ROVEMENTS IN TREATING ROSIN AND RESINOUS SUBSTANCES TO OBTAIN PRODUCTS THEREFROM, AND IN TREATING THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM ROSIN AND RESINOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: to George Hamilton, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster. Professor of Chemistry, Queen's College, Liverpool aforesaid.
for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING ROSIN AND RESINOUS
SUBSTANCES TO OBTAIN PRODUCTS THEREFROM, AND IN TREATING THE PRODUCTS
OBTAINED FROM ROSIN AND RESINOUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 15th July 1859, and dated the 18th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hamilton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th January 1859.
1. GEORGE HAMILTON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Professor
of Chemistry Queen's College, Liverpool aforesaid, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TEEATING RCSIN AND
RESINOUS SUBSTANCES, AND IN TREATING THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM ROSIN AND
RESINOUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is to treat rosin and resinous substances, or
products derived from rosin or resinous substances, so as to obtain from them
oils. spirits. acids, resins, and other substances. The method consists in
distilling the above-named substances in such a manner that any required
temperature may be imparted to the still or retort, and that the pressure of
the atmosphere within the retort may be diminished to any required extent,
which is accomplished during the process of separating the products by regu-
lating the temperature and pressure at which the rosin, resinous substances,
or resinous products are distilled. At low temperatures and pressure the
most volatile products will first pass off, and by raising the temperature, the
less volatile will follow, and the substances are thus obtained in a separate
[Price 8d.1

page_text: state. It is prefered to enclose, the retort in a case or jacket, leaving a space
to be filled with steam, gas, vapour, or air of the required temperature,
regulating this temperature by means of apertures closed by valves, and
measuring it by a thermometer. The combustion of the fuel is regulated by
means of dampers and other appliances, and the pressure of the atmosphere
within the retort is ascertained by means of a barometer.
It is prefered, in some cases, to provide the still or retort with two outlet
pipes in place of one, as now practised. The supplementary outlet pipe being
placed below the usual one, to be used where it is found the products will not
rise to the level of the ordinary, outlet, in which case the upper outlet may be
closed, and in some cases the use of the usual still worm is dispensed with,
and the products of distillation are allowed to fall through the air into a glass
or other suitable receiver, which is provided on the sides and bottom with cocks,
by which the liquids of various gravities may be drawn. This receiver may be
mounted, so that it will turn, on its vertical axis, for the purpose of allowing
the liquids to be discharged into any vessel that may be placed within range.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions. of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Hamilton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HAMILTON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Professor of Chemistry.
Queen's College, Liverpool aforesaid, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Hamilton, Her special licence that, the said George
Hamilton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I
the said George Hamilton, 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 TREATING ROSIN AND RESINOUS SUBSTANCES TO OBTAIN
PRODUCTS THEREFROM, AND IN TREATING THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM ROSIN AND
RESINOUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said

page_text: George Hamilton, my executors or administrators. by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I. the said George Hamilton, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
Statement (that is to say):-
-:
The object of this my said Invention is to treat rosin and resinous sub-
stances, or products derived from rosin or resinous substances, so as to obtain
from them spirits, oils. acids. resins, and other substances; but especially to
obtain direct from common rosin, by one distillation. a variety of clear and
pale oils. free from the blue colour and strong odour which characterise
ordinary rosin oils, and at the same time to obtain the spirit, acid, and oils, all
of such a purity that they will not require any subsequent rectification or other
treating. To obtain these advantages, I apply the heat to the still or retort
containing the substance to be operated upon in such a manner that. I can.
regulate the temperature to any required degree, always commencing with the
lowest temperature, which will suffice to cause the most volatile products
to pass off, and then when the products of that or any other required
temperature cease to be evolved. then gradually raise the temperature until
evaporation again takes place from the contents of the still or retort, by which
I obtain another less volatile product than that obtained at the lower tempe-
rature; after have exhausted all the products that can be obtained at
this heat, I again raise the temperature until the less volatile product is
evolved, and so on by successive increments of temperature I bring off
successively the less volatile products, until no further volatile products can be
obtained from the contents of the still. To cause the evaporation within the
still to take place at as low a temperature as possible, I diminish the pressure
within the retort or still to any desired extent by an air pump or its equivalent,
and receive the products of distillation in an exhausted receiver. And I con-
struct the still or retort in such a way, that in place of the outlet orifice being
at the head of the still. the. vapours leave the still as near the surface of the
contents of the still as practicable: to accomplish which, I construct the still
with several outlets, one below another. and which are provided with stop-
cocks, which can be opened in succession as the contents of the still are
reduced; or I construct the still in such a manner that it may be mounted on

