IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF POTS OR VESSELS AND FURNACES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ZINC AND IN OTHER MANUFACTURES, AND ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF THE ORES OF ZINC IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING ZINC
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GRAHAM, of Wapping, in the County of Middlesex, Refiner of Metals, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of October, in the seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Graham, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said James Graham, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Graham, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF POTS OR VESSELS AND FURNACES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ZINC AND IN
OTHER MANUFACTURES, AND ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF THE ORES
OF ZINC IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING ZINC ;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso that I, the said James Graham, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of

page_text: vessels. In using this apparatus, I place the combined core (first having
rubbed the outer surfaces of the parts with black lead), within the apparatus
a; a; and secure it to the bottom by the straps M,. the apparatus a; a, being
securely held as shewn, and then, by the rammer j, cause the plastic material
for making the pot or vessel to be well rammed into the space i, and having
so formed the pot or vessel up to the hoop h,-that- hoop is- removed, and the
pot or vessel completed by adding further quantities of the plastic material
into the space i, continuing to ram the same until it is well and intimately
pressed in such space i. I then place the circular piece of wood g¹.with a
hole in the centre which forms the bottom, fixing it by three screws through
the pieces or staves a, a. I then proceed to remove the pot or vessel. so
moulded by first removing the straps M and the piece:g,, then I withdraw the
solid core f, then I remove the piece e*, after which the other parts e, e, may.
be successively removed. The case is then to be placed-under the frame, as
shewn in Figure B, the screws are to be withdrawn, the middle- hoops, b, b, b,
removed, and the remaining hoops b, b,, are- slackened, the case being firmly
held by the cross pieces (3), as shewn at Figure A, and by pieces of wood
screwed at (4); a piece of wood is then placed across the top of the case; and
the screw. (5) being turned, the case is firmly held. The screws (7), (7), are
then to be turned, which will remove two of the pieces or staves through
holes in the floor at (8, 8), the screw (5) is then to be eased, and the case
moved round so as to bring two other staves or pieces. a. under the screws: (7),
and the screws (7), (7), being turned, two more of the pieces or staves-will, be
removed. The staves or pieces as they are removed. are to be rubbed with
black lead and replaced; and the operation continued with respect to the other
sections or staves until the whole have been removed and replaced. The two
hoops b, b, may now be tightened, and the case removed where desirable, for
drying, when the alternate pieces or staves a, a, may easily be withdrawn- by
the hand upwards, and the following day more staves or pieces may be removed
as the state of the pot admits, keeping three or four pieces or staves.on; until
the material is sufficiently set. Other shaped pots may be made according
to this part of my Invention, the form and dimensions of the apparatus and
core being varied. to suit the size and the internal and external shape of the
same. The mixture I-prefer- for making the pots and internal tubes to be
employed in the manufacture of zinc is composed of one hundredweight and
half of Ceylon black lead; six hundredweight of Stourbridge clay; one
undredweight of pot sherds; but the mixtures now usually employed for this
nd other purposes may be adopted for the manufacture of pots, and vessels

page_text: according to my Invention. The mixture should be well pugged and tem-
pered, and cut into convenient sized pieces, and, if too moist, left till it is
sufficiently hard to bear the heavy ramming, which may be easily ascertained
by occasionally trying the rammer into it, which, if it leaves pretty freely, will
be fit for use.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention. Figure 5
shews a vertical section of a furnace for manufacturing zinc constructed
according to this part of my Invention; Figure 7 is a section taken at the
dotted lines (1), (1), in Figure 5; Figure 8 is a section taken at the
dotted lines (2), (2), in Figure 5; and Figure 9 is a section taken at
the dotted lines (3), (3), Figure 5. In each of these Figures the same
letters are used to indicate similar parts. A, A; are a series of pots, the
number shewn in the same furnace is sixteen, but that number may be varied;
B, B, are the fireplaces; the heat enters into the arched chambers C, C, and
the pots A are set through the arches D, D, and through the bed of the
arched chamber C of the furnace. The pots A rise above the arches D, D,
and pass through the covering of brickwork E, and are open at top to receive
the charge to be distilled, the pots when in operation being covered over with
a cover made of fire clay and potsherds luted down with common clay. By
this arrangement the charging and discharging of the pots or vessels A will
readily be accomplished, and the heat will be most advantageously applied
to the external surfaces of the pots A. The heated vapours pass from the
chamber c of the furnace into the flues, as indicated by the arrows, and will
then pass off' at the openings F, F, all which will be readily traced on examin-
ing 'the Drawings; G, G, are the receivers for receiving the metal as it is
distilled; His a tube in each of the pots A of the same materials as the pot
and-perforated with numerous small holes, so that the vapour of the metal
may readily pass away out of the pot A into the tubes I. I should here observe
that when the metal comes over with the charge readily and in considerable
quantities in a finely divided state, and also in reducing the fine particles of
the metal again, I employ a tube without holes. The tubes I are of iron
lined with clay tubes; J are continuations of the tubes I, which are cast-iron
pipes with a flange of two inches, built in and through the bed of the furnace
in which is a projecting rim or groove z, z, to receive an iron ring which
forms the projecting rim z, z, which receives the groove in the bottom of
the pot made by g', forming a perfectly tight joint, first spreading a layer of
fire clay; Y, Y, are rings made of fire clay and potsherds which are buil
into the bed of the furnace flush on the outside, leaving a space of one and

