Method of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Sulphuric Acid.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1893-
Method of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Sulphuric Acid.
I, FREDERIC JOHN FALDING, of 221 Sibley Street, of the City of Cleveland,
and State of Ohio, U.S.A., Chemical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for concentrating sulphuric
acid.
In the manufacture of sulphuric acid, as generally conducted heretofore, the
acid obtained from the system is about 60° Beaumé, or thereabouts, and has to
be further concentrated in expensive apparatus especially constructed and main-
tained for that purpose.
My invention has for its object, among other things, to avoid the necessity of
such expensive apparatus and to simplify as well as cheapen the method of and
apparatus for concentrating the acid. One of the distinguishing characteristics of
my invention is the utilization of the hot gases coming from the ore burners for
the concentration of the acid to a high degree, such as 66° Beaumé, or thereabouts.
Having thus stated the principle of my invention, I will proceed now to describe
the same in detail, and then will particularly point out and distinctly claim the
part or improvement which I claim as my invention.
In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the several figures
of which like parts are similarly designated,
Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation, in a somewhat conventional form, of one form
of an apparatus embodying my invention.
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of one form of ore burner provided with my anti-
radiating jacket.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the burner, taken substantially in the plane of
line a, ., Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a vertical-section on a larger scale, of the concentrating apparatus.
Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the burner.
Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrams of various forms of arrangements of apparatus
embodying my invention.
I will describe, first, some modifications made in accordance with my invention
in the apparatus that is commonly employed in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
And first with reference to the ore burners or furnace.
In Fig. 2, I have shown an ordinary set of ore burners A, arranged in ordinary
manner, but supplied with an external surrounding jacket a composed of hollow
fire-brick, hollow tiles, or other suitable material laid to furnish a series of air
channels. These air channels open at top and bottom into passages b, c, Fig. 3,
and the passage & may communicate with the external atmosphere, while the
passage may communicate, by means of' ducts d, with the spaces below the
grates e of the various ore burners. The channel c of the several ducts d may be
provided with dampers or valves, or other such like apparatus, to cut off the flow
of air to the grates of the burners. The spaces may be dead-air spaces instead
of spaces in which air circulates, and, in any case, one of their functions is to
prevent the loss of heat by radiation. Another function of these air spaces is to
supply air to the burners when it is desired to utilize such supply of air in the
burners. The concentrating apparatus B may be varied considerably in construction
without departing from the invention, but a satisfactory form thereof, as shown
here, consists of a sole or bottom walls and grate or other open-work support h
for the filling, and the said sole, walls and support may be inade of stone, or
other refractory material, of a silicious or other nature. In the preferred form of

page_text: this concentrating apparatus, a jacket ; of lead surrounds the apparatus, but is
separated therefrom by a dead-air space k. The top of this apparatus is provided
with an acid-distributing device of any approved construction, and with an acid
induct m. The denitrating apparatus C may be a Glover tower or any other
suitable or convenient apparatus for effecting denitration of the acid. The lead
chambers D, D', may be of ordinary construction.
Figs. 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show as many different forms of arrangement of the
sulphuric acid plant constructed in accordance with my invention. In all of these
forms it will be observed, as will hereinafter appear, that the hot gases from the
ore burners are delivered more or less immediately and directly into the concentrating
apparatus. Referring to Fig. 1, the ore burners A are connected by a pipe 1
with the lower end of the concentrating apparatus B and deliver the gases from
the ore burners into the said concentrating apparatus beneath the support h, so that
the said gases rise in said concentrating apparatus through the filling i and thence
escape at the top through the pipe 2 into the bottom of the Glover tower C. The
gases ascend through the Glover tower and escape at its top through a pipe 3 into
The first chamber D, and thence through the series of chambers and thence through
the Gay Lussac tower E. The acid passes in the reverse direction from the series
of lead chambers into a blow case F of ordinary construction, whence it is forced
into a tank G, and from that tank is delivered into the Glover tower, which may
be supplied with a distributer like that shown at in Fig. 4 in the concentrating.
apparatus, and descending through the Glover tower, and there subjected to a
denitrating action, it is delivered into a second blow case F1, whence it is forced
into a tank H, from which it is delivered into the distributer of the concentrating
apparatus B, and from this concentrating apparatus it is, conveyed away to a
storage tank, or otherwise, as desired. Instead of using blow cases for transferring
the acid from the chambers to the Glover tower and from the Glover tower to
the concentrating apparatus, or from either of these to the other, gravity may be
availed of by suitably arranging these several apparatuses at proper relative
elevations. By this method of manufacturing sulphuric acid, an acid of 66° Beaumé
may be readily obtained from the concentrating apparatus.
It will be observed that the gases from the ore burners pass through the
apparatus in one direction, while the acid passes through in the opposite direction,
and that in the concentrating apparatus the acid is subjected or exposed to the
hot gases as they come from the ore burners, and thus one heating apparatus or
furnace subserves the double purpose of generating the sulphurous gases and of
concentrating the acid.
It is to be observed that in all instances the acid supplied to the concentrating
apparatus is previously denitrated; or, in other words, the concentrating apparatus
is not relied upon for denitrating, but denitration is carried on in an independent
or separate apparatus, and in this particular this apparatus differs from the
so-called Glover tower.
Some of the modifications of the arrangement of the plant are illustrated in
Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9. In Fig. 6, one set of ore burners is connected by a branch
pipe with the concentrating apparatus on one side and the denitrating apparatus on
the other, and a branch pipe leading from these two apparatuses opens into a
single pipe, which communicates with the lead chambers. The return of the
acid will be as before, namely, from the lead chambers to the denitrating apparatus
and thence to the concentrating apparatus. In Fig. 7, two sets of ore burners
and lead chambers are used, and in this case the gases from one set of ore
burners pass through the concentrating apparatus to the series of lead chambers
therewith connected, and the gases from the other set of ore burners pass through
the denitrating apparatus to its set of connected lead chambers, while the acid
from both sets of lead chambers is conveyed to the denitrating apparatus and
thence to the concentrating apparatus. In Fig. 8, two sets of ore burners and two
sets of lead chambers are used, and the gases from both sets of ore burners pass,
first, through the concentrating apparatus and thence through the denitrating

