A METHOD OF AND CERTAIN VARNISHES OR COMPOSITIONS FOR RENDERING WOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES UNINFLAMMABLE AND FIRE-PROOF, APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE INDU- RATING OF CALCAREOUS EARTHS AND STONE, AND TO THE RENDERING OF PAPER AND FABRICS DAMP-PROOF, TOGETHER WITH APPARATUSES FOR MANUFACTURING BUCH COMPOSITIONS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street, in
the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "A METHOD
OF AND CERTAIN VARNISHES OR COMPOSITIONS FOR RENDERING WOOD AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES UNINFLAMMABLE AND FIRE-PROOF, APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE INDU-
RATING OF CALCAREOUS EARTHS AND STONE, AND TO THE RENDERING OF PAPER
AND FABRICS DAMP-PROOF, TOGETHER WITH APPARATUSES FOR MANUFACTURING
BUCH COMPOSITIONS."-A communication from Madame Boulard.
Sealed the 7th April 1857, and dated the 20th November 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his petition,
on the 20th November 1856.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "A METHOD OF AND CERTAIN VARNISHES OR COMPOSITIONS FOR RENDERING
WOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES UNINFLAMMABLE AND FIRE-PROOF, APPLICABLE ALSO TO
THE INDURATING OF. CALCARIOUS EARTHS AND STONE, AND TO THE RENDERING OF
PAPER AND FABRICS DAMP-PROOF, TOGETHER WITH APPARATUSES FOR MANUFATURING
SUCH COMPOSITIONB," (communicated to me by Madame Boulard, a foreigner
residing abroad,) to be as follows:-

page_text: The Invention consists in the employment of a vitreous composition for
rendering wood, paper, pulp, fabrics, and other substances uninfiammable and
fire-proof, and also in the manufacture of and apparatuses for the preparation
of certain vitreous compositions suitable for the purpose, which compositions
also serve for the exclusion of damp and the indurating of calcarious carths
and stone. The compositions may be mixed with dyes and colors and used
in the manufacture of pulp, and of paper boxes and other articles made
therefrom.
The vitreous compositions which I employ are soluble in water after being
reduced to powder. The compositions may be applied by means of galvanism.
or they may be introduced into the substances under vacuum pressure, or
applied in any suitable manner.
Composition No. 1, especially suitable for impregnating wood, is manu-
factured as follows:-I take well-dried pounded carbonate of soda, dry white
sand free from mineral matter,aud powdered charcoal, and I heat the mixture
in a furnace until I obtain a vitreous product, which I pound when cool,
dissolve in water and boil down.
To prepare a coating (composition No. 2) for the outer surface of wood
and other substances, composition No.1 is boiled down to,say, half its volume,
a coloring matter added according to the shade desired, the mixture hoiled
over again and a certain quantity of colycirium or collicirium (composition
patented in France by Erard, 29th May 1854,) added. Anhydrous salts of
magnesia may be used instead of anhydrous carbonates of soda in preparing
these compositions. An apparatus suitableformanufacturingthecompositions
consists of two vessels connected by tubes and furnished with steam supply
pipes, and connected also with a third vessel or receiver, a pipe passes from
the bottom of the first to the bottom of the second vessel (which has a
removeable cover),and into which vessel two steam pipes lead, one at the top
and the other passing upward from the bottom.
The ingredients having been mixed and pounded are placed in the first
vessel and steam admitted; when the liquid boils a tap is opened and it flows
into the second vessel the cover of which is let down and steam admitted from
the top, which keeps the liquid to boiling point and dissolves all the matters;
the steam is then shut off at top and admitted from below. To heat the
precipitated salts the steam at top is re-admitted, the liquid flows into the
third vessel and is thence transferred to the purifiers or filters.
I employ anhydrous salts of magnesin instead of carbonates for the manu-
facture of damp proof and uninflammable gilt and colored papers. A variety
of colors may be produced by adding sulphates,, acetates, and other salts of

