William Champion (metallurgist)
Encyclopedia
William Champion is credited with patenting a process in Great Britain
to distill zinc
from calamine
using charcoal
in a smelter.
Champion came from a family who were already concerned in the metal trade at Bristol
, his father being a leading partner in the Bristol Brass Company. As a young man he toured Europe, returning in 1730. He then experimented with smelting calamine, developing a method very similar to those long in use at the Zawar mines in India
(except in scale), but no mechanism for technology transfer
has yet been established. The difficulty is that a temperature of 1000°C is needed to reduce zinc oxide
to zinc, but zinc vaporises at 907°C. It is thus necessary for the furnace to provide a means of condensing the vapour. He obtained a patent for the process in 1738, but the process was energy inefficient. The distillation process produced around 400 kg of zinc per charge from six crucibles located in the furnace. The zinc was collected by iron tubes into water.
His initial works were on Old Market in Bristol and he made 200 tons of spelter
(as zinc was then called) by 1742, when he was required to move because his premises were a 'common nuisance
'. In 1746, he formed a partnership (the Warmley Company) with fellow Quakers, including Thomas Goldney (the Bristol merchant was a partner in the Coalbrookdale
Works) and Sampson Lloyd
the Birmingham
ironmonger and set up works at Warmley
, creating a large reservoir to power battery works, wire mills and rolling mills. In 1750 he sought an extension of his patent, but this was opposed. By 1754, he had:
In 1761 he sought new partners for an expanded works. However, by 1765, he was in financial difficulties. He sought a charter of incorporation, but this was refused. Ultimately he was declared bankrupt in 1768 and dismissed by the Warmley Company. However the company was forced to sell its works in 1769 to the old Bristol Brass Company; but the latter never used the works to their full capacity.
His brother John Champion developed a refined process and patented in 1758 the calcination of zinc sulfide
(zinc blende) to oxide for use in the retort process. The English zinc industry was concentrated in and around Bristol and Swansea
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to distill zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
from calamine
Calamine (mineral)
Calamine is a historic name for an ore of zinc. The name calamine was derived from the Belgian town of Kelmis, whose French name is "La Calamine", which is home to a zinc mine...
using charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
in a smelter.
Champion came from a family who were already concerned in the metal trade at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, his father being a leading partner in the Bristol Brass Company. As a young man he toured Europe, returning in 1730. He then experimented with smelting calamine, developing a method very similar to those long in use at the Zawar mines in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(except in scale), but no mechanism for technology transfer
Technology transfer
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that...
has yet been established. The difficulty is that a temperature of 1000°C is needed to reduce zinc oxide
Zinc oxide
Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. The powder is widely used as an additive into numerous materials and products including plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, rubber , lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants,...
to zinc, but zinc vaporises at 907°C. It is thus necessary for the furnace to provide a means of condensing the vapour. He obtained a patent for the process in 1738, but the process was energy inefficient. The distillation process produced around 400 kg of zinc per charge from six crucibles located in the furnace. The zinc was collected by iron tubes into water.
His initial works were on Old Market in Bristol and he made 200 tons of spelter
Spelter
Spelter, while sometimes used merely as a synonym for zinc, is often used to identify a zinc alloy. In this sense it might be an alloy of equal parts copper and zinc, i.e. a brass, used for hard soldering and brazing, or as an alloy, containing lead, that is used instead of bronze...
(as zinc was then called) by 1742, when he was required to move because his premises were a 'common nuisance
Nuisance
Nuisance is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public or private. A public nuisance was defined by English scholar Sir J. F...
'. In 1746, he formed a partnership (the Warmley Company) with fellow Quakers, including Thomas Goldney (the Bristol merchant was a partner in the Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
Works) and Sampson Lloyd
Sampson Lloyd
There are three generations of Sampson Lloyd in the Lloyd family of Birmingham, England. The second co-founded Lloyds Bank.Sampson Lloyd I and Mary , Quakers of Welsh origin, moved from their Leominster, Herefordshire farm in 1698 to Edgbaston Street in Birmingham.After the death of Sampson I in...
the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
ironmonger and set up works at Warmley
Warmley
Warmley is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, to the east of Kingswood on the outskirts of Bristol.In the mid 18th century it contained the Warmley Works of William Champion...
, creating a large reservoir to power battery works, wire mills and rolling mills. In 1750 he sought an extension of his patent, but this was opposed. By 1754, he had:
'15 copper furnaces 12 brass furnaces; 4 spelter or zinc furnace; a battery mill or small mill for kettles; rolling mills for making plates; rolling and cutting mills for wire; and a wire mill of both thick and fine drawn kinds.
In 1761 he sought new partners for an expanded works. However, by 1765, he was in financial difficulties. He sought a charter of incorporation, but this was refused. Ultimately he was declared bankrupt in 1768 and dismissed by the Warmley Company. However the company was forced to sell its works in 1769 to the old Bristol Brass Company; but the latter never used the works to their full capacity.
His brother John Champion developed a refined process and patented in 1758 the calcination of zinc sulfide
Zinc sulfide
Zinc sulfide is a inorganic compound with the formula ZnS. ZnS is the main form of zinc in nature, where it mainly occurs as the mineral sphalerite...
(zinc blende) to oxide for use in the retort process. The English zinc industry was concentrated in and around Bristol and Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
.