IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING AND COLLECTING THE FUMES EVOLVED BY FURNACES USED FOR MELTING METALS, AND FOR OTHER METAL- LURGICAL OPERATIONS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Philip Albert Muntz, of Keresley, in the
County of Warwick, Gentleman, and Thomas Budworth Sharp, of
the French Walls Works, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING AND COLLECTING THE FUMES
EVOLVED BY FURNACES USED FOR MELTING METALS, AND FOR OTHER METAL-
LURGICAL OPERATIONS."
caled the 31st July 1874, and dated the 21st February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Philip Albert Muntz
and Thomas Budworth Sharp at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st February 1874.
We, PHILIP ALBERT MUNTZ, of Keresley, in the County of Warwick,
Gentleman, and THOMAS BUDWORTH SHARP, of the French Walls
Works, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING AND COLLECTING THE FUDES EVOLVED

page_text: BY FURNACES USED FOR MELTING METALS, AND FOR OTHER
OPERATIONS," to be as follows:-.
METALLURGICAL
In furnaces used for melting metals and for other metallurgical
operations fumes are evolved which it is desirable to condense and
collect. For example, in the manufacture and melting of brass or alloys
containing zinc, or in the melting of zinc, a portion of the zinc is
volatilized and oxidized, dense white fumes consisting of oxide of zinc
passing from the flue of the furnace. This oxide of zinc is of con-
siderable commercial value, but is ordinarily allowed to escape into the
atmosphere owing to the difficulty of collecting it. A like volatilization
and loss occurs in the melting of lead and other volatile metals.
Our Invention has for its object to condense and collect the fumes
evolved from furnaces in which metals are melted or other metallurgical
operations are conducted, and our said Invention consists of the im-
provements herein-after described in the process of and apparatus for
condensing and collecting the fumes evolved by furnaces used for
melting metals and for other metallurgical operations.
We collect from the chimney or stack of the furnace the fumes which
are to be condensed, and transfer or force the said fumes into the con-
lensing vessel or chamber herein-after described by the following:
arrangement:-On the top of the chimney stack by which the requisite
draft is obtained in the furnace by which the metal or metals are melted
we place a damper carried by a lever and capable of adjustment in the
ordinary way.
In order however to make the said damper fit more
accurately than ordinary dampers on the top of the chimney we employ
a sand valve, that is, a trough of the same figure as the chimney stack,
which trough is partly filled with sand, and into this sand the edge of
the damper when lowered fits. Near the top of the chimney stack is a
lateral horizontal flue opening into the chimney stack. This fluc is
connected with a vertical flue which is conducted to the condensing
chamber and delivers the fumes to be condensed into the said chamber
in the manner herein-after explained.
In the axis of the vertical flue described is a steam jet, the steam
from which has a downward direction. In order to give greater power
to the said steam jet the vertical flue is gradually contracted a little
below the nozzle of the steam jet, the said fluc again gradually expanding
to about its normal diameter below the said nozzle. Beneath the steam

page_text: | jet and the contracted part of the vertical flue a pipe enters the said flue
and terminates in a perforated ring or rose. Cold water in a thin sheet
or in a finely divided state passes by the said pipe and ring or rose into
the vertical flue and commences the condensation of the fumes or
condensible matter drawn from the furnace.
By a proper adjustment of the damper described and the steam jet the
ordinary and proper draught of the furnace need not be materially
interfered with.
The condensing vessel into which the fumes are conducted consists of
a closed chamber of a size dependant on the size and number of the
furnaces the fumes of which are to be treated, and the volatility of the
metal or metals under treatment, which vessel or chamber is partly filled
with water. Into this vessel or chamber the fumes from the furnace or
furnaces are delivered by the vertical fluc containing the steam and
water jets. The fumes on delivery into the said vessel or chamber aro
made to pass under a perforated diaphragm below the surface of the
water through which they rise in a series of small currents or bubbles,.
the suspended and condensible matter being wholly or partly retained
by the water, the uncondensed or gaseous matter passing away from the
condensing vessel by a flue opening into the upper part of the said
vessel. Or instead of dividing the fumes, as described, the gaseous
current may be made to pass through the water in a tortuous or zig-zag
path. This is effected by the use of a series of inclined shelves or
divisions in the vessel or chamber, the gaseous current being delivered
under the lowest of these shelves. The current slowly traverses the
series of inclined divisions and is thereby effectually cooled and the
volatile or suspended matter in it condensed or collected. Or the
vertical flue may be made to terminate in a number of small pipes
dipping into the water through which the fumes are caused to pass.
The water may either be made to pass in a slow continuous stream
through the vessel or chamber, or the said vessel or chamber may be
charged and emptied from time to time.
The products when solid may be separated from the water by sub-
sidence, and when soluble may be recovered by chemical processes
suited to the nature of the dissolved matter. The fumes as they pass
from the furnace to the condensing chamber may be conducted through
the flue of a steam boiler whereby they produce steam suitable for the

