Improvements in the Manufacture of Porous Carbon for Galvanic Batteries and for Filters.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 27th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 29th Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Porous Carbon for Galvanic
Batteries and for Filters.
I, WILHELM HELLESEN, of Martinsvej 9, Copenhagen, in the Kingdom
of Denmark, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of porous carbon for galvanic batteries
and for filters.
Hitherto in order to increase the porosity of carbon it has generally been the
practice especially as regards carbon for galvanic batteries to mix organic
material, such as sawdust, flour, fats or the like with the carbon to avoid the
diminution in the conducting power to which the addition of mineral substances
would give rise.
For filtering carbons, in which this point may be disregarded, in order to replace
the costly animal charcoal, carbon producing substances have been mixed with clay,
finely divided silica, or the like. Faure, in France has recently proposed to use
such a mixture, composed of lignite clay and chaff.
Now I have found that infusorial earth, mingled with hydro carbon yielding
substances, such for instance as tar, produces when highly heated a more efficacious
porous carbon than any one of the mixtures above referred to, and that this.
product either alone or with the addition of a well conducting graphite-like form
of carbon, is especially suitable for electrodes, in which depolarisation is to be
effected by means of the atmospheric oxygen absorbed into the pores, and it is also
suitable, either alone or mixed with animal substances before the heating, for
battery carbons for electrical purposes, or for bleaching organically-coloured fluids,
such for instance as treacle, glycerine and the like, and for the purification of
drinking water filtered through it.
In carrying out my invention a satisfactory mixture may, for example, be
composed of from 40 to 50 parts of infusorial earth, the same quantity of coal tar or
some similar hydro-carbon containing material, and 5 to 10 parts of horn or some
similar substance. These relative proportions may however be considerably varied
according to the object in view. If graphite is to be added the amount of infusorial
earth must be proportionately reduced.
Dated the 29th day of December 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Porous Carbon for Galvanic
Batteries and for Filters.
I, WILHELM HELLESEN, of Martinsvej 9, Copenhagen, in the Kingdom of
Denmark, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to the manufacture of porous carbon for galvanic batteries
and for filters.
Hitherto in order to increase the porosity of carbon it has generally been the
practice especially as regards carbon for galvanic batteries to mix organic material,
such as sawdust, flour, fats or the like with the carbon to avoid the diminution in

page_text: the conducting power to which the addition of mineral substances would
give rise.
For filtering carbons, in which this point may be disregarded, in order to replace
the costly animal charcoal, carbon producing substances have been mixed with clay,
finely divided silica, or the like. Faure, in France, has recently proposed to use
such a mixture, composed of lignite clay and chaff.
Now I have found that infusorial earth, mingled with hydro-carbon yielding
substances, such for instance as tar, produces when highly heated a more efficacious
porous carbon than any one of the mixtures above referred to, and that this product
either alone or with the addition of a well conducting graphite-like form of carbon,
is especially suitable for electrodes, in which depolarization is to be effected by
means of the atmospheric oxygen absorbed into the pores, and it is also suitable,
either alone or mixed with animal substances before the heating, for battery
carbons for electrical purposes, or for bleaching organically-coloured fluids, such
for instance as treacle, glycerine and the like, and for the purification of drinking
water filtered through it.
In carrying out my invention a satisfactory mixture may, for example, be
composed of from 40 to 50 parts of infusorial earth, the same quantity of coal tar
or some similar hydro-carbon containing material, and 5 to 10 parts of horn or some
similar substance. These relative proportions may, however, be considerably
varied according to the object in view. If graphite is to be added the amount of
infusorial earth must be proportionately reduced.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The manufacture of porous carbon for galvanic batteries or for filters by highly
heating a mixture of hydrocarbon-yielding substances and infusorial earth, with
or without the addition of graphite or of animal substances, substantially as herein-
before described.
Dated this 27th day of Santambo 1900
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.