CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS OR UTENSILS USED FOR DISTILLATION, EVAPORATION, AND CONDENSATION
Year: 1818

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN RICHTER,
of Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, humbly represent to His present Majesty
King George the Third, that I had received communication from a certain
foreigner residing abroad, of an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
APPARATUS OR UTENSILS USED FOR DISTILLATION, EVAPORATION, AND CONDENSATION."
His Majesty was graciously pleased to issue His Letters Patent under the
Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing
date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of July, in the fifty-eighth year of His
reign, which Letters Patent do give and grant unto me, the said John Richter,
and to my exors, admors, and assigns, or to my or their servants or agents,
His said Majesty's especial licence, to make, use, exercise, and vend the
said Invention, within England and Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and to have and enjoy
the whole profit and advantage arising by reason of the said Invention, during
the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent; His
Majesty also, by the said Letters Patent, requires and strictly commands all
His subjects whatever, within England and Wales, the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in His Colonies and Plantations abroad, that, during the
continuance of the said term of fourteen years, they shall not, either directly
or indirectly, make, use, or put in practice the said Invention, or any part of
it, or in any ways counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same; the said Letters

page_text: Patent also contain a proviso, obliging me, the said John Richter, to particu-
larly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months after the date of the said Letters:
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in fulfilment of the said proviso, I, the said John
Richter, have executed this instrument, by which I do declare that the said
improvements in the apparatus or utensils used for distillation, evaporation,
and condensation, consist in certain combinations and arrangements of the
different parts of such apparatus or utensils, and the addition of certain new
parts as herein-after described, whereby the following processes are performed
by the heat of one and the same fire.
First, in one part of the improved apparatus, a spirituous liquor is distilled
by the heat of steam, and may be obtained at the greatest strength required in
commerce by passing only once through the apparatus.
Secondly, the steam employed for heating the liquor which is to be distilled,
may be raised by evaporation from some liquor which requires to be concen-
trated by boiling of or evaporating water from it, thereby the concentration of
or evaporation from one liquor is performed in one part of the apparatus, and
the distillation of another liquor in a different part of the apparatus, by the
heat of the same fire.
Thirdly, evaporation is performed in another part of the apparatus by a
current of air, and the heat evolved in the condensation of the spirituous
liquor which is distilling.
Fourthly, the apparatus is perpetually charged with fresh wash and liquor
to be evaporated; also the condensed liquor or spirit and spent wash and the
concentrated liquor are perpetually discharged without any intermission of
the operations.
The Drawings hereunto annexed shew the combinations and arrangements
of distilling, evaporating, and condensing apparatus and utensils which con-
stitute the said improvements, and the description thereof is as follows:-
DISTILLING AND CONDENSING APPARATUS.
The wash or liquor which is to be distilled is supplied from an elevated
reservoir N, Sheet 1, and passes suecessively through several vessels to receive
heat from the condensation of the vapour which is distilled (as is herein-after
described); at length it is introduced by a pipe f into the vessel D, and from
this it falls through the vessel C into the four vessels marked B. The

page_text: necessary heat to raise the spirituous part of the wash in vapour is communi-
cated to the wash whilst it is in the vessels D, C, and B, by introducing steam
from the boiler A into those vessels. The boiler is set in brickwork over a
furnace, with flues and the usual furniture of steam boilers. The steam is
conveyed from it by the steam pipe a to the vessels B, which contain the
wash. The steam pipe descends to the bottom of the lowest vessel B, and by
diverging tubes, or by a rose perforated with holes, the steam is diffused
through the wash contained in that vessel to give heat thereto. The steam,
together with any spirituous vapour which rises from the wash, then passes by
the pipe 6 into the adjacent vessel, and heats the liquor therein, to raise more
spirituous vapour from it. This vapour passes with the steam into the next
vessel, where more spirituous vapour is raised, and passes with the steam into
the fourth or highest vessel B. The four vessels B may be considered as one
divided into compartments; the bottom of each compartment or each vessel,
if separate,) must be more elevated than the adjacent one, that the wash may
pass with a descent from each into the next. Thus it enters the highest vessel,
and when it fills the same to the height of the partition d, it flows over and
runs down into the bottom of the next vessel, in like manner it runs from this
into the next, and thence into the lowest, from which it passes off by the
discharge pipe e. The wash is subjected to the heat of the steam before it
enters the vessels B; for this purpose it is made to trickle down in drops in
the vessel C, through which the steam and vapour ascend from the vessels B.
To disperse the wash into drops, the vessel C is provided with several horizontal
partitions, which are arranged in pairs, alternately convex and concave, on the
upper sides (see the separate Figure ). The concave partitions fill all the
extent of the vessel C, except a small opening in the centre, but the convex
partitions are smaller than the vessel and without any opening. The wash
enters the vessel C at the top, and by falling on the upper convex partition,
is dispersed towards the edges thereof, from which it trickles down to the
concave partition beneath; the wash then drains to the centre, and drops
through the central opening upon the next convex partition, by which it is
again dispersed towards the circumference, and so on till it gets down to the
vessels B. The steam and vapour enter the vessel C at the lower part, and in
rising up, fill the whole space, and meet the drops of wash which are descend-
ing. The partitions have small grooves or channels on their upper surfaces,
radiating to the centre. There are also small wire pins, hung like -fringes
from the edges of the convex partitions and round the central opening of the
concave partitions, for the drops of wash to trickle.down. The partitions rest

