Improved Means of Purifying Liquids.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 27th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 27th May; 1896
. PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Purifying Liquids.
ROBERT MALABAR African Oil Mills Parliament Street Liverpool, Civil
Engineer I do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The purifier is made of galvanized iron and built in the form of an octagon (or
any other form) on iron column varying in height according to the nature of the
liquid to be purified is placed at each angle. The space between the columns are
filled in with large iron louvres sloping inwards wide apart so as to allow a clear foot
or more for a rapid current of air to pass through the interior of the purifier which is
filled in with alternate layers of calcined calx and good old common fibrous turf or
a similar material. The base of the purifier is dished,, and the purified liquid flows,
over the weir so formed. The receiver or container covers the whole area of the
purifier is about 4 feet deep and is placed at the top of the purifying medium with
iron side which are subdivided into compartments from the columns to the centre,
each compartment having an iron midfeather and a weir one below the other so
that any overflow may if necessary go into the next compartment. The carriers
run round the outside of each compartment with stops so that the flow can be
diverted at any time to enable the solids to be taken out of any compartment while
the purifier is incessantly at work.
Dated this 26th day of April 1895.
:
ROBERT MALABAR..
Improved Means of Puritying Liquias.
ROBERT MALABAR Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor late of African Oil
Mills, Parliament Street, Liverpool, but now of 64 Kremlin Drive Liverpool, 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 :-
This invention has reference to a method of and apparatus for the purification of
sewage, impure water and other liquids or semi-liquid substances and also by a
slight modification of the filtering medium such as by inserting a thin bed of
filtering medium between each layer of turf it may be employed for purifying
various classes of mineral and other oils. In carrying out my invention the liquid
or semi liquid' to be treated (hereinafter referred to as the liquid) is delivered into
a receiver or reservoir from which it percolates by gravity through filtering.
medium arranged on a number of perforated floors carried by suitable supports
such as beams and pillars the floors being placed at such distances apart and the
layers of filtering material thereon being of such thickness as to leave above each
layer of filtering material an air space through which the liquid under treatment
passes and so becomes aerated during its decent. The accompanying drawing
represents a circular form of apparatus according to this invention suitable for
treating liquid sewage or impure water. Fig. 1 showing the apparatus partly in
Bide elevation and partly in vertical section on the line X X of Fig. 2 and Fig. 2

page_text: showing it partly in plan and partly in horizontal section on the line Y Y of
Fig. 1. The apparatus comprises a number of floors 1 consisting of perforated
plates, supported by girders 2 carried by a central pillar 3 and a number of
pillars 4 arranged circularly about the pillar 3. as a centre. On the top of the
pillars 4 there is fixed a metal tank 5 the bottom of which is constituted by the
top floor 1. The tank 5 is provided with an internal trough 6 into which the liquid
to be treated flows, and is preferably divided with its trough 6 by partitions 7 into
two or more compartments according to the size of the apparatus with midfeathers 7ª
and screens 7b. The floor 1 of the tank 5 is covered with one or more layers 8 of
fibrous sandy turf such as sods with fibrous roots of grass or the like, the fibrous
roots of the sods being placed uppermost in the tank so as to prevent, as much as
possible, the liquid that is being filtered from washing the fine fibres of the roots
into and thereby choking the holes in the perforated floor 1.
Each of the other floors 1 carries a layer 9, consisting of small pieces of burnt
ironstone or other suitable oxide of iron and upon each of these layers rests a
layer 8 of turf such as that herein before described. A layer 9 of oxide of iron,
preferably consisting of calcined ironstone, and carrying a layer 8 of turf, is also
placed a little above the foundation 10 of the apparatus.
This material serving especially when treating sewage matter, to decompose
sulphur compounds such as sulphuretted hydrogen present and combine with the
sulphur and in this way deodorize the liquid. A space 11 is left between each
floor 1 and the filtering material 8 or 9 immediately below it, and around the lower
part of each space 11 is fixed a series of downwardly and inwardly inclined
louvres 12, the lower edge of which is about at the level of the upper surface of
the corresponding layer 9. 13 is a channel arranged partly around the framework
into which the liquid collected in the hollow base flows after leaving any sediment
that therein that might fall.
