IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND
STEEL." A communication from abroad by John Gardner and Henry
Richard Gardner, both of the City and State of New York, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 18th March 1862, and dated the 4th February 1862.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 4th February 1862, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL," being a commu-
nication to me from abroad by John Gardner and Henry Richard Gardner,
both of the City and State of New York, in the United States of America,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say) :-
This Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture of Iron and Steel,"
consists in the conversion of cast, pig, or other iron into steel, by subjecting

page_text: it when in a molten state to the combined action of crude potash or other
alkali, carbonate of lime, oxide of manganese, and charcoal. It also consists
in the purifying or refining of the iron, preparatory to such process of con-
version either during its reduction from the ore in a smelting furnace or
during a subsequent melting by the use of ores of zinc, or the pure metal
(zinc) itself, and of jets of steam or water as herein-after described.
By means of these improvements steel may be manufactured directly or
by a continous process either from the ore or from pig iron. I will proceed
to describe, first, the process of obtaining purified or refined iron for con-
version into steel, and afterwards the process of conversion into steel.
For the first process I use generally a smelting furnace of ordinary con-
struction, and after each charge of fuel has been put in and become well
lighted, I place directly upon it a charge of zinc ore equal in weight to form
fifteen to twenty per cent. of the charge of iron ore, which I throw in above
the zinc. An ore of zinc with a hard gangue is generally selected. The ore
known as Franklinite, and obtained in New Jersey, in the United States of
America, is found to serve a good purpose, but other ores of zinc combined
with iron will answer, a less or greater quantity being required according as it
contains more or less zinc or the pure metal (zinc) itself may be used. When
it is desirable to increase the heat a small jet of steam or water is admitted
to the furnace through the tuyeres along with the blast, and by that means
the iron is made to part with its carbon, and oxygen is supplied for the support
of combustion, while the hydrogen of the water, combining with free carbon
produces carburetted hydrogen, which increases the heat. The zinc being
of a volatile nature, and so susceptible to combination with sulphur and other
volatile matters, which are carried out of the furnace by the zinc in the form
of a flocculent vapor.
Care should be taken in the use of steam or water
not to increase the heat too much, but only to such a degree as to effect a
complete scorification of the iron. The refining or purifying of iron by the
use of zinc and steam or water may be performed in a substantially similar
manner in a subsequent melting of pig or cast iron, which has been obtained
by the usual process of smelting and reducing. In order to convert the iron
into steel, I generally use a reverberatory furnace of form substantially similar
to a pudding furnace, with the flue and stack at the opposite end to the fire-
place, and a basin of sufficient size to hold the charge; but the working door
is arranged directly under the flue, so that the current of cold air, which is
unavoidably admitted in working, may be met by the current of hot air and
gases or flame from the furnace and carried with it up the stack without
being permitted to affect the metal in the body of the furnace. When the

page_text: above described process of smelting and purifying the iron is to be used in
connection with the process of converting the iron into steel, the reverberatory.
furnace is arranged in such relation to the smelting or purifying furnace before
mentioned that the molten iron can be run from the latter directly into the
basin of the reverberatory furnace, through a suitable opening in the top or
side of the latter furnace, but when the iron is introduced into the reverber-
atory furnace in the solid state, as may be the case, the latter. furnace may be
arranged in any convenient situation, and should. be provided with a charging
opening in one side, such opening requiring, to be bricked' up, and plastered to
exclude cold air during the converting process.
The process of conversion is performed in the following manner :-The
reverberatory furnace is first heated, and if the metal is to be run in in a
molten state as above described the converting substances 'as herein-before:
mentioned, viz, crude potash or other alkali, carbonate of lime, oxyde of
manganese and charcoal are introduced to and spread over the bottom of
the basin of the furnace before the fluid iron is run in, but if the iron is
introduced in a solid state the converting substances may be introduced either
befor the introduction of the iron, or when it has become hot enough to
give off its gases. The quantities of the converting substances to be employed
for the conversion of iron is generally in the proportion of about twenty-five
pounds of each of such substances to one ton of iron, I prefer to use oyster
shells to any other form of carbonate of lime, on account of their high,degree
of purity, and I prefer the black oxide to any other oxide of manganese. The
charcoal should be either pulverized or broken into small pieces. If the iron,
has been introduced into the reverberatory furnace in a fluid state, it may be
allowed to remain therein in the molten state, which is maintained by keeping
the furnace at a proper heat until it is scorified, taking care to stir it from
time to time with a ravel, or other proper implement. Some of the contents
may then be taken out with a trier in order to ascertain its temper and
quality, which can be at once known by the practised steel manufacturer, and
if the degree of carbonization be not high enough a small quantity of carbonate
of lime, mixed with an equal quantity of pulverized charcoal, wet with water
may be added, or if the metal be two highly carbonized a green wood pole
may be inserted through the working door, and its end forced down through
the molten mass to the bottom of the furnace, thereby supplying hydrogen
to displace the excess of carbon, and producing an agitation of the whole body
of the metal, and when a proper degree of carbonization has been obtained
the metal can be tapped from the furnace, and moulded ready for the hammer
or rolls as may be desired. If the iron has been introduced into the furnace

page_text: in a solid state it must be first allowed to melt, and when melted it should be
stirred from time to time until scorified, and then tested, and according to its
condition it may be proceeded with as before described, I would remark
that the iron when introduced in the solid state is to be broken into small
pieces.
Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture
of Iron and Steel," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I would observe that I do not confine myself to the use of such apparatus
as is herein described, nor to the precise proportions of the agents to whose'
action the iron is submitted, but what I claim is,-
First, the conversion of iron into steel by subjecting it in the molten state
to the combined action of potash or other alkali, carbonate of lime, oxide of
manganese and charcoal, as herein set forth.
Second, the purifying of the iron preparatory to such conversion into steel,
by the use in the smelting or other furnace of the ores of zinc in combination
with jets of steam or water, substantially as herein described, when such
purifying process forms part of the continuous process with the conversion,
that is to say, when the iron is conveyed in the molten state from the purifying
to the converting furnace.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fourth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
H. E. NEWTON,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)