page_text: upon each other when in the vessel by hollow legs, through which wires pass
to keep them in place, (sce the separate Figure). At the top of the vessel C is
another vessel D, in which the wash is also exposed to the steam and vapour
this vessel contains two or more inclined shelves for the wash to run down, and
small ledges are fixed on the upper surfaces of the shelves to form channels,
along which the wash runs in a zig-zag course so as to make a long circuit in
passing over the shelves. The vessel D being filled, vapour and steam, which
ascends from the vessels beneath the wash, receives heat therefrom; above the
vessel D is another vessel E, into which the vapour and steam ascend. The
vessel E is of a similar construction to D, but the raw spirit, which has been
already distilled, is made to run through it instead of the wash, and by the heat
of the vapour and steam, the fine part of the spirit is again raised in vapour to
be redistilled as will be more fully described. This spirituous vapour, as well as
that which rises from the lower vessels B, together with some steam, ascend
from E into the worm F, in which the coarser part of the spirituous vapour is
condensed and runs off by small tubes h, which proceed from all the lowest
points of the worm F, and convey the spirit into into a tube i, from which it is
drawn off by cocks 1, 2, & 3, into a pipe S, and is thereby returned unto
the vessel E to be again submitted to the heat of the steam and redistilled.
Note. The pipe S communicates with the vessel E by an inverted syphon K,
to prevent the vapour and steam escaping from E. The vessel F, which
contains the worm, is filled with wash, and is divided by partitions g 1, g 2,
& g 3, which are alternately fixed to the top and to the bottom of the vessel so
as to force the wash to pass by a circuitous course from the end where it
enters from the pipe R into the vessel to the opposite end, where it passes out
into the pipe f, which carries it down to the vessel D. These partitions g, g,
also prevent the free distribution of the heat through the vessel F; for
although the wash is heated before it enters it obtains more and more heat
from the condensation of the vapour within the worm o, till it passes off by the
tube
with a considérable heat; the vapour which is not condensed in the
worm passes down into the condenser G, which is a thin metalic vessel, and
is surrounded by a hood L at a small distance, and a brisk current of air is
conducted up the space between them to cool and condense the vapour within.
At the upper part of the condenser a horizontal partition is fixed to direct the
vapour against the sides of the condenser, and there is a small hole in the
partition to let down any condensed vapour or spirit which may lodge upon it;
the spirit which is condensed by the cold trickles down the inside of the
condenser and then runs through a worm pipe in the vessel H, by which it is

page_text: cooled, and runs off at the spout M. To produce the current of air between
the condenser and the hood L, a trunk or air pipe is fixed from the top of the
hood and may be made to communicate with the ash-pit, or with the flue of
the chimney; or the air from the hood L may be conducted through an
evaporating apparatus (as herein-after described), and from thence to the ash-
pit or to the.chimney.
Having thus shewn how the spirituous part of the wash is distilled in vapour
and then condensed into fine spirit, it remains to shew how the wash receives
heat from such condensation before it is submitted to the action of the steam.
The wash or liquor to be distilled is supplied from the reservoir N, and runs
into a regulating reservoir which is kept full to a constant height by the float
or ball-cock which admits the wash from the reservoir. From the regulating
reservoir the wash flows by a cock into a-cup at the top of the pipe P, which
carries it down into the vessel containing the worm H, where the spirit is
cooled, as before stated, and the wash becomes warmed; it then descends by
the pipe 2, and passes through a worm J, immersed in the spent wash which
has passed through the distilling apparatus, and is discharged therefrom boiling
hot; after all the spirit is extracted, the wash to be distilled becomes con-
siderably heated in the worm J, and ascends by the pipe R to the condensing
vessel F. It enters the vessel at one end, and is spread (in the compartment
formed by the partition g 1) by falling through a strainer pierced with holes.
The wash passes alternately under and over the several partitions g in the
vessel F, and receives continual accessions of heat from the condensation of
the vapour within the worm o, until the wash flows off by the pipe f to the
distilling vessel D, and from this it descends through the vessels C and B, as
before described. The vessels B, C, and D, perform the office of a still, for
the heat is communicated to the wash from the steam in every vessel, and the
spirituous part of it rises in vapour. In the vessel D, where the steam is first
applied to the wash, the lowest heat is communicated, therefore only the most
volatile part of the spirit is raised; as the wash descends through the vessel C
the steam gives a greater heat, and raises the less volatile parts of the spirit;
but in descending through the different vessels B, the wash receives a more
powerful action of the steam at every stage, till in the last or lowest vessel
the heat is sufficient to extract the last portion of spirit, and the spirit wash is
5 discharged into the worm tub J, to communicate its heat to the fresh wash
running through the worm, as before described. The whole of the spirit being
thus raised in vapour, ascends into the worm o in the vessel F; in the first
compartment thereof (formed by the partition g 3), the vapour of the coarsest

page_text: and weakest part of the spirit condenses into raw spirit, because such part is
condensible by a small abstraction of heat, but as fast as this raw spirit is pro-
duced, it may be returned by pipe i and the cock I through the pipe S into the
vessel E, where it again receives heat from the steam and vapour, and the finer
part of the spirit is again converted into vapour, or redistilled, and again passes
up the worm o. The wash contained in the different compartments of the
vessel F is of different degrees of temperature, and the part where the vapour
first enters being the hottest, the grossest parts of the spirit will condense
first, and as the vapour proceeds along the worm the heat becomes less, and,
therefore, finer spirit will condense. The pure spirit will not condense at all
in the worm F, and, therefore, it passes through the same, and is condensed in
the condenser G, as before described. The end of the pipe communicates
with the pipe which descends to the condenser G, and the cocks 1, 2, 3, and 4,
euable the several portions of the spirit condensed in the worm o to be either
returned by the pipe S to the vessel E, or if the cocks are shut, the said spirit
will flow down the pipe i to the condenser at once without redistilling.
EVAPORATING APPARATUS BY BOILING.
The liquor which is to be evaporated and concentrated is supplied from an
elevated reservoir 1, Sheet 1, and runs into a regulating cistern 2, which is
kept full to a constant height by the ballcock, from this it runs by a cock into
a funnel at the top of the pipe 4 and descends to the worn 5. This worm is
surrounded by the hot liquor, which has been already evaporated and con-
centrated, and then discharged from the boiler A, so that the cold liquor becomes
heated by running through the worm, and is conveyed by the pipe 6 into the
pan 7, which is placed over the flue from the furnace of the boiler. This pan
has partitions 8 fixed to its bottom, and alternately to each side (as shewn in
the plan), which cause the liquor to make a long circuitous course through the
pan, and it receives considerable heat from the flue beneath. The liquor thus
warmed is conveyed into the center of the boiler A by a pipe, which turns
down into another pipe 3 to act in the manner of an inverted syphon. The
liquor runs from the center of the boiler in a spiral channel 9 (shewn in the
plan), which conveys it to the circumference by a long circuit, and conducts it
over every part of the bottom of the boiler, and the fire beneath the same
causes boiling and evaporation. The concentrated liquor runs off boiling hot
through the pipe 10 into the vessel containing the worm 5, through which the
cold liquor runs, as before described, and receives heat which would otherwise
be lost.

