IMPROVEMENTS IN SEPARATING AND IN OTHERWISE TREATING MATTERS IN A STATE OF FUSION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEPARATING AND IN OTHERWISE TREATING MATTERS IN
A STATE OF FUSION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME: "A communication
froin Alphonse Anthelme Antoine de Rostain
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
May 1858.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN SEPARATING AND IN OTHERWISE TREATING MATTERS
IN A STATE OF FUSION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the mechanical separation of matter in a liquified
state by means of centrifugal force. The oxygen of air, or that obtained from
water by docomposition by means of red heat, is an important agent in the
various operations to which metals are submitted in order to free them from
their alloys or from their combinations with other bodies. Lime is also an
active agent in these same operations; it is used in order to eliminate the
[Price 8d.]

page_text: Hence I
sulphur and phosphorus which is so abundant in most ores.
believe that if a product of the first fusion were placed in its incandescent
state in contact with air, water, lime, carbon, or other chemical agents, it
would be acted on and transformed the more rapidly and the more completely
as the contact is established at a greater number of points.
The subject of this Invention is the apparatus termed a "continuous
separator or subdivider" of liquified bodies, intended to effect the multipli-
cation of the points of contact or of the surfaces, or, in other words, to effect
as much as possible the isolation of each molecule of the body in a state of
tion
The subdividing apparatus consists of two principal parts, namely:-
First, a strong metal disc placed horizontally, which may be either flat,
slightly concave, or even convex.
Secondly, a perpendicular axis or shaft passing through the centre of this
disc, which it supports.
The two parts are firmly fixed to each other, so that rapid rotary motion
may be communicated to the disc by the shaft. The strength and size of
these two parts are variable, and depend on the quantity and weight of liqui-
fied matter to be separated, and to the speed of rotation to which they are to
be submitted. The diameter of the disc in particular is regulated by the
quantity of liquified matter to fall on to the centre or ou to any point of the
surface in a given time, and also by the speed of rotation. Rotary motion
having been imparted to the shaft and disc by any motive power, it will be
understood that if a flow of metal in a state of fusion, or any other liquified
body, be directed towards the centre or other point of the surface of this
disc, the centrifugal force will spread the meta! out towards and project it
from the circumference. This metal will escape in large masses if the move-
ment is slow, but as the movement is increased in rapidity it will fly off in
smaller masses and even in almost imperceptible particles if the speed of
rotation is increased to several hundred revolutions per minute. This sepa-
ration of the metal or liquified body can be graduated at will by taking into
account both the diameter of the disc and the regulation of the speed of
rolatior. The drops or particles having arrived at the circumference fly off
in a tangential direction, and do not fall until the effect of gravitation over-
comes the centrifugal force acquired by them. Therefore if this separation
were caused to act on a liquified body consisting of matters of perceptibly
different density, it is reasonable to suppose that this separating apparatus

page_text: would effect not only the mechanical subdivision, but also the separation of
the various matters, which would take their places in zones around the sepa-
rator, the order of the zones being regulated by the density of the various
matters that centrifugal force imparted to different moveable bodies is pro-
portionate to their mass when the speed and distance from the centre of
such moveable bodies is equal. If the mere separation of matters were the
only object in view, no insurmountable obstacle should be opposed to the
projection of drops or particles of the liquified body, and the separator may
be placed in the centre of a basin of large diameter (if contact with a liquid
is made use of), or at the centre of a large area, the ground of which may be
covered with stones, metal plates, or simply sand. Without entering into
details regarding the disposition and fittings of the separator, it will be
sufficient to say that it should receive the liquified body from a furnace placed
directly above on an upper stage, in order that this body in fusion may not be
cooled by having to traverse a too long course. But if the separation of the
matters according to their density is not the object in view, and if the object
is limited to a separation of the mass into quantities, drops, or particles, the
basin or receiver intended to receive the products of this mechanical division
in mass may be made of very small size. The separator may be made of the
smallest size suitable for a laboratory, or of size suitable for operating on the
products of fusion of the largest blast furnaces. When applied to this latter
purpose, and in order to bring the flow as near as possible, the basin is
composed of two cylinders of cast or sheet iron placed concentrically, and
connected by a bottom. The small or interior cylinder is bottomless, and the
shaft of the separator passes through the centre of this cylinder. As an
obstacle to the projection in the tangential direction against the sides of the
large cylinder (which projection, if direct, would cause the spirting of the
drops or particles), two rows of inclines are interposed, which allow the tan-
gential direction of the drops or particles to take broken lines, so as not to
ascend the sides of the basin except at a very obtuse angle. The shock and
consequently the spirting will be almost entirely prevented by multiplying
these inclines and by a proper combination of them. These inclines need not
be fixed to the basin, it may be useful to keep them simply suspended by
means of moveable frames, in order to be introduced or removed at will.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer
and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, 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 SEPA-
RATING AND IN OTHERWISE TREATING MATTERS IN A STATE OF FUSION. AND IN
APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," (a communication,) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Clark, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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:-
A great number of machines have been constructed, including hydraulic
and evaporating machines, machines for drying matters impregnated with
liquids, and for cleaning corn, in all of which it has been sought to make use
of centrifugal force, and the Inventor has himself profited by this force in its
application to a distilling apparatus, but for the mechanical subdivision of a
liquefied mass, or as a means of operation in the treatment of metals, I believe
it has never been applied.
The oxygen of air, or that obtained from water by decomposition at a red
heat, is an important agent in the various operations to which metals are sub-

