DISTILLING, RECTIFYING, REFINING, AND PREPARING SPIRITS, OILS SUGARS, AND SALTS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES AND SOLUTIONS, BY THE POWER AND APPLICATION OF STEAM, AND CERTAIN DISCOVERIES IN THE APPLICATION OF STEAM TO THE CARRYING ON, AND TO THE VARIOUS PURPOSES OF TRADES AND MANUFACTURES
Year: 1785

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SUTTON
THOMAS WOOD, of the City of Oxford, Brewer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the
Twenty-seventh day of July, in the twenty-fifth year of His reign, did give and
grant unto me, the said Sutton Thomas Wood, my exors, admors, and assigns,
His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Sutton Thomas Wood, my exors, admors, and assigns, should and lawfully
might, for the term of years therein expressed, make, use, exercise and vend,
within that part of His Kingdom of Great Britain called England, the
Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
for "DISTILLING, RECTIFYING, REFINING, AND PREPARING SPIRITS, OILS, SUGARS,
AND SALTS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES AND SOLUTIONS, BY THE POWER AND APPLICATION
OF STEAM, AND CERTAIN DISCOVERIES IN THE APPLICATION OF STEAM TO THE
CARRYING ON, AND TO THE VARIOUS PURPOSES OF TRADES AND MANUFACTURES;" in
which said recited Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Sutton Thomas Wood, by an instrument under my hand and seal, to cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court
of Chancery. within one calendar month after the date of the said Letters

page_text: Patent, as by the said recited Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had,
may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Sutton Thomas Wood, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is herein particularly
described and ascertained (that is to say):-
:-
Whereas in all such trades and manufactures as are carried on by a
chemical process the present mode of heating water and boiling fluids by the
immediate application of fire is attended with the greatest inconveniences from
the variableness and unsteady degree of heat which is produced thereby, and
from the great difficulty, if not almost impossibility, of exactly governing and
regulating it, by reason of which, notwithstanding the greatest care and
attention, many losses and accidents will often unavoidably happen, and the
wash or liquors to be distilled or rectified, or the sugars, oils, or solutions to
be prepared or refined, will frequently be scorched, burnt, and materially
injured, and sometimes rendered totally useless. Now, the chief excellency of
this my Invention is the being able to give a certain uniform invariable heat,
which may be justly ascertained, adjusted, and regulated with ease, so that the
operation of the trade or manufacture may be begun, carried on, and ended
with the same constant, regular, and uniform degree of heat, and all the
advantages which it is obvious must ensue therefrom may be obtained, at the
came time that every inconvenience now experienced in chemical operations,
particularly that of distillation, is effectually remedied; and this I do upon the
following principle, namely, by making use of steam as an agent instead of
fire; that is to say, by causing all such liquors or solutions as are or may be
heated or boiled during the process or for the use of the trade and manu-
facture by fire or heated air, to be heated or boiled by the heat or power of
steam. This principle may be applied and rendered useful to all trades and
manufactures in the carrying on of which liquors or solutions are heated or
boiled, but more particularly to those whose operations essentially require a
regular and uniform degree of heat; but as it is needless for me to describe
all the various ways which I make use of in producing this effect, since they
must necessarily vary according to the different purposes for which they may
be adapted, I shall only describe two or three of the most simple and useful
methods, which in one or more trades and manufactures may be adopted, by
which the nature of this my Invention may be rendered sufficiently intelligible,
and the manner in which it may be applied in other trades and manufactures
may be easily comprehended; I shall therefore first explain my method of
producing this effect in the distilleries, as in the process of distillation the

