IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DECOLORATION AND DISINFECTION OF LIQUIDS, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF DRYING OILS
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th May
1861. A communication from abroad by Louis Bouton, of Paris, in the
Empire of France.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan, Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DECOLORATION AND DISINFECTION OF LIQUIDS, AND IN THE
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF DRYING OILS," a communication from abroad
by Louis Bouton, of Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar system or mode of treating liquids, but
more especially oils of all kinds, whether vegetable, animal, or mineral, with a
view to their purification, whereby their disagreeable color and unpleasant
odour may be effectually removed, rendering them both colorless and free from
smell.
According to this Invention, the oil to be treated is introduced with about
one-fifth to one-tenth its volume of water into an agitator, consisting of a
closed vessel provided with a shaft, having a number of inclined blades or
arms, which shaft is rotated at a high velocity, so that its arms by their rota-
tion agitate and mix the oil and other matters contained in the vessel.
suitable quantity of chloride of lime or other disinfectant or docoloriser is
Α

page_text: mixed with the water. After the agitation has been continued for about
twenty minutes, muriatic acid or any other reactive forming the chemical base
of the particular disinfectant or decoloriser employed, is to be added, so as to
saturate the same and render its action as complete as possible, after which,
the agitation is repeated for another twenty minutes. It may be here remarked
that various disinfectants and decolorisers will be required according to the
particular oils or liquids to be operated upon; and in some cases, as in the
treatment of linseed oil, for example, the preparatory process above described
may be dispensed with entirely, the disinfecting and decolorising of the oil
being effected solely by the subsequent process of oxigenation hereafter
described. The agitating and mixing operation having been completed, the
contents of the vessel is allowed to rest for a short period, in order that the
different matters may separate. The oil which floats upon the surface of the
water is then drawn off through suitable cocks placed a little above the
water level. The lime which floats upon the surface of the water is then
removed, and is strained or filtered, in order to extract any oil which may
remain therein. The water itself is then drawn off through a discharge
cock at the bottom of the vessel,, and is also filtered, in order to collect
the base products of the operation contained therein, which, in the case of
heavy oils, contain stearine, saponine, resinous deposits, and other matters, the
collection and utilisation of which considerably reduces the cost of the whole
process. The oil which has been drawn off is now filtered through animal
cliarcoal, after which it is ready for the subsequent process of oxigenation.
The object of this second operation is to bring the oxygen of the atmosphere
into intimate and close admixture and contact with the entire mass of oil, and
in order to accomplish this more effectually it is proposed to pass the oil from
an upper to a lower reservoir through and over a number of fine strainers and
spouts, disposed älternately in a vertical series between the two reservoirs, so
that the oil from the upper reservoir will be subdivided in its descent to the
lower one into a number of minute streams or drops, thereby exposing a large
surface to the oxigenating action of the atmosphere. The oil on reaching the
lower reservoir is élevated by a pump or otherwise into the upper reservoir
again, when the percolating process is repeated, and this is continued until its
complete disinfection and decolorisation is effected. The oil is then filtered
once more, which completes the entire process. By the adoption of the above
processes colorless drying oils may be prepared, which will have all the pro-
perties of the dark-colored boiled oils hitherto used.
In preparing a drying oil by this process, a given weight of good linseed oil
is to be introduced into the agitator, mixed with the usual quantity of litharge

page_text: hitherto employed in the preparation of boiled oils, in the ordinary manner.
This mixture is well agitated for two or three hours, after which the oil is
drawn off and filtered, and then submitted to the process of oxigenation above
described. At the end of from four to six days the oil will be found to be both
white, unctuous, and doubly oxigenated. By this system the dangerous and
wasteful process of boiling is obviated, whilst the litharge not being dete-
riorated by fire may be re-employed effectively from ten to twelve times, thus
effecting a considerable economy in the process.
Facility is also afforded by the above mode of treatment for preparing color-
less siccatives or "dryers" of different strengths, according to the uses to which
they are to be applied, such "dryers" consisting either simply of pure linseed
oil strongly litharged, or of linseed oil combined and mixed with essence of
turpentine and litharge, or with peroxide of manganese, or any other analagous
oxide. If it be desired to expedite the oxigenating process, it may be carried
on artificially by the production of oxygen in closed vessels, in place of sub-
mitting the oil or other liquid to the action of the atmosphere only.