Improvements in Aluminium, Iron, and Chromium Mordants.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1892
Complete Specification Left. 10th Nov. 1892-Accepted. 4th Feb., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Aluminium, Iron, and Chromium Mordants.
I, ROBERT HENRY PICKLES of Fern Lea, Marple in the County of Cheshire,
Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists of manufacturing, and using the sucrates or saccharates of
aluminium, iron and chromium either alone, or mixtures of the sucrates or
saccharates with the acetates, nitro-acetates, sulphoacetates, chloroacetates,
chlorides, nitrates, oxalates, tartrates, citrates and sulpho-cyanates of these
metals.
I form the sucrate or saccharate by combining glucose, treacle, sugar or other
carbohydrate with caustic lime, (or other hydrate of the alkaline earths,) thus
obtaining a sucrate or saccharate of lime & from this sucrate or saccharate of lime,
I obtain the sucrate or saccharate of the metal required from the sulphate of that
metal by double decomposition.
Dated this 15th day of March 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Aluminium, Iron, and Chromium Mordants.
I, ROBERT HENRY PICKLES, of Fern Lea, Marple, in the County of Chester,
Chemical Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:—
The object of this invention is to provide mordants with a base of aluminium,
iron or chromium better adapted for the purpose of dyeing and printing than the
acetates, nitro-acetates, sulpho-acetates, chloro-acetates, chlorides, nitrates, oxalates,
tartrates, citrates and sulpho-cyanates of these metals, which have hitherto been
used for the purpose.
It consists essentially of a mordant composed of a sucrate, saccharate or glucate
having as a base either aluminium, iron or chromium, either separately or together,
with or in combination with another salt of the same metals.
In carrying out the invention I form the sucrate, saccharate, or glucate (herein-
after comprehended under the word "sucrate") of the metal required, by adding a
sulphate of the metal to a solution of sucrate of lime, strontium or barium (herein-
after understood as grouped and comprehended under the term "lime," preferably the
dicalcium sucrate C₁H (CaOH),О or the tricalcium sucrate C₁H (CaOH),OII.)
The sucrate of lime is decomposed, sulphate of lime is formed and precipitated out
of the solution and the sucrate of the metal which formed the base of the sulphate
remains.
To form the sucrate of lime I take sugar, treacle, glucose or other carbohydrate
and to every one part by weight I take one third part of well burnt dry lime. The
lime I then slack in hot or boiling water and reduce by adding more water to the
consistency of a thin cream. The saccharine matter I reduce in specific gravity
to 1-15. The two are then mixed together, the reaction causing a considerable
development of heat, to such an extent that I do not find it necessary to submit the
mixture to further heat. The result is a solution of sucrate of lime of a more or less
brown colour.

page_text: To form therefrom the metallic sucrate :-
To the sucrate of lime thus formed to prepare the aluminium compound I add
for every eight parts of the sugar, treacle or glucose nine parts of sulphate of
alumina, or if a more basic compound is desired I add eleven parts of the sulphate
of alumina previously made basic by the addition to its solution of one-third of a
part of chalk; to prepare the ferrous iron compound I add to the same quantity of
the sucrate or saccharate eleven parts by weight of ferrous sulphate or copperas,-
and for the ferric iron compound a proportionate quantity of ferric sulphate or
rusty copperas; and to prepare the chromium compound I add to a like quantity
of the sucrate of lime say ten or twelve parts of chromium sulphate or its chemical
equivalent of a chrome alum the proportion varying according to the amount of
sulphuric acid contained in the particular sulphate used.
In all the compounds the neutral or basic sulphate can be used as desired to
produce more or less basic sucrates or saccharates.
This invention is not limited by the quantities here stated either to form the
sucrate or saccharate of lime or subsequently therefrom the metallic sucrate or
saccharate but I find that the quantities stated give good results.
On adding the metallic sulphate to the solution of sucrate of lime sulphate of
lime is precipitated out of the solution and the clear liquor contains in solution the
sucrate of the particular metal of which the sulphate was added. The sucrate can
be separated from the sulphate of lime by decantation or filtration or other
convenient method and the latter can then be washed and recovered.
When a metallic sucrate is required with the least amount of extractive colouring
matter I use by preference sugar or glucose in forming the sucrate of lime and in
the case of cane sugars I first boil them with about 3 of their weight of sulphuric
acid to convert them into grape sugar.
As mordants for the class of dyes to which they apply they are improvements on
the existing compounds or salts of the same metals at present in use :-
1st. In that they are capable of depositing the metallic base on the fibre or
textile in such a form as to be more adaptable to the formation of colour lakes with
the colouring matter which form lakes therewith. As an example:
An alumina mordant as described made basic and mixed with an equal quantity
of acetate of alumina containing some sulphate of alumina will produce an equal
depth of colour with from 25 per centum to 33 per centum less alizarine than would
be required to produce an equal depth of colour were an ordinary acetate or sulpho-
acetate employed as a mordant.
2nd. In being more free from objectionable impurities such as the empyreumatic
or tarry matters contained in the ordinary pyrolignites or acetates of the metals
referred to and which are the mordants mostly used, there being no tarry or
empyreumatic matters in the substances from which the sucrates or saccharates are
formed.
3rd. And are obtained at less cost than the acetates, sulpho-acetates or other
compound consisting of an organic acid with a metallic base and other mordants
which they are destined to replace.
These sucrates not being acid mordants and being capable of being decomposed
by steam can in use be mixed with oleine, alizarine or soluble oil without de-
composing the oil principle and so the colouring matters may be added to such a
mixture and together printed on the fabric and decomposed and fixed by steaming
by the ordinary steaming process known to calico printers as "extract work or
style" thus obviating the necessity of preparing the fabric in the oleine et cætera
previously to printing and the mixture of mordant and colour.
Further in consequence of these metallic sucrate or saccharate mordants not
being acid the doctors, engraved rollers and other metal parts of the printing
machines which come in contact with the mordants will not suffer or be affected
thereby. And when mixed with the acid mordants the acidity of the latter,.is
reduced in proportion to the amount of the sucrate used.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A new or improved mordant composed of a "sucrate" of aluminium, iron or
chromium substantially as described.
2. The process of preparing a metallic "sucrate" which consists in adding to a
solution of "sucrate of lime" (using the comprehensive meaning herein before set
forth) a sulphate of the metal (aluminium, iron or chromium) which is required as
the base of the mordant and then separating the sulphate of lime precipitate from
the solution substantially as described.
3. The process of preparing a mordant for use in the dyeing and printing of
textile fabrics having a base of aluminium, iron or chromium substantially as
described.
Dated this 9th day of November 1892.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents.