Improvements in Cleaning Sheets of Wrought Iron, Iron Wire, and Articles of Wrought Iron, and in Utilizing the Waste Products Obtained, and in Apparatus to be employed in conducting the said Cleaning and Utilizing Processes.
Year: 1889

page_text: . Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 28th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 11th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cleaning Sheets of Wrought Iron, Iron Wire, and
Articles of Wrought Iron, and in Utilizing the Waste Products
Obtained, and in Apparatus to be employed in conducting the
said Cleaning and Utilizing Processes.
I. ERNEST PHELPS PEYTON of The Chemical Works Lister Street Birmingham in
the County of Warwick Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My said invention has reference principally to the cleaning of sheets or plates of
wrought iron, iron wire and articles of wrought iron preparatory to the galvanizing or
tinning of the same; but mysaid invention is also applicable to the cleaning of wrought
iron for other purposes.
My said invention consists of the method herein after described of conducting the
cleaning process whereby it is made continuous and more uniform in its results than
the cleaning process as ordinarily conducted; and further consists in the utilizing of
the residual products obtained in conducting the said process and in apparatus to be
employed in conducting my improved cleaning and utilizing processes.
I will describe my invention in connection with the cleaning of sheets of iron. I
effect the cleaning of the sheets of iron by means of dilute sulphuric acid which is
commonly employed for that purpose. But I employ the said acid heated to a
temperature preferably of about two hundred degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
The dilute acid I prefer to employ is composed of one volume of commercial oil of
vitriol and ten volumes of water. But I do not limit myself to these proportions.
The heating of the acid bath is effected, preferably by a steam jacket around the
bath or by steam pipes in the bath but I do not limit myself to any particular methods
of heating the bath.
After, the acid in the bath has become nearly saturated with the sulphate of iron
formed, it is allowed to flow from the bath in a gentle stream through a long cooling
channel into a crystallizing vat. In the said channel and vat the greater part of the
sulphate of iron crystallizes out of the solution and the said solution or mother liquor
consisting of a cold acid solution of sulphate of iron passes into a tank from which it
flows into the "pickling" tank or tank in which the plates to be treated are inserted.
Here it is again heated and has its normal strength renewed by the addition of oil of
vitriol.
The process is continuous that is to say the partially saturated acid passes out of
one side of the pickling bath is cooled in the cooling trough the sulphate of iron
crystallized out of it and the stream of acid thus deprived of a large part of the
sulphate of iron it contained is returned to the pickling bath reheated and recharged
with sulphuric acid.
A short time after the process. has been first started the working becomes regular
and may be maintained any required length of time.
Dated this 10th day of December 1889.

page_text: 9801-CA COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
い
Improvements in Cleaning Sheets of Wrought Iron, Iron Wire, and
Articles of Wrought Iron, and in Utilizing the Waste Products
Obtained, and in Apparatus to be employed in conducting the
said Cleaning and Utilizing Processes.
I ERNEST PHELPS PEYTON of The Chemical Works Lister Street Birmingham in
the County of Warwick Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of
my invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My said invention has reference principally to the cleaning of sheets or plates of
wrought iron, iron wire and articles, of wrought iron preparatory to the galvanizing
or tinning of the same; but my said invention is also applicable to the cleaning of
wrought iron for other purposes.
My said invention consists of the method hereinafter described of conducting the
cleaning process whereby it is made continuous and more uniform in its results than
the cleaning process as ordinarily conducted; and further consists in the utilizing of
the residual products obtained in conducting the said process and in apparatus to be
employed in conducting my improved cleaning and utilizing processes.
I will describe my invention in connection with the cleaning of sheets of iron. I
effect the cleaning of the sheets of iron by means of dilute sulphuric acid which is
commonlyemployed for thatpurpose. But I employthe said acid heated to a temperature
preferably of about two hundred degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The dilute acid
I prefer to employis composed of onevolume of commercial oil ofvitriol and tenvolumes
of water. But I do not limit myself to these proportions. The heating of the contents
of the pickling tank is effected either by a steam jacket around the tank or by steam
pipes in the tank but I do not limit myself to any particular methods of heating the
tank.
After the acid in the tank has become nearly saturated with the sulphate of iron
formed it is allowed to flow from the tank in a gentle stream through a long cooling
channel or crystallizing vat. In the said channel or vat the greater part of the sulphate
of iron crystallizes out of the solution and the said solution or mother liquor consisting
of a cold acid solution of sulphate of iron passes into a tank from which it is pumped
or otherwise conveyed into the "pickling, tank" or tank in which the plates to be heated
are immersed. Here it is again heated and has its normal strength renewed by
the addition of oil of vitriol and water. The process is continuous that is to say the
partially saturated acid passes out at one side of the pickling tank is cooled in the
cooling channel or crystallizing trough and the sulphate of iron crystallized out of it
and the stream of acid thus deprived of a large part of the sulphate of iron it
contained is returned to the pickling tank reheated and recharged with sulphuric
acid.
A short time after the process has been first started the working becomes regular
and may be maintained any required length of time.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is carried into effect in the treating of plates or sheets
of iron.
Figure 1 represents in plan the pickling tank and washing tank in which the plates
of iron are pickled and washed;
Figure 2 represents a cross section of the same;
Figure 3 represents in plan the crystallizing trough and
Figure 4 represents in longitudinal section the pickling tank and a portion of the
crystallizing tank.
The cross section Figure 2 is taken on the line A, A Figure 1 and the longitudinal
section Figure 4 is taken on the line B, B Figures 1 and 3.
a is the pickling tank and c the washing tank. The liquid contents of the pickling
tank a are heated by steam derived from a steam boiler or other source of steam. The

