The ancient brass cementation processes revisited by extensive experimental simulation

• Published in: JOM (1989) Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 27 - 33
• Main Authors: Bourgarit, David, Bauchau, Fanny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.03.2010; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 16th century; 9th century; Alloys; Bronze; Chemistry/Food Science; Copper; Cultural heritage; Earth Sciences; Engineering; Environment; Feature; Manufacturing; Materials science; Physics; Simulation; Studies; Temperature; Working conditions; Zinc; Europe; Experimental Simulation; Zinc Content; Metallic Copper; Zinc; Carbothermic Reduction
• ISSN: 1047-4838; 1543-1851
• DOI: 10.1007/s11837-010-0045-3

Prior to the mastering of metallic zinc production in the mid-19th century, brass making in Europe was based on the so-called cementation process: within a more or less closed vessel, gaseous zinc is produced by the carbothermic reduction of zinc ore at around 1,000°C (±100°C), and simultaneously diffuses into metallic copper. Few ancient brass objects dated before the Industrial Revolution analyzed so far bear more than 30 wt.% zinc, so that this zinc content value has become a dating criterion for these artifacts. The systematic laboratory-scale experimental simulations of the ancient process presented here permit the multiple influences of temperature, isothermal treatment duration, and initial Zn/Cu ratio on the zinc content of the final products, and on the zinc recovery rates as well, to be investigated for the first time.