IMPROVEMENTS IN MALTING AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Simon, Civil Engineer, of 7, St. Peter's Square,,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MALTING AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED." Partly a communication
from abroad by Nicolaus Joseph Galland, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Simon at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th March 1879.
HENRY SIMON, Civil Engineer, of 7, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MALTING AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED."
[Partly a communication from abroad by Nicolaus Joseph Galland, of Paris,
France.]
This Invention relates to the pneumatic system of malting for which Letters
Patent, No. 1988, of 1874, and No. 2825 of 1876, were granted to H. B. Barlow as
a communication from N. J. Galland.
According to the present improvements the grain after having been steeped in
tanks in the ordinary way is in order to conform with the requirements of the English
excise laws couched in other tanks, which may have perforated or wire gauze
bottoms, and in which the grain may be subjected to the action of currents of air
for the desired length of time. It is then introduced into horizontal revolving
germinating drums or cylinders with perforated shells, and having a central per-
forated tube, the one end of which is in communication with an exhaust pipe or.
passage leading to the exhausting or circulating fan or pump. The perforations of.
the outside of the above germinating drums should, without allowing the grain to
fall through, be in as great number and of as large a diameter as possible to allow
of easy passage of the air currents.
The outside shell of these germinating drum's may also be made of strong wire
gauze, which in that case must be sufficiently supported by longitudinal stays or
bars to give it the necessary carrying power.
The central tube is divided by longitudinal radial partitions into a number of
compartments, each of which communicates at one end with the before mentioned
•

page_text: exhaust pipe, but is there capable of being closed more or less by a valve or valves,
so that by regulating these the air can only be sucked into the tube through those
compartments that are covered by the grain, this being charged into the drum to
such an extent as only partly to fill it.
Thus the drum being made to revolve very slowly and either continuously or
intermittently, the surface of the grain is made to assume an inclined position in
the same, and consequently very slowly to fall over from the higher to the lower
portion thereof, while at the same time the moistened and tempered air introduced
into the chamber or room surrounding the drum is drawn in through the perforated
shell thereof and through the mass of grain into those compartments of the central
tube that are in communication with the exhaust, so that while the grain is either
continuously or intermittently in motion it is always effectually subjected to the
current of air. The object of this very slow and more or less continuous motion of
the drum and grain is to avoid the so-called "felting" of the rootlets of the germi-
nating grain.
To more effectually attain this end, the drum may be provided with longitudinal
bars or rods surrounding the central tube, from which may project rotating plates
or spikes, so that the grain in falling over is divided by them. A number of such
germinating drums are by preference arranged in one and the same room with the
steeping and couching tanks, which may be situated on a raised floor above the
drums in such positions that the contents of each tank can be easily discharged into
one of the drums below.
The air required for the malting operations is caused to enter the bottom of a
column of coke or other suitable porous or loose filtering material, moistened by a
water spray of the desired temperature, flowing in the opposite direction to the air
current, down from the top. It is important that the air and water should travel
in opposite directions, as thereby their time of contact is increased, so that the air
on issuing from the top of the coke column may have become as nearly as possible
of the same temperature as the tempering water, and have acquired at the same
time the requisite degree of moisture and purity.
With regard to the purity of the air and its freedom from germs, it is in some
cases advantageous to further filter the air, which can be done by the introduction
of a filter of loose cotton wool, through which the air currents may pass either
before entering the coke filter or after. Should there not be sufficient room in the
building to allow of the requisite height for the coke chamber, 2 or more of these
may be placed side by side with intervening passages leading from the top of the
first to the bottom of the second, from the top of the second to the bottom of the
third, &c., so that the air is caused to pass consecutively in an upward direction
through the several coke chambers in order to attain any desired temperature or
degree of moisture before coming in contact with the germinating grain.
These coke columns, by reason of the degree or quantity of heat stored in their
mass, act as regulators, rendering the temperature of the passing air currents more
or less uniform throughout the year, notwithstanding considerable variations of the
temperature of the external air from which the supply is drawn in.
