Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Oils for Refining, Bleaching, and Boiling the same.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 9th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 14th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Oils for Refining,
Bleaching, and Boiling the same.
We, WALTER NOEL HARTLEY, of 36, Waterloo Road, Dublin, in the
County of Dublin, Ireland, Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor of Chemistry
in the Royal College of Science, Dublin, and WILLIAM EDMUND BRANDFORD
BLENKINSOP, of 15, Earlsfield Road, Wandsworth Common, in the County of
Surrey, Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
:-
Our invention relates to the production of a refined and bleached boiled oil
from crude oil by a process of refining, bleaching and boiling at one operation.
According to this invention in the preparation of pale boiled oil we proceed as
follows. If the crude oil is clear we heat it to a steam heat up to 250° Fahrenheit
or thereabouts and blow a current of air or oxygen into it. By raising its
temperature before blowing the oil yields a less persistent and tenacious froth than
it does when cold and the operation of blowing is less troublesome. Any moisture
which the warm oil may contain is driven off by the current of air. The action of
heat combined with the rapid current of air also causes the mucilage contained in
the oil to shrink into a very small bulk and to coagulate or cake together in such a
manner as to leave the oil bright after it has been bleached or finished. We then
add to the oil a solution of manganese linoleate in such a proportion as will con-
veniently bleach the oil before it has considerably increased in density or viscosity.
We usually employ about one measure of the solution of the linoleate to about
1600 measures of the oil or about one measure to about 400 measures of the oil.
We may add the solution of manganese linoleate either during the process of
blowing and without interruption or we may interrupt the current of air temporarily
but we do not allow the mixture of manganese linoleate and oil to stand for so long
a time that insoluble matters separate and create a turbidity in the oil because by
continuing the current of air immediately after mixing the solution of_manganese
linoleate with the oil we find that we can obtain a clear boiled oil. In order to
bleach the oil rapidly we then blow air or oxygen through it at the rate of abɔut
30,000 to 45,000 cubic feet of air per hour for each ton of oil operated upon or a
corresponding quantity of oxygen. The oil is bleached in about an hour or less and
when it is found that the further action of air does not improve its colour we cool
the oil down to about 170° Fahrenheit and add a further proportion of linoleate to
the oil as for instance about 1 measure of the solution of manganese linoleate to
about 100 measures of the oil and after this addition we continue to blow the oil at
a temperature of 170° Fahrenheit or thereabouts until it has acquired the desired
density or viscosity.
We do not always follow this course in the precise manner we have described
because we may with advantage modify it according to circumstances. Thus after
the oil has been bleached if we ascertain by inspection that it contains an undue
quantity of floating particles we first separate these by subsidence, filtration or
otherwise and we afterwards blow the bleached and clarified oil with a further
addition of manganese linoleate in order to convert it into a clear pale boiled
oil. The reason for our proceeding in this manner is that, if the bleached oil
which shews signs of turbidity is blown so as to increase its density and viscosity
there is a difficulty in separating the minute solid particles which cause its
turbidity and either the process of producing a clear oil becomes more expensive
or so good an article is not produced.

page_text: If we have a stock of clear oil which we know from experience remains clear
after it has been bleached in the manner already described at a temperature
ranging from 190° Fahrenheit up to 250° Fahrenheit or thereabouts we may add
to it at once the full proportion of manganese linoleate which is required to
convert it into a good pale boiled oil and continue to blow it until it has bleached
and acquired the desired density and viscosity. By using the prescribed quantity
of air, namely from 30,000 to 45,000 cubic feet per hour for each ton of oil it will
be found that in three hours a good pale boiled oil which remains bright and clear
can be obtained from crude linseed oil.
If it be required to refine the oil and not to convert it into a drying oil, we
do not add any chemicals but we heat it to about 250° Fahrenheit and blow a
rapid current of air through it until its colour is greatly improved by the oxidation
of the strong yellow and brownish colouring matters which it usually contains.
By increasing the current of air to 100,000 cubic feet of air per hour per ton of
oil the process may be completed in about one hour.
The modification in our process which enables us to refine vegetable oils without
the addition of chemicals and to refine, bleach and boil oil at one operation has a
substantial commercial advantage, not only in making the process economical when
carried out on a large scale but also in effecting a saving of time. The apparatus
used is that described in our Complete Specification No. 11629 A.D. 1890.
Dated this 9th day of May 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Oils for Refining,
Bleaching, and Boiling the same.
We, WALTER NOEL HARTLEY, of 36, Waterloo Road, Dublin, in the County
of Dublin, Ireland, Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor of Chemistry in the
Royal College of Science, Dublin, and WILLIAM EDMUND BRANDFORD
BLENKINSOP, of 15, Earlsfield Road, Wandsworth Common, in the County of
Surrey, Manufacturing Chemist, 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:—
Our invention mainly relates to the production of a refined bleached and boiled
oil of any desired drying power, density, or viscosity from raw oil by a process of
refining, bleaching and boiling at one operation.
According to our invention we take raw linseed oil which has been cleared from
mucilage and all insoluble matter either by storage in tanks or by filtration or by
treatment in a centrifugal machine or by any other suitable method and by
preference we mechanically clear the oil when it is at a temperature not
exceeding 50° Fahrenheit although slightly higher temperatures can be successfully
employed.
We first heat the oil to a steam heat ranging from 190° to 250° Fahrenheit or
thereabouts and we blow a current of air or oxygen into the oil until most of the
moisture which it contains is expelled and a sample taken from the bulk remains
bright and clear after it has been cooled. We then add to the oil a manganese salt
of a fatty acid which is easily soluble in the warm oil and which may be added
thereto either in the solid state or in solution. We prefer to use manganese
linoleate and we find it convenient to make a strong solution of the solid substance
in a liquid which will easily mix with oil, such as turpentine, a fatty acid or oil.
We warm a measured quantity of the strong solution of manganese linoleate to
about 120° Fahrenheit and mix it with the oil in such a proportion as will