page_text: steam jet, and at the same time are partially cooled. In special cases
acid or other solutions may be used in place of water.
The fumes may be collected from the stack of the furnace or furnaces
by means of a hood or inverted funnel suspended over the top of the
stack, or by means of a pipe opening into the side of the stack, or by
means of a pipe dipping down the top of the stack; but we prefer the
arrangement herein-before described. Whichever way we collect them
however we prefer to have a connection between the top of the stack and
the atmosphere, which connection may be decreased or closed at will, so
that if our apparatus is not at work the furnace or furnaces will work in
the usual way, or if the forcing apparatus is too strong for the proper
working of the furnace a portion of atmospheric air will be drawn in, or
if it is not strong enough to carry away all the fumes the surplus will
pass into the atmosphere, and thus in any case the natural draught of
the furnace or furnaces will not be materially effected.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Philip Albert Muntz and Thomas Budworth Sharp.
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, PHILIP
ALBERT MUNTZ, of Keresley, in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, 2
and Thomas BUDWORTH SHARP, of the French Walls Works, Smethwick,
in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Philip Albert Muntz and Thomas
Budworth Sharp, Her special license, that we, the said Philip
Albert Muntz and Thomas Budworth Sharp, our exccutors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Philip Albert Muntz
and Thomas Budworth Sharp, 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 King-

page_text: dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS
FOR CONDENSING AND COLLECTING THE FUMES EVOLVED BY FURNACES USED FOR
MELTING METALS, AND FOR OTHER METALLURGICAL OPERATIONS," upon tho con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said Philip Albert Muntz and
Thomas Budworth Sharp, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and scal of one of us or them 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 Philip Albert Muntz, on behalf of
myself and the said Thomas Budworth Sharp, 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 thereof, that is to say :—
In furnaces used for melting metals and for other metallurgical
operations fumes are evolved which it is desirable to condense and
collect. For example in the manufacture and melting of brass or alloys
containing zinc, or in the melting of zinc, a portion of the zinc is
volatilized and oxidized, dense white fumes consisting of oxide of zino
passing from the flue of the furnace. This oxide of zinc is of con-
siderable commercial value, but is ordinarily allowed to escape into the
atmosphere owing to the difficulty of collecting it. A like volatilization
and loss occurs in the melting of lead and other volatile metals.
Our Invention has for its object to condense and collect the fumes
evolved from furnaces in which metals are melted or other metallurgical
operations are conducted, and our said Invention consists of the
improvements hercin-after described in the process of and apparatus for
condensing and collecting the fumes evolved by furnaces used for
melting metals and for other metallurgical operations.
We collect from the chimney or stack of the furnace the fumes which
aro to be condensed and transfer or force the said fumes into the
condensing vessel or chamber herein-after described by the following
arrangement:-On the top of the chimney stack by which the requisite
draught is obtained in the furnace by which tho motal or metals

