IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP AND THE PREPARATION, OF MATERIALS FOR THE PUR- POSE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, for the-Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SOAP AND THE PREPARATION, OF MATERIALS FOR THE PUR-
POSE:
A communication from abroad by Louis Marie Théophile Riot,
of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France.
Sealed the 16th May 1862, and' dated the 27th November 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
November 1861.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP AND THE PREPARATION OF MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE,"
communicated to me from abroad by Louis Marie Théophile Riot, of 33,
Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France; to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of soap considerable portions of the oil or fat used,
which portions consist principally of glycerine, resist combination with alkali
and will not saponify, they hence become refuse, whereby considerable waste
of material is occasioned. Now, one of the principal objects of the present
Invention is to treat materials intended for saponification so that every or
nearly every part of the oil or fatty matter-may be utilized for producing the

page_text: soap. For this purpose, the oil, tallow, or fat which is to be employed in the
production of the soap is subjected to a treatment with sulphuric acid, or some
other acid or other body, whereby the glycerine contained in such oil or
fat shall be rendered fit for or converted into a matter capable of combining
with alkalies, and hence of being saponified, or in other words, contributing to
the production of the soap. This process may be described as converting the
glycerine into a matter assimilable to the oleine and margarine,.so as to bring
it into a condition in which it will combine with alkali.
An improved soap is manufactured by combining alkaline lyes with the oil,
tallow, or fatty body treated with the sulphuric or other acid or body acting on
the glycerine, in the manner and for the purpose above described.
A soap can be produced by a cold process-by the simple addition of alkaline
Jyes, and particularly weak lyes (whereof the proportions may be calculated
beforehand to get the desired effect), to an oil or fat treated by the acid or
other agent acting on its glycerine as aforesaid. A hot process may be used,
but is not recommended.
The preliminary treatment of the oil or fat with sulphuric or other acid or
agent capable of converting its glycerine into a matter that will combine with
alkalies, is a main point of the Invention. Acids and sulphuric acid especially
have the property of attacking the glycerine preferably to the oleine and mar-
garine. Sulphuric acid is the agent mostly preferred for the purpose; this
acid transforms the glycerine into sulphurc-glyceric acid, which is a substance
capable of combining with alkalies.
For oils, the dose of sulphuric acid recommended is from three-thousandth
parts to fifteen-thousandth parts by weight to one part by weight of the oil,
the proportions varying within those limits according to the oil treated. A
dose of six-thousandth parts is especially recommended for olive oil, but for
earth, nut, and sesame oils, up to fifteen-thousandth parts may be used (all
parts by weight).
A soap may thus be manufactured with from four to ten per cent. of soda
by-the-cold-process.-
Tallow, when used, should be first liquefied:
In proceeding to describe by way of example one mode of performing the
Invention, I wish it to be distinctly understood that the details of performance
& the proportions and divisions of time herein-after mentioned may be varied.
It is preferred to proceed thus; suppose, for example, olive oil is to be treated:
-The oil is placed in a cylinder, vessel, or receiver fitted with an agitator, and
sulphuric acid at 66° added, a little at a time, till the whole dose of it introduced
is equal to six-thousandth parts (by weight) of the oil. Then stir for an hour

