IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND REFINING SUGAR
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FAIRRIE, of Church Lane, Whitechapel, in the County of Middlesex, Sugar
Refiner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal, bearing date at Westminster,
the Sixth day of July, in the third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Fairrie; my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said John Fairrie, my exors, adiñors, and assigns; or
such others as I, the said John Fairrie, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND REFINING SUGAR;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that if I, the said John
Fairrie, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar.
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advan-
táges thereby granted, should cease, determine, and become void, as in and.

page_text: appear.
Being thereunto Hat, will more funny and at large
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Fairrie, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention relates, first, to an improvement of the process of clarifying
the sugar liquor by filtration.
Secondly, to a mode of concentrating the sugar liquor.
And, thirdly, to an apparatus for heating the sugar after it leaves the
vacuum pan.
And in order to give the best information in my power I will proceed to
describe the various processes as pursued by me, and the nature of the appa-
ratus employed for the
purpose.
According to the ordinary methods now pursued in clarifying sugar liquor
for filtration, heat is applied whilst the sugar and water are in the process of
being mixed, or after they have been mixed. I believe that the more usual
method of applying the heat is by steam introduced at once into the mixture
through a perforated pipe laid in the inside at the bottom of the vessel or pan
technically called the "blow up," but in some cases the naked fire or high-
pressure steam has or may have been applied to the vessel or pan in which
the sugar is dissolved. The liquor is usually heated by the first-mentioned
mode to one hundred and ninety degrees Fahrenheit and upwards, and
perhaps to a higher degree by the others. The liquor in the heated state is
submitted to the operation or process of filtration, and in some instances it is
kept heated by steam applied to the filters until the filtration is complete, and
it is well known that various descriptions of filters are employed for such
purpose. I have discovered that the application of heat to the dissolving of
sugar is prejudicial in the preparatory process of clarifying the sugar liquor
by filtration.
And the first part of my Invention consists of dissolving sugar with cold
water, and avoiding the application of heat in the process of the dissolving,
and of filtering the sugar liquor whilst in a cold state, by which I am enabled
to obtain a more beneficial result than heretofore. The proportions of sugar
and water may be various, but about forty-five parts of sugar and fifty-five of
water have been found convenient in practice, the specific gravity of the solu-
tion being from 1199 to 1200; and I prefer to dissolve the sugar in lime water,
or pure or spring water, without the admixture of any other substance, as I
have not found the cold process to require any finings, and I have found that

page_text: this process is equally. applicable whether bag or charcoal filters or other
filters be employed.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, which
relates to an improvement of the modes now practised, by which clarified
sugar liquor is concentrated, and I call the apparatus employed for such
purpose the "evaporator." This apparatus consists of a copper pipe of about
twelve inches diameter and twenty-six feet length, containing nine copper
steam tubes, each twenty-four feet long and one inch and a quarter diameter,
which are arranged at nearly equal distances from each other in the lower
portion of the interior of the larger pipe. The top of the upper range of these
tubes is half an inch below a line passing through the centre of the larger
pipe. The steam tubes are fixed in the following manner :-Each of them has
a bend at both ends furnished with a shoulder, and a screw and holes are cut
through the side of the larger pipe, and the screwed parts of the bends are
passed through the holes and drawn up to the shoulders by nuts outside, thus
fixing the metal of the larger pipe between the shoulders inside on the steam
tube and the nuts, by which means the joints are secured air-tight. The steain
tubes are kept apart from each other and from resting on the bottom of the
large pipe by four sets of supports placed at equal distances, in addition to the
fixing at each end. When the evaporator is fixed in its place to a vacuum pan
as hereafter described, a steam pipe from a steam boiler is to be connected to
each of the steam tubes separately at that end of the evaporator where the
concentrated liquor is to flow out; and I prefer that this connection should be
by a suitable copper branch tube to each steam tube fitted with proper union
joints, as is well understood. Similar connections are to be made between
the steam tubes and a pipe to convey away the condensed water from the
tubes at the end of the steam pipe opposite to that where the steam enters.
Both ends of the evaporator are closed by air-tight covers, which are fixed to
flanges on the ends of the evaporator by screws and nuts, or other convenient
means, so as to be readily removed. The evaporator is attached to the upper
part of a common vacuum pan, and is placed in a position nearly horizontal
(about one inch and a half off the level), inclining towards the vacuum pan,
and is connected with it by a pipe between the top of the pan and an outlet
on the side of one end of the evaporator. The opening connecting the pan
and evaporator is made at such a height in the side of the evaporator as to
keep the steam tubes covered with liquor when the evaporator is in operation,
and the opening into the vacuum pan should not be of less area than the
space above the liquor in the evaporator; the steam tubes of the evaporator-

page_text: and the steam space of the vacuum pan being supplied with steam from a
steam boiler, in the usual way of applying steam to heat vacuum pans, and.a
vacuum being produced by the ordinary. methods.in the vacuum pan, and con-
sequently in the evaporator in connection therewith. The clarified sugar liquor
is passed through the evaporator in a continuous stream, and during its
passage over every part of the heated surface in succession between. the place
of its entrance into the evaporator at one end, and its exit at the other into
the vacuum pan, the liquor is concentrated, not however to such an extent as
to be quite to the crystallizing point, but to such a degree as the pan man may
judge desirable; and it will be evident that he will have the process com-
pletely under control, as he can regulate the speed of the liquor flowing into
and through the evaporator, and the pan man will examine the extent of
concentration in the evaporator from time to time, by taking samples of the
liquor as it passes into the vacuum pan, by means of the proof stick usually
employed, or by the aid of another contrivance hereafter described; the
outlet between the evaporator and the pan, as above described, being at such
a height as to keep the liquor above the level of the steam tubes. In order to
empty the evaporator or draw the liquor quite off when the process is
finished, another connection is provided by a pipe between the pan and the
lower part of the evaporator. This connecting pipe is one inch and a quarter
in diameter, and descends from the evaporator, and is joined to a cock in the
side of the vacuum pan, the passage through which is horizontal; an opening
is made in the corner of the elbow which connects the descending pipe and
the cock, and this opening is closed by a plug which may be removed when it
is necessary to clear any accidental obstruction which may occur in the
passage way of the pipe or cock. This cock is made to answer the purpose
of affording a more convenient and simple means of examining the degree
of concentration of the liquor in the evaporator than the common proof
stick, as will be readily understood by the following description:-When a
cock through which liquor is flowing is suddenly shut, a quantity of liquor will
be inclosed in the liquor way of the plug of the cock, but it would run out if
the barrel of the cock were made with a hole in its side at right angles with
the passage way for the liquor. The cock connected with the pipe opening
a passage between the under side of the evaporator and the vacuum pan, is
made with a hole in the side of the barrel, as has been just described, and on
turning this cock when the evaporator is in operation a small quantity of
liquor runs out and may be examined. The only thing requisite to b
attended to in making such a cock is, that the openings be of such a width

page_text: that the passage between the evaporator and vacuum pan be closed before
the opening in the plug comes opposite to the hole made in the side of the
barrel. The two cocks which are attached to pipes conducting liquor or
syrup to the evaporator are furnished with indexes to shew the extent of the
opening, in order that the attendant may more easily and correctly ascertain
the amount of any. alteration which he may make in the quantity of the
liquor or syrup passing into the evaporator. These cocks are placed near the
proof stick of the vacuum pan and the proof cock of the evaporator, so as
that all may be more conveniently worked.
I would here remark, that although I have been thus particular in
describing the exact dimensions of the parts of the above apparatus, I do not
confine myself thereto, nor do I in fact confine myself to the precise form or
arrangement also herein given of the apparatus, for it will be evident that the
novel mode of process may be retained, and yet the apparatus varied in several
respects in its construction; the principle of the novel mode of evaporation
and that which constitutes its value being that the liquor or syrup to be con-
centrated is to flow from its entrance at one end or part of the apparatus in
a current over every successive portion of the heated surface of the evaporator
to the place where it is discharged, and during its progress between these two
points the required degree of concentration is accomplished. The advantage
arising from the employment of an evaporating vessel working according to
the mode above described is, that the liquor or syrup to be concentrated is
brought to any required degree. of concentration with the shortest possible
exposure to heat, and a great deal of the injury which arises to sugar by the
usual methods of evaporation is prevented. The evaporator of which the
description and dimensions have been given is attached to a vacuum pan
having a steam-heating surface of about sixty-two square feet. These
proportions between the respective surfaces of the evaporator and the vacuum
pan have been found suitable, but they may be varied in some degree without
material injury to the mode of working. Crystallization in the vacuum pan by
this improved process is managed as is at present practised, with this difference,
that in order to obtain the advantage which is found to arise from keeping the
sugar as short a time as possible exposed to the heat, the process called "getting
the grain" in the pan is done with as small a quantity of liquor as is consistent
with perfect crystallization; and as soon as the crystals have attained the
desired size, the flow of the liquor into the evaporator and the steam to the
steam tubes are shut off, and the sugar is let out of the vacuum pan, after.
which the operation is commenced again with a fresh quantity of liquor..
:

