IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OR MANUFACTURE OF AMMONIA, AND NITRIC ACID AND OTHER ACIDS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Leon Quentin Brin and Arthur Brin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd May 1883.
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LEON QUENTIN BRIN and ARTHUR BRIN both of Paris France "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PRODUCTION OR MANUFACTURE OF AMMONIA, AND NITRIC ACID AND OTHER
ACIDS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
"
In the specifications of our patents N° 1416 of 1880 and N° 3728 of 1881 we
have described a process and apparatus for the production or manufacture on a
commercial scale of oxygen, of nitrogen, and of ozonized oxygen.
The object of this invention is to utilize the nitrogen gas produced as aforesaid
so as to form a number of manufactures or industries which have heretofore only
been carried on at great expense.
For this purpose we collect the nitrogen in receivers which are arranged so that
it can be distributed from these to one or more sets of apparatus containing lime
mixed with either alum with an ammoniacal base or not; or lime mixed with
sulphate of iron ammoniacal or not; or with sulphate of copper with an ammoniacal
base or not, or finally a mixture having any alkaline base. This absorbent mixture
is capable of determining the formation of ammoniacal gas or of obtaining this
product in a liquid state after distillation of the mixture. The nitrogen is forced
into the apparatus containing the mixture thus producing an emulsion of the
absorbent matter; it becomes fixed and allows the alkaline gases or vapours to
pass off and which may be utilized for various chemical transformations. By
passing them into receivers containing for instance sulphuric acid they at once
transform the latter into nitric acid.
In order to facilitate the carrying out of our Invention and hasten the production
we use receivers provided with one or more sets of mixing or stirring appliances.
The nitrogen may conveniently by means of a pump be forced into a collecting
vessel from whence it is forced and distributed by pipes and cocks to one or more
such mixing vessels, the gas delivery pipe in the latter being arranged near the
bottom and perforated. This mixing vessel contains the aforesaid lime mixture
and is provided with appliances for charging and discharging the same. The

page_text: number of these apparatus may vary according to the importance of the work.
The last apparatus communicates with a refrigerating vessel from whence the
product is drawn off into a number of carboys or other receivers. These latter are
for the transformation of sulphuric acid into nitric acid provided with an exit pipe
which terminates in a vessel containing the pure or diluted sulphuric acid which is
to be transformed.
For obtaining liquid sulphate of ammonia we pass the gas or vapours from the
mixing vessel through a coil of pipes contained in a vessel, the interior of which by
means of steam or otherwise is kept at a temperature sufficient for producing the
distillation of the vapours by their subsequent passage through a refrigerator or
the steam may be employed both for heating and for its hydrogen to combine
with the azote.
By this important invention we thus obtain in an economical manner any
desired quantity of sulphate of ammonia and of nitric, azotic, and other acids, the
cost of which will be considerably diminished thereby.
The alkaline gases passing off from the mixing vessel may also if desired be
passed into apparatus, which like our aforesaid ozonizing apparatus are arranged in
such a manner that the electrical influence acts in a continuous manner thus
producing liquid ammonia directly.
By the aforesaid powerful agitation of the liquid mixture in the presence of the
gas under pressure, an atomic friction is produced and a more direct action of the
agents present, whereby the ammoniacal gas is rapidly formed
Instead of passing the gas through the aforesaid lime mixture we may pass it
first through a lime solution and then through water and then through an acid
thus obtaining an acid of another order.
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