Year: 1888

page_text: I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Although the substance known as collodion bas the same chemical composition as
the nitrated cotton from which it is produced, yet the purely physical change which
it has undergone has greatly altered its explosive properties; for nitrated cotton; in
its fibrous state, explodes so violently as almost to detonate, while collodion, that is,
dissolved nitrated cotton, from which the solvent has been slowly evaporated, burns so
slowly, when ignited, as to be unfit for use in fire-arms, as it will scarcely act
explosively except under very perfect and strong confinement. It has, however, been
found that other kinds of nitro-cellulose, viz. -the nitrated fibres of wood or of corozzo
(vegetable ivory), or of cocoanut, when dissolved, and after evaporation of the solvent,
acquire totally different properties from those of the aforesaid collodion, which proves
that the various kinds of cellulose, even when equally nitrated, cannot, as regards
explosive and other properties, be looked upon as equivalent manufactures. Thus,
whilst nitrated cotton requires, for its solution, at least seven to eight times its own
weight of acetone, nitrated corozzo (vegetable ivory) dissolves in as little as half its
own weight of that liquid, and after evaporation thereof, becomes so brittle that it
can, like gunpowder, be broken up into grains, whilst collodion presents, under similar
conditions, an extraordinary toughness and tenacity. Nitrated wood fibre, as well as
that of the cocoanut, much resembles, as regards the aforesaid properties, the afore-
mentioned nitrated corozzo or vegetable ivory..
The greater the quantity of solvent used, and the quicker its evaporation, the more
porous the explosive material becomes, and since quickness of explosion is known to
increase with increasing porosity of the substance, a ready means is provided for

page_text: quickening or tempering the explosiveness of the material, so as to make it fit for all
kinds of fire-arms; moreover, the size of the grains modifies, as is the case with gun-
powder, the quickness of combustion.
Besides acetone, which is an excellent solvent, there are many others which readily
dissolve the kinds of nitrated cellulose above specified. Such are the acetic ether of
methyle, etbyle, and amyle, acetic acid, camphor dissolved in alcohol, methylic alcohol,
nitrate of ethyle and nitro-benzol.-When the solvent has a bigh boiling point, as is
the case with camphor or nitro-benzol, these substances, instead of being evaporated at
a bigh temperature, may be extracted by putting the material composed of nitro-
cellulose and solvent into a liquid such as bisulphide of carbon, in which the aforesaid
solvent is soluble and the said nitro-cellulose insoluble. The submersion in said liquid
is continued until the whole, or nearly the whole, of the said solvent or solvents is
extracted.
Nitrated starch and nitro-dextrine, which are nearly akin to nitrated cellulose of tho
kinds herein referred to, form, when dissolved, exactly in the manner herein described,
substances very similar to those obtained from nitrated vegetable ivory or wood
fibre, but differ therefrom in being extremely brittle, especially at low temperatures.
In order to obtain an explosive substance which can easily be granulated without
being too brittle, the kinds of nitro-cellulose above specified may be mixed in various
proportions with nitrated starch or nitro-dextrine, the mixed substances being then
treated with a solvent such as acetone, which readily dissolves them.
The mode of preparing the aforesaid explosive substances is very simple. After
dissolving the nitro-cellulose aforesaid, mixed or not with nitro-starch or nitro-dextrine
or both, in a suitable solvent of the class heretofore described, so much of the solvent
is allowed to evaporate that the material obtained can be easily passed between rollers,
and rolled into plates of the thickness required. These are then exposed to the air,-
at the ordinary temperature, or at a raised temperature, as the degree of volatility of
the solvent used may require, -until the complete, or nearly complete evaporation of
said solvent has taken place. The plates may then be broken up, and the material
granulated in the same manner as ordinary gunpowder.
Other explosive or oxydising, finely-powdered, substances, such as Nitrate of
Ammonia, Picrates, Chlorate of Potassium, or Nitrate of Barium, may be incorporated
with the aforesaid material, but in such case the quantity of solvent is to be so far
increased as to facilitate the mixing and kneading operation required for the complete
and uniform distribution of the substance which is to be incorporated.
Of course the kinds of nitrated cellulose as well as nitrated starch and nitro-dextrine
above referred to, must be well washed, and deprived (in order to make sure of their
chemical stability) of every trace of acidity, by methods well known and practised.
The evaporation of the solvent herein mentioned may beeffected in a closed chamber-
connected with a receiver kept sufficiently cool to condense the vapours emitted,
which operation will allow of recovering the greater part of the solvent and of using it
over again.
The quantity of solvent needed will, of course, depend on the degree of solubility
of the nitrated substance which it has to take up, but the least practised eye easily
detects the presence of an excess.
Dead this und d... CM 1000

