AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR PREVENTING INCRUSTATION IN BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR LUBRICATING MOVING SURFACES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Edwin Thomas, of 40, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
COMPOSITION FOR PREVENTING INCRUSTATION IN BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE
FOR LUBRICATING MOVING SURFACES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Edwin Thomas at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th March 1879.
JOHN EDWIN THOMAS, of 40, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR PREVENTING INCRUS-
TATION IN BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR LUBRICATING MOVING SURFACES, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention has for its object an improved composition, which can be used in
steam boilers for the purpose of preventing incrustation or the deposit upon the
plates of such boilers of hard sediment from the water used in them.
My improved composition can also be applied to the purpose of lubricating surfaces
moving in contact with each other, such as the bearings of shafts, the faces of the
slide valves, and other moving parts of steam or other engines, or the rubbing
surfaces of other kinds of machinery.
It may also be used for the purpose of cleaning and polishing the surface of silver
or other metals, or other material, and for the purpose of cleaning and removing
greasy or other stains from the surface of paper, parchment, or other material.
I take kaolin or china clay, common soda, and caustic soda, and I mix and incor-
porate them thoroughly together, either by grinding them together in any suitable
mill, or, preferably, I dissolve the caustic soda and the ordinary soda in water, and
I add the kaolin to the solution thus formed, and I stir and mix the several ingre-
dients until they are thoroughly incorporated together. I then evaporate the water,
and I take the solid sediment which remains, and I grind or otherwise reduce it to
a fine powder.
The proportions of the several ingredients may be varied to suit varying circum-
stances, but I prefer to adopt about the following proportions, that is to say :-78 parts

page_text: by weight of china clay or kaolin, 20 parts of common soda, and 14 parts of caustic
soda. Where my improved composition is to be used for the purpose of preventing
incrustation or the deposit of sediment in boilers, I prefer to mix with water a
certain quantity of the composition (which may be varied according to the character
of the water in the boiler), and to supply a very small quantity of this solution or
mixture to the feed water, which is pumped into the boiler in the usual way. Or a
certain quantity of the composition in the form of powder, or of solution or
mixture, may be supplied at intervals to the interior of the boiler as required.
Where the composition is to be applied to the purpose of lubricating the slide
valves or pistons of steam engines, I sometimes mix it with the steam by which
such engines are driven, either by adding it to the water in the boiler in the way
already described, or by supplying it in small regulated quantities to the steam
supply pipe, or 1 supply it to the surfaces to be lubricated in the form of solution
or of powder. Or it may be mixed with any suitable oil or grease.
Where it is to be used as a lubricant for the bearings of revolving shafts or other
moving parts of machinery, I prefer to supply it either in the form of a fine impal-
pable powder, prepared as above described, or it may first be mixed with any suitable
oil or grease.
For the purpose of cleaning and polishing the surface of silver or other metals,
or other materials, the composition may be used in the form of powder, or mixed
with water, or oil, or grease. For cleansing and removing grease from the surface
of paper or parchment, I apply the composition in the form of a fine or impalpable
powder, prepared as above described.
The kaolin or china clay, which forms a considerable part of my improved com-
position, consists of a more or less pure hydrated silicate of alumina, and sometimes,
instead of using the kaolin of commerce for the purpose of preparing my improved
composition, I use silicate of alumina obtained or prepared artificially for the
purpose.
Also, I sometimes substitute for caustic soda and common soda another alkali,
such as caustic potash and common potash.
My improved composition, as above described, is very cheap and easily manufac-
tured, and can be used very economically and effectually for the several purposes
described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Edwin Thomas in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
September 1879.
JOHN EDWIN THOMAS, of 40, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR PREVENTING INCRUS-
TATION IN BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR LUBRICATING MOVING SURFACES, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention has for its object an improved composition, which can be used in
steam boilers for the purpose of preventing incrustation or the deposit upon the
plates of such boilers of hard sediment or scale from the water used in them. My
improved composition can also be applied to various other useful purposes by some-
what varying or modifying its component parts. For instance, to the lubrication
of metallic or other surfaces moving in contact with each other, such as the bearings
of revolving shafts, the faces of the slide valves or other working parts of steain or
other engines, or the rubbing surfaces of other kinds of machinery. Or it may be
used in a further modified form, as a soap or detergent for cleansing animal, vege-
table, or other substances, as for removing dirt, grease, or stains from the surface of
silver or other metals, or of paper, parchment, or other materials.
The bases of my improved composition for preventing and removing incrustation
in boilers is kaolin or china clay, a silicate of alumina, to which I add cominon soda
and caustic soda, and I mix and incorporate them thoroughly together, either by
grinding them together in an ordinary edge mill or other suitable grinding mill, or
by dissolving the soda in water, and adding the kaolin or china clay to the solution,
and stirring and mixing them until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated
together. I then evaporate the water, and I grind and reduce to a fine powder the
solid sediment which remains.
The relative proportions of the different ingredients may be varied to suit the.
character of the water in the boiler to which the improved composition is to be
applied, but I have found that a mixture of the ingredients in about the following'
proportions gives a good result, that is to say:-78 parts by weight of kaolin or
china clay, 20 parts of common soda, and 14 parts of caustic soda.
The following, in which the proportion of the caustic soda is somewhat reduced,
has also given good results, that is to say -40 parts by weight of kaolin, 11 parts
of ordinary or Scotch soda, and 5 parts of caustic soda.
The composition, prepared as above described, is in the form of a powder, a small
quantity of which may be supplied to the interior of the boiler at intervals as
required. But I prefer to mix a quantity of the powder with sufficient water, and
to supply the fluid mixture at intervals either into the feed pipe, by which the
boiler is fed with water, or into the pipe from which the feed pump or injector draws
its supply. The quantity of the composition thus supplied to them must vary, like
its quality, with the character of the water in the boiler.
I have found that a mixture of one pound of the powder prepared in the way
above described in one gallon of water is sufficient daily for an ordinary boiler of
twenty horse power when added to the water from which the feed pump is
supplied.
I am aware that it has been proposed to use clay for the purpose of preventing
the deposit of incrustation and scale in steam boilers, and that alkalis have also
been used for the same purpose.
It has been found however that the clay is of little use for the purpose, whilst
the alkali has a tendency to attack and injure the plates of which the boiler is
composed. By using china clay or kaolin mixed in about the proportions given
above with alkali, as described, the beneficial effect of the clay is increased, whilst
the injurious action of the alkali upon the boiler plates is prevented..

