IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS AND PAVEMENTS, AND IN ASPHALTE CEMENT FOR PAVEMENTS, DRAIN PIPES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS
AND PAVEMENTS, AND IN ASPHALTE CEMENT FOR PAVEMENTS, DRAIN PIPES,
AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES." -A communication from abroad
by James Lorimer Graham, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th April 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS AND
PAVEMENTS, AND IN ASPHALTE CEMENT FOR PAVEMENTS, DRAIN PIPES, AND OTHER
ANALOGOUS PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The first part of the Invention consists in the combination of several
natural asphaltes, both hard and soft, which will admit of being evenly

page_text: spread upon the bed designed for it. Of the hard asphaltes such as
Trinidad, Cuban, and such like take one hundred parts, grahamite or
ritchie mineral or albertite, cither or both, five to fifty parts; soft
or liquid asphalte or bitumen, such as the Mexican, from ten to fifty
parts. The hard asphalte, such as Trinidad or Cuban, and the soft or
liquid asphalte, such as the Mexican, are first melted and thoroughly
mixed together, and while hot add to the mixture from five to fifty parts
of the grahamite or albertite, either or both, in a powdered state; then
add heated sand or powdered stone, brimstone, or other stone, and the
whole of the ingredients are then well mixed by means of any suitable
machinery, and applied to the road surface. The grahamite or ritchie
mineral as well as the albertite absorb the excess of bitumen or soft
asphalte, and the mass rapidly hardens and is rendered capable of with-
standing the temperature of our summer months.
The second part of the Invention relates to improvements in asphalte
compounds for roads and pavements, and it consists in a combination
of grahamite petroline, grahamite albertite, and sand, or gravel, or
powdered limestone. Grahamite and albertite are similar natural
substances belonging to the family of asphaltum, but they differ from
ordinary asphaltes in a great many respects. By their composition they
possess qualities peculiarly adapted for the construction of asphalte roads
which other asphaltes do not possess. Roads constructed with these
minerals will stand a greater degree of heat than when, made of any
other asphalte, and will preserve their necessary clasticity under cold
as well as heat. These qualities are derived from the peculiar petroline
and asphaltine which these minerals are principally composed of.
Grahamite and albertite are composed of asphaltine and petroline with
an excess of the former, and in consequence do not melt except under
a very high degree of heat, so that it is necessary to isolate the petroline
and to combine it with the fore-named minerals afterward in given
proportions to arrive at good results. To this end I decompose the
fore-named minerals by distillation into hydrocarbon oil, petroline,
sometimes called bitumen, and coke; the coke is left in the retort and
the hydrocarbon oil keeping in solution the petroline passes over in
vapors and is condensed. To isolate the petroline the condensed oil
is distilled again until 50 per cent. of oil has been obtained and what.
is left in the still is petroline; this petroline possesses an elasticity.
which renders it better adapted for asphalte roads than any other, and
by the combination of the grahamite or albertite with this petroline in

