US984240A - Process of treating elaterite. - Google Patents

Description

l J. C. ROSS. PROCESSO? TREATING ELATBRITE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.30,1908.

.n E i5 S Ku SK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. BOSS, F COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

. .PROCESS OF TBEATING ELATEBITE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911./

Application led March 80, 19H8. Serial No. 424,042.

' am aware, to subject the elaterite to the distilling action of a retort or other receptacle in which the samel can be heated for the purpose of gasifying and thereby driving olf the impurities. A product thus obtained lhas been employed'in many ways as a sub stitute for rubber vulcanite, and also for soft rubber, said product possessin erable elasticity and resiliency wh n mixed with sulfur and vulcanized in the ordinary 1 way. Furthermore, it has proved to be of exceptional value in the electrical arts, as a substitute for the ordinary rubber' or fiber insulation, insulations made from refined or properly treated elaterite beingpractically fire an water proof.- The process of obtaining thisproduct by refinement of the elaterite in a retort or other receptacle has, however, been found to be more or less expensive, and in some ways at least not always productive of good results;

After an extended investigation, and' after considerable laboratory and experimental e work, I have discovered a new process of extracting or manufacturing' product from elaterite. In practicin m improved process, I first take the crude e aterte and grind it' and pulverize it or reduce it to comminuted form, in any suitable manner. The

elaterite thus prepared is then mixed-with a v suitable quantity of hydrocarbon or other liquid fuel, and the mixture placed on or in a suitable support. The highly combustible preparation thus formed is then ignited and allowedto burn in a natural manner ulntil the lire goes out and combustion ceases. As soon as this has been done, it will then be .found that all of the undesirable elements' have been consumed and driven off, leaving only the product in a melted or viscous or semi-viscous condition. Durin the burning operation no forcing of the com ustion is necessary, as the elements and roperties which are to be driven olf are o such character that they burn readily under ordinary and natural conditions, and are adapted to support combustion Without any artificial' conditions. In other words, it 1s simply necessary to ignite the mass or mixture, and the.

same then burns naturally and of its own ac-l cord until everything combustible in the' elaterite has been driven off, leavi only the desired product. The elaterite will, I find, burn alone and without the'admixture of hydrocarbon or otherliquid fuel, but for the purpose of facilitating combustion I prefer to practice the process commercially.V

by .using a liquid' fuel that will readily 1 nite. As a result of the burning operation, only the product is left, there being' practically no other solid matter or by-product, everything else having .been consumed to support or aid combustion.

It will be seen, therefore, that my invention is b sed, upon the discovery that-the burning f*`elat'erite will not burn or' consume the desired product contained therein-that is to say, 1s based upon the discov-y ery that the product does not burn or ignite or suffer deterioration by direct contact with fire orcombustion at a temperature at which the undesirable elements of the elaterite will readily ignite and burn and be driven olf by combustion in the open air. It will be seen that such a process is entirely diierent from the ordinary process of distillation, through 'the medium of a retort-or still, such as those heretofore employed for refining elaterte. M-y process is comparatively-economical, as

-well as surprisingly effective, beca-use of the fact that it requires practically no aplparatus, it being only necessary to grind or reak up the elaterite and mix `it with enough liquid fuel to make it ignite readily, and to then .burn it olf in the open air, or in the combustion chamber of some sort of a stove or furnace. l i

The accompanying drawing is a diagram illustrating the different steps involved in my improved process of extracting a product`from elaterite or other similar'mineral deposits. 3

As reviously stated, the elaterlte 1s first groun or brokenup, `or otherwise reduced to comminuted form by any suitable machinery, or by hand if desired.- Next, the

elaterite thus pulverized or Vground is mixed with petroleum, "or any o f the derivatives thereof, the quant-ity of oil or'h drocarbon necessary for this "purpose being simply ics ' with a liquid fuel the entire mass ignites at oni-:e and burns evenly. The elaterite thus prepared can then be burned in the open airr on a table or support, or it can be placed in the combustion chamber of a suitably constructed stove or furnace. During such burning or combustion, the product melts and becomes viscous or semiviscous, but does not burn. All other elements or properties of the elaterite are burned up and consumed, passing off with the smoke and fumes of combustion, so that the product is the only thing left, there being practically no other solid' matter or by-products existing at the time that the re goes out and the combustion ceases for want of combustible fuel. This melted product or 'residue shows amelting point of about 125 centigrade; that is to say, when small or moderate sized pieces are subjected to ordinary and Well known tests for this purpose under atmospheric pressure. The melted product or rubber-like mass can be gathered or discharged from the support on which the elaterite is burned, or can be recovered from the burningr mass in any suitable or desiredmanner. It is then readiT for treatment after the fashion of ordinary rubber, being -readily susceptible to the ordinary vulcanizing recesses, and when thus cured is.. suitable or use in various ways, such as the manufacture of hard and oft rubber articles. I find also that instead of adding liquid fuel to the ground or comminuted elaterite, the same can be heated or raised to comparatively high temperature, and that it will then ignite readily and burn.

