IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BITUMINOUS MINERAL 2
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES YOUNG, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manufac-
turing Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain' and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Seventeenth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty, in the fourteenth year of Hér reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Young,
iny exors, admiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said James Young, my exors,-
admors, and assigns, or such others as, I, the said James Young, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
otliers, from time to time and at all times during the terin of years
5. therein expressed, should and lawfully might inake, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed,
and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and
in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BITUMINOUS MINERAL
2
1.

page_text: SUBSTANCES, AND IN OBTAINING PRODUCTS THEREFROM in which sai
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said James Young
shall cause a particular description of 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, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty'
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and im
mediately 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 Young, 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 description thereof
that is to say:-
.
-
My said Invention consists in treating bituminous coals in such
manner as to obtain therefrom an oil containing paraffine (which I call
paraffine oil), and from which oil I obtain paraffine. The coals which
I deem to be best fitted for this purpose are such as are usually called
parrot coal, cannel coal, and gas coal, and which are much used in the
manufacture of gas for the purpose of illumination, because they yield
upon distillation at a high temperature, olefiaut and other highly illumi-
nating gases in considerable quantity; and although some coals last
described contain a large amount of earthy matters, those matters
do not interfere materially with the performance of my process. To
obtain paraffine oil from coals, I proceed as follows:-The coals are
to be broken into small pieces of about the size of a hen's egg,
or less, for the purpose of facilitating the operation. The coal
is then to be put into a common gas retort, to which is attached
a worm pipe passing through a refrigerator, and kept at a tempe-
ture of about 55 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, by a stream
of cold water. The temperature of the refrigerator should not be
made too low, lest the product of the distillation should congeal
and stop up the pipe, and I find that a temperature of about 55
degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient. The retort, being closed in the usual
manner, is then to be gradually heated up to a low red heat, at which

page_text: it is to be kept until volatile products cease to come off; care must be
taken to keep the temperature of the retort from rising above that of a
low red heat, so as to prevent as much as possible the desired products
of the process being converted into permanent gas. The coke or residue
may then be withdrawn from the retort, which, being allowed' to cool
down below a visible red heat (to prevent waste of the fresh material to
.be introduced), may be again cliarged with a quantity of coals to be
treated in like manier as I-have described. The crude paraffine oil,
distilled or driven off-from the coals as a vapour, will be condensed into 'a
liquid in passing through the cold worm pipe, from which it will fall into
a vessel which must be provided to receive it. Instead of obtaining the
whole of the paraffine oil by distillation or driving off; as just described;
a portion of it may in some cases, if thought desirable, be run from
the retort through an opening and a pipe to be provided in the anterior
and lower part of the retort for that purpose, after it has separated from
the coal and assumed à liquid form; I prefer, however, in every case,
to distil or drive off the whole of the paraffine oil to be obtained
from the coal. The production of the desired products from a charge
of coals in a' retort will be known to be finished by the liquid ceasing
to run from the worm. The crude product of this process is an oil
containing paraffine, which, as I have already stated, I call paraflinb
oil. This oil will sometimes, upon cooling to a temperature of about
40 Fahrenheit, deposit paraffine.
.
Other arrangements of apparatus may be used for subjecting coals
to the process for obtaining paraffine oil therefrom, as I have described,
but I prefer to use the apparatus above mentioned, as being well knowi
and easily managed. But in order to obtain the largest quantity of
crude paraffine oil from coals, by means of this process, and produce
the smallest quantity of permanent gas by the action of the heat'
employed, whatever may be the apparatus used, care must' be taken
to heat the coals gradually, and to apply the lowest temperature neces
sary to complete the operation. During the distillation or driving off,
which I have described, a permanent gas will be produced, and this gas
mayeither be collectedorsuffered to escape, as maybe though'texpedient.
I.purify the crude oil obtained, as already described; in the following

