IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL OIL
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Lees, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturing Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL OIL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Lees at the Office
of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th January
1858.
I, SAMUEL LEES, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing
Chemist, do, hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL OIL," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in distilling or abstracting the oil contained in coal,
cannel, schists, or other mineral bituminous substances by combining such
substances with asphaltum, or pitch (the residuum formed in the manufacture
of gas for illumination) or other suitable substances, and by the application of
heat which dissolves the asphaltum or pitch or other suitable substances, and
causes the mineral bituminous substances to give off their oil in the form of
vapour..
In performing my Invention I break the mineral bituminous substances,
and the asphaltum or pitch or other suitable substance into pieces of any
convenient size, and put the whole into a common still, which is then closed
and heated in the usual manner. The still is provided with a pipe or worm
through which the oil is driven in the form of vapour; the pipe or worm is
kept cool to condense the vapour as heretofore customary, the vapour thus

page_text: condensed in the mineral oil which may be purified by any of the known
processes. In order to prevent the worm of the still becoming stopped up
by the condensed vapours, I apply a syphon thereto, which is kept warm by
steam or otherwise.
When the process of distillation is finished, the still is opened and allowed to
cool; the residue of the mineral bituminous substances and of the asphaltum
or pitch or other suitable substances is then removed, and may be used as fuel,
and the process can then be repeated as before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance-of-the-conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Lees in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
May 1858:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
LEES, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Lees, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Lees, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Lees, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL
OIL;" upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Lees, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Lees, 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
(that is to say):-

page_text: The nature of my said Invention consists in distilling or abstacting the oil
contained in coal, cannel, schists, or other mineral bituminous substances, by
combining those substances with asphaltum or pitch, such asphaltum being
the residue obtained in the distillation of tar produced in the manufacture of
gas for illumination, or any other asphaltum or pitch obtained from the dis
tillation of bituminous-tars, and by the application as herein-after described
of heat, which dissolves the asphaltum or pitch, and causes the mineral
bituminous substances to dissolve and give off their oil; this oil then combines
with the dissolved asphaltum or pitch, and is separated therefrom in the form
of vapour by the continued application of heat, which may be used at a high
temperature.
In performing my Invention I prefer to make use of a still similar to the
one shewn in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings for heating the mineral
bituminous substances and the asphaltum or pitch, but any other suitable form
of still may be used. Figure 1 represents a transverse section of the still and
other parts of the apparatus; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.
The still marked a is cylindrical, and it is heated by a fire on the grate bars 6,
the flues c, c, causing the products of combustion to pass around the lower
part of the still, as in the stills used in the manufacture of pyroligneous and
other acids. One end of the still is furnished with a lid d, and two manholes
marked e, e, are made through the top of the still; to the upper part of the
still is connected the worm pipe f, to which is jointed the worm g; this
worm is placed in the usual manner within the water tank h.
At the upper
part of the worm g is attached the syphon i, which is supplied with hot water
through the pipe j. Beneath the end of worm g is placed the separating
vessel k, which is furnished with a water syphon 1, and an off pipe m. The
mode of operation is as follows:-The mineral bituminous substances and
the asphaltum or pitch are first broken into pieces of any convenient size, and
by preference, equal quantities of each by weight are put into the still; the
lid d being removed to facilitate the charging. When the still is charged
nearly full the lid d is put on and fastened by bolts or otherwise; the joint of
the lid must then be luted with cement or other suitable material in the usual
manner, the remainder of the charge is then put into the still through the
manholes e, e, and when the entire charge is in the still the manhole lids are
also secured and luted. In charging the still, I prefer to place the mineral
bituminous substances above the asphaltum or pitch.
The fire is then lighted on the grate bars 6, and the heat may be rapidly
raised until it dissolves the asphaltum or pitch; the dissolved asphaltum or
pitch acting on the mineral bituminous substances in the still liberates the oil

page_text: in the said mineral bituminous substances, and combines therewith; the
dissolved asphaltum or pitch with the oil gradually rise in the still, while the
earthy portions of the mineral bituminous substances descend. When the
mineral bituminous substances have been thus dissolved it is desirable to
maintain the heat in the still at a high temperature, in order that the oil com-
bined with the asphaltum or pitch may be given off in the form of vapour,
and this vapour escaping through the worm pipe fpasses through the worm g,
and becomes condensed in its passage through the worm, which is kept cool
by the water in the tank h. In order to prevent the worm g becoming
stopped up by the condensed vapours, a small current of hot water is supplied
to the syphon i through the pipe j, and this water with the oil is discharged
into the separating vessel k; the water being the heavier descends to the lower
part of the vessel and is carried off by the syphon l, and the oil runs off
through the pipe m, and is collected in any suitable receiver. The mineral
oil thus obtained may be purified by any of the old and well-known processes.
. When the process of distillation is finished or when a sufficient quantity of
the oil has been distilled or abstracted from the dissolved asphaltum or pitch
acting as, described on the mineral bituminous substances, the fire is drawn
out, the lid d is removed and the manholes e, e, and the dampers of the flues
(which are not shewn in the Drawing, as they are made in the usual manner)
are opened to allow the still and its contents to cool, the residue of the mineral
bituminous substances and of the asphaltum or pitch is then removed and may
be used as fuel, as it is a pure solid coke, which is a valuable result obtained
by the use of my new process as herein described. If after the still is opened
any oil should be found on the surface combined with the asphaltum or pitch,
it is put into the still at the next charge.
By thus distilling or abstracting the oil from mineral bituminous substances
a considerable saving of time and expense is effected, as three tons or more
may be operated upon in one still. It is also an important feature that in
my new process, as herein described, the still may be heated as rapidly and to
as great a degree as possible without injury to the oil produced or waste from
the production of gas, and a further improvement is that the oil produced by
the single distillation is almost clear, the carbonaceous and earthy particles
of the mineral bituminous substances being retained in the still by the
asphaltum or pitch, whereas in the modes hitherto adopted the product from
coals, cannels, and schists has required a second distillation to separate the oil
from the asphaltum or pitch and to produce oil of a colour and specific gravity
similar to that produced according to my improvements.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner

page_text: of carrying the same into practical operation, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the form of the still and apparatus shewn in the
accompanying Drawing, nor to the exact proportions given; but what I claim
as my improvements in the manufacture of mineral oil is the mode of treating
and dissolving mineral bituminous substances by the use of asphaltum or pitch
and the application of heat as described, and thereby abstracting the oil
contained in such mineral bituminous substances.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Lees, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
SAMUEL LEES. (L.S.)