AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Bell Muschamp, of Elsham Road, Ken-
sington, in the County of Middlesex, Paper Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS FOR
MANUFACTURING THE SAME.'
"
Sealed the 14th July 1871, and dated the 16th May 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Bell Muschamp
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th May 1871.
I, JOHN BELL MUSCHAMP, of Elsham Road, Kensington, in the
County of Middlesex, Paper Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
:-
The said Invention relates to an improved explosive compound
manufactured by a novel treatment of lignine, cellulose, or woody fibre,
which is found not only in wood but in all kinds of fibrous plants and
other forms of vegetation. I find it most advantageous to use the fibres

page_text: found in various kinds of wood, and I prefer hard wood, such as is
now converted into charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. I will
therefore more particularly refer to wood in the following description :—
In practising my Invention the first operation is the disintegration
of the wood, which I accomplish by crushing or cutting it into small
pieces by means of a chipping machine. The whole of the sap and
mineral salts contained in the wood must then be extracted. To accom-
plish this object the wood is boiled for about six hours in a suitable
boiler with a solution of caustic soda or other alkaline liquid or
solution; or it may be subjected to the process of disintegration de-
scribed in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent
have been formerly granted to me and Frederic William Reeves, bearing
date the 15th day of December, A.D. 1866, No. 3293, but I may use
the material either bleached or unbleached. I next thoroughly wash
the lignine or woody fibre with pure water in a poaching engine; it is
then removed to a beater, and when reduced to the proper shortness
it is put into a strainer or drying engine; it is then removed into a
room heated with steam or hot air and dried. Having been thus made
perfectly clean and dry the fibres are steeped in a bath consisting of a
solution of nitric and sulphuric acids combined in proportions varying
according to the purpose for which the explosive material is to be
employed. I prefer using one part of nitric acid of a specific gravity
from 140 to 150 with two parts, by volume, of sulphuric acid of a
specific gravity, 1.80. I mix one pound of lignine with four pounds of
sulphuric acid and two pounds of nitric acid. This compound I allow
to remain in the acids for about 24 hours, occasionally stirring it with
a glass rod. It is then put into a wicker basket or bag and washed
in a running stream of water for about 21 days for the purpose of
removing the free acids, and if necessary for the perfect accomplishment
of this object the compound is steeped for a short time in an alkaline
solution and again washed in water. I call this the first dip, and I
recommend that the explosive fibre thus prepared should only be used.
for shells or torpedoes or for blasting. If a quicker explosive compound
should be required I add a small portion of sulphate of soda to the
compound.
For what I call the second dip I use the same acids without the
sulphate of soda and without any addition to the acids, except such
a quantity as may be required to properly cover the fibre. A second.

page_text: quantity of lignine or woody fibre is placed in the bath, and is allowed
to remain therin the same length of time as the first quantity, and is
treated in every other respect in the same manner.
For what I call the third dip a third quantity of lignine or woody
fibre is placed in the same bath of acids and subjected to the same
process. By thus using the bath a second and third time the strength
of the acids is much reduced. To obtain the proper strength of the
explosive substance for fire-arms of any description I mix the second
and third dips together, and in some cases mix the first, second, and third
dips together. I then pass the whole a second time through the beater
for the purpose of getting uniformity in the strength. The pulpy mass
thus produced is then placed in a strainer or drying engine to remove
the water from it. I next place it in suitable moulds of such sizes and
shapes as may be required for cartridges or gun charges, and when
taken out of the moulds it is put under pressure for the purpose of
drying and hardening it. After being thoroughly dried in a room heated
with steam or hot air it is ready for use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Bell Muschamp in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BELL MUSCHAMP, of Elsham Road, Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, Paper Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Bell Muschamp, Her special
licence that I, the said John Bell Muschamp, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Bell Mus.
champ, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention

page_text: for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING THE
SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Bell
Muschamp, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
KNOW NOW YE, that I, the said John Bell Muschamp, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say) :—
This Invention relates to an improved explosive compound manu-
factured by a novel treatment of lignine or cellulose woody fibre, which
is found not only in wood but in all kinds of fibrous plants and other
forms of vegetation. I however find it most advantageous to use the
fibre found in various kinds of wood, and I prefer hard wood, such as is
now converted into charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. I will
therefore more particularly refer to wood in the following description :-
In practising my Invention the first operation is the disintegration
of the wood, which I accomplish by crushing it between ordinary rollers,
or by means of a chipping machine, taking care to reduce it as small as
possible. The whole of the sap and mineral salts contained in the wood
must then be extracted or neutralized, to accomplish which object the
wood is boiled for about six hours in a suitable boiler at a pressure of
from two hundred to three hundred pounds to the square inch, in a strong
solution of caustic soda or other alkali. It is then thoroughly washed
with pure water in a poaching engine, after which it is removed to a
beater, and when reduced to the proper shortness is put into a strainer or
drying engine, and afterwards spread on trays and thoroughly dried by
the application of a slow heat. Having been thus made perfectly clean
and dry, this fibrous pulp is steeped in a bath consisting of a solution
of nitric and sulphuric acids combined in the proportions of about one
part of nitric acid of a specific gravity of from 1·40 to 1.50, with two parts,
by volume, of sulphuric acid of a specific gravity of from 1-80 to 1.84;
but I do not strictly confine myself to these proportions for all purposes.
The fibre which is not put into this bath until the acids have been well
mixed and allowed to cool is kept therein for from 24 to 30 hours, during

page_text: which time it is occasionally stirred up with a glass rod. It is then
removed and thoroughly washed, either in a poaching engine or by
submitting it to the action of a running stream for about twenty-one
days for the purpose of removing the free acids, and if necessary for the
perfect accomplishment of this object it is afterwards steeped for from
two to six hours in any suitable alkaline solution; but I prefer that made
of carbonate of potassa in the proportion of one ounce to the gallon of
water, heated to about 110 degrees (Fahrenheit). The compound is then
thoroughly washed in water in a poaching engine, and afterwards dried
in the manner before described, the heat being applied, by preference,
either by hot water or steam. This I call the first dip, and I recommend
that the explosive compound thus prepared be used for shells and
torpedoes, and for blasting. When an extra strong explosive is required
I steep the compound in a solution of sulphate or nitrate of soda, nitrate
of potash, or any similar explosive substance, for from one to six hours,
according to the degree of strength of explosiveness to be imparted to
the compound, which is then again dried in the manner last described.
After the compound has been removed from the bath as before
described, I place therein a second quantity of fibre, and allow it to
remain there for the same period as the first quantity, and treat it in
every other respect in the same manner. This I call the second dip,
and the compound thus prepared will be of less explosive strength than
that prepared by the first dip, and will be found more suitable for
military and sporting purposes.
When a still weaker explosive is required I use the acids a third time,
afterwards treating the compound in the manner already described.
To retard the rapidity of the explosion of this compound when such is
required I steep it after it has been prepared, as above described, in a
solution of any of the sulphates of zinc or lead, or in a solution of starch,
the time during which the fibre is allowed to remain therein being
regulated according to the amount of retardation required. For ordinary
military and sporting purposes I find from one to two hours most
advantageous, and for shells, torpedoes, blasting, and like purposes,
from a quarter to half an hour.
.
When necessary, and after the compound has been made up into
charges, I coat them with some waterproofing material, which may be
either a collodion made from my explosive compound, or a solution of
gutta percha, india-rubber, or other like substance.

page_text: Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to or may be
performed, I claim the improved explosive substance and process of
manufacturing the same, substantially as herein-before set forth and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bell Muschamp, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-one.