US622374A - Beater - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WOOD LEADBEATER, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND.

COMBUSTIBLE COMPOUND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,374, dated April-4, 1899. Application filed November 18, 1897. Serial No. 659,008. (No specimens.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern: Be it known that 1, JOHN WOOD LEAD BEATER, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Banstead Grove, Rouudhay road, Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented an Improved, Combustible, Compound, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to a mode of bringing petroleum-that is to say,any known or available mineral oilsinto a marketable form as a combustible other than in the ordinary liquid form; and it has for its object the manufacture of an insoluble compound-hav ing the essential quality of not melting and runningdu ring combustion, which compound may be in a condition hard enough to be handled and transported by rail, ship, or otherwise without danger and in a condition suitable for use as a combustible, or it may be in a condition somewhat approaching that of a fluid for mixing with other material along with which it is to act as acombustible.

I carry out my object as follows: I take a suitable quantity of petroleum, which may be crude or otherwise, (any mineral oil, residue, or refuse-for instance, astatki will do,) and Iadd thereto a small proportion of animal or vegetable stearin-that is to say, a solid fat or solid fatty acid-resin, lime, and sawdust, (or other similar absorbent,) thoroughly mixing the whole with the application of as little heat as possible in order to minimize the evaporation of volatile matter. The said materials are hereinafter referred to shortly as stearin, resin, lime, and sawdust.

The proportions, which will vary according to circumstances, may be, for example, approximately as follows: To every one hundred and twenty-eight parts, by weight, of petroleum I add one part of animal or vegetable stearin, twelve parts of resin, eight parts of unslaked lime, and eight parts of sawdust, (preferably of a light and absorbent nature.)

The. mode of mixing is preferably as follows: I first melt the stearin and the resin to- 'gether in the same vessel, preferably in a steam-jacketed pan heated by low-pressure steam, using only the amount of heat necessary to melt the stearin and resin. (If desired r to thin the mixture, a little of the petroleum may be added at this stage, taking care to use as little heat as possible.) I mix the lime and the sawdust together, and I add them to and stir them in the petroleum, which, standing in its independent vessel, is of course cold,

pan, agitating the whole thoroughly to insure a proper admixture. After a short time a reaction will be noticed, accompanied by a risin g of the mixture and a considerable increase of the temperature.

So far as I have been able to ascertain the action of the several ingredients is as follows: The sawdust not only serves as a combustible, but forms the main vehicle for absorbing the petroleum and mechanically holding itin suspension. The stearin and the resin melted together are ready to set up a saponifying action as soon as the lime is added, and these three assist in producing an insoluble result, (which, for instance,,soda will not do.) As the mixing takes place after the sawdust has been saturated with petroleum, the saponification resulting after the mixing mechanically closes up andseals the oil in the sawdust, and in this way the maximum amount of petroleum is dealt with. The water necessary for initiating the saponification is supplied by the dry raw materials, so called in the ordinary sense, used for the manufacture of the material,and above all by the sawdust,(wood,) which is preferably used in an entirely airdried state, but still containing at least ten per cent. latent water and which parts with the moisture only on being moderately heated. Also the mineral oil contains in most cases some dampness, so that the technically dry materials contain the quantity of moisture necessary for the initiation of the reaction. The addition of water is therefore unnecessary and even injurious, as it tends to leave the finished product in a damp state and renders it soluble during combustion.

The resulting compound is insoluble, and when cold is a fairly hardwaterproof sub stance; but if a harder or softer one be de sired it maybe made by using a difierent per centage of the ingredients. I therefore do not limit myself to the exact proportions of the various ingredients hereinbefore given.

This compound when prepared of the necessary stiffness and allowed to set hard may in the form of cakes or the like he handled, stored in heaps, and transported without danger in any suitable quantity or bulk, and it may after pulverization or division be used in that state as a fuel either in combination with other combustible matter or alone; or the ingredients may be proportioned so that the product when cold is in a state somewhat approaching that of a fluid, but which will set or practically set when mixed with other combustible materials. This admixture with other combustible materials may either take place immediately while the compound is still warm or at a remoter period when cold. The compound may be used as an enricher or as an assistant to an otherwise sluggish combustible when waste products of little calorific value are to be consumed, and in this latter way towns refuse, dried sewage sludge, and the like may be utilized in conjunction with the compound.

I make no general claim for treating petroleum with a view of solidifying or gelatinizing it, as my sole aim has been the introduction of a simple, inexpensive, and rapid mode of preparing a petroleum compound for use as certained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. An insoluble combustible compound consisting of a mixture of petroleum, stearin, resin, lime and sawdust.

2. An insoluble combustible compound consisting of a mixture of petroleum, stearin, resin, lime and sawdust in approximately the following proportions by weight, to Wit: one hundred and twenty-eight parts of petroleum, one part stearin, twelve parts of resin, eight parts of lime and eight parts of sawdust.

3. The process of preparing an insoluble combustible compound, said process consisting in melting stearin and resin together, adding thereto lime, sawdust and petroleum, and then agitating the mass.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN WOOD LEADBEATER.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM SNowDoN, ARTHUR SAMUEL RICKARDS.