US368552A - Adolph - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Ano'LPrI o. SOHULZ, or LA sALLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE ORSINGER AND WILLIAM M. WAGNER, 0F sAME PLACE.

MANUFACTURE OF CEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,552, dated August 16, 1887.

Application filed July 19, 1886. Serial No. 208,461. (Specimens) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADOLPH C. SOHULZ, of La Salle, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Manufacturing Cement and increasing its power of resisting the action of air, moisture, and frost; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Heretofore cement has been more or less pervious to air and water or moisture, and 0wing to this fact frost has a disintegrating effect upon it. y

The object of my invention is to render cement impervious to air or moisture,and thus enable it to resist the action of frost or change of temperature; and to this end my invention consists in saturating the clay, soil, sand, or any silicious earth with carbonaceous gas or carbonaceous gases produced in any form from carbonaceous substances previous to mixing it with lime or other calcareous earth to form a cement.

To carry my invention into effect the carbonaceous gas may be forced through or into a quantity of the earth by means of any instrumentality employing fire or heat in connection with any carbonaceous bituminous substance in such manner as not to burn it, but to drive the gas out of such substance and cause it to percolatethe mass of earth covering the carbonaceous material while the heat is applied; but the best instrumentality for this purpose which I have used is a fire-proof retort, magazine, or oven made to contain two or more cubio yards. Such magazine is charged with the carbonaceous material, as coal or Wood, &c., and the soil, clay, or earth to be treated, placing the former below the latter, or between it and the point where the fire or heat is to be applied-on the outside of the magazine.

The fire or heat may be applied all around the magazine on the outside, and in such case the carbonaceous substance and the earth should be mixed well together. I prefer to place the carbonaceous material in the bottom of the magazine and cover it with the earth and apply the fire or heat below the magazine,

in order to prevent the escape of the gas as much as possible.

Instead of burning the carbonaceous material, I prefer to heat it sufficient to generate carbonaceous gas, but not to a degree which would cause its combustion. Combustion of the carbonaceous material is impossible so long as no air can strike it. The heat penetrating from the outside into the interior of the magazine simply causes them to generate the gases, and the earth absorbs the gases as they rise, preventing also their escape. I desire, therefore, to prevent the combustion of the carbonaceous materials, as well as the escape and combustion of the gas in the manner stated. The magazine prevents any direct contact of fire with the carbonaceous material, and as the heat drives out the gas the latter percolates or diffuses itself through the mass of surrounding or adjacent earth and adheres to the earth particles.

One part of soft coal to three parts bulk of earth confined in the magazine and heated to a degree and for a time sufficient to coke the coal, or about one part of hard wood to about two parts bulk of earth confined in the magazine,- and heated to a degree and for a time sufficient to reduce the wood to charcoal,would effectually carry out the invention and sufficiently saturate the earth with carbonaceous gas to produce the desired effect. After being thus treated the earth is taken out of the magazinc and separated from the remains of the carbonaceous material which have not been converted into gas, and when cold and dry it is ready for use. If it contains any lumps, they should be pulverized. The nature of the soil is thus changed. The carbonaceous gas penetrates the earth particles. That part of the carbonaceous substance which ordinarily condenses as tar or soot is thus thoroughly distributed through and mixed with the treated earthy When mixed with water or moistened with other liquids or by any process, it will become plastic, and when mixedwith lime or any calcareous substance and exposed to the atmosphere of dry or warm temperature it will dry about the same as mortar made from sand and lime. In the course of a few hours it will be covered with a hardened scum on the surface, which will prevent the air or water or moisture from penetrating it. The earth thus treated and kept dry may be kept or preserved for use indefinitely.

Any clay, soil, sand, or silicious earth thus saturated with carbonaceous gas may be moistened and stirred intoaplastic mass, which can be used while in a plastic condition for all the purposes of mortar made of lime and sand, and will turn water and moisture, and is not liable to the disintegrating effect of frost. A lump of this preparation may be kept in water indefinitely without dissolving. Its binding qualities, however, are not sufficientwithout the addition of lime or other calcareous material to form a cement which will stand great pressure. By mixing earth thus treated with slaked lime or other calcareous earth by wetting and working or stirring them well together in the same manner and in the proportion that sand is mixed with lime in making common mortar a cement is formed which is a perfect safeguard against moisture, being absolutely impervious to air, water, or moisture in the course of three or four hours from the time of its application.

A mixture made of thirty parts, in bulk, of common sand, six to seven and a half partsof slaked lime, and six to seven and ahalf parts of clay, soil, or other earth thus treated with carbonaceous gases, being wet with water and stirred together to the plastic consistency of common mortar, will form a very good and hard concrete, insoluble in water.

I am aware of patent to Hislop, No. 217,377,

of July 8, 1879, for revivifying spent lime, and also of the patent to Smith, No. 101,173, of March-22, 1870, for limekiln. The process shown in these patents does not produce the result secured by my invention.v The matter there treated is different from that treated by me, and the end is different. The process also differs from mine in this, that the products of combustion or furnace gases, as there used, being the product of the direct action of fire upon the carbonaceous material, are substantially wanting in the bituminous element,whereas the carbonaceous gas as produced and used by me has this element in very large proportion; also the manner in which the products of combustion or furnace gases of said patents are applied is such as to carry off from the lime the sulphur and'also the bituminous portion of the gas, whereas the bituminous part of the carbonaceous gas, as applied by me, is retained by and combined with the soil, 85c.

Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The herein-described process of preparing soil, clay, or silicious earth,which consists in saturating the same with the gases from bituminous carbon by confining such earth with any bituminous carbonaceous substance and subjecting the whole to heat of sufficient degree and for a sufficient time to drive such gases out of such substance and cause them to be diffused throughout the mass of earth, substantially as specified.

2. A cement composed of about thirty parts, in bulk, of sand, about seven parts slaked lime, and about seven parts soil, &c., saturated with carbon gas in the manner described,

the whole being mixed with water and stirred 7 5 to the consistency of common mortar, sub stantially as specified.

ADOLPH C. SOHULZ. Witnesses:

WM. P. HALLORAN, S. P. HALL.