CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACETATE OF SODA, AND PROVISIONAL SPECIATION
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bollmann Condy, of Battersea, in the
County of Surrey, Manufacturing Chemist, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACETATE OF SODA, AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bollman Condy
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th November 1874.
I, HENRY BOLLMANN CONDY, of Battersea, in the County of Surrey,
Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my said In-
vention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACETATE OF Soda,
AND IN THE PROCESSES EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
The Invention relates to a novel method of manufacturing acetate of
soda in a manner which will materially expedite and economize its
production.
In order that the subject of this Invention, the manufacture of acetate
of soda, may be clarly understood, I will first proceed (for the purpose

page_text: of comparison) to give a short description of the process now and hitherto
employed, which consists in first decomposing acetate of lime by sulphate
of soda (both in solution), producing therefrom precipitated sulphate
of lime, the liquor from which when washed is subjected to the
evaporating, crystalizing, and drying processes, after which the dried
salt thus obtained is fused, and subsequently re-dissolved, re-evaporated,
and re-crystalized, the product being acetate of soda.
of comparison) to give a short description of the process now and hitherto
employed, which consists in first decomposing acctate of lime by sulphate
of soda (both in solution), producing therefrom precipitated sulphate
of lime, the liquor from which when washed is subjected to the
evaporating, crystalizing, and drying processes, after which the dried
salt thus obtained is fused, and subsequently re-dissolved, re-evaporated,
and re-crystalized, the product being acetate of soda.
In contradistinction to the foregoing, and as according to my In-
vention, I proceed as follows:-
Firstly. I precipitate the dark coloring matter existing in com-
mercial acetate of lime by means of a metallic base, by preference oxide
of lead.
Secondly. Decomposing the solution of acetate of lime by a solution
of sulphate of soda.
And, Thirdly. Completing the decomposition by means of a solution
of carbonate of soda, the product being acetate of soda.
As an example of the process of such manufacture I proceed as
follows: I take one thousand five hundred gallons of the solution of
acctate of lime, about 20° Twaddell, and add thereto sixty gallons of
solution made as follows:-I dissolve one hundred and five pounds of
the sugar of lead in hot water, and whilst hot I add gradually thereto
sixty pounds of litharge or oxide of lead, keeping the whole solution
well agitated or stirred up during the time of mixing. To this there is
then added and well stirred in, three-quarters of 40 pounds of lime
previously made into what is known as cream of lime. The whole of
this operation should be conducted at a temperature of about 150°
Fahrenheit. I then let the mixture stand, and decant the supernatant
liquor therefrom, which consists of acetate lime so far decolorized that
from a deep red brown it has become a pale yellow. To one thousand
. gallons of this decanted and decolarized acetate of lime I add a solution
of sulphate of soda consisting of one ton of sulphate dissolved in about
eight hundred gallons of water, adding first of all thereto about three-
quarters of the whole quantity, stirring it well in, and testing to ascertain
if more be required, in which case it must be gradually added and tested
until the right point is reached, which when attained the sulphate of
lime is allowed to settle and the supernnatant liquor decanted and
pumped into another tank, in which carbonate of soda or soda ash is

page_text: added in solution a few gallons at a time until the whole of the lime
is precipitated in the form of a carbonate. This solution is allowed
time to settle, and is then again decanted, the supernnatant liquor
flowing off this time is acetate of soda containing a certain quantity
of sulphate of soda. The liquor so decanted is then evaporated to
crystallizing point. All the acetate soda can be crystallized out by
successive evaporations and crystallizations of the mother liquors, which
cannot be accomplished by the present well known process first
referred to.
The feature of this Invention does not consist in the decomposition
of acctate of lime by sulphate of soda, but rather the combination of a
mode of precipitating the organic impuritics existing in acetate of lime
and the completion of the decomposition of the solutions of acetate of
lime or sulphate of lime (which is dissolved to a small extent) by means
of carbonate of soda, in consequence of which combination of processes
I am able to make good merchantable acetate of soda by one
crystallization.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Bollmann Condy, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BOLLMANN CONDY, of Battersea, in the County of Surrey, Manu-
facturing Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four,
in the 37th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Bollmann Condy, Her
special licence that I, the said Henry Bollmann Condy, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Bollmann Condy, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great-

