IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FURNACE LININGS, " FIRE BRICK AND ILLUMINATING GASES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sydney Pitt of Sutton in the County of Surrey for an
invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FURNACE LININGS,
"
FIRE BRICK AND ILLUMINATING GASES communicated to him from abroad
by Charles G. Francklyn of New York United States of America
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Sydney Pitt at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th September 1882.
SYDNEY PITT of Sutton in the County of Surrey "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
FIRE BRICK AND ILLUMINATING GASES
"
MANUFACTURE OF FURNACE LININGS,
communicated to me from abroad by Charles G. Francklyn of New York United
States of America
The first part of this Invention, consists of a compound of silica, free from
impurities, mixed with fire clay, magnesian lime or magnesia or calcined sulphate
of lime with water, in the proportion of ninety five (95) per cent silica and five
(5) per cent of either of the other substances to form a compound for refractory
linings, or fire brick.
The second part of this Invention consists of a compound of oxide of iron ninety
per cent and lime, magnesian lime, or magnesia ten per cent and water to form a
mortar for making refractory linings or fire brick.
The third part of this Invention, consists of a compound of oxide of iron ten
per cent magnesian lime ninety per cent and water to form a mortar for making
refractory linings and fire brick.
.
The fourth part of this Invention, consists of a compound of hydrated lime, or
magnesian lime, and fluor-spar thoroughly mixed, exposed to a high temperature
and solidified, and then ground, and mixed with more of the compound of hydrated
lime or magnesian lime and fluorspar and water to form a mortar for making
refractory linings and fire brick.
The fifth part of this Invention, consists of a compound of vegetable substances

page_text: from which sugar or starch may be extracted, and water as a binding agent with
other solid ingredients to form a mortar for making refractory linings and
fire brick.
+
The sixth part of this Invention, consists of a compound of vegetable substances,
from which sugar or starch may be extracted, and lime, magnesian lime, magnesia
or alumina, and silica and water to form a mortar for making refractory linings, or
fire brick.
The seventh part of this Invention, consists of a compound of ninety (90) parts
silica ten (10) parts oxide of iron, in a finely divided state, and a vegetable
substance, from which sugar or starch may be extracted and water so as to form a
mortar for making refractory linings and fire brick.
The eighth part of this Invention, consists in coating the lining or brick with a
wash of glucose, or the equivalents of glucose which with water form a paste or
binding agent, or composition.
The ninth part of this Invention, consists in extracting illuminating gases from
compounds of glucose, dextrine, molasses, or curd of milk or lactic acid and other
ingredients, by means of distillation.
The first part of this Invention relates to a compound of silica, or clean washed
river sand, practically free from loam, or oxide of iron or other substances in such
proportions, that they will form fusible compounds with those ingredients herein-
after set forth under this head of the Invention, which silica or sand is mixed with
either fire clay, lime, magnesian lime or magnesia, and water in certain proportions,
which give the binding property to the sand and produce a compound for furnace
linings, or brick, which neither expand or contract at the highest temperatures
used in the arts, and are very refractory and durable.
The sand is preferably as fine as sea sand, or so that it will pass through a
sieve of about 3600 meshes to the square inch and free from impurities as
before stated.
This sand is mixed with the purer qualities of fire clay, such as are used in the
manufacture of fire brick, in proportions to yield five (5) per cent of alumina by
weight of the mixture of sand and fire clay.
Instead of fire clay, slacked or hydrated magnesian lime or magnesia or calcined
sulphate of lime is mixed with the silica or sand in the proportions of five
(5) per cent of either of these substances, to ninety five (95) per cent of silica or
sand by weight.
The fire clay, magnesian lime and magnesia and calcined sulphate of lime, are
ground or reduced to a finely divided state, or flour, and are mixed in the dry
state with the silica or sand, and sufficient water added to give the compound the
consistency of thick mortar; or these finely divided substances may each separately
be mixed with water to form either thin grouting or milk of magnesian lime, or
magnesia or sulphate of lime and then mixed with the sand.
The mortar thus produced may be used as a lining for hearths of furnaces in the
form of mortar; when so applied, it is preferably put in the furnace about a core
or former, of a proper size to make the lining rammed in between it and the walls
of the furnace the thickness desired; the core is withdrawn so soon as the lining
thus rammed in sets; the lining is then dried, preferably at the ordinary
temperature, when it is ready for use; or the compound may be moulded into
bricks which are ready for use, when dried at the ordinary temperature, or they
may be burned in a kiln used for burning refractory brick.