page_text: are melted we place a damper carried by a lever and capable of
adjustment in the ordinary way. In order however to make the said
damper fit more accurately than ordinary dampers on the top of the
chimney we employ a sand valve, that is a trough of the same figure as
the chimney stack, which trough is partly filled with sand, and into this
sand the edge of the damper when lowered fits. Near the top of the
chimney stack is a lateral horizontal fluc opening into the chimney
stack. This fluc is connected with a vertical flue which is conducted to
the condensing chamber and delivers the fumes to be condensed into
the said chamber in the manner herein-after explained.
In the axis of the vertical flue described is a steam jet, the steam from
which has a downward direction. In order to give greater power to the
said steam jet the vertical flue is gradually contracted a little below the
nozzle of the steam jet, the said flue again gradually expanding to about
its normal diameter. Beneath the contracted part of the vertical flue a
pipe enters the said flue and terminates in a perforated ring or rose.
Cold water in a thin sheet or in a finely divided state passes by the
said pipe and ring or rose into the vertical flue and commences the
condensation of the fumes or condensible matter drawn from the
furnace.
By a proper adjustment of the damper described and the steam jet
the ordinary and proper draught of the furnace need not be materially
interfered with.
The condensing vessel into which the fumes are conducted consists of
a closed chamber of a size dependent on the size and number of the
furnaces, the fumes of which are to be treated, and the volatility of the
metal or metals under treatment, which vessel or chamber is partly
filled with water. Into this vessel or chamber the fumes from the
furnace or furnaces are delivered by the vertical flue containing the
steam and water jets. The fumes on delivery into the said vessel or
chamber are made to pass under a perforated diaphragm below the
surface of the water through which they rise in a series of small currents
or bubbles, the suspended and condensible matter being wholly or partly
retained by the water, the uncondensed or gaseous matter passing away
from the condensing vessel by a flue opening into the upper part of the
said vessel; or instead of dividing the fumes as described, the gaseous
current may be made to pass through the water in a tortuous or zig-zag

page_text: path. This is effected by the use of a series of inclined shelves or
divisions in the vessel or chamber, the gascous current being delivered
under the lowest of these shelves. The current slowly traverses the
series of inclined divisions and is thereby effectually cooled and the
volatile or suspended matter in it condensed or collected. Or the
vertical flue may be made to terminate in a number of small pipes
dipping into the water through which the fumes are caused to pass.
The water may either be made to pass in a slow continuous stream
through the vessel or chamber, or the said vessel or chamber may bo
charged and emptied from time to time.
The products when solid may be separated from the water by sub-
sidence, and when soluble may be recovered by chemical processes suited
to the nature of the dissolved matter. The fumes, as they pass from the
furnace to the condensing chamber may be conducted through the flue
of a steam boiler, whereby they produce steam suitable for the steam
jet, and at the same time are partially cooled. In special cases acid or
other solutions may be used in place of water. The fumes may be
collected from the stack of the furnace or furnaces by means of a hood
or inverted funnel suspended over the top of the stack, or by means of a
pipe dipping down tho top of the stack, but we prefer the arrangement
herein-before described. Whichever way we collect them however we
prefer to have a connection between the top of the stack and the atmos-
phere, which connection may be decreased or closed at will, so if our
apparatus is not at work the furnace or furnaces will work in the usual
way, or if the forcing apparatus is too strong for the proper working of
the furnace a portion of atmospheric air will be drawn in, or if not
strong enough to carry away all the fumes the surplus will pass to the
atmosphere, and thus in any case the natural draught of the furnace or
furnaces will not be materially affected.
The accompanying Drawing represents in vertical section the improved
apparatus by which we conduct our process of condensing and collecting
oxide of zinc fumes and other fumes evolved by furnaces used for melting
metals and for other metallurgical operations. a is the passage or flue
from the furnace or furnaces by which the fumes are conducted to the
chimney stack b, by which the draught through the furnace or furnaces
is obtained. The said chimney stack is surrounded by a casing c, which
constitutes a boiler or steam generator heated by the fumes passing up
the said chimney stack. From the said boiler c steam is supplied to the

