Year: 1864

page_text: WHEREAS since the filing of the Specification of the said Patent by
an Indenture made the Twenty-fifth day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-two, between the said William Edward
Newton, of the first part, the said Alfred Noble, of the second part, and
the said British Dynamite Company (Limited) and their Secretary the
said John Downie, of the third part, the said Letters Patent were
transferred and made over to me, the said John Downie, as such Secretary
as aforesaid:
And whereas I have been advised that the application of the In-
vention to methyle, ethyle, and nitro-mannite is not so valuable as to
render it desirable to retain a claim for the same, and that the description
of the mode of carrying out the Invention is deficient in point of
clearness, and that extraneous matter contained in the Specification
might possibly be read as part of the process of manufacture, I am
therefore desirous for the aforesaid reasons of disclaiming and amending,
and I do hereby disclaim and strike out and amend certain words in the
title of the Patent, and in the said Specification, so as to confine the
Invention to the manufacture and mode of applying nitro-glycerine
and to render the details of the description more satisfactory, that is
to say :-
"
"
I strike out from the title of the Patent the words "explosive com-
pounds," and I substitute therefor the word nitro-glycerine." In the
printed copy of the Specification at page 4, line 6, I strike out the words
as well as a," and also the whole of the next following line ending
with nitro-mannite." In line 8 I alter the words "these compounds
to "this compound." In line 13 I alter the word "their" to "its." In
lines 14 and 15 I strike out the following words, "and other explosive
bodies above mentioned." In line 16 I strike out the words "and
analogous bodies;" the next following word "possess" I change to
possesses." At line 18 I alter the word "their" to "its," and in the
next line I strike cut the words "and analogous bodies," and alter the
word "produce" into "produces." At line 20 I change the word
"
them" to "it," and I erase the word "their," and put in place thereof
"its." In line 22 I change the word "their" to "the." At line 24 I
insert the word "explosion" after "initiative," and in line 25 I insert the
word "charge" after "nitro-glycerine," and I strike out the words "or
other analogous body." At line 30 after the word "nitro-glycerine "I
strike out "or analogous body." After the word "nitro-glycerine" in

page_text: to "were." At
line 32 I strike out "or analogous body at," and insert the word "to."
In line 34 I strike out the words "or other body," and insert the word
'charge." In line 38 before the word "nitro-glycerine" I insert "a
small quantity of." In page 5, line 1, I strike out the second word
"or," and after the word " may "I insert "even." Between "by"
and "a" I insert "the aid of," and before the word conductor I insert.
At line 8 I strike out "or
the explanatory words "fuse or heat."
analogous bodies." At line 9 I change "this" to "an." In line 10 I
insert "spreads" in place of "produces," and I change "its mass" into.
"the mass of the charge." From lines 11 and 12 I strike out "and
analogous bodies." At line 13 I change "have been
lines 15 and 16 I strike out "and analogous bodies." At line 21 I.
strike out and most of the bodies of the series above mentioned." At.
line 22 I change "have" to "has," and "them" to "it;" and in the.
next line I replace "they" by "it." In lines 25 and 26 I replace the
word "their" wherever it occurs by "its." At line 28 I change
"these bodies" into "this body." At line 31 I change "their" to "the,"
and after the word "properties" I insert "of blasting agents." At
lines 32 and 33 I strike out "explosive bodies either non-inflamable or
which may be ignited without explosion," and I insert the word "nitro-
glycerine." At line 34 I strike out "spontaneous decomposition of a
small portion of their mass thus producing," and insert "aid of." At
lines 36 and 37 I strike out and analogous bodies," and before the
word "explosive" I insert "analogous." At the end of line 19 of
page 6 I strike out the word "as," and in the next line I add to the
sentence ending with the words "dispensed with" the words "and the
refuse acids become valuable." The sentence commencing with the
words, "It is evident," and ending with the word "required," I strike
out as superfluous. For the same reason I strike out from line 37" this
is a process which may," and continue the erasure down to the end of
the line 15 inclusive in page 7. At line 20 strike out the word "are,"
and alter "crystallized" to "crystallize" when the Specification will
read as follows:-
at line 29
This Invention relates, firstly, to the employment as a substitute for
blasting powder and for gunpowder for shells of nitro-glycerine. The
distinctive property of this compound is that of decomposing slowly and
without explosion on contact with a spark in an open space (this
decomposition even ceasing mostly when the ignited body is removed

