On this day in 1959 Jim Bailey was granted the patent for APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING CRUDE OILS. U.S. Patent No. 2,909,262.
This invention relates to a device for treating petroleum, and it particularly relates to a portable device for separating the crude petroleum oil from water and other impurities found in the oil when it is delivered from the well, which device may be mounted on a truck or vehicle so as to be readily transported to any desired site for temporary use.
The principle of this invention lies in the fact that when petroleum oil is subjected to a predetermined amount of heating, its viscosity, and consequently its density, is decreased to the point where it is less than that of water. The oil then tends to ?oat on the surface of the water. ‘The impurities, in the form of sediment, gravel and the like sinks down into the bottom of the water. The water and its entrained impurities are then drained off in the manner common to those skilled in the art, leaving the relatively pure crude oil. This oil may then be removed and processed in the ordinary manner.
Although the general principle described above is, it self, well known, and although various attempts have been made to use it in the processing of petroleum, all these prior efforts resulted in devices which were either so complex and unwieldly as to be commercially unsuccessful or were too inefficient for their purposes.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a device for separating petroleum oil from water and other impurities which is simple in construction and easy to handle, and which may be readily transported as by being permanently mounted on a vehicle, for use where desired.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for separating petroleum oil from water and other impurities which is easily adaptable to small operations. Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved separating device, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.