IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING FATTY BODIES, AND IN STILLS OR APPARATUS FOR SUCH DISTILLATION
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Felix Lieven Bauwens, of Pimlico, in the County
of Middlesex, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING
FATTY BODIES, AND IN STILLS OR APPARATUS FOR SUCH DISTILLATION."
Sealed the 22nd September 1854, and dated the 10th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Felix Lieven Bauwens
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th April 1854.
I, FELIX LIEVEN BAUWENS, of Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DISTILLING FATTY BODIES, AND IN STILLS OR APPARATUS FOR SUCH DISTILLATION," to
be as follows:-
My Invention in distilling fatty bodies consists in foreing in air or other
suitable gas into the still together with steam, and my improved construction
of still is herein-after described.
It is known to every person practically acquainted with the distillation of
fatty bodies, that after about two-thirds of the stuff are distilled, the tempera-
ture increases gradually, and the color of the products becomes gradually
darker and darker, and that the last portions are very similar to the pitch or
refuse matters that remain in the still. This is owing, in all probability, to the
pitch retaining the fatty bodies more intimately as its proportions become more
considerable, and then a greater heat is necessary; hence the necessity of re-
distilling the dark portions with the succeeding batch, and so on. If not
redistilled, these portions will be of less value of course than the first above-
mentioned two-thirds, and only fit to make common candles; if pressed in
that impure state, the oil that is drawn off by pressure is also of less value.

page_text: In order to remedy these defects, I have constructed a continuous apparatus
or still, where the matters to be distilled are admitted by an aperture at the
top, while steam is introduced in a box at the bottom, and atmospheric air or
other suitable gas is forced into the still at any convenient point. The air
improves the color of the distilled matters, and deprives them of a part of their
disagreeable odour. My still or apparatus consists of a flat vessel, standing
upright, and separated or divided into compartments by projections from each
side. The projections from one side do not quite reach the opposite side, but
allow of a passage along them from one to the other from top to bottom, where
there is an opening into the above-mentioned box or case; the steam being
admitted into the said box, rises along the above-mentioned compartments,
comes in contact and mixes with the fatty matters as they run down, and
carries off all the volatilisable parts with it to the condenser through an aper-
ture at the top of the still, while the pitch and non-volatilisable matters fall
down into the box. As the steam is admitted in a jet through a pipe lying on
the bottom of the box, it will bubble in the pitch as soon as there is a suffi-
cient quantity of that body to cover the pipe, and will then drive off any
volatilisable portions that may still remain in it. A gauge cock, inserted at a
certain height, in one of the sides of the box, will shew when the pitch is to be
drawn off, which can be done without stopping the distillation. The apparatus
is heated on the outside by flues, passing over the outside of the plates, forming
the front and back of the still. Now it will be understood that the heat and
the supplies of steam, air, and matters to be distilled, must be so regulated, that
the pitch which may rise with the vapours shall be stopped in the still itself,
and prevented from ever reaching the condenser. The management of the still
is of course a matter of practice.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Felix Lieven Bauwens in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FELIX LIEVEN
BAUWENS, of Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Felix Lieven Bauwens, Her special licence that I, the said Felix
Lieven Bauwens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as I, the said Felix Lieven Bauwens, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING FATTY BODIES, AND IN STILLS OR
APPARATUS FOR SUCH DISTILLATION," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Felix Lieven Bauwens, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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 Felix Lieven Bauwens, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
First, my Invention in distilling fatty bodies (such as fatty acids and others)
consists in forcing in air or other suitable gas into the still together with steam.
I effect this by means of an air pump or other suitable forcing apparatus, which
I connect with the still by means of a pipe or pipes. introduced at any con-
venient part thereof. I continue to force in air or other suitable gas into the
still during the distilling process, and either at intervals or continuously, and I
use the air or other suitable gas (such as oxygen), either in a heated or in a
cold state. The steam which is employed in the still may be at the common
temperature and pressure, or it may be surcharged or superheated by any
convenient means.
Second, my Invention consists of an improved construction of still or appa-
ratus for distilling fatty bodies (such as fatty acids and others). It is known
to every person practically acquainted with the distillation of fatty bodies, that
after about two-thirds of the stuff' are distilled, the temperature increases
gradually, and the colour of the products becomes gradually darker and darker,
the last portions that are distilled being very similar to the pitch or refuse matter
that remains in the still. This is owing, in all probability, to the pitch retaining
the fatty bodies more intimately as its proportions become more considerable,
and then a greater heat is necessary; hence the necessity of re-distilling the
dark portions with the succeedingbatch, and so on. If not redistilled, these
portions will be of less value of course than the first above-mentioned two-
thirds, and only fit to make common candles; if pressed in that impure state

page_text: the oil that is drawn off by pressure is also of less value. In order to remedy
these defects, I have constructed a continuous apparatus or still, where the
matters to be distilled are admitted by an aperture at the top, while steam is
introduced into a box or chamber at the bottom or into the top of the still,
and atmospheric air or other suitable gas is forced into the still at any con-
venient point. The air improves the colour of the distilled matters, and deprives
them of a part of their disagreeable odour. My still or apparatus consists of a
flat vessel, standing upright, and separated or divided into compartments by
projections from each side. The projections from one side do not quite reach
the opposite side, but allow of a passage along them from one to the other,
from top to bottom, where there is an opening into the above-mentioned box or
chamber; the steam being admitted into the said box, rises along the above-
mentioned compartments, comes in contact and mixes with the fatty matters.
as they run down, and carries off all the volatilisable parts with it to the con-
denser through an aperture at the top of the still, while the pitch and non-
volatilisable matters fall down into the box. As the steam is admitted in a jet
through a pipe lying at the bottom of the box, it will bubble in the pitch as
soon as there is a sufficient quantity of that body to cover the pipe, and will
then drive off any volatilisable portions that may still remain in it.
A gauge
cock inserted at a certain height in one of the sides of the box will shew when
the pitch is to be drawn off, which can be done without stopping the distillation.
The apparatus is heated on the outside by flues, passing over the outside of
the plates, forming the front and back of the still. Now it will be understood
that the heat and the supplies of steam, air, and matters to be distilled must
be so regulated that the pitch which may rise with the vapours shall be stopped
in the still itself, and prevented from ever reaching the condenser. The
management of the still is of course a matter of practice.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a side elevation of a still constructed
according to this part of my Invention, and with the brickwork setting
removed; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the same; and Figure 3, a
vertical section on the line a, b, of Figures 1 and 2.
A, A, is the body of the still, and B, B, are the projections by which it is
divided into compartments communicating with each other, as before mentioned;
C is the box or chamber which receives the pitch, and into which the steam is
admitted by the open pipe D, which passes through a stuffing box in the
socket E; F is an aperture by which the box C communicates with the body
of the still; G is an aperture at the top of the still for the introduction of the
fatty bodies, and H is another aperture for the admission of air, which is sup-
plied by a force pump or other convenient apparatus; I is a socket, in which is

page_text: inserted a gauge cock, for enabling the height of the pitch in the box C to be
ascertained, and K is a pipe fitted to the box, and furnished with a cock for
running out the pitch; L is the outlet through which the matters that distil
over are conducted to the condenser, which is of the ordinary construction;
M, M, are flues, formed by building the brickwork up against the projections
N, N, on the outside of the still, which flues serve for heating the apparatus on
the exterior; 0, O, are the inlet, and P, P, the outlet apertures to the flues
M, M; Q, Q, are apertures in the ends of the still, which are closed by screw
plugs, and serve to allow of the compartments in the still being cleansed when
required. The steam employed in the still may be either at the ordinary tem-
perature, or it may be superheated, as may be preferred. The same furnace
that raises the steam will serve also to superheat it, and the products of com-
bustion may also be led into the flues M, M, for the purpose of heating the
still on the outside. The arrangements by which these objects may be effected
will be readily understood by practical men without any further explanation.
The details of the arrangement above described may be varied, by admitting the
steam along with the fatty bodies at the upper part of the still, instead of into
the box at the lower part, as before described, and by making the outlet to the
condenser at the lower part of the still. The admission of steam into the box
or chamber is, however, attended with this advantage, that the bubbling of the
steam in the pitch will have the effect of disengaging and carrying off any
volatilisable matters that may be contained in it, and which would not other-
wise be distilled over.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my
Invention is, -
First, the forcing of air or other suitable gas into the still together with
steam when distilling fatty bodies.
And, second, the construction of a continuous still or apparatus for distilling
fatty bodies, in the manner herein-before described and represented in the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Felix Lieven Bauwens, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four.
F. L. BAUWENS. (L.S.)