Improved Means for Pacifying or Calming the Waves of the Sea.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Mar., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Pacifying or Calming the Waves of the Sea.
I, Dr. Max MORITZ FERDINAND RICHTER, of Spaldingstrasse 10, Hamburg,
in the Empire of Germany, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the means for pacifying or calming the
waves of the sea for the protection of ships or vessels. For this purpose oils of
different kind have been hitherto employed, viz.: animal oils, fish-oils, vegetable-
oils such as linseed oil, cotton oil and the like, or the so-called mineral-oils, as for
instance petroleum.
In practice it has however been proved, that the efficiency of these oils decreases
according to the higher degree of their purity, that is to say, the more inferior,
impure and also viscid the oil is, the greater is its power for pacifying the sea waves.
For this reason fully purified oil used in food, such as sesam oil, olive-oil or the like
fully rectified petroleum and the like oils, which become solid at low temperatures
are useless for the desired purpose.
The animal and vegetable oils consist principally of fatty acid glycerides, the
mineral oils of liquid hydrocarbon.
From exhaustive experiments it has been proved, that the power of pacifying
waves is simply and solely attributed to the small quantity of liquid fatty acids
contained in these oils. Such fatty acids may be found for instance in the olive-oil
in natural state of the latter, or they are formed from the fatty acid glycerides
obtained in a well-known manner by melting the oils or fats at a considerably high
temperature and thereby decomposing the glycerides into glycerine and free fatty
acids.
The crude petroleum also contains small quantities (about to 1 per cent.) of
liquid fatty acids (oleic acid). On distilling such an effective crude petroleum, the
residue in which the liquid fatty acids are contained, but not the distillate, will
possess the power of pacifying waves. As a proof, that this phenomenon is simply
and solely produced by even minute quantities of the liquid fatty acids, for instance,
the oleic acid, it may be mentioned, that an entirely inefficient petroleum will forth-
with obtain the property of calming the waves by adding thereto about 0.1 per cent.
oleic acid. To give the same proof but in the reverse sense it may be noted that a
fully acting oil composed of 99 per cent. facty acid glycerides and 1 per cent. free
oleic acid will lose its property of calming the sea as soon as this one per cent. of
oleic acid has been taken away.
CH
-
-
Besides the oleic acid the same property of pacifying waves is due to the liquid
2 03,
fatty acids of the orders CH, 2 O. 4 O,, C.Hn – 6 Og, CnH, n
CH2 n-4 Os &c., as for instance, linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, hempoleic acid,
physetoleic acid and the like.
Physically it has been proved by extensive experiments, that the thickness of the
film of oleic acid on the water is sometimes not exceeding 0-000002 millimeter,
further, that the oleic acid is soluble in 40-60,000 parts water, that the spreading
power of the oleic acid on the water is based upon the adhesion appearing on the
dissolving of the oleic acid in water, and finally, that the power of the oleic acid of
pacifying the waves of the sea is due to its greater surface-tension, as compared
with water.
The liquid fatty acids may be used, for instance, in a pure state or dissolved in
petroleum, or when required for increasing the adhesion, are mixed with a so-called
distributor, a substance readily soluble in water, such as a soap soluble in petroleum.

page_text: A soap of this kind may be produced by dissolving one kilogram of caustic potash
in 4 to 6 liters 90-95 per cent. of spirit and by mixing this solution with 5-7 liters
oleic acid. The oleic acid may also be dissolved and it is also active in alcohols
(methylic alcohol, spirit) etheric oils (terpenes, camphor oils, rosin oils).
Since free liquid fatty acids become readily solid at about 0 degree centigrade,
the application of such a solution of oleic acid in petroleum or other oleic substances
will possess this advantage, that the mixture acts, at any temperature and that it
can at any time be uniformly produced. This will not occur with the oils in
common use, as the same are unequally composed, according to their nature and
mode of production, and in most cases becoming readily solid at 4° C. in conse-
sequence of their containing solid stearic acid glyceride, palmitic acid glyceride,
margaric acid glyceride and the like and will therefore be useless for the desired
purpose.
Dated this 28th day of November 1803
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Pacifying or Calming the Waves of the Sea.
