IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND REDUCTION OF ORES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING THE FURNACES EMPLOYED IN SUCH SAID MANUFACTURES."
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Thornthwaite, of Newgate Street, in
the City of London, Optician, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE TREATMENT AND REDUCTION OF ORES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
AND STEEL, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING THE FURNACES
EMPLOYED IN SUCH SAID MANUFACTURES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Thorn-
thwaite at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
. on the 10th January 1860.
;
I, WILLIAM HENRY THORNTHWAITE, of Newgate Street, in the City of
London, Optician, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND REDUCTION OF ORES, AND IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING
THE FURNACES EMPLOYED IN SUCH SAID MANUFACTURES," to be as follows, that is
to say :-.
The first part of my Invention relates to the mode of operating on ores
when a considerable amount of heat is required, and when the fuel does not
come into contact with the ore or metal to be acted upon. For this purpose
I propose to adopt means which enable me to use more perfectly the heat of
the
gaseous part of the fuel. To effect this I arrange my furnace, or modify
the present furnaces, so that I shall be enabled to introduce a blast of air or

page_text: gas, or a combination of these, so as to act upon the flame after the manner of
a blow pipe, and thus enable me to produce a more perfect action and more
intense heat with the flame than can at present be obtained.
The next part of my Invention relates to the mode of forming and working
those furnaces in which metals or ores, chiefly iron, is puddled; hitherto this has
been effected in the ordinary reberveratory or puddling furnaces, the metal being
placed at the rear of the furnace and the fuel on the grate in front, the flames
from the latter being caused to play upon the surface of the metal. By this
mode of effecting the object an intense heat is generated on and round about
the grate of the furnace where it is very little required, and at the same time a
large portion of the heat from the flames passes through the throat of the
furnace and up the chimney without performing any duty on the iron. To
remedy these defects I propose to construct my furnace, so that I shall be
enabled to introduce a blast or jet of air or oxygen gas or both combined, and
at the same time by keeping the action of the fire upon the grate at a low
temperature produce a large amount of volatile flammable gases from the fuel,
the combination of which along with the air or oxygen introduced by the blast
will produce a much more economic, intense, and perfect action on the metal to
be operated upon than the present process. In some cases it may be advan-
tageous even to distill the fuel in a separate vessel or furnace and simply make
use of the products of distillation by burning them in the paddling furnaces in
connexion with the blast of air or gas before mentioned, it will be seen that by
means of the blast the flames may at any instant be concentrated upon any
portion of the surface of the metal.
The next part of my Invention relates to the construction of the furnaces
and the manufacture of steel. Hitherto the reduction or transmutation of iron
or crude steel into cast steel has been effected by melting them with or without
certain ingredients in crucibles or pots of clay placed in contact with the fuel;
the result of this action is that not only is a considerable time required to effect the
transmutation, but the action of the fuel upon the crucibles is such as to render
them useless after one, two, or three operations. The cause of the destruction
in my belief proceeds from a combination of certain ingredients in the fuel with
the substance composing the crucible forming a fusible compound. In order
to obviate these, I adopt the following arrangement; I construct my furnace
so that the crucibles, or if advisable one or more large ones instead of the
ordinary small ones, may be placed so as to have a space between each of them
and the fuel. I then propose as last described to keep the temperature of the
fuel in the furnace low, so as to produce a large amount of gaseous products,
and by consuming these in connexion with a blast of air or oxygen gas, or both

page_text: combined, I am enabled not only to produce an intense heat and complete the
operation more quickly, but prevent the destruction of the crucibles as in the
last described; if necessary I can produce the gaseous matters in a separate.
vessel, and then introduce and consume them in the furnace.
.:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Thornthwaite in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY THORNTHWAITE, of Newgate Street, in the City of London, Optician,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in' the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Henry Thornthwaite, Her special licence that I, the said William
Henry Thornthwaite, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Henry Thornthwaite, my executors, administrators, and
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 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 TREATMENT AND REDUCTION OF ORES, AND
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OP
WORKING THE FURNACES EMPLOYED IN SUCH SAID MANUFACTURE," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Thornthwaite, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar mouths next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Thornthwaite, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say:―
The first part of my Invention relates to a method of operating upon ores

