AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BENZINE, LIGHT OIL, AND ANTHRACENE FROM HYDROCARBURES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrè Bresson, Engineer, 10, Dacres Road,
'
Forest Hill, Kent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR
PRODUCING BENZINE, LIGHT OIL, AND ANTHRACENE FROM HYDROCARBURES.
PRODUCING BENZINE, LIGHT OIL, AND ANTHRACENE FROM HYDROCARBURES,
Scaled the 26th May 1876, and dated the 11th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrè Bresson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th December 1875.
I, ANDRE BRESSON, Engineer, 10, Dacres Road, Forest Hill, Kent,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BENZINE, LIGHT OIL, AND ANTHRACENE FROM HYDRO-
'CARBURES," to be as follows:-
-
That in order to obtain the benzine, liglit oil, and anthracene from
such hydrocarbures as creosote oil and others, I employ for choice a
cast-iron retort, or of any other nature such as are employed in gas
works. Along the centre of the base of such retorts at the inner
side I have a ridge rising a few inches, which I call a spine. In the
upper part of these retorts, or in one side, projecting inside, there are
"

page_text: one or more tubes. If I place two then I shall have one on each side,
each terminating in a rose pierced with several small holes. These tubes
pass through hermetically closed orifices in the upper part or sides
of the retort, and if more than one be established they are united on
the outside of the retort in a cock of two ways pierced at right angles.
This cock is the continuation of a tube communicating with the lower
part of a reservoir, placed several feet above, containing the supply of
creosote oil or other hydrocarbure. This cock with the two ways being
so fixed its key or core is turned mechanically but slowly can only
allow the intermittant projection of the hydrocarbures on the floor of
the retort. Now should hydrocarbures, such as creosote oil, be thrown
in small quantities on a red hot surface, they are immediately decom-
posed into common lighting gas, benzine, light oil, and other heavy
hydrocarbures, from which anthracene is extracted; but to this day if
any such liquid be projected on a red hot surface the immersion
immediately depriving it of a part of its caloric it will turn black, and
any such liquid again falling on it in that condition such hydrocarbure
would not be decomposed; thus the result would fail to produce the
desired effect, which failure would occur although the retort is
established in the midst of a furnace, which without such immersion it
would maintain at a red heat.
The intermittent action of the cock with two ways, the core of which
is turned slowly, leisurely sprinkling the hydrocarbures alternately on
different sides of the ridge or spine, will thus afford a sufficient time to
the side recently immersed to become again red hot. The gazeous
vapours will then escape by large tubes through a sort of tubular boiler
under a fixed pressure, by which action the heavy oils and tar are
deposited while the gas and vapors of the benzine and light oil pass
into a tubular condenser, and in this form being condensed are collected
as benzine impure or crude naptha, which is subsequently rectified by
the know processes. Beside the residues of tar, heavy oil and pitch,
there results an important quantity of common gas which can be
utilized either for heating the furnace or for the purpose of lighting.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Andrè Bresson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDRÉ
BRESSON, Engineer, 10, Dacres Road, Forest Hill, Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Andrè Bresson, Her special
licence that I, the said Andrè Bresson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrè Bresson, 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, usc, 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 FOR PRODUCING BENZENE, LIGHT OIL, AND ANTHRACENE FROM HYDRO-
CARBURES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Andrè
Bresson, 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 Andrè Bresson, 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 :-
.
It has long been known in theoretical chemistry that hydrocarbons,
such as creosote oil thrown on a red hot surface, or causing their
vapours to pass through red hot porcelain or other suitable tubes, there
ensues a re-arrangement of their elements, results in common lighting
gas, carbon in the graphite state and liquid light, hydrocarbons, benzine,
and others. To the present time no practical and profitable result has
been obtained, because when the hydrocarbons are projected on red hot