The compound of sand and fire clay, magnesian lime or magnesia may be used
as lining for walls, hearths or convertors, and will be found to give a lining very
refractory and one not attacked by the charge of the furnace, when used for
purifying iron, the compound of silica and sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris,
should not be used as a lining for hearths or converters, on account of the sulphur
contained in the compound, which would be taken up by the iron; but for walls
and other places where the iron cannot act on it, linings of this compound are the
equivalents of the other compounds.

page_text: I am aware that before this Invention, fire bricks have been made which contain
from 20 to 40 per cent of alumina, which, by reason of the large per centage of
alumina, would contract at the high temperature of open hearth steel furnaces,
and, bricks have been made, which contain two and a half, or less per cent of
alumina, which expand at the high temperature of steel furnaces, these defects are
overcome by using the compound in the proportions herein described, of alumina
and silica; and bricks have been made for building purposes consisting of larger
proportions of lime, but such bricks are fusible and unsuitable for refractory uses.
The second part of this Invention consists of the use of a compound, consisting
of lime, magnesian lime or magnesia in certain proportions, with oxide of iron, and
water, as a lining for hearths of furnaces used in puddling or purifying crude
cast iron.
For this purpose I use iron ore, in the finely divided state of iron sand such as is
found on the sea-coasts of various countries, which has been separated from silica
and other impurities by magnetic separating machinery, or equivalent device, or
other very pure ores, may be used, which are practically free from silica or alumina,
such as the magnetic ores of Lake Champlain, which are reduced to a finely divided
state.
The pure iron ore in a finely divided state is mixed with slacked lime, or
magnesian lime, or magnesia in the condition of flour, in the proportion of ninety
(90) per cent of iron ore, to ten (10) per cent of lime, magnesian lime or magnesia
by weight, and to these is added water in sufficient quantity to make a thick
mortar; or the lime, or magnesian lime or magnesia may be mixed with mortar to
form a milk of these substances, and this milk so formed, is mixed with finely
divided iron ore, so as to form a thick mortar.
The compound produced in either of the ways specified is applied to the walls of
the furnace, about a core or former, or it may be applied with a trowel as plaster
is applied, and it is rammed in the bottom or hearth of the furnace. If preferred,
the compound may be moulded into bricks, which, when dried at the ordinary
temperature, are ready for use, as a lining for the hearth.
I am aware that lime and oxide of iron have been before used but the pro-
portions, and manner of applying them are different from those herein described,
and are not so economical, nor so refractory in their use.
The third part of this Invention consists of the use of a compound of magnesian
lime, oxide of iron and water, as a compound for the manufacture of fire brick for
lining furnaces, Bessemer converters and other vessels, in the proportions herein
stated.
In carrying out this part of the Invention, oxide of iron, in a finely divided
state and of the quality described in the description of the second part of the
invention, and magnesian lime in a finely divided state, are mixed together,
preferably in the dry state in the proportion of ten (10) per cent oxide of iron, and
ninety (90) per cent magnesian lime by weight, and to this mixture is added
water, so as to make it the consistency of thick mortar, the compound is then
moulded into brick, and dried at the ordinary temperature and afterward burned
in kilns, preferably at a temperature of a steel melting furnace.
The fourth part of this Invention, consists of the use of a compound of hydrated
lime, or magnesian lime, and fluor-spar thoroughly mixed, exposed to a high
temperature and solidified, and then ground, and mixed with more of the compound
of hydrated lime or magnesian lime and fluor-spar with water.
In carrying out this part of the Invention, hydrated line, or magnesian lime and
fluor-spar are each reduced to flour, and then thoroughly mixed together in a dry
state, in the proportion of ten (10) per cent of fluor-spar, to ninety (90) per cent of
lime, or magnesian lime by weight, and this compound, either with or without
water being added, is exposed in furnaces, preferably at the highest temperatures
of steel melting furnaces, for a long enough time to solidify the compound. The
compound may be made into blocks or lumps, before it is put in the furnaces,
preferably by adding water to it, and drying it so as to be more easily handled.

page_text: After being solidified by the heat, it is taken out of the furnace, and cooled and
then ground to the fineness of flour.
This ground compound is then mixed in a dry state with an additional quantity
of the compound of slacked or hydrated lime, or magnesian lime and fluor spar, in
the proportions and conditions above specified.
The proportion of the previously heated compound may be from one third to one
sixth of the whole compound, by bulk. To this mixture water is added so as to
make it the consistency of thick mortar; or, the previously heated and ground
compound may be mixed with water in one vessel, and the compound of hydrated
lime or magnesian lime and fluor-spar may also be mixed with water, in another
vessel, each mixture being the consistency of milk of lime, and the two mixtures
may then be mixed together, and allowed to settle, and the water drained from
them.
The compound thus made while still wet may be moulded into bricks which are
dried in the air and then burned at high temperatures in kilns.
