IMPROVEMENTS IN UTILIZING THE WASTE FLUX FROM GALVANIZING WORKS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Webster at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th September 1863.
I, JAMES WEBSTER, of Lee Crescent, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN UTILIZING THE WASTE FLUX FROM GALVANIZING WORKS,"
to be as follows:--
In the manufacture of galvanized iron a considerable quantity of either
muriate of ammonia or sal ammoniac is used, the same being thrown upon
the molten zinc; in a short time a dirty mass is produced consisting mainly
of chloride of zinc, oxide and carbonate of zinc, a little metallic zinc, and
occasionally a trace of muriate of ammonia. This mixture has hitherto
been of little use, and has been sold at a cheap rate mainly for reconversion
into metallic zinc, and is generally known either as "waste or spent flux."
Now the object of the present Invention is to utilize this material, and to this
end I take any given quantity of the spent flux and macerate it in water for a
convenient period, and when most of the chloride of zinc has dissolved I stir
up the solution, which causes the lighter particles of oxide or carbonate of

page_text: zinc to be held in suspension in the liquor, I then draw this solution through
a suitable strainer into a tank standing at a lower level, and, if necessary,
repeat the process until the greater part of the chloride of zinc has become
dissolved and run into the second tank. The fine particles of oxide or car-
bonate of zinc held in suspension in the solution in the second tank I allow to
settle down and draw off the supernatant liquor containing the chloride of zinc
into a third tank, and then wash the precipitate in the second tank, and again
run the liquid into the third tank. The liquid in the third tank I now treat
with ammoniacal liquor, such as the refuse liquor from gas works, which
causes a precipitate of oxide of zinc and leaves a solution of muriate of
ammonia; this solution, when evaporated and crystallized in the ordinary way,
may be used in the galvanizing works or disposed of elsewhere. The pre-
cipitate left in the first tank would find a ready market among the refiners or
others at a higher price than the original spent flux, and the precipitate in
the second and third tanks are, when properly dealt with, very suitable for
paint.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Webster in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th March 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WEBSTER, of Lee Crescent, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Janies Webster, Her special license that I, the said James Webster,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Webster, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN UTILIZING THE
WASTE FLUX FROM GALVANIZING WORKS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that the said James Webster, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should, particularly describe and ascertain the nature of

page_text: 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 James Webster, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 (that is to say):-
In the manufacture of galvanized iron a considerable quantity of muriate of
ammonia or sal ammoniac is used as a flux to ensure a firm union between
the iron to be coated and the molten zinc in which it is immersed, the sal
ammoniac being thrown upon the the bath of molten zinc. In a short time a
dirty mass is produced, consisting mainly of chloride of zinc, oxide and car-
bonate of zinc, a little metallic zine, and occasionally a trace of muriate of
ammonia. This mixture has hitherto been of little use, and has been sold at a
cheap rate mainly for reconversion into metallic zinc, and is generally known
either as waste or spent "flux." Now the object of the present Invention
is to utilize this material, and to this end I take any given quantity of the
spent flux and macerate it in either hot or cold water in a suitable tank for a
convenient period, say, from five to ten hours, and when most of the chloride
of zinc has been dissolved out I stir up the solution, which causes the lighter
particles of oxide or carbonate of zinc to be held in suspension in the liquor,
while the heavier particles will settle at the bottom of the tank, I then draw
off the solution through a suitable strainer into a second tank standing at a
lower level, and, if necessary, repeat the process of maceration in the first tank
until the greater part of the chloride of zinc has been dissolved and run into
the second tank. The fine particles of oxide or carbonate of zinc that escape
into the second tank and are held in suspension in the chloride solution I
allow to settle down, and I then draw off the supernatant liquor containing
the chloride of zine into a third tank and wash the precipitated oxide or
carbonate in the second tank, which liquid I also run into the third tank. The
liquid in the third tank I now treat with ammoniacal liquor, such as the refuse
liquor from gas works, which causes a precipitate of oxide of zinc and leaves
a solution of muriate of ammonia. This solution, when evaported and
crystallized in the ordinary way, may be used in the galvanized works, or
disposed of elsewhere. The precipitate left in the first tank would find a ready
market among the refiners or others at a higher price than the original
spent flux, and the precipitates in the second and third tanks are, when
properly dealt with, very suitable for conversion into paint.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Utilizing the Waste Flux from Galvanizing Works, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim treating the waste flux of
galvanizing works in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Webster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
H. G. HEATHFIELD,
Henley Lodge,
March 18th, 1864.
Handsworth.
JAMES WEBSTER. (L.S.)