles or
pots are heated a reducing atmosphere," that is to say, an atmosphere
in which there is no free oxygen, but on the contrary a great excess of
ignited reducing gases which surround and permeate the crucibles or
pots. To this end the fuel used is placed in a part of the furnace
separated from the compartment in which the crucibles or pots are
placed to be heated, and the gases generated by the fuel are mixed with
such a quantity of air as to produce and maintain a great excess of
ignited reducing gases in said heated chamber during the process of
reduction. The furnace for this purpose might be variously constructed,

page_text: but that known as the Siemens' furnace is peculiarly suitable in its
construction and operation, as in it all the necessary conditions are
fulfilled.
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 14th October 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 Fourteenth day of April, 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, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, ad-
ministrators, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF METALLIC ALLOYS OF MANGANESE,"
being a communication to me from abroad by Elliot Savage, of West
Meriden, in the State of Connecticut, and Joseph Mayer and Julius
Waterman, both 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 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates more particularly to the production of alloys of
manganese with copper, and alloys of manganese with copper and other
metals, and its principal object is to obtain an alloy which forms a
cheaper substitute for German silver, and one which is superior for the
manufacture of such articles as are commonly made of German silver,
but it is or may be applicable wholly or in part to the production of
alloys of manganese in which copper forms no part.
In the production of alloys according to this Invention the metallic
manganese is obtained from the black oxide of that metal. The difficulty
of reducing this oxide to the metallic state is well known. This
difficulty results chiefly from the great degree of chemical affinity of
manganese for oxygen, and to overcome it the reduction and the com-
bination or union of the manganese with the metal or metals with which
it is to form the alloy must be accomplished while such metal or metals
are in a fused state, and in the presence of carbonaceous substances
either in a solid, liquid, or gaseous state, which will protect the man-
ganese from oxidation until it has become united with the other metal
or metals.
It is in the carbonaceous reducing agents employed and the
method of employing them that this Invention consists. One of the
reducing agents employed is the 'cyanide of potassium, and the manner
of using it in the production of alloys is as follows:-
The oxide of manganese is prepared by finely dividing or pulverizing
it, and mixing with it a quantity of crushed charcoal and coal tar.
These substances when mixed together are placed with the cyanide of
potassium and the metal or metals with which the manganese is to form
an alloy into a crucible, pot, or suitable vessel. A layer of crushed
charcoal is then placed over the whole, and a cover is placed upon the
mouth of the crucible or vessel, which is then heated in a suitable
furnace until the reduction of the oxide of manganese is accomplished.
The furnace employed may be such as is commonly used in the melting
of steel or brass. The other metal or metals having become fused
during the process readily unite with the metallic manganese, and the
alloy thus produced is poured into suitable moulds and allowed to cool.
For a particular illustration of this method of obtaining alloys one
may be described composed of copper, manganese, and nickel, which has

page_text: been practically tested and found to be a superior yet cheaper substitute
for German silver. To produce ten (10) pounds of this alloy take
eight (8) pounds of copper, four (4) pounds of the peroxide of man-
ganese, one-half (1) pound of nickel, two (2) pounds of crushed
charcoal, one-half (1/2) pound of cyanide of potassium, and a sufficient
quantity of coal tar to moisten the oxide of manganese and charcoal so
that they shall adhere to each other. The alloy produced by this
mixture, heated as above described, is remarkable for hardness, mallea-
bility, and ductility, and its color and lustre closely resemble those of
silver. The proportion of the metals and substances used may be
considerably varied without materially affecting the result.
An alloy has also been made of copper, silver, and manganeso by first
obtaining an alloy of copper and manganese by the process herein
described, and afterwards melting this alloy with silver in a crucible. It
is also proposed to obtain alloys of gold, copper, and manganese in the
same way.
In the above-described method of producing alloys of manganese the
cyanide of potassium performs two important offices, viz., first, that of
a reducing agent, and, second, that of a protection to the reduced
manganese from the free oxygen of the furnace, the latter office de-
pending upon the potassium having a greater chemical affinity for oxygen
than the metallic manganese, and by thus taking up or absorbing the
free oxygen of the furnace enabling the manganese to unite with the
metal or metals with which it is to be alloyed. The last-mentioned
effect is owing in part to the fusible nature of the cyanide of potassium,
which causes it to be distributed throughout the crucibles, pots, or vessels
in which the reduction is made. Other reducing substances used for
this purpose do not by being placed in the crucible or pots sufficiently
protect the manganese, because they cannot be so perfectly distributed
throughout the crucible as to envelope or surround the small particles
of manganese metal, and the crucibles or pots themselves are found to
be no adequate protection to the manganese from the oxygen of the
furnace.
There is one objection to the use of the cyanide of potassium for the
above purpose, and that is, that it adds to the cost of the manufacture of
the manganese alloys, and with a view to dispense with the necessity for
its use, or at least with its use in any large quantity, one feature of the

page_text: Invention consists in effecting the reduction of the manganese and its
protection during its union with the other metal or metals by such a
regulation of the supply of oxygen to the furnace as to produce and
maintain in that part of the furnace where the crucibles or pots are
heated a "reducing atmosphere," (that is to say) an atmosphere in
which there is no free oxygen, but on the contrary a great excess of
ignited reducing gases which surround and permeate the crucibles or pots,
thus in connection with the heat performing the office of reduction, and
also preventing the loss or waste of manganese metal while it is uniting
with the metal or metals with which it is to be alloyed, and so greatly
reducing the cost of the manufacture of such alloys.
To accomplish the above purpose the fuel used is placed in a part of
the furnace separated from the compartment in which the crucibles or
pots are placed to be heated, and the gases generated by the fuel are
mixed with such a quantity of air as to produce and maintain a great
excess of ignited reducing gases in said heated chamber during the
process of reduction. When the above-mentioned condition of the
heating furnace is perfectly obtained the mixing of other carbonaceous
or reducing agents with the oxide of manganese in the crucibles or pots
is not necessary, the metallic manganese being reduced when the fusion
of the metal is accomplished, the excess of ignited reducing gas in the
furnace permeating the crucibles or pots in which the oxide of man-
ganese and the metal or metals with which it is to be alloyed are
contained, and taking up and removing the oxygen as it is liberated
from the oxide of manganese. This enables an alloy of manganese and
copper to be produced without the addition of nickel, which greatly
surpasses in desirable qualities the best "German" or "nickel" silver.
The furnace for this purpose might be variously constructed, but that
known as the "Siemens"" furnace is peculiarly suitable in its construction
and operation, as in it all the necessary conditions are fulfilled.
The following may be given as an example of the alloys which may
be produced by this process, an alloy composed of copper and manganese
intended as a substitute for "German" or "nickel" silver :-To produce
thirty (30) pounds of this alloy take twenty-four (24) pounds of copper
and eighteen (18) pounds of crushed or powdered peroxide of manganese,
and place the same together in a suitable crucible or pot, one made
principally of graphite being preferred. Upon the mouth of this crucible

page_text: place a suitable cover to prevent fine particles of the oxide of manganese
from escaping during the process of reduction, and place the charged
crucible by preference in the heating chamber of a "Siemens"" furnace,
and subject it to a high degree of heat for two or three hours, or until
the manganese is found to be reduced; then take the pot from the
furnace and pour the molten alloy into a suitable mould, or the alloy
may be allowed to cool in the pot or crucible. The resulting alloy of
copper and manganese can then be remelted and cast in the usual
manner, and can afterwards be rolled, hammered, stamped, or otherwise
wrought into such shapes as may be wished. This alloy possesses in a
high degree hardness, ductility, and malleability, and in color and lustre
closely resembles silver.
Alloys of copper and manganese may be produced in the same way
with various proportions of copper and peroxides of manganese, and other
metals, as nickel or zinc, may be added if desired.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "improvements
in the production of metallic alloys of manganese, as communicated to me
from abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, —
First. The use of cyanide of potassium substantially as herein described,
with or without carbonaceous substances, in the production of alloys of
manganese.
Second. The production of alloys of manganese by subjecting the
alloying metal or metals and the oxide of manganese together.to the
action of heat in an atmosphere of reducing gases, substantially as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, the Seventh day of October, in the