page_text: copper and iron. I also manufacture an improved composition for rendering
substances uninflammable, as follows:-I put into a furnace (as for example
of the construction shewn in the Drawing) suitable proportions of sand, soda,
lime, and wood charcoal, (composition No. 5,) and I mix and stir them well
together till the mass acquires a spongy consistency; I then leave it to cool,
pound it, and dissolve it in a mixture of water, alum, and sulphate of lead,
(No. 4,) I stir the whole well and pour off the clear liquid, I then take about "
equal quantities of Nos. 3 and 4, add water and boil the whole down.
In the sectional view, A is a reverberatory furnace; B, floor for melting
pots; C, C, melting pots; D, hopper for admission of fuel; E, pipe for
admitting air to the flame; F, sole; G, serpentine passage for air; II, cold
air pipe; J, ash-pit; K, fire bars; L, chimney; M, damper for closing
pipe E; N, damper for excluding air from ash-pit; O, orifice for inspecting
and stirring fire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th May 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL' COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, 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
Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 night make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "A METHOD OF AND CERTAIN VARNISHES OR COMPOSITIONS FOR
RENDERING WOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES UNINFLAMMABLE AND FIRE-PROOF, APPLI-
CABLE ALSO TO THE INDURATING OF CALCAREOUS EARTHS AND STONE, AND TO THE
RENDERING OF PAPER AND FABRICS DAMP-PROOF. TOGETHER WITH APPARATUSES FOR
MANUFACTURING SUCH COMPOSITIONS," (a communication from Madame Boulard,)

page_text: upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald
Broomau, 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
Bame 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings thereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
The Invention cousists in the employment of a vitreous composition for
rendering wood, paper pulp, fabrics, and other substances uninflammable and
fire-proof, and also in the manufacture of and apparatus for the preparation
of certain vitreous compositions suitable for the purpose, which compositious
also serve for the exclusion of damp and the indurating of calcareous earths
and stones. The compositions may be mixed with dies and colours and used in
the manufacture of pulp, and of paper boxes and other articles made there-
from.
Composition No. 1, especially suitable for impregnating wood, is formed as
follows: The Inventor takes common carbonato of soda and exposes it to heat
till it is perfectly dry. With about 20 lbs. of this, reduced to powder and
sifted, she mixes about 30 lbs. of white sand (such as sable de Fontainebleau),
perfectly dry and free from all foreign mineral substances, and about 2 lbs. of
powdered charcoal; she heats the mixture for two hours in a furnace and
thus obtains a vitreous product. This product is cooled, reduced to powder,
and about lbs. of it dissolved in about 4 gallons of water, and the solution is
boiled down to about one half of the quantity; the solution is next filtered,
and is then ready to be injected into the wood. This operation is performed
by means of the machine represented in elevation and partly in section at
Figure of the Drawings hereunto annexed. A is pump barrel; B, a
plunger working within it; C, a suction valve; D, a pipe by which the air
escapes E, the plunger rod working in the lubricated bearing F; G, the
junction of the plunger rod and connecting rod; and H, a grease cup for
lubricating the bearing F; M. is a framework, to which the bearing F is secured
by screws J, J. The pump barrel is supported by the picces N, N, which partly
embrace it at K, K; the flanges L, L, serve to secure the covers which close the
pump barrel. I is a contrivance for holding in place the
extremities of the

page_text: .
piece of wood or timber 1' to be treated; 2 and 3 are screws for fastening the
said piece; 4 is a frame which supports the cast iron tube or chamber 5, in
which the piece of wood or timber 1' is held. At the extremity of this tube or
chamber 5 is a flange 6, by which it is secured to the supplementary tube or
chamber 8, which is closed with a cover fixed by the screws 9,9. 7,7 are screws,
which serve the same purpose as the screws 2 and 3, but at the other end of
the piece 1'; 10, 1', is a stop-cock in the pipe 12, which communicates between
the cylinder and the reservoir 14, in which the preparation is contained. The
pipe 12 is secured to the reservoir 11 by the flange 13. The guages 15
and 16 indicate the degree of vacuum in the tube 5, and therefore in the
timber which is within it; the production of the vacuum is aided by means
of superheated steam entering by the pipe 17. The mode of operation will
be readily understood. A few strokes of the pump exhaust the air from the
wood. When the guage 16 indicates a sufficient exhaustion, 17 is closed and
the cock 10, 11 opened; the composition contained in the reservoir 14 then.
flows into the vacuum and enters the pores of the wood. The fibres of the
wood thus receive a coating, which cuts them off from all contact with the
oxygen of the atmosphere, and thus renders their combustion impossible.
Green timber thus treated, and placed in a chamber heated to 100° centigrade
for 2 or 3 hours, may be wrought without injury to the tools of the workmen,
and is incapable of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere or from other
sources.
A composition No. 2, for exterior application to wood or other substance, is
made from composition No. 1 by boiling it down to one half of its volume
and then adding colouring matter, according to the color it is desired to impart,
such as zinc white for whites and greys, verdigris for bronzes and dark colors,
&c. The mixture is boiled a second time until it becomes of a density of 12°;
10 to 12 per cent. of colycirium or collicirium (a composition patented in
France by Erard, 29th May 1854,) is now added, the whole boiled a few
minutes, and the composition is then ready for application. When ochres are
used for common colors the composition must be boiled down to the required
density before the ochres are added. It is also necessary to avoid the employ-
ment of colors containing sulphates of iron and copper, because the sulphuric
acid in them would form precipitates injurious to the composition. This com-
position is applicable to paper, linen stuffs, hangings, theatrical decorations, and
generally to all articles of furniture,&c., which are liable to destruction by fire,
and the Inventor reserves to herself the right to deposit the composition on all
kinds of tissues and substances by means of the galvanic battery, or by any
other means. She als reserves to herself the right to employ the composition

