Ix- PROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING CERTAIN VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FROM DECAY;
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANZ
MOLL, of Grove Lane Terrace, Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Esquire,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of January, in the sixth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Franz Moll, His especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Franz Moll, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Franz Moll, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in
all His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING CERTAIN VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FROM DECAY;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Franz
Moll, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
annear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Franz Moll, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is be performed, are described and ascertained
in and by the following description thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention of Improvements in Preserving certain Vegetable Substances
from Decay relates to preserving timber or wood from decay or from the
effects of what is called dry rot, and my Invention consists in submitting
such substances to the action of and to be saturated by certain products of tar
called "eupion" and "kreosot," as will be fully described hereafter; and in
order that my Invention may be fully ascertained and readily carried into
effect, I will proceed to describe the process I have pursued and have found
fully to answer in preserving timber or wood from the destructive effects of
what is called dry rot, or from decay.
"
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS.
I take any quantity of coal tar, and place it in a still such as is commonly
employed for distilling coal tar, filling such still to about two thirds of its
capacity, and gradually apply heat till a vapour passes over, which is to be
condensed by an ordinary refrigerator such as is usually employed in distilling
tar, and permit this process to continue till the product condensed becomes
nearly of the specific gravity of water. This first product when pure has for
some time been called by German and is now called by English chemists
eupion;" and although by such single process of distillation the product
thus obtained cannot be said to be pure, I will, notwithstanding, call it eupion,
it being in most cases sufficiently pure for the purpose of my Invention, though
it should be stated that it sometimes will be found to contain acid, which will
readily be ascertained by litmus paper or other well known tests, and in such
cases I submit it to the action or washing of lime-water, in case that for
economy's sake it would not be feasible to take it to a higher degree of purify-
ing by the well-known means of acids and washing with alkaline leys and
redistillations, which will be found desirable to remove the original smell of
the eupion or kreosot, which in some cases would be required where the
smell would be an objection. The first product of eupion thus obtained (and
treated with lime-water if necessary) is to be permitted to stand, when the
eupion will float on the surface of any water which has been distilled over with it,
and also on the lime-water (if used), and the same may be drawn off' separate;
the eupion will then be fit for use. In order to obtain the second product
from the coal tar remaining in the still, the same is to be heated to a higher
temperature till a vapour comes freely over, which is to be condensed as the

page_text: ."
former one. This operation may be carried on till only pitch remains in the
still. The second product thus obtained is, when pure, now called "kreosot,"
both by English and German chemists; and although such product cannot be
considered pure by one distillation, it is sufficiently so for my Invention.
This second product is also to be tested in order to ascertain whether acid is
present, and if such be the case it is to be submitted to the action of limo-
water, as described with respect to eupion, and may be further purified when
desired for particular purposes. Some chemists have found it beneficial to mix
carbonate of lime with the tar, in order to free the eupion and kreosot from acids
at once. This second product or kreosot, when separated from lime-water (if it
has been used), which separation will readily be effected, as the water will
easily part from the kreosot, and may be drawn separate therefrom, will then be
ready for use. I would here remark, that these two products, cupion and kreosot,
may be obtained from other than coal tar, though I know of no material from
which they can be so cheaply obtained as from coal tar; and it may be desirable
at once to state that I lay no claim to any process of obtaining these two products,
the same forming no part of my Invention, and have been before performed by
other persons for various purposes. The timber or wood to be operated on is to
be placed in a close chamber, which may be of iron or other suitable material,
care being taken that the same is so well constructed as not to permit the escape,
unless desired, of the vapours of the eupion and kreosot, the shape of such
chamber not being material, but must be adapted to the nature of the timber
or wood which is to be operated on; at the same time, the interior is to
be so arranged that the timber or wood may be acted on in every direc-
tion by the vapours, when the same is permitted to flow into the
chamber; and it is preferred that the timber or wood shall stand vertically,
where the height of the chamber will allow of that position, and on open
gratings from six to eight inches from the floor. The chamber which is
to contain the timber or wood is to be heated by means of steam pipes or
otherwise, in order to keep the same, when the process of seasoning is being
performed, at a temperature at which the cupion and kresot may be maintained
in a state of vapour. The chamber is to have a pipe leading to a condenser
by which the vapours may be permitted to flow, to prevent the same becoming
of too high a pressure within the chamber, such pipe having a safety valve.
In order that my Invention may be more clearly understood, I will suppose
that I am going to operate on several pieces of timber, and that they are placed
in a chamber sufficiently large to leave a space all around them, and that there
is also a space all around each piece of timber. Into this chamber, which at
commencement should be heated to about 90° to 100° of Fahrenheit, in order