page_text: Improvements in Explosive Compounds.
I. ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Breams Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, 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 :-
This invention relates to the treatment of nitrated starch and nitrate dextrined, for
the production of safe explosives to be used in place of gunpowder.
Nitrated starch and nitrated dextrine are very easily dissolved in certain volatile
liquids, such as acetone, the acetic ethers of methyl, ethyl, and amyle, methylic alcohol,
nitrobenzol, nitrate of methyl, and of ethyl.-After evaporation of the solvent, the
said nitrated starch or dextrine remain in the form of a compact substance sufficiently
brittle, at ordinary temperatures, to be broken up into grains. But at low tempera-
tures, that brittleness is too great for the practical use of the said substances, as
substitutes for gunpowder. It is therefore necessary to enhance their consistency so
far that the grains cannot, by friction against one another, break up into fragments,
which would render the said substances unduly violent in their explosive action.
In order to arrive at that result, it is now proposed to incorporate with the said
nitrated starch and nitrated dextrine, a quantity of soluble nitrocellulose sufficient
to obtain the requisite degree of consistency. It will be understood that the solvent
chosen for such purpose should dissolve nitrocellulose as well as nitrated starch and
nitrated dextrine. Acetone is a very good solvent for either, and so also are
methylic alcohol and acetate of amyle, but which of these is to receive preference
will depend on their relative cost and the arrangements made for recovering the
solvent which is to be evaporated.
The following is the process of manufacture, as described by my foreign
correspondent :-
Dissolve in 100 parts (parts here and hereafter are parts by weight) of acetone,
from 10 to 20 parts of nitro-cellulose, by preference soluble nitrated fibres of cotton,
and incorporate with the jelly or gum thereby obtained, as much nitrated starch or
nitrated dextrine as it can conveniently take up, practically from 100 to 200 parts,
according as the material to be made should have more or less consistency. From
the pasty material thus obtained, after malaxation by hand or otherwise, so much
of the solvent is to be evaporated as will admit of the material being easily passed
between rollers, and rolled into plates or sheets of the thickness required.—The said
plates or sheets are then spread out to dry in the open air, or, if vapour of the
Solvent is required to be recovered, then in a closed chamber. The plates or sheets,
when dried, are reduced to grains, after the manner practised in gunpowder factories,
nor does the mode of using the explosive herein described differ from that of gun-
powder, except as regards adjusting the quantity of charge proportionately to the
varying powers of those explosives.
As the explosive compounds herein described do not contain the quantity of
oxygen

page_text: needed for complete combustion, such oxygen can be furnished by kneading in, before
evaporating the aforesaid solvent, a quantity of a suitable nitrate or chlorate, finely
pulverised, not exceeding the proportion needed for complete combustion, and which
in each case is easily computed by aid of well known chemical formulas. Practically
100 parts of nitrate of potash, or chlorate of potash, or nitrate of soda or baryta, or
ammonia nitrate, may, be incorporated by malaxation, to facilitate which the quantity
of solvent as aforesaid may be increased so far as to facilitate the process of mechanical
manipulation.
Of course, the nitrocellulose, as well as nitrated starch and nitrated dextrine above
referred to, must, before being used, be well washed, and deprived (in order to make
sure of their chemical stability) of every trace of acidity, by methods well known and
practised in factories where nitrocellulose is produced.
The evaporation of the solvent herein mentioned may be effected in a closed
chamber, connected with a receiver kept sufficiently cool to condense the vapours
emitted, which operation will allow of recovering the greater part of the solvent, and
of using it over again.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
The manufacture of explosive compounds, capable of being granulated, from
nitrated starch and nitrated dextrine, combined, whether together or separately, with
nitrocellulose, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.
Dated this lat de 1000