SMELTING ORES BY ELECTRICITY 



7. Under ordinary conditions, where blast-furnaces are 

 an established industry, electric smelting cannot compete ; 

 but in special cases, where ample water-power is available 

 and blast-furnace coke is readily obtainable, electric smelt- 

 ing may be commercially successful. 



The Heroult process for the production of pig iron re- 

 quires a very simple furnace, which is described more fully 

 in a later part of this paper. The electrode is connected to 

 one side of the circuit and the carbon bottom to the other 

 side of the circuit. The energy is absorbed by the resist- 

 ance of the charge, which is thereby heated to the temper- 

 ature required for reduction, The furnace is operated on 

 alternating current, and regulation is effected by adjusting 

 the electrode vertically as in the Keller furnace, and it is 

 possible to control the temperature of reduction within 

 narrow limits. 



This type of furnace was used, early the present year, 

 at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, when Dr. Haanel, Superinten- 

 dent of Mines, and Dr. P. Heroult, the inventor of the fur- 

 nace, made a series of experiments to determine the follow- 

 ing points • 



1 . The amount of electric energy required per ton of 

 pig iron. 



2. Whether magnetite, our chief Canadian ore, could 

 be successfully and economically smelted by the electric 

 process. 



3. Whether iron ores, with comparatively high sulphur 

 content, but not containing manganese, could be made into 

 pig iron of marketable composition, 



4. Whether charcoal or peat coke, which can be 

 cheaply made from mill refuse, and other sources of wood 

 supply, useless for other purposes, could be used instead 

 of coke as the reducing agent ib the electric furnace. 



The furnace for the Soo experiments was designed by 

 Dr. Heroult, who also conducted the experiments. It con- 

 sisted of a cylindrical iron casing mounted vertically and 