page_text: greatest nicety and exactness with respect to heat is particularly requisite, and
shall shew in what manner this my Invention may be advantageously
practised in the operations both of distilling and rectifying spirits.
My first method of distilling and rectifying spirits by the application of
steam is by causing the vessel, still, or boiler, which contains the wash liquors or
solutions to be partly or wholly immersed or encompassed by steam, so that
the heat produced by such steam may be communicated to the wash liquors
or solutions contained therein, and heat or boil the same for the purpose of
distillation. D, Figure 1, is a vessel, copper, or boiler, of any shape or form,
in which water or liquors is placed to the dotted lines a, a; in this copper or
boiler the still A is immersed either wholly or in part, but is so connected with
and attached or joined to the copper or boiler D as to be rendered perfectly
steam and air tight. P, the still head; E is a projection, tube, or hollow space
of any shape or form, which is open to or communicates with the copper or
boiler D, and which projects or is placed in or surrounded by the vessel C,
which vessel is occasionally made to hold cold water or liquor let in by means
of the cock F, and which when sufficiently filled may be discharged through
the valve G, which vessel I call the condenser, and is of essential service in
the regulation of the heat. I sometimes apply this my method of condensing
to the still, either on the sides of the vessel or on the top of the still head, in
form of a bason, surrounding part of the same, with its proper communications,
to convey the cold liquors to and from the bason. H is a thermometer im-
mersed in the steam, to ascertain the exact degree of the heat; the thermometer
is made to pass through a collar of oakum or other soft substances, in order
to render it steam and air tight. O is the door or man-hole to the copper or
boiler D; I is a safety valve of the same structure and use as common safety
valves to steam engines; R, R, the part of the pipes to convey the liquors or
ingredients from the still A and boiler D, and to empty at any time the same;
L, the fire-place; K, K, the fluids; M, the ash-hole; N, N, the brickwork.
Now the liquors, wash, or solutions being placed in the still, vessel, or copper
A, are heated or boiled by means of the steam arising from the water or liquor
in the vessel or boiler D, which nearly surrounds and encompasses the same,
and thus the required heat is obtained, a separation takes place, and the spirit
When the
passes off to the worm through the pipe C, as in a common still.
steam is too high, the heat of which you may precisely ascertain by means of
the thermometer H, open the cock F, and let some cold water into the vessel
C, which touching or falling upon the projection, tube, or hollow space E, the
steam contained therein is immediately condensed, and the whole steam within
the boiler D will be checked and abated, so long as the condenser continues

page_text: cool; the pressure being taken off the surface of the liquor in the boiler D, it
no longer communicates a heat equal to the boiling point to the vessel A,
which vessel will be found to contain but nearly its own heat. On lifting up
the valve G, and causing the water to pass out of the vessel C, the heat may
be re-obtained equal to any given point, and brought in contact with the boiler
A, agreeable to the desired effect and will of the operator. I sometimes place
a valve with its hinge or head downwards, which would admit air into the
vessel D, if too great a condensation should take place.
the thermometer H, the condenser C, and the valves, a
uniform degree of heat may be procured. By heavily weighting the valve I,
and by suffering no water to touch or chill the condenser C, a strong high
steam may be obtained, which may be kept invariably the same, and may be
adjusted and regulated by means of the thermometer H and condenser, C, as
above mentioned.
Thus by means of
regular, invariable,
My second method of distilling and rectifying spirits by the application of
steam is the direct reverse of the former, namely, by causing the vessel, still,
or boiler which contains the liquor, worts, or solutions either partly or wholly
to encompass or surround the steam, and this I do as in Figure 2. A is
the vessel, still, or boiler, with its still-head P, in which vessel the liquor,
wash, or solutions are contained, and which partly or wholly encompasses or
surrounds the vessel or boiler D, wherein is the steam that heats or boils the
same; E is the projection tube or hollow vessel of any, shape or form, which
is open to or communicates with the copper or boiler D, and the other end
projects or is placed in the vessel C; C is the condenser; F; the cock to let
in cold water or liquor into the condenser; G, the valve through which it is
discharged; H, the thermometer; 0, the man-hole; I, the safety valve;
R, R, the pipes, though represented cut off, shew they are intended to convey.
the liquors and ingredients from the still A and boiler D, and to empty the.
same; L, the fire-place; K, K, the flues; and N, N, the brickwork, all of
which are precisely the same as in Figure 1, and each part applied to the
same purpose, as. above mentioned. The only variation is the copper or
boiler D, in which. the steam is contained is hidden in and surrounded by the
vessel A, and it is necessary. that the thermometer should, be immersed in
the projection tube or hollow body E, so as to be at all times exposed to view.
that the heat may be ascertained and regulated, whereas in the first method
it is indifferent where it is placed. Upon the same principle of heating, and
boiling liquors by means of steam instead of fire, I make, prepare, and refine
salts, sugars, and other solutions, and this I do in the following manner, as
represented, Figure 3:-A, A, is a pan, vessel, or boiler, in which brine,

