Improvements in the Methods of and Apparatus for use in Recovering Tin from Waste Tinned Iron or Steel.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 1st May, 1891-Accepted, 13th June, 1891
PROVIDIUNAD
Improvements in the Methods of and Apparatus for use in Recovering
Tin from Waste Tinned Iron or Steel.
1, WILLIAM BEATSON No. 2 Ash Mount Rotherham, in County of York
Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In my former Patent for the above purpose No. 11,067 dated September 15th
1885 which is now in force and which I am now working, I therein described more
especially a method of treating waste tinned iron in a revolving cylinder of iron
wire-gauze, but in practice have found more convenient the plan of charging the
waste tinned iron or steel into shallow iron wire-gauze boxes and the object of my
present application is for further improvements in the construction and working of
these boxes, and also for an improved method of purifying the tin deposited in
connection therewith.
Instead of making boxes wholly of iron wire-gauze I construct the boxes with
the bottom and upright ends of thin sheet iron or steel, one of the inner edges of
which is beaten inwards, and to this is rivetted the piece of iron wire-gauze which
forms one side of the box. The other side also of wire-gauze is rivetted to a
square frame of light angle-iron, and is attached to the above-named box by hinges
at the bottom so as to form a door, so that when the finished box is laid upon its
flat-side on the floor, the upper side can be turned over on its hinges entirely aside,
and thus afford a quick and ready method of charging and discharging the box
with the tin waste. These boxes are furnished with iron tubes externally fastened
to each end by means of which the boxes are easily slid on to upright rods standing
up within the large iron tank or boiler containing the hot solution of caustic soda
or potash (about 3 lbs. to 1 gallon water) which rods being so connected to the
dynamo or other source of an electric current as to form the anode or oxidising
element of the electric circuit employed; whilst the cathode or depositing element
is formed by, thin sheet iron plates between the said iron boxes containing the waste
tinned iron; which plates have sockets so as to slide in a similar way upon iron
rods fixed vertically in the iron tank aforesaid & insulated so that no part of the
cathode or its connections within the alkaline solution is exposed to the action of
the electric current except that on which the deposit of tin is wanted. The tank
which contains the boxes & plates and hot alkaline solution is provided with a
cover of iron plates which slide in grooves upon their edges so as to support one
another, and each plate uncovers one box at a time. To refine the tin scraped off
the iron plates it is pressed into flat cakes which are placed in a strong solution of
sulphate or chloride of tin, and connected to a dynamo or other electric circuit as
anode whilst the cathode consists of a metallic cylinder slowly revolving in the
solution and a series of tin rollers press on the cylinder and revolve with it so
that the pure deposited tin is pressed into a solid cake & can be melted into ingots.
When the solution becomes too impure to use, the tin remaining in it can be
precipitated by zinc. Instead of a revolving cylinder the tin may be precipitated
on iron plates by a similar electric circuit & scraped off by a self acting mechanism,
which it is not necessary to describe here.
Dated this 4th day of August 1890.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Methods of and Apparatus for use in Recovering
Tin from Waste Tinned Iron or Steel.
WILLIAM BEATSON No. 2 Ash Mount, Rotherham in the County of York
Manufacturing Chemist 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 :-
In my former Patent, No. 11,067 dated September 15 1885 for recovering tin
from waste tinned iron (called waste tin hereafter) and which Patent is now in
force, and which I am now working, I therein described more especially a: method
of treating waste tin in a revolving cylinder of iron wire-gauze, but in practice
have found more convenient the plan of charging the waste tin into shallow iron
wire-gauze boxes and the object of my present application is for further improve-
ments in the construction and working of these boxes, and also for an improved
method of purifying the tin deposited in connection therewith.
Instead of making boxes wholly of iron wire-gauze I construct the boxes with
the bottom and upright ends of thin sheet iron or steel, one of the inner edges of
which is beaten inwards, and to this is rivetted the piece of iron wire-gauze which
forms one side of the box. The other side, also of wire-gauze, is rivetted to a
square frame of light angle iron, and is attached to the above named box by hinges
at the bottom so as to form a door, so that when the finished box is laid upon its
flat side upon the floor, the upper side can be turned over on its hinges entirely
aside, and thus afford a quick and ready method of charging and discharging the
box with the waste tin.
These boxes are furnished with iron tubes externally fastened to each end of
the boxes, by means of which the boxes are easily slid on to upright rods standing
up within the large tank or boiler containing the hot solution of caustic soda or
potash (about 3 lbs. to 1 gallon of water) which rods being so connected to the
dynamo or other source of an electric current as to form the anode or oxydising
element of the electric circuit employed, whilst the cathode or depositing element
is formed by thin sheet iron plates fixed between the said iron boxes containing the
waste tin; which plates, also have sockets so as to slide in a similar way upon iron
rods fixed vertically within the iron tank aforesaid, and insulated so that no part
of the cathode or its connections within the alkaline solution is exposed, except that
on which the deposit of tin is wanted.
The tank which contains the boxes and plates and hot alkaline solution is
provided with a cover of iron plates which slide in grooves upon their edges so as
to support one another, and each plate uncovers one box at a tine.
To refine the tin powder which is scraped off the iron plates it is pressed into
flat cakes which are placed in a strong solution of sulphate or chloride of tin and
connected to a dynamo or other source of an electric current so as to form the
anode, whilst the cathode is a cylinder of iron, tin, or other metal slowly revolving
in the solution, whilst a series of rollers of tin or other metal press on the cylinder,
and revolve with it so that the pure deposited tin is pressed into a solid cake and
can be melted off and poured into ingots. When the solution becomes too impure
to use, the tin remaining in solution can be precipitated by zinc.
Instead of a revolving cylinder the tin may be deposited on iron or tin plates by
a similar electric current and solution and scraped off either by hand or else by a
self-acting mechanical arrangement which I need not further describe.
Figure one in the annexed drawing illustrates the first part of my invention,
a, a, is the tank containing the hot solution of caustic soda or potash. b, b, is the
cover of iron plates made as described. c, c, are the sheet iron boxes with iron
wire-gauze sides, four only are shown in the figure (one shaded) but a larger
number may be used equally well. d, d, d, are the thin iron plates on which the

page_text: tin is deposited, and made and used as previously described. They are all connected
together and the rod marked e, joins them to the dynamo and in a similar manner
another rod also marked e' at the opposite side connects the boxes c, c, to the other
pole of the dynamo as already described. Figure 2 illustrates the second part of
my invention for refining the tin obtained in the previous process; f, f, is the tank
containing the strong solution of sulphate or chloride of tin; 9 is the revolving
cylinder on which the pure tin is deposited, are the rollers which condense the
tin, and i, i, are the cakes of impure tin suspended in the tank.
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,
1st. The improved apparatus and methods of using the same for recovering tin
from waste tinned iron or steel by treating it in the manner as substantially herein
described in flat iron boxes with iron wire gauze sides in connection with an
electric current and a hot solution of caustic soda or potash.
2nd. The improved apparatus and method of using the same for refining the
tin obtained thereby as substantially herein described by means of depositing the
pure tin by the agency of an electric current on a slowly revolving cylinder and
condensing the tin by rollers pressing on it.
Dated this 30th day of April 1891.
WILLIAM BEATSON.