CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ECONOMISING PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION ECONOMISING FUEL IN THE TREATMENT OF METALS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexandre Louis Gibon and André Fröhlich, of
39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury,
London, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ECONOMISING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexandre Louis Gibon
and André Fröhlich at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 4th June 1856.
We, ALEXANDRE LOUIS GIBON & ANDRE FRÖHLICH, of 39, Rue de
l'Echiquier, Paris, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby
declare the nature of our said Invention of "CERTAIN IMROVEMENTS IN
ECONOMISING FUEL IN THE TREATMENT OF METALS," to bo as follows, that is to
say:
Our improvements consist in various processes or means for the direct and
general treatment of metals, by which the loss of caloric, which now takes place
in the treatment of metals, is to a great extent obviated. Until the present
time, firstly, the different metallurgical operations for refining and transforming
metals have been successively performed in special furnaces and after previous
cooling, by which at each operation the caloric necessary to sustain the
temperature of the succeeding operation is lost; secondly, the refining and

page_text: transforming operations have been performed in furnaces, each of which
having a separate fire-place unfavorable to the preservation of caloric.
My improvements have for object the obviating the above defects, by the
direct and general treatment of metals in a state of fusion in furnaces with a
common fire-place. By the ordinary method, the precious metals, and also
copper, tin, lead, zinc, and iron, are produced first in an impure state, then
refined in special furnaces; we prefer causing the metals to undergo different
operations to purify them, but we do not think it necessary for the refining
operation to reduce them to a state of fusion for the refining to be properly
performed; but when once brought to that state we keep them so, and treat
them successively in furnaces purposely constructed, suited to the different
treatments.
The present Invention also relates to the application to common furnaces of
ventilators, to quicken the combustion of the fuel, reduce the waste, and allow
of the employment of a cheaper kind of fuel.
For metals, generally, it will serve as a sufficient demonstration of our process
to describe the mode we employ for treating cast iron. I treat cast iron in a
special apparatus, and to convert it into iron we allow it to cool in any form
whatever, and then melt it in the blast furnaces, where it is converted into the
pure metal; from the blast furnaces it is passed into the refining or puddling
furnaces, where it is again reduced to a state of fusion, then decarbonized, and
converted into iron. We cause the iron to pass directly in a fused state from
the blast furnaces into the refining furnaces and puddling furnaces, and there
undergo the operations of refining, as usual in these furnaces. I apply the
furnaces with a common fire-place to the furnaces used for metals of all kinds,
and the principle of a common fire-place is applicable also to fire-places
without a common grate, and to those with grates, whatever be their
position. On account of the high temperature which is raised in the fire-place,
it is requisite to have a fosse at from 7 to 9 feet under the fire-places, into
which the slags drop. The common fire-places can, if necessary, be separated
partially or entirely by adapting thin refractory partitions. The common fire-
place should be so constructed that the air may enter from under the furnace,
which permits of the grates being entirely closed. We also employ a semi-
circular arrangement of fire furnaces on the same fire, the furnaces being
applied to the melting of copper and iron; the flame egressing from the
furnace enters a vertical tubular boiler. We also include the special arrange-
ment of a puddling furnace with three puddles, that is to say, one that will
allow the workman to stand right and left of the furnace, and to work the
material with greater power, and to accelerate the operation, and bring it to

page_text: greater perfection. We do not allow the metals to cool before they are
perfectly purified. The principle and construction of the common fire-place
may be applied generally to all operations where required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André Früblich in the Great
· Seal Patent Oflice on the 4th December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, ALEXANDRE
LOUIS GIBON and ANDRE FRÖHLICH, of 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, and of
No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Mer
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André Frohlich, Her special license, that we,
the said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André Fröhlich, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alexandre Louis Gibon
and André Fröblich, our 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ECONOMISING FUEL IN THE TREATMENT OF METALS," upon the condition
(amongst others) the we, the said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André Fröhlich
by an instrument in writing under our 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 we, the said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André
Fröhlich, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being bad to the
Drawings hereto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:
This Invention consists in economising fuel in the treatment of metals; first,
by a peculiar arrangement and construction of blast, refining, and puddling

page_text: succeeding operation takes place. Secondly, in the employment of the other-
wise waste heat of the furnaces (constructed with the ordinary grates) to heat
water contained in boilers placed upon such furnaces.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a horizontal section of a common hearth. A, A, for
four furnaces for heating iron; B, B, floors of the furnaces; C, C, thin refrac-
tory partition, for the division, at will, of the grates; D, D, supporting walls of
the furnaces; E, E, chimneys.
Figure 2 is a section of a common hearth A', for two iron re-heating
furnaces; B, floors of the furnaces; C', chimneys.
Figure 3 is also a section of a common bearth A", for two furnaces; tho
one B for re-heating, and the other for puddling; with two doors on the same
side at B, and with a small furnace for heating the cast metal in B;
C", chimneys.
Figure 4 is a section of a common hearth A", and two puddling furnaces
B, of different arrangement, with a second furnace B", for re-heating the cast
metal; C, chimnies.
Figure 5, horizontal section of a common hearth A", in the centre of four
furnaces (in the form of a cross), for puddling or re-heating; B, floors of the
furnaces; C, chimnies.
Figures 6 and 7, elevation and plan of four blast furnaces in a single
group G.
Figures 8, 9, and 10, partial sections of an arrangement of two and four
refining wood furnaces together. II, II, II, fire-places; I, I, chimnics.
Figure 11, sectional plan of a common grate K, for four puddling fur-
naces placed together; G, small furnaces for heating cast metal; R, R, large
reverberatory furnaces for large masses. The dotted lines represent two steam
boilers arranged upon the furnaces; the flame coming from the furnace
at M to heat the steam boilers enters the chimney at M².
Figure 1, Sheet 2, is a sectional plan of a common hearth N, N, N,
of a rectangular form, for ten furnaces, either for puddling, re-heating, or
for treatment of copper. The dotted lines shew the boilers placed in the
furnaces. 1, 2, 3, 4, horizontal generators with ordinary boilers; F, F,
arrangement of vertical boilers, disposed on the furnaces with a common
bearth.
Figure 2 is a plan, in section, of a common grate G for two puddling
furnaces, with three working doors p, p, p. P, the furnaces; 9, 7, 9,

