IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FATTY BODIES AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armand Gilbee, of No. 4, South Street,
Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TREATING FATTY BODIES AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."-
A communication.
Sealed the 17th June 1859, and dated the 27th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armand Gilbee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition, on the
27th December 1858.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "Iк-
PROVEMENTS IN TREATING FATTY BODIES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
to be as follows, that is to say:-
Neutral fatty bodies, distilled at temperatures of 700° to 720° Fahrenheit
under a current of heated steam, furnish more or less colored fat acids, but
the operation is attended with so great a loss of material and inconvenience to
the workmen by the production of acroleine and carburetted hydrogen as to
render the process nearly impracticable, and this Invention has for object the
obviating these defects in great measure, and consists in distilling fatty bodies at

page_text: a temperature of between 667° and 678° Fahrenheit, and keeping up a regular
temperature in the still; and this result is obtained by the employment of the
air pump working with an intermittant motion for extracting the gases formed
in the still, by which an intermittant or partial vacuum is obtained in the
apparatus, and a good distillation on a large scale is effected. In this operation
the air pump serves to extract the gases as soon as they are disengaged, the
inspection of the thermometer and the nature of the substances given off
serving for the regulation of the intermittant action of the air pump, which
action it receives from conical pulleys.
The furnace is provided with two compartments, each having a fire-place
and ash-pan; in one is placed a worm composed of a double row of iron pipes
placed between two vaults for superheating steam, in the second the still, with
its accessories. The superheated steam is conducted from the worm into the
still by a pipe placed obliquely, the lower end of which rests on the bottom, and
is of the form of a watering-pot spout, with indented edges for the division of
the steam. The still is also furnished with a pipe extending near to the
bottom, provided at top with a double branch tube, cach branch being furnished
with a tap or cock. The liquid fatty bodies are caused to enter through one
of these ends or branches, the other serving for the withdrawal of tar after
each operation. The air pump, which is connected with the lower part of the
condensing worm in communication with the still, receives an intermittant
motion from any suitable motive power by means of conical pulleys, and should
only produce about half a vacuum in the still. The extracted and condensed
gases, holding in suspension the water of the condensed steam, enter a receiver
connected with the air pump, from which they pass into a box lined with lead
and provided with a cock to let off the water and also a pipe for the passage of
the fat acids into a vat, where they may be washed; this vat is furnished with a
chimney for the escape of acroleine, and also with a cover made in two parts,
one of which is fixed and the other moveable; the moveable part serves for
emptying and cleaning the vat, and the fixed part to enable a communication
to be formed by means of a pipe with a ventilator above, serving for expelling
any vestiges of acroleine. The still is filled about two-thirds full of neutral
fats in a fluid state, and freed from foreign bodies, and the two fires of the
furnaces lighted, and when the pyrometer marks 667° to 678° Fahrenheit in
the compartment, containing the worm, and the thermometer in the still mark
477° to 487° Fahrenheit, the superheated steam is introduced into the still and
the air pump set in action, the distillation then commences, and the pump will
draw off the gases as soon as they are liberated, it being merely necessary to see

page_text: that the two temperatures should equilibrate without exceeding 667° to 678°
Fahrenheit.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Armand Gilbee in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 24th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her:
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Armand Gilbee, Her special licence that I, the said William
Armand Gilbee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Armand Gilbee, 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
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FATTY BODIES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," (a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition.
(amongst others) that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, 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 William Armand Gilbee, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereto annexed, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
.
The Invention communicated to me consists, first, in distilling neutral fats.

page_text: and fat acids at a regular temperature, between six hundred and sixty degrees,
to six bundred and seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit in superheated steam.
Secondly, in the employment in the distillation of neutral fats and fat acids
of an air pump working with an intermittent motion in connection with the
ordinary still and refrigerator for extracting the gases of distillation from the
still as soon as formed, and by which (air pump) a regular temperature
between six hundred and sixty degrees and six hundred and seventy-eight
degrees Fahrenheit is maintained, the loss of material by the ordinary process
in great part avoided, and a good product obtained.
By the ordinary process all neutral or acid fats previously heated to a
maximum temperature of seven hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and afterwards
submitted to distillation with a current of divided and heated water, steam
will distil and will furnish fatty acids more or less colored. This distillation,
however, is attended with the production, first, of acroleine, the vapor of which
irritates to a high degree the eyes and respiratory organs of the workmen;
secondly, of carburetted hydrogen, the formation of which causes a considerable
loss of raw material. The production of acroleine and formation of carburetted
hydrogen will increase if the temperature be raised to seven hundred and,
twenty-one degrees Fahrenheit and above, and also if the disengaged gases or
vapors are kept a long time exposed to this temperature, therefore as this
increase of temperature always takes place in practice by the means known,
and in practice this process is very imperfect.
Long and repeated experiments have led to the discovery that these defects
might be removed if the temperature in the still were maintained at between
six hundred and sixty degrees to six hundred and seventy-eight degrees.
Fahrenheit, and if at the same time the gases formed in the still were rapidly
removed. I have attained this object by means of an intermittent vacuum, in
which I maintain the temperature of the matters to be distilled and that of
the overheated steam between six hundred and sixty degrees and six hundred
and seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit by a regular discharge of the distilled
gases as soon as formed by means of the air pump, the action of which should
be regulated according to the quantity of gas produced.
The inspection of the thermometer and the nature of the substances run off
allow of the ascertaining and regulating of the intermittent motion of the
pump, and which is effected by means of a series of pullies of a conical form,
or by other suitable mechanical means, In this way I avoid the carrying over
of the fatty bodies, which might result from a complete vacuum arising from
an excess, and more especially from the continuity of the exhaustion. The

page_text: A, furnace with two compartments, each provided with a fire-place and ash-
box; in the first compartment is a worm composed of a double row of iron.
pipes a, a, arranged between two vaults, in the second compartment is placed
the still B, with its appliances; a, a, a, a, worm for superheating the water,
vapor, or steam necessary for the distillation, the water being supplied from a
steam boiler placed as close as possible to the furnace A; b, pipe with a cock
for the introduction of the steam from the boiler into the worm a, a, a, a; C, a,
pyrometer for indicating the temperature of the furnace in the first compart-
ment, and also the temperature of the superheated steam when it enters the.
still; d, pipe, provided with a tap for conveying the superheated steam from
the worm a, a, into the still B; this pipe descends obliquely into the still, and
has at its lower extremity a rose or head, which is serrated at the edges for
the purpose of dividing the water steam; this rose resting on the bottom of
the still or apparatus; e, thermometer for indicating the degree of heat of the
fatty matters in the still, and heated by means of the furnace in the second
compartment; f, gauge for indicating and regulating the action of the air
pump; g, pipe having a double branch at top, each branch being provided
with a tap; the lower end of the pipe 9 extends nearly to the bottom of the.
apparatus.
g
The liquid fatty bodies are caused to enter through one of the branches
when it is desired to charge the apparatus, the other branch being for the
purpose of drawing off the tar produced at each operation, which it is
necessary to do before recommencing. 9, g, valve for shutting off commu̟-.
nication between the still and the refrigerator when the tar is being drawn off;,
c, large tub or vat, serving as a refrigerator; this tub, which should always be
filled with water, contains a metallic worm communicating with the still, and
which is for the purpose of condensing the products of distillation drawn up
by the air pump; D, air pump for extracting the gas, which is in commu-
nication with the lower part of the worm of the refrigerator, the action of.
which is intermittent, and should not produce more than about half a vacuum,
and it may receive its motion from any suitable prime mover in connection.
with conical pulleys, or other suitable mechanism for regulating its motion, by

page_text: which the egress of the gases of distillation may be retarded or expedited.
i, receiver of the air pump, and in which the extracted and condensed gases
enter, holding in suspension the water of the condensed. steam; ;, a double
box, lined with lead, communicating with the receiver i, and in which the
condensed products collect. At the lower part of the box is a cock to let off
the water at the same time as the fat acids are running off through the
pipe k, k, into the vat or tub E; this box is furnished with a wooden chimney
or funnel at top, through which the acroleine escapes. e, large vat or tub, in
which the fatty acids freed from their condensed water are collected, and in
which the fat acids are subjected to the first acid washing; this vat is
provided with a cover made in two parts, one of which is fixed, and the other
moveable; the moveable part serves for emptying and cleaning the vat, and
the fixed part communicates by means of a wooden conducting pipe with a
ventilator F, which expels the acroleine remaining in the fat acids disengaged
by ebullition during the washing process.
MODE OF OPERATING.
The still B is two-thirds filled with neutral fats or fat acids first reduced to
a fluid state, and freed from foreign bedies by washing or filtration. I light
the two fires of the furnace A, and wait till the pyrometer marks six hundred
and sixty degrees to six hundred and seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit in the
compartment containing the worm a, a, a, a, and also until the thermometer
placed in the still marks four hundred and sixty degrees to four hundred and
eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, at which temperature the neutral fats are
near to distillation; I then introduce superheated steam into the still, and at
the same time set the air pump in action. The distilling operation then
commences, and the pump will draw off the gases as soon as they are formed,
it being merely necessary to take care that the two temperatures should
equilibrate so that the vapor should not exceed six hundred and sixty degrees
to six hundred and seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit..
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim as of
the Invention communicated to me the, apparatus herein described, and shewn
in the accompanying. Drawing; but what I claim as new as of the Inven-
tion is,-
First, the distilling neutral fats and fat acids at a temperature between six.
hundred and sixty degrees and six hundred and seventy-eight, degrees
Fahrenheit, as herein-before described.

page_text: Secondly, the employment, in connection with an ordinary still and refrige-
rator for distilling neutral fats and fat acids, of an air pump with an inter-
mittent action, for carrying off the gases of distillation from the still as soon as
formed, and whereby a regular temperature of between six hundred and sixty
degrees and six hundred and seventy-eight degrees is maintained, as herein-
before described, and referred to in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have hereunto
set my hand and seal; this Twenty-first day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
W. A. GILBEE. (L.S.)