AN IMPROVED PRO- CESS FOR CONVERTING THE WHOLE PRODUCT ARISING FROM THE DISTILLATION D
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Arno Tatro, of Hartford, Connecticut,
United States of America, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PRO-
CESS FOR CONVERTING THE WHOLE PRODUCT ARISING FROM THE DISTILLATION
D"

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Arno Tatro, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:
To show the nature and importance of my Invention as distinguished
from the processes already in use, I will explain that when crude petro-
leum oil is distilled in the common way the first product is gasoline;
the second, benzole; the third, benzine; the fourth, a light oil; the
fifth, the common burning oil; then paraffine oil; and, last, a dark
heavy oil. The only one of these parts fit for burning in the family
lamp is the fifth product above specified.
By my process I am enabled to take all the above products, mix them
together, and make the whole into a safe and reliable burning oil. The
difficulty to be overcome is to raise the fire test, that is, the temperature
at which flame will ignite the oil, to such a point as will make the oil
safe for family use, and I accomplish this perfectly.
My process is as follows:-Having distilled the crude oil and driven
over everything that will go over in the worm of the still, and having,
say, one hundred gallons of product, take from one-fourth per centum
to two per centum of sulphuric acid, the quantity used being determined
as herein-after shown, and pour it into the whole product, and agitate
the whole thoroughly. When thoroughly mixed add from four to six per
centum of dry slaked lime, sprinkling it over the oil, allowing it to
subside into the oil and act upon it. The exact quantity of lime to be
used is determined as herein-after shown. The agitation is to be con-
tinued while the lime is being added and till it has been thoroughly
mixed with the distillate. Those qualities of the distillate which render
it dangerously inflammable will be found at this stage neutralized or
abstracted, and the fire test will be raised to a perfectly safe degree,
from 110° to 160° Fahrenheit, according to the duration and strength
of the chemical action.
With the agitating machine that I have used I have found from five
to ten minutes agitation sufficient for properly mixing the acid and
distillate, and from one-half to three-quarters of an hour sufficient for
mixing the lime and distillate. The agitation with the lime is continued
till the desired fire test is reached.

page_text: Sulphuric acid may be used with phosphate of lime in place of the
slaked lime if desired, but in this case it is better to mix these substances
before putting them with the distillate. The amounts of sulphuric acid
and of lime are determined by the gravity of the distillate, using the
greater quantity for the lighter gravity. To commence with, the
agitation of the distillate while the acid and lime are being mixed with
it must be perfect and thorough. Mere stirring will not do. I have
had a mechanical agitator made expressly for this purpose. A fair
average gravity for the distillate is 43° or 44°, measured by any standard
oil hydrometer. No crude oil that will yield a distillate below 40°
gravity is likely in the present state of the art to be used for the
manufacture of burning oil. Neither is a crude oil likely to be used that
will yield a distillate of above 48° gravity, so that from 40° to 48° may
be taken practically as the range of gravities in the distillates required
to be treated. Premising once more that the agitation is perfectly
done, about one-fourth of one per centum of acid will do for a distillate
of 40° gravity. As the gravity rises so the amount of acid to be used
increases till it will require about two per centum of acid for a distillate
of 48° gravity. So for lime, about four per centum is needed for a dis-
tillate of 40° gravity, and the quantity increases as the gravity rises till
about six per centum of lime is needed for a distillate of 48° gravity.
If by any possibility it is required to treat a distillate below 40°
gravity or above 48°, the proportions just given will form the basis for
calculating the amount of acid and lime to be used.
I have heretofore used sulphuric acid of 66° gravity.
I claim as my Invention the process described of applying the said
acid and lime, or their equivalents, in about the proportions specified,
to the whole product arising from the distillation of crude petroleum for
the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Arno Tatro, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.