page_text: lateral columns supporting the vertical boilers, which economise the waste
heat.
Figure 3, a horizontal section of a semicircular arrangements of five
furnaces. S, S, S, S, S, grates; R, R', puddling furnaces, with small furnace
for heating a steam boiler placed upon it, represented by the dotted lines,
and which is more completely shewn in Figures 4 and 5, which are
sections through A, B, and C, D; T, T, T, T, reverberatory furnaces for
wrought iron, copper, or cast iron, whose waste heat is employed for heating
the tubular vertical boilers.
In the present method of manufacturing iron, the refining operations
are performed successively in special furnaces, and the metal allowed to
cool between each process, consequently the caloric required to raise the metal
to the same temperature in the next operation is wasted.
.
The above operations are also performed in furnaces which have each a
special hearth, and the isolation of which favors the loss of caloric. By the
adoption of our improvements, which will be more clearly understood by
reference to the accompanying Drawings, these defects are obviated.
The common hearths are applicable to furnaces for refining metals, and also
with great advantage in all cases where fuel is employed to produce heat, but
especially for the hearths of steam boilers, where it is evident that a series
of tubular boilers, placed on one hearth, would produce a very considerable
economy of fuel. We therefore include this application in our Patent.
Copper, tin, lead, zinc, cast and wrought iron, and the precious metals,
are produced in the crude state, and are refined in special furnaces. We
consider it useful to submit the metals to different operations for their puri-
fication, but we also think it unnecessary to bring them back again to the state
of fusion in order to carry out that purification to its full extent. Therefore,
when the metals are once in this state of fusion, it suffices for us to maintain
them in it, and to treat them successively in the special furnaces suited to the
several operations. We also include in our Patent the application of venti-
lators to ordinary hearths, for accelerating the combustion, to reduce the
consumption of fuel, and permit of the employment of fuel of an inferior
quality.
To explain our process for the treatment of metals in general, it will suffice
to explain the mode of operating for cast iron. It is first treated in special
apparatus, and for its conversion into wrought iron it is submitted to the heat
of a blast furnace, where it is transformed into fine metal. From these blast
furnaces it passes into the refining or into puddling furnaces, where it is again

page_text: brought to a state of fusion, then decarbonized, and transformed into wrought
iron. The cast iron may pass directly in a state of fusion from the blast
furnaces to the refining furnaces or fires and puddling furnaces, and there
undergo the refining operations, which are there usually performed, but evidently
in much less time, and with a greater reduction in the consumption of fuel, and
in the expenses of labor, than by the usual process.
The refining fires may be placed together in sets of two, four, or more on
the same hearth, and to them may be applied our improved arrangements for
the puddling and re-heating furnaces, see Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings.
The furnaces with common hearths are therefore applicable to all hearths for
metals of every kind, and to the furnaces of steam boilers, while the principle
of employing a common hearth is applicable to the hearths with or without a
common grate. The high temperatnre produced by the construction of the
hearths renders it necessary to employ a fosse or trench for the reception of the
cinders. This fosse is from eight to ten feet below the hearths in which
the cinders collect. The common hearths can, when necessary, be partly or
entirely separated by a thin refractory partition, so as to lessen the necessity for
working the chimney registers. These bearths are so arranged that the air
reaches them by passing under the furnaces; the grates can therefore be
entirely closed, from which results an additional economy of fuel.
On Sheet 2 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings is a semicircular arrange-
ment of five furnaces on a single grate, the furnaces T being capable of
application to copper as well as to iron. The waste heat of the furnace passes
into a tubular vertical boiler.
One of our improvements consists in the arrangement of a puddling furnace
with three puddlers, that is to say, that the working from one end to the other
permits the workmen to place themselves to the right and left of the furnace,
and to operate on the material with more power, consequently accelerating
and rendering the process more perfect. This arrangement for puddling is
represented in Sheet 2.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
of carrying the same into effect, we would have it understood that we do
not confine ourselves to the precise details herein laid down; but what we
claim is,
First, the mode of constructing and combining blast, refining, and puddling
furnaces, for economising fuel in the manufacture of iron or other metal, as
herein-before described, and referred to in the annexed Drawings.
Secondly, the employment of the waste heat of the furnaces for manu-

page_text: facturing metals to beat water contained in steam boilers, as herein-before
described, and represented in the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alexandre Louis Gibon and André
Frohlich, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day
of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-six.