According to the temperature of the water spray used over the coke beds they
may be made to cool the entering air in summer, and to warm it in severe weather,
and it will be advantageous to proportion or adapt the mass or volume of the.
"coke "filter or filters or "regenerators," as they may be termed, to the temperature
of the spring or well or other water obtainable in each situation, that is to say,
that in a place where the available water supply is warm relatively to the desired
temperature of the germinating malt, and it is desirable that the incoming air should
attain that temperature as nearly as possible, it will be necessary or advisable to
increase the volume of coke or other material employed, because it is evident that
as by this means the contact of the air. with the coke will be prolonged, more time
will be given for it to acquire approximately the temperature imparted to the coke
by the water flowing over it either continuously or intermittently.
With very cold water, on the other hand, a' smaller volume of coke, or; so to:

page_text: speak, a smaller "heat store" will be sufficient to impart the necessary temperature
of the air current.
According to the present Invention I also so arrange these coke columns or filters
that their volume can be readily increased or decreased, according as the tempera-
ture of the incoming air, and the water supply may vary, and in the above described
construction with several separate coke columns, I so arrange these with intercom-
municating passages or pipes provided with valves or slides, that the incoming air
may either be made to pass through the whole of them in succession or through
any one or more of them only, thus enabling the temperature and moisture of the
air in the malting room to be adjusted with great exactness, and also enabling any
one or more of the columns to be emptied, cleansed, and recharged without inter-
fering with the action of the rest.
The couches may have false, perforated, or wire bottoms; the spaces below which
communicate by pipes with a passage or flue leading to a ventilating fan, with;
which flue the exhaust tubes of the revolving drums also communicate, so that by
exhausting the air from the flue by the fan, the air supplied through the coke
columns is drawn through the mass of grain in the couches and also through that.
in the drums.. All exhaust pipes may be provided with valves for regulating the
draught. The exhausting fan discharges the air into a chamber which communicates
through two openings provided with slides or dampers respectively with the outer
air and with a passage or flue leading back to the bottom of the coke chamber..
The opening by which the latter communicates with the outer air being also pro-
vided with a slide, it will be seen that as these slides or valves or dampers are more
or less open or closed the entire air supply can either be drawn in continuously
from the outer air and the exhaust be entirely discharged into the atmosphere, or
the outer air may be entirely cut off, and the air in the building after passing
through the germinating grain be made to pass through the coke chamber again,
and thus be made to circulate continuously through the apparatus without renewal
for any desired length of time. This latter arrangement has great advantages in;
cases where the supply of water of the required temperature is limited or expensive.,
Or again, the air entering the coke chamber may be partly supplied from. the
exhaust and partly drawn in from the outer air, a corresponding portion of the
exhaust being allowed to escape into the atmosphere..
Thus it will be seen that the atmosphere and condition of the air employed may
be varied to any extent required for efficiently carrying out the process of malting
under varying conditions of the external atmosphere. After the malting process
bas been completed in the drums, their contents may be discharged through doors
in their circumference into trucks below which serve to remove the grain to the
drying chambers.
It will be evident that the rotating drums may be of other than cylindrical form,
a square section being possibly preferred by the excise officers in order more readily
to be able to ascertain by direct measurement the volume of grain contained in a
drum.
Should the excise laws at any period altogether forbid of the application of the
above described rotary drums, the further process of germination may be carried on
on perforated or wire gauze floors, as indicated in the before mentioned Patent of
1876. In that case a certain amount of turning the grain by hand labor will be
necessary in order to avoid felting, which, in the case of the rotating drum arrange-:
ment is entirely avoided.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Simon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th
September 1879.
"
HENRY SIMON, Civil Engineer, of 7, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster. 'IMPROVEMENTS IN MALTING AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED."
Partly a communication made from abroad by Nicolaus Joseph Galland, of Paris,
France.
This Invention relates to the pneumatic system of malting, for which Letters
Patent, No. 1988, of 1874, and No. 2825, of 1876, were granted to H. B. Barlow as
a communication from N. J. Galland.