page_text: EVAPORATING AND CONDENSING APPARATUS BY A CURRENT OF AIR.
The liquor to be evaporated in this way is made to trickle down the external
surface of the condensor G, which has been already mentioned, and the current
of air which is drawn between the condenser G and the hood L, (which
surrounds it,) effects the evaporation from the liquor, the air and vapour
being warmed by the heat which they carry off from the condenser; this
warmth is in part communicated to the liquor to be evaporated before it
is applied to the condenser. Thus the current of air from the condenser is
conducted through a box or chamber 21, Sheet 1, containing a number of
tubes 22, of thin metal, fixed in a perpendicular direction. The ends of the
tubes pass through the top and the bottom of the chamber, and the liquor
which is to be evaporated is made to trickle down withinside of the tubes.
This liquor is supplied by a pipe 24 from a regulating reservoir, and flows
on the top of the chamber 21. The ends of the tubes 22 which rise above the
top of the chamber are perforated with small holes all round, through which
the liquor flows into the tubes. They are also provided with wicks of cotton
like argand lamps, projecting above the tops of the tubes, which, by the
capillary attraction, let the liquor down the tubes very slowly. A current of
air may also be drawn up through the insides of the tubes to evaporate the
liquor which is trickling down through them; this may be done by fixing a
hood over the top of the chamber 21, with an air trunk to the chimney. 25 is
a cock to draw of any water which may condense in the chamber 21. The
warmth of the air which surrounds the outside of the tubes 22 is partly com-
municated to the liquor, and it drops from the lower ends of the tubes into a
pan or receptacle 23, from which it is conveyed by pipe to the top of the
condensor G. This top has concentric rings fixed on it, which are perforated
with holes at the bottom to spread the liquor over the top, and the metal of the
condenser being thin, the heat of the vapour within it is communicated to the
liquor. From the top of the condenser the liquor trickles down a sheet of
clear open wove cloth, with which the condenser is cloathed, and receives more
heat; also, by the current of air to which the liquor is exposed, part is evapo-
rated, the remaining liquor which is not evaporated runs down the condensor,
and drops into a circular (cutter 26) fixed round the bottom thereof.
a
Note. The liquor thus concentrated may be conducted by a trough to the
boiler to undergo another evaporation by boiling.
DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTION OF PART OF THE DISTILLING APPARATUS.
The operation of both the vessels C and D is to expose the wash to the
steam and vapour when in a state of minute division, and either of these vessels

page_text: may be used alone, or both may be used together, as shewn in the Drawing,
Sheet 1. If an additional vessel B is added it will perform the office of C and
D, which then may be both omitted, and the wash let down at once into tho
highest vessel B by prolonging the pipe f, as shewn by the dotted lines, and
carrying the steam and vapour direct from B to E; this arrangement is
adapted to the distillation of thick wash. The worm o in the vessel F may be
constructed in any of the different ways shewn in Sheet II., provided that in all
cases the vessel containing the wash which surrounds the different parts of the
worm is so far separated into compartments as to preserve different degrees of
temperature. The coldest wash must enter at one end of thô vessel, and the
steam and vapour must enter into the worm at the opposite end, and, there-
fore, the steam and vapour will be exposed to the hottest part of the wash
when it first enters the worm (and only the grossest and weakest spirit will
condense at that point), but as the vapour proceeds further along the worm
the heat becomes less, & the finer spirit will condense, as before described;
also, pipes must be provided to draw off the spirit condensed in the different
parts of the worm. The Drawing, Sheet 2, shews different constructions which
may be used instead of parts F & E, Sheet 1.
The cold wash
Fig. 1 shews a long worm o placed in a vertical position.
enters into the vessel containing the worm at the lower part, & as it rises up
it becomes heated, and flows off at f, the top of the vessel. The vapour and
steam from the vessel E enter at the top of the worm, and as they descend are
condensed, first, the grossest spirit, and then the finer spirit. From the upper
coils of the worm pipes h proceed and draw off the spirit, to return it through
the pipe S into the vessel E, to be redistilled, as before described. The lower
part of the worm being kept at a low temperature will condense the fine spirit,
and it runs off at the bottom of the worm. In this arrangement the upper
part of the worm performs the office of the worm o, Sheet 1, and the lower
part performs the office of the worm II, Sheet 1.
Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is another substitute for the parts F and E, Sheet 1.
The pipe o, in the vessel F which receives the vapour, is a serpentine, instead
of a worm, and the vessel which contains it is separated into compartments by
divisions. Drain pipes h are applied to different parts of the serpent o to
draw off the spirit in order to be redistilled in the vessels E. These vessels
are constructed precisely in the same manner as B, Sheet 1, viz, a series of
vessels or of compartments, having a descent from one to the next. The
vapour enters first into the lowest vessel, and ascends from one to the next, till
it arrives at the highest. The different qualities of raw spirit drawn off by the
pipes h are not mixed together, but are delivered into the separate vessels E

