CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACIDS, AND IN TREATING THE NOXIOUS VAPOURS OR GASES GIVEN OFF FROM CHIMNIES AND FROM CHEMICAL AND OTHER WORKS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OGLETHORPE
WAKELIN BARBATT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Experimental
Chemist, send greeting.
years
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of February, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Oglethorpe Wakelin Barratt, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Oglethorpe Wakelin Barrett, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Oglethorpe Wakelin
Barratt, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACIDS, AND IN TREATING THE
NOXIOUS VAPOURS OR GASES GIVEN OFF FROM CHIMNIES AND FROM CHEMICAL AND
OTHER WORKS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging
me, the said Oglethorpe Wakelin Barratt, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in Her 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Oglethorpe Wakelin Barratt, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, referenco
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of Certain Improvements in the Manufacture of Acids, and in
Treating the Noxious Vapours or Gases given off from Chimneys and from
Chemical and other Works, relates,
Firstly, to the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
Secondly, to the manufacture of muriatic acid and sulphate of soda.
Thirdly, to a mode of treating the ammoniacal liquor of the gas works, in
order to prevent the escape of noxious vapours therefrom; and,
Fourthly, to a mode of treating the refuse lime and other products that
remain in the lime purifiers at the gas works, in order to prevent the escape of
noxious vapours therefrom.
My improvements in the manufacture of sulphuric acid consist in preventing
the escape of the waste acid gases which have hitherto been allowed to pass
into the atmosphere and cause serious injury to property and animal
and vegetable life where such chemical processes are carried on, which
gases, by my improved process are made available for the manufacture
of a further quantity of sulphuric acid, and also for the production of
a salt of ammonia; and in order that this part of my Invention may be
most fully understood, I will proceed to explain the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and the process of working pursued by me.
The Drawing represents a vertical section of a series of sulpheric acid chambers,
with the furnace for burning the sulphur, and with apparatus applied thereto for
carrying out this part of my Invention. A is a small furnace, on the floor of which
sulphur is burned; on this floor is a tripod stand supporting an iron capsule, which
contains the materials for making nitric acid, namely, dilute sulphuric acid
and nitrate of potash, or nitrate of soda, and instead of passing steam into the
sulphuric acid chamber, I dilute the sulphuric acid from 1.400 to 1.500 specific
gravity. From the furnace A a pipe leads into the sulphuric acid chamber B,
and this chamber communicates with other similar chambers C and D. Tho
chambers B, C, D, are charged with water to about a foot deep, the heat of
the burning sulphur evolves the nitric acid fumes, the sulphurcous acid becomes
mixed with nitric acid vapour, which it carries with it into the chambers
B, C, D, and through the trough E, and the acid gases that escape condensa-
tion, instead of being allowed to pass through the ordinary waste pipe into the

page_text: air are passed through the pipe 1', direct into the air pipe G at G, and after
mingling with the air in the air pipe will be carried forward with the air into
the furnace containing the burning sulphur. But when the sulphuric acid
chambers are not of suflicient area for the condensation of the gases, in order
to increase the time the gases take in passing round, and for more effectually
condensing the acid gases I charge one or more vessels or chambers with
ammoniacal liquor of the gas works, or with water only, and instead of passing
the return gases from the trough E, down the pipe I, direct to the air pipe
G at G, I pass them through the vessel or vessels, and then return them
through a suitable pipe into the air pipe G at G.* When more than one
vessel is used the gases are conducted from one to the other by pipes in a
similar manner to the sulphuric acid chambers; or the time for the gases
passing round may be increased by different arrangements of the pipes, both in
the sulphuric acid chambers and in the vessels just mentioned, by causing the
pipe taking the gas out of the chamber or vessel to dip near the surface of the
liquor in the manner indicated by the dotted lines at H, in the last sulphuric
acid chamber, or by increasing the number of vessels. The vessels for con-
taining the ammoniacal liquor or water are provided with stopcocks, and
when they are charged with water and the water in the first one is
saturated with acid gas it is drawn into the first sulphuric acid chamber,
the liquor from the second vessel is then passed into the first, that in the
third vessel is passed into the second, and so on, according to the number
of vessels employed and the last vessel is re-charged with water. When
the vessels are charged with ammoniacal liquor, and the liquor in the
first vessel is saturated, as can be ascertained by the usual tests, it is
drawn off into pans for evaporation and crystallization in the usual way, and
the liquor in the second vessel is then drawn into the first, and so on, as when
the water is used and the last vessel is recharged with fresh ammoniacal liquor.
