IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE COLLECTION AND CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS EVOLVED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF INDIA RUBBER GOODS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN THE CONDENSATION OF OTHER VAPOURS"
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Anthony Burghardt of Manchester in the
County of Lancaster Doctor of Philosophy and Analytical Chemist, for an
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE COLLECTION AND
CONDENSATION
OF VAPOURS EVOLVED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF INDIA
RUBBER GOODS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN THE CONDENSATION OF
OTHER VAPOURS"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Anthony Burghardt
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th July 1883.
CHARLES ANTHONY BURGHARDT of Manchester in the County of Lancaster,
Doctor of Philosophy and Analytical Chemist, "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR THE COLLECTION AND. CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS EVOLVED IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF INDIA-RUBBER GOODS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN THE
CONDENSATION OF OTHER VAPOURS"
My Invention relates in the first place to the recovery of naptha or benzol or
other volatile solvent which is evolved in the form of vapour during the manu-
facture of india-rubber goods. I drive off the volatile solvent whilst the goods
are in or passing through a closed or partly closed chamber and I collect and draw
off the vapour by means of a blast of air or by the inductive action of a steam
exhauster or ejector or by other suitable means and convey the said vapour into a
condenser of improved construction. The said condenser consists of a chamber
which is divided into a number of compartments by means of partitions each
consisting of a number of sheets of wire gauze or of thin finely perforated
plates. The outer shell of the condenser may be of zinc or other suitable metal or
material but I prefer that the gauze should be made of copper wire. The said shell
is made in sections and the sheets of gauze are larger than the area of each section
so that the edges of the said sheets project all round or on all sides into the water
or cooling fluid with which the condenser is surrounded. The joints may be made
by soldering or cementing or by the interposition of elastic or non-conducting.
Luminell

page_text: packings or by suitable means. The condenser may be vertical, horizontal or
inclined but I will suppose it to be vertical the gauze partition being horizontal.
In such a case the aforesaid vapours are conveyed by the air blast into the bottom
compartment and pass upwards through the partitions. Uncondensed vapour may
be conveyed from the top compartment into a second condenser. The liquid collects
in the bottom compartment, and runs off therefrom through a syphon or delivery
pipe or is withdrawn therefrom at intervals. I prefer that the number of gauze
sheets in the partitions shall vary the lowest partition having the greatest number
as for example the lowest partition may consist of eight or ten sheets but I do not
confine myself to any particular number of sheets. I may combine two, three,
four or more such condensers each of a comparatively small diameter or being
comparatively narrow. The gauze partitions being good conductors of heat and
offering a large absorbing surface rapidly absorb heat from the vapour and convey
it to the water which is outside the condensing chambers. In the second place I
employ condensers constructed as hereinbefore set forth in the condensation of
steam or spent vapours or other vapours and in some cases I adapt the apparatus
to be used in fractional distillation.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Anthony Burghardt in the Patent Office on the
r 4th January 1884.
CHARLES ANTHONY BURGHARDT of Manchester in the County of Lancaster
Doctor of Philosophy and Analytical Chemist "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR THE COLLECTION AND CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS EVOLVED IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF INDIA-RUBBER GOODS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN THE
CONDENSATION OF OTHER VAPOURS
"
!
My Invention relates in the first place to the recovery of naptha or benzol or
other volatile solvent which is evolved in the form of vapour during the manu-
facture of india-rubber goods. I drive off the volatile solvent whilst the goods are
in or passing through a closed or partly closed chamber and I collect and draw off
the vapour by means of a blast of air or by the inductive action of a steam
exhauster or ejector or by other suitable means and convey the said vapour into
a condenser of improved construction. The said condenser consists of a chamber
which is divided into a number of compartments by means of partitions each
consisting of a number of sheets of wire gauze or of thin finely perforated plates.
The said shell is made in sections and the sheets of gauze are larger than the area
of each section so that the edges of the said sheets project all round or on all sides
into the water or cooling fluid with which the condenser is surrounded. In the
second place I employ condensers constructed as hereinbefore set forth in the
condensation of steam or spent vapours or other vapours and in some cases I adapt
the apparatus to be used in fractional distillation.
In order that my invention may be fully understood I have attached hereunto a
sheet of drawings to which I will refer hereinafter. In the said drawings Fig 1
represents a vertical section of a condenser constructed in accordance with my
invention the said Fig: being drawn about half the full size of the small condenser
selected as an example. In the said Fig: a, a, are short cylindrical shells which
are united together by means of partitions b, b, composed of wire gauze. The said
shells may be made of copper, zinc, tinned plate or other suitable metal or alloy, but
I prefer that the partitions b, b, shall be of copper gauze. In cases wherein the
vapours to be condensed would have a distructive action upon certain metals I
select the metal which will best withstand such action or I coat the exposed
surfaces therewith as for example in some cases I nickel plate the partitions and.
the inner surfaces of the shells. Each partition is composed of several sheets of
wire gauze and I prefer that the lower partitions shall contain more sheets than
the upper. In the example the lowest partition might consist of ten sheets
the next of eight and so on decreasing in number towards the top of the
condenser. I do not however confine myself to any number of sheets in a
partition nor to varying the numbers as such numbers will depend to a great
extent upon the number of partitions and in some cases a partition or each
partition might have only two sheets or might be a single sheet the number
of partitions being increased. The number of partitions may be less than the
indications in the drawings. The sheets of gauze are carefully soldered or brazed
at the edges of the cylindrical shells a and to each other at the circles of contact
in line with the shells so that water and vapour tight joints are obtained or
cementing or any suitable means are adopted to obtain the same result. The
condenser is wholly or partly immersed in water or cooling fluid contained in a
suitable cistern c and the outer edges of the partitions 6 project all around the
condenser some distance into the body of water. The vapour to be condensed
is conveyed from the aforesaid closed chamber through which the goods pass by
-
.

