AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OR EXTRACTING GLYCERINE, LETTERS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of " AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OR EXTRACTING GLYCERINE,
LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OR EXTRACTING GLYCERINE,
ÛLEINE, FATTY MATTERS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM VARIOUS SUBSTANCES
CONTAINING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Marie Charles
ÛLEINE, FATTY MATTERS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM VARIOUS SUBSTANCES
CONTAINING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Marie Charles
Alfred Ruffin, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th November 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OR
EXTRACTING GLYCERING, OLEINE, FATTY MATTERS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM
VARIOUS SUBSTANCES CONTAINING THE SAME." [A communication from abroad
by Marie Charles Alfred Ruffin, of Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to an improved process for separating certain products,
such as glycerine, oleine, fatty matters, and the like, and other products, either.
solid or liquid, from substances with which they are combined, and chiefly from
the residues of certain manufactures.
The essential novel feature of the present Invention is the employment of
centrifugal power combined with a current of gas or steam at a temperature
suitable to ensure the liquefaction of one of the substances if dry or fatty materials
are being treated, or the desiccation of a liquid if the material is combined with
water or other fluid which it is not desired to retain or preserve.
In many cases the materials while it is desired to purify or separate are
composed of crystals which are not readily compressible, or which would be
injured or deteriorated by too severe a pressure; and in such cases the purification
or the separation of the materials has heretofore been effected imperfectly, but
according to the present Invention I am enabled in nearly all cases to entirely
dispense with a press or pressure filter,

page_text: Sometimes moreover that which has to be separated is simply a liquid, and tho
object is the desiccation of a product. The combined action of centrifugal force
and of a current of heated air or dry steam, or preferably superheated steam,
ensures this result under the most favorable conditions, both with respect to time
and cost.
It will thus be seen that this Invention effects the separation of the products or
ingredients in a mixturo at a temperature determined by the circulation of a
current of air or steam, each substance necessitating the existence of a different
temperature, varying according to the nature of the material under treatment.
In the purification of liquefiable matters at a variable temperature it is necessary
to be careful not to exceed the point of fusion of one of the substances, and I will
niention as an example the treatment of substances containing glycerine. In other
cases it is necessary on the contrary to bring the temperature to the point at which
one of the substances will congeal or coagulate, which takes place for example
when stearine is separated from oleine. In other cases it is necessary to bring the
temperature to the highest possible point, as in the desiccation of the cake or
mass which comes from distilleries, and chiefly that proceeding from the distillation
of grain.
As the temperature of the gas has to be varied according to requirements, the
gas itself must be chosen according to the nature of the material to be treated, that
is to say, in some cases I use steam_and_sometimes air. _ Moreover-the-gas-will-be-
admitted into the turbine either inside or outside the basket, or both inside and
outside the same.
The application of the said Invention will naturally vary to some extent,
according to circumstances which will however be clearly understood from the
following examples, viz. :—
The glycerine contained in the bye-products resulting from the manufacture of
soap and stearine has been heretofore partially extracted by means of compression,
but whatever process may have been employed there has always remained a
considerable proportion of glycerine in the residues, which generally contain
carbonate or sulphate of potash, carbonate of soda, chloride of potassium, and
insoluble salts.
To separate the glycerine according to this Invention I place in a turbine of any
kind the above named mixture, which I bring into contact (inside or outside the
basket) with steam at a temperature of about 100°, and the said steam may or
may not be superheated. The glycerine then dissolves, and is expurgated by
centrifugal action, and the salts which I have been careful not to liquify contain
only one half of glycerine and remain within the turbine.
°
After the manufacture of stearine there remains a bye-product comprising a
certain proportion of stearine and of oleine. At a temperature near the congealing
point the stearine becomes coagulated, and forms a kind of crystal extremely fine,
these crystals melting at the slightest change of temperature. Heretofore it has
been the custom to put this product into bags and to allow it to drip. The oleine
became slowly and very imperfectly separated, carrying with it a large proportion
of stearine, so that this material (oleine), which when pure is of considerable value,
was almost worthless, being combined with stearine.
