US681032A - Method of preserving wood. - Google Patents

Description

No. 68I,032. Patented Aug. 20, l90l.

' A. BEVIER.

METHOD OF PRESERVING W000.

(Application filed Nov. 1, 1899.)

("'0 Model.)

INVENTOI? Mm ATTORNEYS.

ANDRIES BEVIER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FFICE.

PATENT ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO EVERSLEY GHILDS, OF SAYVILLE, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF PRESERVING WOOD.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent NO. 681,032, dated August 20, 1901. Application filed November 1, 1899. Serial No. 735,492. (No specimens.)

T otZZ whom it may concern:

. ficial, drying process.

Be it known that I, ANDRIEs BEVIER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Method of Preserving Wood, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to so prepare wood by injecting into it a combination'or mixture of creosote with other compounds that it will resist the attacks of animal and vegetable life, and thereby prevent the decay to which Wood is liable.

p The invention consists in the novel steps of the method, as will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

The drawing represents a plan View of a plant used in earring out the method.

The method consists, first, in subjecting the wood to a heat of 212 Fahrenheit and upward without pressure, thereby evaporating moisture and drying the wood-an arti- After subjection to this treatment for from one to five hours, based upon the size and condition of the timber, the temperature is raised from 250 to 500 Fahrenheit and an air-pressure from one hundred totwo hundred pounds is applied, sufficient to prevent the loss of volatile materialfrom the wood by further evaporation, thereby retaining in the wood such antiseptic materials as may be formed by the action of the heat upon the fluids of the wood and diffusion of resinous matter, which upon cooling solidifies and hermetically seals all the pores. The result of this treatment is to thoroughly sterilize the wood, coagulate the albuminous material of the sap, diffuse the resin, and harden the timber, at the same time leaving the wood in such a condition that it will readily absorb the antiseptic liquid to be subsequently introduced, which on account of its great viscosity (since it contains creosote -oil) is very refractory to ordinary impregnation treatment.

While the methodup to this point effectually protects the wood from internal decay, it still leaves the materialliable to decay from outside sources. In order to guard against this, the wood is. subjected to the following treatment: The wood is immersed in a liquid consisting of a mixture of creosote-oil and resin, the percentage of resin ranging from ten to ninety per cent, according to the requirements and uses in particular cases. The antiseptic properties of this mixture are still further strengthened by the addition of formaldehyde in quantities sufficient to counterbalance the diluting effect of the resin upon the creosote. By creosote-oil I mean .coaltar creosote, also known under the name of dead oil of tar. By formaldehyde I mean commercial formaldehyde-that is, a solution of the gaseous formaldehyde in water. This antiseptic may be'used in proportions varying within wide limits, one per cent. of formaldehyde being a suitable proportion in many cases. The addition of the resin is for the purpose of hardening the wood, rendering it waterproof and absolutely preventing the washingout of the antiseptic material. As an example of the proportions used according to my invention I would mention those adopted when treating railroad-ties, paving-blocks, &c., intended for use in the northeastern section of the United States or in regions of a similar climatecreosote, forty per cent. resin, fifty-eight per cent. formaldehyde, two per cent. however, that the proportions will vary considerably according to the different uses for which wood is intended and according to the various climatic and other conditions to which it will be exposed. In order to cause the liquid to be properly absorbed by the wood, it is heated to a temperature of from 150 to 300 Fahrenheit, care being taken not to raise the temperature to such a degree to injure the fiber, and a hydraulic pressure of from one hundred to four hundred pounds is placed upon the product and maintained thereon from one to six hours, these conditions being varied according to the size and nature of the timber and the amount of antiseptic material to be injected. If the liquid were removed While under this high temperature, the liquid would be so mobile that none would be left upon the surface of the wood and any cracks existing in the wood would be emptied, leaving exposedsurfaces and receptacles to hold moisture carrying germs of decay. To pre- It will be understood,

vent this, the charge referred to is first cooled by the circulation of cold air through the sys tem of pipes jacketing the cylinders, the air having previously been cooled by passing through another system of waterjacketed pipes. Then the temperature of the charge has been lowered to from 90 to 140 Fahrenheir, the liquid has become so viscous that it will remain adhering to the wood, filling all the cracks and leaving the surface in a sticky condition. The cylinders are now emptied of the liquid-for the final treatment for the purpose of more completely hardening the wood. This hardening is produced by thoroughly forcing into and mixing with the previously-injected material a mixture of resinate of lime and turpentine. This on cooling will produce a hard elastic surface absolutely impervious to both air and water, the result being a wood increased in hardness with an increased resistance to crushing, absolutely sterilized, and hermetically sealed by an insoluble antiseptic material.

A final hardening treatment may also be conductedas follows: After cooling instead of forcing in the resinate-of-lime and turpen tine mixture the timber is taken out and placed in the second cylinder, where it is subjected to the action of hot milk of lime under pressure. In this manner the same results are obtained as have been described.

