Improvements in Disinfectants.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 8th Sept., 1893—Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Disinfectants.
I, Dr. Hugo NOERDLINGER, of Bockenheim, near Frankfort on Main,
Germany, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention does not relate to the production of a new disinfectant, but has
for its object to render existing disinfectants more efficacious in their action.
It consists in mixing with disinfectants that are soluble in water, such as carbolic
acid, a body that is not soluble in water and is specifically lighter than this, so as
to float upon it, such as a light tar-oil, so that the disinfectant in being dissolved in
or held in suspension by such vehicle, when introduced into the effluent or other
liquid to be disinfected, will float upon and be effectually spread over its
surface.
. The effective action of a disinfectant so mixed with an insoluble light vehicle,
when spread over the surface of a liquid or semi liquid easily decomposible body
to be disinfected, is due, firstly, to the presence of an automatically formed air
tight enclosure of the said easily decomposible body, whereby the atmospheric air
is prevented from gaining access thereto and at the same time the gases are
prevented from escaping therefrom. The absorption of such deleterious gases by
the oily disinfectant covering is of great importance for disinfecting operations on
a large scale, as it is quite irrational to allow gases from cesspools and sewers to
escape into the atmosphere through rising pipes or flucs, operating as chimneys,
while at the same time it is being endeavoured to prevent the pollution of the air
by smoke from chimneys by enforcing the use of smoke consuming apparatus.
Secondly, the said advantage is due to the possibility of more effectually utilising
the soluble constituents of the disinfectant, because, on the one hand, these soluble
constituents are presented as in the form of a network in the combined liquid and
can consequently be readily had access to from below by the body to be disinfected
which acts as a solvent. The specifically heavy solution thus formed by the
disinfectant and the said body will then sink to the bottom, and fresh quantities of
the solvent body will have access to the disinfectant. On the other hand, the
solubility is increased by the fact that the disinfectant and the liquids to be
disinfected come in contact with each other upon very extended surfaces, spread
over a large area. This is the more important as a number of bodies, when mixed
with oil, only regain their original solubility in water when they have in the first
instance taken up some. water. By the large surface of contact the twofold
diffusion: a, of the water into the Hoating layer of oil, and b, of the disinfecting
constituents from the layer of oil into the watery particles, is greatly facilitated."
As vehicle for the disinfectants may be employed, in addition to the light oils,
also resins, paraffin (kerosine) &c. which may be used either alone or in combination
with light oils for taking up the disinfectants, either with or without the employment
of heat.
As disinfectants capable of being dissolved in one or more of the said liquids,
serving as vehicle, may be used, in addition to tar distillation products (to which
may also be reckoned phenoles, pyridine aldehyde, ketones, aniline their homo-
logues and derivatives, in particular sulpho- and oxy derivatives) chlorine bromine
iodine, sublimates, arsenious acid, iron chloride formic acid, benzoic acid and their
homologues, thio- and oxybenzoic acid, and their homologues, sulphurous acid;
quinine compounds &c.
As vehicle and at the same time as disinfectant may serve acetone, oil of

page_text: turpentine and other volatile oils or their stearoptenes or elacoptenes, also esters,
ether and alcohol, thio-alcohols &c.
I have hitherto only spoken of solutions of the vehicle and the disinfectant;
such solutions are particularly applicable for long continued disinfections such as
privies &c. where a uniform action is desired and the disinfection is more of a
prophylactic nature. In the case of epidemics, for the destruction of contageous
elements, in medicine, or for the sick chamber, on the other hand, it is required to
have an intensine action, though, may be, of short duration, yet as powerful as
possible.
In such cases there are employed with advantage emulsions of disinfectants
soluble in water with one or more of the bodies serving as vehicle, with or without
the use of bodies favoring emulsion, such as gun, glue, mucilage, soaps &c.
These emulsions, when run on to liquids, spread with great rapidity over the
surface, and at once decompose, the whole of the soluble disinfectants being rapidly
and uniformly precipitated.
By this means a better mixture of the disinfectant with the body to be disinfected
is attained than is possible with mechanical mixing devices.
Disinfectants soluble in water more particularly applicable as
emulsion-
disinfectants are salts, soluble in water, of mercury, copper, iron, lead and zinc,
also manganates, permanganates, arsenites, chlorates and perchlorates, chromates,
sulphites and hypochlorites, soluble in water, arsenious acid, salts of resin acid,
fatty acids oxy-fatty acids, animal-fatty acids, soluble in water, also salts soluble in
water of the aromatic carbon-oxycarbon- and thio-carbon-acids, the phenolates and
thio-phenolates soluble in water, as also the aqueous solutions of phenoles, in salt or
soap solutions, and the aqueous quinine solution &c.
Lastly, a third form of floating disinfectant can be prepared by combining the
before described solution and emulsion methods. Thus a disinfectant, partly dissolved
in the vehicle and partly converted into an emulsion therewith is employed. The
disinfectant which is soluble in the vehicle is for this purpose first dissolved therein,
and this solution is then converted into an emulsion with the aqueous solution of
one or other of the above named soluble disinfectants.
The action of the substances at present known as disinfectants is considerably
increased by the covering action of the vehicle used in combination therewith;
the exclusion of the air greatly assists this action. Thus the disinfectant, plus the
vehicle, have collectively a much more intense action than the sum of the separate
actions of each component.
Dated this 11th day of January 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Disinfectants.
I, Dr. HUGO NOERDLINGER, of Bockenheim, near Frankfort on Main, Germany,
Manufacturer, 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 does not relate to the production of a new disinfectant, but has
for its object to render existing disinfectants more efficacious in their action. It
consists in mixing with disinfectants that are soluble in water, such as carbolic
acid, a body that is not soluble in water and is specifically lighter than this, so as
to float upon it, such as a light tar-oil, so that the disinfectant in being dissolved
in or held in suspension by such vehicle, when introduced into the effluent or other
liquid to be disinfected, will float upon and be effectually spread over its
surface.
The effective action of a disinfectant so mixed with an insoluble light vehicle,