page_text: steam supplied to the pipe b is conducted through a branch pipe or coil d in the
pickling tank the supply being regulated by the stop cock 2 but preferably by the
stop cocks and g². The water into which the steam has been condensed in the
pipe or coil d is delivered into the washing tank at g Figures 1 and 2.
The spent or exhausted and heated dilute sulphuric acid holding in solution the
sulphate of iron produced by the pickling passes by the pipe or channel h (which for
convenience may be underground as represented in Figure 4) to the crystallizing
trough shown separately in Figure 3. The crystallizing trough is preferably
many times as long as it is wide the liquid entering at one end and during
its slow motion to the other end cooling and depositing in crystals a large
portion of the sulphate of iron held in solution. For compactness and for convenience
the crystallizing trough may have the configuration represented in Figure 3 one end
of the said trough being opposite the part of the pickling tank a from which the
liquid passes to the said trough and the other end being opposite the part of the
pickling tank into which the mother liquor from the crystallizing trough is returned
to the pickling tank a. The mother liquor from the crystallizing trough i may be
conveyed to the pickling tank a by a pump or otherwise fresh sulphuric acid and.
water being at the same time introduced into the said pickling tank in sufficient
quantity to restore the liquid to its normal active state. Instead of passing the
mother liquor direct from the crystallizing trough into the pickling tank a it may
pass into a supplementary tank and be transferred therefrom to the pickling 'tank
by a pump or otherwise. The amount of acid required for this purpose varies
according to the temperature at which the pickling is conducted but workmen
accustomed to conduct this operation have no difficulty in ascertaining by the effer-
vescence on the surface of the plates when the acid solution is at or about its normal
strength.
I will now recapitulate the several stages of the process. The plates to be pickled
are immersed in the pickling tank a containing dilute sulphuric acid heated by steam
circulating in the pipe or coil d. The heated exhausted or spent acid containing
sulphate of iron in solution passes by the pipe h into the crystallizing trough i. As
it slowly travels from one end of the said crystallizing trough to the other end it
cools and a large portion of the sulphate of iron contained in it crystallizes out. The
mother liquor is raised by a pump or otherwise from the egress end of the crystallizing
trough or from the supplementary tank and transferred to the pickling tank
together with the requisite quantity of fresh sulphuric acid and water to restore the
liquid to its normal active state. The slow and continuous circulation of the liquid
through the apparatus is determined by the level of the liquid being maintained slightly
higher in the pickling tank than in the crystallizing trough the pumping or raising
of the mother liquid from the crystallizing trough i or supplementary tank 2 into the
pickling tank causing the required slightly higher level in the said pickling tank.
The tanks and crystallizing trough may be made of wood lined with lead. I do not
however confine myself to any particular construction of the tanks and trough. In
order still further to illustrate the manner in which my invention is carried into
effect I have represented in cross section in Figure 5 and in plan in Figure 6 the
arrangement of the apparatus I prefer to use for cleaning coils of iron wire and
utilizing the waste products obtained in the process. The cross section Figure 5 is
taken on the line C, C Figure 6. The several parts of the apparatus Figures 5 and 6
are marked with the same letters of reference as corresponding parts of the apparatus
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 and I do not consider a detailed description of the said Figures 5
and 6 necessary I will therefore only remark that the pickling tank and washing
tank and the steam coil are cylindrical in figure, the cylindrical figure of the tanks
being more convenient for the reception of the coils of wire.
Although I prefer to make the cleaning process continuous as described yet the
said process may be made intermittent with the same or nearly the same effect;
that is, the mother liquor from the crystallizing trough may be pumped or transferred
therefrom to the pickling tank only from time to time and fresh acid and water
added to the contents of the pickling tank only from time to time instead of making

page_text: the transfer of the mother liquor to the said tank and the reinforcing of the mother
liquor with fresh acid and water continuous...
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that
I claim as my invention of: "Improvements in cleaning sheets of wrought iron, iron
wire and articles of wrought iron and in utilizing the waste products obtained. and in
apparatus to be employed in conducting the said cleaning and utilizing processes
A
"
:
First The reemployment of the saturated or nearly saturated or spent dilute
sulphuric acid obtained in cleaning iron by first crystallizing from it the greater part
of the sulphate of iron contained in it and afterwards reinforcing or bringing into
a working condition the spent mother liquor by the addition of fresh sulphuric acid
and water substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying.
drawings, whether the process be continuous or intermittent as described.
Secondly-The apparatus for conducting the process of cleaning and utilizing the
waste products obtained in the cleaning of iron herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings: that is to say, the combination with the pickling
tank, of a cooling and crystallizing trough substantially as described and
illustrated.
"Dated the Twenty-seventh day of August 1890.