Improvements in the Method of and Means for Concentrating or Evaporating and Distilling Solutions for the Production of Dyes and other Bodies.
Year: 1889

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Means for Concentrating or
Evaporating and Distilling Solutions for the Production of Dyes
and other Bodies.
I, JOE FROST, of Storths Mill, Moldgreen, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Manufacturing
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention refers to improvements in the method of and means for heating
solutions of various dyes and chemicals, and for promoting rapid concentration or
evaporation thereof at various temperatures, the object of such invention being to
economise time and labour, prevent waste, and to lessen the amount of heat required
to obtain the required density.
In order to carry out my invention I employ a suitable form of framework in
which are supported a number of pipes arranged one above the other and having
their ends connected so as to form a coil. On each side of each of the said pipes and
arranged at suitable angles thereto, are thin plates which extend the length of the
pipes and are supported in the before mentioned framework. Steam or hot water is
admitted to the coil at the botton thereof, such said stean or water circulating
upwards through each pipe and being finally conducted from the top of the coil back to
the boiler, or to anyother suitable place where the steain or water may be used for various
purposes. The liquid solution to be heated and concentrated is run from its container
into a trough or small cistern at the top of the framework, frotu which it falls(through
small holes in the bottom of the said trough) on to the outside of the upper pipe of the
coil, and from thence runs or falls onto the plates at each side of the said pipe, which
conduct the liquid onto the pipe below, and this is repeated until the liquid at last falls
into a cistern placed to receive it.
It will be understood that the contact of the cold liquid with the upper portion of
the coil (which has become heated by the condensed steam from the lower portion of
the coil gradually heats it from the cold to the boiling point as it falls from pipe to
pipe and finally receives the full evaporating effect of the heat of the steam at
the bottom of the coil, by which means rapid evaporation is promoted during the
passage of the liquid down over each pipe. The liquid as it becomes heated is thrown
from the pipes onto the angle plates in the forin of foam or spray, which, being
exposed to the atmosphere, can be oxydized if required before it reaches the
cistern.
Two or more coils constructed as above set forth may be used conjointly, and such
coils may be composed of any material such as glass, iron, copper, tin, or earthenware,
suitable for the purposes for which they are required, whether for experimental
purposes in the laboratory, or for practical purposes.
The density of the concentrated liquid may be varied by regulating the supply of
the solution to the coil, or by increasing the heating surface of the coil or coils
employed, or by repeating the evaporation of the solutions as many times as inay be
required.
In some cases the coil or coils may be enclosed in a chamber, and the liquid con-
ducted therefrom to a receiver by means of a pipa, so arranged, that steam or vapour
cannot pass from the chamber through the said pipe into the cistern; a fan being
employed to exhaust the steam or vapour from the said chamber. To prevent
oxydation of the solutions they may be evaporated in a chamber such as last
described.
A further advantage obtained by my invention will enable weak or dilute solutions,
which, under the present arrangements, it would be too costly to heat and evaporate,
How to undergo the said process at little cost, and the concentrated mixture resulting
therefrom be again used for dying or other purposes.

page_text: When two or more coils are used conjointly, the angularly arranged plates may be
dispensed with, the liquid being allowed to run from pipe to pipe into the cistern,
the arrangement of the said coils preventing the liquid being thrown off the pipes
prematurely or carried away with the vapour.
Hot air may be employed to treat the coiled pipes instead of steam or hot
water.
Dated 01
CT1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in the Method of and Means for Concentrating or
Evaporating and Distilling Solutions for the Production of Dyes
and other Bodies.
1, JOE FROST, of Storths Mill, Moldgreen, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Manufacturing
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention refers to improvements in the method of and means for heating
solutions of various dyes and chemicals and for promoting rapid concentration or
evaporation thereof at various temperatures, the object of such invention being to
economise time and labour, prevent waste, and to lessen the amount of heat required
to obtain the desired density.
་
In order to carry out my invention, I employ a suitable form of framework in
which are supported a number of pipes arranged one above the other, and having
their ends connected so as to form a coil. On each side of each of the said pipes and
arranged at suitable angles thereto, are thin plates which extend the length of the
pipes and are supported in the before mentioned framework. Steam or hot water is
admitted to the coil at the bottom thereof, such steam or water circulating upwards
through each pipe and being finally conducted from the top of the coil back to the
boiler, or to any other suitable place where the steain or water may be used for
various purposes.
The solution to be heated and concentrated is run from its container into a trough
or sinall cistern at the top of the framework from which it falls (through small holes
in the bottom of said trough) onto the outside of the upper pipe of the coil and from
thence onto each succeeding pipe until the liquid at last falls into a cistern or vat
placed to receive it, the portions of the liquid which are thrown off the pipes being
collected by the inclined plates and conducted down thereby to the pipe below.
In order that iny invention may be more fully understood, I herein make reference
to the accompanying sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof.
Fig. 1. is a front elevation of a coil constructed according to my invention (the
inclined plates being removed therefrom), Fig. 2. cross section and Fig. 3. plan of
saine.
Fig. 4. is elevation of a similar coil to that shewn in Fig. 1. inclosed in a vessel or
chamber, and is better adapted for extracting or recovering bodies contained in many
solutions.
Figs. 5. and 6. are modifications of the means for delivering the solutions to be
evaporated onto the coil.
Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10, shew different methods of building up two, three or any
larger number of coils in order to obtain a greater heating and evaporating
surface.
Fig. 11. is a modified construction of coil; and
Fig. 12. is a detail shewing one method for preventing the overheating of the coil
at the place where steam enters thereto.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout.
Referring to Figs. 1. 2, and 3, a reprosents the coil which is composed of a number

page_text: of pipes & placed one above the other and having their opposite ends secured by cement
or screw threads thereon in corresponding sockets in the elbow pipes. c. and d.
respectively; the whole being supported in a frame e which rests upon rods or
bars placed across the top of the cistern or vat g. On each side of the pipes band
extending the full length thereof are plates h which are inclined downwards to near
the upper surface of their corresponding pipes, as shewn in section Fig. 2. and plan
Fig. 3, the said plates being supported in grooves or recesses formed in each side of
the frame e. Across the top of the frame e and directly over the uppermost pipe of
the coil is a trough or small cistern i having a perforated bottom so as to allow liquids
to pass through onto the coil. & is the inlet to the coil, where enters steam, hot water,
or hot air, which circulates upwards through each pipe b and finally passes out at the
exit at the top of the coil. m is a pipe provided with valve n, one end of which
said pipe is connected with a cistern or tank o containing the solution to be con-
centrated, whilst the opposite end thereof terminates in the trough i. The steam, or
hot water or air for beating the coil is obtained from any convenient source and
conveyed by pipe to the inlet from whence the said steam passes upwards through
each pipe of the coil and makes its exit from the coil at the outlet to which is
connected a pipe for conveying the steam or hot water to the boiler, or to any vesse!
placed to receive it, so that the condensed steain or water from the coil may be utilised
for any suitable purpose in manufacture.
The coil having thus been heated to the desired temperature, the valve π is opened
and the solution in the cistern or vessel o allowed to flow down the pipe m into the
trough i from which it passes through the perforations in the bottom thereof, and falls
onto the upper pipe of the coil, and from thence onto the next pipe below and so on
from pipe to pipe, until ultimately, the concentrated or evaporated solution falls from
the bottom pipe into the vessel or vat g. It will be understood that the contact of
the cold solution with the upper portion of the coil somewhat cools said portion, and
that the liquid is thus gradually heated as it falls from pipe to pipe until it reaches
the bottom of the coil where it receives the full evaporating effect of the heat of the
steam. The liquid as it becomes heated is thrown off the pipes bonto the plates / in
the form of spray or foam and is thereby rapidly evaporated or concentrated; the
plates h also prevent the solution thrown off the pipes from falling away from the coil
before it reaches the botton thereof.
The solution may, if required, be oxidised in its passage over the coil and before it
reaches the vessel g.
In Fig. 4, the coil is similar in construction to that already described, but instead
of the elbow pipes c and d shown in Fig. 1, I may employ two castings c and d¹
answering the same purpose, the pipes b being secured in the sockets therein by
pressure, and, if necessary, a little cement may be used to seal the joints. The said
coil is placed in a suitable vessel or chamber 2 which is closed or sealed by a lid g
secured on the top of the said vessel by thumb screws r.
The pipe m connected with the vessel o containing the solution to be concentrated
or distilled is passed through the lid q and delivers the solution, as before described,
to the trough from which it passes onto the coil and is evaporated or distilled in its
passage down from pipe to pipe as explained with reference to Fig. 1, the concentrated
body or water (if any) falling froin the coil into the bottom of the vessel p. In order
that the vapour given off in the aforesaid process may not pass with the concentrated
body or water (if any) from the vessel p into the cistern, such as g in Fig. 1, placed
to receive the said solution, I connect a bent pipe s to the lower end of the vessel so
that the mouth thereof is below the level of the concentrated solution in the vessel p
which said solution may therefore pass through the bent pipe without permitting the
escape therewith of the vapour in the vessel. The bent pipe & is connected by a pipe
to the vessel or cistern for receiving the concentrated body, or water (if any). At
the upper end of the vessel is a conical shaped pipe or what is commonly called a
'still head "t communicating with the interior of the said vessel, and is employed to
convey away tho steain or vapour from the interior of the vessel 7. The said vapourmay
be exhausted from the vessel p by fan or air or vacuum pump and afterwards passed

page_text: through a second coil and condensed thereby for use in manufacturing or for other
purposes where distilled water or other distilled body is required. Solutions which
do not require to be oxidisel during the process of evaporation or distillation may be
passed over a heated coil contained in a vessel such as last described, but, it will be
understood that oxidation may be brought about therein by exposing the liquid to the
action of gases, or by adding bodies capable of oxidising, to the solution before
delivering it to the coil, and that other various chemical changes may be brought
about by the same means.
The coil above described, whether exposed to the atmosphere, as in Fig. 1. or in-
closed in a vessel, as in Fig. 4. when heated by steam, hot water, or hot air, forins a
rapid heater and evaporator of chemical or other solutions, the temperature and
donsity required for the said purposes depending upon the nature of the solution or
the concentrated body to be produced, as will be well understood by Chemists,
Dyers, or Manufacturers who have use for such an apparatus. In laboratories and dye
houses, this improved coil may be extensively used for evaporating and concentrating
solutions; for recovering various bodies held in solution; for bringing about chemical
changes which only take place at boiling temperatures; and, when required, the said
coil may be used for distilling purposes, as it possesses many advantages over the
ordinary stills, and can be made to deliver perfectly cold. In various manufactures
the coil will be equally valuable for softening water containing carbonates so as to
render it more suitable for washing and scouring purposes (the coil in this case being
preferably heated by waste stoam); also for treating suds or seak, recovering the
water therefrom and making the solution more suitable for treatment with acids, and
for many other like purposes. Weak or dilute solutions which under existing cir-
cumstances it would be too costly to heat and evaporate for the recovery of the bodies
therein, may now be heated and evaporated at little cost and in very little time.
In Figs. 5 and 6 I shew modifications of the means for delivering the solution to be
concentrated onto the upper pipe of the coil, in place of the trough previously
mentioned. Fig. 5 shows a round pipe with its underside perforated, one end thereof
being closed up and the opposite end connected to the pipe m. Fig. 6. shews a pipe
of V section having a slit or longitudinal opening u on its underside, one end of said
pipe being closed up and the opposite end connected to pipe m. Figs. 7, 8, 9,
and 10 shew various methods of arranging a number of coils together so that a
greater heating and evaporating service is obtained, whereby a larger quantity of
the solution can be treated at one operation, or the density of the concentrate
solution considerably increased. In Fig. 7 the coils (of which there may be any
reasonable number) are placed vertically side by side, and may be contained in one
frane e, or in seperate fraines and suitably coupled together. In the arrangement
shewn in Fig. 7, the inclined plates h may be dispensed with and the solution allowed
to fall from one pipe to another, but if necessary inclined plates may be placed at the
sides of the outer pipes of the combined coil as at h¹.
In Fig. 8 and cross section Fig. 9 the coils are laid horizontally one above the other.
In Fig. 10 the coils are placed horizontally across each other.
any
In the several arrangements last described the coils are coupled to each other in
suitable manner as found most convenient, and the steain, hot water or air caused to
circulate from the bottom to the top of the series from whence it makes its exit, or
through each coil separately, the discharging vessel o and receiving vessel g being
arranged in combination with the said series of coils somewhat as shown in Fig. 1.
Each coil may be provided with the inclined plate h, or they may be re noved at will.
Fig. 11, shows a coil constructed in one piece or continuous so as to dispence with
joints and connections.
-
It will be well understood that the metal or material of which the coil u is composed
will vary according to the nature of the solutions to be treated thereby, certain metals
or materials not being able to withstan i the action of certain che:nicals, whilst they inay
be proof against other chemicals, and I therefore make such coils or the pipes or tubas
forming them, of glass, earthenware, copper, silver, iron, tin or lead, to suit tho
various solutions for which they are best adapted.

page_text: The pipes b may be round in cross section or other suitable section of pipe may be
used. Safety valves can be connected to the coil for relieving any excessive pressure
in the pipes.
The density of the concentrated or distilled solution may be varied by regulating
the supply of the solution to the coil, or by increasing the heating surface of the coil
or coils employed, or by repeating the evaporation of the solution as many times as
inay be required.
In order to prevent the lower pipes of the coil being overheated by the entry of steam
at that point, may employ a shallow cistern v (see Fig. 12) in which the coil is sup-
ported, so that when such cistern is filled with the concentrated body falling from the
coil, the lower pipes 6 are immersed therein and overheating of the said pipes thereby
prevented. When the cistern is full, the concentrated solution will How over the
sides thereof and fall into the cistern g, and after the completion of the process of
evaporation, the portion remaining in the cistern » may be drawn off through a
suitable outlet by the withdrawal of a plug or the opening of a valve. When the
coil is inclosed in the vessel p, the bent pipes could be arranged so that the level of
the liquid in the said vessel should be above the bottom pipe 6, or a trough or cistern
such as might be used instead.
By the means and method above described solutions are much more rapidly
evaporated or concentrated and distilled than is possible in the present method of
evaporating or concentrating in large open vessels where the solution has to be
agitated or stirred to obtain that result, as, by causing the solution to fall in a thin
film froin pipe to pipe as herein set forth, every portion of such solution is thus fully
exposed to the heated surface of the coil, and to the atmosphere (if the coil be
exposed) whereby rapid evaporation takes place during the descent of the liquid over
each pipe and inclined plates and is concentrated by the time it reaches the bottom of
the coil, the density thereof being varied as before explained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Firstly. The use and employment of a coil such as a, heated by steam, hot water, or
air, for evaporating or concentrating solutions for the production of dyes or other like
bodies, in combination with a tank or cistern containing the solution to be con-
centrated, and a tank or cistern for receiving the concentrated solution as it falls
from the coil, all arranged in the manner substantially as herein shewn and
described.
Secondly. The coil a heated by steam, hot water or air, when inclosed in a vessel
or chamber, such as p in Fig. 4, for evaporating or concentrating and distilling
solutions, substantially as shewn and described.
Thirdly. In combination with the coil a and closed vessel F, of a bent pipe s
and conical pipe, or "still head" for purposes substantially as herein described.
Fourthly. The arranging of two or more coils a to act in conjunction with each
other, and either exposed to the atmosphere as shown in Fig. 1, or inclosed in a
vessel or chamber, as in Fig. 4, substantially as described and shewn in Figs. 7 to 10.
Fifthly. The combination with a coil or coils a, of the inclined plates h, together
with the trough or its equivalent, all arranged in the manner and for the purposes
shewn and described.
1