IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SAL-AMMONIA
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WATERTON, late of Fulmer Place, Gerard's Cross, in the County of Bucking-
ham, now residing at Wharton, in the County of Cheshire, Esquire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by my Petition, represent unto Her most Excellent
Majesty Queen Victoria, that I had invented "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SAL-AMMONIA," that I was the first and true Inventor thereof,
and that the same had never been practised by any other person or persons
whomsoever to my knowledge or belief, and did thereby pray that Her said
Majesty would be graciously pleased to grant unto me, my exors, admors, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, for
the sole use, benefit, and advantage of my said Invention, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years,
pursuant to the Statute in that case made and provided; and Her said most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, being willing to give encouragement to all
arts and inventions which might be for the public good, was graciously pleased
to condescend to my request, and by Her Letters Patent under the Great
Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day
of August, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Waterton, my exors
admiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Henry Waterton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my or their deputy or

page_text: deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Henry Waterton,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
my said Invention within that part of Her United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me, the said Henry Waterton, my exors,
admors, and assigns, should in my or their discretion seem meet, and that I,
the said Henry Waterton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should and lawfully
might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage
from time to time coming, growing, accruing, and arising by reason of my
said Invention, for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen
years from the date of those Presents next and immediately ensuing, and fully
to be complete and ended, according to the Statute in such case made and
provided; in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Henry Waterton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
scal, 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 Instrument
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within, six
calendar months next. immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I,- the said
Henry Waterton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
in manner following (that is to say) — .
The nature of my Invention consists in the use of carbonate of ammonia
(either in the solid form.or.in solution) in the manufacture of sal-ammoniac,
by applying it to decompose common salt. I take near equal quantities by
weight of common salt, otherwise called chloride of sodium or muriate of soda,
and of carbonate of ammonia. I dissolve the common salt in as much water as
is barely. sufficient to dissolve it, so, as to constitute a fully saturated solution;
and when so dissolved, I add to it the carbonate of ammonia in the solid form,
but bruised or pounded to. a state of fine powder. I mix these well together
and suffer them to remain so mixed for several hours (the usual time which I
allow being from six to eight hours), stirring or agitating. the. mixture. con-
tinually in a convenient close vessel.(to prevent. the solid parts settling, and to
ensure a more perfect and speedy decomposition), and infusing into it as much
carbonic acid gas as it will absorb. I do not consider the infusion of any

page_text: carbonic acid gas absolutely necessary, though I think it is advantageous. I
then drain or filter the liquid from the said matter, and in order to separate as
perfectly as possible all the liquid from the solid matter, I press the substance
in'an ordinary hydraulic or screw press, or submit it to considerable pressure
by any other convenient mode. The solid matter .thus obtained is chiefly
bi-carbonate of soila. The liquid thus obtained (that is to say), the liquid
separated-from-the solid bi-carbonate of soda, contains in solution muriate and
carbonate of-ammonia and common salt, and perhaps also a small portion of
the bi-carbonate of soda formed: This liquid I place in a distilling vessel, and
adding water if necessary, distil-over the carbonate of ammonia (and receive
the product into a cask or proper vessel, which product may be rectified and
used as herein-after mentioned). What remains in the still is chiefly a solution
of muriate of ammonia and cominon' salt. I evaporate this- by heat to a
sufficient consistency-to enable me to separate the common salt (which [being
'less soluble in hot or boiling water than muriate of ammonia] chrystallizes
first). I separate the common salt thus chrystallized from the liquid by any
convenient métliod; and evaporate the liquid (which contains in solution the
muriate of ammonia) until it attains the proper specific gravity to chrystallize,
and then transfer it into suitable utensils for chrystallizing. The chrystals
when pressed and dried are nearly pure muriate of ammonia, and may be
brought to market in that state without further preparation, or they may be
sublimed in appropriate vessels into what is called sal-ammoniac. Another
mode, of obtaining the same result is as follows: I take any quantity of liquid
containing ammonia, either in a caustic state or combined with carbonic-
hydrosulphuric (sulphurated hydrogen), or hydrocyanic acids (such as gas-
ammoniacal liquor or bone animoniacal liquor). I rectify this liquid by
distillation, until the distilled portion contains from twenty to twenty-five
per cent. of carbonate of ammonia. [If the liquid, contain ammonia com-
bined with any acid other than the acids above mentioned, I use lime in the
distillation in a sufficient quantity to decomposé the ammoniacal salt]. To
the liquid thus rectified by distillation I add as much common salt, bruised or
pounded to a state of fine powder, as it will dissolve, or as much as is equal in
weight to the carbonate of ammonia in solution. I mix these well together,
and suffer them to remain so mixed' for several hours, stirring or agitating
them continually in the manner above described, and infusing into the mixture
as much carbonic acid gas as it will absorb. I then drain or filter the liquid
from the solid matter as beforé described. The solid matter thus obtained is
chiefly bi-carbonate of soda. The liquid thus obtained contains in solution

page_text: muriate and carbonate of ammonia, common salt, and perhaps a small portion
of bi-carbonate of soda formed. This last-mentioned liquid is then dealt with
in the same way as if it had been obtained in the manner first above described.
The small quantity of carbonate of ammonia which remains mixed with..the
bi-carbonate of soda may be recovered by well known means, and employed
over again to decompose other portions of common salt, as herein-before
described. The common salt, separated from muriate of ammonia as before
described, I also employ with other portions of common salt in subsequent
operations. In all the operations I have described for the manufacture of sal-
ammoniac, I employ vessels or apparatus of such construction as to expose the
carbonate of ammonia employed as little as possible to the air, so that loss of
ammonia may be prevented.
I do not claim as my Invention the recovery of ammonia or any particular
form of vessels or apparatus in which my operations are conducted, nor any
of the chemical substances above mentioned merely as such; but I claim as
my Invention or improvement the use of carbonate of ammonia in the
manufacture of sal-ammoniac, by applying it to decompose common salt, as
herein-before described. The carbonate of ammonia of commerce is what
chemists call sesqui-carbonate. In describing my process I use the term
carbonate of ammonia as denoting either sesqui-carbonate, or bi-carbonate.
The bi-carbonate is not generally met with, but is to be preferred when it can
be obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Waterton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and forty.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirty-first day of December
in the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Henry Waterton came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand