IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING COPPER FROM COPPER ORES
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NICHOLAS
TROUGHTON, of Broad Street, in the City of London, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-first day of August, in the second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Nicholas Troughton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Nicholas Troughton, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Nicholas Troughton, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time at
all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF
OBTAINING COPPER FROM COPPER ORES;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso that I, the said Nicholas Troughton, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court, of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Nicholas Troughton, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say)::-
According to the ordinary mode of treating copper ores in obtaining copper
therefrom, the ores are subjected to processes of roasting, and the vapours

page_text: produced therefrom are permitted to pass into the atmosphere; and it is well
known that some of such vapours are produced from the sulphur contained in
the ores.
Now, the object of my Invention is to obtain sulphur in the 'process of
roasting ores, in place of permitting the vapours thereof to pass into the
atmosphere.
And, secondly, my Invention relates to the obtaining of sulphuric acid by the
combustion of vapours produced in roasting copper ores, in the processes
of obtaining copper therefrom.
And in order to give the best information in my power for carrying out this
my Invention, I will describe the means pursued by me. In place of sub-
mitting the ores to heat in reverberatory furnaces, as is the most usual
practice, and whereby the vapours distilled from the ores mix with those given
off and produced by the fuel, I place the ores in retorts which are externally
heated, in a similar manner to what is described in my former Patent, and
thereby I am enabled to obtain the vapours from the ores free from the
vapours of combustion of the fuel employed, as will readily be understood
on examining my former Specification. When I wish to obtain sulphur
I conduct the ends of the pipes leading from the retorts containing the ore into
a chamber or vessel, which I prefer to be of brick lined with fire clay; and
. I construct such vessels about ten times the contents or dimensions of the
retorts used, and there. is to be a door or opening through which a person can
get to throw out the sulphur deposited; but such door is to be closed as air-tight
as possible when at work with the retorts and vessel. In roasting the ores to
obtain sulphur therefrom, care is to be observed to admit as little air into
the retorts or any parts of the apparatus as possible, in order to prevent
the formation of sulphurous acid, and the vapour distilled will pass into the
chamber or vessel, and quickly condense and fall in the form of sulphur, which
may be removed at any time. By shutting off the flow of vapour into the
chamber, and opening the door and well ventilating the chamber with fresh
air, a man may enter and remove the sulphur.
When it is desired to make sulphuric acid in the act of roasting copper
ores, in the processes of obtaining copper from such ores, I put the ores into
similar retorts to those above mentioned, from which the vapours distilled are
conducted by suitable pipes to vessels suitable for making sulphuric acid, as is
well understood in making sulphuric acid by sulphurous acid, in place of
letting such sulphurous acid escape into the atmosphere in combination with
the products of combustion of the fuel employed.
The requisite leaden vessels and apparatus employed: in making sulphuric

page_text: acid being well understood, and in its separate condition forming no part of my
Invention, it will require no description in this my Specification, my Invention
relating only to the beneficially using the vapours distilled from sulphuretted
copper ores, in the processes of roasting such ores for the purpose of obtaining
copper therefrom; and I would remark that, in order to produce sulphurous
acid from the sulphur contained in the ores, an opening, such as is described
in my former Patent, should be formed in the door or cover of the retort,
in order that the atmospheric air should pass therein; or, in place of air, steam
may be employed, as is well understood.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would remark that I do not claim the separating
the vapours distilled from the ores from those produced by the fuel employed,
that having been done by my former Invention, by which I brought such
separated vapours to be operated upon by water; but what I claim as my
Invention is,
First, the mode herein described of obtaining sulphur in the processes of
roasting copper ores, by causing the separated vapours distilled therefrom
to enter a chamber and deposit sulphur therein.
Secondly, I claim the combining the processes of making sulphuric acid
with that of roasting copper ores, as above described, whereby I am enabled in
both cases to obtain valuable products, in place of their being driven into the
atmosphere to the prejudice of the surrounding neighbourhood.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nicholas Troughton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
Inrolled the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.