Improvements in the Means or Apparatus to be Employed in the Production of Solutions Containing Sulphurous Acid or its Salts.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1890 Accepted, 14th Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
ક
Improvements in the Means or Apparatus to be Employed in the
Production of Solutions Containing Sulphurous Acid or its Salts.
We, GEORGE HORSLEY, of Claremont, West Hartlepool, Shipowner, and
ALFRED CHARLES WILSON, of the Exchange Buildings, Stockton-on-Tees,
Analytical and Consulting Chemist, 'both in the County of Durham, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as 'follows:
.
Our invention relates to the means or apparatus employed for the treatment of
sulphurous anhydride gas in order to obtain the compounds called sulphites and
bi-sulphites or an aqueous, solution of sulphurous acid only or a solution of
sulphurous acid containing sulphites.
Hitherto in certain processes sulphurous gas has been passed by the application
of considerable pressure through solutions or liquids contained in vessels or the
sulphurous gas has been conveyed through one or more closed vessels placed
horizontally and capable of being rotated in which a continuous current of
sulphurous anhydride gas is absorbed by meeting a continuous flow or shower of
liquid.
'
The object of our invention is to provide an apparatus of simple and cheap
construction and easily controlled in which sulphurous anhydride gas may be inade
to combine with water to form sulphurous acid or a base or bases such as lime or
magnesia to form sulphites.
$
any
In carrying out our invention we construct a tower shaped vessel of
suitable
dimensions say 25 feet high and 8 × 7 feet in sectional area which we furnish
internally with an admission chamber placed above a liquor tank which occupies
the bottom of the said vessel; above the admission chamber are provided a series of
shelves or trays extending from the opposite sides of the apparatus and overlapping
each other almost the full width of the apparatus. The bottom and top plates of
the admission chamber and the shelves above them are perforated at every part of
their surface and are constructed together with all the internal surfaces of the
apparatus of acid resisting material such as glazed earthenware lead or such other
material as may be considered most suitable. The shelves are provided at such
distances above each other that a moderate slope in each shelf brings its outer edge
almost in contact with the surface of the opposite shelf. An inlet which is suitable
for the simultaneous admission of sulphurous anhydride gas and steam is provided at
some part of the admission chamber, and a suitable outlet for the resulting liquor
communicates with the liquor tank at the bottom of the apparatus. The crown or
dome of the apparatus is provided with a flue or uptake and with one or more
spouts or injection pipes for introducing sprays of cold water. The process to
which our improved apparatus is adapted is as follows: The sulphurous anhydride
gas which may have been obtained by burning sulphur or any compound such as
iron pyrites containing it, is introduced into the admission chamber at the lower
part of the apparatus by the injection of a jet of steam. If the products to be
obtained are sulphites the perforated shelves above the admission chamber are
covered with carbonate of line dolomite or such other base or bases; apertures
being provided through the shell of the apparatus to introduce a bar to distribute
the dolomite or such other base or bases over the shelves. The mixture of
sulphurous anhydride gas and steam ascends through the perforated top plate of the
admission chamber to the space above where it encounters the overlapping shelves
and is brought into intimate contact with the dolomite or such other base or bases
with which they are covered; as the sulphurous anhydride combines with the steam.
sulphurous acid is formed which combines with the base placed upon the shelves
71

page_text: and as it condenses percolates down again through the shelves and top and bottom
plates of the admission chamber to the liquor tank below in the form of sulphites
and is then drawn away through the outlet.
In order to prevent the escape of any part of the fumes of the sulphurous
anhydride gas through the flue at the top of the apparatus sprays of cold water will
or can be laid on from the one or more spouts or injection pipes provided in the
crown of the apparatus which can be turned off or on or be otherwise regulated as
required..
By leaving the shelves bare instead of covering them over with dolomite or other
base as before described the mixture of sulphurous anhydride gas and steam simply
goes through the process of combination and condensation, by which the sulphurous
anhydride is absorbed and an aqueous solution of sulphurous acid is obtained.
"Dated this 13th dore of March 1900.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicants..
Improvements in the Means or Apparatus to be Employed in the
Production of Solutions Containing Sulphurous Acid or its Salts.
We, GEORGE HORSLEY, of Claremont, West Hartlepool, Shipowner, and
ALFRED CHARLES WILSON, of the Exchange Buildings, Stockton-on-Tees,
Analytical and Consulting Chemist, both in the County of Durham, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
-Our-invention-relates-to-the means or apparatus employed for the treatment of
sulphurous anhydride gas in order to obtain the compounds called sulphites and
bi-sulphites or an aqueous solution of sulphurous acid only, or a solution of
sulphurous acid containing sulphites.
Hitherto in certain processes sulphurous gas has been passed by the application of
considerable pressure through solutions or liquids contained in vessels, or the
sulphurous gas has been conveyed through one or more closed vessels placed
horizontally and capable of being rotated in which a continuous current of
sulphurous anhydride gas is absorbed by meeting a continuous flow or shower
of liquid.
The object of our invention is to provide an apparatus of simple and cheap
construction and easily controlled in which sulphurous anhydride gas may be made
to combine with water to form sulphurous acid or with a base or bases such as lime
or magnesia to form sulphites.
:
In carrying out our invention we construct a special arrangement of parts all
combined and operating together in a tower shaped vessel or structure of any
suitable dimensions say 25 feet high and 8 by 7 feet in sectional area but the precise
dimensions of the said structure are not material and will vary to suit the conditions
under which sulphurous anhydride gas is supplied.
.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect we will now describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the
accompanying drawings in which are shown in Figures 1 and 2 vertical sectional
views of a tower shaped structure or apparatus constructed and fitted up for the
purposes of our invention. Figure 3 is a similar tower shaped apparatus which is
intended to illustrate in what way certain features of our invention are essential for
obtaining practical results.
It will be understood that all internal surfaces of the tower or apparatus are
constructed of acid resisting material such as glazed earthenware, lead or such
other material as will ensure its durability. At the lower part of the apparatus is
provided an admission chamber a, above a liquor tank b which occupies the bottom
of the apparatus; the upper part c of the structure above the admission chamber a

