IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ASPHALTE FOR PAVING AND COVERING ROADS AND WAYS, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Prince at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
December 1872.-A. communication from abroad by Peter Barthel,
Ferdinand Capitaine, and Philipp Holzmann, all of Frankfort-on-
the-Maine.
I, ALEXANDER PRINCE, of the Office for Patents, 4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ASPHALTE
FOR PAVING AND COVERING ROADS AND WAYS, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN, a communication to me from abroad by Peter Barthel,
Ferdinand Capitaine, and Philipp Holzmann, all of Frankfort-on-the-
Maine, to be as follows :—
"
The Invention relates to the manufacture of asphalte from natural
asphalts (for example from such as those obtained or known as the
asphalts of Trinidad, Cuba, Mexico, Syria, or Egypt, all of which contain
a very high per-centage of mineral matters), and is designed for the
purpose of making asphalte more durable and lasting for the purpose
required by extracting therefrom (so as to purify the same) all mineral

page_text: deleterous matter by subjecting such natural asphalts to the action of
sulfurete of carbon or benzine by an arrangement of apparatus herein-
after described.
The asphalte in its natural state is first placed in a vessel containing
a quantity of sulfurete of carbon or benzine, having double walls which
form an annular space around the inner vessel containing the natural
asphalt. Into this annular space steam is admitted from a boiler for the
purpose of dissolving the asphalte; the solution thus dissolved passes
through a metallic seive which cause the mincral impurities contained
therein to fall or become precipitated; this solution after having bad its i
mineral impurities extracted is conveyed by a pipe into a kettle or
receiver heated by steam at a high temperature received from the boiler
into a steam jacket surrounding the said kettle, a furnace or auxillary
heat being also applied to the kettle. The heat thus applied causes the
sulfurete of carbon or of the benzine held in solution in the asphalte
contained in the kettle to become evaporated, leaving merely the asphalte
in a purified state.
The vapours of the dissolved liquids ascend a serpentine tube con-
tained in a chamber or vessel filled with water, which as they condense
are returned through a pipe conveying them to the first receiver :
containing the natural mineral asphalte; thus becoming again utilized
in the operation of dissolving a new lot of natural asphalte.
I would remark that if sulfurete of carbon is the dissolving agent
employed, accelerated by the application of heat, there must be added
thereto a quantity of mineral oil, say from 3 to 4 per cent., in order that
a sufficient elasticity may be given to the product.
The asphalte thus prepared and when melted is gradually mixed with
granular calcareous spar or marble (previously washed and free of dust)
in the proportion of about 87.5 parts of asphalte to 91 parts of the
granular calcareous spar or marble. The whole compound as thus
prepared is ready for immediate use for the purpose required.