IMPROVED METHODS OF AND PROCESS FOR UTILIZING PEAT FIBRE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER., FOR SPINNING INTO THREADS OR ROPES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Armstrong, of Darlington, in the County of
Durham, and Joseph Augustus London, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, for an Invention of IMPROVED METHODS OF AND
PROCESS FOR UTILIZING PEAT FIBRE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER.
26
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Armstrong and Joseph
Augustus London at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
28th July 1881.
ir
HENRY ARMSTRONG, of Darlington, in the County of Durham, and Joseph
AUGUSTUS LONDON, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
IMPROVED METHODS OF AND PROCESS FOR UTILIZING PEAT FIBRE FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, FOR SPINNING INTO THREADS OR ROPES, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES."
Our Invention relates to peat or vegetable matter more or less decayed in damp
or marshy situations, which is found in abundance in many parts of Great Britain
and Ireland, and it has for its objects novel methods of treating and utilizing the
fibre of which such peat largely consists for use in the manufacture of paper, for
spinning into threads or ropes, which threads may afterwards be woven into clotb,
and for other purposes, as hereinafter described.
In carrying out our Invention we prefer to use peat removed from the upper
part of the beds in which it is found, such upper parts being ordinarily lighter in
colour, more fibrous, and more approximate in composition to ligneous tissue than
that found in the lower part of the beds, which is ordinarily darker in colour, less
fibrous, and approximating in composition to lignite and some kinds of coal.
Supposing that the material is to be used for the manufacture of ordinary brown
paper, we take fibrous peat of the kind described, and having preferably washed it
in order to remove earthy and other impurities we treat it with a hot solution of
[Price 4d1

page_text: a caustic alkali, preferably soda, in order to dissolve and get rid of resinous
and gummy matters which may be present and to render the fibres soft and
pliable.
The fibres are then washed in order to remove the alkali and are added to the
other materials ordinarily used in the manufacture of brown papers.
Such materials as so ordinarily used consist of from 25 to 30 per cent. of china
clay or other analogous mineral and 70 to 75 per cent. of the fibre of old hemprope,
bagging, or other articles manufactured principally of hemp.
Where our Invention is used we take 20 to 50 per cent. of the peat fibre,
treated as described, and we add to it 80 to 50 per cent. of such hemp fibre,
preferably without the addition of any china clay or mineral substance.
In this way, and by omitting the china clay, we obtain paper which, though of
not too great weight, has sufficient substance, and handles well, and is of valuable
quality. Tannic acid being one of the constituents of the peat fibre, it gives a
good colour to the brown paper made with it, as described, and where it is
necessary to use salt water in the manufacture of paper such tannic acid
neutralizes the salt to a greater or less extent and prevents or lessens its
injurious effect upon the boilers and other implements used in the manufacture.
The peat fibre, prepared as above described, may be bleached, or dyed purple,
blue, or any other colour which it is desired that the finished paper should
have.
Where paper more or less white is to be made, instead of brown, as above
described, we substitute peat fibre, prepared as above described, and bleached
by chloride of lime or other well known means, for the wood pulp; straw,
or other fibrous substances ordinarily used in the manufacture of such paper, and
peat fibre so used is cheaper and the paper made from it is better and stronger
than when such fibrous substances are used; or, instead of bleaching the peat fibre
- after it has been treated as described, we sometimes use white peat or peat of
which the fibres are naturally sufficiently white in colour.
:
The peat fibre and other materials are placed in a paper making engine of any
of the ordinary kinds, where they are beaten and disintegrated previous to being
manufactured into paper in the usual way, and in order to add strength to the
fibre animal size; such as gelatine, or vegetable size, such as starch, may be added
to the materials in the engine, and by the use of peat fibre according to our
Invention and on account of its cheapness a larger proportion of size can be used
advantage than is ordinarily the case.
We do not confine ourselves, in carrying out our Invention,, to the proportions of
peat fibre, as hereinbefore given, which may be varied to suit varying circumstances,
or the paper may consist entirely of such peat fibre. By omitting size from the
paper, and using preferably a very large proportion of peat fibre prepared as
described, an absorbent paper is produced, which may be used as blotting paper,
filtering paper, or may be made into touch paper for fireworks and other purposes
where unsized absorbent paper is ordinarily used, or for the joints of steam pipes
and other analagous purposes.
Instead of using peat fibre prepared according to our Invention, as, already
described, for the manufacture of paper, we sometimes make it into thread by
spinning it with or without an admixture of a greater or less proportion of hemp,
flax, or other fibrous material, in spinning machinery of any of the well known
kinds ordinarily used, and such threads may be made into string, cords, or ropes,
or they may be woven into cloth to be used for sailcloth or other purposes.
Or instead of being spun and woven, the fibres prepared as described may be
felted together in the usual well known way, so as to form a felt cloth, which may
be used either plain or treated with tar or other waterproof material or composition,
as a covering for roofs or other purposes to which such felt cloth is ordinarily
applied.
Or instead of being manufactured into paper, as above described, the fibrous
mixture may be used as a substitute for papier maché, for solid mouldings, or

page_text: other articles, a large proportion of size being added, or it may be used to form a
very cheap board to constitute the body of ordinary thick cardboards or
millboards, upon the surface of which paper of better quality and colour may be
attached.
Or the peat fibre, prepared and treated as described, may be substituted for or
added to the materials ordinarily used in making thick floorcloths.
Another part of our Invention consists in methods of and process for treating
peat, so that it can be used as a nonconducting covering for steam boilers, steam
pipes, and in other circumstances where it is desired to prevent the radiation of
heat. For this purpose we take the peat, which it is not necessary should be of
the fibrous character, first already described, and we disintegrate it and mix it
with a sufficient quantity of esparto liquor, or the alkaline liquor in which esparto
grass has been boiled, or with the alkaline liquor known as tank waste from
alkali works; or it may be mixed with a sufficient quantity of Portland or other
cement and water, so as to form a sufficiently stiff paste or mass, which is laid
upon the boiler or other vessel the heat of which it is desired should be retained.
A sufficient thickness of the mixture having been laid on and allowed to dry it
forms a non-conducting coat, which effectually retains and prevents the dissipation
of heat.
The fibre of peat, treated and prepared according to our Invention, as above
described, may be used for other purposes as well as those already described, for
instance, as a substitute for cork in the various purposes to which cork is
ordinarily applied, as a material for deadening sound, or as a plastic material out
of which useful or ornamental articles of different kinds may be made.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Armstrong and Joseph Augustus London in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 28th January 1882.
HENRY ARMSTRONG, of Darlington, in the County of Durham, and JOSEPH
AUGUSTUS LONDON, of 40, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
IMPROVED METHODS OF AND PROCESS FOR UTILIZING PEAT FIBRE FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, FOR SPINNING INTO THREADS OR ROPES, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES."
Our present Invention relates to peat or vegetable matter, more or less decayed,
in damp or marshy situations, which is found in abundance in many parts of
Europe. It has for its object improved methods of treating and utilizing the fibre,
of which such peat largely consists, for use in the manufacture of paper for spinning
into threads or ropes, which threads may afterwards be woven into cloth, and for
the purposes hereinafter described.
We are aware that it has been proposed at different times to make use of the
fibres of a great number of plants in the manufacture of paper, and amongst others
those of sphagnum palustre, of which peat moss is principally composed; but the
nature and composition of such peat moss is such that it is difficult, by the ordinary.
methods of treating fibrous substances for the manufacture of paper, to render it
valuable for such purpose, and our present Invention consists therefore in such
improvements and modifications in the ordinary processes and in the materials
used and their relative proportions, as are necessary to produce from peat an
effective, cheap, and useful substitute for or addition to the materials ordinarily
used in the manufacture of paper. In order to put our Invention in operation we
prefer to make use of peat from the upper part of the beds in which it is found,
having first removed the surface layer, which may be afterwards replaced if desired,
such upper part being ordinarily lighter in colour, more fibrous, and more
approximate in composition to ligneous tissue than that found in the lower part of
_the_beds, which-is-ordinarily-darker-in-colour,-less-fibrous,-and-approximating-in-
Assuming, first, that the material obtained from such peat is to be used for the
manufacture of ordinary brown paper, we take the fibrous peat and wash it
sufficiently long to remove earthy and other impurities, and we then treat the
cleaned fibres with a hot solution of a caustic or other alkali, preferably soda, for
the purpose of dissolving in the ordinary well understood way, and getting rid, if
desired, of resinous and gummy matters which may be present, and thus rendering
the fibres soft and pliable. The fibres are then washed in order to remove the alkali,
and are used in combination with the other materials ordinarily used in the
manufacture of brown paper in the manner hereinafter described. Such materials
as so ordinarily used consist of from 20 to 30 per cent. of china clay or other
analogous mineral, and 70 to 75 per cent. of the fibre of old hemp, rope, bagging,
or other articles manufactured principally of hemp, jute, or analogous material.
composition to lignite and some kinds of coal.
