AN IMPROVEMENT IN REFINING CRUDE CAST IRON FOR FOUNDRY AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henderson, of the City of New York, in
the State of New York, and United States of America, Engineer,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN REFINING CRUDE CAST IRON
FOR FOUNDRY AND OTHER PURPOSES.”
Sealed the 28th March 1871, and dated the 29th September 1870.
the Once of the Commissioners UT
Declaration, on the 29th September 1870, pursuant to the 9th.
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENDERSON, of the City of New York, in the State of New York, and
T
and amanting
B
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said James Henderson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 29th September 1870, pursuant to the 9th.
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENDERSON, of the City of New York, in the State of New York, and
United States of America, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN REFINING CRUDE CAST IRON FOR FOUNDRY AND OTHER PURPOSES," and have.

page_text: petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made
solemn Declaration that I am the true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Henderson, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully
describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:
-
This improvement relates to a means of removing silicon and portions
of sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon from crude cast or pig iron in
accordance with processes already patented by me, but it consists in a
specific method of carrying out in practice my said processes, whereby I
am enabled to refine iron in an extremely convenient and economical
manner.
This specific method is performed by treating the crude iron to be
refined when it is in a pig bed or other suitable mould or receptacle into
which molton iron is run from melting or smelting furnaces, whereby I
am saved the necessity of providing any furnace or other analogous
receptacle for its treatment. For this purpose I first charge the pig bed
or other convenient metallic moulds or forms into which the molten
crude metal is to be received with powdered fluor spar or fluorides mixed
with metallic oxides either in the condition of powder or rendered plastic
by being mixed with water and dried or made plastic or viscid by heat
applied in any convenient manner, and I then run the melted crude
iron from a blast or cupola furnace into the pig bed or moulds. As soon
as the melted iron comes in contact with the combined fluor spar and
oxides reactions take place between the fluor spar and oxides, and these
agents then react upon the silicon and other impurities in the crude
iron and remove in the state of vapour the larger part of the former
and also portions of the sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon leaving the
resulting metal greatly improved and very superior to other iron for
foundry purposes and also for conversion into wrought iron or steel by
puddling and other processes.
11°

page_text: namely, two parts of peroxide of iron evolving about thirty per cent.
of oxygen similar, for instance, to the red hematites of Cumberland or
Lancashire combined with one part by weight of fluor spar, the whole
mixed together in the form of powder. I prefer to spread the mixture
evenly over the bottom and sides of the pig bed or moulds to a thickness
of three-eighths to one half of an inch, and when the crude iron is run
into these moulds thus prepared, I prefer that it should be in a stream
of one to one and one half inches in thickness. Other proportions of
the refining agents may be employed if desired, and if other metallic
oxides than the oxides of iron be used the proportion of them should
depend upon the amount of oxygen they are capable of evolving.
It is proper to state that in cases when the crude iron to be treated is
alloyed with chromium, tungsten, or titanium to an amount about equal
to or greater than the amount of silicon in the iron, the oxides will not
be required to be used with the fluorides as these alloying elements will
produce to a great extent the same results in connection with the
fluorides as the oxides combined with the fluorides. If, however, these
alloying elements are present in less amount than the silicon, then
the proportion of the oxides to be used in combination with the
fluorides will be less than it would otherwise be depending upon the
proportion of such alloying elements. As to this it is obvious that no
specific rule can be laid down, but no difficulty will arise on this account
as the workman will in practice easily determine the proper proportions
of oxides when the chromium, tungsten, and titanium are present in the
iron.
It is also proper to state that I do not here claim broadly the appli-
cation to crude iron of combined fluorides and oxides, as that forms the
subject of other Letters Patent already granted to me.
The advantages of my improvement are the quickness and convenience.
with which the iron may be treated, the saving of the expense of furnaces
or other receptacles to contain it while it is being treated, and also the
dispensing with the cost of the fuel used in such furnaces, which alone
is of very great importance, the economy of the iron treated, as none of it
is lost except the slight per-centage which goes off in the vapor with the
impurities, and no scoria is formed, and the superior quality of the
product as compared with any other pig iron. In view of these economies

page_text: it will be found in practice that a very considerable portion of the cost
of production will be saved by my improvement.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henderson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
T. B. BEECHER.
JAMES HENDERSON. (L.S.)

