Improvements in the Treatment of Oleaginous Seeds for the Extraction of Oil therefrom.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 15th Jan., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Oleaginous Seeds for the
Extraction of Oil therefrom.
I, ALEXANDER EUSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at 721, Olive
Street, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, United States of America,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
wherein :-
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a machine by which my invention may be
carried into effect;
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view; and
Figure 3 is a detail view of the mechanism by which the rollers are adjusted.
This invention relates to the treatment of oleaginous seeds for the production of
oil and oil cake (especially, linseed oil and linseed cake), and, more particularly,
to that step in the method of treating oleaginous seeds, whereby the seed is ground
and put in proper condition for tempering and the extraction of the oil subsequently
by pressure.
Heretofore, flaxseed (linseed) has been treated and prepared for tempering either
by being passed through a single pair of horizontal rolls, and then crushed under
muller or edge stones, the two being used together and constituting a single process
of preparation, or, the seed has been crushed by means of a set of heavy iron rolls
superimposed one above the other so that the last action of the rolls on the seed
is subjecting the seed to a pressure equivalent to the weight of the four rolls above.
Cotton seed, after having the hull and lint removed by special machinery for
that purpose, has been treated before tempering, in substantially the same manner
as linseed.
The muller or edge stones, to which I have referred above, have usually weighed
from two thousand to four thousand pounds, and the rolls described, from fifteen
hundred to twenty five hundred pounds each.
The general belief among manufacturers of oil has been that it was necessary to
break the oil cells contained in the seed. The effect of crushing in the manner
and with the apparatus described, has been, and is, to crush the meal contents of
the seed, crush or break the oil cells or sacs, and form, by uniting the crushed
meal and crushed oil cells, an oily mass, which mass is then transferred to the
tempering kettle or heater, and tempered there by the addition of moisture in the
form of water or steam while the mass is being subjected to heat. The mass is
then put into suitable presses and the oil extracted by pressure.
The result of the crushing process described is that the meal is not in the best
form to assimilate the moisture which is added in tempering. The cake made by
this process is irregular and dark in color; the percentage of oil left in different
parts of the cake varies widely, and uniformity of yield, and perfection of quality,
cannot be obtained.
The treatment of the seed by my process, preparatory to tempering, proceeds

page_text: upon a radically different principle. It is well known that oil and water do not
readily mix or combine, and, therefore, in the process of manufacture, the oil cells
or sacs are not broken by rollers or edge stones at this stage of the manufacture,
as all manufacturers have heretofore endeavoured to do; the meal contents of the
seed are preserved as much as possible, and protected from being soaked in, or
combined with, the oil contents of the seed, because, as already stated, the next
step in the manufacture is to subject the meal to the action of moisture and heat,
with the intention of combining the moisture with the meal in forming a cake.
The moisture cannot be made to combine with the meal if the meal is soaked or
combined with the oil from the crushed oil cells or sacs. By perfectly combining
the meal with the moisture, the oil, having no affinity for the meal so impregnated
with water, will pass freely therefrom when the mass is subjected to pressure.
From the above, it will be seen that, instead of endeavouring to crush or
rupture the oil cells or sacs, as must be done by the use of heavy muller stones, or
heavy vertical series of rolls, my purpose is to break up the meal only, or its
integument, preserving the integrity of the oil cells or sacs as much as possible.
In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated a machine adapted for success-
fully practising my invention, or the step in the process to which my invention
relates. This machine consists of three sets of horizontal rolls between which the
seed drops by gravity, the weight of the rolls being supported on their journals
and not being on the seeds, nor their contents. The rolls are so arranged relative
to each other that, when the seed passes between a pair of rolls, they are fractured
slightly, but not crushed, that is, upon leaving the machine, the mass of seed
is practically dry, and not wet or soaked with oil, as when crushed by muller or
edge stones, or by the heavy rollers superimposed one above the other, as has
heretofore been practiced.
It may be that other forms of machines could be used to carry out this step of
the process, which machines would accomplish the fracturing of the seed to
substantially the same extent as the machine illustrated in the drawing, there-
fore, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the apparatus shown.
This apparatus is not claimed as new, as horizontal rolls have been used in this
form for other purposes; rolls have been revolved at different, and the same
speed; rolls have been used both smooth and corrugated, but I am not aware of
such an arrangement of rolls for the object and purposes described has ever been
used in the preparation of oleaginous seeds for the extraction of oil.
In the drawing, A indicates a suitable casing, having a hopper B on top, into
which the seeds are placed, the seeds being fed to the rolls below by a grooved
feeding roller B. C, C, and C, are three pairs of horizontal rolls between which.
the seed pass and are fractured to give access of the water or moisture in the
tempering, to the meal inside. A suitable belt D from a counter shaft passes
around pulleys on the ends of these roller shafts, at one side of the machine, to
drive one of each set of rolls, gearing being arranged on the other side of the
machine between the rolls of a set. The rolls practically revolve at the rate of
from four hundred to five hundred revolutions per minute.
E indicates a suitable plate arranged in the machine to direct the seed dropping
from between a pair of rolls, to the next pair of rolls beneath.
The roller shafts are mounted in boxes arranged in yokes pivoted on each side of
the machine. F indicates a yoke, pivoted at f, in which the front roller of a pair
is mounted.
G indicates a yoke, yieldingly mounted on a threaded rod 9 (Fig. 3) arranged
on the yoke F, which yoke G carries a box in which is journalled the axle of the
rear roller of a pair. The free ends of these yokes are connected by a threaded
rod H, by turning a hand wheel on the end of which, the tension of a spring may
be regulated, and, in that way, a greater or less pressure brought to bear between
a pair of rollers. By turning down a handle I, a cam i, operating on a nut fi
bearing against the free end of yoke F through which the rod H passes, relieves
the tension on the rollers and permits foreign particles, such as gravel, to pass

page_text: freely through the machine. A connecting rod J operates all the cams together
to accomplish this.
After the seeds have been fractured, they are placed in a suitable kettle or
receptacle, and subjected to heat, during which time moisture or water is intro-
duced, which assimilates with the meal. After the mass has been tempered, it
is then subjected to pressure to extract the oil, which passes readily off, as it will
not assimilate with the water-soaked meal. After the cake is pressed and the
quantity of oil extracted therefrom, as desired, which can be regulated to any
degree with certainty to within a fraction of one per cent. (1%), the cake is removed
from the press and packed ready for shipment or consumption.
The meal produced by my process is dry, and not smeared, coated, or soaked
with the oil from the broken cells or sacs, is evenly colored, that is, there are no
dark spots present in it, and, in the form of cake, is firm and compact.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The process herein described for treating oleaginous seeds, the same consisting
in fracturing or cutting the seeds without crushing the oil cells or sacs, tempering
the seeds so fractured, and extracting the oil therefrom; substantially as described.
2. The process herein described for treating oleaginous seeds, the same consisting
in cutting or fracturing the seeds, so as to expose their meal contents, at the same
time, preserving the integrity of the oil cells or sacs as far as possible, impregnating
the meal contents of the seeds with moisture or water while the seeds are subjected
to heat, and, finally, subjecting the seeds so treated to pressure to express the oil
from the meal; substantially as described.
3. The herein described process of preparing oleaginous seeds for tempering, the
same consisting in cutting or fracturing the seeds so as to expose their meal
contents, at the same time, preserving the integrity of the oil cells or sacs as far
as possible; substantially as described.
Dated the 30th day of November 1897
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Chartered Patent Agent, London, for the Applicant.