page_text: or metals when considerable heat is required to produce chemical changes,
and when the fuel is not allowed to come in contact with the ores or metals
operated upon. The plan which I propose to adopt for effecting this consists
in the introduction of cold or heated air or oxygen gas, or mixtures of the
same, into the furnace, so as to be commingled with the combustible products
of the fuel, and at the same time cause the mixture to impinge or be pro-
jected on the mass or mineral to be operated upon, after the manner of a
blow pipe, and hence by regulating the supply and the force with which it is
projected, produce a greater or less degree or oxidation or deoxidation, or a
more or less intense heat as may be required. I propose to effect this by con-
structing furnaces, or by modifying and altering those at present in use, so as
to introduce one or more tubes or pipes fitted with the irons or tuyers, and
placed in such a position relative to the sole or hearth of the furnace, that the
air or oxygen gas introduced through them shall commingle with the flame or
gaseous products of the fuel, and be directed so as to impinge upon the
minerals or metals upon the hearth. The air or oxygen gas or mixture to be
used will be stored in a reservoir in the usual manner, and compressed or
loaded by the ordinary means. From this chamber or reservoir it is conducted
through pipes into the blow pipes in the furnace. One or more of those blow
pipes may be used acccording to the size of the furnace and the effects to be
produced; they will be fitted with valves, slides, or other well known adjusting
apparatus so as to regulate the supply and pressure of the gas forced through
them. I propose, also, in some cases to fit with a sliding or telescopic
arrangement, by means of which they may be advanced nearer or withdrawn
from the metal operated upon; moreover, in order to vary the angle of pro-
jection, a portion may be fitted with a socket joint similarly to those now used
in similar operations.
The object intended to be effected by my Invention being the adaptation
and application to furnaces of the arrangement and action of the blow pipe
as used in ordinary chemical manipulations, I propose to apply this system to
furnaces of all descriptions where the operations are effected upon the mineral
or metals by means of the flame or heated products produced from the solid
fuel which is not itself in contact with the ores operated upon. Moreover, I
propose by means of these furnaces, having my system applied to them, to
effect operations which at present can only be obtained with furnaces where
Further-
the fuel is commingled with the mass of ore to be operated upon.
more, whereas in reverberatory furnaces as at present used the effects are
produced solely by the reverbation of the flame from the arch of the furnace,
it is necessary to keep up a great draft, inducing an intense heat in the fire

page_text: grate, which shortly and speedily destroys the furnace. And whereas by the
introduction of my blow pipe system, I do not require my furnaces to have
the drafts produced as at present, I therefore construct the fire-grate portion
and other parts so as to prevent such rapid combustion of the fuel, and pro-
duce only such an amount of heat as will distil or slowly decompose it, and
drive off the gases and other volatile products at such a temperature as will.
enable them to ignite on coming into contact with the air or gas from the
blow pipes, and thus be perfectly consumed. By adopting this method, I am
enabled to utilize, in the highest degree, the effects of the fuel, produce these
in a shorter time, and render the furnaces more permanent. A modification
of this plan is to distil the fuel in a separate furnace or chamber, and then
introduce the heated volatile products into the furnace having my blow-pipe
system applied, and operate as before described. Furthermore, in order still
more to economise the useful effects of the fuel, I propose in some cases to
construct them so as to use the heated products of combustion after performing
their duty in the furnace on the metals; for this purpose I form the under
part of the sole or hearth of the furnace hollow, or construct a series of flues
under it, and convey away the waste heated products through these; by
means of this arrangement the sole of the furnace is kept at a greater heat.
I can more easily effect this plan since, by means of the application of my
system, I do not require the apparatus or construction to obtain drafts as
at present used in the ordinary reverberatory furnace. I am aware that at
present, in some places, the waste products of combustion from blast furnaces.
have been collected and have been conveyed through pipes, and projected into
the puddling or reverbatory furnace on to the mass of metal on the hearth;
therefore I do not claim as my Invention any such application, but I propose
to use those waste products in a similar way, but in combination with the
introduction of air or oxygen gas or mixtures of the same through blow pipes,
as before described, or, as for brevity, I term it in combination with my "furnace
blow-pipe system. Furthermore, in some cases, and in order to obtain a
greater oxidizing or deoxidizing, I propose to introduce, in combination with
my "blow-pipe" system, heated water or superbeated steam into the red-hot
fuel in the usual manner, and by means of the usual appliances.
Another part of my Invention consists in the application of the principles
and means, before enumerated and described, to the manufacture of steel.
Hitherto the reduction or transmutation of iron or crude steel into cast steel
has been effected by melting these alone, or in combination with other, ingre-
dients, in crucibles or pots of burnt clay placed in contact with the fuel. This
process not only requires a considerable time to effect the object, but the action

