IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Templeman, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Artificial Fuel Manufacturer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL
FUEL."
Sealed the 9th February 1864, and dated the 12th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Templeman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th August 1863.
I, JAMES TEMPLEMAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
5 Artificial Fuel Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL
FUEL," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the production of artificial fuel suitable for fire
lighters of a very effective kind, and which can be manufactured so as to be
sold at a very cheap rate.
Under one system of manufacture blocks or pieces of wood are impregnated
with an oily product, so as to render them highly inflammable. The wood
used for the purpose is preferred to be of a soft and porous nature, so as

page_text: to imbibe readily the oily material with which it is to be saturated. The
billets or other large pieces of the wood aro sawn or otherwise divided into
small portions of a suitable size for the purpose intended. These pieces of
wood are then placed in an iron vessel containing a quantity of oil of tar or
other similar cheap product obtained by the distillation of mineral or vegetable
bituminous substances. The wood is boiled in the oil for several hours until it
is completely saturated with the oily matter. The pieces of wood thus treated
are rendered highly inflammable, and will burn a sufficient length of time to
kindle a fire, or thoroughly ignite the coal placed around the "fire lighter."
If required, the prepared pieces of wood may be coated with resin, pitch, or
other similar combustible body. Peat or wood divided into small fragments
may also be treated by boiling or otherwise saturating them with suitable oily
or greasy matters, and afterwards compressing or moulding them into blocks
of a sizo suitable for the intended purpose of lighting fires with ease and
economy. In this way also the woody matter of the flax plant which forms
the refuse after obtaining the useful fibre therefrom may be made available in
the manufacture of these fire lighters, and other generally similar substances
may be utilized in like manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Templeman in the Great Seal Patent Offico on the
9th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
TEMPLEMAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Artificial
Fuel Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Templeman, Iler special license that I, the said James Templeman, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Templeman, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, excrcise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OR PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: I, the said James Templeman, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
5 to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Templeman, 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, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the production of artificial fuel suitable for
fire lighters of a very effective kind, and which can be manufactured so as to
be sold at a very cheap rate.
Under one system of manufacture, blocks or pieces of wood are impregnated
with an oily product so as to render them highly inflammable. The wood
used for the purpose is preferred to be of a soft and porous nature, so as to
imbibe readily the oily material with which it is to be saturated. The billets
or other large pieces of the wood are sawn or otherwise divided into small
portions of a suitable size for the purpose intended; these pieces of wood are
then placed in an iron vessel containing a quantity of oil of tar or other
similar cheap product obtained by the distillation of mineral or vegetable
bituminous substances. The wood is boiled in the oil for several hours, until
it is completely saturated with the oily matter. The pieces of wood thus
treated ar rendered highly inflammable, and will burn a sufficient length of
time to kindle a fire or thoroughly ignito the coal placed around the "fire
lighter." If required, the prepared pieces of wood may be coated with resin,
pitch, or other similar combustible body. Peat or wood divided into small
fragments may also be treated by boiling or otherwise saturating them with
suitable oily or greasy matters, and afterwards compressing or moulding them
into blocks of a size suitable for the intended purpose of lighting fires with
ease and economy. In this way also the woody matter of the flax plant,
which forms the refuse after obtaining the useful fibre therefrom, may be
made available in the manufacture of these fire lighters, and other generally
similar substances may be utilized in like manner.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe some of the best systems or modes with which I am
acquainted for practically carrying the same into effect, that is to say :-
According to one process of carrying out this Invention, wood of the soft
nd porous kinds, coke, peat, or any other substance that may be found