page_text: a half inch inside, as shewn, to form a seat for the pot; W are holes to
inspect the pots, if necessary, A, A, A. In charging these pots when manufac
turing zinc, the pipe I is stopped from beneath the furnace, and a man holds
the internal tube H steady (which has its top covered) until a portion of the
charge is introduced, when the remainder is filled in, the cover put on, the
stop on the pipe I withdrawn, and the cover then luted down; when the charge
is finished the cover is taken off, the internal pipe withdrawn by a pair of
tongs to fit, and the refuse falls through the pipe I, and if any adhere it may
be poked down; the facility of charging and discharging is immense. I would
remark that variations may be made in the setting and number of the pots
and of the flues through which the heated vapours pass, so long as the peculiar
character of the arrangements whereby the heated air and vapour are made to
circulate freely about the external surface of the pots passing through the top.
or covering of the furnace is preserved, but I have found and believe the
precise arrangements shewn to be extremely economical.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention, which relates to
the furnaces employed in the manufacture of antimony. This part of the
Invention is similar to the second part of the Invention, and consists of a
peculiar arrangement of a furnace differing from that described under the
second part of my Invention in placing the pots about four inches above
the bed of the furnace to allow of a circulation of heat under the bottom of
the pots and around them, and also around part of the discharging pipes
by which the metal when in a state of fusion passes into the receivers. When
the charge is worked out the receivers are to be carefully taken down and let
to cool gradually, the refuse is then to be poked out of the pot through the
hole at the bottom, or drawn out from above. Figure 10 is a vertical section
of this furnace corresponding in most particulars with the furnace Figure 5,
and the other Drawings of that furnace will apply to this arrangement when
for the manufacture of antimony, and the description above given will also
apply.
I will now proceed to describe the fourth part of my Invention. I burn or
roast the blende about the size of a pea in close vessels having a small access
of air, and pass the sulphurous gas into a chamber where it is converted into
sulphuric acid, the process of forming which, when sulphurous gas is obtained
from other sources, is so generally known as to render in unnecessary to
explain in this my Specification, this part of my Invention consisting of
combining the process of making sulphuric acid with the roasting of blende;
and this process of roasting or burning may be conducted in furnaces similar
to those in which iron pyrites are burned for the same purpose, but I prefer

page_text: a furnace as shewn. at. Figure 11, heated by a. coke oven; the coke from
which serves as fuel for working the furnaces shewn in Figures 5 and 10: In
the furnace 11 the blende is to be laid on the shelves of the furnace to the
thickness of about two inches; and' stirred by passing a rake or bar through
the holes through which the air passes to supply the combustion, such stirring
being performed about every half hour: And I have found that the ore
should after about the first two-hours be raised to a bright red heat, and at the
expiration of ten hours about two thirds of the sulphur will have been driven
off. The ore is then to be drawn out; or may be shut' off from communication
with the chamber, for making sulphuric acid; and the remaining sulphur
allowed to pass away by a flue: If the ore be drawn out, it will be necessary.
to transfer it to a reverberatory furnace in order to drive off the remaining
sulphur.
"
:
In working calamine l'employ a similar furnace to that used and described
for the blende, as by such means the carbonic acid gas can be passed into 'a'
chamber, and thus obtained may be used for any of the numerous purposes
to which carbonic acid is usually applied.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention; and the best means I am
acquainted with for performing the same, I would wish it to be understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details so long as the peculiar character
of either part of my Invention be retained. But what I claim is,-
.
First, the mode of moulding pots or vessels employed in the "manufacture
of zinc and for other purposes by the use and application of an arrangement of
as herein-before described.
parts and apparatus,
Secondly, I'claim the mode of arranging the furnace and pots or vessels for
manufacturing zinc; as described in respect to Figures 5, 7, 8, 9.
Thirdly, I claim the mode of arranging the furnace and pots, as described
in respect to Figure 10, together with suitable receivers, for the purpose of the
imanufacture of antimony; and,
i
"..
Fourthly, I claim the roasting or calcining that zinc ore which is called
blende in a close vessel or furnace so as to obtain sulphuric acid during the
process of such treatment in the manufacture of zinc.
And 'I also claim the roasting or calcining that zinc ore which is called
calamine in a close vessel or furnace so as to obtain carbonic acid during the
process of such treatment in the manufacture of zinc.
In witness whereof, I; the said James Graham, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
JAMES (LS.) GRAHAM.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid James Graham came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.