page_text: surfaces they become black, their temperature being at once lowered,
and if in this state the hydrocarbons be again thrown on them they are
no longer decomposed, and then only yield gas which when condensed
yields heavy oils similar to those employed with a trace only of
benzene.
My Invention by its improved method obviates the above recited
failure, and to attain the end for obtaining benzene I adopt the
following system:-In the retorts A, A, A, the numbers that may be
required (I make them in preference of cast iron, though any other
suitable material may be employed), they are very similar to the retorts
employed in the manufacture of gas. The bottoms of them are thicker
than the other parts," they are fixed nearly horizontally on the furnaces
A¹, A¹, A', having a divergence of about 2 inches. These furnaces can
be heated by coke or by the hydrocarbon gas resulting from the
distillation, the gas being mixed with air or by any other combustible.
These retorts A, A, A, are penetrated by 6, 8, 10, or more or less
injection tubes B, B, B, (shewn in detail Fig. 6) the same being
terminated by end pieces drilled with two or more holes in two different
planes.
The tubes of each retort communicate with the principal cistern K,
containing creosote oil by means of pipes L which unite them all.
These feed pipes are closed by intermittent valves C, C, C, (Figs. 4
and 5). They are rendered intermittent by jointing a rod to the spanner
of the cock; on the end of this rod is a friction roller which works on
the cam E; this cam has a single tappet, the rest of the circumference
being concentric with the axis, and is revolved by means of a toothed
wheel E', its pinion C' being driven by any power. As it is arranged
to make about one revolution per minute it will result that the tappet
forming one-fifth of the circumference, the injectors B, B, B, will be
opened for about one-fifth of a minute, projecting for that period their
contents on the red hot bottom of the retort distributed in a sprinkling
shower. While the cam completes its revolution the jets are closed
four-fifths of a minute or thereabouts, the rod being on the concentric.
portion of the cam and therefore at rest, this operation continues and
the jets are again injected about one-fifth of every minute. By this
regulated intermittence of the jets the sprinkled surface recovers its
red hot surface, and the decomposition of the hydrocarbons is regularly
effected. The number of the jets and the frequency of injection can be

page_text: The
varied at pleasure by altering the speed or shape of the cam.
vapours or gases given off during the decomposition of the heavy oils
escape from the retorts by openings similar to those in the retorts.used
in the gas works. These vapours, which are at a very high temperature,
are conducted by pipes D, D, into traps F, F, F, from thence into a
tubular boiler H, with return flues which they heat in the same manner
as a fire. This boiler is filled with water, and is furnished with a safety
valve set at about 36 lbs. pressure per square inch, which maintains its
contents at a temperature of 140° centigrade or 284° Fahrenheit. It results
that all the pitch and heavy hydrocarbons are condensed and flow out
by the syphon I into the cistern J. On the other hand, the light hydro-
carbons, of which the boiling point is below 284°, remain in a state of
vapour mixed with gaseous hydrocarbons; these are conducted by a
large tube M into a powerful tubular condenser N, and well surrounded
and furnished with cold water. The light hydrocarbons and liquids arė
conducted by the syphon O into the cistern O¹. They consist of crude
benzene, or a mixture of benzene, tolnole, xylole, and other products,
which can be rectified by the ordinary processes.
The gaseous hydrocarbons on escaping from the tubular condenser
are conducted by the pipe U, and stored in the gas holder V, from
whence they are led by the pipe X, and serve for heating the furnaces
other purpose.
or any
The pitch and heavy hydrocarbons collected from the tubular boiler
can be again pumped into the reservoir with the fresh creosote oil, and
so be re-decomposed by the same process in the retorts. By redistilling
them in a large still. all that passes up to 560° F. can be mixed with
the heavy oils for re-decomposition, and from all that passes over from
560° to 600° F. a considerable quantity of anthracene can be obtained,
the residue is pitch.
By my Invention and improved method of treating the hydrocarbons
I obtain in large quantities light oil, benzene, anthracene, especially
from creosote oil obtained from the distillation of coal tar, or any
suitable hydrocarbons.
I can at my pleasure substitute for the retort A a series of tubes,
iron (or any other suitable material) to be heated to at least a red heat.
All these tubes will communicate with one end of a heated boiler, into
which the liquid hydrocarbons are distilled. By the other end of the
:

page_text: tubes they will communicate with the conduits D, where the vapors are
condensed as above described. The decomposition is effected as well in
the tubes as on the base of the retort.
I reserve the right of adapting one or more intermittent cocks to
each retort, and of adopting any modification that I may find necessary
in carrying out and employing my improved system of obtaining
benzine, light oil, anthracene, and all other possible products from
hydrocarbons decomposed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrè Bresson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of June, in the year of our 1
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.