CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 33
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Frédéric Werckshagen, of Barmen,
Prussia, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
33
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Frédéric
Werckshagen at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 5th February 1853.
J.:
I, CHARLES FRÉDÉRIC WERCKSHAGEN, of Barmen, Prussia, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IM-.
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARBONATE OF SODA AND POTASH " to
be as follows:
First, the sulphuret of sodium is prepared by the reduction of the
sulphate of soda by means of pounded charcoal, which reduction.
takes place in a stove particularly adapted for this purpose. The
mass is pulverized as much as convenient, and the sulphuret thus
obtained is mixed with the bicarbonate of soda in the proportions
given by the prescription hereafter described. The decomposition
of the sulphuret by bicarbonate cannot take place without the
presence of water: it is produced according to the prescription"
or
formula Na S+Na O (CO2) 2+H O=2 (Na O.C)²+HS).

page_text: It is, however, preferable to take a slight excess of bicarbonate of
soda. This mixture once obtained is submitted in a moist state, and
in a closed apparatus, to the gradual action of heat, which should be
increased by degrees to 160 degrees Celstigrade. As the sulphuret
of sodium used is not solely composed of monosulphure, but contains
also a little quantity of polysulphure, there results from this that
the sulphuret will not disengage in a state of sulphured hydrogen,
but that a small quantity separates and mixes itself still with the
impure soda, which also contains some particles of carbon. By
means of lixivium it can be separated in deposit. The soda thus
obtained can be produced in the whitest state by means of this dis-
solution decantation. It would seem more simple to effect the de-
composition by means of a dissolution of sulphuret of sodium; but
experience has proved that the end is not obtained by these means.
'The reason of it is that the decomposition remains incomplete, and
besides that the regeneration of the sulphur is nearly impossible.
When the sulphuret of sodium is decomposed by bicarbonate of soda
the sulphur can be directly reproduced. For this purpose an appa-
ratus is used in which the sulphured hydrogen is decomposed by
the action of sulphurous acid and water steam. This reaction may
be represented by the prescription 2. H S+S 02-2 S+2 HO; but
the sulphur thus obtained does not separate from the water in pre-
cipitating, since it is produced in such a state of tenuity that it
remains in suspense. It can only be withdrawn in a compact mass-
by submitting the whole to the drying action of chloride of calcium,
or by heating to a temperature of 111° Celstigrade. It is simpler
and more advantageous to bring directly the sulphured hydrogen
into the sulphur furnace or stove of a manufactory of chemical
produce for making sulphuric acid, so as to make it attain the state
of sulphurous acid in leaden chambers. A constant and uniform
combustion must be maintained. For the preparation of bicarbonate
of soda pure and cheap carbonic acid must be obtained, and a proper:
apparatus should be procured to effect the transformation of the plain
carbonate of soda into bicarbonate. This is satisfactorily explained.
in the following manner: The favorable disposition of the sul-

page_text: phuret furnace causes a very slight produce of oxyde of carbon;
since the gases of the fuel mix with an excess of hot air, on the
instant it reaches the sole where the reduction takes place their com-
bustion becomes complete, and even the oxyde gas of carbon, which
is produced by the transformation of the sulphate into sulphuret
is itself transformed, for the greater part, into carbonic acid. This
carbonic acid should be previously separated from the sulphurous
acid mixed with it, as also from the particles of charcoal, that it may
contain, purification which is effected by means of a washing appa-
When the carbonic acid has been washed and sufficiently
cooled it is conducted into a special apparatus, where the plain car-
bonate of soda which is to absorb it is spread on plates superposed
one above the other. There are several series of apparati disposed
for this purpose, and which can be separated in need by means of
dampers; for, as either of these series are reloaded with carbonate of
soda, the others should not discontinue to be submitted to the action
of carbonic acid. The transformation of the sulphate of potash into.
carbonate of potash is also possible by this process, with restitution
of the sulphur.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Charles Frédéric Werckshagen in the Great
Seal Patent Office, on the 5th August 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
Charles Frederic Werckshagen, of Barmen, Prussia, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Frederic
Werckshagen, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Frederic
Werckshagen, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Charles Frederick Werckshagen, my executors

