IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTING, WAREHOUSING, AND BARRELLING PETROLEUM, OIL, OR LIQUIDS LIGHTER THAN WATER
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Max Gossi. Merchant, of Antwerp, Office, 11, Rue
des Peignes, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTING,
WAREHOUSING, AND BARRELLING PETROLEUM, OIL, OR LIQUIDS LIGHTER THAN
WATER."
Sealed the 27th August 1867, and dated the 2nd March 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Max Gossi at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd March
1867.
I, MAX GOSSI, Merchant, of Antwerp, Office, 11. Rue des Peignes, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRANSPORTING, WAREHOUSING, AND BARRELLING PETROLEUM, OIL, OR LIQUIDS
LIGHTER THAN WATER." to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the transporting, warehousing, and barrelling
of petroleum, oil, or other liquids lighter than water, also to prevent leakage
and deterioration of petroleum, and to prevent all danger of fire from or by
this inflammable material.
The Invention is based, 1st, on the principle that when two or more
heterogeneous liquids are superposed in the same vessel, it is necessary, in order
that there may be an equilibrium, that each of them shall satisfy the conditions
[Price 8d.]

page_text: required in the case of a single liquid, and in addition, in order that the
equilibrium may be stable, the liquids must be superposed according to their
density, the density decreasing from the lowest to the highest.
2nd, that when two liquids of different density, not having any chemical
action one on the other, are contained in two vessels communicating one with
the other, then. according to the known conditions of equilibrium, it is
necessary that the height of the columns of liquid which produce an equilí
brium shall be inversely as the density of the two liquids. It follows that
the water contained in a large vessel let in at the bottom into a smalier
vessel filled with petroleum and submerged in the large vessel tries to recover
its level of equilibrium by expelling and supporting the lighter petroleum
of the small vessel. On the basis of these physical laws I construct large
recipients in sheet iron, zinc, or any other material, either square, oblong.
round, or of any other form, such as is shown on Sheet 1. by the Figure No. 2.
This recipient is hermetically closed, submerged, and surrounded on all sides
by the water of the basin No. 1; to fill this recipient with petroleum make
use of the pipe No. 3, terminating in a funnel which may be of any shape and
material whatever. The recipient filled 1 close the opening at the bottom of
the pipe by means of a screw plug. screw cap, or tap. The water is let in
from the outside into this recipient at the opening made in a, also closed with
a screw plug or tap that may be moved by the aid of a rod or key No. 6,
having a handle above the surface of the water; on opening this orifice the
water on the outside enters the basin and is conducted to the bottom by
the pipe a, b, Figure 5, where it spreads all over the recipient, forcing up
the petroleum oil it contains. In order to convey as aforesaid the water of the
great basin No. 1 into the vessel No. 2. I have the option of employing any
other means or process, such as a valve, pump, or tube applied to either face
or side of the vessel; the oil forced up runs out by one of the two outlets e
or d, made in the upper part of the recipient, according as one or other of the
taps on the pipes No. 4 and No. 9 fixed to these openings be opened; thus
if I wish to make use of the pipe No. 4 I close the syphon No. 9, and vice
One only of these pipes can also be made to serve the purpose: thus
supposing that No. 9 has been suppressed I carry the pipe No. 4 to the
surface of the water in the basin, or to any convenient height, and thus lead
it out of the reservoir, pass it across the space between the reservoir and the
inner side of the great basin No. 1, and through the side of this basin. At its
extremity there is a tap e, by which the petroleum from the reservoir may be
allowed to run into a vat of any shape or material whatever, which will only
contain the quantity of petroleum necessary for immediate use, and from
versa.