page_text: sugars, syrups, or any other solutions are placed to be made, prepared, or
refined; B, B, is either a false bottom to the pan or vessel A, A, or the top
or crown of the vessel or boiler D, or any other hollow space, made of brass,
copper, or any other materials, but so connected and adjoined to the pan or
vessel A, A, as to be rendered steam and air tight. D is a copper or boiler in
which the steam is generated by means of water or other liquors heated or
boiled therein, with its false or hollow sides c, c, to convey the condensed
particles from the upper space B, B, into the water at the bottom of the
boiler D without checking or condensing the steam therein. As soon as the
liquor in the boiler D begins to boil, the steam arising therefrom, passing
through the top or open mouth E, disperses itself through the space or
bottom B, B, and will soon act upon the bottom of the pan or vessel A, A,
and will heat, boil, and prepare the salts, sugars, syrups, or solutions, or
bodies placed therein. G is a valve, which being weighted may be made to
regulate the strength of the steam, and may be loaded proportionally to the
degree of heat required. This top, false bottom, or hollow space may be of
any shape or form, and may be made either wholly or partly to encompass
and surround the pan or vessel A, A, or only to extend itself to the bottom
thereof, as represented here, the sides and bottom of which I cause to be
bevelling, inclined, or oblique in order to suffer the particles which may be
condensed to roll down the sides, grooves, or tubes c, c. L, the fire-place;
K, K, the flues, as are represented, with its brickwork to the other vessels or
boilers, as before. I also apply this my said principle to the purposes of
drying and heating all manner of corn, grains, herbs, and powders, sugars,
and salts, and tho' there may be various ways of constructing stoves and kilns
for the above purposes, yet I have only drawn one of the most simple, best,
and by which malt, hops, and all manner of herbs and grain may be dried.
Figure 4 represents a kiln; B, the plate or false bottom, made either with
holes or solid, and in any shape or form suitable to the materials requiring to
be dried or prepared on which the powder, malt, hops, grain, or herbs are
strewed and placed. A, the boiler, with its extended top or hollow crown C, C,
which has a communication with the condensing vessel Q, by means of the
valve P; E, E, a space between the top C, C, and the bottom of the kiln B,
in which are two holes d, d, for the admission of a free circulation of air, and
which serve to regulate the draught of the kiln; Q, the condensing vessel;
R, the cistern to hold water occasionally; S, the valve to let out the water;
P, a valve to be weighted in proportion to the heat and power required, and
which occasionally suffers the superabundant steam to escape to the condenser.
A safety valve V may be applied, and a thermometer may be likewise placed

page_text: as before either in the condenser Q, or the copper or boiler A, to ascertain
the degree of heat, which may be regulated at pleasure by means of the con-
denser and valves, as before described. The hollow top or crown C, C, of the
copper may be supported on iron bars, or screwed up to the bars which support
the kiln, or fastened in any other manner, and should be made in an inclined
or bevel shape, that the moisture which may occasionally fall from the grains;
herbs, &c., may roll off and be conveyed thro' the cocks, pipes, or valves, or
space E, E. W, a valve that permits the condensed particles to return into
the boiler. If a considerable heat beyond the boiling point is required, the
valve connected to the condenser must be heavily weighted, and no water
suffered to surround the condensing vessel or be in contact with the same; on
the contrary, by letting water into the vessel R, or loading proportionably the
valve, the heat may be attained at the required degree, and thus the grain,
powder, herbs, or ingredients to be prepared may be dried and cured by a
regular, uniform, invariable heat, which is of considerable advantage to all
operations of this nature, and many chemical processes. Although I have
only drawn this method of condensing as here applied, yet I likewise make
use of it in all other cases, as I find convenient. Upon the same principle
stoves or kilns for the heating salts and sugars may be heated by steam.
Figure 5 represents a method of preparing and drying sugars, salts, grains,
herbs, and other ingredients, where a circulation of air may be obtained, and
the condensed particles suffered to return in the vessel or boiler; it is likewise
another method upon the same principle as Figure 3, without its condenser.
This principle may be likewise applied to the roasting, baking, boiling,
preparing, drying, and dressing of all such kinds of ingredients as are or may
be both in trades and manufactures and private use roasted, baked, boiled,
prepared, or dressed by means of an oven heated by fire, and this may be done
in a variety of ways, either by placing or immersing the oven partly or wholly
within the boiler or steam vessel, as represented, Figure 6; D, the boiler;
A, the oven immersed therein, and supported by cross bars C, C, fixed to the
vessel or boiler D, or by any other means; O, the door of the steam vessel;
I, the safety valve and regulator, as before, to any part of the steam vessel
D; the condensing vessel Q, with its valves, as represented, Figure 4, may be
connected, and a thermometer occasionally applied to ascertain the degree of
heat, the heat of the steam arising from the boiling liquor being communicated
to the materials or ingredients in the oven, will be found to bake, prepare, and
dress the same.
This oven may be made in any other shape or form, as in Figure 1, where
A may represent the oven, placing the door of the same in the room of the

page_text: head P, and it may likewise be made upon the same principle as represented,
Figure 2, where A may be the oven, partly or wholly encompassing or
surrounding the boiler or steam vessel D, on the sides or round which oven
shelves may be placed and doors be made on the outside or in any part thereof,
as may be found convenient to the situation. This method of heating, baking,
or dressing any materials or ingredients upon the principles of an oven may be
varied in numberless shapes and forms by making projections within or
without the boiler or steam vessel, or by causing the steam to be conveyed by
means of pipes, tubes, or hollow bodies and surfaces to the oven or stove so as
to heat the same; but as the method in which it may be applied to any purpose
required must from the above descriptions be obvious to all, and as they are all
upon one and the same principle, namely, by making use of steam as an agent
instead of fire, it is needless for me to be more particular on the subject. Let
it be here remembered that altho' I have described and drawn the condensing
vessel as suited to the particular coppers or boilers adapted to the particular
purposes above mentioned, yet this my method of condensing may with great
advantage be applied to all coppers, vessels, or boilers whatever, in which liquors
or solutions are heated or boiled, and will be found of particular utility in all
such trades where much and long boiling is required, by preventing every loss
and inconvenience to which they must be liable from the irregular heat of fire,
and likewise by being a security to the copper and boiler, and more especially
to stills, as a foul spirit may be thereby immediately checked without loss or
injury, the condensed particles returning into the wash liquor or solutions.
From the delineations hereto annexed and descriptions herein given, the con-
struction of this condenser must be sufficiently understood, as also the method
of applying it to any purpose required. In such operations where a high
steam is requisite, I find it more advantageous to apply a valve to cut off the
communication between the copper or boiler and the condenser, which valve I
weight proportionably to the strength and height of steam required, and in this
case the condenser may be always kept full of water. The form, shape, and
construction of these condensers, together with their situation and valves, may
be varied at pleasure, and any cold substance instead of water or liquor may be
applied to produce the condensation. With respect also to the form, shape,
or construction of the coppers, boilers, or vessels that may be used or employed
in the various purposes herein mentioned, as it is impossible for me to describe
or delineate all the various modes which may be adopted, I have only drawn a
few of the best, and in what manner they may be varied and suited to every
other purpose must be clear to every one's comprehension; nor is it of any

