AN IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY A NEW ELASTIC FLUID IN SUB- STITUTION OF STEAM GENERATED OUT OF WATER."
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Fredéric Berthiez, of No. 6, Red Lion
Street, Borough, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY A NEW ELASTIC FLUID IN SUB-
STITUTION OF STEAM GENERATED OUT OF WATER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Fredéric Berthiez
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd July 1856.
I, SAMUEL FREDERIC BERTHIEZ, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY A NEW ELASTIC
FLUID IN SUBSTITUTION OF STEAM GENERATED OUT OF WATER," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its principle to work. engines by a combination of
different chemicals, which produce a power equal to steam generated out of
water.
These said chemicals are put in the boiler after having been diluted with a
certain quantity of water; when the steam has acted upon the piston and
produced its motive faculty, it passes through a pipe into a tank made air-.
tight; after which it is introduced into a condenser, where it is reduced to the
state it was in the beginning, that is to say, to a liquid one, and then into a
second-tank, made likewise air-tight; in this last is a fixed pump, worked-
by the engine, which pump drives the liquid condensed into the boiler..

page_text: By this system it is not necessary to feed the boiler, unless a part of the
chemical composition happen to escape; to prevent this, a third tank has
been placed at a certain height from the second, through which the liquid
composition is put in (without stopping. the motion of the engine) if required.
These two last tanks are connected together by a pipe, to which a cock is
fitted, which is open when the liquid is put in; it is necessary to have a second
pipe in the tank, with a fantail, to allow the air to escape as soon as the
engine is at work. All the pipes require to be air-tight..
A thermometer is fixed to the boiler to shew the degree of heat, which
must not exceed two hundred degrees Fahrenheit in order to obtain a pressure
of six atmospheres. It is required (but in many cases is optional) to make
the steam port of the cylinder a little larger than usual in engines constructed
according to the present system. By this principle a deal of burnt material
might be saved, say, at least fifty per cent.
Particular attention should be paid to the combination of the chemicals that
require mixing. The proportions are, for every single horse-power 70 lbs. of
sulphuric ether, 9 lbs. empyreumatic oil, 1 lb. animal fat, 4 gallons water, in
which 50 drachms of soda and 50 drachms of potash are diluted; the soda.
and the potash facilitate the condensation; seven drachms of bicarbonate of
soda and seven of tartaric acid mixed with the composition are very advan-
tageous; residue of soap may likewise be introduced. These different chemicals
are heated in the oven known in France as the bain-marie.
It must be remarked that time improves these chemicals, whether they are
deposited in the boiler or kept in a safe place free from the action of the air
or any other injurious influence, that is to say, the same atmospheric power
may be obtained at a less number of degrees.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Fredéric Berthiez in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
FREDERICK BERTHIEZ, of No. 6, Red Lion Street, Borough, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July; in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did,.for Herself,. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said

page_text: Samuel Frédérick Berthiez, Her special licence that .I, the said Samuel
Frederick Berthiez, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Samuel Frederick Berthiez, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the terin therein expressed,.,should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and "Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINES. TO BE WORKED BY A NEW ELASTIC
FLUID IN SUBSTITUTION OF STEAM. GENERATED OUT OF WATER," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Fredérick Berthiez, my executors
or administrators, by..an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date. of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Frederick Berthiez, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to bo particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
I take sulphuric æther and dilute it with water having in solution a
quantity of each of the following ingredients, that is, of soda, of; potash, of
empyreumatic oil, and some animal fat, and, in some cases, also bicarbonate of
soda and tartaric acid; these are well mixed together and. put into the boiler
of the steam engine, or they may be mixed in. the boiler. I have found that
about the following relative quantities of each of these substances are the best
proportions for each horse-power of the engine, and produce the greatest
mechanical effect or are most advantageous, -nevertheless in different cases
they may be varied; seventy pounds weight of sulphuric ether, nine; pounds of
empyreumatic oil, one pound of animal fat, four gallons of water, sixty drahams
of soda, and fifty drahams of potash; I find that the two last facilitate the
condensation of the vapour. To these, in some cases, may be added one
quarter of an ounce of bicarbonate of soda and the same quantity of tartaric
acid, which I have found benefical. The dimensions or capacity.of.the boiler
may be much smaller than those now made use of for. steam from water, for
each horse-power. The boiler, in which the sulphuric ether and other sub-
stances are deposited may either be heated directly, by. means, of, the fire
playing upon it in the usual manner, or preferably it may be laid in an
outer vessel containing water, the heat playing upon the outer vessel, and
the water transmitting.it to the boiler.and acting upon the aether and other:

page_text: materials. Before applying heat to the boiler, it is advisable to withdraw
the greater part of the atmospheric air from the boiler. The vapour, upon
being produced, passes from the boiler and acts upon the piston in the
cylinder in the usual way; after performing its duty in the cylinder, it passes
by means of a passage into an air-tight tank or vessel, where it expands and
loses a portion of its heat; from this tank it is conducted into a condenser of
suitable construction, and there reconverted into a liquid form, passing in that
state into another vessel; it is from thence pumped into the boiler, and again
in a similar. manner passing into vapour performs the same duty, and is re-
converted into a liquid again..
The arrangement, form, and dimensions of the machinery and apparatus
will vary according to the position and the peculiar duty to be performed by
the engine. The following Drawings are appended in order to shew more
clearly the mode of applying, and the apparatus required for using the sulphuric
æther and other before-mentioned substances to produce a motive power in
engines.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
A is the boiler where the sulphuric æther and other substances are deposited.
The boiler may either be heated directly or by means of the water, as before
described; if the latter, the tube or tubes 6 may be omitted. If the tubes b,
or more tubes be used, they should always be covered with the mixture in the
boiler. c, c, is the steam pipe, leading from the boiler to the cylinder; f, the
exhaust pipe, leading the vapour into the tank g, where it expands and loses
part of its elasticity and heat; from g, it passes by means of the pipe h, into
the condenser k, and through the winding tube k', where it becomes converted
into the liquid form; and passing through the tube l into the vessel m, it is
pumped from there by means of pumps s, s, through the pipes t, t, into the
boiler again; n is a little tank or cistern for adding fresh mixture to the
poiler when there has been loss from waste or otherwise, having a communica-
tion by means of a pipe or stop-cock, or otherwise, with the tank m; p is a
small escape or overflow pipe attached to n, having a cock p¹; q, a small pipe
for allowing the air to escape before starting the engine; q', a pipe for allowing
air to enter when the engine stops; t, t, the pipe entering the boiler. When.
the engine is at rest, and it is required to supply the boiler with fluid, this may
be done by fixing a hand pump on the pipe t. The usual indicators should be
inserted to shew the temperature and the pressure, together with the usual
safety and other valves. A casing or envelope may with great advantage be
made to surround the cylinder, so as to contain hot water, which may be

page_text: supplied from the hot water envelope round the boiler, if that system of heating
be adopted; for the better securing the various joints from leakage, I make
use of a rich mastic, composed of lime and the white of eggs, so as to form a
viscous paste; if the joints be well covered with this no leakage will ensue; if
this mastic be not used washers of wash leather may be with advantage
applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Fredérick Berthiez, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
0
SAMUEL FREDERICK BERTHIEZ. (L.S.)
Witness,
JAMES WRIGHT,
10, Alfred Place, Newington Causeway.