page_text: different proportions asphaltes are obtained suitable for various degrees
of temperature, as high as 300° F. Take of grahamite, albertite, or
any other hard asphaltums, from 20 per cent. to 70 per cent., grahamite
petroline 30 to 80 per cent., sand or powdered stone, such as lime-
stone, or any other, from 300 to 700 parts. The petroline and grahamite
being melted together, the said proportions of hot sand or powdered
stone are mixed with them by hand or any suitable machine and applied
to the road.
The third part of the Invention relates to a preparation of asphalte
cement. To obtain a good result in the making of asphalte cements
the following proportions of ingredients are given as examples, but they
may vary somewhat according to circumstances:-Heavy petroleum or
the residue of petroleum, one part; hydrated lime, one part; roasted
brick-clay heated to 500° Fahrenheit, or pulverized soft brick, one
part; grahamite or ritchic mineral in fine powder, five per cent. The
heavy petroleum or the residuum of the same is heated to about 212°
Fahrenheit. The hydrate of lime and roasted clay or soft brick dust is
then added and mixed with the petroleum or the residuum of the same,
and the fire increased so that the mass will be run up to about 300°
Fahrenheit. The grahamite is added and mixed with the mass when
all the ingredients are in a mass or united. The object of mixing the
roasted clay or pulverized soft brick with the lime is to give the
compound a hydraulic character. This composition may be added to
natural asphaltes in different proportions and melted together, and sand,
broken stone, or gravel may be added in different proportions as
required, say, three parts of the compound, five parts natural asphalte,
thirty parts sand, thirty-five parts broken stone.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
5 Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, 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 Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS AND PAVEMENTS, AND IN ASPHALTE CEMENT
FOR PAVEMENTS, DRAIN PIPES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES," being a com-
munication to me from abroad by James Lorimer Graham, of the City
and State of New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exc-
cutors or administrators, 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 tho
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 first part of the Invention consists in the combination of several
natural asphaltes, both hard and soft, which will when mixed and com-
bined and also properly applied admit of being evenly spread upon the
surface or road bed designed for it. A road so formed will possess
the quality of withstanding ordinary degrees of heat and cold without
being materially affected by extremes of temperatures. Many asphaltes
of the hard kind are difficult to melt and spread evenly on a road
surface and the softer kinds are of course too liquid to be used alone.
To remedy this difficulty the two kinds are combined in the following
manner: Of the hard asphaltes such as Trinidad, Cuban, and such like,
take one hundred parts, grahamite or ritchie mineral, or albertile, either
or both five to fifty parts. Soft or liquid asphalte or bitumen such as the
Mexican from ten to fifty parts. The hard asphalte such as Trinidad or

page_text: Cuban and the soft or liquid asphalte, such as the Mexican, are first
melted and thoroughly mixed together, and while hot add to the mixture
from five to fifty parts of the grahamite or albertite, either or both,
in a powdered state. The grahamite or albertite is simply to be mixed
with the other asphaltes above mentioned, time not being allowed for
the grahamite or albertite to dissolve with the first named ingredients.
Heated sand or powdered stone, limestone, or other stone is then added
and the whole of the ingredients are to be well mixed by means of any
suitable machinery and applied to the road surface in the ordinary
manner. The grahamite or ritchic mineral as well as the albertite
absorb the excess of bitumen or soft asphalte, and the mass rapidly
hardens and is rendered capable of withstanding the temperature of
our summer months. Grahamite (sometimes termed ritchie mineral) is
found in Ritchie County, West Virginia, in the United States of America
and it may perhaps be found in other localities, albertite is found in
New Brunswick, in the Dominion of Canada, and also perhaps in other
places.
It should be clearly understood that by the term "asphalte" is mcant
the natural product thus termed by chemists and geologists, and not
any of the products of the distillation of bituminous coal which are
frequently but incorrectly thus termed.
The second part of the Invention relates to improvements in asphalte
compounds for roads and pavements, and it consists in a combination
of grahamite petroline, grahamite, albertite, and sand or gravel, or
powdered limestone in the following manner :- -Grahamite and albertite
are similar natural substances belonging to the family of asphaltum,
but they differ from ordinary asphaltes in a great many respects. It
will only be necessary to state that by their peculiar composition they
possess qualities peculiarly adapted for the construction of asphalte
roads which other asphaltes do not possess. Roads constructed with
these minerals and principally by the method hereafter described will
stand a greater degree of heat than when made of any other asphalte,
and will preserve their necessary clasticity under cold as well as heat.
These qualities are derived from the peculiar petroline and asphaltine
which these minerals contain. Grahamite and albertite are composed
of asphaltine and petroline, with an excess of the former, and in con-
sequence they do not melt except under a very bigh degree of heat so
that it is necessary to isolate the petroline and to combine it subse-

