IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING PURIFIED OR REFINED OILS, AND IN OBTAINING OIL CAKES AND FOOTS USEFUL FOR SOAP MAKING
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Anthony Pols at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th June
1864.
I, JOHN ANTHONY POLS, of Saint Martin Street, Leicester Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Oil Refiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING PURIFIED OR REFINED OILS, AND
IN OBTAINING OIL CAKES AND FOOTS USEFUL FOR SOAP MAKING," to be as
follows:-
When cotton seed is the substance to be operated on it is first crushed by
iron cylinders, afterwards pressed by iron presses, by which means rough oil
of a dark colour is obtained, and also a cake, which is excellent food for
cattle.
The method of refining the oil is as follows:-I take of the rough cotton
seed oil above mentioned, say, 100 parts, and mix therewith, say, 12 parts of
a solution containing Montreal potash, salts of tartar, and lime water, which
solution may be composed as follows:-100 gallons of Montreal potash
dissolved in boiling water to the strength of 42 degrees Beaumé, 5 gallons of
salts of tartar of the strength of 42 degrees Beaumé, and a solution of lime
water of the strength of 10 degrees Beaumé, so as to form a mixture or mixed

page_text: solution of the strength of 36 degrees Beaumé. This I mix with the oil hot,
that is to say, nearly boiling, so that the oil will be thoroughly liquified. I
stir up the same for two hours, and then let it stand for 24 hours, when the
oil will be free from its dark color, and the pale oil thus obtained will be
ready for filtering. After I have filtered and drawn off nearly all the oil a
foots and some oil is obtained. This I mix with a strong solution of salt
water (say) 10 gallons of salt water to every 100 gallons of foots, and then
boil it for 2 hours. The oil will rise to the surface and separate from the
foots, and by exposing this foots to a cold temperature it becomes solid and
free from the salt water. This foots can be made into a good soap in the
ordinary manner. My filters are made of galvanized iron or wood, each of
about one-third of a tun in capacity. I place in each filter, at about three
inches from its bottom, a false bottom perforated with holes. On this false
bottom I place first some dry straw and then a piece of cotton, and cover this
with six inches deep of good dry coarse salt, which is again covered with a
piece of cotton. The filters are kept in a warm room at a temperature of
from 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The tap for drawing off the oil is
placed between the false and real bottoms of the filter one inch from the
true bottom. The oil filtered off by these means will be quite bright, having
a good taste and smell, and fit for mixing with colza oil, or for preserving
purposes.
To make a good edible oil I treat the refined oil as follows:-I mix
100 gallons of the oil with 6 gallons of the before-mentioned mixture of
Montreal potash, salts of tartar, and lime water, stir it up for one hour, and
then let it stand for 24 hours. Then I filter it and mix a few drops of
éssence of bitter almonds with it, and it will then be a fine salad oil, as the
essence takes off the smell and taste completely. After the oil is filtered and
drawn off a white foots will be obtained, which can be sold as a soft soap, or
can be made into a solid soap in the ordinary manner, as in the case of the
dark foots before mentioned.
Another method, which I can also use for removing the taste and smell
from the refined cotton seed oil, is by first washing it, and then mixing there-
with a small quantity of glacial acetic acid.
I refine cod liver oil by mixing to every 100 parts of oil 5 parts of the
before-mentioned mixture of Montreal potash, salts of tartar, and lime water.
I stir this up for one hour, then let it stand for 24 hours, and then filter it.
Two ounces of essence of bitter almonds added to every 100 gallons of oil
will completely take off the disagreeable taste and smell without destroying

page_text: the purity of the oil. After I have crushed castor oil seed by the same
process as the cotton seed, I mix with every 100 gallons of oil two ounces
of essence of bitter almonds, and the oil will then be tasteless and free from
smell.