page_text: which it is drawn off by taps at the bottom of the vat into barrels. In this
manner the danger of fire is decreased and confined to the petroleum in the
vat, the tap of the pipe No. 4 being shut at pleasure. If I wish to suppress the
pipe No. 4 and make use of the syphon No. 9 I act in the same way as when
using the pipe No. 4. By making these two means of discharge, correspond
with the surface of the water in the basin No. 1 I prevent this water from
running out when the vessel No. 2 is emptied of the petroleum it contained.
The dimensions of the pipes No. 4, No. 5. and No. 9, are regulated according
to the capacity of the recipient No. 2 and the pressure of water that is
required. The pressure in the pipe No. 5 can also be regulated by a moderator
applied to the tap No. 6, or more simply by opening this tap more or less to
admit only the quantity of water necessary. The reservoir No. 2 being emptied
of its petroleum is necessarily filled with water. In order to empty the reser-
voir I make use of the pipe No. 7. which is fixed to one of its lateral inner
sides, which lets the water flow away through the inner sides of the basin.
If I cannot empty the recipient No. 2 by this means in consequence of local
circumstances. I make use of the pipe No. 8. to which I apply a suction
pump. The Figure No. 8 does not represent this arrangement, it only
indicates that by breaking this pipe at any convenient point below the surface
of the water in the basin No. 1, I give myself a second means of letting in
water into the recipient in order to force out the petroleum by making use of
a valve or other suitable arrangement.
The reservoir No. 2 may also be emptied of water by raising it by any
suitable arrangement above the water surface of the great basin, or by any
other means or process, such as syphons or others. The pipe No. 5 and the
tap No. 6 would in that case become useless. The use of the pipe No. 8 is
entirely optional and can be suppressed. The vessel No. 2, shewn in the
Drawing, is fixed and fastened to the bottom of the basin by any suitable
means, unless the weight of the recipient be more than the volume of water it
displaces; but I reserve to myself the right, and this is one of the special
advantages of my Invention to make reservoirs such as represented in No. 2
of all forms and sizes of less weight than the volume of the water they
displace in order to be able to raise them out of the basin and make use of
them for transporting the petroleum. In, this case the pipes Nos. 4, 7, and 9
must be made of two pieces bound together by means of any system of screws
or otherwise. Each part of these pipes must be supplied with a tap, as in
e and f, to prevent the water from entering the recipient No. 2 and going out
of the basin No. 1. When thus separated from the inner side of the basin
No., 1, and detached from the bottom where they were previously held, the
"

page_text: réservoirs will be raised by the water and float on the surface. If it be desired
to take them out of the basin still full of petroleum one can raise them by
any process whatever above the level of the water in order that they may be
taken away by means of cranes or otherwise. When thus taken out the pieces
Nos. 3, 4, 7, 9, 6, 5, and 8 can be unscrewed and the openings shut by means
of screw plugs as represented by the Figure A and B. These reservoirs thus
arranged will represent cases that may be forwarded by water or land to the
places were the petroleum is found in order to be refilled. When thus sent
back the pieces Nos. 3, 4, 7, 9, 6, 5, and 8 will be screwed together again
then by means of cranes or any other mechanical power submerged again, then
having fastened the two ends of the pipes 4, 7, and 9, which might be done for
the pipe 7 by a diver, or any other way, and after opening the taps d and
the emptying of the recipient No. 2 may be again effected in the manner above
described.
For reservoirs that are moveable and are to be taken away after emptying,
the pipe No. 3 is useless and may be suppressed. On the under part of the
discharging pipe No. 4, I have indicated by the letters and i, two safety
obturators fixed in order to diminish the dangers of fire. The obturators will
be laid in the pipe with their spring hinges on the orifice of the pipe, and on
their under part a metal plug, fitting exactly a hole pierced through the inner
sides of the pipe No. 4 to avoid the leakage of the petroleum.
This plug
fixed by the end to a thread, and itself sheathed in a case of metal will hold at
the same time another plug at the ontside. The thread which attaches it at
at the point R. near the orifice of the pipe No. 4. would be composed of very
inflammable
materials; the consequence is that if the petroleum coming out
by the pipe No. 4 or contained in the vat No. 10 should take fire the thread
will immediately be broken and will let go the plug of the safety valve, and
at the same time the outside plug which in its turn will exactly fit the hole
through the pipe No. 4. The safety obturator shutting the pipe No. 4 will
prevent the petroleum of the recipient No. 2 from running out and all danger
will be avoided.
i
In the Drawing II. I represent a basin filled with several recipients, as
No. 2. separated from each other and free from all danger by the water sur-
rounding them on all sides. The number of these recipients would only be
limited by the size and depth of the basin; they may be of any dimensions,
shape, and material, and be thus collected together in the same place free from
all danger arising from so dangerous a material as petroleum. The reservoirs
to be submerged or raised would slide in grooves, and in order to facilitate
working above the surface of the basin, a framework and machinery are

page_text: placed over the 'basin at a sufficient height to allow of burdens being carried
over, and of work being performed over any part of the basin. Moreover,
it is not only in special basins that reservoirs such as shewn at No. 2 can be
made to work, any water whatever of sufficient depth, whether it be in a ditch,
a pond, a river, a pit, or in any vessel whatever may be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Max Gossi in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th August.
. 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MAX
Gossi, Merchant, of Antwerp, Office, 11, Rue des Peignes, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Max Gossi, Her special licence that I, the said Max Gossi,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Max Gossi, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 TRANSPORTING, WAREHOUSING, AND BARRELLING PETROLEUM, OIL, OR LIQUIDS
LIGHTER THAN WATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Max Gossi, 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 Max Gossi; 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in transporting, warehousing,
and barrelling petroleum, oil, or liquids lighter than water. In order to
obtain complete insulation of the cases or recipients made of iron, sheet

