A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLATION AND EVAPORATION;
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SHAND, of the Burn, in Kincardineshire, in that part of the United Kingdom
called Scotland, send greeting.
WHEREAS. His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of August, One, thousand eight
hundred and twenty-nine, in the tenth year of His reign, give and grant
me, the said William Shand, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said William Shand, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Shand,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times 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 also in all His
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "A CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLATION AND EVAPORATION;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Shand,
to cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner. the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
27

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the, said proviso, I, the said
William Shand, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist
in a new mode of applying, regulating, and controlling the action of oil or
oleaginous substances used as a medium for communicating heat for the pur-
pose of distillation of ardent spirits and other things, or for the evaporation of
syrup, sugar, juice, and other substances, and that the means and the manner
of performing my said Invention are particularly described and ascertained in
and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the following description thereof
(that is to say) :-
In the said Drawing, Figure 1 is a still A, placed within a vessel B, and
surrounded by a spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, (as shewn in section), and which
vessels are set in brick work over a fire-place in the manner to be described
hereafter, and the top of the still body is also covered with brick work, a
man hole D being provided for the purpose of cleaning out the body of the
still when requisite. Into the said vessel B, which communicates with the
spiral channel C, C, C,.C, C, at its lower part, there is put a quantity of oil.
suflicient to bring the same when expanded by ebullition into close contact
with the bottom of the still A, to which the oil thereby communicates heat,
and the vapour which, rises from the heated oil circulates several times around
the still A, by means of the said spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, and thereby
communicates heat to the sides of the still, and the oil vapour is partially
condensed in its progress around the still upwards, and when it reaches the
uppermost turn of the said spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, it is more effectually
condensed by means of a water channel K, K, which lies upon and in close
contact with the uppermost turn of the spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, and acts
as a condenser of the oil vapour which rises through the said channel. K, K,
represents, in section, parts of the said circular water channel which lies upon
the uppermost part or turn of the spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, and through
which said water channel K, K, water is caused to flow, such water entering
'by the pipe L, and passing off by the pipe M, furnished with a stopcock, into
the gutter N,. which conveys it away. In case, from the negligence of the
attendant or any other cause, any excess vapour may rise from the heated oil
'beyond what is condensed by the means and in the manner aforesaid, the
pipe F, which passes from the upper end of the spiral channel C, C, C, C, C,
will convey such excess vapour into the pipe G, in the vessel H (shewn by
dotted lines), which being charged with water acts as a subsidary condenser,

page_text: and from thence. the product of the condensed vapour passes out at the pipe I
into a vessel. J, placed underneath to receive it. O is a pipe furnished with a
funnel and stopcock, for the purpose of charging the still, and P is another
pipe and stopcock for discharging the spent wash. Q is a branch from the
pipe F, also provided with a funnel and stopcock, for the purpose of charging
the vessel B with a proper quantity of oil, through the spiral channel
C, C, C, C, C. R is a pipe and stopcock, for the purpose of drawing off the
oil. S is a trial pipe and stopcock, for the purpose of ascertaining the requi-
site depth of the oil put into the vessel B, whilst charging which vessel with
the oil the stopcock is kept open until the oil begins to flow through it, which
shows, that the charge of oil has reached the proper height, and the stopcock
is then shut, and no more oil is put in. Fig. 2 is a plan, having. the brick-
work cover of the still A removed, in order to show the circular water channel
K, K,.more distinctly. T is an upright partition in the water channel K, K,
and which also closes the upper end of the spiral channel,C, C, C, C, C, shewi
in Fig. 1, and. also in cross section, Fig. 3, which is taken through the
dotted line U, U, in Fig. 2. The water enters the channel K, K, through
the pipe L, at its highest part, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, and after passing
round the still A may either be allowed to flow off at the lowest part of the
channel through the pipe M, or be retained, as may be found necessary. In
Figures 2 and 3 the same letters of reference indicate the similar parts con-
tained therein, which are already referred.to in describing Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a
plan of the fireplace, taken through the dotted line V, V, in Fig. 1. W is the
grate, having on each side of it the metal cheeks X, X, which project beyond
the bars of the grate, and are curved inwards. Y, Y, is a semicircular metal
plate affixed upon the floor of the fireplace, and which, as well as the cheeks
X, X, reach up to the bottom of the vessel B, and thus cause the flame, &c.
from the fire to circulate in the manner shewn by the darts or arrows in their
way to the flue or chimney Z.
In the application of my said Invention to the purpose of the evaporation
of syrups, sugar, juice, and other substances, the apparatus is necessarily in
some parts different from that for the purpose of distillation, and is represented
in the Drawing, Fig. 5, where a is a copper or sugar pan for evaporating
syrups, sugar, juice, and other substances. This is placed within a vessel B,
and surrounded by a spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, in a similar manner to
the still A, shewn in Fig. 1, but with this slight difference, that the spiral
channel as it ascends expands more, in order to give a greater breadth to the
circular open water gutter K, K. In other respects the evaporating pan is.

page_text: tur-
fitted up with such parts as are in the same manner applicable to it and to
the still before described, and those similar parts are indicated by the same
letters of reference, the fire-place being furnished with upright cheeks and a
simicircular plate in a similar way to that of the still shewn in Figs. 1 and 2,
In the performance of my said Invention various kinds of essential oil may
be used as media for the communication of heat, but I prefer spirit of
pentine for the purpose of evaporating syrups, or sugar, juice, and such like
substances. In the construction. of my apparatus herein-before described I do
not mean to limit myself to the exact scale and proportion and to the parti-
cular form of the several parts, but mean to vary and adapt the same to the
circumstances of the case, as may be required. I do not mean or inten:
hereby to claim as my Invention any of the parts of the apparatus herein shewn
and described, which may have already been known or in use; neither do
I claim generally the process of distilling, evaporating, or applying heat by
means of oil or oleaginous substances, or the vapour thereof. But I'do hereby
claim as my Invention a new inode, practiced by fit mechanism, of applying,
regulating, and controlling the action of oil or any oleaginous substance used
as a medium for communicating heat for the purpose of distillation and evapo-
ration, and which mode, as herein-before described, consisting in the use of the
spiral channel C, C, C, C, C, for receiving the vapour that rises from
heated oil in contact with the bottom of the still or evaporating pan, and
circulating the said vapour several times around the sides of the still or
evaporating pan to the surface of which the vapour gives' out its caloric, and is
partially condensed in its progress, and when it reaches the uppermost turn of
the said spiral channel the vapour is more effectually condensed by means of
the water channel or water cutter K, K, which lies on the uppermost turn of
the said spiral channel, as herein-before described. And I do hereby claim as
my Invention the said spiral-channel, and the water channel and water gutter,
as the apparatus and chief means of performing my said Invention, as heréin-
before described. And such my said Invention I believe to be new, and to be
productive of very beneficial effects.
.
In witness, whereof, I, the said William Shand, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth, day of February, in the tenth year of
the reign of our Sovereign Lord. George the Fourth, by the grace of
God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King,
Defender of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord One thousand
sight hundred and thinte
• W. SHAND. (L.S.)'

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1830, the aforesaid William Shand came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1830, the aforesaid William Shand came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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 Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty.