Improvements in the Preparation of Explosive Compounds.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 15th Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by ALFRED NOBEL, of 53, Avenue Malakoff, Paris, in
the Republic of France, Engineer.]
Improvements in the Preparation of Explosive Compounds.
[ ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the specification of Letters Patent dated 31st of January 1888, No. 1471, I have
described the mode of making, from nitro-glycerine and soluble nitro-cellulose, a
horny or semi-horny explosive compound.
In the aforesaid specification, it is indicated, that in order to facilitate the incor-
poration of the aforesaid explosive substances, a suitable quantity of camphor, or
other solvent having the same tendency to facilitate such incorporation, is added.-
There are enumerated, as being such suitable solvents, the acetates of methyl, ethyl,
But those
and amyl, acetone, nitrate of ethyl, acetic acid, and nitro-benzol.
substances, as well as camphor, are more or less volatile, and it has been found advan-
tageous, for some purposes, to make use of a non-volatile solvent for facilitating the
incorporation of nitro-glycerine and soluble nitro-cellulose.-Amongst such solvents,
it is preferred to employ acetin, bi-acetin, and tri-acetin, especially the latter, on
account of its insolubility in water.-As the aforesaid acetates of glycerine are
fixed, and not volatile, the quantity incorporated with the aforesaid explosive
substances will remain unaltered, and the degree of explosive sensitiveness of the
material thus made, as well as the quickening or retardation of its explosive com-
bustion, can be more nicely regulated than when camphor, or any of the other
solvents named in the patent above mentioned. is made use of.
In the patent specification dated 2nd December 1875, No. 4179, obtained on
behalf of the present invention, it is indicated that for facilitating the incorporation
of soluble nitro-cellulose with nitro-glycerine, the less volatile substances, such as the
acetic ethers of glycerine, deserve preference, but the use of a non-volatile facilitating
solvent is of still greater importance for producing the material described in Letters
Patent of 31st of January 1888, No. 1471.
Instead of making use of a non-volatile facilitating solvent, it has been found to be
equally, or almost equally advantageous, to make use of a volatile solvent as afore-
mentioned, provided such solvent be evaporated, and the material thus obtained be
then rolled out into sheets, and cut up into so-called grains, or otherwise formed, so as
to be fit for explosive use. The said volatization, even if camphor is the solvent used,
is easily and rapidly effected, by rolling out the material described in the aforesaid
Letters Patent No. 1471, into very thin sheets, of, say, one fourth of a millimetre in
thickness, and exposing such sheets to the action of a current of air heated to, say,
50° or 60° centigrade. After evaporation of said camphor or other volatile solvent,
the sheets aforesaid are passed between steam heated rollers, and re-converted into
sheets of any suitable thickness, and then reduced to so-called grains.
It will be understood that the material from which the facilitating solvent aforesaid
has been evaporated, is of quicker combustibility than when it contains a non-explosive
and non-volatile solvent, and therefore the so-called grains will, for the same use, differ
in size, they being made proportionately larger for the quicker explosive material.
When the aforesaid explosive material as described herein, and in Letters Patent of
the 31st January 1888, No. 1471, is to be used for blasting purposes, it may be
either fired by a spark or fuse, in which case its action is comparatively slow, or it
may be fired by a so-called detonator (a very strong fulminate cap, as now in common

page_text: use), in which case the explosion of the material is almost as vivid as that of a
comparatively slow fulminate.
For use in blasting, it has also been found advantageous to compress so-called grains
of the aforesaid explosive material into cartridges or cylinders, taking due care, how-
ever, not entirely to shut up the air space between the grains upon which the quick
spreading of the explosive flame depends. Such compression may be made at a
temperature at which the said grains become soft and sticky, or the grains may be
slightly moistened, on their surface, with a solvent such as acetate of auryl, when, on
being subjected to pressure, even at the ordinary temperature, they will adhere
together, and may be moulded into cylinders fit for the miner's use.
Dated this with day of Mom 1980
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Preparation of Explosive Compounds.
I ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Brenn's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, 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 :-
In the specification of Letters Patent granted to me the 31st January 1888,
No. 1471, I described the mode of making, from nitro-glycerine and soluble nitro-
cellulose, a horny or semi horny explosive compound.
Amongst
In the aforesaid specification, it is indicated, that in order to facilitate the incor-
poration of the aforesaid explosive substances, a suitablo quantity of camphor, or other
solvent having the same tendency to facilitate such incorporation, may be added.
There are enumerated, as being such suitable solvents, the acetates of methyl, ethyl.
and amyl, acetone, nitrate of ethyl, acetic acid, and nitro-benzol. But those
substances as well as camphor are more or less volatile, and as their evaporation
gradually takes place, the explosive compound of which they form part somewhat
decreases in weight, whilst at the same time its explosive nature becomes some
what more vivid. It is therefore desirable, in cases where the use of a very mild
explosive is of importance, to make use, for facilitating the incorporation of nitro-
glycerine and soluble nitro-cellulose of solvents which are not volatile.
such solvents it is preferred to employ acetin, bi-acetin, and tri-acetin, especially the
latter, on account of its slight solubility in water, using, for the purpose of facilitating
the mixing of the compound, some 5% to 10% (by weight) of the nonvolatile
solvent; but I do not limit myself to those proportions, since they are usefully varied
to suit the various calibres of guns, an increased proportion of the non volatile solvent
serving to slacken the combustion of the explosive compound. As the aforesaid
acetates of glycerine are fixed, and not volatile, the aforesaid explosive substances,
with which a non volatile substance is combined, will remain unaltered, and
consequently the degree of explosive sensitiveness of the material thus made as well
as the quickening or retardation of its explosive combustion, can be more nicely
regulated than when camphor, or any of the other volatile solvents named in the
patent specification above mentioned, is made use of.
The use of non-volatile solvents as aforesaid does not, however, exclude the use
therewith of the volatile solvents above referred to, which latter, being destined to
volatilize, only serve the purpose of facilitating the incorporation of nitro-cellulose
with nitro-glycerine, and the non volatile solvent above mentioned.
In the specification of Patent dated 2nd December 1875, No. 1479, obtained on
behalf of the present communicant, it is indicated that for facilitating the incorpora-
tion of soluble nitro-cellulose with nitro-glycerine, the less volatile substances, such
as the acetic ethers of glycerine deserve preference, but the use of a non-volatile
facilitating solvent is of still greater importance for producing the material described

page_text: in Letters Patent of 31st January 1888, No. 1471, inasmuch as it provides for the
obtaining of an explosive material which undergoes no subsequent change through
evaporation, whilst if a volatile solvent is made use of, it has to be entirely volatilized,
in order to obtain a product not susceptible of change.
When the aforesaid explosive material, as described herein, and in Letters Patent
of the 31st January 1888, No. 1471, is to be used for blasting purposes, may be either
fired by a spark or fuse, in which case its action is comparatively slow, or it may be
fired by a so-called detonator (a very strong fulminate cap, as now in common use),
in which case the explosion of the material is almost as vivid as that of a comparatively
slow fulminate.
For use in blasting, it has also been found advantageous to compress so-called
grains of the aforesaid explosive material into cartridges or cylinders, taking due
care, however, not entirely to shut up the air space between the grains, upon which
the quick spreading of the explosive flame depends. Such compression may be made
at a temperature at which the said grains become soft and sticky, or the grains may
be slightly moistened on their surface with a solvent, such as acetate of amyl, when,
on being subjected to slight pressure, even at the ordinary temperature, they will
adhere together, and may be moulded into cylinders fit for the miner's use.
Instead of consisting of so-called grains, as aforesaid, cartridges for use in mines
can be made from sheets of the aforesaid material rolled together, so as to have the
form and size needed for use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me from
abroad, I declare that what I claim is :
1. Incorporating with nitro-glycerine and nitro-cellulose, au acetic ether of
glycerine, or analogous non-volatile solvent, for the purpose of producing explosive
compounds of determinate degrees of explosive sensitiveness.
2. Adapting the horny or semi-horny explosive substance described in my patent of
31st January 1888, No. 1471, and in this specification, for use in mines, by moulding
it, as herein described, into cartridges.
3. The use of cartridges such as described and claimed in the last preceding claim
by firing the same with a common fuse, when slow action like that of gunpowder
is required, or by detonator cap, when it is to act detonatively, substantially as
described.
Dated thin
Lownany 1200