page_text: steam jet herein-after described. d is the damper of the chimney stack
carried by the lever e, and worked by the rod and handle f. The accurate
fitting of the damper d upon the top of the chimney stack 6 is effected
by the sand valve at g. The said sand valve consists of a trough filled
with sand, into which the edge or rim d' of the damper fits when the
said damper is lowered. The interior of the upper part of the chimney
stack is lined with a lining 63 of fire-clay or brick for the purpose of
preventing the excessive heating of the boiler above the water line.
Opening into the chimney stack 6 near the top thereof is a horizontal
flue 1, and the latter is connected with the vertical flue i in communi-
cation with the condensing chamber k, into which the fumes to be
condensed and collected pass. This condensing chamber is constructed
in either of the ways herein-before described.
The particular form represented of the condensing chamber consists of
a closed vessel having a' perforated plate or diaphragm in it, under
which the fumes are delivered from the flue i, the height of the water
or other similar condensing liquid in the vessel being maintained a little
above the said perforated plate or diaphragm. The passage of the upper
part of the vertical flue i is gradually contracted in the manner reprc-
sented by the pipe at 2. Above the contracted part of the fluc i is a
steam jet receiving steam from the steam generator c surrounding the
stack b, or from other boiler or generator, and immediately below the
part of the fluc i is a perforated ring or rose m supplied with cold water
by means of the pipo m², the said water passing into the said vertical
flue through the said ring or rose m in a thin sheet or finely divided
state.
The pipe of the steam jet 7 and the pipe m² of the water jet m are
opened and closed and the passage of steam and water through them
regulated or cut off by the action of the lever e of the damper d, so
that when the damper d is opened and no condensation is required to bo
effected by the apparatus the steam and water pipes ³, m³, are closed, and
when the damper is shut down the said pipes are opened and steam and
water are supplied to the jets and m. This automatic opening and
lacing of the ninas 73
3 is offrated
follows. AT ia
storm conte

page_text: By an examination of the Drawing it will be understood that when
the damper & is lowered the cocks n, p, are opened and when the said
damper is lifted from the stack as represented in the Drawing the said
cocks are closed and the passage of steam and water cut off from the
said pipes 12, m².
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When it is required to
condense and collect the fumes the damper d is lowered so as to make
its rim & fit in the sand valve g on the stack b, and thus prevent the
escape of the fumes at the said damper. The lowering of the damper
opens the taps or cocks n, p, and steam issues from the steam jet / in a
downward direction, and water from the water jet m descends in the
vertical flue i. By means of the steam jet in combination with the
contracted part of the fluc i, a strong downward current is produced,
by which the fumes are drawn through the stack 6 and fluch, and are
forced down the flue and through the water and perforated plate or
diaphragm in the condensing vessel k. As the fumes traverse the
vertical flue they are partly condensed by the water jet at m, and
finally condensed and collected in the condensing vessel k, the uncon-
densed or gaseous matter passing from the condensing vessel by the
fluck, situated at the upper part of the said vessel.
In order more effectually to prevent any interference with the regular
and proper draught of the furnace by the use of the apparatus we con-
nect a pipe with the upper part of the stack b, the lower end of the
said pipe opening into the atmosphere. Where the current produced
by the steam jet is in excess of the current from the flue a air enters
at the pipe 63, and when the current produced by the steam jet / is less
than that in the flue a a portion of the fumes pass out at the said pipe b³.
The height of the damper and the position of the stop-cocks n and p
are determined and fixed by the lower end of the rod ƒ being secured by
one of the series of holes represented being engaged with the peg or
arm g.
Instead of applying the steam jet in the manner represented it may
be applied in the manner indicated in dotted lines at 7.
We prefer
however to apply the steam jet as herein-before described.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and

page_text: illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention,—
First. The process herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing of condensing and collecting the fumes evolved by
furnaces used for melting metals and for other metallurgical operations,
that is to say, the use of a jet of steam either alone or in conjunction
with a jet or jets of water for producing a current whereby the fumes
to be condensed and collected are drawn from the stack of the furnace
or furnaces and forced in a finely divided state through water or other
liquid contained in a condensing vessel or chamber, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Secondly. The construction and combination of the parts of apparatus
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing for condensing and collecting the fumes evolved
by furnaces used for melting metals and for other metallurgical
operations.
In witness whereof, I, the said Philip Albert Muntz, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Tenth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
P. H. DUKE,
Bognor,
Sussex.
PHILIP ALBERT MUNTZ. (L.S.)