Patent US3715203A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3715203A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Melting of metals
Assignee: Societe Generale Metallurgique de Hoboken SA
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Filing: 1970-12-22
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Granted: 1973-02-06
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Expires: 1990-12-22
Abstract
Abstract The invention relates to a process for melting and refining copper in a vertical furnace by direct contact of copper pieces with hot gases produced by combustion of a non-solid fuel with an oxygen-containing gas ignited before coming into contact with the copper pieces, the said gas being substantially neutral, the variation around the neutral point being such that the oxygen contents shall be lower than about 0.5 percent of O2 and the hydrogen contents shall be lower than about 0.5 percent of hydrogen, and the pressure being such that the ignited has leaving the burners shall be capable of piercing the liquid mass situated at the level of the burners.
Inventors
- 👤 Bie E De
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 09:14
CPC Classifications
F; F27; F27B; F27B1/00; F27B1/08; C; C22; C22B; C22B15/00; C22B15/0026; C22B15/0028; C22B15/003; C22B15/0032; F23; F23D; F23D17/00; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P10/00; Y02P10/10; Y02P10/143
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
259 words
A process for melting and refining copper in a vertical furnace zone which comprises: A. charging the copper pieces to be melted to the upper part of said vertical furnace zone; B. injecting a stream of hot gases into said vertical furnace zone through burners mounted along the perimeter of said vertical furnace zone; C. directly contacting said stream with said copper pieces to melt said pieces; D. said stream of hot gases originating from the combustion of a non-solid fuel with an oxygen-containing gas, and wherein said gas resulting from the combustion and ignited before coming into contact with the copper pieces, is a substantially neutral gas, the variation around the neutral point being such that the oxygen content is lower than about 0.5 percent of O2 and the hydrogen content is lower than about 0.5 percent of hydrogen; E. the pressure of said gas being such that the ignited gas leaving the burners shall be capable of piercing the liquid mass situated at the level of the burners; and F. discharging the molten material into a holding furnace zone through a tapping hole at the lower part of said vertical furnace zone, adjacent to the bottom of said vertical furnace zone; and wherein G. the pressure of the gas in the vertical furnace zone at the level of the burner and at the level of the tapping hole for the molten material is between 35 and 130 gr/cm2 so as to violently expel the molten material containing small pieces and unmolten slag from the vertical furnace zone.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
259 words
A process for melting and refining copper in a vertical furnace zone which comprises: A. charging the copper pieces to be melted to the upper part of said vertical furnace zone; B. injecting a stream of hot gases into said vertical furnace zone through burners mounted along the perimeter of said vertical furnace zone; C. directly contacting said stream with said copper pieces to melt said pieces; D. said stream of hot gases originating from the combustion of a non-solid fuel with an oxygen-containing gas, and wherein said gas resulting from the combustion and ignited before coming into contact with the copper pieces, is a substantially neutral gas, the variation around the neutral point being such that the oxygen content is lower than about 0.5 percent of O2 and the hydrogen content is lower than about 0.5 percent of hydrogen; E. the pressure of said gas being such that the ignited gas leaving the burners shall be capable of piercing the liquid mass situated at the level of the burners; and F. discharging the molten material into a holding furnace zone through a tapping hole at the lower part of said vertical furnace zone, adjacent to the bottom of said vertical furnace zone; and wherein G. the pressure of the gas in the vertical furnace zone at the level of the burner and at the level of the tapping hole for the molten material is between 35 and 130 gr/cm2 so as to violently expel the molten material containing small pieces and unmolten slag from the vertical furnace zone.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the pressure of the ignited gas leaving the burners and injected into the vertical furnace zone is between 100 and 380 gr/cm2.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pressure of the ignited gas leaving the burners and injected into the vertical furnace zone is about 180 gr/cm2.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the non-solid fuel contains sulfur.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 in which sand, silica or a silica containing compound are used for melting the copper pieces when impure copper rich in iron is treated.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the pieces of copper to be melted are stacked sufficiently high so that a high resistance to the upwards passage of the combustion gas is obtained.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A process as claimed in claim 6 in which the height of the stacked pieces of copper is of at least 6 meters.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the total heat output of the ignited gas injected into the vertical furnace zone is between 250 and 900 Kcal per Kg of copper.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
114 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the molten material is caused to flow in the hearth zone of said vertical furnace zone towards the tapping hole at a slope adapted to the natural flow slope of the molten material and further comprising injecting stream of said hot gases into said vertical furnace zone through row of burners at the lower part of the vertical furnace zone wherein the plane containing the centers of the outlet orifices of the burners of said row of burners is inclined in the direction of the flow of the molten material in the hearth zone and remaining as near as possible above the upper edge of said tapping hole.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the molten material is caused to flow in the hearth zone of said vertical furnace zone towards the tapping hole at an angle between 6* and 18*.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
10 words
The process of claim 10 wherein said angle is 12*.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The process of claim 9 in which the distance between the lower edge of the openings for the burners of said row and the hearth zone of the furnace is between 3 and 10 cm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
62 words
The process of claim 9 wherein the ratio between the angle of slope of the horizontal line relative to the plane conTaining the centers of the outlet orifices of the burners of said row of burners and the angle of the slope of the flow of the molten material in the hearth zone towards the tapping hole is between 1 and 0.5.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
47 words
The process of claim 1 which comprises injecting streams of said hot gases into said vertical furnace zones through four rows of burners and wherein the planes passing through the centers of the outlet orifices of the burners of the upper two rows of burners are horizontal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of claim 1 which further comprises injecting stream of said hot gases through at least one burner directly into the tapping hole.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
54 words
The process of claim 1 which further comprises conducting the molten material from the vertical furnace zone to two furnace zones whereby said molten material is subjected to an oxidizing-refining in one of said two furnace zones and whereby said molten material is subjected to poling in the other of said two furnace zones.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process of claim 9 in which the streams of hot gases leave the burners in each row in a direction inclined relatively to the hearth.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3199977A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-02-06 | 1976-08-07 | 1977-02-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-02-06 | 1980-08-07 | 1981-02-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-02-06 | 1984-08-07 | 1985-02-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |