IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING AND BLEACHING. MINERAL OILS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Augustus Barrow, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Drysalter and Commission Agent,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING AND BLEACHING.
MINERAL OILS."
Sealed the 23rd November 1869, and dated the 27th May 1869..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Augustus
Barrow at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th May 1869.
I, FREDERICK AUGUSTUS BARROW, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Drysalter and Commission Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING
OR BLEACHING MINERAL OILS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the purifying or bleaching of mineral
oils in a simple and economical manner, and it consists in exposing the
oil in a shallow and slowly flowing layer or stream to the action of direct
sunlight or diffused daylight.

page_text: The Invention may be conveniently carried out by means of a long
shallow trough of any convenient material not acted on by the oil, such
trough being placed at a slight inclination so that the oil poured into
its upper end may flow slowly and steadily to the other end, and
occupy as much time in doing so as is necessary for the action of the
light. The duration of the flow may be regulated to suit different inten-
sitics of light or different qualities of oil by adjusting the inclination of
the trough, or strips of wood or other material may be placed across the
trough to act as weirs and retard the flow. The action may also be
regulated by varying the depth of the flowing liquid, a suitable depth in
ordinary cases being about a quarter of an inch. The trough may or
may not be covered with glass according to circumstances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick Augustus Barrow in the Great Scal
Patent Oflice on the 25th November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
AUGUSTUS BARROW, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Drysalter and Commission Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by ler
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Hler heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Frederick Augustus Barrow, Her
special licence that I, the said Frederick Augustus Barrow, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Frederick Augustus Barrow, 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 terin 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 PURIFYING OR BLEACHING
MINERAL OILS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Frederick Augustus Barrow, 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

page_text: 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 Frederick Augustus Barrow, 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 in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for its object the purifying or bleaching of
mineral oils in a simple and economical manner, and consists in exposing
the oil in a shallow and slowly flowing layer or stream to the action of
direct sunlight or of diffused daylight.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet
of explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing
a convenient modification of apparatus by means of which my improve-
ments may be carried out.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section and Figure 2 is a transverse
vertical section of the apparatus, which consists of a long shallow
trough 1, which may be made of any convenient material not acted on
by the oil, and which in this example is supposed to be made of tinned
sheet iron supported by and enclosed in a wooden framework 2. The
trough 1 is divided into a series of sections by small weirs 3 formed
across it, the part following each weir being set at a slightly lower
level than the immediately preceding part. The parts between the
weirs are represented as being very slightly inclined, but they may be
perfectly level. The trough is covered with a glazed framework 4 for
the purpose of protecting the oil from rain and dust, the top frames being
removable in fine weather. A space 5 is enclosed under the trough
through which steam or hot water pipes 6 are led for the purpose of
applying a gentle heat in cold weather in order that the oil may flow
freely, to which end its temperature should not be allowed to fall below
60 degrees Fahrenheit. The oil to be purified is led in by a pipe 7 at
the upper end of the trough, and first runs into a distributing box 8
placed across the end of the trough, and having a series of perforations
along its front through which the oil flows, and is spread uniformly
across the width of the trough. The rate of flow is easily regulated

page_text: by adjusting the stop-cock of the supply pipe 7, and should in general
be such that the stream of oil may be about a quarter of an inch in
depth; but the best rate at any particular time will depend upon the
intensity of the light and the condition of the oil, and must be regu-
lated accordingly. The purified oil is drawn off by a pipo 9 at the lower
end of the trough.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but
that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
purifying or bleaching of mineral oils by exposing them in a shallow
and slowly flowing layer or stream to the action of direct sunlight or of
diffused daylight, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Augustus Barrow, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-nine.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
F. A. BARROW. (L.S.)