An Improved Process for Preserving Wood and other Vegetable Matters.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 17th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 21st Sept., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for Preserving Wood and other Vegetable
Matters.
We, Dr. PIERRE LUCIEN QUARANTE of 44 Avenue de Wagram, and Madame
VEUVE D'ESCALONNE neé Caroline Elisabeth Le Revert, Gentlewoman, of 83 Avenue
de Wagram, Paris, France, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to the preservation of wood and vegetable tissues by means
of acetate of aluminium together with sub-acetate of lead, pyro-lignite of lead, and
glycerine. The importance of this preparation consists in its being saturated with
bases as far as the constitution of the salts and their conditions of solubility will admit
of. The proportions of the salts is also of great importance.
For preserving wood and rendering it uninflammable, the preservative product
may either be injected in a closed chamber (by the aid of a vacuum and pressure or
by the Boucherie process) or the wood may be simply immersed in the liquid, which
latter method would also be employed for permanently preserving canvas, tilts,
awnings, cables, cordage, etc.; the period of immersion depending on the nature of
each product.
The preservative product of our invention is highly economical and is free from
the objections attending the use of creosote which destroys the fibre of woods and
textile matters, or of sulphate of copper which attacks ironwork applied to wood.
Wood treated in this manner shews no signs of decay after being sunk in damp
ground for ten years and may be preserved for another twenty years, at least, nor is
there any apparent reason why it should not remain permanently proof against decay.
Iron even if galvanised, when brought in contact with, or inserted in, wood treated
with sulphate of copper, causes it to decay and no longer holds therein, whereas our
preservative product exerts no such destructive action under similar circuinstances.
By saturating the pores of the wood with the preservative liquid, it may be rendered
imputrescible, uninflammable, and nearly incombustible.

page_text: For the purposes of preservation, we employ the combination of the acetates and
pyrolignites of aluminium, lime and baryta or borate of soda with the sub-acetate and
pyrolignite of lead, in order to render organic matters imputrescible by means of salts
as highly saturated with bases as their constitution and conditions of solubility will
admit of. By the addition of a small proportion of glycerine to the solutions, very
long lengths of timber may be treated, as well as hard woods, which without this
addition would not he penetrated.
The great difficulty to be overcome in composing the preservative, lies more
particularly in the proportions of the salts employed, and it is only after long
experience that we have been enabled to attain such perfection in our solutions as will
ensure a thorough penetration and preservation of the matters.
Although lime, baryta and borate of soda may be used, we prefer to employ the
following solution which gives good results, but without binding ourselves to the
exact proportions indicated:-
We dissolve in 1000 litres of pure water :-
Acetate of alumina or of soda
Sub-acetate of lead (in solution at 1320°)
Pyrolignite of lead
Glycerine
6 kilos.
2 litres.
6 kilos.
5% by weight.
P. L. QUARANTE.
VEUVE C. E. D'ESCALONNE.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for Preserving Wood and other Vegetable
Matters.
We Dr. PIERRE LUCIEN QUARANTE of 44 Avenue de Wagram and Madame
VEUVE D'ESCALONNE neć Caroline Elisabeth Le Revert, Gentlewoman of 83 Avenue
de Wagram, Paris, France, 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:—
Our invention relates to the preservation of wood and vegetable tissues by the
employment of acetate of alumina together with sub-acetate of lead, pyro-lignite of
lead, and glycerine. The importance of this preparation consists in its being saturated
with bases as far as the constitution of the salts and their conditions of solubility will
admit of. The proportions of the salts is also of great importance.
For preserving wood and rendering it uninflammable, the preservative product may
either be injected in a closed chamber (by the aid of a vacuum and pressure, or by
the Boucherie process) or the wood may be simply immersed in the liquid, which
latter method would also be employed for permanently preserving canvas, tilts,
awnings, cables, cordage, and other vegetable products, the period of immersion
depending on the nature of each product.
The preservative product of our invention is highly economical and is free from the
objections attending the use of creosote and sulphate of copper of which the former
destroys the fibre of woods and textile matters, while iron even, if galvanised, when
brought in contact with or inserted in wood treated with sulphate of copper, causes it
to decay and no longer holds therein, whereas our preservative product exerts no
such destructive action under similar circumstances.
Wood treated with this preservative product shows no signs of decay after being
sunk in damp ground for ten years and may be preserved for another twenty years at
least, nor is there any apparent reason why it should not remain permanently proof
against decay. By saturating the pores of the wood with the preservative liquid, it
may be rendered imputrescible, uninflammable, and nearly incombustible.
For the purposes of preservation, we employ a combination of the acetates and
pyro-lignites of alumina, lime, and baryta or borate of soda with the sub-acetate and
pyro-lignite of lead in order to render the organic matters imputrescible by means of
salts as highly saturated with bases as their constitution and conditions of solubility
will admit of. By the addition of a small proportion of glycerine to the solutions,
very long lengths of timber may be treated, as well as hard woods which without this
addition would not be penetrated.
The great difficulty to be overcome in composing the preservative lies more particu-
larly in the proportions of the salts employed, and it is only after long experience that
we have been enabled to attain such perfection in our solutions as will ensure a
thorough penetration and preservation of the matters. Although lime, baryta, and
horate of soda inay be used, we prefer to employ the following solution which gives
good results, but without binding ourselves to the exact proportions indicated.

page_text: Sub-acetate of lead (in solution at 1320° density) 2 litres.
Pyro-lignite of lead
Glycerine
6 kilos.
5% by weight.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
-
The employment for preserving wood and other vegetable matters, of a solution of
acetate of alumina, soda, or baryta, with sub-acetate of lead, pyro-lignite of lead and
glycerine, as herein before specified.