page_text: from it), and therefore not being inflammable but merely decomposable
under the influence of an elevated temperature, and on the contrary of
detonating with violence on being heated to the temperature at which its
decomposition takes place.
Secondly. The Invention relates to the manufacture of the nitro-
glycerine. The property which nitro-glycerine possesses of being decom-
posed slowly in contact with an ignited body naturally led to the
conclusion that it was necessary to heat at least a portion of its mass in
order to effect the explosion; but as nitro-glycerine produces by explosion
a higher temperature than ordinary powder it seemed possible to cause it
to effect its own explosion as well by the heat produced as by the shock
and enormous tension of the gaseous products. It has been found in
fact that it is sufficient to give an initiative explosion, and that this
latter will then spread through the mass.
This initiative explosion may be produced in various ways. For
instance, the nitro-glycerine charge may be contained in an open vessel,
in which is suspended a small glass vessel containing gunpowder or other
explosive substance. On setting fire to this latter it will break the glass
vessel, and heat and explode the nitro-glycerine, or the explosion may be
effected by an electric spark, or a wire heated by a current, provided
they be applied in the interior of the nitro-glycerine. Or it may be
produced by a percussion cap, or by means of heaters, which may carry
either a small portion (or the whole if preferred) of the nitro-glycerine
to a temperature sufficient to give the initiative explosion required. For
example the vessel containing the nitro-glycerine charge may have
suspended in it a small vessel containing gunpowder or other substance,
the chemical reaction of which is capable of producing a gradual and
sufficient elevation of temperature, such as quicklime and water or sul-
phuric acid, and inside this vessel is another vessel containing a small
quantity of nitro-glycerine or other analogous or very explosive body.
It is evident that these "heaters "
may be considerably modified, the
explosion may even be effected by aid of a simple fuse or heat conductor
such as those employed in mines for igniting ordinary powder. It is however
to be observed that this same conductor produces either detonation or
partial and slow decomposition, according to the conditions in which it is
placed. In an open space, or in a space not completely closed, the latter
effect is produced, and the former results, on the contrary, if the resistance
be rendered sufficient, and if care be taken that the flame of the conductor

page_text: cannot escape without passing through the nitro-glycerine, or coming
into contact with it for a sufficient length of time to produce an initiative
explosion, which spreads the detonation throughout the mass of the
charge.
This latter method places the apparent employment of nitro-glycerinė
in nearly the same conditions as ordinary powder, but in reality many
experiments were required for the purpose of arriving at this result,
because, 1st, ordinary powder explodes as well in an open space as in a
closed one, and it was natural to admit that nitro-glycerine would act in a
similar manner; secondly, as regards nitro-glycerine, its speed of explosion
is so great that it is useless to close the aperture bored in the rock where
it is exploded, and consequently it was not necessary to submit it to the
same conditions as ordinary powder, that is to say, to the action of the
heat conductor in a closed space. Seeing therefore, first, that nitro-
glycerine has been known for years without any benefit having been
derived from it for industrial purposes; secondly, that it may be ignite I
in an open space, either by a spark or by a heat conductor, without
explosion taking place; thirdly, that its detonation by a shock is
generally only partial; fourthly, that even the heating of its mass to
the temperature of its decomposition does not appear always to produce
the explosion of the whole; fifthly, that I am the first to apply this body
to industrial purposes; sixthly, that no explosive body liquid at the
ordinary temperature has yet been utilized for industrial purposes, and
that a solid pulverulent granular or fibrous state was always one of the
distinctive properties of blasting agents.
I therefore claim to be the first who has practically effected for industrial
purposes the detonation of nitro-glycerine by aid of an initiative explosion
which spreads of itself.
I consequently claim as new the employment of nitro-glycerine in
place of gunpowder or blasting powders, or analogous explosive com-
pounds (in so far as this employment appertains to or may be classed
under one of the methods above mentioned).
PROCESSES WHICH ARE CLAIMED FOR THE PREPARATION OF NITRO-
GLYCERINE AND OF THE NITRIC ACID WHICH IS EMPLOYED IN SUCHI
PREPARATION.
First Process. Hitherto nitro-glycerine has been prepared by pouring
drop by drop glycerine into a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids

page_text: contained in a refrigerative mixture, and taking care to stop the intro-
duction of glycerine if the thermometer should rise to 32° Fahrenheit
in order that no vapors may form, and that the nitro-glycerine may not
be destroyed. The whole was then poured into cold water. This
laboratory process is very. slow. If on the contrary all the glycerine be
added immediately the action of the nitric acid is exhausted, and the
nitro-glycerine will not be destroyed until it reaches a much higher
temperature; but on mixing the whole of the acids, say two parts of
sulphuric acid and one part of nitric acid, the reaction of the whole of
the glycerine raises the temperature to 160° and even to 212° Fahrenheit.
The nitro-glycerine formed is then destroyed. I therefore add the nitric
acid gradually, i.e., I pour it in four or five times, and each time
exhaust its action upon the glycerine, and the temperature at each
operation does not exceed about 40° Fahrenheit. There is then no danger
of the nitro-glycerine being destroyed. It floats upon the surface of
the acids, from which it may be decanted. By this means the slowness
of the old method is avoided, the use of the refrigerating mixture is
dispensed with, and the refuse acids become valuable. To obtain the
mixture of acids which are employed by preference one part of nitrate
of soda or nitrate of potash is dissolved in three and a half parts of
sulphuric acid. After cooling a salt is deposited (N a O, 4 S 03, +
6 H O, KO, 4 SO3 + 6 HO), which is almost insoluble in the free acids
remaining, so that on separating therefrom the salt by pressure or distil-
lation a mixture of nearly pure acids is obtained. By reducing the
quantity of sulphuric acid so that the salt formed shall absorb the whole
or nearly the whole of it there will only remain nitric acid, which will
be a nonohydrate if the sulphuric acid employed where concentrated to
a suitable degree.
Second Process. If a speedy preparation of nitro-glycerine be
required take, say, a mixture of two parts of sulphuric acid and one
part of nitric acid and add thereto immediately the whole of the
glycerine to complete the operation, stir quickly for an instant, and pour
the whole directly into cold water. By this means, notwithstanding
the high temperature produced, a great part of the nitro-glycerine has
not time to be destroyed.
.
If a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids be employed the whole of
the nitro-glycerine formed is allowed to rise to the surface of the mixture
of acids and the two strata are separated by decantation. The mixture

page_text: of acids is afterwards submitted to a temperature of from 5 to 10°
Centigrades. The traces of nitro-glycerine which might remain then
crystallize, and by filtration a mixture of acids is thus obtained which
may be submitted to distillation in order to regain the whole of the
sulphuric acid and a part of the nitric acid which has served for the
operation.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Downie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
To the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
I hereby grant my fiat giving leave to be above-named John Downie,
of Glasgow, North Britain, Merchant & Secretary to the British
Dynamite Company (Limited), of Glasgow, to file in the Great Seal
Patent Office, with the Specification to which the same relates, the
above-written Disclaimer & Memorandum of Alteration.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AND MODE
OF APPLYING EXPLOSIVE COMPOUNDS."-A communication from abroad by
Alfred Nobel, of Héleneborg, Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden.
Sealed the 20th December 1864, and dated the 20th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th July 1864.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AND MODE
OF APPLYING EXPLOSIVE COMPOUNDS," to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to that class of explosive bodies which are obtained
in a liquid state, and which possess the distinctive property of decomposing
slowly and without explosion in contact with a spark in any open space at
ordinary temperatures, and consequently of being uninflammable, and only

