Improvements in Producing Silicious Copper and Utilizing the same for Metallurgical Purposes.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1886.
Complete Left, 17th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 19th July, 1887
Improvements in Producing Silicious Copper and Utilizing the
same for Metallurgical Purposes.
1, CONRAD HEUSLER, Royal chief mining Engineer, residing in Bonn, Kingdom
of Prussia, German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is to obtain silicide of copper (or silicious copper) by
a new process and of utilizing the same for the production of metals and alloys
containing a certain amount of silicium, or that are merely refined by the silicium which
has the property of absorbing the oxygen and the carbonic oxyde present in the
metals, and of carrying them away in the slags.
The said process consists in the first place in melting the copper together with
silicious iron. The copper under these conditions combines with the silicium to
form therewith silicide of copper. If the fused mass thus obtained is left to repose,
three different layers form in the same, the undermost layer consisting of the silicide
of copper, the middle layer of iron still containing silicium and some copper, and the
upper layer of pure iron. The two upper layers are removed in any suitable
manner, preferably by cooling the surface portion and lifting it off in the form of a
disk after it has solidified, and by repeating this operation until only the silicide of
copper remains, which may be run into molds or also divided into disks.
The said silicide of copper is melted together in the requisite quantity with the
metal or metals to be combined therewith and to be impregnated with or purified by
the silicium.
Dated the Fourth day of October 1886.
CONRAD HEUSLER.
By his Agent, Carl Pieper.

page_text: same for Metallurgical Purposes.
I, CONRAD HEUSLER, Royal chief mining Engineer, residing at Bonn in the
Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to obtain silicide of copper, (or silicious copper) by
a new process and of utilizing the same for the production of metals and alloys
containing a certain amount of silicium, or that are merely refined by means of
the silicium, which has the property of absorbing the free as well as the combined
oxygen and the carbonic oxyde present in the metals and of carrying them away in
the slags. The process which I employ for this purpose consists in melting together
with silicious iron the copper to be combined with silicium, in removing from the
metallic mass thus obtained the upper portion, and in melting the remaining portion,
which is the silicide of copper, with the metal or metals to be impregnated with or
purified by the silicium.
If copper is melted with silicide of iron or with pig-iron containing a certain
amount of silicium, the copper, on account of its having
silicium than the iron, combines with the silicium to form therewith silicide of copper.
a greater affinity to the
If, after complete fusion, the mass thus obtained is left to repose, three different
layers form in the same; the undermost layer, which is clearly limited in respect to
the next upper one, is constituted by the silicide of copper; the middle layer is
composed of iron still containing silicium and some copper; and the upper layer
consists of pure cast-iron. A small amount of the iron, however, ordinarily passes
over into the upper portion of the silicide of copper.
For the purpose of practically carrying out the invention, I proceed as follows:
The copper is melted together with the silicious iron in a crucible or in any suitable
furnace. The said silicious iron may be the common silicide of iron of commerce,
which usually contains about 12 per cent of silicium and sometimes up to 17 per
cent and even more; but any ordinary pig-iron containing silicium may also be
employed. The molten mass is transferred into a pot or receptacle placed over a
furnace in order to be heated, and preferably lined with coal. In this receptacle the
mass is allowed to remain at rest so that the aforesaid layers may form. After this
has taken place, and after solidification of the surface portion, which may be
accelerated by throwing some water thereon, the said portion is lifted off in form of
a disk in the manner practiced in the production of disk-copper. By repeating this
process, first of all the iron is removed and thereupon the layer of iron and copper.
The remaining layer formed by the silicide of copper may then also be divided into
disks, or it is run into molds.
The portion of the silicide of copper containing iron may be freed from the iron
by being remelted several times and redivided into disks. In like manner the iron
may be separated from the metallic mass constituting the disks obtained from the s
middle layer; or these disks are used together with a new quantity of silicide of
iron in a subsequent operation for producing silicide of copper.
The amount of silicium absorbed by the copper depends upon the relative quantity

page_text: of silicide of iron employed and the percentage of silicium contained therein.
Ordinarily three per cent of silicium present in the silicide of copper are sufficient
to make the same adapted for its various employments, especially for the purification
of metals. It is, however, easy to raise the amount of silicium by adding a new
quantity of silicious iron to the silicide of copper obtained in one operation, and by
repeating the described process.
If the silicide of copper, is to be employed for refining the like and other metals,
such quantity of the former is melted together with one or more of the latter that
the silicium present will merely suffice to absorb the oxygen and carbonic oxyde
contained in the metals to be refined and without that any considerable portion
of silicium combines with the said metals. In this manner refined copper and common
bronze, common manganese-bronze, brass, &c., of great purity are produced.
If the silicide of copper is to serve for incorporating silicium into the like metal or
for producing silicious alloys, a greater quantity thereof is required, so that the
silicium will not only act as refining agent, but that a certain amount of the same
will enter into the copper or alloy and thus produce a new compound of special
character. By these means are obtained copper-silicium-bronze, bronze consisting of
copper, manganese and silicium, bronze or other alloys of copper, tin and silicium,
of copper, tin, zinc and silicium, silicious brass, silicious german silver, &c.
The inetals to be treated with the silicide may be fused together with the latter in
the same pot or receptacle in which it has been separated from the iron, or in a
crucible.
The aforesaid processes of refining metals and incorporating silicium into the
same may be carried out not only by means of the pure silicide of copper, but
also by the portion of the silicide which, as hereinbefore stated, contains some iron,
inasmuch as ordinarily a small amount of iron is not prejudicial to the employment of
the said silicide for the purposes of the invention. Thus a silicide of copper con-
taining equal parts of silicium and iron is available for the production of useful
alloys, and in case the silicide is used for refining purposes, the quantity thereof
which is required, is so small that the iron need not be taken into account. Besides
the iron does not hinder the action of the silicium.
In the copper and alloys obtained as described, the silicium has the effect of
increasing their strength and ductibility, and of imparting to them the property that
castings may be made from the same which are free from pores. Moreover, the
electric conductibility of wires made from the copper refined by means of silicium is
greater than that of common copper wires.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :
1. The process of producing silicious copper which consists in melting together
silicious iron with copper and in removing from the metallic mass thus obtained the
upper portion consisting partly of iron and partly of iron containing copper, substan-
tially as hereinbefore described.
2. The process of melting together silicious iron with copper, removing from the
metallic mass obtained the upper portion consisting partly of iron and partly of iron
containing copper, and melting together the remaining portion with one or more
non-sicilious metals, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Datad the Cistarnih day of June 1987