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-
vention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACETATE OF SODA,
AND IN THE PROCESSES EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Bollmann Condy, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of.
their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Bollmann Condy, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, that is to say :-
The Invention relates to a novel method of manufacturing acetate of 1
soda in a manner which will materially expidite and economize its
production.
In order that the subject of this Invention may be clearly understood
I will for the purpose of comparison first proceed to give a short
description of the process now and hitherto employed when manu- 2
facturing acctate of soda, which consists in decomposing acctate of lime
by sulphate of soda (both in solution) producing therefrom precipitated
sulphate of lime, the liquor from which when washed is subjected to the
evaporating, crystallizing, and drying processes; after this the dried
salt thus obtained is fused, and subsequently re-dissolved, re-evaporated, 2
and re-crystallized, the product being acctate of soda.
In contradistinction to the foregoing, and as according to my Im-
provements, I proceed as follows:-

page_text: In order that the Invention may be clearly understood, and fully
explained in detail, I will proceed to describe as an example the process
of manufacture, but before doing so I would remark that to make com-
mercial acetate of lime useful for the purpose of forming a component
in the production of my improved manufacture of acetate of soda, and
also for other purposes herein-after mentioned, it is necessary that the
dark organic coloring matter now existing in such acetate of lime should
be thoroughly precipitated, to accomplish which, and as according to
the first portion of my improvements, I proceed as follows:-I take one
thousand five hundred gallons of the solution of acetate of lime of about
20° "Twaddle," to which I add sixty gallons of a solution made as
follows: Take one hundred and five pounds weight of sugar of lead
and dissolve it in sixty gallons of boiling water, keeping the whole well
agitated or stired up, and whilst boiling gradually add thereto sixty
pounds weight of litharge or oxide of lead. When the mixture of the
lead salt with that of the lime salt first mentioned has been effected I
add thereto about twenty pounds weight of lime, previously made into
what is known as the cream of lime. The whole of this operation should
be conducted in a temperature of about 150° Fahrenheit. I now let the
mixture stand, and after a time decant the supernatant liquor therefrom,
which consists of acetate of lime so far decolorized that from a deep red
brown it has become a pale yellow. Secondly, to one thousand gallons
of this decanted and decolorized acetate of lime I add a solution of
sulphate of soda consisting of one ton of the said sulphate dissolved in
about eight hundred gallons of water (the temperature of both solutions
being about 180° to 190° Fahernheit), adding first of all thereto about
three-quarters of the whole quantity, stirring it well in and testing to
ascertain if more be required, in which case it must be gradually added
and tested until the right point is reached, which when attained the
sulphate of lime is allowed to settle and the supernatant liquor decanted
and pumped into another tank; and thirdly, the liquor pumped into
this tank has added to it carbonate of soda or soda ash in solution a few
gallons at a time until the whole of the lime is precipated in the form
of a carbonate. This solution is allowed time to settle and then again
decanted. The supernatant liquor flowing off this time is acetate of
soda containing a certain quantity of sulphate of soda. The liquor so
decanted is then evaporated to crystallizing point. All the acetate soda
can be crystallized out by successive evaporations and crystallizations of

page_text: the mother liquors, which cannot be accomplished by the present well
known process first referred to.
The feature of this Invention does not consist in the decomposition of
acetate of lime by sulphate of soda but rather the combination of a mode
of precipitating the organic impurities existing in acetate of lime and
the completion of the decomposition of the solution of acetate of lime
or sulphate of lime (which is dissolved to a small extent) by means of
carbonate of soda, in consequence of which combination of processes
I am able to make good merchantable acetate of soda by one
crystallization.
In conclusion I wish it to be understood that acctate of lime de-
colorized in the manner herein-before described can be employed with
great advantage in chemical productions other than acetato of soda
(viz.), acetate of alumina, acetate of manganesc, acetate of chromium,
and such other acetates as may be required, and which may be obtained
by the double decomposition of the solutions of the sulphates of theso
various salts by means of acetate of lime.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, together with
the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
distinctly understood in conclusion that I claim,―
First. Precipitating the dark coloring matter existing in commercial
acetate of lime by means of a metallic base in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described.
And, Lastly. I claim the novel and peculiar manufacture and pro-
duction of acetate of soda in the manner as hercin-before described and
fully set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Bollmann Condy, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-