IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OR DISTILLATION OF BITUMINOUS SUB- STANCES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Young, of Limefield, in the County of Edin-
burgh, North Britain, Esquire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Sealed the 15th August 1861, and dated the 25th February 1861.
said
що
Toung at
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th February 1861.
I, JAMES YOUNG, of Limefield, in the County of Edinburgh, North Britain,
Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OR DISTILLATION OF BITUMINOUS SUB-
STANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for distilling bitu-
minous coals and other bituminous substances, and consists in a series of
vessels or chambers constructed of stone, brick, or other suitable material
arranged in any convenient form, and communicating with each other. For
convenience sake I will describe this apparatus as applied to the distillation of
bituminous coals for the purpose of obtaining crude oil.
The vessels or chambers being placed side by side, or in a circle, or in any
other convenient position, are first filled with the bituminous coal or other
substances to be treated, a jet of steam of the temperature necessary for
effecting the distillation is then admitted into the first vessel of the series, and
passing through the contents of the vessel raises the temperature thereof to its
own heat or nearly so, and is then by an outlet pipe carried to the second vessel
through the contents of which it passes as before, being again carried to the

page_text: third vessel, and so on throughout the series; the oils as they are condensed
and the condensed steam being withdrawn from the vessels. After the oil has
been distilled off the contents of the first vessel, the steam is cut off from that
vessel and applied directly to the second vessel; the contents of the first vessel
are then withdrawn therefrom, and that vessel is again filled with bituminous
coals or other substances to be distilled, and made the last of the series, and so
on, so that the process is a continuous one. The permanent gas necessarily
arising in the process will pass away from the vessel, which for the time being
is the last of the series.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Young in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th August 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
YOUNG, of Limefield, in the County of Edinburgh, North Britain, Esquire,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Young, Her special license that I, the said James
Young, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Young, 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 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OR DISTILLATION
.OP BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said James Young, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them,
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 James Young, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for distilling bitu-
minous coals and other bituminous substances; and consists in a series of
vessels or chambers constructed of stone, brick, or other suitable material
arranged in any convenient form, and communicating with each other. For
convenience sake I will describe this apparatus as applied to the distillation of
bituminous coals for the purpose of obtaining crude oil.
The vessels or chambers being placed side by side or in a circle, or in any
other convenient position, are first filled with the bituminous coal or other
substance to be treated. A jet of steam of the temperature necessary for
effecting the distillation is then admitted into the first vessel of the series, and
passing through the contents of the vessel raises the temperature thereof to its
own heat or nearly so, and is then by an outlet pipe carried to the second
vessel, through the contents of which it passes, as before, being again carried
to the third vessel, and so on throughout the series; the oils as they are con-
densed and the condensed steam being withdrawn from the vessels. After the
oil has been distilled off the contents of the first vessel, the steam is cut off
from that vessel and applied directly to the second vessel; the contents of the
first vessel are then withdrawn therefrom, and that vessel is again filled with
bituminous coals or other substances to be distilled, and made the last of the
series, and so on, so that the process is a continuous one. The permanent gas
necessarily arising in the process will pass away from the vessel, which for the
time being is the last of the series.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in apparatus for the
treatment or distillation of bituminous substances may be properly understood,
I shall now proceed to describe the several Figures. on the accompanying
explanatory Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for the
purpose of showing certain modifications under which my improvements may
be: judiciously, carried out in practice; that is to say,; Figure 1 on the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, is an elevation partially in section of an apparatus
suitable for treating or distilling bituminous substances such as are not readily
fused by heat, and Figure 2 is a plan corresponding to Figure 1. Figure 3
is a partially sectional elevation of another modification of the same apparatus,
showing a series of chambers arranged for treating bituminous substances.
Figure 4 is a plan of the apparatus corresponding to Figure 3.
According to the first modification of the apparatus, shown in Figures 1 and
2, the distilling chamber A is an iron vessel of a cylindrical form, the bottom.