page_text: means of a pipe which communicates with the lowest compartiment of the
condenser. I have not illustrated the construction of the said chamber as it may
be of any suitable form or of a form such as used previously to my invention in
the manufacture to which this part of my invention relates. To convey the
vapour into the condenser I prefer to employ a blast or forced steam of air.. The
air and any uncondensed vapour are conveyed from the upper compartment of the
condenser by means of a pipe e or by suitable means. I may connect a steam
exhauster or other suitable exhauster with the pipe e so as to draw the vapours
into the condenser or I may use a condenser of the indicated construction in any
suitable manner in the condensation of the vapours. The partitions extending
into the water convey heat thereto so that they are kept comparatively cool and
therefore act with great efficiency in the condensation of vapours. The naptha or
condensed fluid is conveyed by means of a pipe finto a suitable cistern g. or is
otherwise conveyed away from the lowest compartment. In the example a second
pipe connects the cistern with the bottom compartment in order that any vapour
collecting in the upper part of the cistern may be conveyed into the condenser but
this pipe might be dispensed with. I do not confine myself to the cylindrical
formation of the shell of the condenser as it may be of any other suitable form
such for example as oval or rectangular and in large condensers it would be
advisable to make each section of a long and narrow form in plan in place of
increasing the diameter of the sections as for example each section might be three
to six inches in width and one or two or more feet in length. The power of the
condenser may also be increased by employing two, three or more condensers the
stream of vapour being divided amongst them. In some cases I should combine
two or more condensers in such a manner as that the uncondensed vapour leaving
one condenser would be conveyed into another condenser. Fig: 2 illustrates such
'an arrangement. In this example three condensers are connected together by
means of pipes or passages so that any vapour leaving the first condenser is
conveyed into a second and any vapour leaving the second is conveyed. into a
third condenser. The pipe f which conveys away the condensed naptha or fluid
is connected with the bottom compartment of each condenser or each condenser
may be provided with a separate pipe so that a purer fluid may be obtained from
the third condenser than the fluid issuing from the first or second. The
partitions b may be vertical or inclined instead of being in the horizontal positions
shown in Figs 1 and 2. Fig: 3 illustrates a condenser having vertical partitions.
This form of condenser may be used for the purposes of the first part of my
invention but is designed more particularly to illustrate the second part of my
invention whereby I use my-improved condensers in the condensation of steam or
of alcoholic or other vapours and generally in distillation processes, the example
illustrated by Fig: 3 being suitable for use in fractional distillation. In this
example the partitions and compartments of the condenser are vertical and the
said compartments are arranged in three groups each group being connected with
a separate discharge pipe so that the product of condensation may be obtained in
three strengths or qualities of purity. Other modifications may be made in the
several forms of the condenser so long.as the gauze partitions extending into the
cooling liquid outside the condenser are retained. Finely perforated plates may
be substituted for the wire gauze.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said invention and
the manner in which I carry the same into practical effect I would have it to be
understood that I claim :-
First. The combinations of parts forming the condensers constructed and acting
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and indicated hereinbefore and in
and by the accompanying drawings
Secondly. A condenser or section of a condenser divided into compartments by
means of partitions of wire gauze or perforated plates extending through the shell
or wall of the condenser into the body of cooling liquid outside the condenser
substantially as set forth and indicated..
:-

page_text: Thirdly. A condenser composed of sections or shells united together by means of
partitions each composed of two, three or more sheets of wire gauze larger than the
said sections or shells so that when the condenser is in action the said partitions
extend into the surrounding water substantially as and for the purposes set forth
and indicated.
And lastly. Condensing the vapours of solvents used in the manufacture of
india-rubber goods by conveying them by means of air currents into a condensing
apparatus of the construction substantially as set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof I the said Charles' Anthony Burghardt have hereunto set
my hand and seal this third day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-four
CHARLES A. BURGHARDT. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and, delivered in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON
41 John Dalton St, Manchester.
(Agent for the Patentee)