page_text: Where my improved compound is to be used for the purpose of lubricating the
bearings of shafts or other moving parts of steam engines or other machinery, I add
a sufficient quantity of tallow or other grease or oil to the kaolin, the proportion
and quality of such grease or oil being varied to suit the different conditions and
circumstances under which the lubricating compound is to be used, and I omit the
caustic alkali, and the whole or nearly the whole of the ordinary alkali. To prepare
the composition for this purpose I reduce the kaolin or china clay to a powder
fine and of as uniform a size as possible, preferably by grinding and levigation, and
having dried it I add the grease or oil in the required proportion, and I thoroughly
mix and incorporate them together, and the compound is then ready for use.
35
For packing, stuffing boxes, and other analogous purposes, hemp, flax, or other
fibrous material may be saturated with this compound.
By adding to a compound so prepared in the proper proportions, a sufficient
quantity of an ordinary alkali such as soda, and in some cases a very small propor-
tion of a caustic alkali, such as caustic soda, I obtain a saponaceous mixture which
may be used as a detergent for the purpose of cleansing animal, vegetable, or other
substances or fabrics.
The proportions of the several materials for such purposes must be varied
according to the object to which the mixture is to be applied, but I have found the
following to form effective and useful compounds, that is to say:-For a common
soap, kaolin, 9 parts by weight; Scotch soda, ground, 11% parts; ordinary common
soap, 1/2 parts; oil, part; mixed together and heated, and then dried in moulds.
For toilet soap-Best soap, 1 part; soda crystal, 11, parts; glycerine, 2 parts;
kaolin, 6%, parts; oil, 1 part, with any suitable scent. For a better toilet soap:-
Best tallow, 3 parts; kaolin, 20 parts; soda crystal, 2 parts; common soap, 2 parts;
oil, 1 part; with the addition of scent. For the best toilet soap:-
:-Best soap,
parts; kaolin, 9 parts; soda crystal, 21, parts; best tallow, 1 part; oil, 1 part;
with scent.
3
Where the detergent mixture is to be used in the form of a powder to be mixed.
with water, for the purpose of cleansing or washing woodwork or floors, I omit all,
or nearly all, the grease or oil from the composition. For such purpose I have found
about the following proportions to be very effective, that is to say :-Kaolin,
parts by weight; Scotch soda, ground, 11% parts; common soap, 11½ parts.
Where a finer detergent and cleansing composition is desired for such purposes as
washing linens, cotton, lace, or other fabrics, the proportions of the component parts
may be varied as follows:-Kaolin, 14 parts by weight; Scotch soda, 6 parts;
caustic soda, 1 part; dissolved and mixed together, then dried and ground to a fine
powder, and sifted through a fine sieve.
A powder or compound prepared in a similar manner may also be used for the
purpose of cleaning, polishing, and removing grease from the surface of silver and
other metals, or other substances, the powder being first mixed with a small
proportion of water or oil.
The articles having been well rubbed with this mixture, the latter is then removed
and the articles polished with a dry cloth.
Where paper, parchment, or other substance which would be injured by water or oil
is to be cleansed, I use the powder in a dry state, rubbing it upon the surface which
is to be cleansed.
Compositions prepared according to my Invention are very cheap and easily
manufactured, and can be used very economically and effectively for the several
purposes described. The kaolin or china clay, which forms a considerable portion
of my improved composition as above described, consists of a more or less pure
hydrated silicate of alumina, and sometimes, instead of using ordinary or natural
kaolin, I use a silicate of alumina obtained or prepared artificially for the purpose,
or a silicate of magnesia may be used instead.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which it is to be per-
formed, I claim, the combination of kaolin or china clay, or its constituent parts,
with soda or other ordinary alkali and caustic soda or other caustic alkali, substan-

page_text: tially in the manner described, for the purpose of preventing and removing incrus-
tation in steam boilers. Also, the combination of kaolin or china clay, or its
constituent parts, with such alkali or alkalis, with or without the addition of greaso
or oil, for detergent or cleansing purposes, substantially as described. Also, the
combination of kaolin or china clay, or its constituent parts, with grease or oil, with
or without the addition of an alkali or alkalis, for lubricating purposes, substantially
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Edwin Thomas, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 22nd day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
JOHN EDWIN THOMAS. (L.S.)