IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th May 1883. Communicated to
him from abroad by Julius Pichler and Alfred Fels both of Vienna-Neustadt
in the Empire of Austria.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," [a communication to me
from abroad by Julius Picbler and Alfred Fels both of Vienna-Neustadt in the
Empire of Austria.]
This invention relates to the manufacture of gunpowder and other explosive
materials by means of a process which is carried out in such a manner as to be
entirely free from danger, and to apparatus therefor.
Heretofore, great inconvenience has been experienced in the use of all kinds of
blasting compositions and particularly in the use of blasting and gun powders by
reason of the danger attending the transport of the same. Railway companies or
other carriers will only carry blasting powders and other explosive material under
special conditions whereas they are willing to carry, without any special conditions,
the component parts of these preparations, on account of their freedom from
danger.
In carrying the said invention into practice I prepare by themselves the
component parts of say for instance gun powder, that is charcoal, saltpetre and
sulphur, these component parts being transported separately that is before they are
mixed. On arriving at their destination these said component parts are mixed
together on the spot by a simple process and the manufacture of the powder is thus
accomplished. The component parts of the blasting and gun powders which it is
intended to manufacture are transported in a pulverized state and arranged singly
in the same proportion as they will exist in the manufacture of the powder.
When these materials have reached their destination they are mixed, moistened,
subjected to the action of steam, granulated, and lastly dried.
The apparatus required to carry this invention into practice comprises two
distinct parts, the one for the manufacture of the powder and the other for the
generation of steam. It is necessary that these two parts of the apparatus should
be strictly separated on account of the firing which is required to heat the steam

page_text: boiler. The steam generator, which is of ordinary construction, is placed in an
enclosed space and supplies the steam required for the manufacture of the blasting
powder. The apparatus required for the manufacture of blasting and gun powder
is erected in a space close to the space above mentioned, and is in communication
with the steam generator by means of pipes. Those parts of the apparatus which
require mechanical force to drive them may be connected with any suitable motor
by means of belts, instead of erecting the steam generator and the apparatus
required for the manufacture of blasting or gun powder in distinct enclosed spaces
the same may be put up in one space with merely a partition wall to separate
them. As before mentioned the mixture of the component parts required for the
manufacture of the powder is the first part of the operation and is best effected by
means of a mixing drum which has either a conical or cylindrical shape and is
made of wood or metal. To each end of the said drum is fixed a journal through
one of which a pipe, fitted tightly by means of a stuffing box, passes, this
terminates in a perforated plate which is fixed to one end of the drum, and serves
for the introduction of water, steam, or any other fluid which is used in the
process.
The second journal carries the crank handle and rests upon a support provided
with stepped bearings whereas the first journal rests upon a fixed support. The
drum is provided with a door which can be fastened and is supplied with a number
of shots or balls which help to effect the mixing within the drum. In order to
enable these shots to roll about freely and in every direction it is necessary to be
able to incline the druin and for this purpose the said step bearing of any other
similar arrangement may be used. The materials are introduced into the drum in
a moist state and after having been properly mixed are transferred to a double
bottomed vessel and converted into a paste. This is effected with care and at a
proper temperature which depends upon the temperature at which the prepared
powder ignites and which it must never be allowed to reach. The mixture is
subsequently subjected to the action of steam. The double bottomed vessel has a
Bwinging motion so as to assist the mixing of the materials. For that purpose the
said vessel is composed of a pan in which the mixture is placed and which hangs
within, and is jointed to, a second pan. A space is thus formed between the two
pans which serves as a steam receiver whereby the first pan, which rests by means
of two hollow trunnions provided with stuffing boxes and can be made to swing
when required, is heated. Through one trunnion is a steam pipe which connects
the second pan with the steam generator. As a certain amount of pressure may be
produced in the steam generator, which pressure will be communicated to the
space between the pans, and as it is necessary that the temperature of the mixture
should be under proper control a valve is inserted in the said pipe and serves to
regulate the pressure of the steam. The temperature in the above apparatus is
thus accurately regulated. Through the other trunnion of the double bottomed
vessel is a second pipe which is in communication with a safety valve so that in
case of any accident there will be other means at hand to prevent the over-heating
of the mixture. To the said safety valve is fixed a water cock which is connected
with a pipe carried through the safety valve and the second pipe, to the deepest
part of the second pan for the purpose of conveying away the condensed water.
When the apparatus above described is working regularly the mixture is converted
into a paste which is properly agitated in various vessels according to well known
methods until it assumes the granulated form of gun powder. This granulated
mixture is then transferred to a drying apparatus in order to free it from any
remaining moisture. This drying apparatus consists of two pans arranged one
within the other, the upper one being fixed tightly into the lower one by means
of its side walls. The bottoms of the two pans are connected together by means
of stays or in any other manner. The entrance of the steam into the chamber or
space between the two pans is effected by means of pipes. The condensed water
flows out of the space through a pipe provided with a cock. A regulating valve
and a safety valve regulate the pressure of the steam which is used to heat the

page_text: pans. By using warm water or steam at a low pressure and at a fixed temperature
in the generator, or by using the waste steam from a steam engine to heat the
apparatus it is obvious that the reduction and safety valves may be dispensed with.
After the drying pans have been properly agitated, whether by hand or by
machinery, the preparation of the gun or blasting powder is completed. The
above gun or blasting powders may be subjected to a sorting process which is
usually resorted to in the manufacture of such powders.