AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING, CLEANING, AND REFINING PARAFFIN AND OTHER WAX, FATTY MATTER, RESIN, AND GUM, AND SEPARATING OIL THEREFROM
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING, CLEANING, AND
REFINING PARAFFIN AND OTHER WAX, FATTY MATTER, RESIN, AND GUM, AND
SEPARATING OIL THEREFROM." A communication from abroad by William
Bell, of the City and State of New York, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th January 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND
APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING, CLEANING, AND REFINING PARAFFIN, AND OTHER
WAX, FATTY MATTER, RESIN, AND GUM, AND SEPARATING OIL THEREFROM." [A
communication from abroad by William Bell, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.]
The said improved process of purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin wax and
other waxes, fatty matters, resins, and gums, consists in combining with such
articles, through heat and agitation, a solvent of naphtha, spirits of turpentine, or
ether, or the chemical equivalents thereof; in filtering the compound thus formed
while heated, and in subsequently separating the article purified, cleaned, and refined
from the remainder of the compound, thereby rendering said article ready for the
market. The compound formed of the article to be purified, refined, and cleaned,
and the solvent therefor, may be passed to the filter without being allowed to cool,
and the solvent and any oil in the compound may be expressed, or evaporated, or
separated by both these means; or in lieu thereof the said compound, before being
introduced into the filter, may be allowed to cool, and may have the solvent or oil
wholly or partially expressed from it, and afterwards may be reheated sufficiently
to melt or liquefy it, and in that condition filtered. The article to be purified,
cleansed, and refined may be introduced into a cylinder or other suitable vessel
heated by steam in pipes or a jacket, or by other desirable means, and agitated by
a revolving stirring blade or other means. When the compound is to be filtered
before cooling a pump and a system of connecting pipes may be employed to convey
it directly from the cylinder or vessel to, and force it through, a filter of any
appropriate kind, such for instance as one containing in an upper compartment sea
Price 6dı

page_text: sand, and in a lower animal charcoal or other bleaching material, and the compound,
leaving the filter and becoming cooled, may be subjected to a suitable press for
expressing the solvent and oil from it. Afterwards the compound may be placed in
a cylinder or vessel into which steam is injected, thus heating the mass, evaporating
and driving off the remainder of the solvent, and washing and still further purifying
the article being treated. If after making the compound aforesaid it is desirable to
allow it to cool before filtering, the solvent and oil (after the cooling) are partially
or wholly expressed from it, and then, in a vessel above the filter or otherwise, it is
re-heated sufficiently to melt or liquefy it, and filtered in that condition and treated
subsequently to the filtering as above described.
The naphtha expressed from the compound may be purified by distillation and
rendered fit for further use.
The Invention further consists in the combination in an apparatus for purifying,
cleaning, and refining the articles above ennumerated of a vessel provided with means
for heating and agitating its contents; a filter, and means for heating the contents
of the latter, whereby a convenient means for carrying out the above described
process is afforded. It also consists in other features and combinations of parts in
such apparatus hereinafter described.
In carrying into practice the above described process a given quantity of paraffin
wax or other wax, fatty matter, resin, or gum constituting the article to be purified,
cleaned, and refined, say, for example one ton, is introduced into a suitable vessel,
such, for instance as a cylinder, which is provided with an agitator consisting of a
rotary shaft carrying a number of radial arms or blades, and a suitable quantity of
a solvent of naphtha, preferably petroleum, naphtha, spirits of turpentine, ether, or
the chemical equivalents thereof, say, for example an amount equalling twice in
volume the volume of the wax, fatty matter, resin, or gum, is introduced into
said cylinder. The two are mixed by the agitator and heated by suitable means,
as for instance a steam pipe or coil, which extends into the cylinder until they are
thoroughly liquefied and combined. It may be here remarked that the proportion
of the solvent employed will vary slightly with the character of the article to be
purified, cleaned, and refined with which it is to be combined, the object being
always to employ such proportion that the mass will congeal in cooling. The article
to be purified may be introduced into the cylinder through man-holes, and the
solvent through a pipe from an underground tank to a pump, and thence by pipes
'to the cylinder, suitable valves in the pipes being preferably employed to control
the flow through these pipes.
