184.9.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



lol 



once put in operation from the washers to he afterwards mentioned, 

 and by a portion of the suli)hurous acid wiiich is disengaged from 

 the first vessel. Each of these vessels is charged exactly as is done 

 with the liquid in the wet-lime purifiers, so that the gas may pass 

 through and come into extensive contact with the solution of sul- 

 phurous acid; the gas is made to pass first into the vessel with the 

 strong solution, and thence into the second, and thence again into 

 the third. In thus passing through these successive purifiers the 

 sulphuretted hydrogen in the coal-gas and the sulphurous acid are 

 both decomposed, and sulphur is abundantly deposited. 'When the 

 sulphurous acid in the first vessel has been all decomposed, or 

 nearly so, the contents must be discharged into a suitable reser- 

 voir, where the liquor may settle or be filtered, and the sulphur 

 obtained and dried. The vessel must then be charged with a new 

 solution, and the process proceed as before. In practice, instead 

 of using a separate vessel, as already described, for preparing the 

 solution of sulphurous acid, two sets of purifiers are used alter- 

 nately, and therein to charge the liquid with sulphurous acid in 

 the one set when the coal-gas is being passed through the other; 

 and instead of using fresh water for this purpose the liquid is 

 transferred, already partially charged, from the second to the first, 

 and the contents of the third transferred to the second, as in like 

 manner the third has been charged from the washers now to be 

 described. 



On account of the volatility of the sulphurous acid, a portion of 

 it is carried over with the gas, and, therefore, to free it from this 

 impurity it is made to pass through other three vessels, called 

 washers; and finally, that every trace of impurity may be removed, 

 it is passed through a common dry-lime purifier. The freedom 

 from impurity may be ascertained at any stage of the process l)y 

 the usual test of acetate of lead for sul])huretted hydrogen, and 

 by the smell, if there be even a most minute portion of sulphurous 

 acid present. 



These washers are arranged so as to be put in connection with 

 either series of purifiers at pleasure, and any construction may be 

 adopted by which there is a free passage for the gas and a thorough 

 exposure of it to the water, and for this purpose the ordinary lime 

 purifiers already referred to answer very well. In the washers 

 these are charged with water only, and as it becomes impure it is 

 transferred through the series onward, and then into the purifiers, 

 the last vessel of the series being always supplied with fresh water, 

 and care being taken that it never gets so charged with sulphurous 

 acid as to allow of its being disengaged with the gas. Such is the 

 general mode of procedure, that in practice it is not necessary to 

 discharge or transfer the contents of the purifiers every time they 

 are impregnated with sulphurous acid, but only when the accumu- 

 lation of sulphur, tar, &c., renders it necessary, and also if more 

 water be required in the washers than it is necessary to transfer to 

 the purifiers, then it may be run out, and, after depositing its sul- 

 phur, may go to waste. 



It has heretofore been proposed to have gas-holders fixed at a 

 distance from the works, in order that they may be near where the 

 supply is to be given, and it has been proposed to aid the trans- 

 mission of gas from the works by means of exhausting apparatus. 

 Now, the fourth part of the invention consists of so working tliat 

 the gas in the main between the gas-works and the exhauster, in the 

 vicinity of the gas-holder, at a distance may be maintained at a 

 proper degree of pressure for supplying the intermediate district. 

 For this purpose Mr. Croll causes the "exhausting apparatus to be 

 capable of taking the gas to such an extent as to exhaust the gas- 

 main, so that if no provision were made for maintaining the gas at 

 a proper degree of pressure in the main, no supply of gas to the 

 intermediate district could take place from the main. When the 

 exhausting apparatus is at work, he causes there to be a branch- 

 pipe from the main to the gas-holder, such branch-pipe being con- 

 nected at a point from the gas-holder beyond the exhausting appa- 

 ratus, and on such branch-pipe is applied a governor, which he 

 prefers to be such as are now used at gas-works to regulate the 

 pressure of gas in the mains. By this arrangement, although the 

 exhausting apparatus will at all times when at work be propelling 

 gas into the gas-holder from the gas-main, with a tendency to ex- 

 haust the main, a quantity of gas will pass from the gas-holder by 

 the branch-pipe into the main, which quantity will be regulated by 

 the governor, which will thus keep the gas in the gas-main at the 

 desired working pressure, and the gas-holder or gas-holders at a 

 distance from the works will only be supplied by the exhausting 

 apparatus with the quantity of gas, which would' otiierwise cause 

 the gas in the main to rise in excess of the desired working 

 pressure. 