page_text: the coarsest spirit into the lowest vessel, and the finest spirit into the highest
vessel; but the liquor when it is redistilled flows from one vessel down to the
next, as in the vessel B, Sheet 1, already described.
Fig. 3 is another substitute for the part F; instead of making one vessel
separated by partitions, distinct vessels are employed, each with a small worm
o in it. The wash is conducted successively through all the vessels, flowing off
at the upper part of each vessel, and entering by a pipe into the lower part of
the next vessel. A drain pipe h is provided to each of the small worms o, to
draw off the raw spirit condensed within it, and the different portions of spirit
are returned to the vessel E to be redistilled. This vessel is of the same con-
struction as that described in Sheet 1, but has more shelves in it, and the dif-
ferent qualities of raw spirit are introduced to different parts, viz., the coarsest
spirit, which is condensed first in the lowest worm, is introduced at the lower
part of the vessel E, and the finest spirit in the top part thereof.
Fig. 4 is an apparatus to be substituted for the redistilling vessel E,
Sheet 1. It differs from that because the steam and vapour which has not
been condensed does not come in contract with the raw spirit which is to be
redistilled, but only the heat from the vapour is transmitted to the raw spirit.
The vessel E, Fig. 4, has several shelves fixed in it for the spirit to run down
successively, and these shelves are provided with ledges to make it pass over
a zig-zag course.
At a small distance above each shelf is a close cover to prevent the vapour
coming in contact with the spirit which is running down the shelf, so that, in
effect, the shelves are close vessels, very flat and thin, which are fixed one
above another in the vessel E which contains the steam and vapour rising from
the distilling vessels before described, and the raw spirit runs down within
them by a zig-zag course, and drops from one to the next; the heat of the
vapour passes through the metal of the flat vessels, and gives heat to the raw
spirit within them without mixing therewith.
The different qualities of the raw spirit, as obtained from different parts of
the worm o in the vessel F, Sheet 1, by the drain pipes h, may be introduced
into different parts of the vessel E, Figure 4, according to the degree or re-
distillation which each portion of spirit requires. If it is required to obtain
spirits of different degrees of strength at the same distillation, the vapour may
be carried off by pipes 3, 3, 8, 8, from the different vessels contained within the
vessel E, and condensed in separate condensing worms.
The complete apparatus for distillation and evaporation, as represented in
the Drawing, Sheet 1, is proper for the Colonies where sugar is manufactured.

page_text: The sugar may thereby be evaporated, and be considerably consentrated, and
fine rum distilled by the same fire.
In other cases it may be more convenient to separate the operations.
Thus, the two apparatus for evaporation may be used together, but without
the apparatus for distillation. The vapour evaporated from the boiler A must
then be conveyed into the condensor G nearly to its top, which must have a small
opening for air or vapour to escape, and a reversed cyphon for the discharge of
any condensed water must be adapted to the bottom. This forms a proper
apparatus for evaporating or concentrating solutions of salt, sugar, or other
matters from which water is to be evaporated. When the matter is very fluid
it is advantageous to envelope the surface of the vessel G with an open wove
cloth, or a clear coarse muslin, as before described; but when it is very viscous
it is better to mix metal threads on the surface.
The apparatus for evaporation by means of a current of air may be used
separately from that described for evaporating by ebulition, in which case a
steam boiler, supplied with water in the usual manner, should be used instead
of that described. The water should in that case be carried through the pan 7,
situated over the flue of the furnace, before it is conducted to the boiler.
Note. In the different constructions of the distilling apparatus (Sheet 2),
any of the substitutes for the parts marked F may be used with any of the
varieties of the parts E.
The improvements consist, first, in the arrangements and combinations of the
parts of distilling, evaporating, and condensing apparatus and utensils as they
are represented in the Drawings, and also as they have been described.
Secondly, in the addition of the parts represented in Sheet Two, and
described as different constructions of the distilling apparatus.
Thirdly, in the application of the parts marked J Sheet 1, and 5 Sheet 1,
whereby the heat of the spent wash or concentrated liquor is communicated to
the cold wash or liquor to be evaporated, which parts are new as applied for
the purposes herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Richter, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and nineteen.
JOHN (Ls.) RICHTER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of January,
in the year of our Lord 1819, the aforesaid John Richter 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 Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and nineteen.