In its broader aspects, it will be seen that my invention relates to many hydrocarbons of a solid or semi-solid nature. I have used my improved process for the purpose of reining elaterite (sometimes called wurtzilite), but it is obvious that the same process may be used for refining or treating similar hydrocarbons. Preferably, as explained, the elaterite, wurtzilite or other crude material is rst ground or comminuted or broken up in some suitable manner, so as to reduce it to small pieces, as I find that when allowed to remain in its crude form, or in relatively large pieces, it does not yield readilyto the herein-described process, as the liquid fuel used to facilitate the process will not penetrate deeply, and combustion is liable to cease before all ofthe crude material has been properly treated. The round or comminuted material is preferaby spread out on a flat surface, and the requisite amount of liquid fuel to be used can be readily determined. and can be varied according to the quality of the material and the particular results desired. For general purposes. und in the treatment of elaterite, or wurtzilite as it is sometimes culled,.twenty ('20) gallons of coul nil can be used toevery ton of crude material. and this I find-gives very good results. The crude material being thus'set ou fire will be. found to yield very readily and very quickly to the process, which latter, of course, is a progresslve one, and Where the heat is thus concentrated by direct combustion, the process progresses very-rapidly and in a very etlicient manner. i When the materlal is treated by d1stilla.- tion, 1n the old manner, a milch longer period of treatment is necessary. and the tem'- perature must be carefully judged and controlled throughout the period of treatment. My improved process, however, is in one sense self-regulating, as after combustion is once started there is then no further necessity for the exercise of judgment-or control on the part of the operator or attendant. After the material is once ignited, it then simply continues to burn until the desired result is obtained, and there is no danger of the combustion taking place too fast or too slow, and no necessity for any attempt to contr'ol such combustion. When the ma ferial to be treated is elaterite (or wurtzilite) the result or product is quite different from that which is obtained by distillation of the same materials in a retort orother similar apparatus. The product obtained by my improved process, when used for treating elaterite or wurtzilite, is of dilferent chemical compisition from that obtained by said process ot distillation. being, for example, of much higher fusibilitv. An elaterite 'or wurtzilite product produced by my improved process will.l I find, when used commerciallj.v in small or moderate sized p'ieces, not flow or yield to any perceptible degree when'subjected to atmospheric-temperatures of 120 centigrade. that is to say, it remains solid at any1 temperature .lower than this, whereby it is useful in many places and for many purposes Where similar products produced by the old processes are not suitable. There are also other ways in which a product produced from elaterite or wurtzilite. b v my improved process. as herein described, is quite different in chemical composition from those heretofore produced from the same kinds of crude material.

It will be seen, therefore, that I not only produce a process or method of treatment which is entirely different. from anything heretofore proposed for this purpose. but

that. I also produce a product which is diflll?) ferent from those heretoforeproduced,from materials of this kind. Obviously, therefore,` andregardless of whether the product is the saine or different, my invention contemplates a new and elicient process for treating materials. It also contemplatesan elaterite or Wurtzilite product which is of different chemical composition than those heretofore produced from such crude material. 1What I claim as my invention is:

1. The process of producing a Wurtzilite or elaterite product, which consists in grinding or comminuting the crude mineral, adding a. liquid vfuel thereto, burning the mix. ture in the open air, so that the atmosphere will have free access to all parts thereof, permittingthe fire 'to` progress freely and as rapidly as possible until it goes out of its own accord, leaving the product in a melted condition, and allowing the said product to cool and harden.

2. The process of producing a: Wurtzilite or elaterite product, Which consists in inding or comminuting they crude mlneral, burning said mineral in the open air, so that the atmosphere will have free access to all parts thereof, permitting the {i1-e to progress freely and as rapidly as possible until it goes out of its own accord, leaving the prod:

JAMES C. ROSS.

Witnesses ALBERT J. SAUBER, E. H. CLEGG.

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