AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR-CANE, BEETROOT, AND OTHER PLANTS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John
Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS
FOR EXTRACTING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR-CANE, BEETROOT, AND OTHER
PLANTS." A communication from abroad by Frederick James Vivian
Minchin, of Aska, Madras Presidency, India.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th February 1866.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of
No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS
FOR EXTRACTING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR-CANE, BEETROOT, AND OTHER PLANTS,"
(a communication to me from abroad by Frederick James Vivian Minchin, of
Aska, Madras Presidency, India,) to be as follows:-
Many experiments have been made by manufacturers of sugar in order to
obtain the juice of sugar cane, beetroot, and other plants by means of heat, in
the expectation of extracting all their juices. To effect this more cheaply
than, for instance, by the press (which method leaves a considerable per-
centage of the juice in the refuse of the beet and cane), other processes have
been tried, such as cold maceration and centrifugal force. Indeed by these

page_text: methods more juice can be extracted than by the press, but they have the
inconvenience of carrying with them many particles of the beet and cane into
the extracted juice; besides, the said two methods still leave a per-centage
of juice in the untorn and unwashed particles of beetroot and cane. Sometime
since warm maceration was employed in certain sugar houses by means of a
simple and ingenious contrivance; but the practical application of this
warm maceration met with great difficulties, and the quality of the juice
became deteriorated, because the necessary temperature of 80 degrees
"Reaumur" is very prejudicial thereto.
Numerous experiments have led to the discovery of a more practical method
of extracting the juices from the above-named and other plants, such method
(herein termed diffusion) being the process the subject of this Invention,
which is conducted as follows:-First, the plants should be cut into the
required size; secondly, the said plants are to be subjected to the effect of
the process called diffusion, so that after each diffusion to which they have
been subjected the diffused juices may be replaced by other juices which
contain a less degree of saccharine matter than the juice still retained in the
cells, and this is continued till all the saccharine of the plants is exhausted;
thirdly, the commencement of the diffusion will be encouraged by means of a
higher temperature, but in such degree as not to be injurious to the quality
of the juices; the subsequent diffusions can be effected with cold water;
faurthly, this heating of the juices which is intended to effect the beginning of
the first diffusion is not effected in the extractors, neither by means of closed
steam pipes, nor by direct injection of steam, but always separately in a special
vessel called the heating apparatus.
The foregoing constitute the four essential points of this Invention, which
differs from the hot maceration process in that the latter is intended only to
destroy the cells of the plants to effect the effusion of the juice from the cells,
while the diffusion obtains the saccharine out of the closed cells. Having the
plants cut into slices (the size of which will depend upon the nature of the
plant to be subjected to the diffusion process), the equal heating of these slices
is obtained by filling the extractors simultaneously with the slices and the
warming liquid in corresponding proportions. The temperature of the said
warming liquid (which may be water or juice,) depends upon the temperature
and thickness of the slices. The cold slices and the warming liquid brought
into contact in this manner must not contain immediately after their com-
bination in the extractor a higher degree of temperature than 35 or 40 degrees
"Réaumur." After the extractors have been filled with the slices they are
left to themselves during about half an hour, after which time the diffusion is

page_text: several times repeated with juice of a lower temperature, which is continued
till all the juice is extracted. The diffusion which has taken place can be
best recognized by comparing the degrees of the drawn off liquid with the
juice which the plants originally contained. The regular and most profitable
manipulation in factorics consists in alternate batterics, while the diffusion
takes place in the last filled extractor of the one battery, the preceeding ex-
tractor of the same battery (which already has given off its thick juice)
discharges its following thinner juice, which passes through a heater for the
purpose of being warmed, and to fill subsequently the corresponding extractor
of the other battery. The proper filling, diffusing, and discharging of the
juices to the factory may be successfully executed by two batteries; three
batterics may, however, be used for the same purpose, so that each battery
may separately execute one of the operations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
. WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING THE JUICE FROM SUGAR-CANE, BEETROOT, AND OTHER
PLANTS," (a communication to me from abroad by Frederick James Vivian Min-.
chin, of Aska, Madras Presidency, India,) upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :--
Many experiments have been made by manufacturers of sugar in order to
obtain the juice of sugar cane, beetroot, and other plants by means of heat,
in the expectation of extracting all their juices. To effect this more cheaply
than, for instance, by the press (which method leaves a considerable per-
centage of the juice in the refuse of the beet and cane), other processes have
been tried, such as cold maceration and centrifugal force. Indeed by these
methods more juice can be extracted than by the press, but they have the
inconvenience of carrying with them many particles of the beet and cane into
the extracted juice. Besides the said two methods still leave a per-centage
Some-
of juice in the untorn and unwashed particles of beetroot and cane.
time since warm maceration was employed in certain sugar houses by means
of a simple and ingenious contrivance, but the practical application of this
warm maceration met with great difficulties, and the quality of the juice
became deteriorated because the necessary temperature of 80 degrees
"Réaumur" is very prejudicial thereto.
Numerous experiments have led to the discovery of a more practical method
of extracting the juices from the above-named and other plants, such method
(herein termed "diffusion) being the process the subject of this Invention,
which is conducted as follows:-Firstly, the plants should be cut into picces
of the requisite size; secondly, the said plants are to be subjected to the effect
of the process called "diffusion," so that after cach diffusion to which they have
been subjected the diffused juices may be replaced by other juices which
contain a less degree of saccharine matter than the juice still retained in the
cells, and this is continued till all the saccharine of the plants is exhausted;
thirdly, the commencement of the diffusion will be encouraged by means of a
higher temperature, but in such degree as not to be injurious to the quality
of the juices; the subsequent diffusions can be effected with cold water;
fourthly, this heating of the juices, which is intended to effect the beginning
of the first diffusion, is not effected in the extractors, neither by means of closed
steam pipes, nor by direct injection of steam, but always separately in a special
vessel called the heating apparatus.
The foregoing constitute the four essential points of this Invention, which