page_text: and
pour into the same (or a larger vessel into which the materials are trans-
ferred) caustic lye at about 15°, say, ten parts per cent. lye by weight of the
oil. In a quarter of an hour add another and equal supply of lye, and so on,
till there is 200 lbs. Iye to every 200 lbs. oil, then add a fresh supply of 200 lbs.
Jye at 15°, by 40 lbs. at a time, and expose the whole for about 30 minutes,
and stir for 15 minutes, and so forth, till the liquid mass becomes homogeneous
and assumes a pasty consistency and may be called a paste. Take care to stir
the mass for about 15 minutes after each lot of 40 lbs. lye is thrown in, and
leave it to rest for 10 to 20 minutes till the paste gets sufficiently set before
throwing in the next batch of 40 lbs. When the operation is done and the.
pasty mass quite prepared, stir in the receiver before drawing off, and then
draw off into the frames or sesses through the orifices in the receiver, opening
the upper orifices first. The pasty mass may remain 10 to 15 hours in the
frames, the bottoms of which slope a little to run off any lye yet remaining. If
the soap is to be mottled or marbled that is now done, in which case the
English" mode is adopted, and the soap left for four days in the frames
before cutting it. It is then dried in the open air. For white soap the mass
may be cut after remaining from 10 to 12 hours in the frames.
"
By adopting such means, the degree of alkalinity of the lye may be readily
calculated to produce a soap all prepared on coming from the frames, as the
lye only supplies 45%% of the water required (thus, for example, about 2 lbs.
3 oz. oil and 4 lbs. 6 oz. lye, at 15°, prépared with salt of soda of. commerce at
80° would furnish upwards of 6 lbs. of the pasty mass, yielding between 4 lbs
and five lbs. of soap, and containing ten per cent. soda).
Tallows and mixtures of tallow and lard may be saponified, taking care to
keep the fat at melting point the whole time, to render it sufficiently fluid.
The lyes should be at the same temperature as the fat, to prevent congelation
at the mixing, and the dose of acid may be increased to 1:
Hard soaps may be manufactured with a variety of oils other than olive oil.
Fatty bodies and also tallows, after being liquefied, may be treated on the
same plan.
+.
By the means described a soap may be produced whereof the composition
can be ascertained or settled beforehand, being, so to speak, produced on -
logical principles of manufacture.
:
.
The Inventor attaches considerable importance to the adding, of sulphuric
acid to the olive oil in the proportion of from three to ten-thousandth parts by
weight of the acid to every one part by weight of the oil:*

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office. on the
27th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Michael Henry, Her special licence that I, the said
Michael Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Michael Henry, 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 MANUFACTURE OF SOAP AND THE PREPARATION OF
MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE," communicated to me from abroad by Louis
Marie Théophile Riot, of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Michael Henry, my execu-
tors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 Michael Henry, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say:-
In the manufacture of soap, considerable portions of the oil or fat, consisting
principally of glycerine, will not combine with alkali, and hence cannot be
saponified, but become refuse, whereby. considerable waste of material is
occasioned. Now acids, and sulphuric acid especially, have the property of
attacking or acting on the glycerine of-oil-and fat rather than on the oleine
and margarine thereof. And the principal object of the present Invention is
to treat materials intended for the manufacture of soap, in such manner that

page_text: every part of the oil or fatty matter shall be used or rendered available in
producing the soap; that is to say, shall enter into the composition of the soap.
For this purpose the oil, tallow, or fat which is to be employed in the manu- .
facture of the soap is first treated with sulphuric acid, or other acid, whereby
the glycerine contained' in such oil or fat is rendered fit for or converted into
a matter capable of combining with alkalies, and hence of being saponified,
or, in other words, of entering into the composition of the soap. This process
may be described as 'converting the glycerine into a matter assimilible to oleine'
and marganine, thereby bringing it into a condition in which it will combine
with alkali. The soap is then manufactured by combining alkaline lyes with
the oil, tallow, or fatty matter which has been previously treated with the
sulphuric or other acid acting on the glycerine in the manner and for the pur-
pose above described. Soap can thus be produced by a cold process-by com-
bining weak lyes (whereof the proportions may be calculated beforehand, so as
to get a desired effect) with an oil treated by an acid that acts on its glycerine,
as aforesaid: A hot process may be used; this accelerates the mutual action
of the bodies, but being more expensive it is not recommended for oils:
Sulphuric acid is the agent mostly preferred for the purpose of this Invention';
this acid transforms the glycerine into sulpho-glyceric acid, which is a sub-
stance especially' capable of combining with alkalies. The proportion. of acid
should depend on the oil or fat treated. A dose of six-thousandth parts is
especially recommended" for olive oil, but for earth nut oil and sesame oil up
to ten (or fifteen) thousandth parts may be used. All these are parts by
weight. A soap may be manufactured (the ingredients being prepared as
described) with from four to ten per cent. of soda by the cold process. Tallow
should be first liquefied.
In proceeding to describe by way of example one mode of performing the
Invention, I wish it to be understood that the proportions of ingredients; the
degrees Beaumé, the mere details of performance, and the portions of time
herein-after mentioned may be varied.
1.
It is preferred to proceed thus; suppose, for example, olive oil is to be
treated. The oil is placed in a cylinder, vessel, or receiver fitted with an
agitator, and sulphuric acid at 66° Beaumé is added, a little at a time, till the
whole dose of acid introduced equals six-thousandth parts (by weight) of the
oil. The mixture is then to be stirred for an hour, and caustic lye at about
15° Beaumé, say about ten parts by weight of lye to 100 parts by weight of
oil is then poured into the same vessel, (or into a larger vessel, into which the
materials are transferred). In a quarter of an hour another and equal supply
of lye is to be added, and.so.on till there are 200lbs. lye to 200lbs. oil; then a

