IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING BITUMINOUS SHALE, BOGHEAD MINERAL, AND OTHER LIKE SCHISTOUS BODIES, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN VARIOUS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THEREFROM
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Pierre Gédéon Barry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
September 1855.
I, PIERRE GÉDÉON BARRY, of Gray, Town in the French Empire, Chemist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TREATING BITUMINOUS SHALE, BOGHEAD MINERAL, AND OTHER LIKE SCHISTOUS
BODIES, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN VARIOUS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THEREFROM," to be as
follows:
I operate upon the schistous bodies in order to obtain essential and unctuous
oils. First, highly rectified mineral oil; second, mineral oil for lighting
purposes; third, fat unctuous paraphinized (paraphinée) oil; and, fourth,
mineral grease, through certain apparatuses, as follows:-I make use of retorts
for decomposing the schistous bodies and of a receiver. The pipes which lead
the gases from the retorts enter partly into the receiver, which is placed at
some distance from the retorts; a condenser, provided with refrigerating tubes,
condenses the raw oils and the ammoniacal waters. Purifiers, formed of the

page_text: wooden cases or jackets, lined throughout with lead, and provided each with
an agitator, are employed to place the oils (after having been separated from
the thick tar, as will be hereafter explained,) in contact with 5 per cent. by
weight of sulphuric acid of commerce.
The matters must be agitated or stirred for about three hours, then left to
settle, and drawn off into a second purifier, placed under the first, where they
have added to them about five per cent. by weight of caustic soda, or a suffi-
cient quantity of lime water, and the whole is to be well stirred for several
hours and then allowed to settle. A distilling apparatus for the raw oils is
composed of a cucurbit, placed over a furnace; it is fitted with a man-hole for
clearing it out, and communicates by a pipe with a coil, from which the
products of distillation are discharged into a receiver.
After submitting the raw oils to a primary distillation, in order to separate
them from the pasty or semi-liquid tar which remains in the cucurbit, and
from which it is drawn while still hot, the oils are heated successively with
sulphuric acid, caustic soda, and lime water, are then re-distilled in such a
form of still as that employed in the distillation of molasses or rum.
The oils separated from the thick tar yield under a properly regulated dis-
tillation the light essential oil, the first streams of which are of about 70° of
density of Gay Lussac's areometer. Distillation is carried on until the stream
of liquid reaches a density of 50°. The first results, being the very light
essential oils, should be collected separately, and proceeding with great care;
the next batch, until it attains 32° of the areometer, may also be collected and
used for lighting purposes. The process of distillation may be further pro-
ceeded with, but the heat must be progressively increased, and the product
resulting will be unctuous oil fit for greasing and lubricating. A nearly
liquid tar or tarry matter will still remain in the cucurbit, which may be con-
verted into a black grease by mixing with it 10 or 15 per cent. of liquid
caustic soda at 36°. After being well stirred at a temperature of 25° to 30°
(centigrade) above zero for about two or three hours, saponification takes
place, and the matter being run into appropriate receivers, forms what I term
mineral paraphinized grease. After obtaining lighting oils at 32°, as herein-
before stated, that which is afterwards produced is deprived of all light liquid,
and all that remains is to separate the paraphine which is contained with it.
For this purpose, the unetuous oil is placed in refrigerators with double bottoms,
wherein it is submitted to a low temperature, at which the paraphine will be
separated, and the remainder is gathered in bags and submitted to pressure in
order to extract whatever little oil it may contain. By means of ice and

page_text: sulphate of soda a temperature from 10 to 20° centigrade below zero may be
attained. In the decomposition of schistous substances, the heat for the pro-
duction of the oily matters must never exceed 200° to 300° centigrade; for if
carried beyond, all the gases would be converted into carbonated hydrogen and
carbonic oxide, to the detriment of the hydrocarbonated and hydrocarburetted
liquids which I obtain.