According to the present improvements the grain after having been steeped in
tanks in the ordinary way is in order to conform to the requirements of the English
excise laws couched in other tanks, which may have perforated bottoms, and in
which the grain may be subjected to the action of currents of air for the desired
length of time. It is then introduced into horizontal revolving germinating drums
or cylinders with perforated shells, and having a central perforated tube, the one
end of which is in communication with an exhaust pipe or passage leading to
the exhausting or circulating fan or pump. The perforations of the outside of the
above germinating drum should, without allowing the grain to fall through,
be in as great number and of as large a diameter as possible to allow of easy passage
of the air currents.
The outside shell of these germinating drums may also be made of strong wove
wire, which in that case must be sufficiently supported by longitudinal stays or bars
to give it the necessary carrying power. The central tube is divided by longitudinal
radial partitions into a number of compartments, each of which communicates at one
end with the before mentioned exhaust pipe, but is there capable of being closed
more or less by a valve or valves, so that by regulating these the air can only be
sucked into the tubes through those compartments that are covered by the grain,
this being charged into the drum to such an extent as only partly to fill it.
Thus the drum being made to revolve very slowly, and either continuously or
intermittently, the surface of the grain is made to assume an inclined position in
the same, and consequently very slowly to fall over from the higher to the lower
portion thereof, while at the same time the moistened and tempered air introduced
into the chamber or room surrounding the drum is drawn in through the perforated
shell thereof, and through the mass of grain into those compartments of the central
tube that are in communication with the exhaust, so that while the grain is either
continuously or intermittently in motion, it is always effectually subjected to the
current of air. The object of this very slow and more or less continuous motion of
the drum and grain is to avoid the so-called "felting" of the rootlets of the germi-
nating grain.
To more effectually attain this end the drum may be provided with longitudinal
bars or rods surrounding the central tube, from which may project rotating plates or
spikes, so that the grain in falling over is divided by them. A number of such ger-
minating drums are by preference arranged in one and the same room with the
steeping and couching tanks, which may be situated on a raised floor above the
drums in such positions that the contents of each tank can be easily discharged into
one of the drums below.
The air required for the malting operations is caused to enter the bottom of a
column of coke or other suitable porous or loose filtering material, moistened by a
water spray of the desired temperature flowing in the opposite direction to the air
current down from the top. It is advantageous that the air and water should
travel in opposite directions, so that the air on issuing from the top of the coke
column may have become as nearly as possible of the same temperature as the

page_text: tempering water, and have acquired at the same time the requisite degree of moisture
and purity.
With regard to the purity of the air and its freedom from germs, it is in some
cases advantageous to further filter the air, which can be done by the introduction
of a filter of loose cotton wool, through which the air currents may pass either
before entering the coke filter or after. Should there not be sufficient room in the
building to allow of the requisite height for the coke chamber, 2 or more of these
may be placed side by side, with intervening passages leading from the top of the
first to the bottom of the second, from the top of the second to the bottom of the
third, &c., so that the air is caused to pass consecutively in an upward direction
through the several coke chambers in order to attain any desired temperature or
degree of moisture before coming in contact with the germinating grain.
These coke columns, by reason of the degree or quantity of heat stored in their
mass and produced in them by the sprinkling water, act as regenerators or regu-
lators, or in a certain sense performing the same function as the fly-wheel of an
engine, rendering the temperature of the passing air currents more or less uniform
throughout the year, notwithstanding considerable variations of the temperature of
the external air, from which the supply is drawn in.
According to the temperature of the water spray used over the coke beds they
may be made to cool the entering air in summer and to warın it in severe weather,
and it will be advantageous to proportion or adapt the mass or volume of the coke
filter or filters, or "regenerators" as they may be termed, to the temperature of the
spring or well, or other water obtainable in each situation, that is to say, that in a
place where the available water supply is warm relatively to the desired tempera-
ture of the germinating malt, and it is desirable that the incoming air should attain
that temperature as nearly as possible, it will be necessary or advisable to increase
the volume of the coke or other material employed, because it is evident that as by
this means the contact of the air with the coke will be prolonged, more time will be
given for it to acquire approximately the temperature imparted to the coke by the
water flowing over it either continuously or intermittently.
With very cold water, on the other hand, a smaller volume of coke, or, so to
speak, a smaller "heat store," will be sufficient to impart the necessary temperature
to the air current.
According to the present Invention I also so arrange these coke columns or filters
that their volume can be readily increased or decreased, according as the tempera-
ture of the incoming air and the water supply may vary, and in the above described
construction with several separate coke columns I so arrange these with intercom-.
municating passages or pipes provided with valves or slides that the incoming air
may either he made to pass through the whole of them in succession, or through any
one or more only, thus enabling the temperature and moisture of the air in the
malting room to be adjusted with great exactness, and also enabling any one or
more of the columns to be emptied, cleansed, and recharged without interfering with
the action of the rest.
The couches may have false perforated or wove wire bottoms, the spaces below
which communicate by pipes with a passage or flue leading to a ventilating fan,
with which flue the exhaust tubes of the revolving drums also communicate, so
that by exhausting the air from the flue by the fan the air supplied through the
coke columns is drawn through the mass of grain in the couches, and also through
that in the drums. All exhaust pipes or other pipes or ducts may be provided with
valves for regulating the draught. The exhausting fan discharges the air into a
chamber which communicates through two openings provided with slides or dampers
respectively with the outer air and with a passage or flue leading back to the
bottom of the coke chamber. The opening by which the latter communicates with
the outer air being also provided with a slide; it will be seen that as these slides, or
valves, or dampers are more or less opened or closed the entire air supply can either
be drawn in continuously from the outer air and the exhaust be entirely discharged
into the atmosphere,' or the outer air may be entirely cut off, and the air in the.

page_text: building after passing through the germinating grain be made to pass through the
coke chamber again, and thus be made to circulate continuously through the
apparatus without renewal for any desired length of time. This latter arrangement
has great advantages in cases where the supply of water of the required temperature
is limited or expensive. Or again, the air entering the coke chamber may be partly
supplied from the exhaust, and partly drawn in from the outer air, a corresponding
portion of the exhaust being allowed to escape into the atmosphere.
Thus it will be seen that the atmosphere and condition of the air employed may
be varied to any extent required for efficiently carrying out the process of malting
under varying conditions of the external atmosphere. After the germinating
process has been completed in the drums their contents may be discharged through
doors in their circumference into trucks below, which serve to remove the grain to
the drying kiln.
.
It will be evident that the rotating drums may be of other than cylindrical form,
a square section being possibly preferred by the excise officers in order more readily
to be able to ascertain by direct measurement the volume of grain contained in a
drum.
Should the excise laws at any period altogether forbid the application of the above
described rotary drums, the further process of germination may be carried on in
yessels with perforated or wove wire bottoms, as indicated in the before mentioned
Patent of 1876. In that case a certain amount of turning the grain by hand labor
will be necessary in order to avoid felting, which in the case of the rotating drum
arrangement is entirely avoided.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings shows a longitudinal section; Fig. 2, a sectional plan; and
Fig. 3, a transverse section of a malting establishment arranged with apparatus
according to the before described Invention.
On the upper floor of the building (which, with the exception of openings herein-
after referred to, and the necessary doors and windows, is closed against the outer
air) are arranged tanks A, A, in which the grain is couched after having been
steeped in tanks A on the lower floor in the ordinary way; the position of these
tanks is however only a matter of convenience. These tanks have perforated or
wove wire false bottoms B, into the space below which a current of air is passed
from an air supply flue C, to be presently described, by means of a pipe D, while the
air is drawn off from the tanks through other pipes E communicating with an
exhaust air flue C'. The grain having been subjected to the action of currents of
air for a sufficient length of time in these tanks, it is discharged through openings
in the floor into the revolving germinating drums or cylinders F on the floor below,
one of which is for the sake of convenience arranged immediately beneath one of
the tanks A. so as to receive the charge therefrom through openings F¹ closed by
covers. These drums, the construction of which is shown to an enlarged scale in
longitudinal section and transverse section respectively at Figs. 4 and 5, consist of
an outer shell of perforated metal or wove wire with a central perforated tube G,
one end of which is closed while the other communicates with the exhaust pipe E¹
leading to the exhaust flue C'. This tube revolves with the drum and is divided
by longitudinal partitions into a number of separate compartments, the exhaust
from each of which is regulated by means of a stationary disc valve H, as will be
presently explained.