page_text: conveniently bleach the oil before it has considerably increased in density or
viscosity. We may employ about one measure of the solution of manganese
linoleate containing about one-fourth of its weight of solid linoleate to 1600
measures of oil but the usual quantity is about one measure to 400 measures of
oil. We add the solution of manganese linoleate either during the process of
blowing and without interruption, or we interrupt the current of air or oxygen
temporarily as may be convenient, but we do not allow the mixture of manganese
linoleate and oil to stand for so long a time as to permit insoluble matters to
separate and cause the oil to become turbid because by continuing the current of
air immediately after mixing the solution of manganese linoleate with the oil we
are able to obtain a clear boiled oil.
In order to bleach the oil or to remove the greater part of the natural colouring
matter rapidly we then blow air or oxygen through it at the rate of 15,000 cubic
feet of air per hour or thereabouts for each ton of oil operated upon or a
corresponding quantity of oxygen.
At a temperature of 190° Fahrenheit the oil is bleached in about an hour or less
after the linoleate has been added, and when it is found that the further action of
air does not improve its colour we cool the oil down to 170° Fahrenheit and add a
further proportion of linoleate to the oil, for instance about one, or one and a half
measures of the solution of manganese linoleate to about 100 measures of the oil
and after this addition we continue to blow the current of air through the oil at a
temperature which we prefer should not exceed 190° Fahrenheit or thereabouts
until it has acquired the desired density or viscosity.
We do not always follow this course precisely in the manner herein described
because we may with advantage modify it according to circumstances, for instance
we can add the whole of the manganese linoleate at once. Thus, if we have a
stock of oil which we know by experience remains clear after it has been bleached
in the manner already described at a temperature ranging from 190° to
250° Fahrenheit, we heat the oil to a steam heat and blow a current of air through
it for about an hour, we then lower the temperature of the oil to about
170° Fahrenheit and add at ouce the full proportion of manganese linoleate which
is required to convert the oil into a good pale boiled oil, and we continue to pass the
current of air through the oil until the natural colouring matter which the latter
contains has been destroyed and it has acquired the desired density or viscosity.
By using a steady current of air of about 15,000 cubic feet per hour for each ton
of oil to be boiled we have found that in about one hour to one hour and a half.a
good pale boiled oil which remains bright and clear can be obtained from raw
linseed oil when operating on quantities of about five tons of oil.
We have measured with precision the quantity of air used with success on many
different occasions and we state the proportion which we have found to generally
give satisfactory results, but the quantity actually required is found to vary with
the pressure under which the air passes into the oil, the condition of the atmosphere,
the quantity of linoleate solution used, the temperature employed, and the colour
of the raw oil.
The quantity of air used is an important practical detail in successfully carrying
out this process because the manganese compound acts merely as a medium by
which the oxygen of the air is absorbed and afterwards made to combine chemically
with the oil.
When the oil is sufficiently bleached or boiled it may be cooled rapidly to about
150° Fahrenheit without causing turbidity or otherwise impairing its appearance
and properties. In order to cool the oil we pass a stream of cold water through
the coil of pipe which by the aid of steam has been used for heating the oil in the
blowing tanks.
Although in order to produce a clear pale boiled oil in one operation it is
necessary to start the process with a clear raw oil clarified by subsidence or
otherwise we can employ a cloudy raw oil which when treated as hereinbefore
described will produce a pale boiled oil equal in every respect to that obtained

page_text: from clear raw oil except that it is cloudy. It can, however, subsequently be made
bright by filtration.
The apparatus which we have found to answer well in practice for carrying out
our process is that described and illustrated in the Specification of our Patent
No. 11629 of 1890, the open vessels or tanks a, b and the tank i each being
separately or independently utilized in treating oils according to our improved
process.
The oil prepared by our process is free from the defects of boiled oil containing
lead, for it does not darken by exposure to air or to sulphuretted hydrogen, nor
does it deposit insoluble matter after long storage and it is produced without the
production of "foots" because no compound of lead is used for clarifying the
oil or for any other purpose in the process of boiling and no insoluble material
is used.
This process which enables us to manufacture bleached and boiled oil which
remains bright and clear without the application of a preliminary process of
refining by means of chemicals and to refine, bleach and boil oil at one operation
and in one vessel has a substantial commercial advantage when operating on large
quantities of oil not only in making the process simple and economical, but also in
effecting a saving of time and in producing a pale boiled oil of uniform quality
with properties superior to those of the various makes in common use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The process of refining and bleaching and of refining, bleaching and boiling
raw oil in one operation and in one vessel by blowing a current of air or oxygen
through heated oil until most of the moisture has been expelled therefrom and then
adding to the oil a manganese salt of a fatty acid, such for example as manganese
linoleate, either in the solid state or in solution and continuing to blow in air,
substantially as described.
2. Clear pale boiled oil of any desired density, drying power, or viscosity
produced by the processes herein described direct from raw linseed oil without the
use of lead or lead compounds, substantially as described.
3. The use for carrying out the herein described process of the apparatus
described and illustrated in the Specification of our former Letters Patent No. 11629
of 1890.
Dated this 9th day of March 1904
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.