IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SLAG OR THE CINDER OF BLAST FURNACESTILIZING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Parry, of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, in
the County of Monmouth, Furnace Manager, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SLAG OR THE CINDER OF BLAST FURNACES
Sealed the 14th June 1864, and dated the 25th February 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Parry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th February 1864.
I, GEORGE PARRY, of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, in the County of Mon-
mouth, Furnace Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SLAG OR THE CINDER OF BLAST FURNACES
FOR THE PURPOSE OF UTILIZING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to utilize the slag or cinder obtained from
blast furnaces. Hitherto in effecting this- object it has been usual to reduce
the slag or cinder from the blocks, in which form it solidifies to powder, by
means of stampers or mills, which process is very expensive. To effect an
economy in the reduction of the slag or cinder I propose to apply below the
shute or gutter along which it runs from the furnace, jets of steam or super-
heated steam, or jets of air or water might be employed. The jets should
take the form of a thin sheet, and be directed so as to strike into the
descending stream of fluid cinder. The fluid cinder thus acted upon will be

page_text: projected forward and caused to assume the form of threads as it cools in
falling through the air, which threads by intermingling present an appearance
not unlike coarse wool. By thus ensuring a very fine division of the cinder,
I am enabled to reduce it to powder by subjecting it to agitation in a barrel
in contact with shot, or by any other ordinary mechanical appliances, or simply
by ramming it down in the act of packing it in casks for transport. The
powdered slag or cinder may be used in the manufacture of brick, artificial
stone or cenients, or employed with advantage as a mineral manure, it having
been found to contain soluble silicates of potash, lime, and magnesia, with
alumina, oxide of iron, manganese, and sulphur. I would remark that I
also propose to utilize old cinder or slag by remelting it, and treating it in the
manner above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Parry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
PARRY, of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, in the County of Monmouth, Furnace
Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Parry, Her special license that I, the said George Parry,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Parry, 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 OF SLAG OR THE CINDER OF BLAST FURNACES FOR THE PURPOSE OF
UTILIZING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
George Parry, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Parry, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to utilize the slag or cinder obtained from
blast furnaces in a more economical manner than heretofore. In preparing
it for use it has been usual to reduce the slag or cinder from the blocks (in
which form it solidifies) to powder by means of stampers or mills, which
process is very expensive by reason of the power consumed in the operation.
To effect an economy in the reduction of the slag or cinder, I propose to
apply below the shute or gutter along which it runs from the furnace, jets of
steam or superheated steam, or jets of air or water might be employed. The
jets should take the form of a thin sheet, and be directed so as to strike into
the descending stream of fluid cinder. The fluid cinder thus acted upon will
be driven forward by the mechanical force of the jet, and be thereby caused
to assume the form of threads as it cools in falling through the air, which
threads by intermingling present an appearance not unlike "coarse wool."
By thus ensuring a very fine division of the cinder, I am enabled to reduce
it to powder by subjecting it to agitation in a barrel in contact with shot, or
by any other ordinary crushing appliance requiring little power for working
the same, or by simply ramming down the blown slag in the act of packing it
in casks or trucks for transport it will be sufficiently reduced for the purposes
of manuring. The powdered slag or cinder may be used in the manufacture
of bricks, artificial stone, or cements, or employed with advantage as a
mineral manure, it having been found to contain soluble silicates of potash,
Jime, and magnesia, with alumina, oxide of iron, manganese, and sulphur.
I would remark that I also propose to utilize old cinder or slag by remelting
it, and treating it in the manner above described. I prefer to use ordinary
steam for effecting the mechanical disintegration or breaking up of the slag,
as it may be readily obtained from the blast engine boilers, and I find a
pressure of from ten to twelve pounds per square inch sufficient for the
purpose. The pressure may, however, be regulated by a cock. The form of
jet most convenient resembles that well known as the "bat-wing" burner
used in gas burning, the slit being about one-sixteenth of an inch wide by
two to three inches long, the same varying slightly according to the quantity
of slag flowing from the blast furnace. The size of jet and pressure required
to produce the best effect with any given furnace will readily be ascertained
by the furnace manager. The steam may be conveyed to the descending
stream of slag through an arrangement of ordinary gas pipes, with joints and

page_text: elbows turning so that the orifice shall come a couple of inches behind the
stream of slag. The steam may be allowed to escape from a slit cut in the
pipe itself, or a row of small jets of a circular or oval form may be used, the
object of the Invention being, as above indicated, to reduce the slag while in a
fluid state by the mechanical action of an impelled current striking into the
descending current. When the jets and the pressure are properly regulated,
the "blown" slag will in great part be reduced to a fibrous state resembling
coarse wool, and it will therefore be liable to be carried away by any passing
current of air. To prevent this, and more especially when jets of air are used
to effect the reduction of the slag, it becomes necessary to form a chamber in
front of the blast furnace to receive the fibrous material. This chamber
should be of a taper form, and may from time to time be emptied by a cradle
or rake, as is commonly done in discharging coke ovens, or in any other
convenient manner. The less reduced particles of the blown slag assume the
form of shot, but less shot and more fibre is formed when the jets are
properly regulated, which may soon be found by a little practice. When the
reduced slag is intended for use as a manure for top dressings, it is evident
it must be brought to a powder, but otherwise the blown slag may be dug or
ploughed into the soil with little preparation.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Treatment of Slag or the Cinder of Blast Furnaces for the Purpose of
Utilizing the same," and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, the disintegrating or breaking up of blast furnace slag or
cinder by subjecting it while in a fluid state to jets of steam, air, or water, in
the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Parry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
GEORGE PARRY. (L.S.)
Witness,
JOSEPH BASE,
Clerk to Messrs. Rixon & Son, Solicitors,
88, Cannon Street, London.