page_text: is provided with a series of shelves or trays c' extending from opposite sides of the
apparatus and overlapping each other almost the full width of the apparatus in the
manner shown in Figures 1 and 2. .
The top plate d of the admission chamber a and the shelves c' of the upper
part c, are perforated at every part of their surface so that they may carry a
covering or charge of some basic material such as lime or magnesia, when required
without preventing the gas or liquid from effecting a passage through the apparatus
in the manner hereinafter described. The bottom plate d² of the adinission
chamber a, is also similarly or suitably perforated to allow the resultant liquor to
flow into the tank b.
The sulphurous anhydride gas, which may have been obtained by burning sulphur
or any compound such as iron pyrites containing it, is introduced into the admission
chamber a by the induction of a jet of steam as for instance by means of a double
inlet ef in which a jet of steam injected into the chamber a through the lower
inlet f sucks in the sulphurous gas through the other inlet e. The shelves c' are
fixed above each other so as to extend horizontally from the walls of the tower or
are set at such an angle that when placed at moderate distances one above another'
the extreme edge of each shelf is brought almost in contact with the surface of the
next lower shelf which extends from the opposite side. g is a flue or uptake
provided in the crown or dome of the apparatus for the escape of air or other gases
which do not enter into the composition of the sulphurous acid gas but in order to
prevent any fumes of the sulphurous anhydride gas from passing out with the air or
other escaping gases one or more spouts or injection pipes h are provided in suitable
positions above the shelves c or any material placed on them from which sprays of
cold water, or cold water and line in solution can be injected into the apparatus
at will.
If the products to be obtained are sulphites the apparatus is charged with
carbonate of limo, dolomite or other base or bases. Here it should be explained
referring to Figure 3 the apparatus would be unsuitable for practical working if
the lumps of carbonate of lime were charged into the apparatus without the shelves c¹
as in that case the bottom of the charge of carbonate of lime immediately above the
admission chamber which is that portion most severely subjected to the action of the
gas would soon be reduced from such lumps as afford passages for the gas or liquid
to a more finely divided state and become so closely packed together as to prevent
the gas from passing through, after the manner illustrated in Figure 3, in which the
carbonate of lime at k is intended to be shown in a finely divided state at the lower
part of the chamber c, whilst it exists in lumps of the original size higher up as at k.
On the other hand too many overlapping shelves c¹ one above another would be
found too complicated for ordinary working and in some cases, two or three such
shelves as shown in Figure 2 will be found effective in preventing the bottom lumps
of carbonate of lime from being disintegrated sufficiently to choke the apparatus.
The process to which our improved apparatus is adapted is as follows:-
apertures c being provided through the shell of the structure to introduce a bar to
distribute or stoke up the basic material on the shelves c¹, these shelves are suitably
covered with such material so that as the intermixed steam and anhydride gas
ascends the apparatus through the perforated top plate d' of the admission chamber a,
it encounters the overlapping shelves c¹ and is brought into intimate contact with
the dolomite or other base or bases with which they are covered. In the
modification shown in Figure 1 this would go on from shelf to shelf until the
mixture was sufficiently condensed to percolate down again to the tank b. In the
modification shown in Figure 2 the upper lumps of carbonate of lime would serve
the same purpose as the upper shelves in Figure 1. As the sulphurous anhydride
gas combines with the water condensed from the steam sulphurous acid is formed
which in its turn combines with the base with which it comes in contact and as it
condenses percolates down to the liquor tank 6 in the form of sulphites and is drawn
away through the outlet 61. By leaving the shelves c' bare and clean instead of
covering them with dolomite or other base as before described the mixture of

page_text: sulphurous anhydride gas and steam which ascends from the admission chamber a,
simply goes through the process of combination and condensation by which the
sulphurous anhydride is absorbed and an aqueous solution of sulphurous acid is
obtained.
Having now clearly ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, what we claim is :-
Firstly The apparatus for obtaining solutions containing sulphurous acid or its'
salts consisting of an admission chamber a into which the sulphurous anhydride gas
is inducted and intermingled with steam, a bottom tank b for receiving the resultant-
liquors and an upper part c, provided with shelves c' for bringing the sulphurous
acid gas formed in the process into contact with a suitable base all combined and
operating together substantially as and for the purpose as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Secondly The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the apparatus
substantially as- hereinbefore. described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 13th day of December 1890.
G. J. CLARKSON, Fel. Inst. P.A.,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicants.