Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
1, JAMES YATE JOHNSON, of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention, which has been
communicated to me from abroad by Friedrich Carl Glaser of 80 Linden Strasse
Berlin in the Empire of Germany, Civil Engineer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of an explosive suitable for use in small
arms and ordnance and consists in taking vegetable fibrous material, woody matters,
or cellulose or the like in a manufactured condition such as paper cardboard in sheets
or strips or fibres in a twisted plaited felted woven pressed or other like form (as
distinguished from such matters in a finely divided condition) and either partially
charred or, roasted or not, and nitrating such material and then as may be or if
necessary washing with water, treating with an alkaline liquor and again washing
with water and then soaking such material in, or treating such material with, acetic
ether or acetone or like solvent of equal strength so that it becomes impregnated
therewith. The sheets or the like thus treated are then dried or allowed to dry or
the solvent is distilled off either whilst the sheets or the like are separate or whilst
they are placed one upon the other so that in the latter case the layers tmay adhere
to each other in drying evaporating or distilling.
Afterwards if the forms be
not those which are finally required the product is reduced to the required size
or granules.
Oxygen-yielding substances or both oxygen-yielding substances and hydro-carbon
may be added at a suitable stage of the manufacture such as by soaking the sheets or
the like therein before treatment with the solvent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Explosives.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Friedrich Carl Glaser of 80 Lindenstrasse Berlin
in the Empire of Germany Civil Engineer and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This Invention relates to the manufacture of an explosive suitable for use in small
arms and ordnance and consists in taking vegetable fibrous material woody matters,
cellulose or the like in a manufactured condition such as paper cardboard in sheets or
strips or fibres in a twisted plaited felted woven pressed or other like forms (as
distinguished from such matters in a finely divided condition) and either partially
rcasted or charred or not and nitrating such material and then, as may be, or if necessary,
washing with water, treating with an alkaline liquor and again washing with water
and then soaking such material in, or treating such material with, acetic ether or
acetone or like solvent of equal strength so that the said material is impregnated thero-
with and becomes a gelatinous mass.
The sheets or the like thus treated are then dried or allowed to dry or the
solvent is distilled off either whilst the sheets or the like are separated or whilst
they are placed one upon the other so that in the latter case the layers may adhere
to each other in drying evaporating or distilling. Afterwards if the forms be not
those which are finally required the product is reduced to the required size or to the
form of granules.
Oxygen yielding substances such as nitrate of potash or both oxygen yielding
substances and hydrocarbon such as nitrate of potash and naphtaline may be added at
a suitable stage of the manufacture such as by soaking the sheets or the like therein
before treatment with the solvent.
In order that the Invention may be well understood I will give an example of the
manner in which it may be carried into practical effect premising that I do not limit
myself to the precise details which I shall describe.
I take sheets of paper and if required I char or roast the same preferably to about
a light brown colour. I then nitrate the sheets in the usual way.
I then wash them with water and put them if required in a bath of alkaline liquid
such as a saturated solution of common soda and then I again wash with water. I then
place the sheets in acetic ether acetone or like solvent of equal strength and allow them to
remain therein until they are impregnated there with and become of a gelatinous
nature. The sheets are then dried either separately or one upon another in which
latter case the layers will adhere to each other as the process of drying is going on.
The dried product will be a hard horn-like material which if necessary may be divided
into or reduced to the required forms or granules.

page_text: If oxygen yielding substance be used or such a substance and hydrocarbon I
preferably employ nitrate of potash as the oxygen yielding substance and naphtaline as
the hydrocarbon. These substances are added to the nitrated mass either in solution
or granular form.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed: I declare that what I
claim is
1. The manufacture of explosives suitable for use in small arms and ordnance for
blasting and other like purposes by nitrating vegetable fibrous material, woody
matter, cellulose or the like in the manufactured condition as hereinbefore explained
and defined and either partially charred or roasted or not and subjecting it to the
action of acetic ether acetone or like solvent of equal strength and then drying or
allowing to dry or distilling off the solvent and when required reducing to the
required forms or granulating whether there be used or not oxygen yielding substances
or such substances and hydrocarbon and whether washing and treatment with an
alkali be resorted to or not all substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The explosives manufactured from vegetable fibrous material woody matter
cellulose or tlie like in the manufactured condition as hereinbefore explained and defined
by treatment as hereinbefore described.