page_text: decomposable under the influence of a high temperature; but they also
explode with violence when raised to a temperature at which they become
decomposed. The substances included in this category are nitro-glycerine,
nitro-mannite, the nitrates of methyle and ethyle; these two latter are, to a
certain extent, inflammable, but they burn very slowly and at the expense of
the oxygen of the air.
In applying these substances to the purposes for which explosive com-
pounds, such as gunpowder, are employed, it will be necessary to raise the
temperature of the body to the proper degree, and to give the initiative to
the explosion, which when commenced will communicate itself to the mass.
Several modes of effecting this object may be devised, and as examples, I
will give the following:-The nitro-glycerine, or other explosive body or sub-
stance, is placed in a vessel, which also encloses a small glass tube or vessel
containing gunpowder or other explosive compound which will explode on the
application of a spark. An electric conductor or other means of igniting
the powder in this small tube or vessel is employed, and upon the ignition
of the powder and bursting of the small vessel the temperature of the nitro-
glycerine will be raised to the proper degree, and will then effect the explosion
of this latter.
The object may be effected by means of an electric wire passed into the
body of the nitro-glycerine, and heated to redness by a current of electricity.
A small portion of the nitro-glycerine may be heated to the required tem-
perature by the explosion of a percussion cap or detonating compound, or by
means of any suitable heating apparatus, which will in the first instance heat
and explode a small portion of the nitro-glycerine and communicate the
necessary temperature to the rest of the mass. This may be effected by an
ordinary fuse, or by employing a small quantity of nitro-glycerine contained in
a small vessel enclosed in another containing powder, which when exploded
will heat and explode the bulk of the charge. Chemical compounds which
will develope great heat may also be employed to raise the temperature of
the nitro-glycerine, such, for instance, as quick lime and water, or strong
sulphuric acid and water.
From the foregoing it will be understood that the essential feature of this
part of the Invention is the application of nitro-glycerine or other analogous
substance to the purposes for which gunpowder or gun cotton is usually
employed; and, secondly, the explosion of nitro-glycerine and other analogous
substance by causing the decomposition in the first instance of a small part
of the substance, so as to produce an initiatory explosion, which will com-
municate itself to the rest of the mass.

page_text: In order to prepare the nitro-glycerine I take two parts of sulphuric acid
and one part of nitric acid. The glycerine is placed in a suitable vessel, and
the acid is added gradually at different times, so that its action on the
glycerine should be exhausted at each addition of acid without injuriously
raising the temperature of the mass and destroying the glycerine, which would
be the case if all the acid were added at once, unless proper precautions be
taken.
As a modification of this process the mixed acids may be added all at once,
and the glycerine and acid well stirred for a few seconds. The whole must
then be run or poured off quickly into cold water, so as to prevent the acid
from acting too violently on and thereby destroying the glycerine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 20th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others'
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
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, exercise, 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 OF AND MODE OF APPLYING EXPLOSIVE
COMPOUNDS," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six"
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: per-
NOW KNOW YE,that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the employment as a substitute for
blasting powder, and for gunpowder for shells, of nitro-glycerine, as well as a
series of explosive bodies (such as methyle, and ethyle, and nitro-mannite).
The distinctive property of these compounds is that of decomposing slowly
and without explosion on contact with a spark in an open space (this decom-
position even ceasing mostly when the ignited body is removed from it) and
therefore not being inflammable, but merely decomposable under the influence
of an elevated temperature, and, on the contrary, of detonating with violence
on being heated to the temperature at which their decomposition takes place.
Secondly, the Invention relates to the manufacture of the nitro-glycerine and
other explosive bodies above mentioned. The property which nitro-glycerine
and analogous bodies possess of being decomposed slowly in contact with an
ignited body, naturally led to the conclusion that it was necessary to heat at
least a portion of their mass in order to effect the explosion; but as nitro-
glycerine and analogous bodies produce by explosion a higher temperature
than ordinary powder, it seemed possible to cause them to effect their own
explosion, as well by the heat produced as by the shock and enormous tension
of their gaseous products. It has been found, in fact, that it is sufficient to
give an initiative explosion, and that this latter will then spread through the
mass. This initiative may be produced in various ways; for instance, the
nitro-glycerine or other analogous body may be contained in an open vessel in
which is suspended a smallglass vessel containing gunpowder or other explosive
substance; on setting fire to this latter it will break the glass vessel and heat
and explode the nitro-glycerine; or the explosion may be effected by an
electric spark or a wire heated by a current, provided they be applied in the
interior of the nitro-glycerine or analogous body; or it may be produced by a
percussion cap, or by means of heaters, which may carry either a small portion
(or the whole, if preferred) of the nitro-glycerine or analogous body at a tem-
perature sufficient to give the initiative explosion required. For example, the
vessel containing the nitro-glycerine or other body may have suspended inita
small vessel containing gunpowder or other substance, the chemical re-action
of which is capable of producing a gradual and sufficient elevation of tem-
perature, such as quick-lime and water or sulphuric acid; and inside this
vessel is another vessel containing nitro-glycerine or other analogous or very
explosive body. It is evident that these "heaters" may be considerably

page_text: modified; or the explosion may be effected by a simple conductor such as
those employed in mines for igniting ordinary powder. It is, however, to be
observed, that this same conductor produces either detonation or partial and
slow decomposition according to the conditions in which it is placed. In an
open space or in a space not completely closed the latter effect is produced,
and the former results on the contrary if the resistance be rendered sufficient,
and if care be taken that the flame of the conductor cannot escape without
passing through the nitro-glycerine or analogous bodies, or coming into contact
with it for a sufficient length of time to produce this initiative explosion which
produces the detonation throughout its mass.
This latter method places the apparent employment of nitro-glycerine and
analogous bodies in nearly the same conditions as ordinary powder, but in
reality many experiments have been required for the purpose of arriving at
this result, because, Ist, ordinary powder explodes as well in an open space
as in a closed one, and it was natural to admit that nitro-glycerine and
analogous bodies would act in a similar manner; 2ndly, as regards nitro-
glycerine, its speed of explosion is so great that it is useless to close the
aperture bored in the rock where it is exploded, and consequently it was not
necessary to submit it to the same conditions as ordinary powder, that is to
say, to the action of the heat conductor in a closed space Seeing, therefore,
1st, that nitro-glycerine and most of the bodies of the series above-mentioned
have been known for years without any benefit having been derived from them
for industrial purposes; 2ndly, that they may be ignited in an open space
either by a spark or by a heat conductor without explosion taking place;
3rdly, that their detonation by a shock is generally only partial; 4thly, that
even the heating of their mass to the temperature of their decomposition does
not appear always to produce the explosion of the whole; 5thly, that I am
the first to apply these bodies to industrial purposes; Gthly, that no explosive
body liquid at the ordinary temperature has yet been utilized for industrial
purposes, and that a solid, pulverulent, granular, or fibrous state was always
ove of their distinctive properties; I therefore claim to be the first who
has practically effected for industrial purposes the detonation of explosive
bodies, either non-inflammable or which may be ignited without explosion, by
spontaneous decomposition of a small portion of their mass, thus producing an
initiative explosion which spreads of itself.
I consequentlyclaim as new the employmentofnitro-glycerine and analogous
bodies in place of gunpowder, or blasting powders, or explosive compounds
(in so far as this employment appertains to or may be classed under one of
the methods above mentioned).

page_text: PROCESSES WHICH ARE CLAIMED FOR THE PREPARATION OF NITRO-GLYCERINE AND
OF THE NITRIC ACID WHICH IS EMPLOYED IN SUCH PREPARATION.
1st process. Hitherto nitro-glycerine has been prepared by pouring, drop
by drop, glycerine into a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids contained in a
refrigerative mixture, and taking care to stop the introduction of glycerine if
the thermometer should rise to 32° Fahrenheit, in order that no vapors may
form, and that the nitro-glycerine may not be destroyed. The whole was then
poured into cold water. This laboratory process is very slow. If, on the
contrary, all the glycerine be added immediately the action of the nitric acid
is exhausted, and the nitro-glycerine will not be destroyed until it reaches a
much higher temperature; but on mixing the whole of the acids, say, two
parts of sulphuric acid and one part of nitric acid, the re-action of the whole
of the glycerine raises the temperature to 160° and even 212° Fahrenheit;
the nitro-glycerine formed is then destroyed. I therefore add the nitric acid
gradually, i.e., I pour it in four or five times, and each time exhaust its
action upon the glycerine, and the temperature at each operation does not
exceed about 40° Fahrenheit; there is then no danger of the nitro-glycerine
being destroyed. It floats upon the surface of the acids, from which it may
be decanted. By this means the slowness of the whole method is avoided, as
the use of the refrigerating mixture is dispensed with. To obtain. the mixture
of acids which are employed by preference, one part of nitrate of soda or
nitrate of potash is dissolved in 3 parts of sulphuric acid. After cooling a
salt is deposited (Na O, 4 SO3+6 HO; KO, 4 S 03+6 HO) which is
almost insoluble in the free acids remaining, so that on separating therefrom
the salt by pressure or distillation, a mixture of nearly pure acids is obtained.
By reducing the quantity of sulphuric acid so that the salt formed shall absorb
the whole or nearly the whole of it, there will only remain nitric acid, which
will be a monohydrate if the sulphuric acid employed were concentrated to a
suitable degree. It is evident that this process may be also employed for
preparation of other nitrous bodies, and generally where nitric acid of a certain
degree of concentration is required.
2nd process. If a speedy preparation of nitroglycerine be required, take,
say, a mixture of two parts of sulphuric acid and one part of nitric acid, and
add thereto immediately the whole of the glycerine; to complete the operation
stir quickly for an instant, and pour the whole directly into cold water. By
this means, notwithstanding the high temperature produced, a great part of
the nitro-glycerine has not time to be destroyed. This is a process which may
be employed for producing many nitrous bodies. If it be desired to economise

page_text: the nitroglycerine, it is to be mixed with other bodies which are explosive or
easily decomposable into gaseous products; such, for instance, as nitro-
mannite or nitrate of urea. The explosion will then commence with the
nitro-glycerince, and be communicated to those bodies from the violent
pressure to which they are submitted.
In the preparation of nitro-glycerine, the action of the nitric acid upon the
glycerine being exhausted, there will remain a very considerable portion of
that acid in a free state. Then if more glycerine be added it is the sulphuric
acid which will combine by preference with it (the glycerine). To obviate
this and utilise all the nitric acid, one of the following methods is employed:-
a. Instead of sulphuric acid, the monohydrate of phosphoric acid is sub-
stituted. Then the glycerine, or rather the body C, H, O³, combines with
the whole of the nitric acid present. The nitro-glycerine formed is separated
from the solution of phosphoric acid present, and by dehydrating this latterit
may be made to serve for any length of time.
b. If a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids be employed, the whole of the
nitro-glycerine formed is allowed to rise to the surface of the mixture of acids,
and the two strata are separated by decantation. The mixture of acids is
afterwards submitted to a temperature of from 5 to 10° Centigrades. The
traces of nitro-glycerine which might remain are then crystallized, and by
filtration a mixture of acids is thus obtained, which may be submitted to
distillation in order to regain the whole of the sulphuric acid and a part of
the nitric acid which has served for the operation.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)