According to the present Invention, in order to obtain the complete separation
of the oleine, I place in a turbine the mixture when the stearine is still in the
crystallized form, and I cause a current of cold air to enter the apparatus. The
oleine is evacuated by centrifugal force, and the stearine, which is then pure or
nearly so, remains in the basket. In many cases, as in this one, where the crystals
are exceedingly small, it will be necessary to use a very fine turbine cloth, or
preferably to furnish the same internally with a piece of felt.
In the melting of tallow all the substances containing the tallow in the form of
fat are put into a boiler and melted with some sulphuric acid, then the mass, which
still contains a slight quantity of fat, has heretofore been taken to a press. I
obtain at once by means of this Invention the desired result by submitting these

page_text: products in a turbino to a current of steam, as above described, the temperature
being sufficiently raised to melt the fat.
The cake or substance coming from a distilling column is dirty and semi-fluid.
Heretofore it has generally been taken to a filtering press or pressure filter, from
which it comes, still containing 75% of water. It is then dried as well as is
possible in ovens, but it still contains a considerable proportion of water, that is to
say, from 20% to 25%.
°
According to my Invention however I put this material into a turbine and
introduce heated air or steam at a high temperature, and preferably superheated.
The water, which is not expurgated by centrifugal force, is evaporated by the
steam, and the substance is in a complete state of dryness. In this case also the
employment of a very fine cloth or of felt in the turbine is indispensable.
It will be obvious from the above examples that this Invention is capable of
being applied to various products by suitably varying the temperature of the
current of the gas or steam employed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Scal Patent Office on the
10th May 1882.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OR
EXTRACTING GLYCERINE, OLEINE, FATTY MATTERS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM
VARIOUS SUBSTANCES CONTAINING THE SAME." A communication from abroad
by Marie Charles Alfred Ruffin, of Paris, France.
This Invention relates to an improved process for separting certain products,
such as glycerine, oleine, fatty matters, and the like, and other products, either
solid or liquid, from substances with which they are combined, and chiefly from the
residues of certain manufactures.
The essential novel feature of the present Invention is the employment of
centrifugal force combined with a current of gas or steam at a temperature suitable
to ensure the liquifaction of one of the substances if dry or fatty materials are
being treated, or the desiccation of a liquid if the material is combined with water
or other fluid which it is not desired to retain or preserve.
In many cases the materials which it is desired to purify or separate are composed
of crystals, which are not readily compressible, or which would be injured or
deteriorated by too severe a pressure, and in such cases the purification and the
separation of the materials has heretofore been effected imperfectly, but according
to the present Invention I am enabled in nearly all cases to entirely dispense with
a press or pressure filter.
Sometimes, moreover, that which has to be separated is simply a liquid, and the
object is the desiccation of a product. The combined action of centrifugal force
and of a current of heated air or dry steam, or preferably super-heated steam,
ensures this result under the most favorable conditions both with respect to time
and cost.
It will thus be seen that this Invention effects the separation of the products or
ingredients in a mixture at a temperature determined by the circulation of a
current of air or steam, each substance necessitating the existence of a different
temperature, varying according to the nature of the material under treatment.
In the purification of liquefiable matters at a variable temperature it is
necessary to be careful not to exceed the point of fusion of one of the substances,
and I will mention as an example the treatment of substances containing
glycerine. In other cases it is necessary, on the contrary, to bring the temperature
to the point at which one of the substances will congeal or coagulate, which takes
place, for example, when stearine is separated from oleine. In other cases it is
necessary to bring the temperature to the highest possible point, as in the desiccation
of the cake or mass which comes from distilleries, and chiefly that proceeding from
the distillation of grain.
gas
As the temperature of the gas bas to be varied according to requirements, the
itself must be chosen according to the nature of the material to be treated, that
is to say, in some cases I use steam and sometimes air or other gas. Morever, the
gas will be admitted into the turbine either inside or outside the basket or both
inside and outside the same.
The application of the said Invention will naturally vary to some extent
according to circumstances, but will however be clearly understood from the
following examples, viz. :-
The glycerine contained in the bye-products resulting from the manufacture of
soap and stearine has been heretofore partially extracted by means of compression,

page_text: but whatever process may have been employed there has always remained a
considerable proportion of glycerine in the residues, which generally contain
carbonate or sulphate of potash, carbonate of soda, chloride of potassium, and
insoluble salts.
