Improvements in the Manufacture of Cuprous Oxide.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 19th July, 1893-Accepted, 16th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cuprous Oxide.
I, Dr. CARL HEINRICH WILHELM HOEPFNER, of 36 Frankfurterstrasse
Giessen in the Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Cuprous oxide is obtained from ores in the following manner; that is to say,
ores containing copper are treated with a cold or heated lye containing cupric
chloride and also a substance dissolving cuprous chloride such as a chloride by
which cuprous chloride is kept in solution, for instance common salt or preferably
calcium chloride. By such treatment of the ores cupric chloride is converted into
cuprous chloride.
Half of this lye is then separately converted again into cupric chloride solution
by oxidation with air or oxygen and an acid such as hydrochloric acid, sulphuric or
sulphurous acid. In most cases where hydrochloric acid is too expensive, sulphuric
or sulphurous acid may be used. In this case calcium sulphate is precipitated and
a pure chloride solution again obtained.
Such chloride solution containing calcium chloride keeps much more cuprous
chloride in solution than a common salt lye containing quantities of sulphates.
This cupric chloride lye is used again for extracting metals from ores.
The
The remaining half of the cuprous chloride lye is then purified from iron,
bismuth, arsenic, antimony, silver and other metals in a well known manner.
remaining pure cuprous chloride is finally precipitated by caustic lime or soda.
Cuprous oxide is obtained, which may be purified smelted to obtain metal or yellow
metal and may be refined by electrolysis if desired.
In this case a cuprous chloride lye can be used as an electrolyte. The smelting
furnace may be combined with a condensing or washing apparatus or the like such
as with a sort of Glover tower so that no trace of the metal may be lost by
evaporation of metals or oxides.
The lye remaining from the precipitation of cuprous oxide is mixed again with
the copper containing lyes, so as to maintain the former concentration.
This process may also be performed in such a way, that only half of the copper
is precipitated by caustic lime and the remaining half is oxidized again to obtain
cupric chloride as above described.
Duted this 21st day of October 1892
HASELTINE, LAKE
Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cuprous Oxide.
I, CARL HEINRICH WILHELM HOEPFNER, of 36, Frankfurter Strasse, Giessen,
in the Empire of Germany, Doctor of Philosophy, 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:—
According to the present invention cuprous oxide is obtained from ores and
smelting products in the following manner.
Ground ores and smelting products containing copper sulphide are-freed from
their copper by a preferably heated solution of copper chloride in a common salt
liquor or generally a liquor capable of amply dissolving cuprous chloride, but
preferably by a liquor of calcium chloride and copper chloride."

page_text: HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.