IMPROVED PREPARATIONS FOR ACTING UPON SEA WATER OR UPON HARD OR IMPURE WATER IN ORDER TO RENDER SUCH WATER MORE SUITABLE FOR USE IN BOILERS AND OTHERWISE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Gray, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Practical Chemist, for the Invention
Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
PREPARATIONS FOR ACTING UPON SEA WATER OR UPON HARD OR IMPURE
WATER IN ORDER TO RENDER SUCH WATER MORE SUITABLE FOR USE IN
BOILERS AND OTHERWISE."
Sealed the 14th August 1866, and dated the 5th March 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Gray at the Office.
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th March
1866.
I, JAMES GRAY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Practical Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED PREPARATIONS FOR ACTING UPON SEA WATER OR UPON HARD OR IMPURE
WATER IN ORDER TO RENDER SUCH WATER MORE SUITABLE FOR USE IN BOILERS
AND OTHERWISE," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to preparations designed to render sea water or hard
or impure water more suitable for use in boilers or otherwise, and the im-.
proved preparations are in the form of chemical fluids, the composition, of and
manner of preparing which are herein-after described. Any of these fluids
being added to sea water in the proportion of about thirty gallons per month.
for the boiler of engines of one hundred horses power nominal has the effect
[Price 8d.]
.

page_text: of preventing incrustation or corrosion by separating the salt, which falls to the
bottom if the water is at rest, but which floats about when the water is in a
state of ebullition. In a similar way if any of the fluids is added in the pro-
portion of half the quantity above indicated to hard or impure (fresh) water,
it has also the effect of separating or precipitating the impurities in a loose
condition, so that they can be easily removed. The fluid may either be added
to the water in the boiler itself, or it may be added to the water in a separate
vessel, the separated or crystallised salts being removed before the water is
fed into the boiler. It is not essential for the water or fluid to be heated for
the intended action to take place. The fluids are to be composed and pre-
pared substantially in the proportions and manner following: A two hundred
gallon boiler is filled about half full of water, and there is added about three
hundredweights each of soda ash and fresh burned lime. The mixture is
boiled for one to two hours, and the clear supernatant liquor is drawn off and
constitutes fluid No. 1, the precipitated matters being thrown away. Fluids
Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are made in the same way, but with common soda, potash,
or black ash and pearlash respectively in place of soda ash. Fluid No. 5 is
also made in the same way, but with kelp from sea wrack in place of soda ash.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Gray in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
September 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GRAY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Practical Chemist.
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me. the
said James Gray. Her special licence that I, the said James Gray, my
executors, administrators, and, assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Gray, 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 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 "IMPROVED PREPARATIONS FOR
ACTING UPON SEA WATER OR UPON HARD OR IMPURE WATER IN ORDER TO RENDER

page_text: SUCH WATER MORE SUITABLE FOR USE IN STEAM BOILERS AND OTHERWISE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Gray, 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 James Gray, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
My said Invention relates to preparations designed to render sea water or
hard or impure water more suitable for use in boilers or otherwise, and the
improved preparations are in the form of chemical fluids, the composition of
and manner of preparing which are herein-after described. Any of these fluids
being added to sea water in the proportion of about thirty gallons per month
for the boiler of engines of one hundred horses power nominal has the
effect of preventing incrustation or corrosion by .separating the salt, which
falls to the bottom if the water is at rest, but which floats about when the
water is in a state of ebullition. In a similar way if any of the fluids is added
in the proportion of half the quantity above indicated to hard or impure
fresh water, it has also the effect of separating or precipitating the impurities
in a loose condition so that they can be easily removed. The fluid may either
be added to the water in the boiler itself, or it may be added to the water in
a separate vessel, the separated or crystallised salts being removed before the
water is fed into the boiler. It is not essential for the water or fluid to be
heated for the intended action to take place. The fluids are to be composed
and prepared substantially in the proportions and manner following: A two
hundred gallon boiler is filled about half full of water, and there is added
about three hundredweights each of soda ash and fresh burned lime. The
mixture is boiled for one to two hours, and the clear supernatant liquor is
drawn off and constitutes fluid No. 1, the precipitated matters being thrown
away or treated as herein-after specified. Fluids Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are made
in the same way, but with common soda, potash, or blackash and pearlash
respectively in place of soda ash. Fluid No. 5 is also made in the same
way, but with kelp from sea wrack in place of soda ash.
It is by no
means essential to adhere strictly to the proportions of the ingredients 'just
given, but on the contrary it is advantageous to vary them to suit the different.

page_text: qualities of water met with in practice. The proportion of fluid to be added
to the water may also be varied in a similar manner. In place of throwing
away the residues or precipitated matiers obtained in making fluid No. 1,
they may be utilised by filling up the boiler again a second time with about.
the same quantity as at first and boiling for at least an hour. After settling
the clear supernatant fluid is carefully filtered or strained through cloth or
other suitable filters. The fluid thus obtained may be used with great
advantage for correcting the hardness of water used for making tea and other
infusions, in which application a very small quantity of it will suffice, say, two
or four drops to every English pint of water. Of course comparatively
small quantities of this fluid can be used in this way, but the remainder, as
well as fluids similarly obtained by a second boiling in each case from the
residue of the fluids Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, may be utilised in boiling. with fresh
ingredients, when somewhat less of these will be required); or the second
boiling fluids may be mixed, and may be used advantageously for various
sanitary purposes. For example, they may be used for washing houses, to-
remove smells, destroy vermin, &c.; for washing and disinfecting cattle byres;
for cleansing private and public urinals and closets; and for other similar
purposes. Another useful application of the second boiling fluids is for washing
greasy cotton waste, and if it is too weak some of the first boiling fluid may
be mixed with it. The residual lime from the second boilings may be dried and
used as a fertilizer instead of common lime. When using any of the fluids
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, for steam boilers, ground alum may be advantageously added
to it in the proportion of from one to three pounds to every gallon of fluid.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed. I have to state that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the making of improved
preparations for acting upon sea water or upon hard or impure water for the
purpose of rendering such water more suitable for use in boilers or otherwise,
substantially in the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Gray, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JAMES GRAY. (L.S.)