Year: 1886

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by Ferdinand L. Sarmiento, William G. Grimm,
Samuel P. Sadtler, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Francis Joseph
Sarmiento, of Detroit, Michigan, and John A. Wiedersheim, of Phila-
delphia aforesaid, all in the United States of America.]
I HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This invention relates to disinfectants and consists in mixing dry hypochlorites
such as calcium hypochlorite, sometimes called chloride of lime, or bleaching powder,
(itself a well known disinfectant) with carbolic acid, and its compounds, with the
view of producing a new and more energetic disinfecting mixture. I do not mean
that such a mixture has simply the individual disinfecting effects of the general
ingredients added together, but that there is a chemical reaction between them
which the communicators of this invention claim to have discovered and first
proposed to apply for disinfecting and similar purposes, which reaction greatly
increases the effect over what they would have singly.
This reaction takes place by mixing dry calcium hypochlorite with carbolic acid,
its compounds called "carbonates" and with crude mixtures like gas tar which
contain carbolic acid. I do not therefore confine myself to any one of these methods
exclusively. If a disinfecting mixture is to be made for use on a large scale, where
cleanliness in bandling is not indispensible, I take crude gas tar, especially the light
fraction known as "light oil" or the fraction known as "dead oil" which contain
the tar acids viz carbolic and.cresylic acids, and mix this with dry calcium hypo-
chlorites or bleaching powder, when an abundance of chlorine and phenol and tarry
vapor is given off, which have great disinfecting value.
Or if a mixture is designed for domestic use, which is more conveniently handled
I take dry carbolate of lime in the form of powder and mix it with dry calcium
hypochlorite or bleaching powder. In this latter case a mixture of dry powders of
little odour is formed which, without the necessity of adding acids or any liquids
whatever, gives off large quantities of chlorine, carbolic acid, vapors, and other
gases of great disinfecting value.
Among the advantages of these mixtures over the mixtures generally used for
the developement of chlorine gas for disinfecting purposes may be especially noted

page_text: that corrosive or poisonous acids are not used for the decomposition of the hypo-
chlorite or bleaching powder" but that it is effected by what inay be called a
double decomposition in the one case of two clean dry powders with each other,
and in the other, of a powder with a thick tar which, after the reaction is complete,
forms a hard and compact mass with the decomposed powder.
The relative proportions which are used are one part of the hypochlorite to one
part of the carbolate, but to this I do not limit myself.
The ingredients may be placed in a box provided with a suitable cover so that
when required for use the lid can be removed allowing the vapors to escape into
the apartment or other place where the box is located.
I am aware that the action of aqueous solutions of hypochlorite of lime and
phenol upon each other has been studied, and that the Russian chemist Dianin has
published ("Berichte " XIII p. 2403) the results of such action. He found that
on mixing solutions of phenol and chloride of lime a reaction at once set in and
the chief product was Trichloro phenol, while mono- and dichlorophenol were also
formed. I do not claim the process described by Dianin nor the use of a mixture
of aqueous solutions of phenol and "bleaching powder."
I do not desire to get Trichlorophenol or similar products, nor as far as can be
distinguished has it ever been obtained in the improved mixture. The said
communicators have repeated Dianin's experiments and have satisfied themselves
that when aqueous solutions are used, no matter how concentrated, no free chlorine
gas is given off at all. This evolution of chlorine gas is considered to be distinctive
of the mixture and to be vital for its use as a disinfecting mixture.
I am aware that the direct action of chlorine gas upon phenol has been studied
by CO Cech (chem. central blatt, Jan 5th 1881, p 8) and that he prepared
Trichlorophenol in this way. I do not clain this process nor do I wish to form
any of the products obtained by him. He takes as the starting point in his process
what is one of the objective points in this process, viz the production of chlorine
gas. This of itself shows that the mixture of Cech and that which forms the
subject of this invention are radically different things.
I am aware that disinfecting mixtures containing coal tar are known, as for
instance M'Dougall's and Suvern's but the compositions of these are different from
what is claimed for this invention. Thus Suvern's disinfecting mixture ("Lunge,
coal tar and ammonia," p. 80) consists of 100 parts of slaked lime, 15 parts of coal
tar, and 15 parts of magnesium chloride.
Such a mixture could not possibly evolve chlorine gas, magnesium chloride not
being able to give off its chlorine in the free state as bleaching powder does.
I am aware of British patent N° 1337 of 1875. This was to Jean Teychenne of
Birmingham an upholsterer, and was for improvements in apparatus to be used for
disinfecting bed clothes & and announced no new disinfecting substance or mixture
of substances. It was solely for a mechanical contrivance and only incidentally
spoke of the several well known disinfectants which were to be used with his
apparatus, such as
"carbolic acid and chlorine, whether evolved from chloride of
lime or generated by beating a mixture of hydrochloric acid and peroxide of
manganese, and generally such other disinfecting materials as may be generated or
volatilized at ordinary or moderately elevated temperatures' I do not clain the
mechanical invention of Teychenne but a newly invented mixture of materials
which shall have disinfecting value no matter with what form of apparatus it is
applied.
"
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is
First. The use of a mixture of hypochlorite of lime in the condition of. a dry
powder and a dry carbolate like carbolate of lime for disinfecting purposes, sub-
stantially as described.

page_text: Second. The use of a mixture of dry hypochlorite of lime and coal tar or that
fraction of it yielding the tar acids and usually known as the "heavy oil" or "dead
oil" for the purposes and in the manner before described.
Third. A disinfectant or germicide formed of dry hypochlorites, such as hypo-
chlorite of lime, with carbolic acid, whether free or in combination as in carbolates,
whether pure or as it exists in crude mixtures, said parts being combined in
substantially the proportions stated.