page_text: apparatus, and are divided between the two sets of lead chambers, while the acid
from both sets of lead chambers is returned, first, into the denitrating apparatus and
thence the concentrating apparatus. In Fig. 9, two sets of ore burners are used
and one set of lead chambers, and the gases from one set of ore burners pass through
the concentrating apparatus by pipe 2 and the gases from the other set of ore
burners pass through pipe 6 into the denitrating apparatus, while the gases from
the concentrating apparatus and the denitrating apparatus are conducted into one
set of lead chambers by pipes 8 and 9 and the acid from the lead chambers is
returned to the denitrating apparatus and thence to the concentrating apparatus.
Other modifications of the arrangement of the plant are within the spirit and scope
of my invention, so long and so far as the concentrating apparatus receives the hot
gases from the ore burners. As already intimated, in all instances, I conceive that
the best results will be obtained if denitration be carried on in an apparatus
separate from the concentrating apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The method of manufacturing sulphuric acid which consists in conducting the
gases from any number of ore burners through a denitrating apparatus and a
concentrating apparatus, and thence through the lead chambers, and conducting
the acid from such chambers back to the denitrating apparatus and finally thence
through the concentrating apparatus, substantially as described.
2. The method of manufacturing sulphuric acid which consists in conducting the
bot gases from the ore burners directly into and through a concentrating apparatus
and thence to the lead chambers, conveying the acid so obtained through a
denitrating apparatus in the presence of gases from ore burners, and finally con-
centrating the acid in the concentrating apparatus in the presence of the hot gases
from the ore burners, substantially as described.
3. The method of manufacturing sulphuric acid which consists in passing gases
from ore burners through a denitrating apparatus, such as a Glover tower, and also
through a concentrating apparatus, and thence through lead chambers and Gay
Lussac towers, conveying the acid through the denitrating apparatus and thence
through the concentrating apparatus and exposing the acid to ore burner gases
while it passes through the said denitrating and concentrating apparatus, substan-
tially as described.
4. The method of manufacturing sulphuric acid which consists in conducting the
hot gases from the ore burners directly into and through a concentrating apparatus
and thence through a denitrating apparatus, and finally through the lead chambers,
then passing the acid from the lead chambers in reverse direction through the
denitrating apparatus and concentrating apparatus under exposure to gases from
the ore burners, substantially as described.
5. An apparatus for manufacturing sulphuric acid consisting of ore burners, a
concentrating apparatus, and a denitrating apparatus into both which apparatuses
the gases from the ore burners are supplied, lead chambers, and means to convey
the acid from such chambers to the denitrating apparatus and thence to the con-
centrating apparatus, the acid in its passage through the said apparatuses being
exposed to the gases from the ore burners, substantially as described.
6. An apparatus for manufacturing sulphuric acid, consisting of ore burners, a
concentrating apparatus connected with and receiving the hot gases directly from
the ore burners, a denitrating apparatus, and lead chambers, the latter having an
acid outlet into the denitrating apparatus, and the denitrating apparatus having an
acid cutlet into the concentrating apparatus, the acid passing through the said
apparatuses in one direction under exposure to the ore burner gases flowing in the
opposite direction, substantially as described.
7. In an apparatus for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, a concentrating tower

page_text: of substantially the construction set forth having an external shell or jacket, and an
air space between said shell or jacket and the lining, substantially as described.
8. In an apparatus for the manufacture of sulphuric acid from sulphurous ores,
a furnace or ore burner having its outer wall provided with air channels, substan-
tially as described.
9. In an apparatus for the manufacture of sulphuric acid from sulphurous ores, a
furnace or ore burner having its outer walls provided with a number of air channels
communicating with the external atmosphere, and having a suitable number of
valvular or dampered passages to the combustion chamber, substantially as
described.
Dated thio 27th day of June 1893
FREDERIC JOHN FALDING.