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS. SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENDERSON, of the City of New York, in the State of New York,
United States of America, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth September, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy, No. 2590, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, grant unto me, the said James Henderson,
Her special license that I, the said James Henderson, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Henderson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might

page_text: of sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon from crude, cast, or pig iron, in
accordance with processes already patented by me and described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, and dated the Twenty-
seventh day of May One thousand eight hundred and seventy, No. 1544,
but it consists in a specific method of carrying out in practice my said
processes, whereby I am enabled to refine iron in an extremely
convenient and economical manner.
This specific method is performed by treating the crude iron to be
refined when it is in a pig bed or other suitable mould or receptable into
which molten iron is run, from melting or smelting furnaces, whereby I
am saved the necessity of providing any furnace or other analogous
receptacle for its treatment. For this purpose I first charge the pig bed
or other convenient metallic moulds or forms into which the molten
crude metal is to be received with powdered fluor spar or fluorides,
mixed with metallic oxides, either in the condition of powder or rendered
plastic by being mixed with water and dried, or made plastic or viscid by
heat applied in any convenient manner; and I then run the melted
crude iron from a blast or cupola furnace, into the pig bed or moulds.
As soon as the melted iron comes into contact with the combined fluor
spar, and oxides, reactions take place between the fluor spar and oxides,
and these agents then react upon the silicon and other impurities in
the crude iron, and remove in the state of vapour the larger part of the
former, and also portions of the sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon,
leaving the resulting metal greatly improved and very superior to other
iron for foundry purposes, and also for conversion into wrought iron or
steel by puddling and other processes.
In putting my improvement in practice I have found the following
proportions of the purifying or refining agents to answer a good purpose,
namely, two parts of peroxide of iron evolving about thirty per cent. of
oxygen, similar, for instance, to the red hematites of Cumberland or
Lancashire, combined with one part by weight of fluor spar, the whole
mixed together in the form of powder. I prefer to spread the mixture
evenly over the bottom and sides of the pig bed or moulds to a thickness
of three-eighths to one-half of an inch, and when the crude iron is run
into these moulds thus prepared, I prefer that it should be in a stream
of one to one and a half inches in thickness. Other proportions of

page_text: the refining agents may be employed if desired, and if othe metallic
oxides than the oxides of iron be used the proportion of them should
depend upon the amount of oxygen they are capable of evolving.
It is proper to state that in cases when the crude iron to be treated is
alloyed with chromium, tungsten, or titanium to an amount about equal
to or greater than the amount of silicon in the iron, the oxides will not
be required to be used with the fluorides, as these alloying elements will
produce, to a great extent, the same results in connection with the
fluorides as the oxides combined with the fluorides. If however these
alloying elements are present in less amount than the silicon, then the
proportion of the oxides to be used in combination with the fluorides will
be less than it would otherwise be, depending upon the proportion of
such alloying elements. As to this it is obvious that no specific rule can
be laid down, but no difficulty will arise on this account, as the workman
will in practice easily determine the proper proportions of oxides when
the chromium, tungsten, and titanium are present in the iron.
It is also proper to state that I do not here claim broadly the
application to crude iron of combined fluorides and oxides, as that
forms the subject of other Letters Patent already granted to me and
dated the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy, No. 1544.
The advantages of my improvement are the quickness and con-
venience with which the iron may be treated, the saving of the expense
of furnaces or other receptacles to contain it while it is being treated,
and
^ also the dispensing with the cost of the fuel used in such furnaces,
which alone is of very great importance; the economy of the iron
treated, as none of it is lost except the slight per-centage which goes off
in the vapour with the impurities, and no scoria is formed, and the
superior quality of the product as compared with any other pig iron.
In view of these economies it will be found in practice that a very
considerable portion of the cost of production will be saved by my
improvement.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henderson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
JAMES HENDERSON. (L.s.)

page_text: I hereby grant my fiat giving leave to the above-named James
Henderson to file in the Great Seal Patent Office, with the Specifi-
cation to which the same relates, the above-written Disclaimer and
Memorandum of Alteration dated this 13th day of April One thousand
nhi hundend and seventy twon
G. JESSEL,
Solicitor-General,
Lincoln's Inn.