Although any suitable apparatus may be employed for carrying out the method, I have presented one form of the apparatus in the drawing, in which A represents high-pressure boilers adapted to produce the steam used in the process, the boilers being used in connectionwith tanks or cylinders A, in which the wood is placed to be treated. Two or more of such tanks or cylinders can be used, provided with suitable doors 10. g V

B represents air-compressors which furnish the air-pressure used in the method, and O represents air-receivers which receive theair before it is conducted to the treating-cylinders. Pipes 11 lead from the receivers Q through condensers D to the cylinders A and are provided with regulating-valves H. A branch pipe 12 leads around the condenser and is provided with a regulating-valve 13. Aircirculating pipes 14 are carried from the treating-cylinders A through a fan E and a reheater F tothe rear end of the treating-cylindersA. The pipes 14, connecting the treating-cylinders A, are provided with suitable valves 16, and a vacuum-pump G is used in connection with the cylinders A, connected with the cylinders A by pipes 17, provided with valves 18.

H represents a hydraulic-pressure pump which is connected with the treating-cylinders A by means of a pipe 19, having stopvalves 20. Storage-tanks I are also used for storing and mixing liquids used in the method, and pumps K, of any suitable construction, are used for pumping the liquids. k V

L represents a melting-furnace for melting the resin, the furnace and the storage-tanks I being connected by pipes 21, having valves 22, while pipes 23 are employed for connecting the storage-tanks with the treating-cylinders A, and said pipes are provided with valves 24, near the storage-tanks, and valves 25, near the treating-cylinders. All of the pipe connections shown are made in any manner known to the art.

Each pump K'is connected with a treatingcylinder A by two pipes having independent valves, so that either pipe may be brought into service as required, one pipe being adapted to conduct resinate of lime and the other pipe the resin-creosote mixture, so that either one or the other of these materials may be fed to the cylinders as occasion may re quire. v

The wood ispiled on cars and run into the cylinders A on iron tracks, for example. The doors 10 are then closedand steam is admitted to the steam-coils. The heat is regulated by thermometers employed to indicate theproper temperature to which the wood is to be subjected. During this operation the moisture evaporating from the wood is allowed to escape intothe atmosphere. hen the heat has been applied to the wood for the proper length of time, its duration depending upon the nature of the wood to be treated, an air-pressure of from one hundred to four hundred pounds is applied to the air-pipes 11. The heat is then raised, and when the temperature and pressure have reached a certain maximum point they are kept there from one to five hours, after which the temperature is grad ually lowered and the cylinders are blown off. The mixture of creosote and resin is then pumped in by meansof the tank-pumps K, and hydraulic pressure is applied by means of the pressure-pump H, and after remaining under this pressure for a proper length of time, as heretofore described, the steam is cut off and cold air circulated by means of the compressors B through coolers or condensers D to the coils in the cylinders A.

Having thus described my invention, 1 1

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentr 1. The herein described method for the treatment of wood, which consists in subject ing the Wood to the action of a mixture of creosote-oil and resin, heating the wood thus treated, and subjecting it to hydraulic pressure, cooling the product thus obtained ren= dering the antiseptic material viscous and hardening the wood, further hardening the wood by forcing or producing therein while heated, a metallic resinate in sufficient quantities to provide an exterior coating, and finally permitting the product thus obtained to cool, producing thereon a hard elastic outer surface.

2. The herein-described method for the treatment'of lumber to preserve it against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, thereby killing all living matter, which method consists in removing the moisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture of creosote-oil with resin in such proportion that the wood is hermetically sealed, and with another antiseptic of the nature of formaldehyde, and finally treating the product with a metallic resinate as described.

3. The herein-described method for the treatment of lumber to preserve it against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, thereby killing all living matter, which method consists in removing the moisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture of the nature of creosote-oil with resin in such proportion that the Wood is hermetically sealed, supplying to the mixture such antiseptic qualities as formaldehyde may possess,

in quantities that may be necessary, also treating the wood with resinate of lime in combination with a material imparting to it the property of being readily incorporated with the antiseptic mixture injected into the wood, whereby dense resinous timber is rendered as above stated.

4:. The process of treating Wood which consists'in first subjecting it within a suitable vessel to a dry heat of about 212 Fahrenheit, then increasing the temperature and pressure whereby the native gums and resins are melted and the Wood is rendered highly reoeptive of impregnating liquids, and then in the same heat and same vessel while the wood is in' this highly-receptive condition and the gums and resins in a melted condition, impregnating the same under pressure with a preservative mixture containing creosote substantially as described.

5. The herein-described process for preserving Wood, which consists in treating it with a mixture of creosote, resin and formaldehyde, and then applying a calcium compound thereto.

6. The herein-described process for preserving wood, which consists in treating it with a mixture of creosote, resin and formaldehyde,'and then applying resinate'of lime thereto.

7. The herein-described method for the treatment of lumber to preserve it against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, thereby killing all living matter, which method consists in removing the moisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture of the nature of creosote-oil with resin in such proportions that the wood is hermetically sealed, supplying to the mixture such antiseptic qualities as formaldehyde may possess, in quantities that may be necessary, also treating the wood with resinate of lime.

S. The method of preserving lumber which consists in freeing it from moisture, then im-* pregnating it with a preservative, and there name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. ANDRIES BEVIER.

Witnesses:

J. FRED. ACKEE, A. NEsTER.

Images