IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING AND. REFINING CRUDE MINERAL, PETROLEUM, AND OTHER HYDROCARBON OILS, AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Smith and David
Cunningham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 29th July 1869.
We, ALEXANDER SMITH, of the Town of Stonehouse, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Coal Master, and DAVID CUNNINGHAM, at
present residing at the same Place, Working Chemist, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING AND.
REFINING CRUDE MINERAL, PETROLEUM, AND OTHER HYDROCARBON OILS, AND IN
THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to
say :-
This Invention consists substantially in treating crude oils, such as
those generally termed shale, mineral, rock, coal, and other oils, con-
taining tarry, pitchy, or other impurities and dark colouring and nauseous
smelling matters in the first stage or stages of their purification by this

page_text: new or improved operation of mixing or otherwise impregnating them
with warm water and a small portion of chlorine, either as a gas or in
conjunction with lime, magnesia, calcium, or other base forming chloride
of lime, magnesia, calcium, or other similar chloride having the like
strong separating, cleansing, or bleaching effects, whereby the subsequent
operations and treatment are very much reduced in number, and
consequently in labour and expense; although, in the after treatment
the oils may be put through substantially the same refining processes of
distillation, washing with acids, caustic sodas, fixing of the colours
left, and other operations suitable for producing them in the various
pure commercial forms required, all as has been usually adopted
heretofore.
One mode or means of performing the said improvements or Invention
as stated (and which has produced the advantages referred to) consists
in mixing the crude oil with hot or boiling water in an open or close
vessel in the proportion of about two gallons of oil to one of water, and,
by preference, while being agitated to pour in a solution of chloride of
lime or chlorinated lime and water, of about two ounces of the lime to
each gallon of oil, afterwards mixing or continuing to mix the whole
until the oil is thoroughly impregnated with the chlorine, which on
being allowed to settle has the effect of precipitating the heavy, tarry,
pitchy, and colouring matters to the bottom of the water, and thus,
by this new or improved operation and means, these injurious matters
are separated and drawn off from the oil in this first or early stage, and
the oil is then floated off from the top of the water in a much purer state
in consequence, and therefore requires less subsequent distillation and
washing to make it pure than heretofore.
Although the above stated simple mode and means of impregnating
the oil with the chlorine was found by the petitioners to answer well
experimentally in depositing the tarry ingredients, they by no means
desire to confine or restrict themselves to the details or proportions and
mode and means of mixing the ingredients stated in the single mode
described; but what they consider novel and original and desire to claim
is, the chemical or mechanical mixing of a small portion of chlorine
by preference in combination with lime or other cheap and easily
obtained bases, as chlorides, such as are used for purifying and bleaching

page_text: purposes, with the crude oils and their washing and floating water (in
any usual manner known to practical chemists essentially) in an early
stage of the refining process before the usual distillation and washing
with acids and alkalies.