IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SULPHURIC ACID
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BELL, of Don Alkali Works, South Shields, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of
June, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Bell, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Bell,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Bell, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SULPHURIC ACID;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas Bell, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Bell, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists,―
First, of applying currents of electricity in sulphuric acid chambers or
apparatus, for the purpose of promoting the union of oxygen and sulphurous
acid gas, thereby producing sulphuric acid, and effecting a saving of nitre or
nitric acid now used.
Secondly, my Invention consists of obtaining and applying continuous
streams of ozone to act on sulphurous acid in the manufacture of sulphuric
acid.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention I prefer to employ electric
currents obtained by means of jets of steam; but I do not confine myself
thereto, as other sources of electricity may be resorted to. I employ an ordi-
nary sulphuric acid chamber, and in place of or in addition to the use of
nitre or nitric acid, as heretofore employed, I obtain and apply streams of
electricity, and I would state that the arrangement of apparatus for this pur-
pose may be varied; but that which I believe to be the best consists of
numerous jets of steam, such as are used in hydro-electric machines, pre-
ferring to use that known as Armstrong's, and such as are well understood;
and I have used for a full-sized sulphuric acid chamber twenty-four jets of
steam (of 50 lbs. pressure in the boiler) passing through passages of about one
quarter of an inch diameter, and opposite thereto I employ a collector having
numerous small metal points, such collector consisting of an iron tube or rod
three quarters of an inch diameter, such apparatus being similar to what is
To the end of this
now well known, and in itself is not claimed by me.
collector I affix a bar or rod of lead or other suitable metal, the end of which
I pass into a glass pipe in connection with the chamber, and from the end of
which rod the electricity streams, and through which pipe the sulphurous acid
flows into the sulphuric acid chamber, by which means the sulphurous acid
will be converted into sulphuric acid, and this without the necessity of employ-
ing nitre or nitric acid; at the same time it may be remarked, that in place
of wholly dispensing with the use of nitre or nitric acid, the streams of elec-
tricity may be used in conjunction with some nitre or nitric acid, in which

page_text: case the quantity of nitre or nitric acid will be reduced in proportion to the
employment of currents of electricity. Then, in place of introducing the end
of the bar or rod of lead or other suitable metal into a glass pipe through which
the sulphurous acid passes into the chamber, I introduce the end of such bar
or rod of lead or other suitable metal into a separate pipe of glass, the outer
end of which is stopped, or for the most part stopped, and the inner end opens
into the sulphuric acid chamber. I would remark, that as steam is required
within the sulphuric acid chamber, it will be desirable to introduce the same
by jets suitably arranged for obtaining electricity; but I would state, that I
have found that if all the jets be introduced into the chamber, the acid
becomes too much diluted. I therefore recommend, that only so many
jets should be introduced into the chamber as will supply the necessary
steam.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, and in doing so I
would remark that ozone is known to have the property of converting
sulphurous acid into sulphuric acid. In the experiments, however, which
have been resorted to in ascertaining and illustrating this fact, small hand
jars or vessels have been used; but in such experiments there have been no
combination of apparatus such as to continuously and concurrently produce
ozone and sulphurous acid in a manner to continuously produce sulphuric acid.
I do not therefore claim to have discovered the fact that sulphurous acid is
converted in sulphuric acid by ozone, this part of my Invention consisting of
arranging apparatus in such manner that ozone and sulphurous acid may be
continuously produced, and the sulphurous acid converted into sulphuric acid,
the object being to obtain practical means of manufacturing sulphuric acid by
the use of ozone. The means herein-after described for producing ozone are,
as I believe, the best for the purpose. I do not, however, confine myself
thereto, as other means may be resorted to for preparing or producing ozone.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I use an ordinary fixed sulphuric
acid chamber, and, so far as my experience goes I have found that ozone acts
most advantageously when the temperature ranges between sixty and 70° of
Fahrenheit. Into the sulphuric acid chamber a continuous supply of sulphurous
acid is, caused to flow, as heretofore; and my Invention consists of supplying
thereto ozone continuously produced in any convenient manner, and allowed
to flow from the apparatus, as produced, to combine with the continued
supply of sulphurous acid; and the most convenient apparatus for and means
of obtaining a continuous production and evolution of ozone with which I am
acquainted are as follows:-I construct boxes or chambers of iron or earthen-
ware, which I prefer to be about sixteen inches and a half wide, twelve inches

page_text: from front to back, and twenty-six inches high, from the upper part of which
box or chamber proceeds a tube or pipe (leading to the sulphuric acid cham-
ber) of about 4 inches diameter, by which the ozone, as it is produced,
passes into the sulphuric acid chamber. About 8 inches from the bottom are
two holes in front of each box about three eighths of an inch diameter, and
there is a tray or drawer which is capable of being slided into an opening
near the bottom, in which is placed several sticks of phosphorous immersed
in water to the extent of about half their diameter. I have used twelve sticks
7 inches long, and ths to an inch diameter in each of such trays; and for
a large sulphuric acid chamber (200 feet x 19 feet × 16 feet) I have
employed twelve such boxes or apparatus, and I have replaced the drawers
with others having thereon fresh sticks of phosphorous about every twelve
hours, unless the phosphorous becomes inflamed, in which case I have
changed the same earlier, and I do not use the same sticks of phosphorous
again until they have been remoulded. By this arrangement I have been
able to save a very considerable part of the nitre or nitric acid formerly used,
and I am induced to imagine that the use of nitre or nitric acid may ulti-
mately be wholly dispensed with in the manufacture of sulphuric acid; and I
believe that it will be found advantageous to pass the sulphurous acid and the
ozone into a column filled with coke, pummice stone, or other suitable mate-
rial before they pass into the sulphuric acid chamber. The sulphurous acid
I obtain by burning sulphur or matters containing sulphur, as heretofore
practised when using nitre or nitric acid only.
Having thus described the exact apparatus and means of obtaining and
applying ozone used by me, I wish it to understood that I do not confine
myself thereto, as the same may be varied, or other arrangements of appa
ratus and means of obtaining and applying ozone may be resorted to in carry-
ing out my Invention, so long as a supply of ozone is kept up to convert
the continued fresh supply of sulphurous acid into sulphuric acid; and I
would have it understood that what I claim is,-
First, applying currents of electricity in sulphuric acid chambers or apparatus,
thereby preventing the union of oxygen and sulphurous acid; and,
Secondly, I claim the obtaining and applying ozone to act on a continued
production of sulphurous acid in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Bell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
THOMAS (LS.) BELL.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of Decem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Thomas Bell came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of December, in the year of our Lord