page_text: of the fuel upon the crucible is such as to render them useless after one, two,
or three operations. The cause of the destruction of the crucibles, in my
belief, proceeds from a combination which takes place between certain ingre-
dients contained in the fuel and the substance composing the crucible, forming
a fusible compound. In order to obviate this, I propose to place these cru-
cibles in furnaces, so contrived that the solid fuel shall not come in contact
with them, the flame and the heated volatile products alone, in combination with
my "blow-pipe" system and the introduction of air, oxygen gas, or a mixture
of the same, effecting the purpose. By means of this system I am enabled not
only to complete the operation in a much shorter time, but I also effect a
great saving in the crucibles. I carry this into action by constructing my
furnaces either circular, polygonal, or rectangular in plan. I place the
fuel in grates or chambers round the sides so as to be isolated from the cru-
cibles, but so as to allow the flame and other volatile products to communicate
with the interior, within which I place the crucibles containing the metal to
be operated upon. The top of the furnace is covered over with a moveable
domical lid, cap, or cover, through which I introduce my blow-pipes with the
blast of air or gas, as before described; the flame and other heated products
from the fuel passing into the interior incets and commingles with the air or
gasses from the blow-pipes, and becoming ignited is caused to impinge upon
the crucibles, producing an intense heat; after acting fully upon theso the
waste products pass between them downwards, and after circulating under-
neath them are carried off to the chimney.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, in what it consists, and
the mode applying and using it, I wish it understood that what I claim as
new and desire secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent are as
follows:-
First, I claim the application to furnaces used for the treatment or reduc-
tion of ores, minerals, or metals, of atmospheric air, or oxygen gas, or mixtures
of the same, either heated or not, in such a manner that after combining or
commingling with volatile products resulting from the distillation or com-
bustion of the fuel used therein, the mixture shall be caused to impinge or be
projected with force upon the ores, minerals, or metals to be operated upon
after the manner and having a similar action to the ordinary blow-pipe, sub-
stantially as described and set forth in this Specification.
Secondly, I claim the application to the said furnaces, of blast tubes, or
blow-pipes constructed, arranged, and having the appliances herewithin set

page_text: forth, or other similar well-known devices for the purpose of introducing the
said air or oxygen gas to perform the action and effect the objects fully and
at large set forth in the foregoing description, and substantially as therein
explained.
Thirdly, I claim the application of the first and second claims, before enu-
merated, to these furnaces, whether heated with solid or liquid fuel directly, or
by means of gaseons products produced from solid or liquid fuel distilled
separately, or from the waste gaseous products previously used in blast or
other furnaces.
Fourthly, I claim the application of the first and second claims, before
enumerated, in combination with water, steam, or super-heated steam intro-
duced into the furnace, substantially as described and set forth in this
Specification.
Fifthly, I claim the application of the first and second claims to furnaces
used in the manufacture of steel in combination with the mode of constructing
the said furnaces so as to have the solid fuel isolated from contact with the
crucibles, substantially as set forth and fully described in this Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Thornthwaite, have here.
unto set my hand and affixed my seal, this day of July, in the year
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
WILLIAM HENRY THORNTHWAITE. (L.S.)