MENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING AND, DISINFECTING GREASY AND OILY SUBSTANCES OR MATTERS. BOTH ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty. Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster. the Twenty-second day of February, in the fourth year of
Her reign. did. for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that 1, the said William Newton. my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as 1. the said William Newton, my executors,
administrators. or assigns. should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned
should and lawfully might make, use. exercise. and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. an Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING AND, DISINFECTING
GREASY AND OILY SUBSTANCES OR MATTERS. BOTH ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE,"
being a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said
[Price Sd.]

page_text: Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed. and to cause the same to be inrolled in
Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same. reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso. I, the said
William Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thercon (that is to say):-
The improvements which are the object of the present Invention depend
upon the following facts and observations; but before commencing the descrip-
tion of the Invention, I will observe that all the degrees of temperature
hereafter mentioned refer to the centigrade thermometer.
When fatty substances or matters are exposed to the action of heat, it is
well known that they boil upon arriving at the temperature of one hundred
and twenty degrees centigrade, and which boiling can take place only when all
aqueous particles are expelled. If the fatty substance contains on acid, as
palm oil for example, the boiling operation fakes place between 240° and 260°.
Then there is a true distillation of the matter, and the product disengaged is
a mixture of fatty acids tolerably pure, without the production of the pungent
or sharp smelling oil (acroleine). The boiling, without the piquent or pun-
gent oil, continues until the fat acid, which is found in the matter or body
submitted to the distilling process, is got rid of: then the boiling point is carried
up to 320° or 330°, and it is impossible to distil any more without producing
acroleine. If the operation is then stopped, a fatty body, and which gives out or
possesses a slightly pungent smell. is found in the distilling vessel. This
pungent smell may easily be got rid of by cooling it by the aid of a current of
air or steam. Palm oil. when submitted to this process, generally loses from
one fifth to one sixth of its volume when the above-described phenomena are
produced. If metallic vessels, made of either iron or copper, are used. the
distilled product will be colored by the oxides of these metals, and it is easy
to purity it by boiling it with a solution made of one part of sulphuric acid
mixed with nine parts of water. The oil thus distilled and remaining in the
boiler has lost the yellow colour of palm oil, and takes a grey colour, which

page_text: saponification separates itself easily in the waste leys. It has also completely lost
the smell of palm oil. This smell is partly discovered in the distilled product.
The oil thus operated upon will serve to make colourless and inodorous soap. It
may be remarked that it saponifies immediately that it comes in contact with
the alkaline lessives. The distilled product is formed or consists of fatty acids
mixed with the smelling or odoriferous principle. In this distillation the first
product which passes is richer in solid matter than that which comes at the
end. If the distilled product is rectified by distilling in a vacuum, and the
operation stopped when half the fatty matter is distilled, it will be found that
the portion which remains in the boiler of the distilling apparatus is richer in
solid matter than that which passes in distillation, and that the latter contains
all the smelling or odoriferous part. By this method of successive rectifica-
tions, we can nearly get rid of the smelling principle, and separate the liquid
and solid fatty acid. The oils of seeds and the oil of olives, when submitted
to a temperature of from 225° to 240°, lose their colour, or rather their colour
is altered and diminished in intensity. Then also such oils as have a dis-
agreeable taste and sinell, such as the oil of flax, rape seed, camelina, and
hemp, loose a great part of the smell and bad taste, and they are thereby
rendered more suitable for making soap. The oils of cloves. poppies, and
olives also loose their taste, which sometimes is not necessary, at least for
olive oil. All these oils. heated to their boiling points (that is to say), to from
325° to 340°, the point where they begin to undergo decomposition and
generate the pungent oil, acroleine, undergo a more decided change in their
taste and smell, and their colour, which was lessened between the temperature
2250 and 240°, begins to increase in intensity between 300° and 340°. These
oils thus heated saponify instantly. For the oils of seed intended for burning
I prefer to heat it no higher than 220° or 230°, because they are then more
combustible than when they are heated beyond that temperature. Tallow and
fat submitted to the same process lose their smell and become more suitable
for making an inodorous soap; however they acquire some colour, which
renders them less suitable for making candles. The tallow and fat, however,
loses color very easily by exposure to the light in a damp atmosphere. Fish oils
heated to a temperature of about 330° (that is to say), just to the point when the
pungent oil is generated, and while it is cooling, submitting it to a current of air
or steam, undergo a complete disinfection (that is to say), they become nearly
tasteless or insipid and inodorous, so that soap made of them will never have the
smell characteristic of fish oil. These oils are by this means so far deprived of the
taste of fish that they may be usefully employed for cooking; butter submitted
to the same treatment also loses its smell, and acquires the property producing