MANUFACTURE OF IRON. 



John Davie Morries Stirling, of Black Grange, N. B., gen- 

 tleman, for ''^ improvemetiff/ hi the manufacture of iron and melallic 

 compound.-^."— Granted October 12, 184.8; Enrolled April 12, 1849. 

 [Reported in the Mechanics' Magazine.'] 



This invention relates to the manufacture of malleable iron, and 

 to certain combinations of alloys of malleable iron and cast-iron, 

 and of malleable iron or cast-iron, or malleable and cast-iron with 

 other metals. 



The improvement in the manufacture of malleable iron consists 

 in mixing a quantity of scrap-iron with cast-iron in the proportion 

 of s'ot'i to jth or even ^j^th part, by weight, of the former to the 

 latter, whereby the refining process may be wholly or partially 

 dispensed with. The malleable scrap-iron may be introduced into 

 hollows in the bed of the pig-furnace containing the cast-iron, and 

 melted with it; after which it is boiled and puddled, or puddled 

 only, in the ordinary manner. Or, the malleable, scrap, and cast- 

 iron may be melted in a suitable furnace, and then run into pigs or 

 slabs, or into a puddling furnace. Or, the scrap may be heated in 

 a furnace, but not sufficiently high for the pieces to stick together, 

 and the melted cast-iron then run into it, and the fusion of the 

 two completed. These proportions will, of course, have to be 

 varied according to the nature of the cast-iron. The quality of 

 the malleable iron will be much improved by mixing with it refined 

 iron or steel scrap, when either of these materials can be easily 

 and cheaply obtained. 



The patentee then specifies several combinations of malleable, 

 scrap, and cast iron with different metals, which are as follows : — 



1. A given quantity of the preceding combination is mixed with 

 from —77 th to Trrnrt'i P^>'t I'* it'* weight of block or grain tin; or, 



2. AVith ■nT77t'' P'i''t of its weight of zinc, or any one of its 

 oxides (calamine being preferred;) or, 



3. With from .^^th to TTTnjth part of its weight ot copper mixed 

 with one per cent, of the black oxide of manganese of com- 

 merce. 



In order to mix the ainc with the iron, the molten metal is run 

 out of the cupola or other furnace, and the blast-pipe closed. The 

 zinc is then |daced upon the coke, and, when melted, runs through 

 it and combines with the iron which adheres to the sides of the 

 furnace. The proportion of zinc to iron should be between 4 and 

 7 of the former to 1 of the latter, and may be employed, when 

 mixed with a small quantity of lead to prevent its heating, for 

 bearings, &c. And 



Lastly. The patentee proposes to manufacture a substitute for 

 gold, which he terms "British Gold," by mixing 1 part of the zinc 

 alloy of iron with 4 parts of copper and manganese; and a substi- 

 tute for silver, by mixing 6 parts of the zinc alloy of iron with 2 

 of nickel and 10 of copper. 



The combination of copper and manganese is effected by placing 

 them in a crucible covered with a suitable flux, and applying heat 

 until they fuse. The proportion of manganese to copper should 

 be from one to two per cent. 



[The patentee makes no claim to any of the various processes 

 and combinations described in his specification.] 



BORING MACHINE. 



Daniel Watney, of Wandsworth, Surrey, distiller, and Jajies 

 John Wentworth, of the same place, for '■'• iynprorements in ma- 

 chinery for drilling metals and other substances." — Granted October 

 12, 1848; Enrolled April 12, 1849. 



The apparatus consists of a rectangular metal frame, supported 

 loosely on a foot by a screw and nut, which allows it to turn freely 

 in any direction, and is furnished at top with a screw, carrying a 

 circular disc, which is also free to revolve thereon. This fi-ame is 

 maintained in a vertical or horizontal position by having the foot 

 and disc screwed into contact with the floor and ceiling, or to the 

 two sides of a chamber or mine. A block of metal slides up and 

 down the space of the frame, and is fitted with clamp pieces and a 

 screw, carrying at one end a socket-head, and at the other a nut, 

 whereby it may be maintained stationary at any required distance 

 from the foot-piece. This socket carries a screw, having a hole 

 liored in its head, to serve as a bearing to the drill, so that it may 

 be made to work in a horizontal or vertical line, or in a direction 

 at any desired angle to either of them. Motion is communicated 

 to the drill from a prime mover in the ordinary manner. 



