USRE2049E - Improved apparatus for rendering oils and fats - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

c. E. GRAY, or NEw voert, N. Y.

u Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,565, dated August 18, 1863; Reissue No. 2,019, dated August 8, 1865.

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARROLL EUGENE GRAY, of the city of St. Louis, in the county ot' St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Extracting, Rendering, and- Purifying Oleaginous and Fatty Matters, and .Delivering the Same from Said Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact decription of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, makin g a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

By the present plans ot rendering and purifying oleaginous and fatty matters by steampressure, even including the latest improvements ot' means otl delivery while under pressure, it is found that when the delivery valve or cock is opened the contents of the digester, or the vessel in which it is being rendered from the natural law of all fluids under pressure, is so violently agitated that the smaller particles ot' material which should be precipitated to the bottom ot the digester are injuriousl y mixed with. the iiuid fat and driven ont with such velocity that they tend to choke the perforationsot' the strainer, and afterward 4 settle with great difliculty in open vessels;

and, moreover, the heated vapor and volatile portions 'arising from the melted fat thus thrown cti' and exposed disseminates throughout the factory and its vicinity, and is not only obnoxious but wasteful.

rIhe object of my invention is to im prove the method of removing ihe iiuid fat from the action of the steam. as soon as it is properly melted without taking oli' the pressure of steam from the digester, and to remove the fat quietly without such violent mechanical mixture with the condensed water and iinpurities as must, of necessity, be the case with any iuids forced out by steam-pressure through pipes or apparatuses directly into the atmosphere, and to provide a means of at any time accurately or continuously observing the condition of the fluid fat as it leaves the digester, and also to heat and purify the fluid f it while it is being cooled down to a suitable tamperature to be exposed in open vessels;

and it consists in its most essential features or' a cylindrical vessel, which I term a receiver, similar to the usual digester 1n dimensions,

and oi sutcient strength to resist high-pressure steam. I place this in a vertical position ou one side, and about two-thirds of its length or height below the usual digester, and when the fatty matter is melted I turn steam into the second vessel or receiver until the thermometer indicates an equality ot' temperature and corresponding pressure in each vessel. Then I open a connection between the two vessels, having suitable appliances for straining iiuid fat, which would then by the law ot' giavity tlow quickly and undisturbedly into the second or lower vessel; or when the receiver cannot be conveniently placed below the level ot' the digester it may be placed in a more elevated position by slightly decreasing the steam-pressure in the receiver, leaving the small particles of material or impurities to settle downward in the digester instead of being violently drawn oft' with the tluid fat, and this is etlected without taking od' the pressure from the digester. Then the connection can be shut oft' for the refuse in the digester to be recooked, and the iiuid fat in the receiver to quietly settle,'and after it is cooled down to the minimum temperature of iluid fat it can be run oft' into vessels, by which means the volatile portions ot the melted fat would be retained and prevented from being` disseminated into the atmosphere, which ot' necessity is the case when the melted fat is drawn into open vessels directly .from the digester in which it has been treated under high pressure.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of the apparatus by which it is carried into practice.

'Ihe drawing represents an ordinary steamtight digester A, having a man-hole, B, in the top, and a hole, C, for drawing out the refuse at the bottom, also a cock, D, for dra-wing oit' the condensed water, and is supplied with steam in the yusual manner. The same is also provided with a strainer7 d d, communicating with receiver H. In the pipe Gr, I fit the glass tube g g by the collars i fi, made steam-tight, like the glass of a water-gage. The receiver H is provided with a man hole, I, the entrance steam-cock J, for admitting steam to equalize the pressure in both vessels. The small steam-pipe L, with cock M connected to t drawal.

coil N, is for maintaining and regulating the Vtemperature of the receiver to facilitate the precipitating of the impurities contained in the fat. In the bottom of ther eceiver is shown the draw-oli' cock 0. The letters P P P P represent four perforated pipes connected at the junction tg with the pipe R, regulated by the cock S, through which may be t'orced water or medicated water, to be ejected by a multitude of tine streams to all parts ofthe fluid fat.

The outletcock T is connected to the jointed or moving pipe U having the strainer V, and supported by the oats W W, for drawing off the supernatant tluid.

Where extra puritcation is required, it may be desirable to t a mechanical means in the interior ot' the receiver to put the melted fat in gentle circulation, to cause its more ei'ectnal mixture with the washing or purifying ilud forced from the perforated pipes, or similar means of distributing the purifying agent. When the duid fat is cooled down suiiiciently i'or exposure to the atmosphere, the vent-cock X is opened to admit atmosphere to allow the fluid fat to tlow through the pipe V and the outlet-cock T into open vessels for congelation.

The thermometer Y is used to indicate the temperature, that the pressure may be known when this mode of treatment is in operation for rendering, purifying, cooling down, and

delivering oleaginous and t'atty matters. The materials are put into the vessel A through the man-hole B,which is then secured, and steam being let in until the fat is melted or treated. Then the steam-cock J is opened and steam is admitted into the receiver H, to obtain a similar temperature and pressurev with the vessel A. The melted fat, being tiltered by the strainer d, is allowed to pass oli' through the upper cock,E, the material being inspected through the glass tube g g when it continues through the lower pipe, j, and cock c into the receiver H. When the fluid fat in the digester is below the level of the cock E, the cock F is opened and the fluid is allowed to pass through, so long as the glass shows the fat to be in the proper condition for with- VVhile the fat is properly melted, it

is thus drawn off, butv so soon as it appears cloudy or otherwise unsatisfactory the cock F is closed and the oleaginous material 1n the Y digester A is cooked until whatever fat may remain in the contents is extracted. The tluid fat in the receiver His then heated with water, or medicated water, as may be desired, for purification, through the junction Q and perforated pipes P P P P, or like means for ei'ectual distribution, by which means the coolin g down is accelerated. Then it is allowed to remain to settle until its temperature is sufficiently reduced for its delivery into open vessels to con geal. Then the vent-cock X is opened and the supernatant fluid fat is allowed to tlow by gravitation through the jointed pipe U, the moving end of which is protected by the strainer V, supported by the iioats W WV, and it passes through the outleteonnection at cock T into vessels for congelation. Then the condensed water and dreg are dra-wn oft' by the cock O in the bottom ot' the receiver. The remaining refuse in the digester after all the fat that can be obtained has been extracted is allowed to pass ot't' through the outlet-hole (l into a suitable tub.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. In connection with the digester, the use of asecond steam-tight vessel for receiving melted fat or other tluid material that may have been cooked under steam-pressure, and for cooling down and purifyingthe saine until it is inV a proper condition for exposure to the atmosphere, substantially as described.

2. The placing ot' a glass tube'in the drawoi' pipe from the digester or similar apparatus for the treatment of material under steanrpressure for the purpose speciiied, substantially as before described.

3. In combination with the digester or receiver, t-he use of thejointed delivery-pipe U, supported near the surface ofthe iiuid fat by the floats, as by lV W, for the purpose of drawing oit' the supernatant contents of the receiver or tank automatically.

C. E. GRAY.

Witnesses:

Amos BROADNEX, PETER `D. KENNY.

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