page_text: manner: I I put the oil into a cistern, and heat it (by a steam pipe or
other means) to a temperature of about 150° Fahrenheit. When thus
heated, water and undissolved impurities contained in the oil will
separate more readily from it than when cold, and the oil being left
in a state of rest and kept warm for about a day, many of those
impurities will fall to the bottom of the cistern, and the oil may
then be run off into another vessel, leaving the residuum behind.
I then proceed to distil the oil, for which operation I prefer to use
an iron still with a worm, pipe connected to it, passing through.a
refrigeratory apparatus as before mentioned, the refrigerator being
kept at or about the temperature 55° Fahrenheit, as I have already
mentioned. I heat the still by a fire underneath it, which I keep
up until the whole of the oil has been distilled over, and it will
then be found that the still contains some dry carbonaceous residuum
which should be taken out before the still is again used. The oil is
to be run from the condensing apparatus as it distils over into a leaden
vessel, where to each 100 gallons I gradually add 10 gallons of the
oil of vitriol of commerce. After this mixture has been well stirred for
about an hour, I allow it to remain at rest for about 12 hours, so
that the oil of vitriol and the impurities with which it has combined
may settle at the bottom. I then draw off the supernatant oil into an
iron vessel, and to each 100 gallons I add 4 gallons of a solution of
caustic soda of a specific gravity 1.300, water being 1.000. The soda
and oil are stirred together for about an hour, so as to neutralize any
acid which may remain in the oil, and also take up any impurities
capable of combining with it; after which the contents of the vessel are
allowed to remain at rest for about 6 or 8 hours, so that the solution
of soda may subside, and then the supernatant oil is to be drawn off
and again distilled, in the same manner as I have already described.
Paraffine oil obtained from the last-mentioned distillation contains a
fluid more volatile than paraffine, and I separate a considerable por-
tion of this fluid from the oil, and obtain it in a separate state as
follows:-I put the oil into an iron still connected with a worm pipe
passing through a refrigeratory apparatus, adding to the oil half its
bulk of water, and boiling the contents of the still for about

page_text: 12 hours, adding water from time to time, so as to keep about the
same proportions of oil and water in the still. The volatile fluid will
pass over along with steam, and be condensed in the worm pipe by
the refrigeratory apparatus. This fluid will be clear and transparent,
and as it is lighter than water, it separates, on standing, from the
water with which it will be mixed as it leaves the worm pipe of the
still. This fluid may be burnt for the purpose of illumination, or ap-
plied to any other useful purpose to which it may be applicable. The
last named process will separate the greater portion of the volatile fluid
I have mentioned from the oil, but a larger quantity may be separated
by prolonging the operation. The oil left in the still after the comple-
tion of the process lastly described is then to be carefully separated
from all the remaining water (upon which it will float), and conveyed
into a leaden vessel, where to each 100 gallons I add 2 gallons
of oil of vitriol. This mixture is to be well stirred for 6 or S
hours, after which I allow it to stand undisturbed for 24 hours, in
order that the vitriol may settle to the bottom of the leaden vessel,
carrying with it all impurities with which it has combined. The
supernatant oil is now to be drawn off into another vessel, and
to each 100 gallons there is added 28 lbs. of chalk, ground up
with a little water into a thin paste. The oil and chalk are then
to be well agitated until the oil becomes entirely freed from any
trace of sulphurous acid, which may easily be known by heating a
little of it in a glass retort, and testing its vapours by moistened
blue litmus paper. If the vapours change the color of the litmus
paper to red, the oil must be treated with more chalk. This oil
is to be kept warm, say at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, in any convenient
vessel, for about a week, to allow impurities to settle, and it is then fit
to be used for lubricating purposes, either by itself or mixed with
an animal or vegetable oil; or it may be burnt by itself in argand
lamps for the purpose of illumination. To extract paraffine from
the purified paraffine oil obtained in the manner I have described,
the oil is to be cooled to a low temperature, say to 30° or 40° Fahren-
heit, and the lower the temperature the larger will be the quantity of

page_text: paraffine separated from the oil. In this way paraffine is made to
crystallize, and in this state it may be separated from the oil by filtra-
tion through woollen or other cloths, and then squeezing it in a
powerful press, by which means it will be made sufficiently pure
to be employed for lubricating and some other useful purposes. But
the paraffine may be further purified, if required, by treating it several
times at a temperature of about 160° Fahrenheit, alternately with its
own bulk of oil of vitriol and with a similar quantity of a solution of
caustic soda (of the specific gravity already mentioned), untiltheparaffine
ccases to render the oil of vitriol black. It is then to be washed in a
weak solution ofsoda, and lastly with boiling water, untilthewaterceases
to change the color of red litmus paper. Toobtainparaffinefromparaffine
oil, I sometimes put the oil into a still, and distil over one half or more
of its contents. The portion then remaining will containa much larger
proportion of paraffine than the paraffine oil at first put into the still
contained. This residue being then distilled over into a separate vessel;
and allowed to cool, paraffine may be separated by filtration and
squeezing in cloths, and also purified by treatment with oil of vitriol
and soda, as before described. Paraffine oil, from which paraffine has
been separated as above described, still contains paraffine in solution,
and is suitable for lubricating or lighting purposes, as already
mentioned.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best
means with which I'am acquainted for performing the same, I hereby
declare that I claim as my Invention, the obtaining of paraffine oil, or
an oil containing paraffine, and paraffine, from bituminous coals by
treating them in manuer herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Young, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid James Young came before
our said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
for that nurnese
Enrolled the Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one,