IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF TREATING AND. PURIFYING PARAFFINE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Charles Sterry and Frederick Lambe,
both of Rotherhithe New Road, in the County of Surrey, Paraffine
.
Refiners, and John Fordred, of Blackheath, in the County of Kent,
+
Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MODE OF
TREATING AND. PURIFYING PARAFFINE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED
THEREIN."
Sealed the 29th January 1869, and dated the 4th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Charles Sterry,
'
こ
Frederick Lambe, and John Fordred at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 4th December
1868.
We, ARTHUR CHARLES STERRY and FREDERICK LAMBE, both of
Rotherhithe New Road, in the County of Surrey, l'arafline Refiners,
and JOHN FORDRED, of Blackheath, in the County of Kent, Chemist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OF TREATING AND PURIFYING PARAFFINE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE
USED THEREIN," to be as follows:-

page_text: and economise the operations of separating the crystals from the fluid
with which they may be naturally or otherwise associated, and of
washing and drying the crystals. To this end we propose to submit the
mixture of paratline and liquid to the action of a centrifugal apparatus,
somewhat resembling what is known as the hydro-extractor, by which
means the solid paraffine will be separated from the liquid whatever
that may be, the parafline being retained within the apparatus, and the
liquid passing away through the pervious sides of the same in obedience
to the centrifugal law.
In order to make the operation continuous we propose to mount the
centrifugal apparatus vertically, and to clothe the pervious periphery
with cloth or other suitable filtering material. On the central shaft we
mount a rotating screw or screw blades, and give it a slow and inde-
pendent rotary motion. The mixture of oil and paraffine being admitted
to the apparatus from below the liquid portion will be discharged through
the periphery of the rotating vessel, and the solid portion or crystals
will be lifted by the rotating screw or blades, and discharged over the
lip of the same. The rotating vessel may be made conical, the oil
supplied to the centre thereof escaping through the pervious periphery,
while the crystals travel up the incline and discharge themselves over
the edge of the conical vessel. To regulate this discharge an adjustable
cone overlying the pervious cone may be used as a cover to the vessel,
and the distance between the lips or edges of these cones may determine
the rate of discharge of the paraffine. The crystals of paraffine which
have been separated from the oil by the above treatment, or loose crystals
obtained from any source or in any stage of purity, or crystals which
we obtain by melting crude paraffine, mixing it with a considerable
quantity of naphtha or other solvent, and allowing the mixture to cool
slowly, we propose to wash or treat and wash with cold naphtha or
light spirit of petroleum or any other liquid capable of dissolving or
taking up the impurity with which the paraffine is more or less accom-
panied. After washing the crystals we separate the solid paraffine from
the liquid by means of the centrifugal apparatus, as described above,
or by filtration or otherwise, and this washing in the cold may be
repeated as frequently as may be necessary. If the centrifugal apparatus
be employed it will be preferable so to arrange it that fresh portions of
the solvent liquid may be added without first removing the paraffine
From the apparatus.
By this method of washing the paraffine crystals
with cold menstrua, and separating the same from the liquid by the
:

page_text: centrifugal apparatus, great economy and expedition are attained over
all the other processes at present in use.
In this method of repeatedly
washing the paraffine without removing the same from the centrifugal
apparatus, we can wash not only crystals of paraffine but paraffine in
any other suitable condition.
When volatile liquids are used in washing the paraffine as described,
the operation may be carried on in closed vessels to avoid the loss of
the volatile material and danger from fire.
To prevent the crystals from accumulating around the pervious
periphery, and thereby stopping or retarding the action of the centri-
fugal apparatus, we propose to introduce stirrers or arms with blades,
and to give to them an independent rotary motion that they may remove
the crystals from the periphery and leave a clear course for the discharge
of the liquid. The pervious periphery we prefer to form as an inner
lining to a rotating close case which serves to retain the liquid in the
apparatus while the washing is taking place. This case may be fitted
with valves near its lower edge for discharging the liquid at intervals
as found desirable. After the washing has been continued a sufficient
time, and the naphtha or light spirit has been driven off by centrifugal
action, hot water or steam or hot air may he admitted, which melting
the crystals will allow of the paraffine being run off from the apparatus
in a liquid state, or the crystals may be removed by hand.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Arthur Charles Sterry, Frederick Lambe, and
John Fordred in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th June
1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ARTHUR
CHARLES STERRY and FREDERICK LAMBE, both of Rotherhithe New
Road, in the County of Surrey, Paraffine Refiners, and JOHN FORDRED,
of Blackheath, in the County of Kent, Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto us, the said Arthur Charles Sterry, Frederick
Lambe, and John Fordred, Her special licence that we, the said Arthur
Charles Sterry, Frederick Lambe, and John Fordred, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Arthur
Charles Sterry, Frederick Lambe, and John Fordred, our 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
THE MODE OF TREATING AND PURIFYING PARAFFINE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED
THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Arthur
Charles Sterry, Frederick Lambe, and John Fordred, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 John Fordred, on behalf of myself
and of the said Arthur Charles Sterry and Frederick Lambe, do hereby
declare the nature of our 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 hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
This Invention relates to a novel mode of treating and purifying
paraffine in the condition of loose crystals, the object being to expedite
and economise the operations of separating the crystals from the fluid,
with which they may be naturally or otherwise associated, and of
washing and drying the crystals. To this end we first submit the
mixture of paraffine and oil to the action of a centrifugal apparatus
acting on the principle of what is known as the hydro-extractor, by
which means the solid paraffine is separated from the oil, the paraffine
being retained within the apparatus, and the liquid or oil passing away
through the pervious sides of the same in obedience to the centrifugal
law.

page_text: arrangement of apparatus shewn in the accompanying Drawing
sectional elevation at Fig. 1. The centrifugal apparatus consists of a
conical or it may be a cylindrical vessel A, A, mounted on a hollow
vertical shaft B which is stepped into a brass bearing C and is supported
at its upper end in a bracket bearing D made fast to a fixed cylindrical
casing E. This casing is closed at top, and within this casing and
concentric therewith is a casing E', over the lip of which fits the lip of
the rotary vessel A. At the top of the hollow shaft B and com-
municating with the interior is fitted a funnel B' into which the
paraffine and oil for charging the centrifugal apparatus is run
required, and lateral openings made near the lower end of the shaft
This shaft B serves
discharge the paraffine and oil into the vessel A.
as
A
as a central support for a sleeve shaft G which carries a helical blade G';
shaped to correspond with the sectional figure of the vessel A.
conical pulley is keyed to this sleeve shaft for receiving a band H from
a conical pulley on a driving shaft I, and on the shaft B is keyed a,
driving pulley which receives a band K from a second pulley on the
driving shaft I. The cases E and E' form between them an annular
chamber which is intended to receive the solid or crystalline paraffine
which is raised by the rotation of the screw and discharged over the lip
of the vessel A, and the case E' itself forms a chamber for receiving the
liquid matters discharged through the pervious vessel A. This liquid
is run off by a pipe L into any suitable receiver, while access is gained
to the solid matter by the removal of two or more doors F¹ in the outer
casing E.
We clothe the pervious periphery of the vessel A with
cloth or other suitable filtering material, and we give the rotating screw
an independent rotary motion either slightly greater or less than the
speed of the central shaft. The mixture of oil and paraffine being
admitted to the apparatus the liquid portion is discharged through the
periphery of the rotating vessel, and the solid or crystalline portion is
lifted by the rotating screw or blades and discharged over the
lip of the vessel A, A, into the annular chamber F; to regulate this
discharge it is only necessary to change the speed of rotation of
the lifting screw to thus adapt its action to that of the feed and the
discharge of the liquid through the clothed periphery of the rotating
case.
The crystals of paraffine which have been separated from the oil by
the above treatment, or loose crystals obtained from any source or in
any stage of purity, we now subject to repeated washings in cold

