AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING OLEAGINOUS OK FATTY MATTERS FROM LIQUID OR SOLID SUBSTANCE
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Gordon Thompson, of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING OLEAGINOUS
OK FATTY MATTERS FROM LIQUID OR SOLID SUBSTANCEs.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Gordon
Thompson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 3rd January 1873.
I, WILLIAM GORDON THOMPSON, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING
OLEAGINOUS OR FATTY MATTERS FROM LIQUID OR SOLID SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to separate oleaginous and fatty matters
from various substances with which they may be combined, so that such
oily or fatty matters when separated may be applied for various purposes
in the arts.

page_text: I have sometimes found that oily or fatty matters are contained in
solid substances of so hard a texture that solvents of grease are incapable
of getting at the greasy matters, or that the greasy matters have entered
into combination with other substances so that the solvents have
little power over them. In order therefore to bring the substances into
a fit state to be acted upon by the solvent I first subject them to the
action of nitro-sulphuric acid by dipping the substances therein, or by
sprinkling the acid over them. This preliminary action of the acid I
find materially assists the subsequent operation of the solvent. The solid
substances having been thus prepared are placed in a vessel or retort
which is then filled with petroleum or other suitable hydrocarbon. By
the application of heat the hydrocarbon will dissolve the fatty matters,
and the liquid can then be run out of the retort or vessel into a filtering
apparatus in order to separate all the solid impurities therefrom. The
filtered liquid may then be run into another retort or still, and upon
being subjected to heat the volatile hydrocarbon will be driven off, and
may be condensed and used over again, while the fatty or oily matter
will be left in the vessel and may be. used for any of the purposes for
which they are applicable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Gordon Thompson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 3rd July 1873.
.. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GORDON THOMPSON, of Manchester, in the County in Lancaster, Manu-
facturing Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Gordon Thompson, Her special
licence that I, the said William Gordon Thompson, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Gordon
Thompson, 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,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING OLEAGINOUS OR FATTY
MATTERS FROM LIQUID OR SOLID SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Gordon Thompson, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals 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 William Gordon Thompson, 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, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
:―
The object of this Invention is to separate oleaginous and fatty matters
from various substances with which they may be combined, so that such
oily or fatty matters when separated may be applied to various purposes
in the arts.
I have sometimes found that oils or fatty matters are contained in
solid substances of so firm and solid a texture that solvents of grease are
incapable of getting at the greasy matters. In other cases the greasy
matters have entered into combination with other substances so that
the solvents have little power over them. In order therefore to bring
the substances into a fit stato to be acted upon by the solvent I first
subject them to the action of nitro-sulphuric acid by dipping the sub-
stances therein or by sprinkling the acid over them. This preliminary
action of the acid I find materially assists the subsequent operation of
the solvent. The solid substances having been thus prepared are placed
in an apparatus which is shewn in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus, Fig. 2 an elevation of the same,
and Fig. 3 is a vertical section. The solid substances to be operated
upon by the solvent having been first treated with nitro-sulphuric acid,
as hereafter explained, are placed in a vessel or cylinder a, two of
which are shewn in the Drawing. When the vessels a are charged with
the fatty matters they are filled with petroleum or other suitable hydro-

page_text: carbon or either. I prefer to use hydrocarbon spirits, owing to their
cheapness, safety, easy manipulation, and their adaptability for working
magma, or oleaginous, or fatty matters derived from the precipitation or
other treatment of soapy waters of every description, or from wool
scouring and fulling operations. The spirit of any suitable hydrocarbon,
such as petroleum, bonzole, benzine, or camphine, is obtained by dis-
tilling the hydrocarbon in the still or cylinder 6 with about an equal
quantity of water, at a temperature of eighty degrees to eighty-five
degrees Fahrenheit by means of a coiled steam pipe c. The hydrocarbon
spirit vapour will rise in the still or vessel b, and will pass up the pipe d
and be conducted to the worm of a condenser e, from whence it descends
to a receiver fready for use.
The heavy hydrocarbon. oil which remains in the still or vessel b after
the spirit has been driven off, may be run off from the bottom of the
vessel, and used for burning or other purposes.
The light hydrocarbon spirit is raised from the receiver f by means of
a pump g, (Figures 1 and 2,) and is conveyed by the horizontal pipe g¹ to
the two cylinders a, a, which contain the magma or other oleaginous
substancc.
By the application of steam which passes through the coil of pipe
shewn by dots in the Drawing, the hydrocarbon spirit will be made to
act more energetically on and dissolve the fatty matters contained in
the magma or other oleaginous substance, and the liquid thus obtained
can then be run out of the cylinder or vessel a through a pipe a¹, and be
conducted into a settling receiver ½ in order to separate all the solid
impurities therefrom. The liquid may then be run off through a pipo
into the retort or still b, and upon being subjected to heat the volatile
hydrocarbon will be driven off into the condenser e, and may be con-
densed and run again into the vessel f, so that it may be used over again
while the fatty or oily matters will be left in the vessel b, and may run
out therefrom and be used for any of the purposes for which they are or
may be applicable.
Hydrocarbons vary in their yield, but on the
one-third of their bulk in the form of spirit.
burning oil, with little liability to spontaneous
used as a substitute for turpentine.
average give off about
The residuum is a fine
combustion, or it may be

page_text: In carrying out my Invention with the assistance of the apparatus
shewn in the Drawing, the material (in the case of solids) to be operated
upon (such as the magma before named) is placed in any suitable vessel,
and nitro-sulphuric acid (newly prepared by mixing equal proportions of
the acids of ordinary or commercial specific gravity) is sprinkled over it
by means of a rosc. Tho mixed acids are added in the proportion of one
gallon of acid to every ton of material. The use of the rose is to ensure
perfect distribution of the acid, and the mass is then allowed to digest
for a few minutes. The material thus prepared is introduced into the
cylinder a through the hopper a at the top, as shown in the Drawing,
and when the charge is complete the hopper is removed and the man-
hole is closed. '
The hydrocarbon spirit, as herein-before named, is driven through the
mass by the aid of the force pump until the solvent shall have cutirely
covered the material, which can be ascertained by means of the gauge i
fixed outside the cylinder, as shewn in Fig. 2.
In order to assist in mixing the spirit with the oleaginous mass I
employ an agitator (shewn by dots in Fig. 2) consisting of four or more
arms which are fixed on the vertical shaft j, and may be provided with
teeth or tincs. The shaft j which extends from top to bottom of the
cylinder a rests in a step at the bottom of the cylinder, and is set in
motion by means of a band passed round the pulley or rigger j' at its
upper end, which passes through a stuffing box. This stirring action
may be continued for an hour, more or less, so as to thoroughly disinte-
grate the solid mass, and enable the solvent to reach and act upon every
portion of the charge. A little heat is applied by means of the steam
coil (shewn by dots in Figures 1 and 2) and is continued for half-an-hour,
or thereabouts, so as to give greater effect to the solvent, but the heat at
no time should exceed eighty degrees of temperature, as it would other-
wise vaporize the spirit and render the process longer than need be.
The cylinders a, a, are made of plate iron three-sixteenths of an inch
thick, and may be used without being enamelled, but the use of a thin
coating of enamel is much to be preferred as the greases and oils will
then be of much lighter color, and there is then no danger of oxidation:
The cylinders a, a, are fitted with test taps a³, a³, and run-off. pipes a¹
fitted with stop-cocks. If on testing the solution after the lapse of an
hour or thereabouts for clearing and settling it should present a bright

page_text: solving out, removing, or separating the oleaginous or fatty matters
contained in or combined with such liquid or solid substances.
Second. I claim the arrangement or combination of apparatus herein
shewn and described, or any mere modification thereof, for extracting
the oleaginous or fatty matters from liquid or solid substances in which
they may be contained, or with which they may be combined.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Gordon Thompson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Third day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
W. G. THOMPSON. (L.S.)