An Improved Process of Extracting Iron from its Ore and of Refining or Purifying Iron.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 7th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 30th Nov., 1889
TRUVIDIONAL DIDIFICATION.
An Improved Process of Extracting Iron from its Ore and of Refining
or Purifying Iron.
We, LÉON QUENTIN BRIN, and ARTHUR BRIN, of 59, Brompton Crescent, Brompton'
Road, London, S. W. Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
:
This Invention relates to a process of extracting iron from its ore, and of refining
or purifying iron; and it is based on the action, upon the ore or metal treated, of
nascent chlorine gas liberated from chloride of sodium at a high temperature and in
the presence of the metal; the residual soda of the chloride rendering an important
service by extracting the impurities from the ore or, metal and thereby forming the
slag. The operation is conducted in any suitable furnace, and in treating iron ore, or
iron in any of its forms, the charge is preferably composed as follows: vist. quick-
lime, chloride of sodium, ore or metal, and fuel, and may either be stratified or
intermixed. The heat is raised until fusion of the metal is effected, the charge being:
thoroughly stirred during the operation in order to bring the reagents into intimate.
contact with the metal.
Dated this 6th day of Dasamban 1988
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process of Extracting Iron from its Ore and of Refining
or Purifying Iron.
We LEON QUENTIN BRIN and ARTHUR BRIN of 59, Brompton Crescent, Brompton
Road, London, S.W., Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-,
tained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to a process of extracting iron from its ore, and of refining
or purifying iron; and it is based on the action, upon the ore or metal treated, of
nascent chlorine gas liberated from chloride of sodium at a high temperature and in
the presence of the metal; the residual soda of the chloride rendering an important
service by extracting the impurities from the ore or metal and thereby forming
the slag.
The. operation is conducted in any suitable furnace, and, in treating iron ore or iron
in any of its forms, the charge is preferably composed as follows; viz. quicklime,
chloride of sodium, ore or metal, and fuel, and may either be stratified or intermixed.
The heat is raised until fusion of the metal is effected, the charge being thoroughly
stirred during the operation in order to bring the reagents into intimate contact with
the metal.
In carrying this invention into effect, we take, for example, ordinary iron-stone
which we crush into small pieces and to which we add quicklime and chloride of
sodium and in some cases (for instance when employing a Siemens-Martin or a
crucible furnace) powdered charcoal, coke, or coal dust. This mixture is placed in
the furnace and heated to a degree sufficient to melt the ore and cause the fusion of
the sodium chloride which in the presence of the metal and the carbon (the latter
being either contained in the ore or added to the mixture) yields free or nascent
oblorine gas which we have found to be most efficient in extracting the phosphorus

page_text: and sulphur and leaving the metal nearly pure; the residual soda from the chloride
of sodium in combination with the lime effecting the extraction of the silica and
thereby forming a slag. The metal thus melted either in a crucible or Siemens-Martin
furnace, should be well stirred during the operation.
In this way the ore may be directly converted into steel, mild steel, or wrought
iron, without being first converted into pig iron. Or we may take the above mixture
containing the ore (without, however, adding carbon) and melt it along with the
charge of fuel in a blast furnace, the product being a pig iron of excellent quality.
The relative proportions of the quicklime, chloride of sodium, and carbon, will vary
according to the nature of the ore under treatment but the following proportions we
have found to give good results for most classes of ores :-
Of this mixture we employ from 10% to 15% of the amount of ore to be treated.
The free chlorine and hydrochloric acid from the furnace after being passed through
a washing apparatus containing barium chloride, we collect.in lime and this lime
we may employ in place of, or in addition to, the sodium chloride in future
operations.
The process applied to the purification of pig iron in a blast, or in a Siemens-
Martin, furnace is essentially the same as that above described but it is generally
unnecessary to add carbon to the mixture of quicklime and chloride of sodium.
In one case the result of the operation is the production of a refined pig iron and in
the other the process is carried further and steel or wrought iron is produced.
The process may also be applied to the purification of wrought iron, and the
refining of steel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;
1st. The herein described process of treating iron ores for the purpose of extracting
the iron and eliminating the impurities which it contains, which consists in treating
the ore at a high temperature with nascent chlorine gas in immediate contact with the
ore, substantially as specified.
2nd. The purification or refining of pig or wrought iron and of steel, by the
action of nascent chlorine gas on the metal in the presence of chloride of sodium and
of a flux composed of soda and quicklime, substantially as specified.
Dated this day
L. Q. BRIN.
A. BRIN.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.