CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
JOSEPH BURNETT, of Saint Mary-at-Hill, in the City of London, Ship Insurance
Agent, and HIPPOLYTE FRANÇOIS MARQUIS DE BOUFFET MONTAUBAN, Colonel
of Cavalry, now residing in Sloane Street, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of July, in the second year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Frederick
Joseph Burnett and Hippolyte François Marquis De Bouffet Montauban,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
Frederick Joseph Burnett and Hippolyte François Marquis De Bouffet
Montauban, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and such' others as we,
the said Frederick Joseph Burnett and Hippolyte François De Bouffet Mon-
tauban, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP," being a communi-
cation from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is

page_text: contained a proviso obliging us, the said Frederick Joseph Burnett and
Hippolyte François Marquis De Bouffet Montauban, by an instrument in
writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso contained in
the said Letters Patent, we, the said Frederick Joseph Burnett and Hippolyte
François Marquis De Bouffet Montauban, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to make or manufacture soap from refuse
animal matters, which have not hitherto been used for such purpose, whereby
such matters which have heretofore been thrown aside for manure or put to
little use, are made available to a better and more useful purpose, and consists
in making or manufacturing soap from the intestines of animals and other
gelatinous or fibrinous parts of animals, and also of fish which have not before
been used for such purposes, such intestines or other gelatinous or fibrinous
materials being subject to processes whereby caustic alkali is made to act upon
the said materials, and produce saponification, and convert the same into soap.
And previous to describing the mode, manner, or method and process of
treating or operating upon such refuse animal substances, we will first state
that we are well aware that all animal and vegetable oily and fatty materials
have long been employed in the manufacture of soap, and also that caustic
alkali has been used in such manufacture for producing saponification, and
converting the said fatty materials into soap, and therefore we hereby disclaim
the use of all fatty or oily matters extracted from animal or vegetable bodies in
the process of manufacturing soap, saving and except when used in conjunc-
tion with the refuse animal gelatinous and fibrinous materials, as herein-after
described, that is to say:-When such animal or vegetable fatty matters are
used in small proportions, mixed with the said refuse animal matter, after
being acted on by the alkali, for the purpose of producing a better quality of
soap than the said animal refuse matters would make when used by them-
selves. And we will now proceed to describe the process, manner, or method
of treating the said animal gelatinous or fibrinous matters, and converting the

page_text: the alkali solution is
When the intestines
and well drained, or
same into soap, stating the process which we have employed and found to
answer well for this purpose when treating upon the intestines of animals,
that is to say: The intestines, after being well washed or cleansed, are placed
in proper vessels, and immersed in a lie of caustic soda or alkali, in order to
prevent their decomposition, until they are wanted for use.
The quantity of
this lie in proportion to the mass of intestines must vary according to circum-
stances. We have found seven or eight per cent. of alkali to the quantity of
materials under operation to answer well. The animal matters are to remain
in the tubs or vessels seven or eight days, or until
absorbed and a partial saponification has commenced.
are required for use they are to be carefully washed
partially dried on hurdles or nets, after the manner that fellmongs treat their
materials,, after which the animal matters are to be placed in a copper or other
suitable vessel containing a solution of caustic alkali. This caustic lie is to
be made warm during the time required to produce the entire saponification
of the materials. The fire used in this operation or process should be slow,
if applied direct to the upper or other vessel, as the materials ought never to
be allowed to boil. This is easily prevented, after a few trials have been made,
and the proper precautions used, which practice will shew; but if the copper,
or other vessel containing the materials is heated by means of steam or hot
water, in the way it is commonly applied in various operations and manu-,
factures, then these precautions will not be required, as the alkaline lie will
never boil if the apparatus is properly arranged and constructed. After the.
saponification has taken place, the soap is to be poured into moulds, to give
the required shape of the cakes and allowed to cool, and when hard is ready for
use. We should here observe that this soap contains in its primitive matters.
a large proportion of water, and therefore dries with greater difficulty than
common soap. If it is desired to obtain a hard soap, it necessary to.
add into the copper or other vessel, after a few hours of the above opera-
tions, a sufficient quantity of barras or gallipot or other resinous matter,,
which will give it solidity. It is difficult to indicate or name the precise
quantity of materials to be used in these processes, because the intestines
have more or less fatty substances or matters commingled with them, but a
few days practice and experiments will shew this better than any stated.
proportion. When it is wished to obtain a whiter soap, it is necessary, as soon
as the saponification is finished, and no gallipot has been used, to mix in the
copper a proper quantity of chlorine of soda or other bleaching matters, the
whole mass of materials being well agitated or stirred during a proper time,
and the result will be as desired. It is important to notice that the lie or

page_text: solution of caustic alkali is incorporated with the animal matters, and therefore
a superabundance of water cannot be drawn or pressed out of the materials
after saponification, as is the case in the ordinary nature of soap from fatty
materials. And we would further remark, that the saponification of gela-
tinous or fibrinous matters is a rather delicate process, and therefore requires
attention. The difference in climate, and the proportion of fatty matters
which the intestines contain, ought to determine in some degree the proportion
of alkali used, and the modifications of the dose, or the lie, all of which will
be readily suggested by any practical soap manufacturer or chemist. We
should here mention, that, in order to introduce the barras or gallipot or other
resinous matters into the soap, it is necessary to dissolve it in the lie or
alkaline solution, or in the fatty materials to be afterwards incorporated with
the soap when it is required to produce a better quality. We have named
the above substances, because they being of a whitish hue will give less
colour to the soap than common rosin, but if the colour of the soap is not
material then rosin may be used to harden it.
Having now described the process and manner or method of operation and
treating the refuse animal materials in producing the effect of this Invention
or discovery, we would remark that the same applies to all gelatinous and
fibrinous animal matters not hitherto used in soap making; the intestines,
refuse pieces of skin, sinews, muscles, fleshy or fibrinous parts, horns, hoofs;
all kinds of fish and gelatinous animal matters which cannot be put to a better
purpose; the only difference of treatment being that these different matters
will require different proportions of the alkaline solution and different periods
of operation, all of which will be found by practice when treating these
matters as above described. And in conclusion we would remark that the
caustic alkali solution or lie above named in both the first and second processes
may be formed with water and the common soda of commerce, pearl ashes,
or barilla, caustic lime, or a mixture of all or some of these alkalies; therefore
we do not mean or intend to confine ourselves to alkali in any particular state,
or to any particular proportion thereof, nor to any particular time the materials
are to be kept under operation, as these must vary according to the quality of
the materials to be operated upon, remarking that these processes, manner,
or methods of treating the above-named gelatinous or fibrinous matters do
not nor are they intended to apply to the making of soap from animal, fatty,
or oily matters, as the same is not at all applicable to the making of soap
from such materials alone, and when such fatty matters are added thereto it
is only to produce a soap of better quality or appearance than can be made
by the gelatinous or fibrinous matters alone. And finally we would state

page_text: hat what we claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is the
aking or manufacturing of soap with the above-mentioned refuse animal
elatinous and fibrinous matters by treating or operating upon them, and
roducing saponification therein by means of the caustic alkali, lies, or solu-
on in the manner or method above set forth and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederick Joseph Burnett and
Hippolyte François Marquis de Bouffet Montauban, have hereunto
set our hands and seals, this Third day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.