page_text: when spread over the surface of a liquid or semi liquid easily decomposible body
to be disinfected, is due, firstly, to the presence of an automatically formed air
tight enclosure of the said easily decomposible body, whereby the atmospheric air
is prevented from gaining access thereto and at the same time the gases are
prevented from escaping therefrom. The absorption of such deleterious gases by
the oily disinfectant covering is of great importance for disinfecting operations on
a large scale, as it is quite irrational to allow gases from cesspools and sewers to
escape into the atmosphere through rising pipes or flues, operating as chimneys,
while at the same time it is being endeavoured to prevent the polution of the air
by smoke from chimneys by enforcing the use of smoke consuming apparatus.
Secondly, the said advantage is due to the possibility of more effectually utilising
the soluble constituents of the disinfectant, because, on the one hand, these soluble
constituents are presented as in the form of a network in the combined liquid and.
can consequently be readily had access to from below by the body to be disinfected:
which acts as a solvent. The specifically heavy solution thus formed by the
disinfectant and the said body will then sink to the bottom, and fresh quantities of
the solvent body will have access to the disinfectant. On the other hand, the.
solubility is increased by the fact that the disinfectant and the liquids to be
disinfected come in contact with each other upon very extended surfaces, spread
over a large area. This is the more important as a number of bodies when mixed
with oil, only regain their original solubility in water when they have in the first.
instance taken up some water. By the large surface of contact the two-fold
diffusion; a, of the water into the floating layer of oil, and b, of the disinfecting
constituents from the layer of oil into the watery particles, is greatly,
facilitated.
As vehicle for the disinfectants may be employed, in addition to the light oils;.
also resins, paraffin (kerosine) &c. which may be used either alone or in com-
bination with light oils for taking up the disinfectants, either with or without the.
employment of heat.
As disinfectants capable of being dissolved in one or more of the said liquids,.
serving as vehicle, may be used, in addition to tar distillation products (to which
may also be reckoned phenoles, pyridine, aldehyde, ketones, aniline their homo-.
logues and derivatives, in particular sulpho and oxy derivatives), chlorine, bromine,.
iodine, sublimates, arsenious acid, iron chloride, formic acid, benzoic acid and their
homologues, thio- and oxybenzoic acid, and their homologues, sulphurous acid,.
quinine compounds &c.
As vehicle and at the same time as disinfectant may serve acetone, oil of
turpentine and other volatile oils or their stearoptenes or elacoptenes, also esters,
ether and alcohol, thio-alcohols &c.
I have hitherto only spoken of solutions of the vehicle and the disinfectant ;.
such solutions are particularly applicable for long continued disinfections such as
privies &c. where a uniform action is desired, and the disinfection is more of a
prophylactic nature. In the case of epidemics, for the destruction of contagious.
elements, in medicine, or for the sick chamber, on the other hand, it is required to
have an intensine action, though, may be, of short duration, yet as powerful as
possible.
In such cases there are employed with advantage emulsions of disinfectants
soluble in water with one or more of the bodies serving as vehicle, with or without.
the use of bodies favoring emulsion, such as gum, glue, mucilage, soaps &c. These
emulsions, when run on to liquids, spread with great rapidity over the surface, and
at once decompose, the whole of the soluble disinfectants being rapidly and
uniformly precipitated.
By this means a better mixture of the disinfectant with the body to be disinfected
is attained than is possible with mechanical mixing devices.
Disinfectants soluble in water more particularly applicable as emulsion-.
disinfectants are salts, soluble in water, of mercury, copper, iron, lead and zinc,
also manganates, permanganates, arsenites, chlorates and perchlorates, chromates,

page_text: sulphites and bypochlorites, soluble in water, arsenious acid, salts of resin acid,
fatty acids, oxy-fatty acids, animal-fatty acids, soluble in water, also salts soluble
in water of the aromatic carbon- oxy-carbon- and thio-carbon-acids, the phenolates
and thio-phenolates soluble in water, as also the aqueous solutions of phenoles, in
salt or soap solutions, and the aqueous quinine solution &c.
Lastly, a third form of floating disinfectant can be prepared by combining the
before described solution and emulsion methods. Thus a disinfectant, partly
dissolved in the vehicle and partly converted into an emulsion therewith is employed.
The disinfectant which is soluble in the vehicle is for this purpose first dissolved
therein, and this solution is then converted into an emulsion with the aqueous
solution of one or other of the above named soluble disinfectants.
The action of the substances at present known as disinfectants is considerably
increased by the covering action of the vehicle used in combination therewith;
the exclusion of the air greatly assists this action. Thus the disinfectant, plus the
vehicle, have collectively a much more intense action than the sum of the separate
actions of each component.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same, is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The method of improving the disinfecting action of disinfectants by mixing
them with a body that is insoluble in water and is specifically lighter than the
same, and then pouring such mixture upon the surface of the body to be disinfected,
substantially as described.
2. As a new manufacture, a compound consisting of the mixture of a disinfectant
soluble in water and a body that is insoluble in water but is lighter than the same,
substantially as described.
Dated this 7th day of September 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant..