THE APPLICATION OF A CERTAIN VEGETABLE POWDER FOR REMOVING AND PRE- VENTING INCRUSTATIONS IN BOILERS."
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Augustus Avery and Georges Penabert,
.
Merchants, of Paris, in the French Empire, for the Invention of "THE
APPLICATION OF A CERTAIN VEGETABLE POWDER FOR REMOVING AND PRE-
VENTING INCRUSTATIONS IN BOILERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Augustus Avery
and Georges Penabert at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th August 1867.
We, HENRY AUGUSTUS AVERY and GEORGES PENABERT, Merchants, of Paris,
in the French Empire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"THE APPLICATION OF A CERTAIN VEGETABLE POWDER FOR REMOVING AND PRE-
VENTING INCRUSTATIONS IN BOILERS," to be as follows:-
Having been in Central America, and visited there several industrial
establishments, we remarked that in some of them the water used in the
boilers did not produce incrustation, and having tried to find out the cause we
found that the water traversed vegetable, earth of a particular nature; we
therefore concluded that the water retained, some of, this earth in suspension,
which we were of opinion gave it,the, property of preventing incrustation.
Experiments confirmed our opinion. Having collected some of this natural
vegetable powder, and having thrown it into the water in another locality, we
observed that this water then acquired the property of preventing incrustation.
The new application or employment of this natural vegetable powder forms
the subject of our Invention. This powder, as before stated, is found in

page_text: Central America, but as it may be found elsewhere it is necessary to mention
its characteristic properties.
Physical Properties.It is in the form of coarse powder of a clear cashoo
(cachou claire) color, astringent taste, without smell at the ordinary tempe-
rature, but when heated it gives off a slightly aromatic odour, and a higher
temperature transforms it into coal or charcoal (charbon). A more attentive
examination shows that it is of organic nature; and that it is formed by the debris
of a ligneous plant more or less crushed. The microscope confirms the nature
of this substance, for it shows the presence of vessels of ligneous fibres and
cellular tissues. The vessels appear as if filled with a concreted and resinous
juice or sap, whereas the cells are destitute of this juice, but the greater part
enclose a rhomboidal crystal which is sometimes replaced by a crystalline
mass, more or less, spherical, of smaller crystals; these crystals seem to be
carbonate of lime..
Action of the Water Boiling water removes from this substance more than
a third of the weight of its soluble parts; this perfectly transparent solution is
of a clear cashoo color, and precipitates by cooling a rather large deposit quite
insoluble in cold water, but soluble in 'alcohol and alkalies; land' which seems
to be an acid of a resinous nature; this aqueous solution has an astringent
taste, is acid to test paper, drives out carbonic acid from carbonates, and in
fact acts as an organic acid; its color, deepens by the action of alkalies, and
then becomes a color approaching cherry, color
The analysis of this powder gives the following:-
Hygrometric water.
1. 1.
23.1:
11.50
Sulmets soluble in water and alcohol 3865
Ashes formed chiefly of carbonate of lime (the remaining.....
soluble part contains alkaline chlorides)
Ligneous matter
6.34
143.51.
; 1
100.00
' 1
"It is clear that this composition may vary within certain limits without the
powder losing its anti-incrustation "qualities: The action of this, powder in
the water is not so much to prevent the deposit of insoluble substances as to
obviate the adherence of "these precipitated substances to the boiler. Calca-
reous deposits from "hard "waters "are always formed; but these deposits, in
consequence of the presence of this powder in the water, undergo before
taking effect partial decomposition, which transforms and renders them
harmless.
1.1/
completely

page_text: 5
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Augustus Avery and Georges Penabert in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 16th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,. HENRY
AUGUSTUS AVERY and GEORGES PENABERT, Merchants, of Paris, in the French
Empire, send greeting,
.it
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date, the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did,,for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Henry Augustus Avery and Georges Penabert, Her special licence that we,
the said Henry Augustus Avery and Georges Penabert, our executors, admi-
Distrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry Augustus Avery
and Georges Penabert, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any, time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term 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 "THE APPLICATION
OF A CERTAIN VEGETABLE POWDER FOR REMOVING AND PREVENTING INCRUSTATIONS
IN BOILERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry
Augustus Avery and Georges Penabert, or one of us, our executors or adminis
trators, by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our, 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 perforined,
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. I
Georges
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Augustus Avery and Ged
what
Penabert, do hereby declare the nature of our said. Invention, and, in
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained-in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
11.9
+
11
"
"
"
Having been in Central America, and visited there several industrial
establishments, we remarked that in some of them the water used in the
boilers did not produce incrustation, and having tried to discover the cause

page_text: 9.
we found that the water traversed vegetable earth of a particular nature; we
therefore concluded that the water retained some of this earth in suspension,
which we were of opinion gave it the property of preventing incrustation.
Experiments confirmed our opinion. Having collected some of this natural
vegetable powder, and having thrown it into the water in another locality, we
observed that this water then acquired the property of preventing incrustation.
The new application or employment of this natural vegetable powder forms
the subject of our Invention. This powder, as before stated, is found in
Central America, but as it may be found elsewhere it is necessary to mention
its characteristic properties.
Physical Properties.-It is in the form of coarse powder of a clear cashoo
(cachou claire) color, astringent taste, without smell at the ordinary tempe-
rature, but when beated it gives off a slightly aromatic odour, and a higher
temperature transforms it into coal or charcoal (charbon). A more attentive
examination shows that it is of organic nature, and that it is formed by the
debris of a ligneous plant more or less crushed. The microscope confirms the
nature of this substance, for it shows the presence of vessels of ligneous fibres
and cellular tissues; the vessels appear as if filled with a concreted and
resinous juice or sap, whereas the cells are destitute of this juice, but the
greater part enclose a rhomboidal crystal, which is sometimes replaced by a
crystalline mass, more or less spherical, of 'small crystals; these crystals seem
to be carbonate of lime.
Action of Water-Boiling water removes from this substance more than a
third of the weight of its soluble parts; this perfectly transparent solution is of
a clear cashoo color; and precipitates by cooling a rather large deposit, quite
insoluble in cold water, but soluble in alcohol' and alkalies, and-which seems to
be an acid of a resinous nature; this aqueous solution has an astringent taste,
is acid to test paper, drives out carbonic acid from carbonates, and in fact
acts as an organic acid; its color deepens by the action of alkalies, and then
becomes a color approaching cherry color.
The analysis of this powder gives the following:
Hygrometric water
-
Substances soluble in water and alcohol
Ashes formed chiefly of carbonate of lime (the remaining
soluble part contains alkaline chlorides)
Tieneous metter
11.50
-38-65
6.34
43:51

page_text: It is clear that this composition may vary within certain limits without the
powder losing its anti-incrustation qualities. The action of this powder in
the water is not so much to prevent the deposit of insoluble substances as to
obviate the adherence of these precipitated substances to the boiler. Cal-
careous deposits from hard waters are always found; but these deposits, in
consequence of the presence of this powder in the water, undergo before
taking effect partial decomposition, which transforms and renders them
completely harmless.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim the appli-
cation or employment for preventing or removing boiler incrustations of the
vegetable powder, herein-before referred to and particularized.
In witness whereof, I, the said Georges Penabert, for myself and on
behalf of the said Henry Augustus Avery, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD,
Civil Engineer,
GEORGES PENABERT. (L.S.)
Boulevard de Strasbourg, No. 23,
à Paris.