A NEW PROCESS IN THE TREATMENT OF CONCRETE FATTY ACIDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES CALLED STEARINE CANDLES.
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Adolphe de Milly, of 19, Rue de Calais,
Paris, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "A NEW PROCESS IN THE
TREATMENT OF CONCRETE FATTY ACIDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
CALLED STEARINE CANDLES.'
Sealed the 23rd November 1866, and dated the 15th June 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Adolphe de Milly
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th June 1866.
I, LOUIS ADOLPHE DE MILLY, of 19, Rue de Calais, Paris, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW PROCESS IN THE
TREATMENT OF CONCRETE FATTY ACIDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES CALLED
STEARINE CANDLES," " to be as follows:-
It is well known that fatty bodies to be used for the manufacture of candles
are previously converted into fatty acids, which conversion is indispensable.
Fatty acids may be classed under two distinct heads. The first class contains
fatty acids obtained by the saponification of fatty matters by means of alkalies,
effected either in the open air or in closed vessels at a pressure of several
atmospheres. The second class comprises fatty acids produced by the action

page_text: Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW PROCESS IN THE TREATMENT OF
CONCRETE FATTY ACIDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES CALLED "STEARINE
CANDLES," " upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Louis
Adolphe de Milly, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in.
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Louis Adolphe de Milly, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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).:-
. It is a well-known fact that fatty bodies intended for candle manufacturing
are to be previously converted into fatty acids, which conversion or trans-
formation is indispensable. Fatty acids may be divided in two distinct
categories, the one comprising the fatty acids resulting from the saponification
of fatty matters by alkalies, whether this saponification takes place in open or
closed vessels under a pressure of several atmospheres, & the other com-
prising fatty acids resulting from the action of sulphuric acid on fatty bodies,
whether said acid is concentrated or diluted with water. Fatty acids per-
taining to the first category being submitted to strong pressures both in the cold
and heated states are separated from the liquid part and made to attain the
bleaching degree required for the manufacturo of candles. Fatty acids per-
taining to the second category have already assumed the black or amber color
after being treated by sulphuric acid, either concentrated or diluted, but in
either case there does not exist any other means of bleaching them but sub-
mitting them to a distilling process by means of superheated steam. In the
present state of trade the fatty acids resulting from sulphuric saponification
are first bleached by the distilling process and then submitted to pressures
which insulate the solid acids from the liquid part. The mode of fabrication
by distilling presents over the alkaline saponification some advantages, viz.,
the possibility of using almost all fatty matters and obtaining a larger product
of solid matters for candle manufacturing, but these advantages are more than
counteracted by the inferiority of the products obtained by the danger of fire
inherent to distillation and various other inconveniences resulting from too
high a temperature which the fatty matters and the apparatus made use of are
to undergo. I endeavoured to free the stearic trade from such inconveniences,
and directed chiefly my investigations towards that black matter which pollutes,

page_text: fatty bodies treated by sulphuric acid. The end I pursued in doing so was to
insulate this matter so as to place the fatty acids in such positions as they could
by pressures be at once separated from the liquid matter and bleached. By
dint of persevering efforts I was able to ascertain that the said black matter is
composed of two distinct parts, the one solid and carbonaceous insoluble in
fatty bodies, and the other, which may be considered as a solid acid, into a fatty
body. I soon was made aware that if in saponifying fats by sulphuric acid I
was enabled to prevent or sensibly diminish the production of the carbonaceous.
matter it would then be easy to clear by combined pressures the fatty acids
from the black soluble matter.
On reviewing the various processes in use for the sulphuric saponification I
could remark that by regulating suitably the proportion of sulphuric acid the
temperature and the time that an operation is to last I should be able to
obtain fatty acids of deep brown, rather than black color, and containing but
a trifling quantity of the carbonaceous matter, the production of which should
be carefully prevented. Good results are obtained by treating, for instance,
fatty bodies with 4 per cent. of sulphuric acid at 660° and a temperature of.
220 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, the operation lasting about six hours;
fatty bodies treated as above said being submitted to pressures made accurately
in the cold and hot states will produce solid acids very hard, brittle, and white
as snow. The oleic acid separated by the various pressures contains the
black matters. Now the bleaching is to be effected by distillation, which will
be the easier as the process has to be applied only to a residue, the valuo of
which is unimportant when compared to that of the stearic acid.
From the above Specification I may conclude that the bleaching of concrete
fatty acids obtained under the influence of sulphuric acid is no longer
problematical, nor does it require any distilling so far as the two following
conditions are realized :-
First, producing the separation of the fatty matter into glycerine and fatty
acids by a treatment with sulphuric acid, & by causing a proportionate
variation in the temperature in the time which the operation is to last, and
in the proportion of sulphuric acid used, so as to avoid as much as possible
the production of carbonaceous matters by which the products are tinted.
Secondly, applying to fatty acids obtained as described, the action of
pressures in the cold and hot states as practised in works.
New experiments led me to modify the mode of operating on fatty bodies
with the view of separating easily the liquid matter from the solid matter and
bleaching the latter. I mix together two parts of tallow or grease & one
part of palm oil; I heat them at a temperature of 248 degrees Fahrenheit,

page_text: & introduce into them six per cent. of sulphuric acid, which introduction
lasts for 4 hours. The two substances running together fall into a tub, where
they are washed immediately with a little quantity of boiling water. A second
washing must be operated in a second tub with pure water; this being done
the fatty acids are moulded into cakes, which when cold must be pressed
once & afterwards pressed in a hot press. After the hot pressure the
matter is to be melted in pure water in the usual way, & re-moulded into
cakes; these cakes are hot-pressed again, & become hard & as white as
snow..
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, & the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be distinctly understood
that what I claim as my Invention is the combination of the following con-
ditions,―
First, a perfect saponification with sulphuric acid.
Second, no production of carbonaceous matter or hardly any.
Third, a proper mixture of tallow or grease with palm oil, so as to obtain
such a degree of crystallisation that the black matter soluble in the oil may be
easily separated.
Fourth, the employment of cold & hot pressure directly applied to
black fatty acids. This combination was never practised in works & is new.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Adolphe de Milly, bave hereunto.
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred & sixty-six.
L. A. DE MILLY. (L.S.)