Famous Inventions: The Aerosol Can

It is easy to become discouraged by the challenges, risks, and possible setbacks you may encounter when you get an idea for an invention. However, there are many stories of famous inventions that involved all of those setbacks and challenges—inventions that people can’t imagine living without today. While many products are the result of coming up with an idea first, and then developing it, many other projects are inspired by moments in everyday life. Some of the most famous inventions have even been invented entirely by accident. The aerosol can is an example of an invention that took several years to perfect, and is a testament to the level of patience required of prospective inventors.

The concept of an aerosol spray most likely goes back as far as 1790; however, the first patent for an aerosol spray can was granted to Erik Rotheim in 1926, with a United States patent for the same invention approved in 1931. Rotheim sold the rights to a US company for 100,000 Norwegian kroner. In 1939, the first disposable spray can was invented and patented by Julian S. Kahn. The product remained mostly undeveloped, however; Kahn’s idea was to mix cream and a propellant from two sources to make whipped cream at home, which is not a true aerosol in that sense. It was not until 1941 that the first aerosol spray can was put to use by American inventors Lyle D. Goodhue and William N. Sullivan who are credited as the inventors of the modern spray can. Their patent was filed on October 3, 1941 and approved on October 5, 1943. Their design of a refillable spray can dubbed the “bug bomb” is the founding design premise for many popular commercial spray products. Pressurized by liquefied gas, the small, portable can allowed soldiers to defend against malaria-carrying mosquitos by spraying inside tents and airplanes during World War II; the pair were later the first recipients of the Eric Andreas Rotheim Gold Medal from the Federation of European Aerosol Associations in 1970.

By 1948, three companies were granted licenses to manufacture aerosols; of the three, two—Chase Products Company and Claire Manufacturing—still manufacture aerosols. Later refinements included the “crimp-on valve,” used to control the spray in low-pressure aerosols, which was developed in 1949 by a Bronx machine shop proprietor named Robert Abplanalp. Various propellants were used until chlorofluorocarbons were discovered to have the best properties for the various products; unfortunately, CFCs were later recognized as having negative effects on the ozone layer, which resulted in the Montreal Protocol of 1989, requiring the elimination of CFCs from all products. The most common replacements are mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons, such as propane, butane, and isobutene. The majority of propellants have the disadvantage of being highly flammable; in foodstuffs, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are common propellants, while asthma inhalers and other medical aerosols use hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs).

In addition to changes in the propellant used, over the years the cans themselves have been refined, with different materials coming into use as technology offers alternatives to bulky or inconvenient previous alternatives. A UK company has recently developed and patented a technology to generate more finely dispersed mists by using a disk of superhydrophobic material within a manual pump, in order to generate an aerosol-like result without the use of a propellant.

The invention and development of the aerosol can is an interesting story which proves that the development of a new product requires patience from the inventor. Like many products, the aerosol can depended on prior understandings of technology and adaptation of new materials, until it reached its most effective form. The understanding of the principles spurred several inventors forward, but it still took many years for the product to be viable.