Such of the solvent as is evaporated in the cylinder is carried off by another pipe
'to a condenser coil, and thence to a separator consisting of a chamber provided with
a siphon for carrying off the water formed from condensed steam, and a pipe leading
from the chamber above the water level and conducting back to the underground
tank. The cylinder may advantageously be inclined or have an inclined bottom
communicating with a chamber into which may gravitate and collect sediment and
dirt evolved or separated from the compound in the cylinder, and the passage to
this chamber may be provided with a valve controlling it, so that such sediment
and dirt may be withdrawn without stopping the work in the cylinder. The
compound, at the proper time, may be drawn off from the cylinder by the pump
through a pipe, and forced thence through a pipe herein before mentioned to and
through a filter, two of the pipes being provided with valves to control their use.
The filter is divided into two compartments having suitable inlets and outlets, the
upper being filled with sea-sand or other suitable filtering material, and the lower
with animal charcoal or other appropriate bleaching material, and the compound
from the cylinder is preferably forced in at the top and escapes at the bottom into
pans, wherein it is allowed to cool and congeal. A steam jacket surrounding the
filter, or other suitable means, will preferably be employed to keep the compound
heated and liquefied.
When the compound is sufficiently cooled it is, in bags or otherwise, subjected to
a press, and the compound of oil and naphtha expressed from it.

page_text: If desirable, the compound, instead of being conveyed directly from the cylinder
to the filter, may be allowed to cool and congeal, and then, in bags or otherwise,
subjected to the press. Thus the solvent and oil in the compound may be expressed
partially or wholly from the compound before entering the filter. When this course
is pursued there need be no connection between the said cylinder and the filter, and
the compound will be re-heated sufficiently to melt or liquefy it, so that it may pass
through the filter. A vessel mounted on the filter may be used for this if desirable,
and may be heated by a steam jacket or other means. Whichever course is pursued
the compound is, after cooling, broken up and through a man hole or opening
introduced into a cylinder into which steam is injected through a main pipe and
branch pipes, the whole being heated, the remaining solvent evaporated and driven
off, condensed in a condenser, and separated as described in connection with the
first named cylinder. The material to be purified, cleaned, and refined is washed
by the steam and run off through a pipe in a settling tank, heated by a steam
coil so that any water it may hold in suspension may be separated by specific
gravity, after which the said materials may be run off into moulds, and will then
be ready for the market.
The compound of oil and the solvent expressed by the press may be forced by a
pump directly into a cylinder heated by a steam-pipe and branch pipes, and the
solvent remaining in it evaporated and driven off through a pipe to a condenser,
and separated as before. The oil may then be drawn off in marketable condition
and the solvent saved for further use.
It will be seen that by this Invention provision is afforded for very effectively
purifying, cleaning, and refining wax, fatty matters, resin, and gum, because of
combining the same with a solvent through heat and filtering them while heated,
and that the solvent is economized by using less of it and by reclaiming what is
used for further use.
The apparatus described, though advantageous, is not the only kind which can be.
employed, and consequently may be varied in its details in many respects without
departing from the principles of the said Invention.
In treating certain waxes or fatty matter, such as beeswax, having little or no.
oil, the compound taken from the first named cylinder need not be subjected to the
press, but the solvent may be evaporated as above described, and the wax or fatty
matter will then be ready for the inarket; also in some cases the bleaching material
in the filter may be dispensed with.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
July 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND
APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING, CLEANING, AND REFINING PARAFFIN AND OTHER
WAX, FATTY MATTER, RESIN, AND GUM, AND SEPARATING OIL THEREFROM." A
communication from abroad by William Bell, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.