page_text: fresh supply of 200 lbs. lye at 15° is to be added by 40 lbs. at a time, and the
whole is to be left at rest for about half an hour, and stirred for a quarter of an
hour, and so on till the fluid mass becomes homogeneous and assumes a pasty
consistency, and indeed may be called a paste. Care should be taken to stir
the mass for about a quarter of an hour after each batch of 40lbs. lye has been
introduced, and to leave it to rest for 10 to 20 minutes, till the paste gets.
sufficiently set after each batch is introduced before throwing in the next batch
of 40lbs.
When this part of the process is completed and the pasty mass fully
prepared, it should be stirred in the receiver before drawing off, and it is then
drawn off into the frames or sesses through orifices in the receiver, the upper
orifices being opened first, on account of the denseness of the paste. The
pasty mass may remain for from 10 to 15 hours in the frames, which should
slope a little at bottom to run off any lye yet remaining, though where rich
olive oil is used there will be no lye left to run off. If the soap is to be
mottled or marbled, that is next performed, and in that case the English mode
is adopted, and the soap is left for four days in the frames before cutting it.
It is then dried in the open air. For white soap, the mass may be cut after
remaining from ten to twelve hours in the frames.
By adopting the means of manufacture herein described, the degree of
alkalinity of the lye may be readily calculated so as to produce a soap ready
prepared for sale or consumption when withdrawn from the frames, as the lye
only supplies, say, for example, the 45 per cent. of water required. Thus, for
example, about 2 lbs. 3 oz. oil and 4 lbs. 6 oz. Jye at 15° Beaumé, prepared
with salt of soda of commerce at 80° Beaumé, would furnish upwards of 6 lbs.
of the aforesaid pasty mass, yielding from four to five pounds soap containing
ten per cent. soda.
Tallows and mixtures of tallow and lard may be treated according to this
Invention, taking care to keep the fat at melting point the whole time, to
render it sufficiently fluid. The lyes should be at the same temperature as the
fat, to prevent congelation at the time that the mixing takes place, and the
dose of acid may be increased to at least one per cent. (that is, one part by
weight of acid to every hundred-parts-by_weight of fatty matter.)
Hard soaps may be manufactured with a variety of oils other than olive oil,
Tallows and other fats after being liquefied may be treated on this plan.
By the means described, soaps. may be manufactured in such manner that their
composition, (i. e., the relative proportions of the constituents that are to enter
into their ultimate composition) may be ascertained or settled, the soap being,
so to speak, produced on what I herein-after explain as logical principles-of
manufacture.

page_text: I now proceed to furnish further details as to the best mode of carrying the
Invention into effect.
-
, Sulphuric acid is recommended as the agent best adapted for the purpose of
acting on the glycerine. The proportions of sulphuric acid recommended as-,
best suited, are from ten to thirty thousandth parts by weight of acid to one...
part by weight of the oil or fat, the precise quantity of acid to be used varying.
between these proportions, according to the nature of the oil or fat, the larger.
the quantity of glycerine contained in the oil or fat, the larger must be the,
quantity of acid used. When the fat or oil is treated with acetic acid, the,
glycerine is converted into aceto-glyceric acid; when with bydrochloric acid;
it is converted into chloro-glyceric acid, and so on.
What I mean by saying that soaps may be produced according to this;
Invention on logical principles of manufacture is this:-Hitherto in the manu-
facture of soap, as before stated, a large proportion of the oil or fat, namely,
the glycerine, did not enter, into the composition of the soap, and as this.pro-.
portion was not discoverable before introducing the alkaline lyes, it was of;
course impossible to ascertain how much of the oil or fat would be available,,
or would really enter into the composition of the soap when manufactured;;
consequently there were no means of regulating the proportions of the in-.
gredients of the lye beforehand, so as to get any desired precise relative.
proportions of alkali and fatty or oily matter in the soap at the end of the
operation. Whereas by treating the oil or fat with acid (before adding the
alkaline lyes) and thereby converting its glycerine, into a matter that will
combine with alkali and produce soap, the quantity of available fat ог oil will,
be known, and thus the exact proportions of the ingredients of the lye may be
calculated beforehand, so as to arrive at any desired relative proportions of
ingredients in the soap, according to the quality required, or use for which it
may be intended. Soaps thus produced, whereof the ultimate proportions of.
ingredients intended to enter into their composition are known and regulated
before manufacture, are what the Inventor calls "rational" soaps...
When hard and common domestic soaps are manufactured according to this
Invention, it is recommended that the soap should be subjected after manu-
facture to the following finishing or "refining" supplementary process, which,
prevents rancidity, and rectifies defects in manufacture. When the soap is
duly produced, and after it has been withdrawn from the receivers, then about
or 5, days afterwards, or at all events when saponification has completely
ensued, it should be completely immersed in a saline solution at about 7° or 8°
(Benumé) salt and boiled therein for four or five hours.
4
•