The sewage or other matter to be treated is supplied to the trough 6 of the
tank 5 in any suitable manner and passes therefrom in a thin sheet over the inner
edge of the trough and into the main portion of the tank 5. It then percolates
through the turf 8 on the bottom 1 of the tank, leaving the greater portion of the
suspended foreign matter on the upper surface of the turf therein. The liquid
then falls upon the layer 9 of oxide of iron next to the tank 5 and passing through
this falls in drops through the uppermost air space 11 and upon the layer 8 of turf
uext below, then passes through the layer 9 of oxide of iron on which the last
mentioned layer 8 rests and so on through the successive air spaces and layers of
turf and oxide of iron, until it reaches the foundation 10, when it passes: into the
channel 13.
In some cases, in order more thoroughly to aerate the liquid in its passage
between the floors and the filtering material, the central pillar 3 may be made
hollow and perforated and be connected to a fan (not shown) arranged either to
draw air through the spaces 11 or to free air out therethrough; or the hollow
perforated pillar may be connected to a suction pipe or chimney by which a
draught can be caused through the several air spaces 11. If desired several
vertical perforated air pipes may be employed and air forced therethrough into the
air spaces 11 in order to aerate the liquid under treatment more evenly. The
number of air spaces and layers of filtering material can be varied to suit the
particular kind of liquid to be treated.
By means of the midfeathers 7 in the tank 5 and its trough 6 a portion of the
tank can be kept out of use when desired for the purposes of repair or for cleaning
out the solid matter. Should the supply of liquid to be treated be greater at any
time than the filtering capacity of one portion of the tank can deal with the
overflow will then discharge itself (in case of flood) over the weir 7ª, which then
acts like a midfeather into the adjoining section.
It is to be understood that I do not confine myself to the particular construction
of apparatus shown or to the particular filtering material employed, as these can be
varied.

page_text: Cat 55
1. The herein described method of purifying and deodorizing impure liquids
which consists in causing the impure liquid to pass in succession through a number
of alternately arranged layers of filtering material and air substantially as herein
described.
2. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors arranged one
above another, filtering material carried by each of the said floors, and an air
space between the filtering material on one floor and the floor next above it,
substantially as herein described.
3. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors arranged one
above another, filtering-material carried by each of the said floors, an air space
between the said filtering material on one of the said floors, and the floor next
above it, and one or more louvres arranged around the said air space, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
4. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors arranged one
above another, filtering material carried by each of the said floors, air spaces
arranged between some of the layers of filtering material on said floors and the
floors next above them, and means for causing air to pass through the said space,
substantially as herein described.
5. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors arranged one
above another filtering material carried by each of the said floors, air spaces
arranged between some of the layers of filtering material on said floors and the
floors next above them, a vertical perforated pipe in communication with said air
spaces, and means for causing air to flow through said vertical pipe and connected
air spaces, substantially as herein described.
6. Filtering apparatus comprising perforated floors arranged one above another,
filtering material comprising a layer of oxide of iron and a superimposed layer of
fibrous material carried by each of the said floors, and an air space between the
said filtering material on one of said floors and the floor next above it, substantially
as herein described.
7. Filtering apparatus comprising a receiver for the liquid to be filtered and
having a perforated bottom, a layer of fibrous material carried by the said bottom,
a number of perforated floors arranged one above another and below the said
bottom, filtering material carried by each of the said floors, and an air space
between the filtering material on one floor and the floor next above it, substantially
as herein described.
8. Filtering apparatus comprising a receiver for the liquid to be filtered and
having a perforated bottom, partitions dividing the said receiver into compartments,
a layer of fibrous material carried by the said bottom, a number of perforated
floors arranged one above another and below the said bottom, filtering material
carried by each of the said floors and an air space between the filtering material
on one floor and the floor next above it, substantially as herein described.
9. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors one carried by
pillars 4, filtering material carried by the said floors, a tank 5 above the said floors,
air space 11 between the said filtering material and the said floors and open at the
sides to the external atmosphere, louvres 12 around the said air spaces and means
for collecting the filtered liquid substantially as herein described.
а
10. Filtering apparatus comprising a number of perforated floors 1 carried by
central perforated pillar 3 and circumferential pillars 4, layers 8 and 9 of filtering
material carried by said floors, a tank 5 with supply trough 6, partitions 7 and 7%,
air spaces 11, and louvres 12, all substantially as described and shown.
Dated 24th January 1896.
ROBERT MALABAR.