Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Production of Iron, Steel, and other Metals.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 17th May, 1897-Accepted, 26th June, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Production of Iron,
Steel, and other Metals.
ROBERT FERGUSSON STRONG, Victoria Street in the County of London, Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Many attempts have been made to utilize ores which owing to their friable or
granular condition are not in a fit state to put in the furnace.
Some of these are mixed with clay or other materials, pressed into blocks, dried
and burned in kilns before using in the furnace. This is a slow and costly process,
besides adding to the bulk a useless mass, and requiring extra fuel in reducing
the ore.
My invention is simple, moreover the principal binding ingredient, pyroligneous
acid, possesses great caloric power and considerably reduces the quantity of
ordinary fuel, this latter may even be dispensed with altogether; the pyroligneous.
acid is the liquid from the dry or destructive distillation of ligneous substances,
and is easily manufactured at low cost.
Low grade ores are improved in quality, owing to the action of the salts formed
by the binding materials.
In carrying the invention into practice, I granulate or grind the ore, adding
fresh calcined alkaline earth (preferably lime), and pyroligneous acid, these are
mixed and ground together, and at once pressed into blocks, and may be conveyed'
direct to the furnace.
If desired the pressing into blocks may be dispensed with and the mixed.
materials used in the furnace direct from the grinding and mixing pan as it quickly
solidifies.
Carbonaceous materials and fluxes may be added if desired.
Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Production of Iron,
Steel, and other Metals.
ROBERT FERGUSSON STRONG of Victoria Street, Westminster, London, Civil
Engineer 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 :-
Many attempts have been made to utilize ores which owing to their friable or
granular condition are not in a fit state to be put in the furnace.
Some of these are mixed with clay or other materials, pressed into blocks, dried.
and burned in kilns before using in the furnace. This is a slow & costly process
Price 8d 1

page_text: besides adding to the bulk a useless mass and requiring extra fuel in reducing
the ore.
Others have used coal tar and pitch to bind the ore, but found this mixture
would not stand the heat of the furnace & as the blocks quickly decrepitated the
resulting loose mass endangered the working of the furnaces by blocking the
-outlets.
My invention is simple, moreover the principal binding ingredient pyroligneous
acid possesses great caloric power and considerably reduces. the quantity of
ordinary fuel; this latter may even be dispensed with altogether. The pyroligneous
acid is the tarry liquid obtained from the dry distillation of ligneous substances
and is easily manufactured at low cost.
Low grade ores are improved in quality owing to the action of the salts formed
by the binding materials."
In carrying the invention into practice I granulate or grind the ore, adding
fresh calcined alkaline earth (preferably lime) and pyroligneous acid. These ure
mixed and ground together, or ground separately and mixed together and at once
pressed into blocks and may be conveyed direct to the furnace.
If desired the pressing into blocks may be dispensed with and the mixed
materials used in the furnace direct from the grinding and mixing pan as the
mixture quickly solidifies.
Carbonaceous materials and fluxes may be added if desired.
If it is desired simply to bind the ore I add to it about five per cent. of lime and
about ten per cent. of tarry pyroligneous acid (all by weight) but if in addition.
it is desired that the ingredients should act as fuel the pyroligneous acid may
be increased to twenty or thirty per cent. in which case I slightly increase the
lime.
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 I
- claim is
1. The treatment of ores for the production of iron, steel, and other metals
by adding to them a dry caustic alkaline earth such as lime, and pyroligneous
acid and grinding or mixing all together substantially as and for the purposes
.described.
2. The treatment of ores for the production of iron, steel, and other metals by
adding to them a dry caustic alkaline earth such as lime and pyroligneous acid,
grinding or mixing all together and then pressing the same into blocks substantially
as and for the purposes described.
Dated this 17th day of May 1897