IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Allcock Jones, of Middlesborough, in the
County of York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL."
Sealed the 15th April 1868, and dated the 5th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Allcock Jones
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th February 1868.
I, JOHN ALLCOCK JONES, of Middlesborough, in the County of York,
Engincer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the production
of iron and of steel from cast or pig iron in a reverberatory
or other melting furnace, and after fusion agitating the same and
then having, by preference, lowered the damper of the furnace,
adding to the melted metal a flux consisting of oxide of manganese,
common salt, salammoniac, or any of them, together with spiegel
cisen, which may be continued until the mass thickens. After
agitation the damper is raised and the ingredients and metal

page_text: again rendered fluid, so as to enable the separation of the
cinders or slag from the iron to be effected; the cinder is then
tapped and is run off. The metal is then removed from the furnace,
and may be placed either on the hearth of a smelting furnace, such
for example as a reverberatory or gas furnace, or it may be placed
in crucibles and be melted into steel. The puddling furnace I
employ may be similar to those at present in uso, or it may be
specially constructed so as to produce a larger quantity of material,
or it may be constructed of such other form as may be well adapted
for the successful carrying out of my improved process. The sides
and bridge of the furnace, however constructed, are fettled with oxido
or peroxide of iron, which assists in the cleansing of the iron from
certain impurities, such for example as sulphur and phosphorous,
which impurities are injurious to the quality of iron or steel to be
produced. Slag is placed among the pig or cast iron, by preference,
that known as hammer slag, in order when melted to form a bath
in which the iron may be washed; this is not absolutely necessary,
but it very materially assists in effecting the purification of the iron.
The pig or cast iron together with the slag is placed in a furnace,
melted, and after having been well puddled, agitated or stirred, the
damper of the furnace is closed and a mixture composed of the following
ingredients is added to the molten metal, viz., oxide of manganese,
common salt, salammoniac, speigel eisen, and ground charcoal.
The proportions which I have found to give good results are to a
charge of about 4 cwts. of pig or cast iron about 1½ lbs. of manga-
nesc, 4 lbs. of common salt, + lb. of salammoniac, cwt. of speigel
eisen, lb. of charcoal; these proportions may be varied and any of
the ingredients may be omitted if desired. The molten iron together
with the flux or fluxes which have been added thereto is now
agitated, stirred, or again puddled, after which operation the damper
may be raised and more heat applied until the cinder becomes more
liquid and the grains of crude iron aggregate and settle to the bottom
of the furnace. The cinder may then be tapped off the iron and the
iron be removed from the furnace and may be plunged hot into
water. It may not be absolutely necessary to flux all kinds of pig
or cast iron as described, nor to fettle with oxides or peroxides of
iron, but such a flux or fluxes as I have described together with
oxides of iron tend to purify the iron or metal and to render it

page_text: more suitable for subsequent melting into steel. The iron or metal
resulting as before described is removed to the hearth of an ordinary
reverberatory furnace or to the hearth of a Siemen's gas furnace or
to any other convenient melting furnace for the purpose of being
melted, or it may be melted in a crucible. The hearth of the furnace
may be hollowed out to any convenient shape, so as to receive the
iron or metal. The iron or metal being placed upon the hearth of
the furnace a high temperature is applied, such as is usual for
effecting the melting of iron into steel and in order to protect the
iron from oxidation cinder is also placed in the furnace; this cinder
may be a silicated oxide of iron or flux composed of sand, lime, and
salt melted together may be employed, or ordinary blast furnace slag
may be used; either or all of these together may be used. These
will act as a protective covering to the iron or steel. When the
iron is melted the quality and the temper of the product can bo
ascertained by taking out a portion from time to time and testing
it by smithing or otherwise. If it be found to be too soft, spiezel
cisen or other cast iron can be added in order to harden it; if too
hard, broken fragments of a puddled ball may be added or scrap or
wrought iron in small picces may be added. A flux may also be
used in the melting chamber, such as oxide of manganese, lime, and
salt, and alloys may if necessary be added, such as titanium or
wolfram. The melted steel may be gently stirred about in order to
mix it thoroughly, and when ready my be tapped out direct into
ingots or into an intermediate receptacle and thence into ingots.
The ingot moulds may be on bogies and one after the other can be
run up to the tapping place, in the intervals a plug of clay or iron
can be put into the tapping hole.
The herein-before described process is adapted for the treatment of
various qualities of cast iron, but more particularly to that class which
contains elements such as sulphur, or phosphorous, or both, and unless
their entire or partial removal be effected the quality of the steel pro-
duced will be materially injured. The roof of the reverberatory furnace
may be so constructed as to allow an opening whereby the furnace may
be charged; a cover of fire-brick or other suitable material may be used
to close the opening when necessary. This opening will be over the
melting chamber. The material to be melted may be first heated in
any convenient place, by preference in a chamber connected with the
furnace in which the steel is melted, and thenco removed to the