page_text: zinc, wood, or other material in which I preserve the petroleum, and which
may be either square, round, or otherwise, I construct basins of. any depth,
size, and form in brick or carth containing sufficient water to submerge all
the cases. Above the surface of these basins and at a sufficient height I
place bars or beams in iron, wood, or other material crossways. At the junc-
tions or elsewhere (all these bars forming a grate) I fix uprights or columns
provided with four angle or corner guides from top to bottom. At the top
these uprights are sustained by the bars of the grate, underneath they are
fixed in the masonry or other pavement of the basin, either to a grate
identical to that of the top, or to sleepers; these uprights or columns serve
also to support the bars at the top, making a kind of open flooring on which
a crane or hoisting machine can work to lift weights to carry them to
any point of the surface of the basin. The uprights or columns thus form
four guides, between which the cases which are made to correspond in size
to the distance between the guides can slide. By lowering into the water,
between each four guides, cases filled with petroleum I can submerge them;
they will sink by their own weight if they are heavier than their volume of
water, or otherwise ballast is added. Each single case or all the cases super-
posed between each four guides, from the bottom to the surface of the water,
and thus submerged, are kept down by a spring catch or other means. In
order to bring to the surface of the water the cases which are between four
guides, one has only to detach or open the catch or instrument which holds
them down. If their weight is not lighter than water they are assisted to
rise by a counterweight.
The Plan 11. shows the arrangement of these basins. In this arrangement
it will be seen that the cases are movable, and can remain permanently full
of petroleum under water or be drawn out and replaced by others. If it is
desired to take out the petroleum contained in the cases it can be done by
either of the following means:-
First, by letting in the water of the basin by the tube No. 65, Plan I., the
tube No. 8 having a tap underneath the surface of the basin, or the water may
be let in by any other tube communicating with the bottom of the case No. 2.
This water will flow under the petroleum in the case, sustain, bring it up,
and forcibly push it out by the open taps, either of the tube No. 4 or the
the other. The tube No. 4 and
syphon No. 9, according as I employ one, or
the syphon No. 9 fixed to the receiver No. 2 would pass through the space
of the water separating them from the wall of the basin and then through the
wall itself so as to pass to the exterior of the basin. The two ends attached
to the case No. 2 and to the wall would be separate but connected by a

page_text: double screw union or other means. The water thus filling the case No. 2
as the petroleum is drawn off from it would be emptied in its turn either.
1st, by letting out the water by the tube No. 7, which tube might serve also
to let out the petroleum; 2nd, by raising the case above the level of the
basin; 3rd. by the pressure exercised on it by a column of petroleum brought
to bear by means of a tube like No. 3 at a sufficient height.
This pressure
would make the water come out by a tube like No. 5. communicating with
the bottom of the case No. 2. and terminating above the surface of the basin.
4th, by means of a suction or force pump fixed on a tube like No. 8 com-
municating with the bottom of the case No. 2.
The means shown above to empty the petroleum from cases No. 2 is difficult
and complicated on account of the tubes which must pass the walls of the
basins and be united by double screws or other means. Thus I propose in
order to empty the cases No. 2 of the petroleum they contain to employ a
suction or force pump adapted to a tube No. 8. In this case I do not want
the aid of the water of the basin. for emptying the cases, the pump and the
atmospheric pressure furnished by a tube, such as No. 3. being perfectly
sufficient. In this arrangement the receiver, such as No. 2. may be insulated
by earth surrounding it on all sides. In order to avoid too great a pushing
force of the great cases No. 2 entirely emptied I might employ a suction
pump placed on a convexity of the upper surface of the case No. 2, and
whose suction tube would terminate at the upper surface of this case. To
replace the atmospherical pressure I would let in the water of the basin by
a tube like No. 8. having a tap under the surface of the basin, or by any other
tube communicating with the bottom of the case No. 2. The petroleum of
this case would thus be driven by the water to the upper part, and sucked up
by the pump fixed there; I can also place this pump in the tube of a syphon
like No. 9. To get out the water which has replaced the petroleum I employ
the means already indicated. The tubes necessary for these sundry opera-
tions ought to be screwed on to the cases before their submersion, and fixed
so as not to disturb the tubes of the cases placed above or below.
On
drawing the cases out of the water the tubes must be unscrewed, and the
openings of the cases, stopped by plugs or other screw stoppers. by which
means the cases are adapted for sending by land or water. It is not only in
basins specially adapted for it that one can make use of cases like No. 2,
it is sufficient to have water of proper depth, either a ditch, pond, river, pit,
or any vessel filled with water may be used.
emptied by means of the suction or force
wherever buried under the ground or separated by masonry or other means,
The cases which are to be
pump can be put in any place

page_text: the tube serving to fill the cases might serve at the same time to give the
atmospheric pressure.
The object of my Invention is the transport, warehousing.. and, barrelling
of petroleum, oil, or any liquid lighter than water: to prevent all leakage
and deterioration of petroleum; to avoid all danger of fire by and from this
inflammable matter.
In witness whereof, I, the said Max Gossi, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-first day of August. in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
MAX GOSSI. (.s.)