page_text: alvantageous is cut or broken into blocks of any convenient size. After the
wood, coke, peat, or any other convenient substance is thus prepared, it is
artificially dried, and a quantity of it is then placed in a boiler or other similar
vessel, and when a quantity of the wood is thus placed in the boiler or other
similar vessel, a weighted perforated cover, by preference made of iron,
although other material may be used for the purpose, is placed over the wood,
peat, coke, or other substance for the purpose of keeping the several blocks or
pieces in close proximity to each other, after which any sufficient quantity of
the inflammable oils or substances, such as pitch, oil, naphthaline, petroleum,
shale oil, Archangel tar, rosin, or any other description of oily or resinous
matter of an inflammable nature capable of being diffused among the pores of
wood or any other of the herein-before mentioned substances, is put into the
boiler or other similar vessel. The aperture in the boiler is now closed by a
tight-fitting cover, after which the contents are boiled until the wood or any
other of the herein-before mentioned substances is completely saturated with
the oily or resinous matters in which it is immersed. The wood or any other
of the herein-before mentioned substances is then taken out of the boiler or
other similar vessel in a saturated state, and is then placed in another vessel
of a similar kind containing melted rosin, Archangel pitch, or other similarly
adhesive or inflammable substances, in which it is allowed to remain until it is
thoroughly heated; it is then taken out of this second vessel, and while hot it
is coated over with a resinous composition consisting of a mixture of ground
resin or resinous matter and mahogany or other woody dust combined in any
proportions that may be found to answer the purpose; or instead of using
rosin in this mixture, Archangel pitch or any other resinous substances may
be used; or instead of either of the foregoing, the blocks or lumps may be
coated with a varnish composed of rosin and naphtha or gutta percha and
naphtha, or other similarly adhesive body, the object of this last mentioned
process being to confine any unpleasant odour, and prevent the escape of any
of the herein-before mentioned volatile matters with which the wood or other
substance was first impregnated, and it is then finished by being covered over
with mahogany vencer dust, or dust of any other suitable kind.
When shale oil or petroleum is used for the purpose of rendering the wond
inflammable, it is found necessary to subject them to distillation previously to
being mixed with the wood, for the purpose of removing the spirit or lighter
oil from either. Or instead of preparing the wood in blocks, as herein-before
si ecified, it is cut into oblong strips, and about the centre of each of these a
bole is bored, and through the holes in these or any other number of such
pieces a tightly fitting wooden pin is driven for the purpose of keeping each o

page_text: the picces at a distance from one another; and after any number of pieces are
thus put together they are subjected to any of the herein-before mentioned
processes for rendering them inflammable; or instead of holding the pieces or
blocks together by means of a wooden pin or dowel, they may be first
subjected to the processes for rendering them inflammable, and while hot, and
being subjected to the process of conting with a resinous composition, smaller
pieces of wood are placed between each of the afore-mentioned blocks, and the
resinous coating on cooling thus holds several pieces together. Or instead of
first impregnating blocks with any other inflammable substances, as herein-
before described, they may be at once coated with the resinous composition,
and several of them fastened together by the cooling of the coating, as in the
last-mentioned I processs; also when the blocks are fastened together by a pin
or dowell they may, instead of being rendered inflammable by any of the
herein-befere mentioned processes, be coated with the resinous composition.
In the substitution of this species of fuel for coal, coke, or other substances
used for the generation of steam or other similar purposes, the blocks of wood
or other material may be used in much larger pieces than for the afore-
mentioned purposes, or lumps of peat may be boiled in vessels containing any
of the inflammable oils already specified; and when the peat is thoroughly
saturated it is taken out while hot and compressed or rolled into blocks or
lumps, and while still in a hot state these blocks are coated with a composition
consisting of coal dust and coal tar pitch, in which state it is ready for use,
thus producing a highly inflammable fuel.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and several ways by which it may be carried into practical effect,
I may observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict myself to the
precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or refer
to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles
or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,―
First, the impregnating pieces or blocks of wood, coke, peat, or other
similar porous or vegetable substances, with any of the foregoing inflammable
oils or ingredients, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of coating such saturated blocks of wood, coke,
peat, or other similar porous substances, with any adhesive or resinous com-
position, as herein-before described.
Third, the coating of blocks of wood fastened together, as herein-before
Juscribed

page_text: Fourth, the application and use of saturated blocks of wood, coke, or peat
as fuel to be used in the generation of steam or for other purposes, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Templeman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four.
JAMES TEMPLEMAN. (L.S.)