Improvements in the Process and Apparatus for Extracting Oil and other Solvent Matters from Fibrous Plants and other Materials.
Year: 1893

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c., Act, 1883), as allowed by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 20th day of October 1896.
Date of Application, 5th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in the Process and Apparatus for Extracting Oil
and other Solvent Matters from Fibrous Plants and other
Materials.
I, WALTER TILLOU FORBES, of 234 Barrow Street, Jersey City, New Jersey,
United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to apparatus for carrying out the continuous process of
subjecting fibrous plants or oil producing materials to the action of proper liquids
for obtaining the fibres, extracting the oils, or the like.
The object of the invention is to increase the efficiency of apparatus of this
character and to promote economy in their construction and operation.
The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and
certain novel steps in the process of treating said material, as hereinafter
particularly described and defined in the claims.
:
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the figures.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my
invention, parts being in vertical section.
Figure 2 is a rear end elevation, parts being broken away.
Figure 3 is a front elevation.
Figure 4 is a detail view.
In constructing an apparatus in accordance with my invention, a suitable single
connected frame 10 serves to support the digester A, the heater B, and the pump C,
together with the necessary connections, inlets, and outlets, the digester and heater
being supported from the frame by brackets 12, bolted to the frame by bolts 13,
and suitable transverse bolts 14 being employed for strengthening the frame.
will be seen that by thus supporting the complete apparatus in a single frame, the
apparatus is self-contained and in compact form.
It
A supply pipe 1) having a valve D₁ enters one end of the heater B near the top.
The heater may be of any approved construction, that shown being of the water
tube form, in which the tubes are supported in sheets b', so that the liquid in the
boiler D passes through the tubes to the opposite ends. Steam is supplied to the
heater through the pipe B' and circulates around the tubes b, exhausting through
the pipe B.

page_text: :
At the end opposite the inlet pipe D, near the top, which is the hottest part of
the heater, a pipe E is connected and enters the digester A about the center, ranging
in the latter nearly the full length of the same, the said pipe being formed, at its
top surface only, with a longitudinal series of perforations e, the extreme end being
capped as at e. Connected with the bottom of the digester A is a drain pipe F to
which is connected the suction pipe C of the pump C, the outlet nozzle of the said
pump connecting by a pipe C2 with one end of the heater B, as is best shown in
Figure 1, thus bringing the digester, pump and heater into circuit.
In the drain pipe F, beyond its connection with the suction pipe C is a valve F1
and in the said suction pipe is a valve C, whereby, by closing the valve F1 and
opening the valve C³ the suction pipe is brought into connection with the digester:
Pipes B connect at the bottom with the ends of the heater B, and connect with a
drain pipe B having a suitable valve B, said pipe serving to drain the heater.
A steam drum A' is supported on the top of the digester A, communicates with
the latter, and is provided with an outlet pipe a, having an air cock a', the purpose
of said drum being to store the steam arising from the liquid in the digester
and thereby serve to maintain a proper moisture at the top of the digester and
prevent the materials therein from becoming damaged by constantly being in
contact with dry steam.
In the operation of the apparatus the fibres, fibrous plants or other material
is placed in baskets X such as shown in Figure 4 said baskets being inserted into
the digester through the door A. Each basket X is made of open material such
as wire netting whereby to enable the liquid to readily pass through the material
being treated and each basket will be provided with a lid made of the same
material as the baskets. When the digester shall have been charged with the
material as above explained, the valve F1 being closed and the valves C and D₁
open, the liquid is supplied through the pipe D to substantially fill the apparatus
whereupon the valve D is closed and the pump started, to maintain continuous
circulation of the liquid which is forced from the pump through the heater B into
the perforated pipe E in the digester, escaping at the top only from the latter, so
that the said liquid is forced in an upward and outward direction on its way to the
drain pipe F thereby effectively diffusing it through the material contained in the
baskets in the digester:
When the material has been sufficiently treated by the circulating liquid, the
pump is stopped and the apparatus drained by opening the valves F', B*, through
which the solution and dissolved gum are discharged.
By the arrangement of parts specified, the apparatus may be immediately
arranged to act as a washing apparatus by closing the valves C, B', as now water
may be supplied through the pipe D and its valve D', the previous liquids having
been drained out through the pipe F and the pipe B, and the said water will flow
through the heater and through the material in the digester, and out through the
pipe F, after which the material may be removed from the digester, a fresh charge
supplied, and the apparatus again readily adjusted for circulating the solution
'employed. To more thoroughly wash the inaterial, the digester inay be filled with
water, the valves F' and D' closed, and valve C³ open, the pump C will be operated
to cause the water to circulate through the material in the digester, the same as
the cleansing liquid had been circulated through the material and when sufficiently
washed, the valves F1 and B are opened and the apparatus drained.
The apparatus is also especially adapted for extracting oils from cotton seed,
linseed, etc. In this case, a solvent, naphtha for instance, is supplied through the
pipe D, and circulated in the same manner as described in reference to the treat-
ment of fibrous plants, and the oil, etc., is removed through the outlet pipe F.
After the oil bas been extracted steam is turned on through the pipe D' which
serves to drive off all the naphtha remaining in the residuum, the vapours passing
through the pipe a in the drum A', through suitable connections to a condensing
apparatus, not shown.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In an apparatus for treating fibrous material etc., the combination with a
horizontally disposed digester, of a heater, a pipe perforated along its upper side
only extending into the digester and communicating with the heater, means for
running fluid into said heater, closed baskets made of open material adapted to be
inserted into said digester and contain the material to be treated and a circulating
pump adapted to produce a continuous circulation of fluid through said digester
and heater, substantially as set forth.
2. In apparatus for treating fibrous plants and the like, a horizontally disposed
digester having a drain pipe at the bottom, and having an inlet pipe ranging
longitudinally therein and perforated along its upper side only, in combination with
a circulating pump having its suction pipe connected with the drain pipe of the
digester and its discharge pipe in communication with the longitudinally ranging
inlet pipe thereof, substantially as described.
Dated this 5th day of December 1893.
R. HADDAN,
Of the Firm of Herbert Haddan & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, Agent to Applicant.