page_text: quently with the before-named minerals in given proportions to arrive at
good results. To this end decompose the before named minerals by distil-
lation into hydrocarbon oil, petroline sometimes called bitumen and
coke, the coke is left in the retort and the hydrocarbon oil (which keeps
Το
in solution the petroline) passes over in vapors and is condensed.
isolate the petroline the condensed oil is distilled again until fifty per
cent. of oil has been obtained, and what is left in the still is petroline.
This petroline melts under a higher degree of heat than the ordinary
temperature, and possesses an elasticity which is never observed in
other petroline, and is therefore better adapted for asphalte roads than
any other and by the combination of the grahamite or albertite with
this petroline in different proportions, asphaltes are obtained suitable
for various degrees of temperature as high as three hundred degrees
Fahrenheit. This peculiar petroline termed grahamite petroline is used
for the combination with grahamite albertite, or any other hard
asphaltum in the following manner :-Take of grahamite albertite or
any other hard asphaltums from twenty per cent. to seventy per cent.
or parts grahamite petroline, thirty per cent. to eighty per cent. or
parts sand or powdered stone, such as limestone or any other, from
three hundred to seven hundred parts. The petroline and grahamile
being melted together the proportions of hot sand or powdered stone
are mixed with them by hand or by any suitable machine and applied
to the road.
The third part of the Invention relates to a preparation of asphalte
cement. The great difficulty in making a good cement having all the
necessary qualities required often consists as much in the manner of
mixing the ingredients as in the nature or quality of the ingredients
themselves. This is particularly true of asphalte cements, for if the
combination of the ingredients is not complete the cement will not have
the qualities expected, required, and looked for from the ingredients
used.
In order to obtain a good result in the making of asphalte cements
for the purposes specified and for all other purposes in which asphalte
cement may be used, it will be necessary to follow the following
mode and treatment in making or preparing the same. The proportions
of the ingredients may vary somewhat according to circumstances.
The ingredients used in the manufacture of the improved asphalte
cement are the following:-Heavy petroleum or the residue of petro-

page_text: leum one part; hydrated lime one part; roasted brick clay heated to
five hundred degrees Fahrenheit, or pulverized soft brick one part;
grahamite or richie mineral in fine powder five per cent. The heavy
petroleum or the residuum of the same is heated to about two hundred
and twelve degrees Fahrenheit. The hydrate of lime and roasted clay,
or soft brick dust is then added and mixed with the petroleum, or the
residuum of the same, and the fire increased so that the mass will be
run up to about three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, at which temperature
the hydrate of lime is decomposed and water is evolved which is
evaporated, and the caustic lime will combine with the heavy petroleum,
or the residue of the same, so that the combinations will take place
between the molecules of the foregoing bodies, and will make a
compound on which muriatic acid will have no effect whatever. The
grahamite is added and mixed with the mass when all the other
ingredients have been mixed. The object of adding the roasted clay
or pulverized soft brick with the lime is to give the compound a
hydraulic character. This composition may be added to natural
asphaltes in different proportions and melted together, and sand, broken
stone, or gravel may be added in different proportions as required, but
the following is a good scale of proportions, namely, three parts of the
compound, five parts of natural asphalte, thirty parts of sand, and
thirty-five parts of broken stone.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid.
First. The combination of hard and soft natural asphaltes, such as
the Trinidad, Cuban, grahamite or albertite, and Mexican or their
equivalent natural asphaltes, mixed with a suitable proportion of sand
or pulverized stone, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Second. The combination of grahamite petroline with grahamite
albertite, or any hard asphalte, and the same combined with sand,
powdered limestone, or any other like substance as set forth in the
second part of this Specification.
Third. The combination of hydrated lime, roasted brick clay, or
pulverized soft brick with heavy petroleum, or the residue of the same,
and grahamite or ritchic mineral with natural asphalte, and sand,

page_text: gravel, or an equivalent substance, in the manner set forth in the third
part of this Specification.
In witness whereof, 1, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.