I, Dr. MAX MORITZ FERDINAND RICHTER, of Spaldingstrasse 10, Hamburg, in
the Empire of Germany, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in the means for pacifying or calming the
waves of the sea for the protection of ships or vessels. For this purpose oils of
different kind have been hitherto employed, viz.-animal and vegetable oils, such
as fish oils, linseed oil, cotton oil and the like, or the so-called mineral oils, as for
instance petroleum.
In practice it has however been proved, that the efficiency of these oils decreases
according to the higher degree of their purity, that is to say, the more inferior,
impure and also viscid the oil is, the greater is its power for pacifying the sea
waves. For this reason fully purified oil used in food, such as sesam oil, olive oil
or the like, fully rectified petroleum and the like oils, which become solid at low
temperatures are useless for the desired purpose.
The animal and vegetable oils consist principally of fatty acid glycerides the
mineral oils of liquid hydrocarbons.
From exhaustive experiments I have discovered, that the power of pacifying
waves is simply and solely attributed to the small quantity of liquid fatty acids
contained in those oils. Such fatty acids may be found for instance in the
olive oil in natural state of the latter, or they are formed from the fatty acid
glycerides obtained in a well known manner by melting the oils or fats at a
considerable high temperature and thereby decomposing the glycerides into
glycerine and free fatty acids.
The crude petroleum also contains small quantities (about to 1 per cent.) of
liquid fatty acids (oleic acid). On distilling such an effective crude petroleum, the
residue in which the liquid fatty acids are contained, but not the distillate, will
possess the power of pacifying waves. As a proof, that this phenomenon is simply
and solely produced by even minute quantities of the liquid fatty acids, for
instance, the oleic acid, it may be mentioned, that an entirely inefficient petroleum
will forthwith obtain the property of calming the waves by adding thereto about
0.1 per cent. oleic acid. To give the same proof but in the reverse sense it may be
noted that a fully acting oil composed of 99 per cent. fatty acid glycerides and
per cent. free oleic acid will lose its property of calming the sea as soon as this
one per cent. of oleic acid has been taken away.
1

page_text: -
11-
Besides the oleic acid the same property of pacifying waves is due to the liquid
fatty acids of the orders CH - 20₂, CH-40, С H.- 6 O₂, CH₂ 203,
CH, n 4 0, &c., as for instance, linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, hempoleic acid,
physetoleic acid and the like.
Physically it has been proved by extensive experiments, that the thickness of
the film of oleic acid on the water sometimes does not exceed 0.000002 millimeter,
further, that the oleic acid is soluble in pure river-water in the proportion of
1 to 11000, in "aqua distillata " in the proportion of 1:8000 and in sea-water in.
the proportion of 1:26000, that the spreading power of the oleic acid on the
water is based upon the power appearing on the dissolving of the oleic acid in
water, and finally, that the pacifying proper of the waves of the sea is due to
simple phenomenons of the diffusion.
The liquid fatty acids may be used in a pure state or dissolved in petroleum, or
when required for increasing the adhesion, are mixed with a so-called distributor,
a substance readily soluble in petroleum as well as in water. As a readily acting
distributor may be also employed the anhydrous alcohols, such as amylic alcohol..
The oleic acid may further be dissolved (instead of in petroleum) and it is also
active in alcohols (methylic alcohol, spirit &c.) and in etheric oils (terpenes,
camphor oils, rosin oils).
1
Since free liquid fatty acids become already solid at about 0 degree centigrade,
the application of such a solution of oleic acid in petroleum or other oleic
substances or in alcohols will possess the advantage, that the mixture acts at any
temperature downward to -20° C. and that it can at any time be uniformly
produced. This will not occur with the oils in common use, as the same are
unequally composed, according to their nature and mode of production and in most
cases becoming readily solid at 4° C. in consequence of their containing solid
stearic acid glyceride, palmitic acid glyceride, margaric acid glyceride, and the
like and will therefore be useless for the desired purpose.
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. As a means for pacifying or calming the waves of the sea, unsaturated liquid
fatty acids or their solutions in such liquids, which in their natural state do not, or
only in a small degree, contain these fatty acids.
2. The herein described means for pacifying the waves of the sea consisting
of unsaturated liquid fatty acids either pure or in solution with the liquids set
forth, and a substance, such as amylic alcohol, which is readily soluble in the
solvents of the fatty acid employed as well as in water and which is adapted to act
as a distributor.
Dated this 3rd day of March 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE, & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.