Improvements in the Manufacture of Safety Explosives.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Feb.,
1897
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 15th Jan., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Safety Explosives.
I, SIGMUND ADOLF ROSENTHAL, of 37, Walbrook, in the City of London,
Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, a communication to
me from abroad by Doctor Johann Stanislaus von Romocki, of 24, Karlstrasse,
Berlin, Germany, Chemist, to be as follows:-
"
Of all mixtures of nitrate of ammonium with hydrocarbon nitrates the
prominence as regards high explosive power must be given to a mixture of trinitro-
toluol with nitrate of ammonium in such proportions as to produce perfect com-
bustion; it also so far deserves the name of a safety explosive that it can
hardly be exploded by any means except fulminate of mercury caps and does not
develop any gases that would be dangerous because of further combustibility or
poisonous effects.
?"
In connection with this invention it has however been found that this com-
pound is quite useless for the purposes requiring "safety before anything else,
that is to say for use in mines in which firedamp or coal dust explosions are likely
to occur, because the aforesaid mixture when ignited produces a flame so hot as
to induce such explosions.
According to this invention, and as a result of further experiments it has been
found that the said defect of a too high temperature of the Hame can be entirely
obviated by adding to the nitrate of ammonium and trinitrotoluol mixture a
small percentage of an oxyde of a heavy metal (as for instance maganese dioxyde)
or an acid salt of a heavy metal (as for instance permanganate of potassium),
which when heated give off oxygen.
The
This new explosive thus consists of nitrate of ammonium, trinitrotoluol and
a few per cent. of a heavy metal oxyde or a heavy metal acid salt which when
heated give off oxygen. As an example I may name a mixture of 80 % of nitrate
of ammonium, 17% of trinitrotoluol and 3% of manganese dioxyde.
ammonium nitrate having previously been quickly dried is intimately mixed with
the manganese dioxyde while still warm and with the previously melted trinitro-
toluol; or the trinitrotoluol dissolved in a suitable solvent (as for instance hot
alcohol) is brought into the mixture. If waterproof cartridge cases are used, the
materials need only to be pulverized and intimately mixed.
If a very cheap explosive is desired I may substitute partly or wholly Chili
saltpeter, nitrate of sodium, for the nitrate of ammonium."
11
151 1
1907
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Safety Explosives.
I, SIGMUND ADOLF ROSENTHAL, of 37, Walbrook, in the City of London,
Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, a communication to
Price 8d.1

page_text: me from abroad by Doctor Johann Stanislaus von Romocki, of 24, Karlstrasse,
Berlin, Germany, Chemist, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Of all mixtures of nitrate of ammonium with hydrocarbon nitrates the
prominence as regards high explosive power must be given to a mixture of trinitro-
toluol with nitrate of ammonium in such proportions as to produce perfect com-
bustion; it also so far deserves the name of a safety explosive" that it can
hardly be exploded by any means except fulminate of mercury caps and does not
develop any gases that would be dangerous because of the further combustibility or
poisonous effects.
In connection with this invention it has however been found that this com-
pound is quite useless for the purposes requiring "safety" before anything else,
that is to say for use in mines in which firedamp or coal dust explosions are likely
to occur, because the aforesaid mixture when ignited produces a flame so hot as
to induce such explosions.
According to this invention, and as a result of further experiments it has been
found that the said defect of a too high temperature of the flame can be entirely
obviated by adding to the nitrate of ammonium and trinitrotoluol mixture a
small percentage of an oxyde of a heavy metal (as for instance manganese dioxyde)
or an acid salt of a heavy metal (as for instance permanganate of potassium),
or a heavy metal compound such as bichromate of potassium, which when heated
give off oxygen.
This new explosive thus consists of nitrate of ammonium, trinitrotoluol and a
few per cent, of a heavy metal oxyde or a heavy metal acid salt which when heated
give off oxygen. In order to render the charge of such an explosive more coherent
when pressed into a cartridge it is preferred to add a small percentage of rosin.
As an example I may name a mixture of 80% of nitrate of ammonium, 17% of
trinitrotoluol and 3% of manganese dioxyde, to which may be added about 2%
of rosin. Another and preferred example is 84 of nitrate of ammonium, 12 of
trinitrotoluol, 2 of manganese dioxide and 2 of rosin.
If bichromate of potassium is used instead of manganese dioxide a suitable
mixture is as follows: 84 to 82% of nitrate of ammonium, 8 to 10 %, of trinitro-
toluol, 6% of bichromate of potassium and 2% of rosin.
The ammonium nitrate having previously been quickly dried is intimately
mixed with the manganese dioxyde or bichromate of potassium and with the
trinitrotoluol and rosin; or the trinitrotoluol dissolved in a suitable solvent (as
for instance hot alcohol,) is brought into the mixture. If waterproof cartridge
cases are used, the materials need only to be pulverized and intimately mixed.
If a very cheap explosive is desired I may substitute partly or wholly Chili
saltpetre, nitrate of sodium, for the nitrate of ammonium.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention 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 explosive consisting of the ingredients named in or about the proportions
stated and made or compounded in the manner described.
Dated this Fifteenth day of December 1897.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.