AN IMPROVED METHOD OF DESTROYING AND TAKING AWAY ALL THE CARBONIC, OLEAGINOUS, AND COLOURING ELEMENTS AND PARTICLES IN LINEN, COTTON, HEMP, AND IN ALL COLOURED RAGS AND OTHER MATERIALS USED IN MAKING PAPER, IN A MANNER HITHERTO UNATTEMPTED IN THIS KINGDOM, AND AT A MUCH LESS EXPENCE THAN ANY METHOD NOW IN USE
Year: 1792

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, HECTOR CAMP-
BELL, of the Parish of Saint Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, in the County
of Surrey, Chymist, sendeth greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the thirty-third year
of His reign, did give unto me, the said Hector Campbell, His especial
licence that I, the said Hector Campbell, during the term of fourteen years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of His said Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called
England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF DESTROYING AND TAKING AWAY ALL THE
CARBONIC, OLEAGINOUS, AND COLOURING ELEMENTS AND PARTICLES IN LINEN, COTTON,
HEMP, AND IN ALL COLOURED RAGS AND OTHER MATERIALS USED IN MAKING PAPER,
IN A MANNER HITHERTO UNATTEMPTED IN THIS KINGDOM, AND AT A MUCH LESS
EXPENCE THAN ANY METHOD NOW IN USE;" in which said Letters Patent there
is contained a provisoe obliging me, the said Hector Campbell, to 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 His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one
calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto had) may more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Hector Campbell, do hereby declare that my said Invention of an Improved

page_text: Method of Destroying and Taking away all tlie Carbonic, Oleaginous, and
Colouring Elements and Particles in Linen, Cotton, Hemp, and in all Coloured
Rags and other Materials used in Making Paper, in a Manner hitherto
unattempted in this Kingdom, and at a much less Expence than any Method
now in Use, is described in manner following (that is to say):-
I, the said Hector Campbell, having practised and still practising, under
circumstances, the method invented by the French (which I believe I first
adopted for absolute business in England) of saturating a tub of water, or any
other fit receiver, with oxygenated muriatic acid, and applying this liquor to a
variety of bleachable articles. In the year One thousand seven hundred and
ninety-one I took it up as a manufactory, and applied it to whitening coloured,
brown, Hambro', and other cheap rags, both whole and in a reduced state, for
the purposes of selling rags, pulp, and other materials for making paper; but
notwithstanding the previous use of an alkaline ley, and when the liquor was
put to the article, the revolution of the vessel and the variety of plans to excite
internal motion, such as sticks to catch and divide internal revolving and up-
and-down powers, and levers to agitate and divide, all of which I practised, I
still found the operation in preparing the said materials for making paper (in
point of time, labour, inequality of beauty and bleaching, only to a certain
degree) extremely imperfect. Therefore, from numerous considerations and
experiments, and at a great expence of time, labour, and money, I discovered
the following improved method:-Take of rag, coloured or not, or pulp, or any
cotton, flaxen, hempen, or other material fit to make paper, and let the first
consideration be for what purpose you want it, that is, how valuable you
intend to make the article. Wash the said material for making paper. When
the material for making paper is wanted for making an inferior sort of paper,
it don't require to be passed through an alkaline ley previous to bleaching, but
may be bleached in the manner herein-after described. Should the material
be wanted for making better paper, it may be passed through an alkaline ley,
cleansed from it, and then bleached in manner herein-after described; but
this process of previously passing the material for making paper through
an alkaline ley will not bleach in once bleaching beyond a certain degree
extremely inadequate to constitute superior excellence. Therefore, to bleach
the material in the best manner, take of either of the said materials for making
paper, and either pass it through an alkaline ley previously or not, then bleach
it in the manner hercin-after described, then boil it in an alkaline ley; a solution
of caustic potash will answer the purpose; the time of boiling and the strength
of the ley must be adjusted by the nature and quality of the material and the
purpose it is wanted for; then wash the alkali from the material, and present it

page_text: again to be bleached. This process will be found sufficient, but to bring the
material to a greater perfection it may be repeated alternately; but, after the
material has been alkalised, passing it through or having anything to do with
what are termed the sours, or vitriolic acid and water, or any other acid and
water, is unnecessary. Fine materials for making paper is considerably
improved by bleaching, and then boiling in alkali, and then bleaching again;
but more especially coarse white or brown materials, such as have never been
coloured, will never so well have their carbonic, oleaginous, and ligneous
elements and particles (with which they abound) done away, or be brought to
any state of perfection, without the above process of bleaching and boiling.
The vessell or receiver for bleaching the material in may be of any shape or
dimension, and made of any substance capable of compression and condensation.
I do it in receivers made of wood, in glazed earthen vessels, and other vessels
of any shape or dimension; and, indeed, it may well be done in any receiver
the substance of which is devoid of oil and metal, and not subject to be
materially affected by the oxygen or acid. The quantity. of materials to be
bleached should contain about its own weight of water, the. superabundant
quantity of water being pressed out. The material must then be opened by a
machine called by the cotton manufacturers a devil, or some machine of that
nature. Then distribute the inaterial in the receiver thinly on one or more
frames or layers, placing them so as not to come in contact with each other, or
the material may be placed in the body of the receiver, and turned round in it,
so as that the bleaching power may have a free communication with all parts
of the material. Then close the receiver; make one or more holes or aper-
tures in the side or other part of the receiver of a sufficient size to admit the
end or mouth of a retort; then get one or more retorts or other proper vessell,
put therein a substance containing oxygen or vital air, which may be found in
many substances besides manganese; but as manganese particularly abounds
with oxygen, and therefore a quantity of it is ready made by nature, take of
maganese (such as contains the most oxygen) a third part of any given quantity,
and mix it with a proportion of two third parts of marine or sea salt; but this
proportion must be governed by the aerated state of the manganese; mix
them well together previous to their being put into the retort, and with the
manganese and sea salt so mixed put in sulphuric or vitriolic acid of a quantity
equal to or rather more than the sea salt; then join the neck or mouth of the
retort with the receiver, and lute it, or if the retort is tubulated you may
join it to the receiver and lute it before it is charged, as aforesaid. The
number of retorts to be applied cannot be ascertained, as they will depend on
the size of the receiver and the quantity of material put in to be bleached.

page_text: The retorts should rest on sand kept continually heated for working, or heat
otherwise sufficiently communicated would do. The bleaching will now com-
mence, which should be continued until the material is sufficiently whitened
for the purpose wanted, which may be known by looking at it; then take it
out, and add more material to be bleached in the same manner, and so on,
again charging the retort, in manner aforesaid, strong enough to proceed,
taking care that the material to be bleached shall never wait for the bleaching
power, nor the bleaching power. to be played upon a material which is no
longer bleachable; and the material thus bleached, being emerged and washed
in water to take away the acid contained in it, becomes fit to be applyed for
the purpose of making, paper, and may be proceeded on accordingly.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hector Campbell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of December, in the thirty-
third year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the
Grace of God.. of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender
of the Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand
seven hundred and ninety-two.
Inrolled the same Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year above
written.