IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FATTY AND OILY MATTERS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
PILLANS WILSON, of Belmont, Vauxhall, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Ninth day of September, in the eighth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James
Pillans Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Ier especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Pillans
Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Pillans Wilson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FATTY AND OILY MATTERS, AND IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso requiring me, the said James Pillans Wilson, particularly to describe

page_text: and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Pillans Wilson, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully and
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
The first part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of fatty acids from
unrendered animal fatty materials. The processes hitherto used for the manu-
facture of fatty acids from animal fat have been applied to the fat in a
manufactured state, that is, after it has been subjected to a process of melting
or "rendering," which process is more or less troublesome, expensive, and
noisome. Now I have discovered that fatty acids can be produced from the
raw fats without any intermediate process of melting or "rendering," and that
the fatty acids so produced can be distilled and applied to the manufacture
of candles.
And in order that this first part of my Invention may be clearly understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means which I
pursue. I take a wrought-iron vessel of the capacity of about five tons, with
a steam worm in the bottom of it, so arranged as to admit of any liquid body
in the vessel being kept in a state of violent ebullition by the steam playing
into it through holes in all parts of the worm.
Into the vessel I put a quantity
of cream of lime, formed by six hundredweight of quicklime slaked, and then
mixed with about two hundred and fifty gallons of boiling, water, having
previously turned on the steam so as to keep the cream of lime in violent
agitation, and thus prevent the lime from settling out of it. I then take two
tons of raw fat, and gradually add it to the boiling cream of lime, but only as
fast as the latter will receive it without being materially checked in its boiling.
When the whole of the fat is in, I cover the vessel, and keep the steam on for
some hours until the whole mass is hardened into lime soap, which soap I after-
wards decompose with acid in the ordinary way, and then distil the fatty
acids thus obtained and subject them to pressure in the usual way. It will
be seen that the above process differs from that usually employed in acting on
fats previously "rendered," in this respect, namely, that I add the fat to the
boiling cream of lime, in place of adding the cream of lime to the boiling fat,

page_text: the reason for this variation being, that I often find parts of the raw fat to bo
impure and offensive, so that it gives off a very bad smell in boiling; but the
cold fat being put into the boiling cream of lime, the impurity and offen-
siveness are very rapidly removed by the latter. I make the harder product
of the above-mentioned process of pressure into candles in a manner similar
to that in use for the manufacture of stearine wax candles, or I mix it with
other substances for the manufacture of composite candles.
The second part of my Invention relates to the imparting of hydrogen to
fatty and oily matters, for the purpose of improving their burning qualities.
The mode in which I prefer to impart the hydrogen to the fatty and oily
matters is by impregnating them with ammoniacal gas, ammonia containing,
as is well known, three chemical equivalents of hydrogen combined with ono
chemical equivalent of nitrogen, and the nitrogen being wholly inactive, and
serving, so far as the imparting of hydrogen is concerned, only as a means of
fixing the hydrogen in the fatty or oily matter. But besides thus imparting
hydrogen by the use of ammonia, I also thereby raise the melting point of the
fatty or oily matter operated upon by wholly or partially converting them into
ammoniacal soaps; and I am thns enabled to use in candles fatty or oily
materials which, without the ammonia, would be liquid, or nearly so.
And in order that this second part of my Invention may be clearly under-
stood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means which
I pursue, and in doing so I will describe my Invention as applied by way of
example to tallow oil, on which I have found it advantageous to operate, on
account of its cheapness. This substance in its ordinary state is wholly unfit
for being made into candles, both because it is liquid, and also because if made
into a candle by being enclosed in a solid casing I have found it smoke very
much, both of which objections I remove in a great measure by this second
part of my Invention, namely, the liquidity by the ammonia as such combining
with the tallow oil and the smokiness by the hydrogen imparted to the tallow
oil by means of the ammonia. I take an iron cylinder of the capacity of about
two hundred and fifty gallons, closed at the top, and having its lower part fixed
in a steam jacket. Out of the top of this cylinder a two-inch pipo rises, and
then turns down into a wooden tub (of the capacity of about one ton),
terminating in an ordinary steam worm in the bottom of this tub. In the top
of the cylinder I place a valve opening inwards, and slightly weighted to
prevent the possibility of a vacuum being obtained in the process. In the top
of the cylinder is also a funnel with a stopcock, giving the power of intro-
ducing liquid at pleasure into the cylinder; and at the bottom of the cylinder,
and passing through the steam jacket, is a pipe with a stopcock, giving the

