IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR ROASTING OR CALCINING COPPER AND OTHER ORES CONTAINING SULPHUR, AND ALSO REGULUS, AND IN THE TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS ARISING THERE- FROM
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Spence, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturing Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES
FOR ROASTING OR CALCINING COPPER AND OTHER ORES CONTAINING SULPHUR,
AND ALSO REGULUS, AND IN THE TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS ARISING THERE-
FROM."
Sealed the 17th June 1879, and dated the 24th December 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Spence at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th December 1878.
PETER SPENCE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing
Chemist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR ROASTING OR CALCINING COPPER
AND OTHER ORES CONTAINING SULPHUR, AND ALSO REGULUS, AND IN THE TREAT-
MENT OF PRODUCTS ARISING THEREFROM.'
"
My Invention relatos, firstly, to improvements upon that arrangement of furnace
for which Letters Patent were granted to me dated 7th January 1878, No. 64 [Note].
In my present arrangement, instead of employing one furnace bed, I use several, the
material being transferred from one to another until it is at last removed from the
last of the series. These beds I propose to build one above another with floors, of
one tile in breadth, supported on side walls, and of convenient length. A rake
travels on each bed, and these rakes run all together or parallel to one another, but
by the action of the ploughs forming the teeth, while one rake is conveying the
material in one direction the other is passing it in the reverse direction. The series
of racks are framed together, and all travel by the same motion, such motion being
effected by suitable shaft and gearing situate on the outside of the furnace, or of two
or more combined furnaces. The alternate action and rest are substantially as in
my former Patent aforesaid. I now propose to effect a self acting feed of the
material by the use of a hopper with a winged bottom which is partly turned at
each travelling motion of the rakes, by which means regulated quantities are passed
into the furnace. The material is carried by the rakes along the top bed until it

page_text: falls through an opening onto the second bed, and it then passes in the reverse
direction until it falls through an opening onto the third bed, and so on through
the series of floors until it falls out of the furnace. The rakes are constantly inside
the furnace, but when not travelling they lie in a comparatively cool situation; they
travel on wheels upon rails built into the furnace. On commencing operations the
furnace must be artificially heated, but no external heat is required in working.
By the above described improvements I effect a complete calcination or roasting of
the materials, and am enabled to treat them according to the second part of my
Invention, and as follows:-After the sulphur has been driven off and utilized in
the ordinary manner from ores containing copper, I take the calcined material, and
instead of, as now practised, again calcining or treating it with common salt or other
chloride or hydro-chloric acid, I place it in suitable vessels, and submit it to the
action of water, by which means I obtain the copper in solution as sulphate of
copper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Peter Spence in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th June
1879.
PETER SPENCE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing
Chemist. IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNESSES FOR CALCINING COPPER AND OTHER ORES
CONTAINING SULPHOR, AND ALSO REGULUS, AND IN THE TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS
ARISING THEREFROM."
My Invention relates, firstly, to improvements upon that arrangement of furnace
for which Letters Patent were granted to me, dated Seventh January, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-eight, No. 74 [Note]. In my present arrangement, instead of
employing one furnace bed I use several, the material being stirred upon each by
sets of travelling rakes, and transferred from one to another of such beds until it is
at last removed from the last of the series. These beds I build one above another
with floors one tile in breadth supported on side walls, and of convenient length,
but a reference to annexed Drawings will fully explain the nature of my Invention.
Fig. 1 shews an exterior side view of the furnace; Fig. 2 a plan view thereof; and
Fig. 3 a cross section of one half of a double furnace, the other half being shewn in
outside view, but as the two halves of this double furnace are mere repetitions of
cach other it will only be necessary to describe the operations of one of them. Fig. 4
shews a longitudinal section of the furnace beds; and Figs. 5, 6, 7, detached views
of the stirring and raking instruments, but these are of the same construction as
those described under my former Patent aforesaid, with a difference in action which
will be hereafter referred to. I will in the first place describe the construction of
the furnace beds, and this will be explained by reference to Fig. 3. At 1 are the
walls of the furnace, in which are fixed projecting fire-clay slabs 2; upon these are
placed tiles 3, reaching from one side transversely to the other, and each of con-