Where the fibre of peat is to be utilized, according to our Invention, we take
20 to 50 per cent. of the peat fibre prepared and treated as above described, and
we add to it 80 to 50 per cent. of hemp fibre of the kind above described, without
the addition of china clay or other mineral substance. In this way, and by the
omission of the china clay, we obtain a paper which though of not too great weight
has sufficient substance, handles well, and is of valuable quality.
Tannic acid being one of the constituents of peat fibre, the latter, when prepared
and used in the manner and in about the proportion described, gives a good colour
to the brown paper made with it, and where it is necessary to use salt water in

page_text: the manufacture of paper such tannic acid neutralizes the salt to a greater or less
extent, and prevents or lessens its injurious effect upon the steam boilers or other
implements used in the manufacture. The peat fibre, prepared as above described,
may be dyed purple, blue, or any other colour which it is desired that the finished
paper should have.
By our improved method of utilizing the peat fibre great economy is effected
not only in the great relative cheapness of such fibre as compared with the fibrous
materials ordinarily used, but from the saving which is also effected (when the
peat fibre is of the necessary character and properly prepared) in the use of other
of the materials or ingredients ordinarily used.
For instance, alum is ordinarily used in considerable quantity for the purpose of
hardening and tending to render insoluble the gelatinous or other size which is
added to the materials for the purpose of giving strength to the paper. By our
Invention where peat fibre is used, especially for brown papers, the tannin or
tannic acid contained in the colouring matter of the peat not being removed has
a similar effect upon the gelatinous or other size, and much or all of the alum may
consequently be omitted. For this reason the proportion of size mixed with the
materials may be considerably increased, with a corresponding advantage in the
strength and appearance of the paper, but without corresponding increase in cost.
It will be seen therefore that the object of our improved method of treating and
utilizing peat fibre in the manufacture of paper is not the substitution of such
fibre for the fibrous materials ordinarily used, but the method of treating and
utilizing it so that it can be used, by the careful retention of its essential ingre-
dients, as a substitute for the mineral substances, china clay, alum, and the like,
which are ordinarily used in the manufacture of paper, the result of such, substi-
tution being reduction in cost, and improvement in the quality, appearance, and
durability of the paper. In cases where instead of brown paper it is desired to
manufacture paper, more or less white, by our improved process, we substitute
peat fibre prepared as above described so as to retain sufficient of its astringent
properties, and bleached to a greater or less degree by means of chlorine or other
well known means for the wood pulp, straw, or other fibrous substances ordinarily
used in the manufacture of such paper which do not possess the astringent pro-
perties necessary for the purposes above described, and paper so made is both
cheaper and stronger, as well as free from the mineral substances for which the
peat fibre provides a substitute, and consequently lighter, more durable, and less
liable to deterioration. Or, where possible, we use for the purpose described peat,
of which the fibres are naturally sufficiently free from colour, provided they contain
a sufficient quantity of tannin or tannic acid, as above described.
In order to manufacture paper from peat fibre prepared and used according to
our Invention we place the materials in a paper making engine of any of the
ordinary well known kinds, omitting as much as possible or all of the china clay
and alum ordinarily used, and adding gelatinous or other size in quantity pro-
portioned to the tannin contained in the peat fibre, and we beat, disintegrate, and
mix the materials previous to the manufacture of the pulp so formed into paper in
the usual way.
The size used may be gelatinous, such as animal size, resinous, or vegetable, such
as starch, or a mixture of one or more of them,,and the cheapness of the substitute
provided by the peat fibre for the alum or other astringent ordinarily used, as above
described, enables us to add a larger proportion of such size to the materials than is
ordinarily used with advantage to the quality and strength of the resulting paper.
In carrying out our Invention we do not confine ourselves to the proportions of
the peat fibre, used as hereinbefore given, which may be varied to suit varying
circumstances, such as the character of the paper to be produced and the proportion
of astringent matter present in the peat fibre, and though our Invention consists
mainly in the substitution of the astringent and other constituents of the peat fibre
for the corresponding materials which ordinarily have to be added to the fibres
used in making paper, at the same time the fibrous parts of the peat with which

page_text: such astringent substances are associated are incidentally used in substitution for
more or less of such fibres instead of having to be rejected, and themselves serve.
to reduce considerably the cost of the paper and to improve its quality. Indeed,
in some cases the paper may be composed entirely of peat fibre without the addition
of any other fibrous substance whatever, such paper, consisting of peat fibre with
more or less size, hardened by the astringent matter contained in such fibre, and
if desired, more or less of colouring matter or other material according to the
special purpose for which the paper is required. By entirely omitting size from.
the materials and making the whole or a very large proportion of peat fibre
prepared as above described, an absorbent paper is produced which may be used as
blotting paper, filtering paper, touch paper for fireworks, or other purposes where
unsized absorbent paper is ordinarily used; or it may be used for the joints of
steam, air, or water pipes, and other analogous purposes, the tannin contained in it
rendering it very durable and not liable to change or decomposition.