The improved process of purifying, cleaning, and refining parafin-wax and other
waxes, fatty matters, resins and gums, forming part of this Invention, consists in
combining with such articles through heat and agitation a solvent of naphtha,
spirits of turpentine or ether, or the chemical equivalents thereof; in filtering the
compound thus formed while heated, and in subsequently separating the article
purified, cleaned, and refined from the remainder of the compound, thereby rendering
said article ready for the market. The compound formed of the article to be
purified, refined, and cleaned, and the solvent therefor may be passed to the filter
without being allowed to cool, and the solvent and any oil in the compound may
be expressed, or evaporated, or separated by both these means; or in lieu thereof,
the said compound before being introduced into the filter may be allowed to cool,
and may have the solvent or oil wholly or partially expressed from it, and after-
wards may be re-heated sufficiently to melt or liquefy it, and in that condition
filtered. The article to be purified, cleansed, and refined, may be introduced into a
cylinder or other suitable vessel heated by steam in pipes or a jacket, or in any
other suitable manner, and agitated by a revolving stirring blade or other suitable
means. When the compound is to be filtered before cooling, a pump and a system
of connecting pipes may be employed to convey it directly from the cylinder or
vessel to and force it through a filter of any appropriate kind, such for instance as
one containing in an upper compartment sea sand, and in a lower compartment
animal charcoal or other bleaching material; and the compound leaving the filter
and becoming cooled, may be subjected to a suitable press for expressing the solvent
and oil from it. The compound may afterwards be placed in a cylinder or vessel
into which steam is injected, thus heating the mass, evaporating and driving off the
remainder of the solvent, and washing and still further purifying the article being
treated. If after making the aforesaid compound it is desirable to allow it to cool
before filtering, the solvent and oil (after the cooling) are partially or wholly
expressed from it, and it is then re-heated in a vessel above the filter or otherwise
sufficiently to melt or liquefy it and filtered in that condition, and treated
subsequently to the filtering as above described.
The naphtha expressed from the compound may be purified by distillation, and
rendered fit for further use.
The said Invention further consists in the combination in an apparatus for
purifying, cleaning, and refining the articles above enumerated, of a vessel provided
with means for heating and agitating its contents, a filter, and means for heating
the contents of the latter, whereby a convenient means for carrying out the above
described process is afforded. It also consists in other features and combinations of
parts in such apparatus as hereinafter described.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is side elevation partly in longitudinal section of that portion of the
apparatus wherein the wax, fatty matter, resin, or gum, and naphtha, spirits of
turpentine, ether, or the chemical equivalents thereof are combined and filtered.
Figure 2 is a similar view of that portion of the apparatus wherein the wax,
fatty matter, resin, or gum after cooling is reheated; the naphtha, spirits of

page_text: turpentine, ether, or the chemical equivalents thereof evaporated, and the wax,
fatty matter, resin, or gum washed, and
Figure 3 is a similar view of that portion of the apparatus wherein the oil is
rendered marketable.
In carrying the above described process into effect, a given quantity of paraffin-
wax, or other wax, fatty matter, resin, or gum constituting the article to be purified,
cleaned, and refined (say, for example one ton) is introduced into a suitable vessel,
such for instance as a cylinder A, which is provided with an agitator consisting of
a rotary shaft B carrying a number of radial arms or blades C, and a suitable
quantity of a solvent of naphtha, preferably petroleum, naphtha, spirits of
turpentine, ether, or the chemical equivalents thereof (say, for example, an amount
equalling twice in volume the volume of the wax, fatty matter, resin, or gum), is
introduced into said cylinder. The two ingredients are mixed by the agitator and
heated by suitable means, as for instance, a steam pipe or coil D which extends
into the cylinder A, until they are thoroughly liquefied and combined. It may be
here remarked that the proportion of the solvent employed will vary slightly
according to the character of the article to be purified, cleaned, and refined with
which it is to be combined, the object being always to employ such proportion that
the mass will congeal in cooling. The article to be purified inay be introduced
into the cylinder A through manholes A', and the solvent through a pipe A² from
an underground tank As, to a pump A', and thence by pipes E' and A' to the
cylinder. Suitable valves a and a¹ in the pipes A2 and A, are preferably employed
to control the flow through these pipes.
Such of the solvent as is evaporated in the cylinder A is carried off by a pipe A6
to a condenser coil A', and thence to a separator consisting of a chamber A³
provided with a syphon A³ for carrying off the water formed from condensed steam,
and a pipe A10 leading from the chamber above the water level, back to the
underground tank A³. The cylinder may advantageously be inclined, or have an
inclined bottom communicating with a chamber A", into which any sediment and
dirt evolved or separated from the compound in the cylinder may gravitate and
collect, and the passage to this chamber may be provided with a controlling valve
a², so that such sediment and dirt may be withdrawn without stopping the work in
the cylinder. The compound at the proper time may be drawn off from the
cylinder A by the pump A, through a pipe E, and forced thence through a pipe E¹
to and through a filter F, the pipes E and E¹ being provided with valves e and e¹.