When magnesian lime is used the compound may be applied as mortar to the
furnace or convertor, as a lining, and dried at the ordinary temperature of the air,
when it is ready for use.
The fifth part of this invention, consists of the use of vegetable substances from
which sugar or starch may be extracted, and water as a binding agent for sand or
silica, with or without other ingredients.
In carrying out this part of the invention, I use silica or sand, of the quality
described in the first part of the invention, and mix with it a vegetable substance
from which starch or sugar may be extracted, and water, making the compound the
consistency of mortar.
For this purpose it is preferred to mix glucose and water, in the proportion of
one part of glucose to one and a third to ten parts of water, and mix this with sand
or silica into a thick mortar which may be applied plastic as a lining to furnaces,
converters or other metallurgical vessels, and dried by exposure to the atmosphere,
and then burned or it may be moulded into brick and dried in the atmosphere,
when it is ready for use.
Instead of glucose, I may use starch, dextrinė, mucilage, gum-arabic or molasses
dissolved in water, in sufficient quantity to dissolve them, and mix the water in
which either of them are dissolved with sand in such proportion as to make a
thick mortar.
Instead of the vegetable substances above named, which may be dissolved in water,
vegetable substances from which starch or sugar may be extracted-such as corn or
rice flour, oat, bean or pea meal, wood pulp, potatoes, or analogous substances may
be used in a finely divided state, and mixed with water to the consistency of thin
paste and this paste is used to mix with the sand to form a thick mortar.
The sixth part of this Invention consists of forming a compound for furnace
lining or fire brick by the use of the vegetable substances, from which starch or
sugar may be extracted, described and set forth in the description of the fifth part
of the Invention, with sand and alumina, or lime, or magnesian lime, or magnesia,
preferably in the proportions set forth in the description of the first part of the
invention, but I do not limit this part of the Invention to the proportions therein
given, as the amount of alumina, lime, magnesian lime, or magnesia may be varied,
when a vegetable substance, from which starch or sugar may be extracted, is used
as described in the description of the fifth part of the Invention.
This composition may be applied as a mortar and dried by the atmosphere, or
may be moulded into bricks and dried in the atmosphere which are then ready for
use, or they may be burned in kilns.
The seventh part of this invention, consists of forming a compound for furnace
linings or fire brick, by the use of oxide of iron and silica or sand, of the quality
described herein in the description of the first part of the invention, in the proportion
of ninety (90) parts of sand to ten (10) parts oxide of iron, in a finely divided state
as described herein in the description of the second part of this invention; this

page_text: mixture of sand and oxide of iron is mixed with glucose, or other vegetable
substances, described herein in the description of the fifth part of this invention and
water in the same proportion as herein described, preferably in the larger proportion
of vegetable substance, that is one part glucose to one and one third part water;
the proportion of oxide of iron and sand to the vegetable substance and water is
such as will make a thick mortar, which may be applied in any manner described
in the preceding parts of this Invention.
Curd of milk or lactic acid may be used in place of glucose for all the purposes,
herein before described in the preceding parts of this invention; it is, however, used
without water, and in such proportions as will form a thick mortar with the other
ingredients, which may applied in any manner described in the preceding parts of
this Invention.
The eighth part of this invention consists in coating the lining or brick with
a wash of glucose or its equivalents, which with water form a paste and other
ingredients.
Brick or linings made in any of the ways and of the compounds above described,
are improved in their finish, by coating them with a mixture of glucose and water
in the proportion of one part of glucose to one and a half parts of water; or, to this
mixture may be added lime, magnesia or magnesian lime so as to make a milk of
lime or of magnesia.
For this purpose, dextrine, starch, gum arabic, mucilage or molasses dissolved in
water or corn flour, grain meal, wood pulp mixed with water to a paste are the
equivalents of glucose. A coating of this gives a hard surface to the bricks or
linings, and enables them to stand concussion, and the heat of the furnace better
than without such coating.
This coating is preferably applied, when the lining or bricks have been wholly or
partially dried, at the temperature of the atmosphere, and then thoroughly dried, at
the temperature of the atmosphere, or may be burned in kilns.
The ninth part of this Invention consists in extracting illuminating gases from
the compounds herein described containing glucose, dextrine, molasses, or curd of
milk or lactic acid.
In carrying out this part of this Invention, the bricks and linings, that are
produced from any of the hereinbefore mentioned compounds containing glucose,
dextrine molasses or curd of milk, and other ingredients, after being dried at the
ordinary temperature, or under 212 degrees Fahrenheit may be placed in retorts
similar to those used for making illuminating gas, and heated to the temperature
usually employed in effecting the destructive distillation of coal, whereupon
illuminating gases are evolved from the glucose or equivalents here named, contained
in the compound of the brick, which may be drawn off from the retorts in the
manner usual with illuminating gas.