The drum being only partly filled with the grain as indicated, a slow rotary
motion is imparted to it in the direction of the arrow, for which purpose it rests
upon antifriction rollers
and has a tooothed ring K gearing with a pinion K¹
receiving a slow rotary motion from worm and worm wheel gear K2 driven from
any convenient motor. As the drum slowly revolves, the surface of the grain
assumes the inclined position indicated, the grain gradually falling over from the
higher to the lower part. At the same time moistened and tempered air is by the

page_text: action of the exhanst drawn from the room through the mass of grain into the com-
partments of the exhaust tube G, and in order to insure that such air shall pass more
or less uniformly through the whole mass of the grain the communications between
the exhaust and those compartments of the tube G nearest the surface of the grain are
more or less closed by the stationary valve H, which, as will be seen more clearly
from the enlarged detail at Figs. 6 and 7, is for this purpose formed with small
openings Hi in positions near the surface of the grain, and with large openings H2
in the part farther away from such surface, so that as the compartments of the tube
arrive near the surface of the grain the passage of air through them is more or less
restricted by the small openings H', while in the other positions the openings H2
allow the air to pass freely. The valve H is mounted loose upon a rod passing.
centrally through the tube, and is kept up against the end of the tube by a nut H³
screwed on the end of the rod. It is prevented from revolving with the tube by a
stud H4 projecting from it coming in contact with a pin H5 projecting from the
exhaust tube E¹. If desired other slides or valves may be fitted on the valve H,
The tube E' has a
whereby the size of the openings H', H2, can be regulated.
cover at E for gaining access to the valve. Longitudinal bars are fixed in the drum
round the tube G, from which project spikes L, L, which serve to separate the grains
from each other as they fall over.
The germinating process having been completed in these drums the grain is
below.
discharged through the doors F' into trucks X running in a sunk passage
With regard to the size of the germinating drums good results will be obtained by
drums having a diameter of from 5 to 8 feet and a similar or greater length, but
the dimensions may be varied according to circumstances.
The air required for the germinating process enters the bottom of a chamber
containing a column of coke or other suitable porous material M resting on a per-
forated bottom M¹, through which the air passes in an upward direction while
water flowing through perforated pipes N on to the top of the column is caused to
trickle down through the same in the opposite direction to the air current, so that
this on issuing at the top has attained as nearly as possible the same temperature
as the water, and has received the requisite degree of moisture and purity. From
the top of the chamber the air passes into the room O through openings M², whence
it is drawn through the germinating drums as described.
The bottom of the coke chamber communicates both with the outer air through
an aperture P capable of being closed by a slide P¹, and with the air flue C, also
provided with a slide C. The other end of this flue communicates, firstly, with a
shaft Q provided with a slide Q'; and, secondly, with the discharge orifice of a fan R,
the inlet orifices of which are in communication with the exhaust flue C¹, so that
the fan exhausts the air from this flue, with which the exhaust pipes E, E¹, of the
couching tanks A and germinating drums F communicate.
