Improvements in the Manufacture of Copper.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd May, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 20th Feb., 1881-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1891
complete spomivation LOL FC, FOOT-Accepted, 19th Mar., 1997
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Copper.
I, Sir HENRY HUSSEY VIVIAN, Baronet, of Hafod Works, Swansea, in the
County of Glamorgan, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in submitting copper in a finely divided oxidised condition
to the action of chemical re-agents such as hereinafter mentioned previous to refining
it in the dry way, in order, as far as possible, to dissolve out such substances as may
be hurtful to its quality. For this purpose if the copper is in a metallic form, I melt,
granulate and calcine it and grind the resulting oxide. If it is in the state of matte
I grind and calcine it so as to reduce it into a fine oxidised condition. Precipitates
if sufficiently rich and iron free may be at once calcined. Residues which have
been heated for the extraction of silver, being already in a fine oxidised condition,
are fit for immediate treatment: if they result from the salt or chlorination process
of silver extraction, no salt need be added. If the material to be treated has
not been submitted to a previous chlorination process, I find it desirable to add
salt to the copper oxide previous to withdrawing it from the calciner, the mass
being at the same time well mixed and stirred as in the ordinary chlorination
process.
I then lixiviate the copper oxide with a weak solution of an organic acid or of a
salt of such acid. For this purpose I prefer to use tartaric acid. I have found that
by the use of 2 lbs. of that acid per ton of oxide, I am able to dissolve out such a
proportion of arsenic antimony gold silver and other foreign substances and
impurities as to render the copper of high quality suitable for electrical uses
although of course the amount of acid employed must more or less depend on the
amount of the foreign substances present in the copper.
The strength of the tartaric acid solution I prefer to use, is 1 lb. of acid to 100 lbs.
of water.
I then place insoluble anodes in the liquor resulting from the lixiviation of the
oxide of copper and by passing an electric current through it I separate the
impurities contained in it as well as any copper which may have been dissolved out.
The liquor will then be in a condition to use over again. I find that even without
the use of salt, the impurities are dissolved out but not so readily.
Dated this 2nd day of May 1890.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Copper.
I, Sir HENRY HUSSEY VIVIAN, Baronet, of Hafod Works, Swansea, in the
County of Glamorgan, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My improvements consist in submitting copper in a finely divided oxidised
condition to the action of chemical re-agents such as hereinafter mentioned previous
to refining it in the dry way, in order, as far as possible, to dissolve out such
substances as may be hurtful to its quality. For this purpose if the copper is in a
metallic form, I melt, granulate and calcine it and grind the resulting oxide. If
it is in the state of matte I grind and calcine it so as to reduce it into a fine oxidised
condition. Precipitates if sufficiently rich and iron free may be at once calcined.
Residues which have been treated for the extraction of silver, being already in a
[Price Ad

page_text: fine oxidised condition, are fit for immediate treatment; if they result from the
salt or chlorination process of silver extraction, no salt need be added. If the
material to be treated has not been submitted to a previous chlorination process, I
find it desirable to add salt to the copper oxide previous to withdrawing it from
the calciner, the mass being at the same time well mixed and stirred as in the
ordinary chlorination process.
I then lixiviate the copper oxide with a weak solution of an organic acid or of a
salt of such neid. For this purpose I prefer to use tartaric acid. I have found that
by the use of 2 lbs. of that acid per ton of oxide. I am able to dissolve out such a
proportion of arsenic antimony gold silver and other foreign substances and
impurities as to render the copper of high quality suitable for electrical uses
although of course the amount of acid employed must more or less depend on the
amount of the foreign substances present in the copper.
The strength of the tartaric acid solution 1 prefer to use, is 1 lb. of acid to 100 lbs.
of water.
I then place in soluble anodes in the liquor resulting from the lixiviation of the
oxide of copper and by passing an electric current through it I separate the
impurities contained in it as well as any copper which may have been dissolved
out. The liquor will then be in a condition to use over again. I find that even
without the use of salt, the impurities are dissolved out but not so readily.
The oxide of copper which has been purified in the manner described is then
mixed with powdered charcoal and put into a melting furnace aud from this furnace
the purified inetallic copper is drawn in a molten state.
In place of tartaric acid I may use citric acid, acetic acid or oxalic acid in a
similar manner.
It is not essential to wash the material after treatment with the tartaric acid or
other organic acid for it is found that the treated material taken without washing
and melted yields a copper comparatively free from arsenic and antimony.
It is not essential that the material should in the first instance be brought to the
state of oxide for finely powdered matte or regulus may be treated in a similar
manner and will yield a purified copper.
I will give as an example of the application of my invention, the following: 1
comunence say with copper sulphide containing 70 per cent, or more of copper.
I calcine it in an ordinary reverberatory caleiner, preferably adding salt towards the
eml of the operation. The resulting oxide in a fine state of division and in a charge
weighing say 30 hundred-weight is placed in a suitable vessel and hot water is run
on to it until it stands to some depth over the oxide. The tartaric acid in solution
is then added. The quantity of acid for this charge will be from 24 to 3 pounds.
The water used will be about 100 times the weight of the acid. The solution
is allowed gradually to drain through the bed of oxide of copper, which should
оссиру about 12 hours.
Afterwards to reduce the moist oxide to metallic copper I mix with the charge
7 hundredweight of coal and then melt the charge in a reverberatory furnace.
The resulting copper will be found to be of much better quality than if it had
been made without the tartaric acid treatment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
The production of purified copper from a finely divided oxide or matte or
regulus by treating the same with tartaric acid, or citric acid, or acetic acid, or oxalic
neid, as herein described, and afterwards reducing the same to the metallic state.
.... A011
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.