page_text: mitted, in order to free them from their alloys, or from their combinations
with other bodies. Lime is also an active agent in these same operations;
it is used in order to eliminate the sulphur and phosphorus which is so
abundant in most ores, such elimination being effected by assimilation.
Hence, I believe that if the produce of the first fusion were placed in its
incandescent state in contact with air, water, lime, carbou, or other chemical
agents, it would become modified and transformed the more rapidly and the
more completely as the contact is established at a greater number of points.
The apparatus invented and to be protected by the Letters Patent is
termed a separator or subdivider of liquefied bodies, intended to effect the
multiplication of the points of contact or of surfaces, or in other words, to
effect as much as possible the insulation of each molecule of the body in a
state of liquefaction.
The subdividing apparatus consists of two principal parts, namely:-
1st, a strong horizontal metal disc, which may be either flat, slightly con-
cave, or even convex.
2ndly, a perpendicular shaft or axis of iron, which passes through the
centre of the disc, or simply depending from its centre.
The two parts are firmly fixed to each other, so that rapid rotary motion
may be communicated to the shaft without any danger of the disc flying off
or ceasing to rotate with the shaft.
The strength and size of these two parts are variable, and depend on the
quantity and weight of liquefied matter to be subdivided, and to the speed of
rotation to which they are to be submitted, &c. Rotary motion having been
imparted to the shaft, and consequently to the disc itself, by any motive power,
it will be understood that if a flow of metal in fusion, or any other liquefied
body be directed towards the centre or other part of the surface of this disc,
the centrifugal force will spread the metal out towards and project it from the
circumference, and that this metal will escape in large quantities if the move-
mentis slow, butin drops ifthemovement is rapid, and in almost imperceptible
particles if the speed of rotation amounts to several hundred revolutions per
minute. This separation of the metal or liquefied body can be graduated at will,
by taking into account both the diameter of the disc at a given time, and the
quantity of metal or liquefied body, and consequently regulating the speed of
rotation. Thedrops or particles having arrived at the circumference of thedisc
will fly off from the centreata tangent to the circumference of the disc, accord-
ing to a well-known physical law, and will not fail until the effect of their weight

page_text: is greater than the centrifugal force acquired by them; therefore, if this sub-
divider were caused to act on a liquefied body consisting of matters of per-
ceptibly different density, it is reasonable to suppose that the separator would
effect not only the mechanical subdivision, but also the separation of the
various matters, which would take their places in zones around the separator
or divider, the order of the zones being regulated by the density of the various
matters; for, in accordance to another law of physics, centrifugal force
imparted to different movable objects is proportionate to their mass when
the speed and distance from the centre of such movable objects is equal.
If the mere separation of matters were the only object in view, no insur-
mountable obstacle would be opposed to the projection of drops or particles of
the liquefied body, and the subdivider might be placed in the centre of a basin
of large diameter (if contact with a liquid is made use of), or in the centre of
a large area, the ground of which is covered with flag stones, metal plates, or
simply sand. Without entering into details regarding the disposition and
arrangement of the subdivider, which is susceptible of innumerable modifica-
tions, in all cases the subdivider or separater should receive the liquefied
body from a furnace placed directly above on an upper stage, in order that the
body in fusion may not be cooled by having to traverse a too long course, as
would be the case if it were necessary to conduct it through a channel far
removed from the centre of the disc.
If the separation of the matters according to their density is not the object
in view, and if the object is limited to a subdivision of the mass into
quantities, drops, or particles, the basin or receiver intended to receive the
products of this mechanical division may be made of very small size.
The subdivider or separator may be made of the smallest size suitable for a
laboratory, or of a size suitable for operating on the products of fusion of the
largest blast furnaces. When applied to this latter purpose, and in order
to bring the flow as near as possible, the basin is composed of two cylinders
of cast or sheet iron, &c., placed concentrically and connected by a bottom.
The small or interior cylinder is bottomless, and the shaft of the separator
passes through the space of this cylinder. In this application of the
separator to blast furnaces we will say that the cast iron is projected and
separated by centrifugal force into small particles, and will not be disoxidized
except in its passage through the air, and will produce a pure iron.
To obviate the projection in a tangential direction against the sides of the
large cylinder (which projection, if direct, would cause a spirting of the drops
or particles), twe rows of inclined planes are interposed, which alter the tan-
gential direction, and cause the metal or liquefied body to fly off in broken

page_text: ines, so as not to ascend the sides of the basin except at very obtuse angles.
The shock, and consequently the spirting, can be almost entirely prevented by
multiplying these inclines suitably combined; these inclines need not be fixed
to the basin, it may be useful to keep them simply suspended by means of
movable frames, in order to be placed or removed at will.
In speaking of machines already constructed and acting on the principal of
centrifugal force, I mentioned a mode of cleaning corn which appears
analogous to the result obtained by my subdivider for separating matters
according to their density, but corn must be regarded as a solid body, and
my idea is new and patentable only inasmuch as it applies to liquefied bodies.
Therefore, what I desire to secure by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is the application of centrifugal force for the continuous mechanical
subdivision of liquefied solids. I say continuous, in order to avoid confusion
between this mode of subdividing and the process employed on a small scale in
laboratories, and in the treatment of precious metals in order to granulate the
alloys, which process consists in pouring a certain quantity of alloy in fusion
into a basin to which an alternating circular inovement is imparted. In this
mode of operating centrifugal force assists in the production of the effect ina
great measure, but it is combined with movements which reconduct the
matter to the centre, thus subdividing it by the antagonism of forces.
Now, whatever may be the size of the basin, it can only contain a definite
quantity of metal with regard to its surface, which quantity cannot be replaced
till after the cooling of the grains, hence arises the impossibility of the appli-
cation of the ordinary process to large masses, and the characteristic differences
which exist in the effect produced by my subdivider.
To cite one of the applications to which the principle of centrifugal force is
applicable in the separation of matters, I will describe, as an example, the
manufacture of oxides and salts of lead by this process.
One of the objects of this Invention is to operate on the metals so as to
mechanically subdivide them, which facilitates by the multiplication of the
surfaces all the chemical actions to which metals are submitted to refine or
transform them into products suitable for the purposes of industry, such as
oxides or salts.
The results that I have obtained in acting on lead, subdivided as I
have mentioned, has induced me to modify the treatment and the manipula-
tions in use till the present time in the manufacture of protoxide, com-
monly known under the name of "massicot" (first degree for obtaining
"minium "), and that of the carbonate known under the denomination of
white lead.

page_text: The manufacture of massicot consists in taking the lead in a state of granu-
lation or subdivision, and submitting it dry or slightly damp to a heat equal to
oxidizing it without melting. I will here remark on the particular effect
which is produced in consequence of the previous subdivision; it is that the
metal in this state of subdivsion will keep from melting providing that it is not
subjected to a temperature very in uch above the point of fusion of lead in
pigs or pieces; the action of heat is also not indispensable for the oxidation of
the lead, it suffices to slightly damp the lead in a subdivided state, & to expose
it to the air during several hours. The oxidation being obtained by either
method, I separate the oxide from the metallic residue not acted on by
trituration and ordinary washing, I then submit the residue again to a heating
or calcination, or yet more simply to the air, to be triturated and washed as in
the first instance, and then as before, until a complete transformation of the
metal into oxide or massicot takes place.
The manufacture of white lead consists in taking (the same as for the
massicot) the lead in a subdivided state, and exposing it spread out, either dry
or slightly damped with water, to the action of the vapours of acetic acid. It
produces in a very short time, in comparison with the Dutch process, the same
phenomenon, for the explanation of which it is admitted that part of the acetic
acid acts on the metal, and that the other part, being converted into carbonic
acid, decomposes the acetate.. In about forty-eight hours, more or less,
according to the temperature, the metal becomes covered with a white layer,
which is no other than the carbonate of lead.
I separate this layer of carbonate from the bed of metal not acted on, by
means of trituration and washing, the same as for the massicot; I again submit
the residue to the vapours of acetic acid, and thus proceed until the complete
conversion of the lead into carbonate or white lead.
For the purpose of exposing the lead to the acetic vapours, I operate in a
stove or drying room, or under a cover in the open air if the temperature
exceeds that of the stove.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that I claim as the Invention to be protected
by the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent,-
1st, the application of centrifugal force to the mechanical subdivision con-
tinuously of solids liquefied, for the purpose of dividing simply and mechani-
cally the matters, to assist in chemical actions which operate and are more
effective on matters in a subdivided state.
2ndly, the apparatus composed of an axis of rotation, and of a receiving
disc for the matters, as herein before described.

page_text: 3rdly, the direct application of the process described to the decarburetting
of cast iron, as above described.
4thly, the direct application of this process of subdivision to lead in the
formation of oxides and of salts employed in commerce.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Second day of November, in the year of our Lord
Oue thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness.
W. G. E. SWINNOCK,
53. Chancery Lane, London.
W. ULAKA. (L.S.)