Thus it will be seen that according as the state of the germinating process and
the condition and temperature of the outer atmosphere may require, this may either
be entirely excluded from the building by closing the slides P¹ and Q', the air being
then drawn by the fan from the room Ŏ and (slide C² being open) propelled along
the flue C to the bottom of the coke column M, through which it is drawn upward
by the draught produced by the fan, and entering the room O again passes through
the drums and flue C₁ to the fan, and so circulating continuously. Or the slides P¹
and Q being partly open a regulated quantity of fresh outer air is continuously
drawn in through the opening P, and a corresponding portion of the air that has
already passed through the tanks and drums is discharged up the shaft Q. Or
again, by closing the slide C² and fully opening P¹ and Q' the whole of the air
required for circulation through the building may be taken in continuously from
the outer atmosphere. The exhaust pipes E, E¹, are provided with valves S, S',
whereby the exhaust may be regulated or entirely cut off from a particular germi-
nating drum or couching tank. In carrying on the above described operation it is
not necessary to make the room absolutely airtight, as an air pressure of from
3/8 inch to 1/2 inch column of water is sufficient..

page_text: . Fig. 8 shews a vertical section of the herein described arrangement of multiple
coke chambers for enabling the extent of the action of the moistened coke upon the
air to be regulated according as the state of the atmosphere and other conditions
may require. In this arrangement there are any desired number of coke columns
T, T2, T3, T4, in separate cells arranged side by side with intervening air passages
U', U2, U³. Below the perforated bottoms of the coke columns, and also at the
upper ends of the air channels are provided flaps V, VI, by which any one or more
of them can be cut off from communication with the air supply passing in through
the channel W, and slides X1, X2, X³, are also provided, by means of which the
direct communication between the upper ends of the coke columns is prevented. It
will also be seen that while each air channel U communicates by its open upper
end with the top of the left hand coke column, it communicates by a side opening Y
at bottom with the lower end of the right hand coke column. Thus assuming that
the flaps V of the coke column T¹ were open while those of all the rest were closed,
that all the flaps V₁ of the air channels were open and that all the slides X were
down; then air would enter from the channel W through the bottom of T¹, and
ascending in the same would pass from the top thereof down U₁, thence up
through T and down through U2, and so on, so that the entering air would be
subjected successively to the action of all the coke columns, moistened by the water
spray from the pipes Z. If on the other hand the flaps of T¹, U¹, U³, and T were
closed, and the slide X opened, as in the Drawing, then T' and T being put out of
action the air would enter the bottom of T2, and would pass thence through U2
and T, and then away to the germinating room, and while this was taking place
the column T¹ being entirely cut off from the series could be replenished with fresh
coke if necessary. Again, by opening all the flaps V of the coke columns and
closing all those V₁ of the air passages the air supply might be made to pass simul-
taneously up through all or any desired number of the coke columns, thus giving
if necessary a large supply of air, acted upon to a minimum extent by the moistened
coke.
Thus it will be seen that a very varied action may be produced by this arrange-
ment, and means provided for periodically emptying and replenishing the coke
chambers without having to stop the action of the apparatus for this purpose.
The principal aim of the above described improvements is to keep the grain under
germination at an equable and low temperature, the facility of increasing or de-
creasing the extent of the cooling action of the coke is therefore of importance. In
a cool season less water may be used and also a less number of coke columns, as
this smaller quantity of water will only have to reduce the temperature of the
incoming air by a much smaller number of degrees than would be necessary in the
hot weather, and the air will be sufficiently cooled by passing through only one or
two of the coke columns.
Should the temperature of the atmosphere rise, however, one or more other coke
columns may be brought into action, thus increasing the duration of contact of the
air currents with the cooled coke and consequently causing the water supply of the
same temperature as before to have a greater effect upon the air, that is to say, to
cool it to a lower degree than it could do if a less number of the coke columns were
in operation.
The above observations also apply to the case where the cooling water rises in
temperature during hot weather, assuming of course in either case that when the
temperature of the water is low or that of the air high, the air after being subjected
to the action of one or two only of the coke columns has still a temperature above
that of the cooling water, so that by using a greater number of coke columns when
the water is warmer the prolonged contact of the air therewith will cause this to be
cooled to about the same degree as when it is in contact for a shorter length of time
with cooler water.
1
Similar considerations apply to the increasing of the filtering effect of the coke
columns or the cleansing of the air thereby of bacteria, dust, and other undesirable.
matter by the use of a greater number of the columns when needed..
