Improvements in the Manufacture of Explosive Compounds.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Explosive Compounds.
I, GEORGE BENEKE, of 13, Hesketh Street, Southport, Lancashire, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a new explosive compound and to its manufacture.
Hitherto various explosive compounds have been made from nitrate of am-
monium and bodies of a resinous or hydro-carbon nature with or without the
addition of chromates or other oxidizing materials. I have been investigating
explosive compounds from nitrate of ammonium and resin and I have in my
Complete Specification No. 28220 of 1896 filed on even date herewith described
an explosive compound from nitrate of ammonium and resin in which is
incorporated carbonate or bicarbonate of sodium or potassium together with
chromate or bichromate of sodium or potassium. As the result of my investi-
gations, I have found that an improved explosive compound can be obtained if
the chromate or bichromate of potassium be omitted. The omission of the
chromate or bichromate causes the explosive compound to be slower in action
and consequently more suitable for blasting coal. According to this invention
I incorporate carbonate or bicarbonate of sodium or potassium into an explosive
compound consisting of resin and ammonium nitrate and I mix the carbonate
or bicarbonate with the resin prior to the nitrate of ammonium being admixed.
In lieu of potassium or sodium carbonate or bicarbonate I may employ the
borate, biborate or tungstate or other flame reducing salts.
Having stated the nature of my invention I will further illustrate it by giving
the following example, but I premise that the details may be varied without
departing from my invention.
In order to carry out my invention, I heat 1 to 1½ part of resin until it is
in a fluid state and then I stir into it 1 to 12 part of finely powdered sodium
bicarbonate (or an equivalent quantity of sodium carbonate or of potassium car-
bonate or bicarbonate). I let the mixture cool and then grind it into a fine powder.
I mix this intimately with 5 or 4 parts of resin ground to an extremely fine powder.
I add this mixture in a cool state to 93 to 94 parts of finely powdered ammonium
nitrate, the latter having been previously heated to about 100° C., and whilst still
hot I intimately mix.
The explosives manufactured according to this invention should be hermetically
closed in cartridges or otherwise.
It is specially suitable for blasting coal. It is a most powerful explosive but
much slower in action than explosives in which chromate or bichromate is
present, in addition.
In order to ensure the absence of moisture, it is preferable before packing the

page_text: explosive or making up into cartridges, to again heat the powder in a steam jacket
to 70° C., a temperature insufficiently high to melt the resin or render it sticky.
Dated this 11th day of October 1897.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agents.
Improvements in the manufacture of Explosive Compounds.
I, GEORGE BENEKE, of 13, Hesketh Street, Southport, Lancashire, Gentleman,
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 fol-
lowing statement:-
This invention relates to a new explosive compound and to its manufacture.
Hitherto various explosive compounds have been made from nitrate of am-
monium and bodies of a resinous or hydro-carbon nature with or without the
addition of chromates or other oxidizing materials. I have been investigating
explosive compounds from nitrate of ammonium and resin and I have in my
Complete Specification No. 28220 of 1896 described an explosive compound
from nitrate of ammonium and resin in which is incorporated carbonate or bicar-
bonate of sodium or potassium together with chromate or bichromate of sodium
or potassium. As the result of my investigations, I have found that an improved
explosive compound can be obtained if the chromate or bichromate of potassium
be omitted. The omission of the chromate or bichromate causes the explosive
compound to be slower in action and consequently more suitable for blasting coals.
According to this invention I incorporate carbonate or bicarbonate of sodium or
potassium into an explosive compound consisting of resin and ammonium nitrate
and I mix the carbonate or bicarbonate with the resin prior to the nitrate of
ammonium being admixed.
In lieu of potassium or sodium carbonate or bicarbonate I may employ the
borate, biborate or tungstate or other flame reducing salts.
Having stated the nature of my invention I will further illustrate it by giving
the following example, but I premise that the details may be varied without
departing from my invention.
In order to carry out my invention I heat 1 to 1½ part of resin until it is
in a fluid state and then I stir into it 1 to 12 part of finely powdered sodium
bicarbonate (or an equivalent quantity of sodium carbonate or of potassium car-
bonate or bicarbonate) a kind of resinous soap or resinate of soda is thus produced.
I let the mixture cool and then grind it into a fine powder. I mix this intimately
with 5 or 4 parts of resin ground to an extremely fine powder. I add this mixture
in a cool state to 93 to 94 parts of finely powdered ammonium nitrate, the latter
having been previously heated to about 100° C., and whilst still hot I intimately
mix.
I do not confine myself to these proportions and may increase the 12 part of
resin given in the actual example to 5 parts, and reduce the 5 to 4 parts of ex-
tremely fine ground resin to one part, or if desired leave the latter out altogether.
The explosives manufactured according to this invention should be hermetically
closed in cartridges or otherwise.
>>>
They are specially suitable for blasting coal. It is a most powerful explosive
but much slower in action than explosives in which 'chromate or bichromate is
present, in addition.

page_text: In order to ensure the absence of moisture, it is preferable before packing the
explosive or making up into cartridges, to again heat the powder in a steam jacket
to 70° C., a temperature insufficiently high to melt the resin or render it sticky.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The manufacture of explosive compounds, by first incorporating carbonate
or bicarbonate of soda or potash with resin in a melted state and then incorporating
the mixture in a dry and ground state with ammonium nitrate, substantially as
herein before described.
2. The manufacture of explosive compounds by incorporating resin with a
metallic salt when the resin is in a melted state whereby a sort of resinous soap
or resinate is produced and subsequently incorporating the mixture in a dry and
ground state with nitrate of ammonium, substantially as described.
3. An improved explosive compound consisting of ammonium nitrate, resin and
carbonate or bicarbonate of soda or potash, the carbonate or bicarbonate having
been incorporated with the resin when this is in a melted state.
1111
1000
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agents.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agents.