IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ASPHALTE
Year: 1884

page_text: I CARL JULIUS LORTZING, of Charkow, in Russia, do hereby declare the nature
of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ASPHALTE to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is the utilization of matters usually contained in and
carried away by the waste waters from wool washing, combing, and milling
manufactories, Tanneries and other analogous operations & businesses.
My invention consists in drying the various matters known as wool grease,
sludge, cake, & other analogous matters in an efficient manner & then pulverizing
the same. According to the character of the constituents forming such extracted.
matter, I add thereto about 25 per cent of bitumen, more or less pulverized,
& carbonate of lime. This powder thus produced can be used for the manufacture
of solid asphalte.
The residual matters are dried by exposing them to the air or by an apparatus
heated by steam, or other suitable means. They are then conveyed to a grinding
mill or apparatus & ground in a heated state to a homogeneous powdered mass, to
which during the grinding process & according to the proportion of bitumen
contained in the material pulverized, heated carbonic chalk is added. The mass of
matter while still hot can be formed into blocks or used at once or be melted in
boilers, pans or mixing works and made into useful forms and so prepared for
commercial purposes.
1001

page_text: with porous tiles, which ought, if possible to be constructed in a sandy or gravelly
soil, so as to allow of the draining off of the water. If the ground is not of a
suitable nature an efficient system of drainage must be provided, and if this is not-
feasible recourse may be had to any convenient way of artificially pressing out the
water by means of filter presses or otherwise.
The somewhat compact mud which is the result of the process so far detailed is
however not yet perfectly free from water the remaining portion of which must be
eliminated by drying in the open air or by artificial heat, it must however never be
exposed to a higher temperature than 380 degrees (fahrenheit) so as not to impair
the condition of the "bituminous" substances contained therein.
The safest and cheapest method is to dry it thoroughly in the open air.
This dried sediment is now ready to be utilized either for Asphalt Mastic or for
compressed Asphalt.
For the first named purpose it is gently warmed, and transferred to a warm
metallic surface, upon which it is ground under pressure, until it becomes a greasy
pasty mass.
For this purpose an ordinary mortar mill may be employed with revolving metal
pan under which a fire is lighted to warm the same, care being taken, that the
before mentioned temperature (380° Fahrenheit) is not exceeded.
A better method admitting of a more uniform and easily controlled temperature
is to construct the mortar mill with hollow iron rollers which can be heated by
passing steam through their interior instead of lighting a fire under the pan.
The pasty mass thus obtained is transferred to an open iron kettle or pan and
melted over an open fire. It should be stirred up frequently, and care must be
taken to prevent burning and sticking to the bottom of the vessel. When the mass:
is perfectly melted, about its own weight of powdered and warmed limestone is
gradually admixed, or if this is not obtainable sand or pulverized stone, ore, or slag
of any kind available may be substituted.
During the admixture a frequent stirring and a slow fire are kept up; some of
the asphalt mixing and melting machinery at present in use may also be used with.
advantage in the melting and mixing process above described.
When this mixing process is completed the mass is run into wooden or iron
moulds, the inner surfaces of which have been previously greased to prevent
adhesion. The blocks or cakes thus obtained generally of the weight of about
1/2 cwt each are ready for the market and can be used for all the purposes for which
the analogous preparations of the natural Rock Asphalt such as Val de Travers,
Limmer &c are generally used.
For the manufacture of compressed asphalt the dried sediment is completely
pulverised and well mixed with powdered limestone. It is essential that the
mixing should be thorough and in order to insure this, it is advisable to use the
most efficient mixing machinery available. The proportion of powdered limestone
to be mixed therewith depends upon the proportion of bituminous" matter
contained in the dried sediment, so that the resultant mixture may have the
necessary binding properties, as hereinafter further explained.
°
The necessary chalk filling may under certain circumstances be added to the
material in form of quicklime during the process of separation of the waste waters
and this is done in adding to those waters instead of from 1% to 21/2 lime ten
times more of the latter viz from 2% to 25% in a fluid state as milk of lime.
The consumption if so large a quantity of quick lime requires as a matter of course
in larger establishments the necessary implements for stirring purposes.
The powder thus produced can be used in the same manner as ordinary
compressed asphalt. It is spread over the surfaces to be covered in a heated state,
a suitable bed. having been prepared for it and is consolidated by pressure with
heated iron rollers, or other equivalent means in the manner well known in
connection with the compressed Asphalt hitherto in use.
As the "bituminous" matter is the agent which gives cohesion and elasticity to
my asphalt, it will be understood that there must be a sufficient proportion of such

page_text: "
matter.present in the wastewaters manipulated upon, to give a good result; or it
must be supplemented. by an admixture of such matter, of any kind which may be
available and cheap. The waste waters proposed to be manipulated upon should be
analysed as to the proportion of "bituminous" matter contained, therein. If the
waste waters contain more bituminous matter than is required for producing a
good asphalt the surplus portion of oil and fat may be extracted from the waste waters
previous to the process of precipitation before described. This can be accomplished
by simply skimming off the oily and fatty matter appearing on the surface of the
waste waters, after the same have stood a day, or two, or by the addition of acids in
the usual and well known manner.
"
But if such surplus portion of "bituminous matter is not so extracted it can be
utilized by mixing a correspondingly larger proportion of powdered lime stone with
the sediment as before described whereby a correspondingly large quantity of
Asphalt is obtained.
From the foregoing description it will be understood, that my invention offers a.
means of cleansing the waste waters in question and this result is attained in a
manner which not only entails no loss, but is capable of producing an actual and
considerable profit over and above the cost of cleansing such waters, whilst the
processes hitherto in use have generally, entailed a considerable loss, which in many
instances is preventing these waste waters from being cleansed. My invention. is
therefor of considerable public benefit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have it
understood that so far as regards the means and method of producing the asphalt
from the residual matters as described I do not confine myself to the precise details
herein before described, as the same may admit of modification while producing a
similar result; I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The utilization as asphalt of the residue or sediment precipitated from waste
waters containing, oily, fatty or gummy matter, substantially in the manner and
for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and described.
2. The means and method of producing such asphalt from the said residual
matter substantially as herein before described.