page_text: differs from the hot maceration process in that the latter is intended only to
destroy the cells of the plants to effect the effusion of the juice from the cells,
while the diffusion obtains the saccharine out of the closed cells. Having cut
the plants into slices, the size of which will depend upon the nature of the
plant to be subjected to the diffusion process (the most practicable thickness
being from to of an inch, and the breadth from a to an inch); the
equal heating of these slices is obtained by filling the extractors simulta-
neously with the slices and the warming liquid in corresponding proportions.
The temperature of the said warming liquid (which may be water or juice)
depends upon the temperature and thickness of the slices. The cold slices
and the warming liquid brought into contact in this manner must not contain
immediately after their combination in the extractor a higher degree of tem-
perature than 35 or 40 degrees "Réaumur." After the extractors have been
filled with the slices they are left to themselves during about half an hour,
after which time the diffusion is several times repeated with juice of a lower
temperature, which is continued till all the juice is extracted. The diffusion
which has taken place can be best recognized by comparing the degrees of the
drawn-off liquid with the juice which the plants originally contained. The
regular and most profitable manipulation in factories consists in alternate
batteries. While the diffusion takes place in the last filled extractor of the
one battery, the preceding extractor of the same battery, which already has.
given off its thick juice to the factory, discharges its succeeding and thinner
juice, which passes through a heater for the purpose of being warmed, and to
fill subsequently the corresponding extractor of the other battery. If, for
instance, a factory is working with two batteries of six extractors cach, as
illustrated by the following Diagram:-
a moment will come when the extractor B is in diffusion, at the same
moment As discharges its juices to the factory for treatment; B' discharges its
juice for warming the extractor A' through the heater W; A' is being filled
and warmed; B is emptied and prepared for refilling; A, 1, 2, 3, 4, being in
connection force (in consequence of the pressure of the water in reservoir
R) the juice out of A³ delivering it to the factory; B, 1, 2, 3, force by
the same pressure of water the contents of B* through the heater W to A',

page_text: for warming the slices which have been put in No. 6, B, A. The extractor A
being filled and in full diffusion, the extractor B³ discharges its juices to the
factory; A discharges its juice for warming the slices in B°; B' is being
filled and warmed; A¹ is being emptied; B, 1, 2, 3, 4, are forcing the juice
from Bs to the factory, and A, 1, 2, 3, are forcing it from A to W, and so on
alternately.
Three principal points are to be carefully regulated in this process, namely,
the proper filling, the diffusing, and the discharging of the juices to the factory,
and this may be successfully executed by two batteries; three batteries may
however be used for the same purpose, so that each battery may separately
execute one of the operations.
The following advantages result from this process, firstly, more juice is
extracted from the plant than can be obtained by pressure. This larger
quantity of juice obtained by this process is equal at least to , 1% of rough
sugar stuff per hundredweight of beet, cane, or other plants, according to
their quality; secondly, the expences of the extraction of juice are about one
half less than when the pressing process is applied; thirdly, the expences for
machinery and apparatus are from to less than by the pressing process;
fourthly, the expence of keeping the machinery and apparatus in order is
small; and, lastly, the process excels not only in its simplicity and regularity
but the juice can be delivered to the factory diluted with but 15% of water.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.