AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID SUBSTANCES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT: to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID SUBSTANCES." A communication from abroad
by John Pericles Vincent, John Stevens Richards, Orange Noble, Charles
Harrison Lovrein, and Henry Rawle, all of Erie, State of Pennsylvania,
and Levi Spaulding Fales, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America.
Sealed the 3rd August 1866, and dated the 27th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th February 1866.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR
DISTILLING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the distillation of crude petroleum or other oils
by means of heat applied above the surface through the medium of a current
or currents of air, which circulating through the upper part of a still wil

page_text: produce the evaporation of and absorb the volatile portions of the oil and carry
them over to the condenser in which the vapour is separated by condensation.
By this process carbonization is avoided, and also the consequent production
of tar which results from the direct application of fire heat to the still, and an
increased product of refined oil is obtained in an economical manner. The
body of the still is made of cylindrical or other suitable form, and is provided
with a goose-neck leading to the condenser. An air pump or blower situated
at a convenient distance from the still is connected with the still. The inlet
valves of this pump or blower communicate with the atmosphere, and the
discharge valves with a chamber, with which is connected a coiled pipe which
passes through a heating furnace, which exposes a large surface to the heat of
the furnace. At a point beyond the furnace this pipe has two branches
which enter the still at the top; one branch terminates in a rose or other
perforated air-distributing device situated in the upper part of the still and
covering the greater portion of the surface of the oil therein; the other branch
pipe is formed into a coil and extends to or nearly to the bottom of the still
and passes out there. The branch pipes are provided with stop-cocks, so that
the supply of air through either may be shut off.
The operation of distilling is as follows:-The still having been charged
with oil, and fire having been made in the furnace, the cocks are opened and
the air pump or blower set in operation. The air is heated in passing through
the furnace, and in its heated state passes through the coiled pipe within the
still and heats the oil so as to evaporate the benzole and drive it off. When
all the benzole has been expelled from the oil one of the cocks is closed. The
heated air is then distributed through the rose over the surface of the oil,
which it heats to such a degree as to produce a rapid surface distillation,
taking up the vapours in suspension and carrying them off through the goose-
neck to the condenser, in which they are separated from the air by the
condensation consequent upon their cooling.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters

page_text: Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our.
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said. William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING PETROLEUM AND
OTHER LIQUID SUBSTANCES," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward. Newton, 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
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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon. (that is to say):-
:-
¡
This Invention consists in the distillation of crude petroleum or other oils
by means of heat applied above the surface through the medium of a current
or currents of air, which by circulating through the upper part of a still will
produce the evaporation of and will absorb the volatile portions of the oil and
carry them over to the condenser in which the vapor is separated by conden-
sation. By this process carbonization is avoided, and also the consequent
production of tar which results from the direct application of fire heat to the
still, and an increased product of refined oil is obtained in an economical
manner.
The Drawing represents a vertical section of an apparatus for performing
the process.
The body A of the still is made of cylindrical or other suitable form, and is
provided with a goose neck B leading to the condenser. An air pump or
blower C situated at a convenient distance from the still is connected there-
with. The inlet valves a, a, of this pump or blower communicate with the

page_text: atmosphere, and the discharge valves b, b, with the chamber c, with which is
connected a coiled pipe D which passes through a heating furnace E and
exposes a large surface to the heat of the furnace E. At a point beyond the
furnace this pipe D has two branches D₁ and D', which enter the still at the
top. The branch pipe D¹ terminates in a rose F or other perforated air
distributing device situated in the upper part of the still and covering the
greater portion of the surface of the oil therein. The other branch pipe Ds
is formed into a coil and extends to or nearly to the bottom of the still and
passes out at e.
The branch pipes D1 and D2 are provided with stop-cocks d'
and d outside of and near the still, so that the supply of air through either
may be shut off. The pipe D is also furnished near the air pump with a
cock or valve to regulate or shut off the supply of air through the pipe.
The operation of distilling petroleum by this process is as follows:-The
still having been charged with oil, and fire having been made in the furnace E,
the cocks d, d, are opened, and d' closed, and the air pump or blower C is
set in operation. The air which is forced through the pipe D is heated in
passing through the furnace, and in its heated state passes through the branch
pipe D' which is coiled within the still and thereby heats the oil so as to
evaporate the benzole and drive it off. When all the benzole has been
expelled from the oil the cock d² is closed and d¹ opened. The heated air is
then distributed through the rose F over the surface of the oil, which it heats
to such a degree as to produce a rapid surface distillation, taking up the vapors
in suspension and carrying them off through the goose-neck B to the condenser,
in which they are separated from the air by the condensation consequent upon
their cooling, the air escaping to the atmosphere. It is considered preferable
that the temperature of the air employed in this process should not exceed
three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, but it may be kept near that point. After
the oil has begun to come over the current of air may be gradually increased
during the whole process of distillation.
Having now described this Invention of an improved process of and
apparatus for distilling petroleum and other liquid substances, and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First, the distillation of crude petroleum or other oils by heat applied above
the surface through the medium of a current or currents of air circulating
through the upper part of the still, as herein set forth.
Second, the combination of a still with an air pump or blower, an air heating
furnace, a rose, or other air distributing device, and a pipe for conveying air

page_text: from the pump or blower through the furnace to the distributing device, as
and for the purpose herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (LS.)