page_text: venient length when put together longitudinally, to make up the whole longth of
the several furnace beds one above another, so that each of the said beds is made up
by one tile only transversely. Referring now to Figs. 3, 4, the several beds are shewn
at 3, 3, 3b, 3c, but each one is not continued unbroken to the end walls of the
furnace, there being alternate openings left at 4, 5, 6, 7, and for the present, taking
the operation generally, the material in its ground state is delivered at 8 on to the
floor 3, and (as described in my former Patent aforesaid) advancing rakes or ploughs
stir it, and subsequently by the flat sides of the said instruments carry forward a
portion of the said material, and deliver it through the opening 4 on to the second
bed 3ª, where the same operations take place, the material now passing down the
opening 5 on to the bed 3b, and so on through any number of a required series of
beds until it is at last discharged through the opening 7 into the receptacle 8. There
is however this remark to be made, that as the alternate openings in the successive
beds are on alternate ends of the furnace the stirring and conveying instruments
must be reversed as regards their faces in succeeding beds, whereby the whole series,
by travelling in one direction alternately on each bed, stir and deliver the material
successively until it reaches the receptacle 8. These being the general operations
of the furnace with a series of beds and alternate rakings and deliveries, I proceed
to describe mechanical means by which I carry the same into effect. The raking
and delivering instruments are substantially the same as those described in the
Specification of my former Patent aforesaid, and as shewn at Figs. 5, 6, 7, provided
with blunt ends 9 and pointed ends 10 mounted in angle iron bars 11 provided
with rollers 11*, which run upon rails 12, carried by the projecting supports 2. To
each of these angle bars are connected rods 13 attached at their other ends to a
frame or carriage 14 provided with wheels 15, which run upon rails 16 on the floor,
the said rods being supported and guided by grooved pullies 17. To the carriage 14
are fixed toothed racks 18, situate outside the furnace, and supported at their out-
ward ends by rollers 19, and in gear with these racks are pinions 20, on a shaft 21
driven by the motive power. Motion being communicated to the shaft 21 the
pinions 20 cause the racks 18 to traverse the frame 14, which, as stated, travels on
the rails 16, and thus the rods 13 are caused to traverse the rakes and conveyers
along the several beds of the furnace. According to the positions shewn in the
Drawings the carriage 14 is in its outward or nearly outward position, and the flat
ends of the instruments will have delivered a certain amount of material through
the opening
on to the bed 3ª, the same operation having taken place with regard
to the opening 6 and bed 3°. The carriage now running in the sharp points of the
ploughs will simply stir the material on the beds 3, 3b, while the blunt ends on the
floors 38, 30, will deliver an amount of material through the opening 5 on to the
bed 3b, and at the same time the instruments on the floor 3° will pass an amount
of completely calcined material into the receptacle 8, to be removed at pleasure, and
thus the alternate stirrings and deliveries take place at each forward and backward
movement of the carriage. I have not hitherto referred to the feeding of the ground
material, but I now proceed to describe a method I adopt. At 8 is a channel
leading to the top floor 3, and above this channel is a hopper 20, into which the
material is from time to time fed. The bottom of this hopper is provided with a
sliding plate 26 formed at its inward end with a ledge as seen in Fig. 4. This plate
is connected to rods 22 swung upon arms 23, and each having two stops 24, 25.
According to the position shewn, the material rests upon the ledge of the plate 26,
which when the carriage runs in is pushed forward by its arrival in contact with the
stops 24, and this action delivers a certain amount of material through the channel 8.
On the return motion of the carriage it arrives in contact with the stops 25 to shift
the plate 26 back, and so on for each traverse. Instead of the plate 26 there may
be a winged bottom to the hopper or similarly formed part. The Drawing shews a
double furnace, which is the arrangement I prefer, and the operating parts of each
are the same, but it may be single. The arrangement of motive power for causing
the rakes to travel and to stop at intervals to allow them to cool may be the same
as that described under my former Patent aforesaid, and connected to the driving

page_text: shaft 21. The furnace as above described does not require the application of any
external heat; on starting it is brought to the required temperature by the introduc-
tion of burning wood or other suitable fuel, after which the temperature is self
sustained by the combustion of the material under operation. By the use of the
furnace as above described the whole or nearly the whole of the copper in cuprous
pyrites or other sulphides is converted into soluble sulphate of copper, and this
enables me to carry out the second part of my Invention as follows:-I take the
calcined material, and instead of (as now practised) again calcining it, or treating it
with common salt or other chloride, I place it in suitable vessels, and submit it to
the action of water, by which means I obtain sulphate of copper in solution, which
may be precipitated as usual or manufactured into pure sulphate of copper by
removing the sulphate of iron which always accompanies it.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I
claim as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent, firstly, the
method described of constructing the floor or floors of the furnace; secondly, the
combined use of several floors with stirrers and rakes to each, acting substan-
tially as described; thirdly, the external position of the racks; fourthly, dissolving
sulphate of copper from the calcined material without the usual second calcination
or other treatment as aforesaid.
-In-witness. whereof, I, the said Peter Spence, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty third day of June, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and seventy nine.