CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF CERTAIN OILS AND SPIRITS
Year: 1847

page_text: PHILLIPS SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
PHILLIPS, of. Park Street, Islington, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixteenth day of November, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Phillips, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said George Phillips, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said George Phillips, my executors, admi-
nistrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF
CERTAIN OILS AND SPIRITS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said George Phillips, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Phillips, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being bad
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):
My Invention consists,
Firstly, in an improved arrangement of apparatus for distilling coal tar,
naptha, turpentine, and wood spirit by the application of steam; and also in
-certain constructions of stills to be used in connection with an open fire.
Secondly, my Invention consists in the purification of coal tar, naptha,
turpentine, and wood spirit in the process of distillation, by bringing such
spirits in a volatilized state into intimate contact with certain oils and fats..
Thirdly, my Invention consists in an improved apparatus for the rectification
of spirits or alcohol; which apparatus may be also applied in the rectification
of coal tar, naptha, turpentine, and wood spirit.
In the accompanying Drawing my several improved. arrangements, of
apparatus are shewn in sectional elevation. Fig. 1 represents the improved
apparatus; wherein steam is employed to assist in the distillation of coal
tar, naptha, turpentine, and wood spirit. A is the vessel or chamber which
-receives the crude spirit, to be distilled; Bis the apparatus in which it is
rectified;,C is a tank from, which the crude spirit is pumped into the chamber
A; and D, is a boiler for supplying the vessel A with steam. through the
pipe a. The interior of the chamber: A is furnished with a series of horizontal
.partitions or trays b, which are pierced through, and they are each provided
with a pendant, pipe c to conduct the crude liquor down from tray to tray, in
order, that it may cover the upper surfaces of the trays and present an extended
surface to the upper current of steam,, which prevents its in a great degree
from-descending through,the perforations in the trays; d,. d,,d, is, a serpentine
pipe connected with the pump of the spirit tank C, and passing through,the
chamber of the apparatus B. to be heated; thence, it is, continued to: the
chamber A, for the purpose of supplying that chamber with the crude spirit.
The steam from the boiler D percolating upwards through the pierced trays or
'partitions will volatilize the-crude spirit and carry it over into the chamber B
through, the pipe c, where it will ascend through perforated trays similar to
those in the chamber A, until it arrives at the part where the coiled pipe f
is situated... This pipe is, intended to regulate the heat, so that the vapor, of
the spirit only may ascend, the condensed steam and aqueous portion of the
crude spirit falling to the refuse tank E, A tank F, for a similar purpose, is

page_text: provided beneath, the chamber A; and they are each furnished with.cocks or
other suitable contrivances for drawing off the waste liquor. g is a 'small
cistern" immediately above the pipef, and connected with the lower chamber
by an open pipe for the passage upward of the volatile. spirit. This cistern g
is provided with a steam pipe h; through which steam circulates to heat tho.
oil, tallow, or other: 'grease contained in.the' cistern to about 230°. Fahrenheit.
i is a pump for; forcing up the fat' or 'oil into à tuberk, which is perforated at.
bottom and filled with charcoal or other suitable. porous. substance. The fat
or oil percolates: through this tube, and is then conducted to a tube k¹,
similarly provided, through which it descends to the cistern 9: The .partitions
which support these tubes are furnished with pendant escape pipes to carry
down the grease in case of too great a supply being forced up by the pump.
The spirit rising ast-above stated into the cistern g; and having no other exit
therefrom, passes up through the charcoal or other porous substance in the:
several tubes k, and meets with the descending hot liquid fat or oil, whereby
it is rectified or cleansed, and is in a fit state to enter the top compartment
of the chamber: B.. It is hero liquefied by the refrigerating pipe l, and is carried
off into the condenser G by the pipe m. .n, n,an³, are thermometrical
arrangements for ascertaining the internal temperature at the parts of the
chamber where they are situate; they consist simply of iron or: copper tubes
passed from the exterior 'to the' interior of the chainber B. and filled with
mercury. On the open part of each of these tubes,. at the outside of the
chamber, a thermometer is placed, and the heat communicated to tho
mercury from the inside will 'be indicated by the respective thermometers.
Instead of the perforated trays b, I sometimes employ charcoal, pumice-
stone or other suitable substance to receive the crude spirit: to be dis-
tilled, and present it to the action of tho ascending. steam; but in such case
the chamber A máy be considérably reduced in height, as a more intimate
mingling of the steam and crude spirit will be effected in a given space than
when perforated trays are used. ⚫
"
The improved arrangement of stills wherein oils or fats, are used for.
rectifying or clearing the spirit under distillation, as shewn at Figures 2, 3,
and 4-A, Fig. 2, is the body of a still containing the crude spirit. B is
a cistern for containing the oil or fat, .and provided with coils .of steam
pipe for heating such substance! C is a tube. perforated "at bottom, and
filled with charcoal or other 'suitable porous substance, similar, to the
tubes, Fig. 1: Note, "instead of thus filling the tube C, and also the
tubes k, I.sometimes insert a pipe (perforated at its sides) within. the tube,.
and place around it diaphragms' of. distended flannel one above the other, on.

page_text: which I put a layer of charcoal or other suitable substance, and thus fill up
the tube C. The hot fat in that case will descend the central perforated pipe,.
and percolating through the flannel and layer of charcoal will eventually find.
its way out at the bottom of the tube C. D is a pump connected with the
cistern B, and intended to force up the heated fat or oil into the tray E,
whence it will flow into the pipe C, and percolate through the porous filling.
substance contained therein. The heat of the furnace acting upon the spirit
in the body of the still, as is well understood, will cause the spirit to volatilize
and enter the cistern B, whence it will escape upwards through the pipe C,.
and there, meeting with the descending oil or 'fat, will be rectified as in the
previous arrangement. The spirit thus rectified is led off by the head F into
the condensing apparatus.
Fig. 3 is a more simple construction of still. The cistern B is placed above
a hollow column or pipe C, which has a perforated bottom, and is filled with:
charcoal or other suitable porous substance. The cistern is brought into
connection with the column C, by a small pipe a, which conveys the liquid
fat or oil to the charcoal. The flow of fat or oil, as will be seen by the
Drawing, is capable of being regulated by a cock. When the vapor of the
crude spirit rises from the body of the still it finds its way upwards through
the column of porous substance, and, while passing upwards, meets the
descending oil with which it becomes mingled, and is thereby purified. The
volatilized spirit is then conducted off by the head or pipe D to the condenser.
The liquid fat or oil, when it has percolated through the charcoal or other
porous substance, falls into the body of the still and mixes with the spirit or
other substance contained therein. By this arrangement of still the heated
oil or fat is made first to act upon the light and purer parts of the oil or
spirit under distillation which rise in vapor; and, secondly, by mixing with.
the contents in the body of the still the remainder is purified.
Another arrangement of apparatus for rectifying spirits, by bringing them
in a volatilized state into intimate contact with heated fats or oils, is repre-
sented at Fig. 4. It consists of a vertical chamber divided into compartments
one above the other, three of which are cisterns for the heated fat or oil, but
the number of these cisterns may vary according to the purity of spirit required
to be obtained. The lower cistern A, I term a trap cistern, because it is
intended to catch the liquid fat that may fall from the upper cisterns and
prevent it from falling into the body of the still in the event of a vacuum being
formed. In this arrangement of still the heated liquid, as well as the vola-
tilized spirit, is carried by pressure upwards through the fat or oil. It first
rises with the vapor through the pipe in the bottom of the cistern A, thence

page_text: the liquid and vapor flow through the bent tube. of the cistern B, the vapor
then rises to the surface of the fat and passes through a similarly bent tube:
in the cistern C, whereby it is submitted to another bath of fat or oil, and so
on through more cisterns containing heated fat or oil, if required, until it
escapes in a rectified state to the compartment D, above. The spirit is
then conducted off to the condenser by a pipe E. The cisterns are kept
heated by steam pipes, and a pump is brought into connection with the cisterns
to carry the fat.or oil to the upper cisterns, in case it should descend through'
the bent pipes. Gauge pipes extending outside the chamber from the bottom:
to the top of each cistern must be provided, in order to ascertain the amount
of liquid in each cistern, and these must be furnished with proper cocks to:
regulate the height accordingly; and the same thermometrical arrangement.
is employed, as before described, for the purpose of ascertaining the tem-
perature of the cisterns. The only fatty or greasy substances which I employ
in the process of rectification are all kinds of animal, vegetable; and fish oils
(excepting those known as volatile), tallow, bees'-wax, spermaceti, and also
all kinds of animal and vegetable fatty matter, of these I prefer tallow, linseed, .
rapeseed, spermaceti, and olive oil. The advantages in applying these sub-
stances in the way I have stated are effectiveness and economy, as there is no
waste of material and a small quantity suffices. Beyond this, the oil and
fatty matter, when no longer fit for the purposes of rectification, are valuable
for the purpose of soap making, lubricating machinery, and for common paint-:
ing purposes, where linseed, rapeseed, or some suitablo oil has been used. In.
the distillation of turpentine from the raw material this process is peculiarly
valuable, as by means of the still above described the spirituous part is brought:
of by one distillation very pure, and the resinous product is in no way inter-
fered with. By using linseed oil in the rectification boiled oil is produced in:
the operation, which is more valuable than the raw oil employed.
Fig. 5 represents my improved apparatus, which is more particularly appli-
cable to the rectification of alcoholic spirits and essential oils, but which may
be also applied to the rectification of coal tar, naptha, turpentine, and wood
spirit, if thought desirable. A is the bottom part of the apparatus, which is
to be fixed on to some suitable contrivance for distillation.. B is the reservoir
for receiving the grosser parts of the spirit or oil condensed by the worm C.
D is an orifice that may opened and shut at pleasure by a sliding door or
valve G. E is the upper reservoir for receiving the purer parts of the distilled
liquid condensed by the worm C. H and I are pipes for conveying any uncon-
densed vapor to the proper worms L, L, which conduct the purified spirit or
oil from the apparatus to the ordinary condensers. K₁, K, and K, are ther-

page_text: mometrical arrangements for ascertaining the heat of any required parts of the
apparatus. They are. iron or copper tubes filled with mercury and passing from
the interior to: the. exterior of the apparatus for the purpose' of receiving a
thermometer.at their outer.end. By means of the worm C any required tem-
perature may be maintained, and the purest and lightest parts of the spirit or
oil only will be allowed to pass to the upper réservoir 'E, where it is condensed
by the worm :C: When the purest spirit is worked off; the opening. D'may be
closed, and the remainder may then be condensed. and carried off by the
reservoir B, and thus the upper parts of the apparatus will never become con-
taminated by the impure and grosser" particles, as is now the case in ordinary
distillation:
S
Having now described my Invention," and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not lay exclusive claim to the use.
of the chamber A, Fig. 1; of, the accompanying Drawing, or to the ascending
current of steam in whatever way such means may be applied to the purpose of
distillation; but I claim under the above in part recited Letters' Patent,
"
First, the general arrangement of the apparatus shewn at Fig. 1, whereby
the spirit of coal, tar, naptha, turpentine, and wood spirit, may be first.sub-
mittel in thin strata to the action of steam, and afterwards brought into
intimate contact with heated fats or oils, as above described, for the purpose
of being rectified. And I also claim the employment of charcoal, pumice-
stone, or other porous substance for holding or sustaining streams of spirit, and
presenting them to a current of steam for purification. ..
Secondly, I claim the several arrangements, of stills, shewn at Figures 2, 3,
and 4, or any modification thereof, whereby spirits may be submitted to the
purifying influence of heated oils and fats, in the manner and for the purpose
above mentioned.
.
.
Thirdly, I claim the application and use of the oils and fats above specified
for the purpose of purifying the spirits and oils named; and;
.
Fourthly, I claim the arrangement, of condensing apparatus shewn at
Fig. 5, or any modification thereof, whereby the varying qualities of the vola-
tilized spirit may be separated and condensed in separaté compartments or
chambers without any danger of the lighter or purer portions of the spirit
being contaminated by the coarser portions of the rectified' spirit.
:
In witness whereof, I, the said George Phillips, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
GEORGE (L.s.) PHILLIPS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixteenth day of May,
in the year above mentioned, aforesaid George Phillips came before our Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided.