Henderson's Patent Steel Process

Abstract

TWO articles written by Mr. W. Mattieu Williams, called “Papers on Iron and Steel—A Costly and Vexatious Fallacy,” were published a short time since in NATURE. These papers are considered in this country to be the clearest and ablest that have ever appeared on this subject, setting forth the reason why all efforts heretofore made to produce steel from English cast-iron by partial decarbonisation have failed; that all manipulations have been directed to removing as much as possible the impurities contained in pig iron by oxidation. He was not aware that new agents have been used, combined with oxygen, and that patents had been granted therefor in England, Nos. 318, 1,051, A.D. 1870 (which were not then published) for combining fluorine with oxygen, and fluorine combined with titanic acid, or with titanium and oxygen.