GB122688A - Improvements in the Metallurgy of Zinc. - Google Patents

Abstract

122,688. Armstrong, J. Jan. 28, 1918. Distilling zinc; briquetting processes; treating ores to remove volatile constituents.-In a continuous zinc-extraction process, the zinciferous ore or other material, intimately mixed with carbon, is fed into the upper section c of a retort comprising three sections, the said upper section being kept warm by being enclosed in a brickwork of the furnace. The smelting takes place in the middle section b of the retort which is enclosed in the combustion chamber a, the zinc vapour passing out through a branch f in the upper section to a condenser m in which a hood s floats in the metallic zinc and protects it and the fumes from oxidation. The residue from the sections b, which will contain in the metallic form any lead and iron originally present in the ore &c., passes into a third section d of the retort, from which it may be discharged periodically or continuously, admission of air to the retort being prevented. The middle section of the retort may be made of silica, corundum, or like refractory material, and the joint y between the first two sections and between the middle section and the brickwork, are enclosed and protected by the brickwork, a layer of jointing material u being provided in the latter case. The charge is prepared for the retort by comminuting the ore with bituminous coal, subjecting the mixture to a lowtemperature coking out of contact with air, expelling thereby the superfluous hydrocarbons and water vapour, and finally crushing the mass to powder.