1

page_text: It is of course generally of considerable importance to use as little water as pos-
sible for the cooling and moistening of the air currents, as in most cases the quantity
of cool water available is limited; in such cases therefore it is of great advantage
to be able, by means of the above described multiple coke chamber, to confine the
action of the water upon one or two coke columns of limited size, so as to obtain
the maximum cooling effect instead of having to distribute the available supply at
all times over a large volume of coke, on which its cooling effect would of course
not be so great and which it may only be requisite to apply at intervals during the
year.
In order to clean the coke filters after they have been in use for some time, and
to kill any vegetable growth that may have commenced therein they are closed at
top, and steam of high temperature is there introduced for several hours until the
whole mass has become heated to a sufficiently high degree to kill any vegetable
growth, after which cold water is introduced in abundance to wash the filter out;
this operation can be carried on without interrupting the malting process even when
a single large filter is used instead of the multiple filter last described, as the ger-
minating process can be carried on without serious inconvenience for several hours.
without the use of the filters.
The dimensions of the coke filters may vary according to circumstances, but as a
rule the larger the filter the greater will be the benefit derived therefrom. A single
large coke filter of the previous construction, such as is shewn at Figs. 1 and 2 of the
Drawings, may be advantageously made from 2 to 5 feet in width and as high as
practicable, the practical limits being generally between 5 and 15 feet.
length of the coke chamber should also be considerable, and it is of advantage
to make it equal to the width of the germinating chambers as indicated on the
Drawings.
The
The multiple coke chambers should have an aggregate mass or volume about
equal to or larger than that of the single large chamber, but subdivided in the
manner above described into as many separate columns as may be desirable, and it
is to be borne in mind that increase of height, as effecting a corresponding increase
in the duration of contact between the water and air, is of much greater importance
in these coke filters than increase of the width or length thereof.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I am aware it has already
been proposed to carry on the germinating process inside revolving drums, and I do
not therefore claim this generally; I claim,-
First. In the process of pneumatic malting the combination of the consecutive
operations herein described whereby the grain is first treated in steeping and
couching tanks and is then subjected, inside revolving germinating drums, to regu-
lated currents of cooled, moist, and filtered air drawn through the drums from the
germinating room, into which it is introduced through coke filters arranged and
operating substantially as herein described.
Second. The construction of revolving germinating drums with a perforated shell
and central perforated tube or chamber from which the air is exhausted, so as to
cause currents of air entering through the shell of the drum to pass through the body
of the grain while this is continuously or intermittently kept in motion by the rotation
of the drum, substantially as herein described.
Third. In revolving germinating drums constructed and operating as described
in the preceding claim, constructing the central perforated tube with several separate
compartments, the communication of which with the exhaust is regulated by a
valve or valves, so as to cause the air to penetrate more or less equally throughout
the mass of grain before entering the said tube, substantially as herein described.
Fourth. The combined arrangement in one and the same room of a series of
couching tanks each of which is situated directly above one of a series of revolving
germinating drums, so that the contents of each tank can be conveyed directly into
the drum below, the exhaust from the couching tank and its respective germinating

page_text: drum being led through branches of one and the same tube provided with valves
into a main exhaust channel; substantially as herein described.
Fifth. The method herein described of regulating the exhaust or duration and
degree of the action of the moistened coke chambers upon the air currents according
to variations in the temperature of the atmosphere and of the water used for
sprinkling..
Sixth. The construction of multiple coke chambers in combination with commu-
nicating air passages and regulating slides, or valves, or flaps, whereby the air may
be caused to pass through a greater or less number of separate moistened coke
columns, according as the condition of the atmosphere and of the cooling water may
require.
Seventh. The arrangement of air exhaust and delivery pipes, flues, or channels
provided with valves or slides in combination with the germinating drums and coke
chambers in such manner that either the whole of the air supply may be taken con-
tinuously from the atmosphere or that only a portion of the circulating air is taken
from the atmosphere, or that the outer atmosphere is entirely excluded and one
and the same body of air made to circulate continuously through the appa-
ratus, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Simon, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.