An Improved Lubricant
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 5th June, 1899-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1899
An Improved Lubricant,
We, FERRUCCIO DONATI and FRANCESCO HORNBOSTEL, of Via Alessandro Volta,
Villino Ariani, Florence, Italy, Clerks, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:
This lubricant is composed of
1st. 10 parts of liquefied white lard or of another fat having an analogous
chemical composition;
2nd. The necessary proportion of crystals of soda in order to render this fat
soapy;
3rd. A variable quantity of highly coloured vegetable wax in proportion to the
degree of consistency which it is desired to give to the lubricant;
4th. From 5 to 10 parts per thousand of an ammoniacal salt (that is to say the
hydrochlorate of ammonia or chloride of ammonium) combined with a base such as
soda or lime and this double salt combined with dinitro-a-naphthol, the formula
for the latter being C₁H. (NO₂)₂OH(4:2:1).
5th. 1 or 2 parts of an intimate mixture of very fine chemically pure plumbago
rendered impalpable by means of very careful sifting, and of very fine steotite
in variable proportions according to the use (depending upon the smaller or
greater friction of the parts to be lubricated). The mixture is produced under
heat after having purified the fat and the soda crystals from the water which they
may contain, and by the aid of a suitable mechanical process.
The resulting mixture ought to be homogeneous and of a characteristic chestnut
colour.
1000
We, FERRUCCIO DONATI and FRANCESCO HORNBOSTEL, of Via Alessandro Volta,
Villino Ariani, Florence, Italy, Clerks, 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 lubricant is composed of:-
1st. Lard (liquefied pigs' fat) or another fat the chemical composition of which
is analogous; 1000 parts by weight:

page_text: 2nd. Highly coloured ceresine, that is to say yellow ceresine, in variable
quantity and proportionate to the degree of consistency which it is desired to give
to the lubricant; and about 50 parts.
Yellow ceresine is employed instead of white ceresine so that it gives colour to
the mixture, in order not to be obliged to employ too great a quantity of Martius'
yellow, for economical reasons;
3rd. The necessary quantity of carbonate of soda for obtaining not a true
and complete saponification, but only to give a certain consistency to the lubricant.
The saponification not being complete, the acidity is not completely
neutralized by the addition of the said carbonate of soda; quantity employed
about 100 parts;
4th. Alkaline salt (sodic or calcic ammoniate) of dinitro-alpha-naphthol,
generally called Martius' yellow (see page 60 of the publication "Organic
Colouring Matters" by Schultz and Julius, London 1894, MacMillan & Co.); it is
a composition of ammonia and of dinitro-naphthol, combined in its turn with the
sodium and with the calcium; quantity employed about 5 to 10 parts;
5th. An intimate mixture of very fine plumbago, chemically pure, rendered
impalpable by means of very careful sifting, and of very fine steatite, in variable
proportions according to requirements (according to the greater or less friction of
the parts to be lubricated); quantity employed about from 1 to 2 parts.
The mixture is produced hot after having purified the fat and the carbonate of
soda from any water they may contain, and by means of a mechanical process
which consists in mixing the ingredients by means of a mechanical mixer formed
with wings. All the substances are placed in the mixer at a temperature of
120 degrees C., and they are left to cool gradually and slowly.
The resulting mixture should be homogeneous and of a characteristic chestnut
colour.
The function of the sodic or calcic ammoniate of the dinitro-alpha-naphthol
(Martius' yellow) is as follows:-It has been proved a very useful element for the
preservation of the lubricating mixture, that is to say by preserving its lubricating
properties. Practice has proved that a lubricant mixed with this substance is
consumed less than a mixture which does not contain it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
The improved lubricant composed of the materials substantially in the propor-
tions hereinbefore described.