The filter F, as shewn, is divided into two compartments, having suitable inlets and
outlets, the upper compartment being filled with sea-sand or other suitable filtering
material, and the lower compartment with animal charcoal or other appropriate
bleaching material, and the compound from the cylinder A is preferably forced in at
the top, and escapes at the bottom into pans wherein it is allowed to cool and
congeal. A steam jacket surrounding the filter or other suitable means will
preferably be employed to keep the compound heated and liquefied.
When the compound is sufficiently cooled it is subjected, in bags or otherwise, to
a press G¹, Figure 3, and the compound of oil and naphtha expressed from it.
If desirable the compound instead of being conveyed directly from the cylinder A
to the filter F may be allowed to cool and congeal, and be then subjected in bags or
otherwise to the press G¹. Thus the solvent and oil in the compound may be
expressed partially or wholly from the compound before entering the filter. When
this course is pursued there need be no connection between the said cylinder and
the filter, and the compound will be re-heated sufficiently to melt or liquefy it so
that it may pass through the filter. A vessel mounted on the filter may be used
for this purpose if desirable, and may be heated by a steam jacket or other means.
Whichever course is pursued the compound is after cooling broken up and introduced
through a man-hole or opening into a cylinder H, Figure 2, into which steam is
injected through a main pipe I and branch pipes I', the whole being heated, the
remaining solvent is evaporated and driven off, condensed in a condenser J, and

page_text: separated, as described in connection with the cylinder A. The material to be
purified, cleaned, and refined is washed by the steam and run off through a pipe K
into a settling tank L, heated by a steam coil L', so that any water it may hold. in
suspension may be separated by specific gravity, after which the said materials may
be run off into moulds and will then be ready for the market.
The compound of oil and the solvent expressed by the press G¹, Figure 3, may
be forced by a pump M directly into a cylinder S, heated by a steam pipe N and
branch pipes N, and the solvent remaining in it evaporated and driven off through
a pipe O to a condenser O', and separated as before. The oil may then be drawn
off in a marketable condition and the solvent saved for further use.
It will be seen that by this Invention provision is afforded for very effectively
purifying, cleaning, and refining wax, fatty matters, resin, and gum by combining
the same with a solvent through heat and filtering them while heated, and that
the solvent is economized by using less of it and by reclaiming what is used for
further use.
The apparatus illustrated in the Drawing above described, though advantageous,
is not the only kind which can be employed, and consequently may be varied in
its details in many respects without departing from the principles of the said
Invention.
In treating certain waxes or fatty matter, such as beeswax, having little or no
oil, the compound taken from the cylinder A need not be subjected to the press,
but the solvent may be evaporated as above described, and the wax or fatty matter
will then be ready for the market. In some cases also the bleaching material in
the filter may be dispensed with.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,-
First. The process of purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin-wax and other
wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum, consisting in combining with such articles
through heat and agitation a solvent of naphtha, spirits of turpentine, or ether, or
the chemical equivalent thereof, in filtering the compound thus formed while heated,
and in subsequently separating the article purified, cleaned, and refined from the
remainder of the compound, substantially as above set forth.
Second. The combination in an apparatus for purifying, cleaning, and refining
paraffin-wax or other wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum of a vessel provided with
means for heating and agitating its contents, a filter, and means for heating the
contents of said filter, substantially as above set forth.
Third. In the process of purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin-wax and other
wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum the reclaiming of the solvent employed in said
process, substantially as above set forth.
Fourth. In the process of purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin-wax and other
wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum the treatment of oil derived through said process,
substantially as specified.
Fifth. In an apparatus for purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin-wax and
other wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum, the combination of the cylinder A, the
agitating blades revolving therein, the means for heating the contents of said
cylinder, the filter with its steam jacket, the pump A', the pipe E leading from the
cylinder to the pump, and the pipe E' leading from the pump to the filter, sub-
stantially as above set forth.
Sixth. In an apparatus for purifying, cleaning, and refining paraffin-wax and
other wax, fatty matter, resin, and gum the combination of the cylinder A, the
means for heating the contents thereof, the tank A³ for containing naphtha, the
filter F provided with a steam-jacket, the pump A' and pipes connecting the said
pump with the cylinder tank, and filter provided with suitable valves whereby the

page_text: pump may be used to supply naphtha or other solvent to the cylinder from the
tank, or to pump the contents of said cylinder therefrom into the filter, substantially
as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)