page_text: consequence in what shape or form they may be made or constructed, or in
what manner the heat of the steam is communicated, whether by the means
above described, or by tubes, pipes, funnels, or other hollow bodies, or by
whatever other manner, provided the effect is produced upon the principle
aforesaid, namely, of causing liquors or solutions to be distilled, heated, or
boiled, or grains, herbs, or any other substances or ingredients to be prepared,
dried, and heated by the heat of steam instead of fire.
Let it be moreover remarked, that altho' I have here described and delineated
the boiler or steam vessel as constructed for the sole purpose of furnishing and
providing steam upon the principle of this my Invention, whereby other liquor
or substances may be heated, boiled, or prepared, yet it is by no means
necessary to have a detached copper solely for this purpose, as the same
copper or boiler necessarily used in the trade or manufacture, or applied to any
other use whatever, may in many cases be applied to answer the end. Hence
arises a further advantage from this my Invention, namely, the great saving of
fuel, as the same steam arising during the process of the trade from the
liquors or solutions heated or boiled in the vessel or boiler that would other-
wise evaporate and go to waste, is hereby made to heat or boil liquors or
solutions in another vessel or boiler for the purpose of the trade and manu-
facture, and the whole of the fuel that would otherwise be consumed is thereby
entirely saved. The condenser may be applied according as the process of the
trade may or may not require the evaporation of the steam. I likewise cause
the same boiler or steam vessel employed in any of the purposes above
mentioned to serve as coppers or boilers to those engines that are worked by
the power of steam and air.
Lastly, let it be hereby remembered, that altho' I have only described and
delineated the method of applying this my Invention to distillation and
rectifying spirits, and to the making, preparing, and refining sugars and salts,
yet it may be used with equal advantage in all other trades and manufactures
whose processes and operations would be benefited by a regular and uniform
heat, such as in the making and preparing of turpentine, in which frequent losses
and accidents are experienced from the irregularity and variableness of the
heat of fire, and in the preparing and making of all kinds of oils and varnishes,
in the making of soaps, in the making and preparing of potash, and also
of pitch, tarr, size, glue, and rozin, in the making of allum and copperas, and
preparing and making the ingredients and solutions used in dying. It is
equally beneficial likewise in the drying of gunpowder and other powders;
the making and preparing and drying malts, and all kinds of sugars, salts,

page_text: grains, seeds, herbs, and other ingredients, and in the making and preparing
isingglass, and the meliorating of horns, and in all trades and manufactures
whatsoever, the operations of which are or may be carried on by the means
of fire.
It
may be here observed, that as the very principle on which my Invention
is founded, is the making use of steam instead of fire, it is essentially necessary.
therefore, in order to render it equally beneficial to all operations, that I should
be able to procure thereby a sufficient power or strength of heat in order to
effect the various purposes required, and this I do by causing the boiler or
steam vessel, which is connected to or hath any communication with the
vessel, copper, stove, kiln, or oven, in which the liquors, solutions, grains,
herbs, or ingredients are placed to be prepared, heated, or dried, to be
rendered perfectly steam and air tight, by which means I can always obtain a
dense compressed chaos of steam that will produce the degrees of heat
necessary for chemical and all other operations in trades and manufactures.
If, however, a heat below or nearly equal to the boiling point be required, it
may be produced, altho' a communication should be made with the atmo-
spherical air. There are two advantages peculiar to this method of using
steam as an agent instead of fire; the one, that by this means an invariable
and uniform heat is obtained and preserved, which can be always governed
and regulated at pleasure; and the other, that steam always acts with one and
the same equal power, and communicates its heat impartially to all parts of
the vessel or body required to be heated thereby, both of which are of the
greatest utility in all chemical and many other operations, such as distilling,
rectifying spirits, and the like, but cannot be properly obtained by the
immediate application of fire.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sutton Thomas Wood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the twenty-
fifth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the
grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender
of the Faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven
hundred and eighty-five.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1785, the aforesaid Sutton Thomas Wood came before
our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and everything therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according to
the tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and eighty-five.