To separate the glycerine according to this Invention I place in a turbine of any
kind the above named mixture, which I bring into contact (inside or outside the
basket) with steam at a temperature of about 100° Centigrado, and the said steam
may or may not be superheated. The glycerine then dissolves and is expurgated
by centrifugal force, and the salts, which I have been careful not to liquefy, contain
only one half per cent. of glycerine and remain within the turbine.
After the manufacture of stearine there remains a bye-product, comprising a
certain proportion of stearine and of oleine. At a temperature near the congealing
point the stearine becomes coagulated and forms extremely fine crystals, which
imelt at the slightest change of temperature. Heretofore it has been the custom to
put this product into bags and to allow it to drip. The oleine became slowly and
very imperfectly separated, carrying with it a large proportion of stearine, so that
this material (oleine), which when pure is of considerable value, was almost
worthless, being combined with stearine.
According to the present Invention, in order to obtain the complete separation
of the oleine I place in a turbine the mixture when the stearine is still in the
crystallized form, and I cause a current of cold air to enter the apparatus. The
oleine is evacuated by centrifugal force, and the stearine, which is then pure or
nearly so, remains in the basket. In many cases, as in this one, where the crystals
are exceedingly small, it will be necessary to use a very fine turbine cloth, or
preferably to furnish the same internally with a piece of felt.
It is well known that in the distillation of tar amongst other products are
obtained heavy oils containing in suspension a certain quantity of anthracene. By
submitting these oils to a very high pressure only a fatty and pasty material is
obtained containing from thirty to forty per cent. of anthracene. In the
application of the said Invention to the separation of anthracene I subject it to
the combined action of centrifugal force and a suitable temperature. For this
purpose, in any kind of turbine provided with a cover I place the anthraceno
either in a pasty or liquid state. After rotation for some minutes the oil in excess
is expurgated and there only remains in the apparatus a fatty matter analogous to
that obtained by the means hitherto employed. I then introduce into the turbine
at the inside and outside of the basket a current of steam or of heated air, which
should have a temperature of 100° Centigrade or more, and the oil is slowly
liquefied and expurgated by the centrifugal force. The degree of purity of the
anthracene remaining in the turbine naturally varies according to the temperaturo
maintained and the length of time during which the substance is treated in the
turbine.
The advantages possessed by this process are the rapid and economic extraction
of the heavy oils and other liquefiable materials, the cheap production of a pure
article, and a saving of from sixty to seventy per cent. in the transport of the
material, as the oil is of no value and the anthracene is only purchased according
to its quality.
I may modify the details of the operation above described according to the
degree of purity desired and the composition or nature of the products to be
treated.
In the treatment of tallow as heretofore practised all the substances containing
the tallow in the form of fat are put into a boiler and melted with some sulphuric
acid; then the mass, which still contains a slight quantity of fat, is taken to a
press. According to the said Invention I obtain at once the desired result by
submitting these products in a turbine to a current of steam, as above described,
the temperature being sufficiently raised to melt the fat.
The cake or substance coming from a distilling column is dirty and semi-fluid.
Heretofore it has generally been taken to a filtering-press or pressure-filter, from

page_text: which it comes still containing seventy-five per cent. of water. It is then dried
as well as possible in ovens, but it still contains a considerable proportion of water,
say, from twenty to twenty five per cent.
According to the said Invention, however, I put this material into a turbine and
introduce heated air or steam at a high temperature, and preferably superheated.
The water which is not expurgated by centrifugal force is evaporated by the
steam or heated air, and the substance is then in a dry state. In this case
also the employment of a very fine cloth or of felt in the turbine is
indispensable.
It will be obvious from the above examples that this Invention is capable of
being applied to various products by suitably varying the temperature of the
current of the gas or steam employed, and a process is thus obtained by which the
separation of certain materials can be effected more completely than has heretofore
been done.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,-
The employment of centrifugal force in combination with a current of air or
other gas or steam for the purpose of separating glycerine, oleine, anthracene, fatty
matters, and other solid or liquid products, from substances with which they are
_combined and from the residues.or_bye_products.of manufactures, all substantially
in the manner set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.