page_text: In the process previously described I have mentioned certain proportions of
ingredients, also certain degrees Beaumé and certain intervals of time, but
these may, of course, be varied' without departing from the principle of the
process, which apart from these details may be described as consisting in first
subjecting the oil or fat to a preliminary treatment with sulphuric or other
acid,. to transform its glycerine into a matter capable of combining with the
alkali used (and of thus contributing to the composition of the soap), and then
adding weak lyes prepared beforehand, according to the required proportions,
such lyes being added to the oil or fat in portions or batches,.instead of the
whole at one time, stirring the mixture after each such addition, and then
allowing it to rest after each such addition before proceeding to introduce the.
next batch.
In the method of proceeding above described, according to which the oil or
fat is first treated with sulphuric or other acid to convert its glycerine, as afore-
said, and is then combined with alkaline lyes so as to produce the soap, it may
be observed, that the lyes are prepared beforehand with the desired proportions
of water, and as the water contained therein is thus supplied to the oil or fat,
the proportions of water to the lye have only to be calculated beforehand in
order to obtain any required proportion of water in the soap itself.
I have somewhat particularly referred to olive oil, but it must be understood
that the Invention is equally applicable to other oils that have been or may be.
used in the manufacture of soap, as well as to tallows and fats.
In treating tallow and other fats which are in a solid concrete or at least
viscous state, it is necessary first to reduce them, by the application of heat, to
a condition of fluidity resembling that of oil, in which they are treated with
the sulphuric or other acid to convert their glycerine into a matter capable
of saponification:
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that,-
First, I claim the employment in the manufacture of soap of oils and fats
treated (previously to the introduction of the alkaline lyes) with sulphuric or
other acid, whereby the glycerine is rendered-capable-of-contributing_to_and
entering into the composition of the soap.
Second, I claim the previous preparation of oils with sulphuric or other acid
in such manner that their glycerine- may be thereby rendered capable of
entering into the composition of the soap, so that soap may be produced by a
cold process by the mere addition of alkaline lyes to such oils, and especially
by the particular mode of proceeding by cold process herein-before 'described:

page_text: Third, I claim the mode herein described of manufacturing soap by a cold
process, in which weak alkaline lyes are combined with olive or other oils
previously treated with an acid for the purpose of converting their glycerine
into a matter capable of entering into the composition of the soap.
Fourth, I claim the manufacturing of what is herein described as a rational
soap, which may contain from four to ten per cent. soda, such soap being
prepared by a cold process, as described, and with ingredients the proportions
of which-may be regulated before manufacture.
Fifth, I claim the process herein described in which tallows and fats reduced
to a liquid or fluid state are treated with sulphuric or other acid to convert
their glycerine into a matter capable of entering into the composition of the
soap, and are afterwards combined with weak alkaline lyes, so as to produce
soap.
Sixth, I claim the manufacture of soap by means of oil or fat first treated
with sulphuric or other acid (in such manner as to render the glycerine thereof
capable of entering into the composition of soap), and then combined with
weak alkaline lyes when a hot process is used.
Seventh, I claim the preparation of olive oil for the manufacture of soap by.
cold process in so far as regards the treatment of such oil (before combining
it with alkaline lyes) with sulphuric acid in the proportion of six-thousandth
parts by weight of acid to one part by weight of oil.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
S. E. A. NEWSOME,
Patent Office,
84, Fleet Street, London.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)