AN IMPROVED MODE OF EXTRACTING OR RENDERING ANIMAL FATS AND OILS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel George Archibald, of Pall Mall, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF EXTRACTING OR RENDERING ANIMAL FATS AND
OILS."
Sealed the 5th March 1853, and dated the 2nd October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel George:
Archibald at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd October 1852.
I, SAMUEL GEORGE ARCHIBALD, do hereby declare the nature of the,
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF EXTRACTING OR RENDERING
ANIMAL FATS AND OILS" to be as follows:-
i
The object of this Invention is to effect the rendering of oils and fats
in a more efficient manner than by the old mode of boiling in open.
vessels, and thereby to obtain as pure and colorless a product without..
the use of either acids or alkalies as has hitherto been obtained by their
use. To attain this result I place the animal matters which are
required to yield up their oil or fat in an air-tight vessel capable of

page_text: withstanding an internal pressure of, say, about one hundred pounds to
the square inch, and formed somewhat after the manner of the vessel
shewn at a, in the diagram. This vessel when charged through a
manhole with the animal matters is closed against the external air, and
steam at a pressure of about fifty pounds is let in from an adjacent
boiler b, and maintained at that pressure until the vesicles which
contain the oil or fat burst or become dissolved. The steam is then
cut off, and when ebulition ceases the refuse matters will fall by reason
of their specific gravity to the bottom of the vessel, and combine with
the water resulting from the condensation of the steam.
The time and the degree of heat required for the completion of this
operation will depend upon the nature of the substance under treatment.
From most substances a good result has been obtained when a pressure
of fifty pounds was employed, which gave a temperature of about 300°
Fahrenheit; the duration of the operation varies from eight to fourteen
hours. When the extraneous matters have separated from the product
and settled at the bottom of the vessel, the oil or fat (as the case may
be) is drawn off by means of cocks into vats or other suitable vessels.
The residuum is then discharged through the bottom of the vessel a,
by raising a valve which opens inwards, and is held firmly in its seat.
during the operation by the pressure of steam within the vessel.
When tallow is to be extracted, it will be found advisable to provide a
supplemental steam-pipe leading from the boiler to the vessel a, and
running round the interior of the vessel in a helical coil, by which
means, if the fat should coagulate.after the completion of the operation
of "rendering," and prior to its discharge, steam may be made to
circulate through the pipe, and bring the fat to a fluid state. It should
be remarked that when operating according to this Invention I prefer
to use the matters which are to yield the fat or oil while they are in a
fresh state, as I am thereby enabled to obtain the inost satisfactory
result; and for this reason it may be convenient for the extracting of
whale and seal oil to perform the operation on board of ship instead of
storing the fat in casks for treatment on shore.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel George Archibald in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 2nd April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
SAMUEL GEORGE ARCHIBALD, of Pall Mall, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Samuel George Archibald, Her especial-license
that I, the said Samuel George Archibald, my executors, administrators;
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel George Archibald, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF EXTRACTING OR RENDERING ANIMAL FATS AND OILS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I,, the said Samuel George Archibald, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel George Archibald, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked; thereon
(that is to say):
This Invention relates to a novel mode of treating fatty.or oleaginous
bodies for the purpose of separating the fibrine or other extraneous
matters therefrom, and obtaining a sound bright oil or tallow according
to the material operated upon..

page_text: In carrying out this Invention I provide one or more steam-tight
tanks, and connect the same to any ordinary steam boiler, which is
provided for the purpose of supplying them with steam, and keeping it
up at a high pressure. Into such a tank I place the material to be
operated upon, and after subjecting it to steam heat for the requisite
period, I draw off the fat or oil and discharge the refuse matters from
the tank by a suitable opening provided for the purpose. When I wish
to extract or render seal oil I separate the fat from the pelt of the seal
in the ordinary manner, and place it in the tank through a manhole,
and secure the lid thereof steam-tight. I greatly prefer to operate
upon the animal matter while fresh, or before decomposition has com-
menced or proceeded far, for otherwise the application of the steam
heat will bring out a coloring property which exposure to the air has
imparted to the fat, and thus a dark-colored instead of a bright pale
oil will be the result.
3
When whale oil is to be rendered I cut up the blubber into small
pieces, and then place it in the tank. I next admit steam to the tank,
and bring up the pressure to from fifty to sixty pounds to the square inch.
The heat to which this pressure is equivalent will inmediately act upon
the cellalar tissue or membrane of the material under operation, causing
the cells to burst and the oil or fat to flow readily. The tissue as well
as all the animal fibre will become dissolved, and upon ebullition ceasing
the glutinous mass will, together with the condensed water, fall to the
bottom of the tank.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, shews in elevation the
arrangement of apparatus which I prefer to employ when operating
upon lard, and Fig. 2, is a similar view of an arrangement to be used at
Sea. A, A, (Fig. 1,) is a strong cylindrical tank constructed of the best
boiler-plate iron, and having domed heads. This tank is set up on end,
supported by brickwork, and in connection therewith is a high-pressure
steam boiler B, B. a, is the manhole through which the tank A, is
filled on the removal of the steam-tight door; b, is a try cock; c,'c, c, c,
are cocks for drawing off the oil, constructed so that a hose can be
coupled on to them; d, is a relieving cock; e, is a safety valve; f, is a
discharging valve having its seat in the bottom of the tank. Its use is
to discharge the residuum after the oil has been drawn off. The opening

page_text: and closing of this valve is effected by means of a hand wheel m, at the
top of the tank. This wheel is keyed to a rod f*, f*, which passes
through a stuffing box at the top of the tank, and is connected at its
lower end to the valvef. The upper end of the rod f, is threaded, and
works through a stationary threaded nut carried by a cross head; by
turning, therefore, the handwheel to the right or the left, the valve f, will
be raised or lowered as required; h, is the cock for supplying steam to
the tank A; and k, k, is the steam pipe. This pipe is connected with
a worm k, of the same size coiled round the bottom of the tank. The
under side of the worm k*, is perforated to allow the steam to escape
into the tank. In the upper part of the pipe k, a check valve l, is
provided, for the purpose of preventing the oil, while the steaming
operation is continued, from rushing from the tank into the boiler when
the pressure of steam in' the boiler. is. less than in the tank, which
frequently happens on supplying the boiler with water. The black
dotted lines at the back of the cocks c, c, c, c, are intended to represent
a strainer, which is provided to prevent the clogging of the orifices of
the cocks. The branch steam pipe g, and worm i, are not required when
oil only is being extracted; but for rendering tallow or lard this arrange-
ment will be found very serviceable, either in keeping the tallow in a
liquid state after ebullition by the open steam ceases, or in the event of
the contents cooling in the tank. When this occurs, by opening the
steam cock j, steam is let into and allowed to circulate through the
worm i, i, and the tallow is quickly melted without disturbing the
sediment.
MODE OF OPERATING.
. The discharging valve. f, being closed, and the cocks all shut, the
tank is filled through the manhole a, to within a short distance of the
top, the remainder of the space being required for the condensed water.
The manhole lid is then secured, and the steam is let into the tank from
the steam boiler by the cock h. The weights of the safety valves on
the boiler and tank being set at the requisite pressure, the time required
in the operation will vary from eight to twelve hours according to the
substance under operation, and the degree of heat and pressure:
employed..
.

page_text: The try cock b; should be carefully attended to during the operation,
for as long as it blows steam the operation should be continued, but if
it is found to spurt fatty contents the tank should be relieved by drawing
from the relief cock d. This may, however, be prevented by taking care
not to overload the tank in the first instance.
During the operation drawings may be taken from either of the
cocks c, by coupling on a hose. While taking drawings the supply
of steam should be cut off.
"
In the early stages of the operation the condensed water, fat, and
animal matter will be found to combine, and some time will.elapse
before any oil will shew itself, but as the process advances the sepa-
ration takes place more readily, and when the operation.is neár com-
pletion the separation is very rapid. The test of completion is a ready
separation of the water from the oil; all the animal fibre having by this
time been deprived of fat, its gravity will have increased, and on
ebullition, ceasing it will readily drop from the oil, and combine with
the water after sufficient time has been allowed for the matters to settle.
The pure oil will rest on the condensed water on the completion of the
process. When the steam is cut off the try cock b, and safety valve
should be opened to allow the steam in the tank to escape.
A small quantity of salt may be used without detriment to the oil for
the purpose of increasing the gravity of the water, and thereby causing
a more speedy separation of the oil and water.
The marine arrangement shewn at Fig. 2, is suitable for a ship of
from three to four hundred tons burden. A, A, are two cylindrical
tanks similarly constructed to that shewn at Fig. 1, with the exception
of the discharging valve f. The heads of the tanks may be made in
one piece of half inch plate. After the drawing or pumping off of the
oil, the residue is removed through the manhole. The boiler B, may
be placed either between decks, as shewn in the Drawing, or on the
main deck, as may be found most convenient. As the letters of
reference denote the like parts in both arrangements, and the mode of
operating with the marine arrangement is precisely similar to that
already described, no further explanation will be necessary.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of. carrying