IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE RECTIFICATION. AND PURIFICATION OF ALCOHOL
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE
RECTIFICATION. AND PURIFICATION OF ALCOHOL."-A communication from
abroad by Jean Gustave Béquet and Hugues Champonnois, both of Rue
St. Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th July 1867.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES OF AND APPARATUS
FOR THE RECTIFICATION AND PURIFICATION OF ALCOHOL," to be as follows:-
It is well known that alcohol and the extraneous products which have
arisen during the process of fermentation are intimately combined, and that by
adding water to the liquor to be acted upon in the rectifying apparatus. their
separation is facilitated. It is also well known that certain chemical agents
(especially alkalies) will combine with the extraneous matters which it is
required to eliminate, and will fix them by rendering them less volatile, which
has led to the employment of such chymical agents by adding, them to the
liquor to be submitted to the operation of rectification; this employment of

page_text: water and of chemical agents has however been almost generally abandoned,
as it was not found to be attended with success.
The object of this Invention is to conduct the operations of rectification and
purification in such a manner as to obtain a more satisfactory result than
heretofore. To this end a stream of water as pure as possible is caused to flow
into one of the compartments at about the middle of the height of the column
(whatever may be the construction of the apparatus employed) so as (by reason
of its temperature) to condense the extraneous matters and at the same time
to wash out those matters from and purify the alcohol. Or instead of pure
water solutions in water of suitable chemical agents, such as alkalies (especially
potash), acids and salts, and saponaceous matters, may be used, such solutions
being supplied to the interior of the column by means of pipes and cocks
leading from reservoirs containing the same.
The apparatus consists of two corrugated surfaces set at some little distance
apart so as to form a zig-zag column or pipe for the passage of the vapor;
this column is provided with a central vertical filtering surface throughout its
whole height, which is in close contact with the interior projecting points of
the zig-zag pipe; this filtering surface is composed either of wire gauze or
other fabric, or may consist of a layer of sand enclosed between two sheets of
wire gauze. The water or other condensing and purifying liquor is supplied
from above to this zig-zag column from a vessel having a perforated bottom.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The alcoholic vapor
previously purified by the injections into the column enters a pipe at the lower
part of the apparatus and fills the first chamber, but cannot enter the second
one without passing through the filtering surface; this vapor therefore passes
upwards, and is submitted to condensation by coming into contact alternately
with surfaces which increase in coldness. The least volatile parts having
been thus retained the alcoholic vapors arrive at the top exit pipe perfectly
rectified. The products of the condensation (which is effected successively in
each of the chambers) can only escape downwards through the filtering
surface, upon which they are uniformly distributed, and in this descending
current these condensed products are in the finest state of division with the
steam, which also in a state of very fine division passes up through the filtering
mass, so that the conditions of exchange of temperature are fulfilled with the
greatest perfection by fixing the aqueous parts by the vaporization of the parts
containing the greatest portion of alcohol.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that 1, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE
RECTIFICATION AND PURIFICATION OF ALCOHOL," being a communication to me
from abroad by Jean Gustave Biquet and Hugues Champonnois, of Rue St.
Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others).
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
:-
It is well known that alcohol and the extraneous products which have
arisen during the process of fermentation are intimately combined, and that by
adding. water to the liquor to be acted upon in the rectifying apparatus their
separation is facilitated. It is also well known that certain chemical agents

page_text: (especially alkalies) will combine with the extraneous matters which it is
required to eliminate, and will fix them by rendering them less volatile, which
has led to the employment of such chemical agents by adding them to the
liquor to be submitted to the operation of rectification. This employment of
water and of chemical agents has however been almost generally abandoned,
as it was not found to be attended with success.
The object of this Invention is to conduct the operations of rectification and
purification in such a manner as to obtain a more satisfactory result than
heretofore. To this end a stream of water as pure as possible is caused to flow
into one of the compartments at about the middle of the height of the column
(whatever may be the construction of the apparatus employed) so as (by reason
of its temperature) to condense the extraneous matters and at the same time
to wash out those matters from and purify the alcohol; or instead of pure
water solutions in water of suitable chemical agents (such as have been
hitherto unsuccessfully employed) may be used, such as alkalies (especially
potash), acids, and salts, & saponaceous matters, such solutions being
supplied to the interior of the column by means of pipes and cocks leading
from reservoirs containing the same. The advantage of this arrangement is
that these agents for the elimination of these extraneous matters may act upon
the alcohol during its passage, and may be applied at the required periods or
phases of the operation, and in such proportions and varieties as experience
may dictate and the nature of the liquor acted upon may require. Another
advantage of this process is that water supplied in this way separates more
readily from the alcohol than when simply mixed with it. This process may
be conducted in any of the ordinary rectifying and purifying apparatus, but the
apparatus which is preferred for this purpose consists of two corrugated surfaces
set at some like distance apart so as to form a zig-zag column or pipe for the
passage of the vapor; this column is provided with a central vertical filtering
surface throughout its whole height, which is in close contact with the interior
projecting points of the zig-zag pipe; this filtering surface is composed either
of wire gauze or other fabric, or may consist of a layer of sand enclosed
between two sheets of wire gauze. The water or other condensing and
purifying liquor is supplied from above to this zig-zag column from a vessel
having a perforated bottom.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The alcoholic vapor
previously purified by the injections into the column enters a pipe at the lower
part of the apparatus, and fills the first chamber, but cannot enter the second
one without passing through the filtering surface; this vapor therefore passes

page_text: upwards, and is submitted to condensation by coming into contact alternately
with surfaces which increase in coldness, and successively passes through the
filtering material. The least volatile parts having been thus retained, the
alcoholic vapors arrive at the top exit pipe perfectly rectified.
At the same
time that this gradual elimination takes place another effect is obtained of
equal utility similar to that which takes place in the compartments of the
column for the concentration of alcohol by the exchange of temperature.
between the aqueous and alcoholic parts. The products of the condensation
(which is effected successively in each of the chambers) can only escape down-
wards through the filtering surface, upon which they are uniformly distributed,
and in this descending current these condensed products are in the finest state
of division with the steam, which, also in a state of very fine division passes
up through the filtering mass, so that the conditions of exchange of tempe-
rature are fulfilled with the greatest perfection by fixing the aqueous parts by
the vaporization of the parts containing the greatest portion of alcohol. As
this exchange is to be produced from chamber to chamber between alcoholic
vapors of less richness and returning liquids of greater richness, all the
conditions are united for obtaining with this apparatus the most perfect
analysis by fixing or retaining matters less volatile than alcohol, and bringing
this latter to the greatest possible strength.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents an ordinary rectifying
apparatus with its boiler A, column or tower A', condenser B, and refrige-
rator B. The water and chemical agents are supplied by means of two
vessels C and C', provided with ball cocks b and b', all furnished with pipes in
communication with the column by means of cocks c and c. The vessel C
receives pure water, and, if required, salts, which may be decomposed and
form precipitates when they come in contact with the alkaline or other liquids
introduced by the cock 6¹ of the vessel C³, such as the sulphates of iron and
alumina which in contact with the potash of the second vessel produce
precipitates of oxide of iron or of alumina. The vessel C also receives pure
water through its ball cock b', and the chemical agents previously dissolved
through the other cock 62. This arrangement bas for its object to regulate
the proportions of the chemical agents independently of the quantity of pure
water, and to vary at pleasure their dilution. This latter vessel C¹ may be
made to supply at different heights in the column by means of four cocks c¹;
it is also for the purpose of varying the action of the agents by varying the
duration of their contact according to the phases of the operation or the nature
of the phlegms, and according to these bases. The purification will be greater

page_text: in proportion as the introduction is effected high up in the column, but the
strength will be less, and vice versa. The introduction of pure water from
the vessel C is also optional, and is only necessary with very bad phlegms.
The employment of the vessel C¹ with the addition of potash will in most cases
be sufficient.
Fig. 2 represents in vertical section, and Fig. 3 in sectional plan taken in
the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2, the condenser analyser composed of two zig-zag
plates P and P¹ connected by a bridle piece p, as shewn in Figures 4, 5, and 6,
on a larger scale. A filtering diaphragm D made of wire gauze or vegetable
tissue is interposed between these two plates, the projecting parts of which
are in contact with it.
Fig. 6 represents the filtering diaphragm D' as composed of gravel, charcoal,
or coke, in pieces about the size of a pea. A wire cloth d is soldered upon
the projecting parts of the two plates, and leaves when they are all put together
a space between them of from fifteen to twenty millimetres, into which these
matters are introduced through the top covered at c, Fig. 2. This part when
put together is fixed in a cylinder near the induction steam pipe E and waste
pipe F; it is entirely immersed in water, which is renewed by means of the
supply vessel G above, and kept at a certain level by means of the waste
pipes H. In order to avoid the mixture of hot water which naturally rises to
the top inclined planes J are set at each side of the apparatus, which always
carry the cold water against the surfaces, and leave free passage for the
ascending current of hot water without mixing with the cold water, which
always has a tendency to descend, and is retained against the surfaces.
Having now described this Invention of " Improvements in the Processes
of and Apparatus for the Rectification and Purification of Alcohol," and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I desire it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the arrangement or construction of apparatus above shewn
and described, so long as the required operations of condensation and filtration
of vapors and liquids are simultaneously performed; but I claim,―
Firstly, the employment of water in admixture and in contact with the
alcoholic vapors of the column as an active purifier of the odorous products to
be eliminated.
Secondly, the employment also of water as the vehicle of all chemical
agents for fixing the extraneous products to be eliminated by applying these
agents in direct contact with the alcoholic vapors in the interior of the
column.

page_text: Thirdly, the substitution for the ordinary analysers of the analyser and con-
centrator above described acting simultaneously by its surfaces of con-
densation and by filtration or separation of the vapors and liquids.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.