AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS OF PURIFYING OIL AND FATTY * MATTERS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the firm of Haseltine Lake
& C°, Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings London for an Invention of.
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS OF PURIFYING OIL AND FATTY *
MATTERS " Communicated to him from abroad by Emile Stanislas Dangivillé,
of Paris France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th December 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS
OF PURIFYING OIL AND FATTY MATTERS [A communication to him from abroad
by Emile Stanislas Dangivillé, of Paris France]
"
Oils obtained from the olive, the sesamum, the arachis and similar plants present
great differences of quality, and consequently of value, according to the method
employed for their extraction. Oils obtained by pressure in a cold state are of good
quality, but of a very considerable first cost by reason of the small proportion of oil
obtained; these oils are reserved exclusively for use as food and as a luxury. By
pressure in a hot state a much greater quantity of oil is extracted from the oleaginous
seed but it is of inferior quality and of much less value than that obtained as above
stated, and a great part of it can only be employed for lighting purposes and for
the manufacture of soap.
The object of the improved process of purification hereinafter described is to
increase the value of the oils of low quality above referred to, by depriving them of
the coloring matter, the odorous essential oils, and the glucosides and nitrogenous
substances which depreciate them. I obtain this result as follows, that is to say,
the oil to be purified is placed in a vacuum-pan similar to those employed in the
manufacture of sugar. A quantity of solution of caustic soda or caustic potash,
about equal in volume to the oil, is then added. This solution contains from 0.25
to 1.50 per cent of alkali, according to the greater or less impurity of the oil. A
vacuum is then created in the pan by means of appropriate pumps, and a rapid
ebullition of the mass is caused by the introduction of steam into the serpentine
Din A171

page_text: pipe. As the water contained in the vacuum-pan distils, it is replaced by the
regular and continuous introduction of a corresponding quantity of water, in such
a manner that there is always in the apparatus a volume of water equal to that of
the oil. The condensation of the vapors can be effected by direct injection of water
as in the majority of apparatuses for evaporating in a vacuum.
To attain a perfect purification it is indispensable, more particularly for certain
delicate oils and oils which are easily liable to injury or alteration, that the tem-
perature of ebullition in the vacuum pan should not rise above from thirty-five to
forty degrees centigrade. The air-pump should therefore be powerful enough and
of a construction sufficiently perfect to arrive at this result.
The duration of ebullition in the vacuum pan varies considerably according to
the nature of the oil to be purified; whilst certain oils are completely deprived of
their volatile essences by the distillation of ten times their weight of water, other
oils, which are very impure, require as much as twenty five times. The operation
is completed when the water which distils has no longer any odour.
As it comes out of the apparatus the mass of water and oil is strongly treated
with an emulsion and is conducted into reservoirs where it is left to clarify. After
standing for about twenty four hours the alkaline liquid is drawn off to be decom-
posed in a heated state by a slight excess of sulphuric acid to liberate the fatty
acids which it contains and which may serve for the manufacture of soap. The oil
floating upon the alkaline liquid which has been drawn off is washed two or three
times with water at about thirty degrees centigrade and then placed in reservoirs
to clarify.
The mode of purification above described is applicable not only to oil obtained
from seeds, but to all fatty matters generally of animal or vegetable origin.
For certain fatty matters slightly charged with impurities, carbonated alkaline
solutions can be employed, instead of caustic alkaline solutions.
The apparatus employed for effecting this purification can be modified in various
manners according to the importance of the manufacture and other circumstances.
The object of employing the vacuum is to enable me to effect the liberation of
steam designed to extract the odorous volatile essential oils at a sufficiently low
temperature to prevent injury to the fatty matters operated upon. The conden-
sation of the vapours can be effected either by direct injection of cold water or by
employing a surface-condenser. The heating can be effected either by means of a
serpentine pipe or by direct injection of steam. Two or three apparatuses can be
connected together for working with double or triple effect like the multiple
evaporating apparatuses employed in the manufacture of sugar.
All these arrange-
ments are independent of the principles of the process itself, and the adoption of
one or the other will depend upon economical considerations which for purifying
certain fatty matters of little value, will render preferable an installation rather
costly as regards material, but requiring only a small quantity of fuel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent tiled
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th June 1883.