For the purposes of this Invention it is preferred that the magnesian lime, used
in forming any of the compounds herein before described shall not contain over
one (1) per cent of silica, alumina and oxide of iron, and that it shall be calcined
below redness and hydrated with water before use.
I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact proportions of
alumina, magnesian lime or magnesia, sulphate of lime hereinbefore given, when
used with or without glucose, or its equivalents, as a little more or less, that is
from one (1) to ten (10) per cent will not appreciably affect the compound, nor do
I wish to limit myself to the given proportions of the above mentioned substances,
or of oxide of iron, in admixture with silica when glucose or its equivalent is used,
as useful refractory linings or brick, for other purposes than open hearth furnaces,
or use in furnaces with high temperatures, may be produced, when the ingredients
are mixed in certain proportions, at less cost than fire brick now in use in those
places, nor do I limit myself to the proportions of glucose to water used and, when
molasses is used, the proportion of water may be one third that of the water as
given for glucose or more water as desired. The important point being that such
proportion be used as will cause the compound to cohere when mixed.

page_text: Nor do I claim the compound of anhydrous lime with oxide of iron, as a lining
compound as it has been heretofore described.
What I claim is :-
1st. The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of silica, alumina
and water in the proportion specified and set forth.
2nd The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of silica, sulphate
of lime and water as specified and set forth..
"
3rd The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of silica, magnesian
lime and water in the proportions specified and set forth.
4th The compound for furnace linings and fire brick, consisting of silica, magnesia
and water in the proportions specified and set forth..
5th The compound for furnace linings and fire brick, consisting of ninety
(90) per cent of oxide of iron, ten (10) per cent of lime, and water in the proportion
specified and set forth.
6th The compound for furnace linings and fire brick, consisting of ninety (90)
per cent of oxide of iron, ten (10) per cent of magnesian lime, and water in the
proportion specified and set forth.
7th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of ten (10) per
cent of oxide of iron, ninety per cent of magnesian lime, and water in the proportion
specified.
8th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of lime or
magnesian lime with fluorspar, and a composition of the same kind, previously
exposed to high temperatures and ground to a finely divided, state, and water as
specified.
9th The process of making a composition for furnace linings or fire brick,
, consisting in solidifying the same by exposing to a high temperature a compound
of. lime or magnesian lime and fluor-spar, reducing the same to a finely divided
state, and mixing it with lime or magnesian lime and fluor-spar and water
substantially as specified.
10th The compound for furnace lining or fire brick consisting of silica and
vegetable substance from which sugar or starch may be extracted and water
substantially as set forth.
11th The compound for furnace lining or fire brick, consisting of glucose, silica,
lime and water in the proportions specified and set forth.
12th The compound for furnace linings and fire brick, consisting of silica,
alumina, glucose and water as specified and set forth.
13th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of silica,
magnesian lime, glucose and water as specified and set forth.
14th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of silica, magnesia
glucose and water as specified and set forth.
15th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of silica, glucose
and water as specified.
16th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of silica and
water as specified.
17th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of silica corn-
flour and water as specified.
18th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of ninety per
cent oxide of iron, ten per cent lime and a vegetable substance from which sugar
or starch may be extracted and water as specified.
19th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick consisting of ninety per
cent oxide of iron, ten per cent lime or magnesian lime, and glucose and water in
the proportions specified.
20th The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of ten per cent
oxide of iron, ninety per cent silica, and a vegetable substance, from which sugar
or starch may be extracted, and water as specified.
21st. The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of ten per cent
oxide of iron, ninety per cent silica, and glucose and water as specified.

page_text: 22nd The compound for furnace linings or fire brick, consisting of ten per cent
oxide of iron, ninety per cent silica, and water as specified.
23rd The compound for coating furnace linings or fire brick consisting of soluble
vegetable substances, from which sugar or starch can be extracted and water as
specified.
24th The compound for coating furnace linings and fire brick, consisting of
glucose or equivalents and water as specified and set forth.
25th The compound for coating furnace linings and fire brick consisting of
glucose lime or magnesian lime and water as specified.
26th The process herein described consisting of applying a mixture of glucose
and water as specified and set forth, to the surface of a silica and lime lining, so as
to give to the furnace a hard finish as specified.
'
27th The process of producing illuminating gas, consisting of subjecting glucose
in a closed retort to heat and collecting the gases thereby produced, substantially
as specified.
In witness whereof I the said Sydney Pitt have hereunto set my hand and
seal this twenty first day of September in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
SYDNEY PITT (L.S.)