IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHLORINE AND CHLORIDES, AND IN OBTAINING THE OXIDES AND PEROXIDES OF MANGANESE IN THE RESIDUARY LIQUIDS OF SUCH MANUFACTURES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GREGORY
SEARLE WALTERS, of Coleman Street, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of March, in the sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Gregory Searle Walters, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Gregory Searle Walters, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Gregory Searle Walters, my exors,.
adiiors, or assigns should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to.
timé and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF CHLORINE AND CHLORIDES, AND IN OBTAINING THE OXIDES AND
PEROXIDES OF MANGANESE IN THE RESIDUARY LIQUIDS OF SUCH MANUFACTURES,"
communicated to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Gregory Searle Walters,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Gregory Searle Walters, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that
is to say):-
The Invention relates, first, to a mode of manufacturing chlorine and
chlorides, by combining the use of sulphuric acid with muriatic acid with man-
ganese in equivalent proportions, whereby the muriatic acid will be converted
. into chlorine or chlorides, and the manganese into sulphate of manganese.
And, secondly, the Invention relates to obtaining oxides and peroxides of
manganese from the sulphate of manganese produced when treating manganese
with sulphuric and muriatic acid in evolving chlorine.
And in order that the Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me; and
as manganese is known to differ in quality, and the strength of muriatic acid
is known to vary, and as the quantity of sulphuric acid employed in order to
obtain the most beneficial effect will require to be varied accordingly in order
to keep up the equivalent quantities, I will describe the state of circumstances
under which I prefer to carry on the Invention, and the manufacturer will,
according to the goodness of the manganese, and the strength of the muriatic
acid used, if differing from that herein given, vary the quantity and strength of
sulphuric acid, in order to make up equivalent quantities, as is well understood
by chemists; impure manganese requiring more sulphuric acid and less
-muriatic acid than that herein given, requiring the sulphuric acid to be less
.diluted:
Supposing the manufacturer desires to make chlorine, according to the
Invention, for obtaining thereby one ton of chloride of lime: in order to do so
under the most favorable circumstances, one ton of muriatic acid, thirty-four
per cent. of strength, half a ton of oil of vitriol diluted to 1.70, and half a
ton of good manganese are to be used, and as above stated, these quantities
are to be varied should the manganese be inferior or the muriatic acid
used be weaker, in order to make up the equivalent quantities, as is well
understood by chemists, otherwise the full advantage of obtaining the largest
quantity of chlorine, and consequently" chlorides, will not be obtained. The
manganese is better in Jumps, when no agitation will be necessary, and
is to be put into a vessel of the ordinary construction for evolving chlorine,
which I prefer to be of lead (but I do not confine myself thereto), as
Jarger quantities may be conveniently acted on at one time, and the mixed
acids are to be gradually added, and it will only be found necessary

page_text: to apply moderate heat towards the end of the process in order to free the
last quantity of chlorine. The chlorine thus evolved, when it is intended
to make chlorides, will be conducted into suitable vessels, and the process.of
making chlorides pursued in the ordinary manner. I would here remark,
that in case persons prefer to carry on, the manufacture according to the old
mode, by combining muriatic acid with manganese, thus obtaining chlorine
from only a portion of the muriatic, acid used,, and muriate of manganese
with the other. part of the muriatic acid employed, then, according to the
Invention, a considerable advantage may be gained by applying sulphuric
acid with manganese for the muriate of manganese, in place of throwing
the same away; and the effect will be, that the muriatic acid combined with
the manganese will be converted and evolved as chlorine, and sulphate
of manganese will remain in the vessel. In this mode of using the Inven-
tion the same relation of quantity of sulphuric acid and manganese are
to. be observed in respect to the quantity of muriatic acid combined with
the manganese, as above mentioned. It has, therefore been proposed to
manufacture chlorine and chlorides therefrom,, by causing the vapours of
muriatic acid evolved in decomposing common. salt to act on manganese
direct, in place of first condensing the muriatic acid; and in carrying on such
manufacture, if more than the equivalent of sulphuric acid be used for decom-
posing the salt, some sulphuric acid may have passed into the manganese
under process; I do not therefore claim the combined use of sulphuric acid
with manganese under such circumstances, and, so far as I am informed on
the subject, no practically useful result. has been thereby obtained. When
working according to the Invention, where the vapours of, muriatic acid are
employed I first add the diluted sulphuric acid to the manganese, according to
the quantity above mentioned, and then allow the vapours to be brought to act
thereon as heretofore. I would remark, that although it is desirable, as nearly
as may be, to convert the whole of the manganese in sulphate of manganese,
and thus convert-and set free all the muriatic acid in the form of chlorine,
yet I do not confine myself to the doing so, but have herein given a description
of the best means I am acquainted with for accomplishing that end. The
sulphate of manganese obtained by evolving chlorine, as above explained, is
to be drawn off into copper, or other suitable shallow vessels, in which are
placed quantities of scrap iron, and if it be in hot summer weather no
artificial heat will be required, but if the process be carried on in other
weather artificial heat will be required, the matters being stirred from time
to time; by this means oxides and peroxides of manganese will be obtained,
and also sulphate of iron; both valuable products. On the sulphate of man-

page_text: ganese obtained in the manufacture of chlorine being drawn off into suitable
pans or vessels, may be evaporated to dryness, and then introduced into
earthenware retorts or ovens, and the sulphuric acid and sulphurous acid
driven off by heat, such products being received into a suitable chamber,
there being an opening in the front of each retort to allow of a small quantity
of atmospheric air to be drawn in during the process, and the sulphurous acid
so driven off may be converted into sulphuric acid, as is well understood. By
this means manganese will be again obtained suitable to be used in the making
of chlorine, or, for other purposes, and the sulphuric acid used for the most
part will be regained for further use in the same or other manufacture.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, I would remark
that I do not confine myself to the precise details of process herein described,
provided the peculiar character of either part thereof be retained; but what
I claim is,-
First, the mode of manufacturing chlorine and chlorides, by combining the
use of sulphuric acid with muriatic acid with manganese in equivalent propor-
tions, whereby the muriatic acid will be converted into chlorine or chlorides,
and the manganese into sulphate of manganese.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of manufacturing oxides and peroxides
of manganese, by applying and so operating on the sulphate of manganese
'obtained in the manufacture of chlorine as to produce such oxides and per-
oxides.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gregory Searle Walters, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.