page_text: administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the terin 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 for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAR-
BONATE OF SODA AND POTASH," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Charles Frederick Werckshagen, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Frederic Werckshagen,
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, and by the
Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say):
The
First, the sulphuret of sodium is prepared by the reduction of
the sulphate of soda by means of pounded charcoal, which reduction
takes place in a stove particularly adapted for this purpose.
mass is pulverized as much as convenient, and the sulphuret
thus obtained is mixed with bicarbonate of soda in the propor-
tions given by the prescription hereafter described. The decomposi-
tion of the sulphuret by the bicarbonate cannot take place without
the presence of water; it is produced according to the prescription
or formula Na S+Na O (CO2) 2+H O=2 (Na O CO2)+H S).
It is, however, preferable to take a slight excess of bicarbonate
of soda. This mixture once obtained is submitted in a moist
state, and in a closed apparatus, to the gradual action of heat
which should be increased by degrees to 160 degrees Celstigrade.
As the sulphuret of sodium used is not solely composed of mono-
sulphure, but contains also a little quantity of polysulphure, there
results from this that the sulpliuret will not disengage in a state
of sulphured hydrogen, but that a small quantity separates and

page_text: mixes itself still with the impure soda, which also contains some
particles of carbon. By means of lixivium it can be separated in
deposit. The soda thus produced can be obtained in the whitest
state by means of this dissolution and decantation. It would seem
more simple to effect the decomposition by means of a dissolution
of sulphuret of sodium, but experience has proved that the end is
not obtained by these means. The reason of it is that the decom-
position remains incomplete, and besides that the regeneration of
the sulphur is nearly impossible. When the sulphuret of sodium is
decomposed by bicarbonate of soda the sulphur can be directly re-
produced. For this purpose an apparatus is used in which the
sulphured hydrogen is decomposed by the action of sulphurous acid
and water steam. This reaction may be represented by the pres-
cription 2 H S+S O²=2 S+2 H.O; but the sulphur thus ob-
tained does not separate from the water in precipitating, since it
is produced in such a state of tenuity that it remains in suspense.
It can only be withdrawn in a compact mass by submitting the
whole to the drying action of chloride of calcium, or by heating to
a temperature of 111 degrees Celstigrade. It is simpler and more
advantageous to bring directly the sulphured hydrogen into the
sulphur furnace or stove of a manufactory of chemical produce for
making sulphuric acid, so as to make it attain the state of sul-
phurous acid in leaden chambers. A constant and uniform com-
bustion must be maintained. For the preparation of bicarbonate of
soda pure and cheap carbonic acid must be obtained, and a proper
apparatus should be procured to effect the transformation of the
plain carbonate of soda into bicarbonate. This is satisfactorily ex-
plained in the following manner:-The favorable disposition of the
sulphuret furnace causes a very slight production of oxyde of carbon;
since the gases of the fuel mix with an excess of hot air, on the
instant it reaches the sole where the reduction. takes place their
combustion becomes complete, and even the oxyde gas of carbon,
which is produced by the transformation of the sulphate into sul-
phuret, is itself transformed, for the greater part, into carbonic
acid. This carbonic acid should be previously separated from the