page_text: pores
to warm the timber or wood, and render it more fit for receiving into its
the vapours of the two products, eupion and kreosot, such heat being continued
progressively to increase till it arrives at a sufficient heat to assist in maintain-
ing the products in a state of vapour. Things being in this position, and the
water that may have flown out of the pores of damp timber drawn off, eupion
is to be placed in a still from which a pipe proceeds to the chamber; and should
the same be extensive, it is desirable the pipe from the still should have several
perforated branches, in order to the vapours passing freely into various parts of
the chamber; then the space between the floor and the grate which supports
the timber is to be filled up with hot eupion to about 1 foot above the grating ;
at the same time heat is to be applied to the still, and vapours of eupion will
rise therefrom, and pass into and pervade the chamber. After some time the
chamber is to be filled with hot eupion to cover the timber; and such is the
nature of the eupion that it will quickly enter into the pores of the timber
which is enclosed in the chamber; and it should be stated that the chief object
in thus first submitting the timber to the action of the eupion is with a view
to facilitate the entry of the kreosot into the pores, which, from the affinity that
these two products so circumstanced have to each other, will very materially
assist in performing my Invention, which chiefly consists in impregnating the
vegetable substances with eupion and kreosot. Having continued the process
of applying eupion vapour to the timber in the chamber till it is considered
sufficiently prepared for the future process, the eupion vapour is to be drawn
off, and vapour from a still containing kreosot is to be permitted to flow into the
chamber in like manner to that described with reference to the vapour of
of eupion, and this process is to be continued for some time, when the chamber
is to be filled up with hot kreosot in its liquid state, so that the kreosot will
cover the whole of the timber in the chamber, and in this state things are to
remain for some time, when the timber is to be removed, and may either be at
once used or be stored away for future use. It-should-be-remarked that,
owing to the difference which is found in timber and wood, even those known
by the same name, no positive rule can be laid down as to the time which any
particular timber or wood should be submitted to the operation of the eupion
or kreosot. At the same time it should be stated that a very little practice will
soon enable a workman to judge of the time to allow for each process, accord-
ing to the description of wood which is to be operated on; and in order to
convey the best information in my power on this part of the subject, I will
state the particulars of an experiment made by me on a baulk of good oak,
which was rather in a damp condition; the same was fourteen inches square
and about ten feet long, which, on being submitted to the vapour of eupion for

page_text: about six hours, when cut in two parts was found to be impregnated propor-
tionally even to the heart with eupion, and when the two parts were afterwards
submitted to the vapour of kreosot and boiling kreosot, the same was found to
have taken full effect within twelve hours; but such experiment was conducted
under the disadvantages of an indifferently arranged apparatus. But subse
quent experiments have proved that it is better to submit the wood or timber
for a comparatively short time to the action of the vapours of eupion and
kreosot, and depend more on the liquid bath as described, this process being
less liable to crack the wood or timber than the vapours. From the foregoing
description an intelligent workman will readily be able to perform my Inven-
tion, and will construct his apparatus according to the nature of the articles to
be operated upon; and it will be desirable to have a small aparatus by which
the workman may test small portions of the wood or timber on which he is
going to operate, in order to ascertain its capacity for the said products, and the
degree of heat at which the liquids penetrate with best effect. And I would
further observe, that ships or vessels, when built, may in a great measure be
preserved, by closing all parts, and filling them with the vapour of eupion and
kreosot in the manner described for filling the chamber; and the operation will
be facilitated if steam pipes or other means can conveniently be resorted to for
keeping the internal parts of the ship or vessel heated, in order to retain the
eupion and kreosot as much as possible in a state of vapour during the opera-
tion; by this means the wood of which the vessel is constructed will be in some
degree impregnated with eupion and kreosot, and hence be preserved from dry
rot. And in order, as much as possible, to save expence in performing the
process in ships or vessels, it will be desirable to place timber requiring to be
operated on in the hold and between decks of such ship or vessel, by which
means the same will be treated or prepared at the same time the vessel itself is
being operated on. I will remark, that I am aware that coal and other tar,
purified or raw, have been before used for coating wood or timber for the pur-
pose of preserving the same, but by such operation the same effect is not
obtained as that which results from applying the two products of the coal tar as
herein described. When coal or other tar is used for merely coating wood or
timber, the products eupion and kreosot do not separate from the pitch and
penetrate proportionally to the heart of the timber, and without that being the
case but little advantage results from such an application of tar. Where it is not
thought a matter of importance whether the timber be chiefly penetrated with
kreosot or eupion, the former of which I consider the chief agent against dry
rot, or where the operation is chiefly performed in order to prevent the effects
of penetration of water into the wood, or where it is judged no matter whether

page_text: these fluids convey any acidity into the timber, and when the proportion
of eupion or kreosot contained in the tar is well known, and judged the proper
one, according to the nature of the timber to be prepared, the operation may
of course be much simplyfied by letting the vapours or liquid products of tar
or other matter containing eupion or kreosot, or both, enter the timber. But
I am bound to state that the above described method of washing the substances
and applying them separately, will be found far superior in use, as the volatility
of the eupion and its fluidity will allow its very rapid penetration into the
timber more perfectly than when in combination with the kreosot, whose
entrance the former will greatly facilitate when once lodged in the pores,
through the affinity of the two substances, and as by this means the quantity
of eupion can be regulated which is to be absorbed by the wood; moreover,
the anticeptic power of the kreosot will be augmented by the washing and
freeing it from other matters mixed with it.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim as my Invention is the impregnating the vegetable
substances, timber or wood, with the above-mentioned products of tar or other
material containing them, which are here called eupion and kreosot, and thus
preserving the same as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Franz Moll, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.