page_text: naphtha, petroleum spirit, or any other liquid capable of dissolving or
taking up the impurity by which the paraffine is more or less
accompanied.
After each washing of the crystals we separate the solid paraffine
from the liquid, by preference, by means of the centrifugal apparatus
shewn in sectional elevation at Fig. 2, or the separation may be effected
by filtration or pressure, but if pressure is used and it is intended to
wash the crystals again, such slight pressure only must be used as will
allow of the crystals being easily separated one from another in the
subsequent washing. This washing with cold solvents may be
repeated as frequently as may be necessary.
The centrifugal apparatus we employ is preferably so arranged that
fresh portions of the solvent liquid may be added without first removing
the paraffine from the apparatus.
In practice we find the best mode of procedure when refining the
ordinary crude paraffine of commerce, to be as follows:-We take crude
paraffine and having melted it in a suitable vessel, we allow the
mechanical impurities to subside and then run off the liquid clarified
paraffine into another vessel where we add to it an equal quantity of
naphtha, or other like solvent, and having well stirred them together we
allow the mixture to cool. When the mixture has cooled the crystals
will be found to be well defined. We then force the mixture through
the meshes of a coarse sieve so as to break up any lumps of cohering
crystals and afterwards transfer it to the centrifugal apparatus. After
separating the liquid we add to the crystals remaining in the machine
about sixty per cent. of naphtha, and stir them well together so as to
wash the crystals thoroughly. The naphtha is then separated as before,
and this operation with fresh portions of naphtha is continued until the
crystals are sufficiently white and pure.
In order to economise the quantity of naphtha the naphtha used in
the final washing is used again and again for washing the crystals in a
less advanced stage of purification, and after it has been used in each
stage of washing it is mixed with the melted crude paraffine instead of
clean naphtha. By this method of washing the paraffine crystals with
cold menstrua and separating the same from the liquid by the
centrifugal apparatus, great economy and expedition are attained over
all other processes at present in use.
When volatile liquids are used in washing the paraffine, as described,

page_text: it is desirable to carry on the operation in closed vessels to avoid the
loss of the volatile material and danger from fire. It is also desirable
to provide means for preventing the crystals from accumulating around
the pervious periphery and thereby stopping or retarding the action of
the centrifugal apparatus. It is to obtain these advantages that we
employ the apparatus shewn at Fig. 2. The pervious periphery shewn
at A, A, Fig. 2, we form as an inner lining to a rotating tight vessel
or case B which is carried by a vertical shaft mounted in suitable
bearings, this case B serves to retain the liquid in the rotary portion of
the apparatus while the washing is taking place; D is a fixed casing
enclosing the vessel B and carrying the top bearing for the central
shaft C. The case D is closed at top, but it has an opening D¹ at
bottom through which the contents of the vessel are from time to time
discharged. It is also provided with doors D2 to allow of access to the
taps or valves a, a, with which the vessel B is furnished near its lower
edge for discharging the liquid at intervals as found desirable. Mounted
upon the central shaft C is a sleeve shaft E, fitted with radial arms
which carry blades that are set parallel to and in such position as to
clear the pervious periphery (over which they rotate) of adhering
crystals without rubbing the periphery A. These blades receive an
independent rotary motion through a cone pulley which allows of the
adjustment of the driving strap G to alter the speed of rotation as may
be desired. The strap H gives motion to the central shaft and to the
vessel which it carries. The machine is fed previous to commencing
the washing of the parafline through a pipe F supplied from a reservoir;
above, and as the operation proceeds fresh naphtha is admitted from time
to time to the vessel B by the pipe F¹. The action of the machine will
be to drive the liquid through the crystals which will be kept in
constant agitation, and so soon as the taps are opened and the liquid is
allowed to escape it will be expelled from the vessel B, and collecting
at the bottom of the case D it will run out at D¹. A fresh supply is
then to be admitted and the washing is then to be repeated. After
the washing has been continued a sufficient time and the naphtha,
petroleum spirit, or other solvent has been driven off by centrifugal
action, hot water or steam, or hot air may be admitted, which melting
the crystals will allow of the paraffine being run off from the apparatus
in a liquid state. The paraffine is then to be freed from all trace of
naphtha by steam and finished in the usual manner.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "Improvements
in the Mode of Treating and Purifying Parafine, and in Apparatus to
be used therein," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, we wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent, we claim,―
First. The mode of treating and purifying paraffine, as above
described.
Secondly. The modified forms of centrifugal machines above described
constituting our improved arrangements of apparatus for treating and
purifying paraffine.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fordred, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
JOHN FORDRED. (1.$.)