page_text: a good inodorous soap with great facility. The fatty matters which are
intended to be heated ought to be separated: (either by decanting or filtration)
from all extraneous matters which they may contain, for these matters may
otherwise increase the colour of the fatty substances which the heated process
may tend to bring forth or increase. As the air contributes to heighten the
colour of fatty substances during the heating process: this inconvenience is
avoided by heating them either in an atmosphere of steami. of hydrogen, of
carbonic acid or other gas, which will not. act prejudicially upon fatty matters.
The same result will be obtained by heating 'them in a vacuum. In the latter
case, it may be remarked, that the, temperature proper for disinfecting, ought
not to be lower than in the air, only if we distil in vacuo, as in the instance of
palm oil, the boiling takes place 15° or 20° under the boiling point in the air;
the same may be said of distilling the fatty acids in vacuo, which tends::to
establish the fact that pressure very little. alters the boiling temperature of
fatty acids. It may also be remarked that the fatty substances or matters
disinfected by heating in vacuo and. cooled in vacuo, are altogether deprived of
the pungent smell which is observed in these substances disinfected under, the
pressure of the atmosphere. and that it is generally got rid of by passing a
current of air or steam through the fatty matters. Thus oil heated in the open
air, then cooled in vacuo, loses all its pungent sinell and becomes; immediately
suitable for making inodorous soap. No fatty or greasy matter.shews in a
greater degree the disinfecting power of heat than fish oil; in fact: if the
healing process is stopped at 300°. or even a little below the point where the
pungent oil is generated (that is to say). 310°; or 315°. an oil is obtained
which has little or no. smell, but it still preserves, a very palpable taste. Soap
made of this oil then is inodorous, but it soon-regains the strong smell of fish
which characterizes the oil, and linen or furniture, that has been washed with
it, although it does not smell at first, a very strong smell of fish will at the
ent of a few days be perceived: The taste of fish does not disappear com-
pletely in the heated oil except at the point of incipient decomposition (that is
to say), at 320° or 330°, and it is at this point only that the oil is really
disinfected: Fish oil-submitted-to-a-current-of ordinary steami, _or_even to a
current of compressed steam. as has been recommended by an, Inventor in a
recent Patent. loses only part of the smell, but does not loose-the matter which
causes the fishy taste, and which appears to be the element that produces the
smell, so that this oil can never be considered as really disinfected, for upon
exposure to the air it recovers its primitive smell, and produces a soap which
soon gives out a fishy smell again. 1 am enabled to completely: disiniceɩ -fish-
oil without heating it to the temperature of 330° by maintaining the oil at

page_text: 250 or 260° and making a current of steam at the same temperature to pass
through. The disinfection will not be complete in less than twelve hours. It
may be remarked that the oil thus treated acquires more color than when heated
to 330° by a continuous apparatus, which will be hereafter described, and at
the same time it contracts a bitter taste and a peculiar smell. The disinfec
tion of fish oil, before being carried as far as the production of the pungent
oil (that is to say). to about 330°, disengages during the operation a certain
quantity of this, oil, which mixes with a little of the fat acid which pre-exists.
in the oil. and which separates from it at from 240° to 330°. There will then
be a loss of two to three per cent.. if this product is not collected during the
operation. The loss arising from getting rid of the water cannot be more than
one half per cent. When cooled by a current of air the disinfected oil is more
brown; it increases in weight, which indicates an oxigenation: it is also then more
suitable for the manufacture of soap than oil that has been cooled naturally by
itself as it produces more easily a soft transparent soap. Fatty substances
acidified by known processes, and especially the oil of tallow obtained from the
manufacture of stearic acid submitted to distillation, even in vacuo, do not
furnish the product so inconveniently as the crude fatty substances (acroleine),
but they furnish considerable quantities of carbonated hydrogen, produced.at
the expense of the fatty matter. By submitting these fatty bodies to a
temperature of from 200° to 330° in a current of steam at the same tem-
perature, the fatty acids distil easily without alteration, but little residuum is
obtained, and without any trace of decomposition. These acid fatty substances.
when distilled in metallic apparatus, carry with them oxides which colour them,
but which may be easily removed, by boiling with a solution of. sulphuric acid.
The fatty substances then acquire a considerable degree of whiteness, and when
submitted to the press a solid acid fat. white, and suitable for making, wax
candles, is produced. Note.-By employing, for the condensation of the distilled
acid fats, worms made of platinum, cr. for greater economy. of fine, silver, these
acids are obtained in a perfect state of purity., which admits of their being
employed without any after treatment. The worms, when made of tin or of
copper tinned. are less liable to colour the acid fats than copper or iron; how
ever, the tin is slightly attacked, and thus it destroys the purity of the fatty acids.
A worm made of pure tin would require, moreover to be kept entirely covered
in the water during the process of distillation. in order to prevent it from
melting, for the acid fats volatilize at a higher temperature than that of
which tin melts. It may be remarked, that in the operation of bleaching, the
carbonated hydrogen is not produced, in fact it is only produced when the
temperature rises to from 310° to 400° and upwards, so that the distillation of

page_text: the fatty acids under a current of steam may take place at 220°, and thus we
avoid the temperature which alters the fatty acids in the ordinary distilling
process, and the purification of the fatty acids by distillation may be carried
much farther. All the fatty matters, not acids, heated to 330°. as we have
explained above, is then submitted to a free current of steam heated to from
200° to 300° are distilled, and after condensation furnish a sort of soapy
emulsion, which is nothing more than a combination of pure acid fats with
water.
This combination is destroyed by exposure to the air, and it
is considerably hastened by heating it to 100°. The whole amount
of acids which the fatty substances will produce are thus obtained by a simple
distillation, and without the intervention of saponification. When the opera-
tion is carried further (that is to say), until, fourteen fifteenths-is distilled, a
blackish residuum is obtained, which appears to be only the glycerine, and
which is not suitable for making soap. It may be found preferable in certain
cases to distil only one half or three fourths of the fatty substance, and to
employ the colored residuum in the manufacture of soap: which may be
deprived of its colour well enough by common salt in, the operation of purify-
ing soap. Fish oil, purified in the ordinary manner by sulphuric acid, is not at
all-deprived of its colour, and it does not acquire by this, process any luminous
qualities surperior to oil which has undergone a good purification by precipi-
tation or filtration. Fish oil, either ordinary or disinfected by heating; is
deprived of its color_by_lime and chalky or aluminous, carths, by operating
upon it at a temperature of from 140° to 150°, then leaving it to settle and
filtering it. The chalk and the lime leave in the oil a calcerous deposit which
is not prejudicial in the manufacture of soap, but which renders it 'less suitable
for burning, even when it has undergone an after treatment by a solution of sul
phuric acid. This inconvenience is however corrected by placing in the filters
hereafter described, a and between the beds or layers of textile fibres. some
layers of solid acids reduced to coarse powder, such acids as tartaric acid, oxalic
acid, or even some acid salts, such as the oxalate of potass, the phosphate of
lime, &c may be employed. The aluminous earths separated from the chalk
by washing with diluted muriatic acid, and then calcined and reduced to
powder, will act again on the colour of fish oil, either disinfected or
These same earths thus purified and reduced to small pieces, may be usefully
employed in the construction of the filters, hereafter described, for decoloring
or depriving of their colour all sorts of fatty substances. Textile fibres, well
impregnated with alum by known methods, act also upon the coloring, matter
of fatty substances, and may therefore be advantageously employed in the
construction of filters. The oil of seeds which are well purified by means of
.t
not.

page_text: sulphuric acid, such as the oil of rape seed, of camelina, &c., are better qualified
for this operation; and with a smaller quantity of sulphuric acid, when they
have been separated by heating to the temperature of about 100° from the
water which they contain. The oil of seeds thus purified by sulphuric acid,
and fish oil submitted to the same process, separate easily and quickly from
the acid, and from the water in which they are washed, by heating them by
means of steam at 60° or even 100°. and injected into the fatty matters. A
rest of some hours is sufficient for that. The washing waters become colored,
and the washing process may be repeated many times advantageously until
the water comes out colourless, then the oils are thrown warm into the filters
hereafter described. Calcined clay, chloride of calcium, and very dry coals in
small pieces, and, in general, all solid substances. may be employed in the
construction of the filters. intended to purify the oils, which, having undergone
a sulphuric treatment, always retain a certain quantity of water from the
washing process. It should be remarked that, for the disinfection of ordi-
nary fatty bodies, the employment of steam has more particularly for its
object in this Invention to preserve the fatty matters from contact with the air.
or to make a vacuum, or to bring over the volatile oils which are the result of
the action of heat. It may also be remarked. that although steam is employed
as a means of disinfecting, it is in applying it to a fatty substance heated to
more than 200°, and in raising the temperature of this same steam without
pressure, which is an altogether new method, and has never before been used
in any operation of the same kind. On the other hand, steam heated to from
200° to 330° is employed for purifying the fatty acid developed by a quite
original sort of distillation; and this same steam. by a property more remark-
able still, applied to fatty substances (not acids) previously heated to 330°,
produces a distillation of these fatty substances. which. in changing them into
acids, produces a sort of purification, which renders combustible such oils as
the oil of cloves and the oil of flax, which were but little combustible before.
By applying this simple and economical manipulation to divers fatty substances.
solid fatty acids may be obtained from those which serve for the production of
the acid called stearic. By applying it to other fatty matters, which, being
acidified, furnish a fatty acid, solid. easy to separate by pressure whatever be
the quantity, another useful operation may be made. Thus, fish oil treated in
this manner will furnish in winter about fifteen per cent. of acid. which is
solid, and melts at 48°. The oil of flax itself will furnish from eight. to ten
per cent. of a fatty acid, which is solid, and melts at 60°; and these acids,
prepared by distillation in worms of tin, or, what is preferable, of silver, are of
a perfect whiteness. Fatty matters, such as the oils of olives, and rape seed

page_text: tallow and grease previously hardened by nitric or hypo-nitric acid. may be
advantageously treated in the same manner. The black oil furnished by the
treatment of the residuum from the purification of the oils by sulphuric acid,
and the acid fatty substances resulting from the treatment of the soapy waters
heated from 200° to 300°, do very well under a current of steam heated to the
same temperature, and furnish distilled products which are pure and white.
The distillation of heated fatty matters, which is carried on under a current of
steam also heated above 200°, proceeds with as much greater speed as the
temperature is raised above 200°; thus, the distillation proceeds at a conve-
nient speed under a current of steam at a temperature of 330°. It often
happens that the first products which are the result of distillation have a
brown tint, but as that is only the case with a small portion of the matter, it is
always easy to separate it and collect it apart from the other. The heated oifs
have in general more viscousity and density than when in the natural state.
However, fish oil disinfected by heat acquires the property of being less likely
to congeal at a low temperature. This oil, mixed in equal proportions with
the oil of hemp, of flax, or of cloves, and heated to 225°, produces a mixture
which will not freeze in the greatest cold of winter, and which is exceedingly
suitable for combustion in lamps. The substances intended for the filters, and
employed as absorbants of the water, ought to be rendered quite dry by fire.
When these matters belong to the organic kingdom, as the textile fibres, they
must be heated as much as possible before using them, but every time without
altering them. Thus, cotton, wool, sawdust, &c., may be heated to the tem-
perature of 140° to 150°.
Description of the modes of operation.-Fatty matters may be heated in any
kind of vessel, but as there are inconveniences attending the performance of
this operation in open vessels, the apparatus hereafter described, and repre-
sented in Figures 1 and 2, is preferred. These inconveniences consist, first, in
the oil acquiring or heightening its colour on coming in contact with the air;
secondly, in the suffocating vapours which are diffused through the atmosphere
during the heating process; thirdly, the liability of the surface on the inside of
the boilers becoming discolored during the discharge and recharge of the boiler:
and, fourthly, in the chances of explosion and combustion which manifest
themselves at the temperature of from 320° to 330°. If it be necessary to
heat only to a temperature of 230° or less, the product boiled away in that
case being only water, and therefore of no value, the boiler A may be used, and
the serpentine heater B, Fig. 1; the rest of the apparatus becomes useless, and
if it be desirable to keep the fatty matter from the air either by a current of gas
or steam, it would be sufficient to allow the ingress and egress of such gas

page_text: or steam into the boiler. When, on the contrary, fatty substances are required
to be heated to about 330°, as there is always in that case a discharge of
pungent and volatile oil produced. besides a small quantity of fatty acid, which
might have existed before in the fatty substances, it will be necessary, whether
the current of steam be used or not, to employ the condenser G, which is in-
tended to collect the gaseous products generated during the disinfection. When
these gaseous products are, as is the case with fish oil, a mixture of fat acid and
volatile oil, they must be purified by being put into the boiler A, connected to
the worm G, as a single distilling apparatus. Distillation is carried on to a
temperature of about 240°, when the volatile oils are detached. and the fat
acids only remain in a tolerably pure state, and may be employed for illumina-
tion, or making soap, as purified or disinfected oils. The volatile oils driven off
or set free in this operation appear to be of several sorts. for that which comes
over at first has less density than pure alcohol. and this density goes on
increasing to the end of the operation. Lastly, these oils burn with smoke,
and seem by this to resemble in their composition liquid carbureted hydrogen.
When partial or complete distillation is required. the parts of the apparatus
marked A. B. and G. Fig. 1. are indispensably necessary. The tube F. and
the parts J, m, and 1. become useless, these last being necessary only when a
current of steam is employed without compression, and which is heated by the
liquid to be distilled itself. The steam might be heated in separate apparatus
for that purpose, where the necessary temperature (before mentioned) might
be given to it, so as to introduce it afterwards to the oil. This heating might
be effected in various ways, either in worms heated in an oil or metal bath. or
heated by the direct influence of fire. and regulated by therinometers; but the
arrangement of the apparatus as shewn in Fig. 1 is preferable, as it furnishes
a more easy, simple, and sure method of regulating the temperature of the
steam according to that of the liquid to be purified or disinfected. The
apparatus represented at Fig. 2 is a plan of the arrangement of the apparatus
which may be adopted for heating or distilling in a vacuum. The manner of
producing the vacuum has not been described, as it is well known. If this
apparatus were employed, as for heating, it would be more difficult to manage
than the apparatus shewn in Fig. 1. because, being intermittent, it would
present great difficulties and inconveniences, from the liability of the inside
of the boiler to become discolored during the successive charges and discharges
of the boiler. This inconvenience may be avoided by applying to this
apparatus all the system of continuous operation belonging to the apparatus
shewn in Fig. 1, only then a cock regulating the supply must be affixed to
the supply pipe C of the apparatus Fig. 1. The discharge of the same
apparatus must also communicate with a large reservoir hermetically sealed,

page_text: and communicating freely with the condenser (that is to say. the vessel in
which a vacuum would be maintained during the operation. By this means
it will be understood that the oil will flow through, the orifice into the closed
receiver without difficulty, if the said receiver be in equilibrium with the
boiler (that is to say). being submitted to the same pressure in the interior,
the oil would flow there by its own weight. Great attention must be paid
to regulate the entrance of the oil into the boiler A. seeing that as it is
effected by means of the air in the vacuum, it is very quick, and would there-
fore render the operations of the apparatus defective, if not well attended to
in this respect.
The filters described have no occasion for any further explanation to
enable them to be put to work than is indicated, or which does not result
immediately from a description of them.
Description of a continuous apparatus for heating the greasy substances.
Figure 1. This apparatus, the form and arrangement of which might be
varied in many ways. is intended to perform the operation of heating the oil
continuously, and without exposure to the air. and thus avoid the serious
inconveniences of coloration. explosion, and inflammation, to which the inter-
mittent heating apparatus is liable. A is a boiler, made of cast iron or
copper, mounted on a furnace and heated only at the bottom: it is furnished
with an emptying cock K. B is a cylindrical vessel of copper or iron, con-
taining a serpentine or worm. The pipe C. furnished with a funnel a. receives
the oil from a reservoir D above, by the help of a cock b, and transmits it to
the lower part of the vessel B. From thence the oil passes through the exit
pipe into the boiler A, whence it flows through the exit pipe d, which com-
municates with the worm e contained in the cylindrical vessel B. and ruhs
through the pipe f into a reservoir E. intended for its reception. is a ven-
tilating pipe to facilitate the flow of the heated oil. This vessel B is furnished
with a cock r, and the worm chas also a cock q, which serves to empty it
when an operation is finished. A thermometer of high temperature placed
in g, allows the operation to be watched and regulated, and it is easy to main-
tain the required temperature within 5° by varying the running of the oil or
the strength of the fire. It will be seen that with this apparatus the heated
oil which runs out of the apparatus as the cold oil enters, passes through the
cold oil in the vessel B, and cools itself by this means; and besides the advantage
of a continuous operation without exposure to the air, a great saving is effected
in fuel. In fact, when it is required to heat to 320°, the oil in the vessel B.
before entering into the boiler, acquires a temperature of 160° to 170°. The
apparatus, an I have described it, is in its most simple state. The other parts
shewn in the Plan. and which I aur about to describe, are intended to convey

page_text: a current of steam either into the atmosphere of the boiler or into the oil.
A steam pipe F coming from any boiler may communicate with the empty
space of the boiler A, and expel the air which blackens the oil, and also will
carry off the pungent or oily vapours formed through the pipe into the
cooling worm i contained in the vessel G, from whence they make their egress
in a liquid state by the orifice p, and fall into the receiver I. This cooling
worm is kept cool by water conducted through the pipe II, and makes its
exit through an overflow-pipe . The steam should be made to bubble in the
oil by plunging the pipe therein, but if some precaution were not taken,
an explosion might take place from condensed water being suddenly plunged
into very hot oil. To avoid this inconvenience the steam might be passed
through an apparatus heated for the purpose by the oil bath or otherwise.
For this purpose a kind of small boiler J is placed in the boiler A and
soldered on to the lid, and closes the manhole of the boiler A. This small
boiler receives, the steam pipe F. which extends to its bottom, a pipe {
branches off from the upper part of the boiler J, for the purpose of commu-
nicating with the atmosphere of the boiler A, or be applied directly to the
oil, or to enter a small worm m, to be applied again at n after having
entered o.
All this system of apparatus is intended to prevent the water
being thrown upon the hot oil, and to bring the steam to the same temperature
as the oil itself. In fact, the sinall boiler J and the serpentine m are plunged
into the oil and thus acquire the same temperature. Thus, if the tube F
contained condensed water, it would fall into the, boiler J and be converted
into steam. On the other hand, the steam conveyed to J thereby becomes
heated, and in passing through the worm or coil of the worm m, is there
completely heated; and it may even, if the worm is sufficiently large, acquire
there the temperature of the oil. Lastly, the steam thus heated and bubbling
in the oil carries off the volatile products into the refrigerating worm, where
they are condensed, and from whence they pass into the receiver 1. This
apparatus for continuous and double heating will serve to heat liquids to any
temperature. An apparatus of the size shewn in the Drawing will purify from
six thousand to seven thousand pounds weight of fish oil in twenty-four hours,
and only burn from five to six hectolitres of coals.
Heating apparatus and distilling in vacuo. Figure 2.-A is a boiler made
of cast iron or copper, and capable of resisting the pressure of the atmosphere.
It is furnished with a thermometer a to try or indicate the temperature of the
oil, which is heated and made to boil in it; it is fixed in a sort of furnace and
heated at the bottom only; it is also furnished with a cock B for drawing
off its contents. This boiler communicates by means of a pipe C with a

page_text: worm b, b, placed in a cylinder or vessel D, where a certain temperature is
kept up, which varies according to the substance which is being operated upon.
The water in this vessel is renewed by the tube E and exit pipe c. The worm-
b communicates at d with a receiver F, which also communicates with an
apparatus for creating a vacuum by means of the pipe and cock G. The
receiver F is placed in a vessel H, which is filled with 'hot or cold water,
according to circumstances, and the contents of the receiver F may be emptied
by the cock I, or they may even be extracted during the operation by the aid
of a suction pump, which may be adjusted or connected to the cock 1. If it
is found necessary or desirable to pass some steam into the oil or other fatty
substance heated in the boiler A, it may be done by the tube J, communi-
cating with a steam boiler, or by the aid of a little boiler and of a worm similar
to those which have been described for the boiler in Fig. 1; the steam, by
expelling the air, would enter the worm b; then the receiver F, and at last
an apparatus to create the vacuum, and placed at the end of the pipe G,
and which apparatus would be a strong vessel of large dimensions, which 1
shall call z. All the apparatus being full of steam, and when all com-
munication with the atmosphere is cut off, let a small quantity of cold
water be injected into z, and into the vessels D and H, it is evident that
the steam will quickly condense and will produce a vacuum in the appa-
ratus, and that the vacuum will be maintained more or less perfect if the
temperature of the heating or distilling process is kept under the point at
which the pungent oil-is-produced: With fish oil, and in general with. fatty
matters which it is necessary to heat in order to disinfect them, the apparatus
D and F may be cooled completely, because the gaseous products which are
then collected are liquid, or at least have not much consistence. It is not
the same with palm oil, which is disinfected by distillation at one fifth or
one sixth, because then the distilled product which is condensed in the worm
Is solid at a temperature lower than 38°. It is necessary then, in this case,
not to cool the apparatus D and F below 40°, in order that the worm may
not become obstructed, and so that the distilled product may be drawn off in
a liquid state by the cock 1. In all cases I prefer the distilling process to be
effected by a current of steam, to carrying it on by merely boiling the fatty
matters. I also prefer, when I wish to disinfect with a vacuum apparatus,
to produce the vacuum by means of the steam which has previously passed
through the oil for the purpose of purifying it. An air pump, like the one in
Howard's apparatus, may be advantageously adapted to the present apparatus.
This-pump draws in the water produced by the condensation of the steam, and
also such atmospheric air as may penetrate into the interior of the apparatus