page_text: of the chamber is slightly rounded to a convex figure externally. The upper
part of each vessel A hías a central opening, through which the bituminous
matter to be distilled is passed. The opening is fitted with a cover B, which
is luted and fastened down by means of a screw C during the distilling
operation. The screw C passes through a cross bar fitted in snugs cast on the
top of the chamber A. The short pipe D, which opens into the upper part of
the chamber, serves to convey steam into the charge of bituminous material.
The chamber is also provided with a second pipe E, which extends downwards
within the vessel nearly to the bottom. A series of these distilling vessels are
arranged in any convenient manner, so as to communicate one with another
by means of elbow or branch pipes.
In Figures 1 and 2, a series of eight distilling vessels are shown by way of
example, arranged in a circular figure. The chambers or vessels A are set in
the brickwork F; the inlet pipe D, of one of the series, is connected with a
steam pipe G, which communicates with a boiler arranged in convenient
proximity to the distilling apparatus, and with suitable provision for super-
heating the supply of steam. This part of the arrangement, however, forms no
part of my present Invention. The steam pipe G is carried up the centre of
the series of chambers A, and the upper part is fitted with a double elbow or
U pipe H, which is made with tapered ends, so that it may be readily removed
from the inlet pipe of one chamber A to another, when the charge of bitu-
minous substance has been sufficiently distilled, to the inlet pipe of the next
chamber. The several chambers or vessels A are connected one with another
by means of the elbow pipes I, each of which connects the outlet pipe E of one
vessel with the inlet pipe D of the next or adjoining vessel. The liquid pro-
ducts of distillation as they are separated by the action of the steam are
carried off from the vessels A by means of the bent pipes J, projecting
laterally from the vessels A. Beneath the pipes J, suitable receptacles are
placed to receive the liquid products as they flow from the bituminous sub-
stances under the influence of the superheated steam. The steam which is
heated up to the temperature necessary to effect the distillation, is passed into
the first.vessel A, where it acts upon the bituminous matter, and at it passes
down through the charge it separates and carries the oily product to the
bottom of the vessel, where it partly flows off by the pipe J. The steam then
passes from the first distilling vessel, and flows up the outlet steam pipe D
into the next vessel A, imparting heat to the bituminous material in this
vessel; it then passes into the next vessel, and so on throughout the series.
When the charge in the first vessel is sufficiently distilled, the steam pipe His
shifted from the inlet pipe D of the first vessel to that of the second, and so

page_text: on as each charge of bituminous material is distilled. In this manner one of
the distilling chambers or vessels is successively disconnected from the rest
with the view of allowing the coke or residual product of distillation to be
withdrawn therefrom, and a fresh charge is introduced. The gaseous product of
distillation or non-condensable fluid is carried off by means of the pipe K, which
is connected with the last vessel A of the series in use. This gaseous product
may be sent through an ordinary gas condenser to condense any liquid pro-
ducts that may remain in it. The pipe K is then shifted on to the next
vessel A, as the charges are distilled in succession.
According to the example I have here given, and the mode of operating,
seven of the distilling vessels are kept simultaneously in operation, whilst one
is being discharged and refilled.
In Figures 3 and 4 is shown another modification or arrangement of
apparatus suitable for treating or distilling bituminous substances. This
apparatus consists of a series of distilling chambers A, which are formed of
slabs of stone or fire-clay, jointed with fire-clay or other cement, and held
together by means of tie rods and nuts. The slabs of stone or fire-clay are, in
this modification, arranged to form chambers of the figure shown in the plan,
and these chambers being placed side to side form the octagonal structure
delineated in Figure 4, and containing eight chambers. The lower part of
each chamber is moulded or otherwise formed to a concave figure internally,
and the top has an opening in it for charging the chamber with the bitu-
minous substance. This opening is closed by a cover B, which is.luted and
fastened down by a cross bar and screw, or other convenient means, The
steam pipe G passes from the superheating furnace up through the centre of
the group of chambers; the upper part of the central space around the pipe
being covered in by flags or tiles G¹. The steam is conveyed by the double
elbow pipe H to the first of the series of chambers A, it passes through the
mass of bituminous substance, and then up the pipe E, and by the elbow
pipe I, into the next chamber A, and so on from chamber to chamber through-
out the series. The gaseous and non-condensable matter being carried off by
the pipe K, may be treated in the manner herein-before described, namely, by
passing it through a condenser. The heated steam coming in contact with the
bituminous substance separates the liquid products which flow off by the
pipes J into suitable receptacles. Each chamber is provided with an opening
and door L at the lower part to enable the workman to withdraw the coke
from the chamber. The chambers are successively brought into operation
by shifting the steam pipe from one to another, as before described.
I wish it to be understood that I claim as the essential features of my

page_text: Invention, the system or method of arranging and connecting a series of
vessels or chambers for distilling bituminous substances, which are not fused
at a temperature necessary to obtain the liquid products by means of steam,
in such a manner that whilst the steam is actively operating upon the charge
in the interior of the vessel or chamber which for the time being is the first of
the series, it is also conveyed into the contiguous vessels or chambers, there
to operate upon their respective charges; and along with this system or
method of disconnecting successively each vessel or chamber for the purpose
of removing the contents and introducing a fresh charge.
I am aware that superheated steam has been heretofore employed in the
distillation of bituminous substances, and to the employment of such steam I
make no exclusive claim except when used in the particular way I have
described. It will also be understood that I do not confine myself to the use
of any one material in the construction of the vessels or chambers, nor to any
one particular position of such vessels or chambers one with another, as the
same system or method of arrangement and connection may be applied to a
series placed in various positions relatively to each other.
Lastly, I wish it to be understood that the present Invention is intended to
refer only to the mechanical arrangement of the distilling apparatus, and not
to the chemical process of distillation for which Letters Patent were granted
to me on the Seventeenth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Young, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.