page_text: The
I would remark that in place of employing a vacuum pan in connection
with a close and vacuum evaporator, the evaporator may be made open at top
and placed over the naked fire, as is done with these pans in which sugar is
boiled by what is now called the old process, or high-pressure steam may be
used to heat such open evaporator without the application of a vacuum.
clarified sugar liquor after it has been concentrated in this open apparatus
flows into a cooler, where the crystallization is carried on in the same way as is
done in the old process of sugar refining, only that the cooler is so made that
heat may be applied in order that the cooling of the concentrated liquor may
be so regulated as to insure proper crystallization.
I will now proceed to describe the third part of my Invention, which relates
to apparatus for heating the sugar after it has left the vacuum pan. This
apparatus consists of an open copper vessel or trough about thirty-six feet long,
one foot wide, and one foot deep; steam heat is applied to the bottom by
means of a steam case or double bottom, and in order to increase the heating
surface three tubes of two inches diameter each are placed inside, which run
nearly the whole length of the apparatus, in like manner as has been described
in respect to the evaporator. Two valves are placed at the end where it is
intended to draw off the sugar when it is to be conveyed to the moulds; one
(the first) of them at a little distance from the end is a slide or other con-
trivance, opening so as to make a passage for the sugar, and such passage to
extend through the whole depth of the sugar (videlicet), from the bottom of
the heater to the surface of the sugar, and thus to allow the more dissolved
or liquid portion which rises to the surface to pass along with the granulated
at the bottom. This first valve is for the purpose of keeping the steam tubes
constantly covered with sugar, and it is to be opened, adjusted, and fixed so
as not to allow the sugar to pass it faster than the heating surface will raise the
sugar to the desired temperature. The other (the second) valve is also a slide
or other contrivance placed at the end of the heating apparatus, and it is a
sluice valve sliding up and down, and is opened whilst a basin by which the
sugar is conveyed to the moulds is being filled, and shut again as soon as the
basin is full. The space between the two valves is such as to contain a quantity
about equal to the contents of one of the basins. The beating apparatus thus
fitted is placed in nearly a horizontal position, and so that one end may be
raised or depressed to suit the kind of sugar to be heated, fine or strong sugar
requiring a greater inclination than low or weak sugar, to make it flow along
the heated surface of the heating apparatus. The steam case and tubes being
supplied with steam, the sugar as it comes from the pan is run into this

page_text: apparatus and flows along the heated surfaces, and the flow is regulated, as
above described, so as to keep the steam tubes covered, and cause the sugar to
attain the desired temperature by the time it has passed the length of the
ápparatus. This temperature is to be regulated by the judgment of the
attendant, as is now done in the ordinary methods of heating sugar after
leaving the vacuum pan, and it may be ascertained by a thermometer placed
in the current of sugar where it leaves the heating apparatus to be conveyed
to the moulds.
I would remark that the construction of this apparatus, like that of the
evaporator, may be varied, provided it be suitably arranged for heating the
sugar during the progress of its flowing, so as to attain the desired temperature
between the place of its entrance at one end or part of the vessel and its exit
at the other. The advantage of the heating apparatus above described is
similar to that arising from the employment of the evaporator, for in place of
the sugar being kept exposed to heat and agitation for hours, as occurs in the
usual mode of heating, it will be seen that according to the improved process
the sugar is subjected to the injurious effects of a heating surface for a few
minutes only.
I would in conclusion remark that the improved processes of clarifying,
concentrating, and heating, above described, are applicable to the refining of
raw sugar and syrups, and to the manufacture of double refined sugar from
single, and also to the making of sugars of various degrees of fineness from the
solutions of impure sugars, commonly called West India molasses, and that the
evaporator may likewise be used with advantage in the concentration of the
juice of the sugar cane in Her Majesty's colonies and plantations abroad,
and in the making of sugar from beet root.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it
understood that what I claim is,-
First, the mode herein described of clarifying sugar liquor, dispensing with
the high degree of temperature heretofore resorted to in the process of mixing
and filtration.
Secondly, I claim the mode of concentrating sugar liquor above described.
And thirdly, I claim the mode of applying heating apparatus after the sugar
has left the vacuum pan, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fairrie, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.
JOHN (L.S.) FAIRRIE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid John Fairrie came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One