CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JEAN
THEODORE COUPIER and MARIE AMEDÉE CHARLES MELLIER, of Maidstone, in
the County of Kent, Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of
February, in the fifteenth year of Her Majesty's reign (One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-two), did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant to the said Jean Theodore Coupier and Marie Amedée Charles Mellier,
their exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that they, the said Jean Theodore Coupier and Marie Amedée
Charles Mellier, their exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as they, the
said Jean Theodore Coupier and Marie Amedée Charles Mellier, their exors,
adñiors, and 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 in the Islands. of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, that we, the said Jean Theodore Coupier and Marie Amedée Charles
Mellier, shall cause a particular description of the nature of their said In-
ventions, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one

page_text: of us, to be enrolled in Her 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 appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Jean Theodore Coupier and Marie Amedee Charles Mellier, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to
be performed, are particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):-
The first part of our. Invention, which is more especially applicable to the
treatment of straw, and generally the herbaceous matters and barks of some
trees, as willow, osier, chestnut tree, and others, has for its object the making
pulp therefrom, by chemically acting thereon, as herein-after explained, and
dispensing with the use of machinery. theretofore employed when reducing such
matters to pulp to be used in the manufacture of paper.
And the Invention consists of employing a solution of hydrate of soda or
potash of such strength and in such manuer as will, together with the other
means herein-after described, reduce the vegetable matters into pulp:...
And in order that this part of our Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued

page_text: capable of containing about sixty or seventy gallons, the alkaline solution is to
be placed, and by means of high-pressure steam from a suitable steam boiler,
passing through a worm or coil in the iron vessel, the liquor is boiled, and by a
slight escape of steam from the worm is to be forced up the pipe and through
the rose head, by which streams of the boiling liquor will be forcibly thrown on
the straw or vegetable matter lying on the false bottom of the.tub. When one
filling of the iron vessel has been forced into the tub, and distributed over the
vegetable matter herein, the iron vessel is again to be filled, and such further
quantity is to be forced over and through the rose head by the steam, when the
iron vessel is to be again filled and again emptied by the steam, until the quantity
of alkaline solution proper for the quantity of vegetable matter in the tub has
been forced by the steam into the tub. It should. be understood that the steam
is shut off from the iron vessel before running in fresh quantities of the alkaline
solution. When the whole of the liquor required has thus been forced into
the tub containing the vegetable matter, a circulation of the liquor is to be
caused to take place in the following manner: The cock on another pipe,
herein-after described, is to be opened, and to remain open during the circu--
lation; from the bottom of the tub, raised some few inches above the top of the
iron vessel, proceeds another pipe, as stated, with a cock on it, and also a self-
acting valve opening into the iron vessel, by which a quantity of the liquor is run
back into the said iron vessel, the steam being turned off for a time to allow of
the same, and to be again turned on to drive over the liquor, the valve closing
by the pressure of the steam, and preventing the liquor being forced under the
false bottom while it is being blown upon the straw; and this process of circu-
lation is to be continued for about eight or ten hours, when the cock on the pipe
with the valve is shut, and the liquor is to be drawn off by another pipe at the
bottom of the tub or vessel. Water is then to be run into the close iron
vessel, and is to be forced out therefrom by steam through the pipe and rose
head, as explained, and on to the straw or vegetable material in the vessel, and
such processes of wash waters are to be repeated till the water coming off does
not indicate a greater strength than one degree of Baumé; cold water is then
to be run into the tub from any convenient source till it comes off clear. The
quantity of alkaline solution employed by this means is at the rate of about
thirty to forty gallons of the strength above mentioned for each hundredweight
of vegetable matter. The vegetable material being well washed, as above
described, is then put into a bath of hypochlorite of alumina (in order that it
may be bleached and the fibres disaggregated), where it remains for twelve or
eighteen hours, being stirred from time to time. The hypochlorite is used at
the rate of about twenty to twenty-five per cent. by weight of the vegetable

