IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING SPIRITS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Evariste Vignier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd March 1868.
I, EVARISTE VIGNIER, of 2, Fowkes Buildings, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING SPIRITS AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a mode of distilling and rectifying spirits,
and to a peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus to be
employed therein.
In carrying out my said Invention I propose to filter the wash or
liquor before it enters the still for the purpose of removing impurities
therefrom; and I make the said filter in two parts, so that the one
shall be in action whilst the other is being cleaned by passing steam
therethrough which extracts the alcohol. The refrigerator is also
divided into 2 sections or parts, in the lower one of which the
worm is surrounded by cold water, whilst in the upper part it is
surrounded by the wash, which is thus partially heated before entering

page_text: may
the analyzer, and passing thence into the still. In the upper part of
the refrigerator I construct a small chamber, into which a jet of
steam can be introduced in order to lower the strength if desired of
the alcoholic vapours which are admitted into this chamber by a
pipe from the column of the still or from the worm in the analyzer.
By this means facility is afforded for reducing the strength of the
This
spirit to any given degree before it leaves the apparatus.
chamber
also be made to receive aromatic vapours for the
The wash passes
purpose of flavoring the spirit or alcohol therein.
by a pipe from the analyzing vessel to a coil of pipe contained in the
top chamber of the column, whence it passes by a syphon through
a coil in the chamber next but one below, and so on through any
desired number of chambers in the column, the intermediate chambers
being used for collecting and removing the essential oils of the alcoholic
vapours. For this purpose I keep these chambers supplied with
fatty or oleagonous matter or with neutral essential oils which take
up or absorb the essential oils to be removed from the alcoholic
vapour. The rest of the chambers in the column below each receive
the wash which passes successively by syphon pipes and coils from
one to the other till it enters the lower part or body of the still,
provided it be not entirely exhausted. The alcoholic vapour from each
distilling chamber passes by a branch pipe into one common pipe
leading down to the head of the still. The wash in the several
wash chambers of the column is kept hot by passing the steam. or
vapour of the spirit wash in the still through coils which are placed
in each wash chamber, and are in communication with each other
and with a coil situate in the supply reservoir of the fatty matter,
whereby such fatty matter is maintained at a proper temperature.
The vapour thence passes to a refrigerator below, and flows either
back into a part of the still which is reserved for water (should it
not contain any remaining alcoholic vapour), or it is collected in
any suitable receptacle. The lower part of the still is divided into
two compartments by a vertical partition, the one being intended for
the reception of spent wash, and the liquor which flows from the filters
when being cleaned, whilst the other compartment only contains
water. Two or more small columns situate on each side of the main
column, and each containing two, three, or more charcoal filtering
chambers, serve to filter the alcohol which is made to ascend through
such filtering chambers. These filters may be readily cleansed by

page_text: directing steam through them by pipes for that purpose in connection
with the water chamber of the still. In order to moderate the
temperature of the fatty or oleagonous matter or essential oil contained
in some of the chambers of the column I propose to pass cold water
through coils contained in such chambers, whereby the said water is
prevented from being in actual contact or admixture with the said
fatty or oleagonous matter.
As the distillation of the wines or wash is according to my Invention
effected facility is afforded for eliminating from the first two or three
chambers the vapours containing a larger proportion of the acids
of the wine or wash, and for directing such vapours into a separated
receiver in the spent wash still. The same system also applys to
the vapours of the lower chambers which are likely to contain more
essential oils.