Instead of making the peat fibre prepared as described into paper we sometimes
make it into thread by spinning it with or without an admixture of a greater or
less proportion of hemp, flax, or other fibrous material in spinning machinery of any
of the ordinary wellknown kinds; and such threads may be made into string, cord,
or ropes, or they may be woven into cloth to be used for sailcloth or other purposes.
If gelatinous or other size be added to the fibre during its preparation as already
above described, the effect of the tannin in the fibre is to so harden and render
insoluble the size that the threads or articles manufactured from them are of great
strength and durability, and capable of exposure to weather without injury, as in
the case of sailcloth, such effect being also produced to some extent by the unaltered
tannin itself upon the fibres.
Or, in a somewhat similar way, the fibres may be felted together in the usual
well known way. so as to form a durable felt cloth which may be used either plain
or treated with tar or other waterproof material or composition, as a covering for
roofs or other purposes to which such felt cloth is ordinarily applied.
Or, instead
of being manufactured into paper, the fibrous mixture may be used as a substitute
for papier mâché in making solid mouldings or other articles, a large proportion of
size being in such case added, or it may be used to form a very cheap and effective
board to substitute for the body of ordinary thick card boards or mill boards, upon
the surface of which paper of better quality and colour may be attached. Or the
peat fibre, prepared and treated as described, may be substituted for or added to
the materials ordinarily used in making thick floor cloths. In the different uses,
some of which we have herein before mentioned, to which peat fibre may be applied
by our Invention, we make use of the tannin or tannic acid and other astringent
matter contained in such fibre to act upon and harden and render strong and
durable the gelatinous or other size or material contained in or added to the
ingredients, thus obtaining great strength, hardness, durability, and freedom of
change from atmospheric or other causes, and at the same time with economy as
compared with articles of the like kind as ordinarily manufactured.
Another part of our Invention consists of a novel method and process for treating
peat so that it can be used as a non-conducting covering for steam boilers or pipes,
and in other situations where it is required to prevent the radiation of heat.
For this purpose we take the peat, which need not necessarily be of tlie fibrous
character first already described, and we disintegrate it and thoroughly mix it with
a sufficient quantity of esparto liquor, or the liquor in which esparto grass has been
boiled, or with the alkaline liquor known as tank waste from alkali works; or it
may be mixed with a sufficient quantity of Portland or other cement, and water,
or with two or more of the said substances, so as to form a sufficiently stiff paste
or mass which is laid upon the boiler or other vessel or surface, the heat of which_
it is desired should be retained. When a sufficient thickness of the mixture has
been thus laid on it is allowed to dry, and then forms a nonconducting coat which
effectually retains and prevents the dissipation of heat, and is at the same time.
very cheap; durable, and easily applied.

page_text: The fibre of peat prepared and treated according to our Invention may be applied
to numerous other purposes where the lightness, durability, strength, and cheapness
obtained by the methods of treatment herein before described are important, as for
instance, as a substitute for cork in various purposes to which, cork is ordinarily
applied, as a material for deadening sound, or as a material for building boats,
making casks or tubs, or other vessels where great lightness as well as strength and
hardness of surface are required.
Having now described our Invention and the manner in which it is to be
performed, wo wish it to be understood that we do not claim the use of the fibre
of peat simply as a substitute for other fibre in the manufacture of paper and other
articles, but we claim,-
The methods, substantially as herein before described, of treating peat and
utilizing the fibre obtained from it in such manner that tannin and other substances
retained in it replace to a greater or less degree the mineral substances ordinarily
used in the manufacture of paper, and at the same time reduce the cost and improve
the quality of paper so made.
Also the method of applying the fibre of peat so treated and prepared to the
manufacture of thread, string, rope, or cloth, substantially as herein described.
Also the methods, substantially as herein described, of combining peat with
alkaline liquors or cements for the purpose of making a non-conducting composition
to be used for preventing the escape of heat.
Also the methods of treating, preparing, and using the fibre of peat in the
manufacture of floor cloth, composition to be used as a substitute for papier mâché
and other articles, substantially as hereinbefore described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Augustus London, on behalf of myself
and Henry Armstrong, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 26th
.day of January, in the year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and
eighty two.
J. A. LONDON. (L.S.)