page_text: power of withdrawing liquid at pleasure from the cylinder. In the tub I place
ten hundredweight of tallow oil, previously boiled with a little dilute sulphuric
acid, for the purpose of abstracting the iron with which it is generally con-
taminated, and at a temperature of about 120° Fahrenheit; and I then
introduce into the cylinder through the funnel a quantity of the strongest
liquid ammonia, (that is, water highly charged with ammoniacal gas,) closing
the stopcock afterwards; I then gradually and cautiously warm the cylinder
by turning the steam on to its steam jacket, and the ammonia rises in a
gascous form under the influence of the heat, and forces its way down the pipe
and through holes in every part of the steam worm into the matter under
process, by which it is absorbed; and this is continued, accompanied by
constant stirring, until the matter under process has taken up a sufficient
quantity of ammonia, which I ascertain by dipping a stick into the vessel from
time to time, and observing how soon the few drops which will fall therefrom,
and which I receive upon a cold plate, set, the process being discontinued when
they are found to set readily. In the operation care should be taken to avoid
heating the ammonia too much, lest some watery vapour should be driven
over into the oil along with it, it being very desirable to avoid the introduction
of moisture to the matter under process. For this purpose I avoid expelling
the whole of the ammoniacal gas from the solution by putting a considerable
excess of the solution into the cylinder, and after the impregnation of the oil
has taken place, withdrawing the weakened solution and using it instead of
water in preparing the liquid ammonia. When the matter under process has
been impregnated with ammonia, as above mentioned, it will be found on
cooling of considerable consistence, and fit for being used as an ingredient in
the manufacture of candles, which I find it best to make with an outer casing
of stearic acid, according to the third part of my Invention herein-after
described.
The third part of my Invention relates principally to the manufacture of
candles where fatty acids are used in combination with unacidified fatty
materials. These have been hitherto made of the same substance throughout,
Now I have
and are greasy to the touch, especially in warm weather.
discovered that this greasiness may be obviated by making such candles with
an outer casing of a hard material. I prefer to make the outer casing of
stearic acid, which I do by pouring stearic acid in a semifluid state into
moulds slightly heated, just as if I were proceeding to make stearine wax
candles, except that the wicks have not yet been put into the moulds. As
soon as the stearic acid which is in contact with the moulds has so far solidified
as to form a casing of the desired thickness, the material remaining liquid is

page_text: poured out by reversing the frames, after which the bed of the frame is scraped
clean, and the cases are allowed to cool for a short time, after which the wicks
are inserted in the usual way; and the moulds are then filled up with stearine
of cocoa-nut oil, or other suitable unacidified fatty material mixed with fatty
acid, to make the whole proportions of the candle such as may be desired.
In the candles which I am now making, the case (which is made of close-
grained stearic acid of tallow) forms about four tenths of the bulk of the
candle, and the remaining six tenths are a mixture of four of stearine of cocoa-
nut oil with two of distilled unpressed fatty acids of palm oil. Cased candles
made as above mentioned will be greasy at the bottoms; if this be considered
an objection it can be obviated by filling the moulds separately with the centre
material to within about half an inch of the bed of the frame, taking care not
to pour any of the centre material upon the bed of the frame, and by after-
wards filling up the vacancies at the top of the moulds with stearic acid, by
running such acid over them; or the end of the candle, as made by the first-
mentioned method, may be carefully dipped in a harder material. I would
here mention, that candles made with an outer casing, according to this third
part of my Invention, do not necessarily contain any unacidified fatty material,
for both the outer casing and the internal substance thereof might be made
entirely of fatty acids, varying in consistence, or otherwise. I would also
mention, that the outer casing might be made of unacidified fat, highly pressed,
with a fatty acid of a lower melting point in the centre. Also a very superior
but more expensive outer casing may be obtained by using for the purpose a
mixture of wax and stearic acid; I find a casing made of three parts of hot-
pressed stearic acid, and one part of wax, with a centre of crystalline stearic
acid, to make a very hansome candle. I would also mention, that I am aware
that it has been proposed to use wax and spermaceti as an outer casing for
candles internally composed of inferior unacidified fats; and that I lay no
claim to the use of wax or spermaceti for an outer casing unless applied to
candles partially or wholly composed of fatty acid or cocoa-nut oil, or the
stearine thereof.
In the above description I have principally contemplated the stearic acid of
tallow as the fatty acid to be used in the outer casing; but I find the distilled
stearic acid of palm oil to be well applicable for the purpose, and I have also
used the stearic acid of lard with all stearic acids. When I find them highly
crystalline, I add thereto from two to four per cent of wax to break the
crystallization, and thereby improve the surface of the candle.
'The remainder of this third part of my Invention relates to the combination

page_text: of wax with distilled fatty acids in the manufacture of candles, which I effect
in the following manner :-I take three parts of hot-pressed distilled stearic
acid and one part of wax, and having mixed them intimately in the melted
state, I make the mixture into candles by running it hot into heated moulds
The wicks which I use are similar to those used in stearine wax candles.
The candles made in the last-mentioned manner closely resemble real wax,
and I find, that when the stearic acid is close grained, the quantity of wax may
be proportionably diminished; but in no case have I been able to make a candle
closely resembling real wax with less than one part of wax to five of stearic acid.
I, however, also use wax with distilled fatty acids in much less proportions
than this last, but for a different purpose, namely, to assist the moulding of
candles wholly or partially composed of fatty acid, and to promote the amalga-
mation of fatty acids with unacidified fatty materials in composite candles.
The proportion of wax which I use for these last-mentioned purposes ranges
between one and five per cent of the quantity of acid, according to the nature
of its grain. I would here observe, that I am aware that wax has been already
combined with undistilled fatty acids in the manufacture of candles, and that I
make no claim to such last-mentioned combination.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for carrying it into effect, I would have it understood that
my Invention consists in the following particulars; that is to say,―
Firstly, I claim the manufacturing of fatty acids from unrendered animal
fatty materials, and the distillation of fatty acids so obtained, and the application
thereof, to the manufacture of candles.
Secondly, I claim the imparting of hydrogen to fatty and oily matters;
and I claim the manufacturing of candles from fatty and oily matters so
treated.
Thirdly, I claim the treating of fatty and oily matters with ammonia; and
I claim the manufacturing of candles froin fatty and oily matters so treated.
Fourthly, I claim the applying an outer casing in the making of candles
containing fatty acid or cocoa nut oil, or the stearine thereof.
And, fifthly, I claim the combining of wax with distilled fatty acids in the
manufacture of candles.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Pillans Wilson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
J. P.
(L.S.) WILSON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Eighth day of March,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid James Pillans Wilson came before
our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.
+
Imrolled the same Eighth day of March, in the year above written.