page_text: during the operation. The vacuum part of the apparatus should be furnished
with a manometer, to indicate the rarefaction of the air. The water employed
in distilling, which becomes acidulated, and that water which is extracted from
the vacuum chamber by means of the pump before mentioned, should be
collected, in order to separate from it the fatty substances which are contained
therein. Care should be taken not to employ tin solder in any part of the
heating and distilling apparatus, because this description of solder melts at the
temperature at which the apparatus is employed. Care must therefore be taken
that only brazing or rivetting be employed for this description of apparatus.
Description of a force pump filter. Figure 3. A is a metallic tube,
made of either cast iron or copper. and this, therefore, as well as the other
parts of which we have spoken, is capable of resisting an internal pressure of
from ten to twelve atmospheres, and even more, without bursting. B is a
metal bell or cylindrical chamber with a spherical head, which is fastened on
or attached to the tube A, at the point a, by means of strong bolts. This
chamber or bell is closed at its upper extremity by a short tube furnished
with a flange, through which a pipe C passes. This pipe is furnished with a
cock, which regulates the supply of oi! intended to be filtered. At the lower
extremity of the tube A a moveable piece D is placed, the end of which is pierced
with small holes. A little higher up is seen a moveable bottom c, also pierced
with small holes, and stopped by the projecting pieces d. Some textile
filtering substance, such as cotton, is inserted into the tube A, and compressed
between the two perforated pilates b and c, by means of the moveable piece D,
which is forced or pressed up by means of the bolts e, e. Above the perforated
plate another bed of some filtering material may be placed, such matters as
textile fibres, sawdust, pulverized coal, sand, or any other chemical substance
intended to act upon the oil, will be found useful; and these materials may,
if desired or deemed necessary, be compressed by means of the screw f and the
block plate g, which is supported by the projecting pieces h. These filtering
materials are condensed by the perforated moveable disc i, and it is all
arranged in the lower part A before the upper chamber B is connected to it.
This part B may be furnished with a manemeter E, to indicate the pressure
produced in the apparatus. The filter is intended to be supplied by a pump
which forces the oil into it through the pipe C with considerable force. The
oil or other liquid fatty matter meeting with some resistance in passing through
the different filtering beds, rises in the part B, and compresses the air; and
thereby creates an elastic medium which prevents any violent shocks, which
would be the case at every stroke of the pump without this precaution.
The oil thus compressed with considerable force makes its way rapidly

page_text: through the filtering materials, and finding its way out at the lower part,
falls into a vessel, placed there to receive it. in a state of purity. When
the filter is new. and the filtering material slightly compressed, filtration is
very rapid, with a pressure of from one half to one atmosphere: then, as the
filtering materials arrest extraneous matters and prevent them from passing,
they become compressed and require a greater pressure to produce a given
effect. In the greater number of instances the pressure may be increased to
four or five atmospheres. Any forcing pump will serve for this filter, and
the pumps of hydraulic presses are conveniently arranged for this apparatus.
The valves are then loaded so that they may rise and open under the maximum
pressure that may be required for the filtering process. By this means.
when by any unforeseen circumstance the required pressure may have been
passed. the pump will work by itself and cease to supply the filter with
any oil.
The principle of this filter, as well as the principle of the one which
follows, not being new, it should be understood that I lay no claim to
their principles, but claim only the new arrangement of these filters, such as
the method of joining them, the manner of supplying them, the employ-
ment of a bed of air, which regulates the pressure, their construction,
which facilitates their being taken to pieces and put together again. the
use of textile fibres steeped in alum, as filtering substances, and lastly, the
facility with which any number of them may be united into one apparatus, as
is shown in Figures 5 and 6, hereafter described.
Description of an apparatus which filters by ascension. Figure 4.-A
spherical chamber A. furnished with a flauge, is connected by a similar flange,
which is formed on the lower end thereof, to a cylindrical vessel B. 'This
vessel is open at top and closed at the bottom by a convex plate perforated
with holes. The part A is attached to the part B by screw nuts, and the
filtering materials are placed in C, and may be more or less compressed
therein by means of the screw a, which passes through the block plate b, sup
ported by the projecting pieces e. and thereby presses or forces forward the per-
forated disc d upon the filtering materials. The tube and stopcock D supplies
the oil from a forcing pump. and the cock E is for the purpose of emptying out
the oil which remains in the chamber F after an operation. It will be under-
stood that the oil which comes by the pipe D fills the space F, passes through
the perforated convex plate, then through the filtering materials, and finally
finds its way into the upper part of the vessel B, from whence it runs out by
the exit pipe e. If it be required to employ an elastic bed of air in this appa-
ratus, it will only be necessary to form, by means of a pipe, communication

page_text: between the space F and a cylinder in which the air is confined and prevented
from escaping. This filter may also be made to answer the purpose of a filter
working at atmospheric pressure. In order to do which it would be necessary
to make a communication between the space F. and a large vessel sufficiently
strong, and in which a vacuum must be created. either by means of pumps or
condensed steam. the oil to be filtered would then arrive above the filter, and
its filtering power would then be limited to the pressure of the atmosphere. A
large number of these filters may be advantageously connected. as
Figs. 5 and 6.
seen in
Figs. 5 and 6. A is a strong bell-shaped vessel or chamber made of cast
iron, and intended to receive the oil which comes from the pumps: the oil
is conveyed into it by a descending tube B. furnished with a cock. As
the oil rises in the vessel the air becomes compressed, and thus forms a
spring or elastic medium, which presses on its surface. Round this bell-
shaped vessel A, and on a lower plane, are arranged any convenient number of
the filters before described, and which in this arrangement will not require any
manometer. as the vessel A is provided with one at a. All the filters are con-
nected to the bell-shaped vessel A by means of pipes furnished with moveable
stopcocks fastened to the pipes by flanges; any filter can therefore be easily
removed when it is obstructed or clogged, and make way for another which is
charged with fresh filtering materials. By this means the process of filtration
need not be suspended. and the pumps may be worked by a steam engine. If it.
is required to filter a fatty substance, which, like tallow, is solid at the ordinary
temperature of the atmosphere, it is necessary not only to melt the fatty sub-
stance before supplying it to the pumps, but also to place the whole apparatus in
a situation where the temperature would be maintained above the melting point
of the fatty matter, that is to say, about 40° for grease, tallow, palm oil, &c.
Figures and 6, which represent in plan and elevation an arrangement of
four filters. with one bell-shaped vessel only, shew the manner of grouping or
arranging them and it is evident that a greater number of filters may be
applied, if deemed desirable. The Figures represent the filters shewn, Fig. 3;
and it should be understood that the filter described at Fig. 4, or any other
description of filter, may, if required, be substituted.
Conclusion. From what has been above said, it will be seen that the
fundamental principle of the present Invention is the employment of heat, at
varied and specified temperatures, to produce in fatty substances certain
tendencies or predispositions which may be applied to the purposes proposed.
The other new peculiarities are:-First, a partial or total distillation in

page_text: vacuum. in order to produce either the decoloration or disinfection of certain
fatty matters. Secondly, the heating of fatty or greasy substances with
currents of steam, heated without compression to a temperature above 100°;
and the means described for producing this effect. Thirdly, the distillation of
acid fatty substances with a current of si cam heated to a high temperature,
in order to obtain these fat acids in a state of purity, and at the same time the
use of the same means applied to fatty substances previously heated, to
produce, it is said, those sanie acids more pure, more economically, and in a
different manner to that in which they are usually produced: Fourthly.
clarification by sulphuric acid applied to heated fatty substances, then the
washing and purification whilst warm of these same substances. Fifthly,
destroying the colour of fatty matters by means of lime, chalk, and alumina.
either rough or purified by muriatic acid, all employed at a temperature above
100°, and in a dry state. Sixthly, the arrangement of apparatus for heating
the fatty substances economically, continuously at any temperature, with or
without a current of steam, and for collecting the products disengaged during the
operations of heating and disinfecting." Seventhly, an apparatus for operating
upon fatty substances in a vacuum. either by heating and distilling them alone,
or by a current of stean, heated or not. Eighthly, the employment of steam
not compressed. and heated above 100°, in order to produce the effects
mentioned in the present Specification. Ninthly. certain novel arrangements
of filters, worked either by a pump or at bydrostatic or atmospheric pressure,
which, by their peculiar arrangement, may with facility be taken away and
adapted, or connected again when required to be removed, for the purpose of
renewing the filtering materials with which they are supplied.
novel use (in these filters) of mineral or vegetable ac
Tenthly, the
acids, and acid salts of
absorbent and decoloring materials, and of textile sulistances steeped in alum,
to' assist in producing the effects which are the objects of the present Invention.
Eleventhly, the use of the platinum or silver worm, for condensing the fatty
acids which are purified or produced by distillation, according to the method
described. Twelfthly, the employment of the distillatory rectification of acid
fatty substances, for 'the purpose of effecting the separation of the liquid from
the solid acids without the use of pressure.
In witness whereof, I, 'the said William Newton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-one..
WILLIAM (L.S.) NEWTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of August, in
the fifth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Newton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth
year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-first day of August, One thousand eight hundred