Process for the Treatment of Artificial Camphor, Either in the Crude State or after Re-sublimation.
Year: 1897

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the latents, &c., Act, 1883) as required by
the decision of the Chief Examiner, of the 29th day of October 1898.
Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 12th May, 1893-Accepted, 2nd July, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Process for the Treatment of Artificial Camphor, Either in the Crude
State or after Re-sublimation.
I, TOM BIRD, M.A., Surgeon, of 59A, Brook Street, New Bond Street, London,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The present invention consists in submitting the artificial camphor to the action
of an electric current so as to free same from the chlorine it contains.
The artificial camphor crystals are suspended in hot or cold distilled or ordinary
water or in an alkaline solution or alcoholic alkaline or other chemical that will
dissolve or combine with chlorine or oxidize the same. The solution may be either
stationary or agitated by any suitable means so as to facilitate the action if
necessary.
The poles of any suitable source of electricity (which poles may be of different
and various metals or other materials found to be most suitable) are immersed in
the water or other electrolyte, or one may be attached to the vesssl itself and the
other immersed in such electrolyte, or any other arrangement may be employed
for passing the current through the vessel; and the operation may be conducted
either in vacuo or under pressure, and either with or without suitable means for
applying heat or cold if found necessary or advisable.
حيمد
1
1007
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
A Process for the Treatment of Artificial Camphor, Either in the Crude
State or after Re-sublimation.
I, TOM BIRD, M.A., Surgeon, of 59A, Brook Street, New Bond Street, London,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement:-
The present invention consists in submitting the artificial camphor to the action
of an electric current so as to free same from the chlorine it contains.

page_text: The artificial camphor crystals are suspended in hot or cold distilled or ordinary
water or in an alkaline solution or alcoholic alkaline or other chemical that will
dissolve or combine with chlorine or oxidize the same. The solution may be either
stationary or agitated by any suitable means so as to facilitate the action if
necessary.
The poles of any suitable source of electricity (which poles may be of different
and various metals or other materials found to be most suitable) are immersed in
the water or other electrolyte, or one may be attached to the vesssl itself and the
other immersed in such electrolyte, or any other arrangement may be employed
for passing the current through the vessel; and the operation may be conducted
either in vacuo or under pressure, and either with or without suitable means for
applying heat or cold if found necessary or advisable.
16°
As is well known when HCl gas is passed into turpentine, well cooled, it is
converted into two isomeric hydrochlorides, C10H16, HCl one of which is solid
and the other liquid. The solid compound is termed artificial camphor or dadyl
hydrochloride. (Real or natural camphor has the formula Co H16. U.) The crude
artificial camphor so formed, containing as it does chlorine, is unfit for the manų-
facture of celluloid, explosives, and the other uses to which natural camphor is
applied. It is the purpose of the present invention to purify the artificial camphor
thus produced, to eliminate the free chlorine and the chlorine in combination.
I take crude artificial camphor produced as above and strain the liquid in which
it was generated from it. Having strained the crude artificial camphor, I place it
in a suitable electrolyte (preferably water), and I then submit the crude artificial
camphor and electrolyte to a current of electricity. I find a convenient
method of doing this is to insert electrodes (which may be of different
or various metals or other materials found to be most suitable) into the
liquid containing the crude artificial camphor. While the current is passing from
one electrode to the other I find it advantageous to keep the said liquid in motion
either by passing a continuous stream of water through it, rotating, or otherwise
moving the electrolyte by mechanical means. The action of the electric current
passing through the said liquid containing the said crude artificial camphor is to
split up the water into its constituent parts hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen
thus given off acts on the crude artificial camphor, while the action of the electric
current on the crude artificial camphor causes it to lose its free chlorine. I con-
tinue this process till the artificial camphor no longer has a tendency to sink, but
floats on the surface of the water, it is then altered in character. The time taken
to eliminate the free chlorine from the crude artificial camphor by this process
depends on the strength of the current used.
Here I may state that I do not confine myself to hot or cold, distilled or ordinary
water as a suitable electrolyte, as the said electrolyte may be alkaline or it may be
alcoholic alkaline, or other chemical that will dissolve or combine with chlorine, or
oxidize partially or wholly the said crude artificial camphor when a current of
electricity is passed through the said electrolyte containing the said crude artificial
camphor.
Without departing from the spirit of my invention I may to obtain a better or
a quicker result place the crude artificial camphor (after it has been strained) in
water in a vessel of porous earthenware or the like; this said porous vessel I may
place in a convenient receptacle containing water. In this case. I place the oxygen
producing electrode in the porous vessel, and the hydrogen producing electrode
outside. In this process I may also keep the liquid in motion in the porous vessel
either by passing a continuous stream of water through it, rotating, or otherwise
moving the same by mechanical means. In this process I also continue till the
artificial camphor no longer has a tendency to sink.
The electrically treated artificial camphor thus altered contains mixed with it
various impurities which are the salts of the metals used as electrodes and the like.
The second part of my invention is to eliminate these impurities, and to further
treat the said artificial camphor. To do this I take the water containing the

page_text: electrically treated camphor and proceed to sublime it by placing it in a suitable
vessel and applying heat to the same. At a certain temperature (I preferably keep
the liquid boiling as it quickens the process) the artificial camphor sublimes, and
this sublimate I collect in a suitable receiver or receivers. At intervals I may add
further alkali in solution to the liquid in the retort in order to keep the residue
boiling at a temperature not exceeding 212° F. The sublimate thus obtained
consists of pure while glistening feathery crystals which contain water intermately
mixed with them. I now take this sublimate abstract the water from it by
chemical, mechanical, or other suitable means, and then proceed to use the artificial
camphor thus produced in the same way as natural camphor. The finally purified
and water-free artificial camphor may be used as a substitute for natural camphor
in the manufacture of celluloid compounds, explosives, and also for a variety of
other purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that I am aware that it has been previously proposed to manufacture an altered
artificial camphor from the crude artificial camphor by electrically or electrolyti-
cally treating the latter in a fused or dissolved condition, and, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The manufacture of an altered artificial camphor from the crude artificial
camphor (dadyl hydrochloride) by electrically treating the latter suspended in the
solid form in a suitable electrolyte thus producing a workable artificial camphor,
as herein set forth, substantially as described, and for the purpose stated.
2. The manufacture of an altered artificial camphor from crude artificial camphor
by treating the latter suspended in the solid form by a current of electricity in hot
or cold, distilled or ordinary water, or in an alkaline or alcoholic alkaline or other
chemical solution as a suitable electrolyte, substantially as herein described, and
for the purpose stated.
3. The manufacture of an altered artificial camphor from crude artificial cam-
phor by electrically treating the latter as aforesaid in Claim 2 in combination with
sublimation, substantially as herein described, and for the purpose stated.
4. The manufacture of an altered artificial camphor from crude artificial camphor
according to the processes herein described, and for the purpose stated.
T11011 of Vov. 1000