I shall now describe the mode of rectifying or concentrating the sulphuric
acid, as now in practise at most of the chemical works where sulpheric acid is
made, and afterwards my improvements in the same. The weak acid drawn
off from the sulphuric acid chamber is concentrated by evaporation in open
leaden vessels; it is afterwards placed in retorts for final concentration, the
beaks of the retorts are passed through apertures into a trough that contains
water. As is well understood, the acid gases that escape condensation in the
trough, are passed into a shaft or chimney and are allowed to escape into the
atmosphere. In the plan pursued by me, instead of allowing the acid gas to
escape from the trough, I attach a pipe to the trough, and connect it with the
air pipe G at G, and allow the acid gases to mingle with the air in the air pipe

page_text: and then convey the mover the burning sulphur in the furnace into the
sulphuric acid chamber, which saves a corresponding quantity of nitrate of potash
in the nitre pot, or the pipe leading from the trough may dip into a vessel
containing ammoniacal liquor, or the ammoniacal liquor may be placed in the
trough and there condense the acid gases.
My improvement in the manufacture of muriatic acid and sulphate of soda
'consists in the use of the ammoniacal liquor of the gas works for con-
densing the muriatic acid gas. In the manufacture of muriatic acid, where
Woulfe's or other similar apparatus are used, I take a vessel or vessels of
sufficient capacity for containing the ammoniacal liquor, and I connect it or them
by a pipe to the last of the series to convey the acid gas (that is usually discharged
into the atmosphere) to the vessel containing the ammoniacal liquor, which pipe
should dip into the liquor, and I have found it convenient to stir the liquor from
time to time, and I place in or near the opening, which is usually left to cause a
draft where such processes are carried on, an open vessel containing ammoniacal
liquor to attract the muriatic acid gas, instead of allowing it to escape through
the opening into the air. For the condensation of muriatic acid in the manu-
facture of sulphate of soda, I charge one or more vessels with the ammoniacal
liquor and connect them by pipes to any convenient part of the chimney from
which the muriatic acid gas is given off, or to the furnace in which the chloride
of sodium is decomposed, and after the condensation of the acid gas is effected,
and the ammoniacal liquor saturated, it is drawn off and the vessels recharged;
the saturated liquor is evaporated in the usual way of manufacture. Although
I have only named the ammoniacal liquor of the gas works, other solutions or salts
of ammonia may be used, or the salts of ammonia obtained may be decomposed
and used over again for an indefinite period, or the muriate of ammonia obtained
above may be decomposed with lime, and the gas passed into a chamber or
gas holder, and the waste muriatic gas liberated in the above manufacture may
be conveyed into the chamber or gas holder, where the gases will be condensed
and form muriate of ammonia. I do not claim the uniting of muriatic acid
with ammonia, nor the decomposition of muriate of ammonia with lime.
But what I do claim is the use of ammoniacal liquor, or ammonia, for the
condensation of the muriatic acid gas given off during the manufacture of
muriatic acid and sulphate of soda.
The third part of my Invention consists in a mode of treating the
ammoniacal liquor of the gas works, which is an impure carbonate of
ammonia. It is usual to run it into the sewers or rivers, when a large
quantity of noxious vapours are evolved, or to sell it to the manufacturing
chemists for manufacturing the different salts of ammonia. By my process

page_text: the escape of noxious vapours is entirely prevented, as the whole of them
are absorbed. The apparatus employed by me consists of a furnace, as
at A in the Drawing, with an air pipe similar to G, and of three or more
vessels communicating with each other by pipes, in a similar manner to the
sulphuric acid chambers shewn in the Drawing; the chimney leading from the
furnace enters into the first vessel, and a pipe is carried from the last vessel
of the series into the air pipe at G at G*. The vessels are charged with
ammoniacal liquor, the furnace is charged with sulphur, and the usual quantity
of nitrate of potash and sulphuric acid for furnishing nitric acid is put into an
iron capsule or nitre pot, and placed on an iron tripod stand in the furnace, in
the usual way. The sulphur is lighted in the furnace, when the gas will pass
through the apparatus, and return through the air pipe to the furnace; when
the liquor in the first vessel is saturated (as can be ascertained by the usual
tests) it is drawn off into the pans for evaporation; the liquor in the second
vessel is run into the first, and the liquor in the third vessel is run into the
second, and the third vessel is then re-charged with fresh liquor. Or, instead
of using the above named vessels, the acid gases leaving the furnace A, with
its air pipe, may be conducted by a pipe from the chimney direct into the pits
or receptacle which they have at the gas works for holding the ammoniacal
liquor, and then return from such pits by a pipe into the air pipe G at G*, and
then into the furnace. When the liquor in the pit is saturated, the acid gas is
to be stopped off and conducted by a pipe into another pit containing fresh liquor,
the saturated solution must be pumped out of the first pit for evaporation, and
crystallized as sulphate of ammonia in the usual way, or sold in a liquid state as
manure. Sometimes, instead of using sulphurous acid gas, I treat the ammoniacal
liquor with muriatic gas, and I proceed nearly the same as in the preceding
process, but, instead of having the furnace with its air pipe and return pipe
I use the ordinary furnace which is already in use for the decomposition of
chloride of sodium in the manufacture of sulphate of soda, and pass the
muriatic acid gas by a pipe direct from the furnace to the pit or vessels, as the
case may be. When the liquor is saturated it is drawn off, and finished in
the usual way of manufacture; the vessels are recharged with fresh liquor, and
go on as before.
The last part of my Invention consists in treating the refuse lime and
other products that remain in the lime purifiers at the gas works after it is
saturated or no longer fit for the purification of gas, by passing acid gases
through the purifiers, and thereby fixing those volatile combinations of
ammonia and preventing that offensive stench from the noxious vapours given
off on opening the purifiers for the removal of the products and rendering the

page_text: refuse lime, which will then contain the fixed salts of ammonia, doubly valuable
for agricultural purposes. My mode of proceeding is the same as for treating
the ammoniacal liquor. After the hydrogen gas is shut off from the purifiers
I connect the pipe of the furnace A with the purifier, and after the acid gas
has circulated through the purifier I pass it out in an opposite direction by the
pipe F into the air pipe G at G*, and into the furnace A when the contents of
the purifiers are saturated with the sulphurous or sulphuric acid, as can be
ascertained by the well known tests. I cease to charge the furnace with sul-
phur and the products for furnishing the acid. After time is given for the
absorption of the gases contained in the purifiers or other vessels, the charge
can be withdrawn. Although I have only named the purifiers, other chambers
or vessels may be used by removing the products of the purifiers into them.
In conclusion I beg to state that I claim,-
Firstly, the means above described of condensing the whole of the waste
gases evolved in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
Secondly, the means above described of condensing the acid gases evolved
during the rectifying of sulphuric acid.
Thirdly, the means above described of condensing the muriatic gas evolved
during the manufacture of muriatic acid and sulphate of soda.
Fourthly, the means above described of treating the ammoniacal liquor of
the gas works with the acid gases.
And lastly, the means described of preventing the escape of noxious vapours
from the lime which has been used for purifying coal gas.
In witness whereof, I, the said Oglethorpe Wakelin Barratt, have her -
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.