page_text: in dyeing, and to replace the anhydrous carbonate of soda contained in it by
any anhydrous salt of magnesia.
The mechanical arrangements represented in side elevation and partly in
section at Figure 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed is used in the manu-
facture of the improved compositions. A steam pipe 1, furnished with a stop-
cock 2, ends in a sheet iron vessel 3 mounted on a frame 4. In this same
vessel ends another pipe 5, also furnished with a stop-cock 6. This pipe 5
terminates in the cylinder 9, which is secured by the screws 7, and closed at
the top by the cover S. The pipe 10 is a steam pipe, and 11 is a waste pipe;
12, 13, and 14 are cocks, the last of which is fitted in the steam pipe 15,
which communicates with the reservoir 16, supported on the framing 17.
Another steam pipe 19 coming from the boiler is also furnished with a stop-
cock 18. A craue 20, furnished with a chain 21, serves to raise or lower the
covers of the cylinder 9, as may be required. The working of this apparatus
is as follows: In the receiver 3, which contains about 20 gallons of water, is
placed about 3 lbs. of the pounded preparation herein.before described. The
cock 2 is opened, and the steam from the boiler enters the reservoir 3, making
the water which it contains boil. When the boiler is effected the cock G is
opened, and the liquid allowed to flow through the pipe 5 to the receiver 9.
When the liquor reaches the height of the guage cock 22 the cock 6 is closed;
the cover is then carefully closed, and the cock 18 opened; the steam from
the boiler then enters the vessel 9 through the pipe 19; the high temperature
of the steam keeps the liquor boiling, and effects the dissolution of the whole
of the matter mixed with the water. The cock 15 is now closed nud 12
opened, in order to admit the steam from the boiler to the lower part of the
apparatus, and to give to any of the salts that may be precipitated the same
temperature as is communicated to the matters in the upper parts of the appa-
ratus. The liquor should continue boiling two hours, at the expiration of
which time the cock 12 is close and 18 opened, and then 14 is also opened
and the liquid runs into the reservoir 16, whence it is conveyed to the filter
or filters for clarification. The operation just detailed may be repented in-
definitely. It is occasionally desirable to treat the wood or timber by placing
it iii a receiver containing a composition of a density of from 10° to 15°, and
precipitating the vitreous preparation by means of a galvanic battery composed
of a few cells of Grove or Bunsen.
The following is the composition of a varnish or coating which when applied
to theatrical decorations, woods, linens, papers, or other combustible materials
renders them uninflammable, viz.: about 10 gallons of silicate of soda at about
3 Beauiné, 3 gallons of phosphate of soda at about 10° Beaume, 30 lbs. of

page_text: sulphate of baryta, 20 lbs. of zinc white, and 2 lbs. of borate of manganese.
This varnish or coating is applied to the substances like ordinary paint, and
preserves them from contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere. If a flame is
applied to a surface coated with it, the heat converts the composition into a
vitreous material, which effectually protects the surface. Before this varnish is
applied, however, the surface tobeprotected receivesacoatingofasize composed
of about 2 gallons of water, 1 lbs. of flour, and 4lbs. of carbonate of lime. This
mixture is well boiled and allowed to cool, and is then ready to be laid on and
died anto to receive the fire-proof varnish. This size when applied to a tissue
or fabric renders it opaque. By the application to the carbonate of lime in the
size, of the silicate of soda in the composition, a silicate of lime is produced, and
this prevents any injurious action resulting. Any description of plaster or
stucco may have the improved compositions used with it. The composition
adds much to the durability of limestone and other building materials. By
introducing into the compositions salts of copper or salts of iron, such as sul-
phate of copper and sulphate of iron, various colours may be produced.
The Inventor reserves to herself the right to alter the proportions of the
substances herein-before mentioned.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the employment of a vitreous composition for rendering substances
fire-proof.
Second, the preparation and use of the vitreous compositions herein-before
described for the purpose of rendering substances fire-proof.
Third, the construction of the apparatus herein-before described, and
represented at Figure 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, for the prepara-
tion of vitreous compositions.
Fourth, the construction of the apparatus herein-before described, and
represented at Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, for applying
vitreous composition to timber or other material.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)