IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF OXIDES OF MANGANESE."
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Elliot, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF OXIDES OF MANGANESE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Elliot at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th October 1856.
I, GEORGE ELLIOT, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, do hereby declaro the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF OXIDES OP
MANGANESE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the processes which I employ, as berein-after
stated, in converting the chlorides of manganese formed in the production.
of chlorine or bleaching powder into oxides of manganese, which can be
employed for the manufacture of chlorine or bleaching powder, or any other
purpose for which peroxido of manganese is used. I purify the solutions. of
chloride of manganese (made from ordinary commercial manganese) from the.
iron contained therein by carbonate of lime, and I then precipitate.from.
the filtered solution protoxide of manganese by lime; I wash the precipitated
protoxide of manganese clean from the solutions of muriate of lime, and I
employ the washed protoxide of manganese to precipitate the iron from other
solutions of chloride of manganese made from ordinary commercial manganese.
I thus obtain a solution of chloride of manganese free from both iron and
lime; I boil this solution down to a salt, and then expose it in a reverbatory
or other suitable furnace to the action of heat, with the presence of atmo-

page_text: spheric air, or of both atmospheric air and steam. The chloride of manganese
is decomposed, muriatic acid is formed, which I condense in the usual way,
and an oxide of manganese is produced, which is a mixture of peroxide
and protoxide of manganese, and which is available for the uses to which the
manganese of commerce is employed. When the solutions of chloride of
manganese are made from the artificial manganese, above described, the
process of purification from iron is not required, little or none being present.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Elliot in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
ELLIOT, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of October, 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 George Elliot, Her special license that I, the said George Elliot,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Elliot, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS,
IN THE PRODUCTION OF OXIDES OF MANGANESE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Elliot, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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 George Elliot, do hereby declare-the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-.
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Production of Oxides of Man-.
ganese" has for its object the production, from the solutions of. chloride of

page_text: manganese arising from the manufacture of bleaching powder or otherwise, of
an oxide of manganese, which can be employed for the purposes for which
ordinary manganese is used, or which by a subsequent treatment can be con-
verted into a hydrated peroxide of manganese, and this object is accomplished
by means of the processes herein-after described.
The first process consists in purifying the chloride of manganese produced
from ordinary commercial manganese in the manufacture of bleaching powder.
or otherwise from the iron contained therein. For this purpose I take a
solution of chloride of manganese and precipitate therefrom the iron contained
therein by carbonate of lime, common chalk being the form in which I prefer
to use the carbonate of lime; I then separate the clear solution containing
chlorides of manganese and calcium (muriates of manganese and lime), and I.
precipitate therefrom by lime a protoxide of manganese, and I wash the
protoxide of manganese clean from the muriate of lime.
In this process I expose as little as possible the protoxide of manganese
to the action of the air, and I prefer the use of close vessels or tanks, so that
the protoxide of manganese may not absorb oxygen from the atmosphere. It
is not essential to separate the precipitated iron from the solution previous
to precipitating the protoxide of manganese, which is to be used to precipitate
oxide of iron from solutions of chloride of manganese; and in that case lime
may be used to precipitate at once both the iron and protoxide of manganese,
instead of first using carbonate of lime to precipitate the iron, and then lime.
to precipitate the protoxide of manganese; but I prefer the first method,
as affording less bulk to be washed clear of chloride of calcium.
I now take another portion of the solution of chloride of. manganese, and I.
mix with it and agitate the precipitated protoxide. of manganese, the recovery.
of which has been above described, and I thereby precipitate the iron held in
solution therein; but if on testing I find after thorough agitation all the iron
has not been precipitated, I add more protoxide of manganese till it is all
precipitated. I separate by filtration or deposition the solution of chloride of
manganese from the precipitated iron. I boil this solution down to a salt,
either in iron or other vessels, or in a reverberatory furnace, and I then expose
this salt to heat in reverberatory or other furnaces; but as it is important that
the heat should be gradually applied, I prefer for this purpose using the
furnace described in the Specification of William Longmaid's Patent for
"Treating Ores and other Minerals to Extract Sulphur therefrom," dated the.
Twentieth October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-two. The chloride
of manganese is placed on the bed furthest from the fire, where it remains
about twenty-four hours, and is then moved on to the adjoining bed, where it

page_text: also remains about twenty-four hours, and so on, till it arrives at the bed
nearest the fire, where it is exposed to the greatest heat. The material must
be occasionally stirred. I do not confine myself to the exact time the material
remains on each bed, nor to any particular form of furnace. A current
of steam may be admitted into the furnace, as it facilitates the decomposition of
the chloride of manganese, but if much water was left in the boiled-down salt
of manganese it is not required. The chloride of manganese is thus de-
composed; muriatic acid is produced, which is to be condensed, by the
processes in ordinary use by the manufacturers of sulphate of soda, from
common salt, and an oxide of manganese is formed, which is a mixture of
protoxide and peroxide, and which can be employed for the purposes for which
ordinary manganese is used; but I prefer to submit it to an additional process
to separate the protoxide from the peroxide. For this purpose it is acted upon
cold by weak muriatic acid, which dissolves off the protoxide, leaving a
hydrated peroxide and a small portion of protoxide not dissolved out. The
solution resulting from this operation is boiled down and treated in the same
manner as the solution of chloride of manganese resulting after purification
from iron.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I make no claim for
the separation of protoxide from peroxide of manganese by the use of muriatic
acid, neither do I claim the recovery of muriatic acid from the chloride
of manganese; but what I do claim as of my Invention is the purification of
chloride of manganèse from iron by protoxide of manganese, and the recovery
of a mixed protoxide and peroxide from the chloride of manganese, by the
processes above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Elliot, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
JAMES STARK,
47, Clayton St., Newcastle Tyne,
· Tobacconist.
GEORGE ELLIOT. (L.S.)