page_text: sulphurous acid mixed with it, as also from the particles of charcoal
that it may contain, purification which is effected by means of a
washing apparatus. When the carbonic acid has been washed and
.sufficiently cooled it is conducted into a special apparatus, where
the plain carbonate of soda which is to absorb it is spread on plates
superposed one above the other. There are several series of appa-
rati disposed for this purpose, and which can be separated in need
by means of dampers; for, as either of these series are reloaded
with carbonate of soda, the others should not discontinue to be sub-
mitted to the action of carbonic acid. The transformation of the
sulphate of potash into carbonate of potash is also possible by this
process, with restitution of the sulphur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARATI.
Figures 1, to 3, sulphur furnace. a, b, c, is the apparatus for
feeding the furnace; f, is an iron rod, which is connected to rod a
by a hinge; d, e, is a reservoir, shaped like a funnel (or else a mill
hopper), used to contain the coal. This reservoir should be kept
constantly filled to avoid any decrease of draught; g, small door,
through which the cinders of the grate are removed. The flame
and its gazeous parts enter through the ducts i, in the sulphur
furnace ; they mingle before entering at a point v, with hot air;
the latter is brought to the point o, through the pipes q, from the
cinder box, which is partly filled with water; and this mixture
takes place to convert all the oxydes of carbon into carbonic acid.
¿¹ is an aperture in the roof of the furnace, tapering at the base,
änd closed by a plug; it is used for the introduction of the sub-
stances which are to be decomposed. Figures 4, 5, and 6, apparatus
for the decomposition of sulphuret of soda; 7, is a funnel through
which the furnace m, is loaded with a mixture of bicarbonate and
sulphuret of soda; n, is the pipe through which the sulphydric acid
produced escapes; p, shows the apertures through which the soda
óbtained is extracted. The furnace m is placed contiguous to the
furnace k, and is heated by the flame and hot air which proceed
therefrom. The flues which take the flame in the furnace k, at the
point, should therefore be disposed so as to be conducted directly

page_text: through y, in the apparatus of Fig. 12, hereafter referred to, or
through m, beneath the furnace, for decomposing the sulphur;
dampers should be made in the flues so as to admit at will, beneath
the furnace m, the required quantity of heat. The gases, after
having circulated beneath the furnace m, escape through the canal o:
Figs. 7, 9, & 11, precipitating apparatus; Figs. 8 and 10, sulphur
apparatus. d, is a stone ware pipe, which introduces in a brick
reservoir the sulphydric acid proceeding from furnace m, Fig. 4.
The sulphurous acid is introduced into the same reservoir through
the pipe c, which is made of sheet or cast iron. The hydraulic fas-
tening 6, is used to give light and air, when the apertures pare
opened to withdraw the sulphur. The decomposed. gases pass
through the stoneware pipe d, in a wooden chest i, and thence
through the pipes f into chests e², e³, &c., till the whole of the
sulphur is precipitated. The last chest communicates by means of
a pipe and damper with a chimney, which gives the necessary
draught to the sulphur furnace. A damper situated at point h,
before the hearth, when the sulphur is burning, will likewise regu-
late the draught, by allowing the introduction of a greater or lesser
quantity of atmospheric air; i, is a small furnace to heat, if neces
sary, the sulphur furnace. The pipe which introduces water steam
into the brick reservoir of Fig. 7 is not shown. The hydraulic
fastenings g are used to withdraw the water and the sulphur from
the wooden chests e¹, e², e³, &c. Figs. 12, 13, &, 14, apparatus for
purifying the carbonic acid. The carbonic acid issuing from the
flues
sy, (Fig. 2,) and o, (Fig. 5,) enters through the canal k, a stone
reservoir, filled with pebbles, globes, or pieces of glass or sand
stone, and passes through it, circulating between the sides m. A
reservoir q supplies water, which runs along a gutter o, and infil-
trates through holes, and sheds itself between the sides m to meet
again in the vase r, whence it is made to ascend into the reservoir
q, and so forth. The level of the water at the bottom of the rc-
servoir will be more or less high, according to the bend given to
the ejection pipe w. x, is a column on which the reservoir 9 rests.
Figs. 15, 16, & 17, apparatus for precipitating the bicarbonate.

page_text: .
The carbonic acid, after having passed through the purifying appa
ratus 1, passes through a refrigerator, and reaches through the
pipe n, a gas reservoir y, and passes over a cast iron plate. covered
with a layer of carbonate of soda. The pipe n can be closed or
opened at will in the direction of each of the series of plates by
means of dampers s'. The lower plate rests by means of a support
of cast iron, similar to Fig. 18, and the following rest, on the lower
plates, from which they are separated by feet so as to leave an in-
terval between them. At the four corners of the plates are placed
iron rods, so disposed that the whole system of plates can be lifted
up by means of a block so as to remove the bicarbonate, and placing
in its stead plain carbonate. Fig. 19, represents one of these cast
iron plates.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Frederic Werckshagen,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-three.
CHARLES FREDERIC WERCKSHAGEN. (L.S.)