PROCESS OF
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co Patent Agents,
< AN IMPROVED METHOD OR
Southampton Buildings, London
PURIFYING OIL AND FATTY MATTERS A communication to me from abroad by
Emile Stanislas Dangivillé of Paris, France
"
Oils obtained from the olive, the sesamum, the arachis and similar plants present
great differences of quality, and consequently of value, according to the method or
process employed for their extraction. Oils obtained by pressure in a cold state
are of good quality, but of a very considerable first cost by reason of the small
proportion of oil obtained; these oils are reserved exclusively for use as food and as
a luxury. By pressure in a hot state a much greater quantity of oil is extracted
from the oleaginous seed, but it is of inferior quality and of much less value than
that obtained by pressure when cold, and a great part of it can only be employed
for lighting purposes and for the manufacture of soap.
The object of the improved method or process of purification hereinafter described
is to increase the value of the oils of low quality above referred to, by depriving
them of the coloring matter, the odorous essential oils, the glucosides, and the
nitrogenous substances which depreciate them.
To obtain this result I proceed as follows, that is to say :-I place the oil to be
purified in a vacuum-pan similar to those employed to boil grains in the manu-
facture of sugar.
A quantity of solution of caustic soda or caustic potash, about
equal in volume to the oil, is then added. This solution contains from 0.25 to 1.50
per cent of alkali according to the greater or less impurity of the oil. A vacuum is
then created in the pan by means of appropriate pumps, and a rapid ebullition of
the mass is caused by the introduction of steam into the serpentine pipe. As the
water contained in the vacuum-pau distils, it is replaced by the regular and
continuous introduction of a corresponding quantity of water, in such a manner that
there is always in the apparatus a volume of water equal to that of the oil. The
condensation of vapors can be effected by direct injection of water as in the majority
of apparatuses for evaporating in a vacuum.
To obtain a perfect purification it is indispensable, more particularly for certain
delicate oils and oils which are easily liable to alteration, that the temperature of
ebullition in the vacuum-pan should not rise above from thirty-five to forty degrees
centigrade. The air-pump should therefore be powerful enough, and of a construction
sufficiently perfect, to arrive at this result.
The duration of ebullition in the vacuum-pan varies considerably according to
the nature of the oil to be purified; whilst certain oils are completely deprived of
their volatile essences by the distillation of ten times their weight of water, other
oils which are very impure require the distillation of as much as twenty five times
their weight of water. The operation is completed when the water which distils
has no longer any odour.
As it comes out of the apparatus the mass of water and oil is strongly agitated
and conducted into reservoirs where it is left to clarify. After standing for about
twenty-four hours, the alkaline and aqueous liquid is drawn off to be decomposed
in a heated state by a slight excess of sulphuric acid to liberate the fatty acids
which it contains and which may serve for the manufacture of soap. The oil
floating upon the alkaline and aqueous liquid which has been drawn off is washed
two or three times with water at about thirty degrees centigrade and is then placed
in reservoirs to clarify.

page_text: The mode of purification above described is applicable not only to oil obtained
from seeds but to all fatty matters generally, whether of animal or vegetable
origin.
For certain fatty matters slightly charged with impurities, carbonated alkaline
solutions may be employed instead of caustic alkaline solutions.
The apparatus employed for effecting this purification can be modified in various
manners according to the importance of the manufacture and other circumstances.
The only object of employing the vacuum, is to enable me to effect the liberation
of steam, designed to extract the odorous volatile essential oils, at a sufficiently low
temperature to prevent any alteration of the fatty matters operated upon. The
condensation of the vapours can be effected either by direct injection of cold water,
or by employing a surface-condenser. The heating can be effected either by means
of a serpentine pipe or by direct injection of steam. Two or three apparatuses can
be connected together for working with double or triple effect like the multiple
evaporating apparatuses employed in the manufacture of sugar. All these arrange-
ments are independent of the principles of the process itself, and the adoption of
one or the other will depend upon economical considerations, which, for purifying
certain fatty matters of little value, will render preferable an installation rather
costly as regards material, but requiring only a small quantity of fuel.
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 understood
that I claim.
The above described method or process of purifying oil and fatty matters by the
employment of alkaline solution combined with a continuous liberation of steam at
a low temperature in a vacuum, substantially as setforth, in order to dissolve the
foreign matters and volatilize the essential odorous oils, and thus improve the quality
and value of the oil or fatty matter.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twenty-seventh day of June in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
THE