page_text: melting hearth or crucible. The hearth may be lined with a material
suitable for withstanding the high temperature, such as best fire-brick
or kneaded fire-clay mixed with a little coke dust. The bottom of
the hearth may be of cast iron, and atmospheric air may be allowed
to have access to the plates in order to prevent the lining of the
hearth being too injuriously affected by the heat.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Allcock Jones in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ALLCOCK JONES, of Middlesborough, in the County of York, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Allcock Jones, Her special
license, that I, the said John Allcock Jones, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Allcock Jones, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and 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 IRON
AND STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Allcock Jones, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under hand and seal, 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 John Allcock Jones, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the production
of iron and steel from cast or pig iron, and consists in melting cast
or pig iron in a reverberatory or other melting furnace, and after fusion
agitating the same, and then having by preference lowered the damper
of the furnace adding to the melted metal a flux consisting of oxide
of manganese, common salt, salammoniac, or any of them together
with spiegel eisen. After agitation, and when the ingredients before
mentioned shall have been incorporated with the molten metal, the
damper is to be raised, and the charge or contents of the furnace are
again rendered fluid, so as to enable the separation of the cinder or
slag from the resulting metal to be effected. The cinder is then tapped
and run off, and the crude iron or metal is removed from the furnace
and melted into steel, either on the open hearth of a furnace or in a
crucible. The puddling furnace I prefer to employ may be similar to
those at present in use, or it may be specially constructed so as to
produce a larger quantity of material; or it may be constructed of
such other form as may be well adapted for the successful carrying out
of my improved process. The sides and bridge of the furnace I prefer
to fettle with oxides of iron, such as hematite ore, Swedish iron stone,
or mill tap cinder, which materially assist in effecting the cleansing
of the iron from certain impurities, such for example as sulphur and
phosphorous, which impurities, as is well known, are injurious to the
quality of iron or steel to be produced; slag, and by preference that
known as hammer slag, is placed among the pig or cast iron, in order
when melted to form a bath in which the iron may be washed. This
is not absolutely necessary, but it materially assists in effecting the
purification of the iron. The pig or cast iron together with the slag
is placed in a furnace and is therein melted, and after having been
well puddled, agitated, or stirred, the damper of the furnace is closed;
or in place of the pig or cast iron being melted in the puddling or
operating furnace it may be melted in a cupola or air furnace or other
furnace, and thence run into the puddling furnace to be operated upon,
thus saving time and fuel. When the damper has been lowered as before
described, I in either case add to the mass a mixture comprised of
the following ingredients, videlicet, oxide of manganese, common salt, sal-
ammoniac, spiegal eisen, and ground charcoal.

page_text: 4
"
or common salt.
t of salammoniac.
"
cwt. of spiegel eisen.
lb. of charcoal.
In addition to these iron oro, such as hematite, may be added either in
lumps or ground small or fine; I have found about fifty pounds to the
charge of four and a half hundredweight of pig or cast iron advantageous.
These proportions may be varied, and any of the ingredients may be
omitted, if desired. The molten iron, together with the flux or fluxes
which have been added thereto, is now agitated, stirred, or again puddled,
after which operation the damper may be raised and more heat applied
until the cinder becomes more liquid, and the grains of crude iron
have aggregated and have settled to the bottom of the furnace. The
cinder or slag may then be tapped off from the crude iron or metal,
and the latter may be removed from the furnace and may be plunged
hot into water. Provious to the crude iron being plunged into water
it may be pressed, tilted, or hammered, so that a portion of its cinder
may be removed. It may sometimes not be absolutely necessary to
flux all kinds of pigs or cast iron, as described, nor to line or fettle
the furnace with oxides of iron, but such a flux or fluxes as I have
described, together with oxides of iron, tend to purify the iron or metal
and to render it more suitable for subsequent melting into steel. The
crudo iron or metal resulting as before described having been removed
from the operating furnace, and if required submitted to pressure or
hammered so as to remove a portion of its cinder and then plunged
into water, is now to be gradually heated to a red or white heat, and
placed by degrees in the open hearth of a steel melting furnace, such
for example a Siemen's furnace, as at present constructed for melting
steel on the open hearth, or on the hearth, or in crucibles placed in
other furnace or furnaces capable of melting the same into steel. A
small quantity of cinder is placed on the hearth of the steel melting
furnace, which may be made from sand, lime, and salt melted together,
or blast furnace slag may be used. This will act as a protective
covering to the iron or steel, as well as forming a bath into which
the first few loads or charge of the crude iron or metal is placed; or

page_text: the bath may be composed of cast iron alone or in conjunction with
the slag or cinder. This cinder or a portion of it may as the charging
of the furnace continues be allowed to run off the steel; or if there
be so much as to incommode the working of the furnace it may be
tapped away.
When the crude iron or metal is melted the quality
and temper of the product can be ascertained by taking out a portion
from time to time and testing it by smithing or otherwise, as is well
understood. If the steel be found too soft cast iron may be added to
harden it, and if too hard it may remain for a longer time in the
furnace, or wrought iron or scrap may be added. The crude iron or
metal may be made to contain variable proportions of carbon, but I
prefer to work it in the first operating furnace, so that it may contain
about one per cent.; with this per-centage of carbon in it it will not
under the influence of the ordinary temperature of a puddling furnace
remain in a liquid state, but will settle to the bottom of the furnace
in the form of a pasty and porous mass. In this state it would be unfit
for being balled or hammered into wrought iron on account of its
not having "come to nature," but it is suitable for being melted into
steel. As cach load or charge of the crude iron or metal is added
to the charge in the steel furnace, it will convey carbon to the mass
about sufficient to compensate for the elimination of carbon, which
more or less results from open hearth melting; and when the furnace
is charged, and it has been ascertained that the steel is fully melted,
I add at the latter end of the process a small quantity of spiegel eisen
or ferro-manganese in quantities not exceeding five per cent. of the
melted steel. A flux may be used in the steel melting hearth, such
as oxide of manganese, lime, and salt, and alloys may be added, such
as those of titanium or wolfram. The melted steel when ready is tapped
out direct into ingot moulds, or into an intermediate receptacle, and
thence into ingot moulds. The moulds may be fixed on a carriage,
which is pulled up to the tapping hole by means of gearing. In the
interval a plug of clay or iron may be placed in the tapping hole.
The herein-before described process is adapted for the treatment of
various qualities of cast iron or pig iron, but more particularly to that
class which contains elements such as sulphur and phosphorous, and
unless their entire or partial removal is effected, the quality of the
steel produced will be materially impaired. I prefer in carrying out
this process that the crude iron or metal, previous to its being placed
on the melting hearths, should be heated in a chamber, by preference

page_text: one connected with the steel furnace. The hearth of the steel furnace
may be lined with a material suitable for withstanding the high
temperature, such as sand, or with best qualities of fire-clay or brick,
or with other refractory materials.
I claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent,-
First. The preparation from pig or cast iron in a puddling or other
suitable furnace of crude iron or metal, which iron or metal, having
been cleansed or partially cleansed from impurities such as sulphur
and phosphorus, and is removed from the operating furnace when in
a sticky, porous, and crude mass, and is then subsequently melted in
a separate melting furnace into cast steel, as herein-before described.
Second. The employment of a bath of slag or cinder on the melting
hearth, into which the crude iron or metal is. placed for the purpose
of protecting the same from oxidation.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Allcock Jones, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this First day of August,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.