page_text: an axle or a pair of trunnions, so that it may be tilted on
one side, that
the outlet orifice may be lowered at pleasure during the operation of distilla-
tion, a glass gauge being used to show the height of the contents of the still
1 separate those products which rise in vapour together during distillation at
the same temperature, but which, when condensed into the liquid state, arc
capable of being separated by alteration of temperature and subsidence. I
draw off the heavier through the bottom of the receiver, and the lighter
through the side thereof, or by first drawing off the heavy portion through the
bottom of the chamber into a receiver, and afterwards the lighter portions
into another vessel or vessels. When desirable, I repeat the processes herein-
before described on each or any of the products obtained as described, until
no further separations can be effected.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood,
I have hereunto annexed Drawings, in partial illustration of so much of the
apparatus which I believe to be best suited to carry the same into practical
effect like letters and figures marked thereon are used to denote similar
parts. A, the still (shown by the dotted lines) enclosed within B, an outer
jacket or casing: C is a man-hole in the top of the still, which is covered by a
metal cover ground air-tight; D is a man-hole through the outer casing of
the still, which is covered by a tight lid, which is securely held in position by
E, a set screw, which works through F, a small movable crossbeam, which is
hinged at one end, and locked at the other by a pin to f, two small standards
on the top of the retort casing; G, a small safety valve on the man-hole lid;
H. a pipe for introducing water between the jacket and still, for heating and
generating steam for heating the still; I, a pipe for withdrawing the water
when required; K, a pipe, which connects the interior of the still with the
condensing worm; h, k, and 2 are junction pipes provided with stop-cocks,
which are opened in succession as the liquid contents of the still are reduced,
for the purpose of allowing the products of distillation to pass off as near the
surface as practicable. I prefer to construct these junction pipes so that their
diameters expand from the plug of the stop-cock towards the body of the still.
1, 1, and F. are small screwed taps on the junction pipes, for aflixing an
exhausted flask upon, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of the contents
of the still L, the refrigerating vessel, containing the condensing worm,
which is of the ordinary description, and is connected to M, the upper
receiver, which is a tight vessel of capacity, which prefer to form of a
barrel-shape; N, the lower receiver, into which the liquid contents of the
upper receiver are occasionally drawn off; n, framwork, upon which the
receivers are supported; O, the pipes, by which the uncondensable portions of

page_text: the products of distillation (which chiefly consist of carburetted hydrogen)
are withdrawn from the apparatus, which I do by means of an air pump
atiached thereto, and which I preserve in common gasometre for use as an
illuminating gas, or a heating medium for working the still or retori: P. a
glass gauge, for ascertaining the liquid contents of the upper receiver: Q. a
junction pipe, with a stop-cock for withdrawing the liquid contents of the
upper receiver (M) into (N) the lower receiver, which is done by opening R.
a stop-cock on the exhaust pipe in connection with the air-pump: S is a
draw-off tap on the bottom of the lower receiver, for drawing off the heavy
portions of its liquid contents, and T is a tap on the end of the lower receiver,
for drawing off the lighter portions of the liquid. which is done by closing the
taps Q and R, and opening U. a stop-cock on W, a pipe in conjunction with
the gasometer, which supplies the lower receiver with gas, to allow the liquid
contents to flow through the taps S and T. I receive the liquid contents of
the receiver into suitable vessels, which are provided on the sides and bottom
with cocks for drawing off the liquids of various gravities. These receivers
may be placed upon a table, which will turn on its vertical axis. for the
purpose of allowing the liquids to be conveniently discharged into separate
vessels that may be placed thereon within range of the draw-off taps; X, a
small pipe fitted with a screwed tap on the upper part of the upper receiver,
which is used for exhausting Y. a flask, which is fitted with a stop-cock
screwed on the end for attaching it to the screwed stop-cocks (1, 1, and 1.) on
the junction pipes of the still: Z, a thermometer, for indicating the tempera-
ture within the still.
When it is not desired to obtain the whole of the volatile products, gaseous
as well as liquid, nor the whole of the liquid products in their highest degree
of purity, as in the distillation of common rosin, for the purpose of obtaining
the oils, I recommend a still (with or without a jacket or outer casing) and
the worm, and an open receiver, which is provided with draw-off cocks at the
bottom and sides, and a glass gauge for enabling the operator to see the state
of the contents of the open receiver; and, in some cases. I also dispense
with the worm, using only a low heat in the still. I am enabled to do this by
allowing the products of distillation to escape near the surface of the liquid
contents of the still, which would not at the low temperature used rise
sufficiently high to pass out of the ordinary still outlet orifice. By the most
imperfect and least expensive of these arrangements, even without a worm
cooler, products may be obtained direct from rosin by a single distillation,
better than can be produced by any method now in use with two or three
distillations.

page_text: When I use ordinary fuel, such as coal or coke, for working the still, I
regulate the temperature by dampers and other appliances, as is well under-
stood, but in most cases I prefer to use the gas collected in the gasometre
described.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said In-
vention, and how I believe it may be best carried into practical effect, I wish
it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details or
dimensions herein-before set forth and described, as it will be obvious to those
practised in the art that they may be considerably varied without departing
from the Invention; but what I do claim is,
First, the distilling of rosin and resinous substances, and the products
obtained therefrom into a vacuum or partial vacuum, as herein-before
described.
Secondly, constructing the still or retort in such a way that the exit orifice
or orifices may be lowered as the liquid contents of the still are reduced, sub-
stantially and in the manner herein-before described, or any mere modification
of the same.
Thirdly, the use of an open receiver with glass gauge and stop-cocks at the
sides and bottom for effecting the separation of liquids of different specific
gravities, as herein-before described.
And, lastly, the peculiar system of treating rosin and resinous substances.
for the purpose of obtaining products therefrom, substantially and in the manner
herein-before described and set forth, or any mere modification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Hamilton, have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal, this Fifteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness.
WILLIAM WALKER,
44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
GEORGE (L..s.) HAMILTON.