page_text: matter, using about seventy gallons of water for each hundredweight of vege-
table matter; the solution of hypochlorite alumina will, therefore, be of a
strength of about three degrees of Baumé, and we prefer to employ a stronger
solution rather than a weaker one.
We would remark, that although we prefer to use hypochlorite of alumina,
a solution of other hypochlorite of like strength may be used. Hypochlorite of
alumina may be obtained by means of double decomposition, in dissolving sul-
phate of alumina as neutral as possible in a solution of hypochlorite (common
chloride) of lime; the proportion depending on the quality of these two sub-
stances will vary, but generally about thirty-five of sulphate of alumina to one
hundred of the hypochlorite of lime will be required. The vegetable matter,
which is now reduced into what is called half stuff and of good color, is to
have the liquors strained off; this pulp is to be well washed, by preference
in boiling water, in order completely to remove the hypochlorite and complete
the disaggregation of the fibres, and then it remains to beat it in the ordinary
beating engines, and to make it in paper alone or in combination with the
pulp obtained from rags.
In order to carry on our Invention as economically as may be, we cause the
alcaline liquor drawn off and the first wash waters to be evaporated; a resinous
soap is thus obtained, which being mixed with charcoal dust or sawdust, or
alone, produces a fuel, from which may be obtained gas by destructive distil-
lation in the ordinary manner; or the same may be burned as fuel, and from
the ashes by lixiviation a considerable part of the alkali will be obtained for
further use.
We must observe that the above-described process is also applicable to flax,
waste cotton, waste tows of hemp, jute, or surate, but this does not dispense
reducing them in half stuff by the means usually employed. We must also
observe that the hydrate of soda or potash is obtained by slacking a proper
quantity of lime in a solution of common soda, ashes, or potash, and drawing
'off the clear liquors.
We will now describe the second part of our Invention, which consists of
employing nitric acid of such strength and in such manner that wood may be
reduced to pulp thereby, and the same bleached, as herein-before described,
without the necessity for mechanical operations, and by reason of using nitric
acid of the strength and in the manner herein-after mentioned, other useful
products are obtained, as herein-after described.
In carrying on this part of our Invention we take the woods reduced to
shavings; pine, beech, ash, aud elm are peculiarly suited for this purpose,
though others may be employed.. In carrying on the process we use two tubs,

page_text: each having a false perforated bottom, on to which the shavings of wood are
to be pressed, and on to the shavings is placed a perforated cover, leaving about
eight inches of empty space. Between such perforated cover and the close
cover to the top of each tub, we use at the rate of eighty per cent. by weight or
more of white nitric acid (thirty-six degrees of Baumé) of the vegetable matter
to be operated on according to our Invention, and mix such acid with water,
reducing the strength to about five or six degress of Baumé. We run the
proper quantity of diluted acid, according to the quantity of wood to be operated
on, into one of the tubs, and allow the same to act on the wood for about four
hours, when the liquid is to be brought to ebullition by means of free steam
for about two hours, during which process fumes of nitreous acid will pass off,
which are caused to be introduced into the other tube below the false per-
forated bottom by a suitable pipe fixed to the cover of the first tub, by which
means the shavings of wood (which are to be damped before) will be subjected
to the fumes of nitreous acid, and there is to be a stream of atmospheric air
forced into the tub below the false bottom, the object of which is to convert
part of the fumes into hyponitric acid. The liquid having been drained off
from the shavings of wood in the first tub, they are to be well washed with
water, and such shavings are then to be subjected to the action of a solution of
hydrate of soda or potash of a strength of about two degrees of Baumé, in
which solution they are to be boiled for about two hours; they are again to be
well washed with water, after which the fibres of the wood are to be subjected
to a like process of hypochlorite of alumina, as above described, but in pro-
portion of two per cent. in place of twenty-five per cent., when the fibres are
to be washed, as in the former case, and they will be ready for use, either alone
or with the pulp from rags. The liquor drawn off from the first tub is to be
placed in the second tub, into which the fumes of nitreous acid from the first
tub have been passed, such liquor being strengthened by an addition of nitric
acid in the proportion of forty per cent. by weight of the raw material, and it
is to be operated on in the same manner, sending his fumes of nitreous acid
in the first tub, filled again with new damped shavings, and in this manner
may the said liquor be used several times till it becomes too much thickened,
when it is to be evaporated in earthenware vessels heated by a water bath; the
liquor then will be reduced, and by cooling crystallized oxalic acid will be
obtained, which may be purified in the ordinary manner, and the mother waters
will contain another acid analogous to the nitropieric acid, which is available
for dyeing wollen and silks.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that we do not

page_text: confine ourselves to the details herein described so long as the peculiar character
of either part of our Invention be retained; but what we claim is,--
First, the mode herein described of reducing vegetable matters into pulp by
means of a.solution of hydrate of soda or potash, and the use of hypochlorites.
And we also claim the mode herein described of employing hypochlorites of
alumina for bleaching vegetable matters in the process of manufacturing paper.
And, secondly, we claim the mode herein described of employing nitric acid
in manufacturing other pulp, and obtaining other products.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marie Amedée Charles Mellier, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of August, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
AMEDEE
(L.D.)
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Marie Amedée Charles Mellier
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.