CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLATION
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SHEE, of Lawrence Pountney Place, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-second day of April, in the fourth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Shee, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Joseph Shee, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Joseph Shee, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLATION;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Joseph Shee,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be pefformed, to be inrolled in His said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Shee, do hereby declaro the nature of my Invention, and the manner

page_text: in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained in
and by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:-
My Invention consists in a peculiar arrangement of apparatus for distilla-
tion, as will be hereafter fully described.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
In Fig. 1, a is an ordinary still; b is a second still connected to the still a
in such manner that the vapours rising therefrom shall pass through the lower
part of the still b, and give off heat to the fluid contained therein, and this I
prefer to accomplish by means of tubes passing through the still b. These
tubes open into the box e, into which the vapours of the still a flow, and
thence pass through the tubes contained in the still 6, and thereby evaporate
the fluid contained in this still. c is a third still, and m is a trunk or box
communicating from the tubes contained in the still to a like series of tubes
contained in the still c, so that the vapours from the still a, having passed
through the tubes in the still b, next pass through the tubes to the still c, and
likewise heat the fluid contained in the third still, and cause it to be evapo-
rated; but this effect is further advanced by the vapours which are raised in
the still being also passed through the still c by means of a series of tubes
contained in the still c, and this is accomplished by the beak n of this still
passing into a box at the back of the still c, into which the tubes open; but
it should be here remembered that the products or vapours of the still a and
the still do not mix with each other, nor do the contents or vapours of any
one still mix with that which is in another still. d is a fourth still having a
like series of tubes to those described to the stills b and c, there being a box
o opening from the tubes through which the vapours from the still a are cou-
veyed through the still 6, so that those vapours are conveyed through the still
d as well as through the stills b and c. and thence by the pipe p, into a series
of pipes contained in the vat or vessel which contains wash, which becomes
heated before passing into the still a, and thenco into the worm tub q, and is
there condensed and passed off to the receiver 1. The vapours which are
raised in the still have already been stated to pass by a series of tubes through
the still c, from thence, by means of the trunk or box e, they passing through
series of tubes contained in the still d, and thence, by means of the pipe f
they pass through the worm tub, and become condensed, and flow into the
receiver s. The vapours which are raised in the still e are conveyed into the
box g, and thence through a series of tubes contained in still d, from whence

page_text: they pass by the pipe h, through the worm tub, and flow into the receiver t,
and the vapours from the still d pass immediately through the worm tub and
into the receiver u. Each of the stills a, b, c, and d, have a pipe v descending
from the bottom. On each of these pipes there is a stopcock, and the object
of these pipes is to draw off the residue, if any, after the operation, which
residue flows into the pipe w, by which it may be conveyed back into the still
a, there to be again distilled with the next charge of wash, or it may be con-
veyed into any receiver until there is sufficient to form a charge of itself.
According to the arrangement shown in the Drawing, it is conveyed into the
still a, that is, into the first still of the series. A is a pipe ascending from
the receiver into a tank or vessel B, which is situated above the still b; and
C is a pipe (having a stopcock descending from the vessel B into the still b, to
supply that still with the product which has been distilled over from the still
a, and pumped up from the receiver r, as will be hereafter fully described.
D is a pipe rising from the receiver s into the vessel or tank E placed above
the still c, there being a descending pipe F therefrom (having a stopcock) by
which the still c is supplied with the product of the still b, pumped up from
the receiver s. G is a pipo ascending from the receiver into the tank or
vessel H, which is placed above the still d, there being a descending pipe I
(having a stopcock) by which the product of the still c is supplied to the still
d after being raised from the receiver t, as will be fully described when I
come to describe the manner of carrying on the process of distillation when
using this apparatus; but before I describe this process I would first observe,
that I have not thought it necessary to describe or show in the Drawing the
various pumps and apparatus for working the same which will be required
for raising the products of the stills from the receivers r, s, t, into the tanks
or vessels B, E, H, they forming no part of my Invention, and will be readily
applied by any person competent to perform the other part of the work; nor
do I confine myself to that means of raising the products from the receivers,
though I conceive that arrangement to be the best under most circumstances.
And I would further observe, that it is not essentially necessary that the parts
of the apparatus above described should be arranged precisely as shown in tho
Drawing, but may be varied to suit the locality and other circumstances of
the premises in which it is to be placed, the arrangement being immaterial,
provided the process hereafter described is capable of being performed.
It will be evident that, although I have described series of tubes for the
passage of the distilled products to pass through the various stills, I do not
confine myself to the use of tubes only, but in some instances intend to use
flat and undulated surfaces, the vapours being on one side, and the contents

page_text: of the still on the other; but I prefer the tubes us offering the most extensive
surface. And in order to the clear understanding of the arrangement of tubes,
I have in Fig. 2 shown the stills in section, an inspection of which will render
the same most evident.
In the Drawing I have shown the worms attached to the various pipes
leading from the four stills as being contained in one worm tub or vessel; but
it is evident that the same may have separate worin tubs to each still to suit
the convenience of the situation in which the apparatus is placed.
Having described the arrangement of apparatus constructed according to my
Invention, I will now describe the process of operation which it is intended to
accomplish, in doing of which I will suppose the still a is capable of receiving
eight hundred gallons of wash, and that the same will distill over three hundred
gallons of products, by the time the wash in the still a becomes spent ; this threo
hundred gallons pass off in the form of vapour at the beak head, through the
series of tubes for that purpose contained in the stills b, c, d, thence through
the preparing vat, and thence to the worm tub, and thence into the receiver r.
This product is to be raised into the vessel B, either continually during the
process or otherwise, provided it will be ready for charging the still 6 when
the still a has been worked off. The spent wash is next to be run off from
the still a, and a fresh charge of wash supplied from the preparing vat, and the
cock on the pipe C is to be opened, and thereby supply the product of tho
former distillation from the still a into the still b; the cock is again to be closed
and the process will proceed; the vapours will again be distilled over from tho
still a and pass through the various stills, as above described, and be received
condensed in the receiver ; but in this instance the former product will be
again distilled over from the still 6 by the heat of the vapours from the still a,
and the product of this distillation will pass through the respective series
of tubes contained in the stills c and d, and through the worm tub, and into
the receivers, and from thenco is conveyed, as above described, into the
vessel E. The second charge of the still a being now distilled over and
received in the receiver », the spent wash is to be run off, and the residuum
from the still permitted to run into the still a, as above described, by means
of the cock on the pipe v, forming part of the third change to the still a. Tho
cock is then closed, and the product of the second change to the still a is then
to be run into the still b, and in the meanwhile the products of the first charge of
the still a, which has now been re-distilled by the still b, is still to be permitted
to flow into the still c by means of the cock on the pipo F, which is afterwards
to be closed, and the process goes forward. The third charge in the still a is
distilled over as above described, as is also the charge in the still 6, the vapours

page_text: from a and heating in their progress the still c, and distilling over its
contents; the products of each of these stills being received into their respec-
tive receivers, and conveyed into their respective tanks or vessels above, in
order to supply the stills in the order above described. The spent wash is to
be run off from the still a, the residuum contained in the stills b and c run into
the still a to form part of the fourth charge. The stills b, c, and d, are to be
charged from their respective tanks or vessels. By this means the product
which was obtained from the first charge of the still a will have arrived at the
still d; the process then goes on, and by the distilling over the fourth charge
from the still a the stills b, c, and d, will also distill over the charges respec-
tively contained. By this last operation the product obtained from the first
charge of wash will have passed through the whole process, and be received
into the receiver u. Thus is the process to be continually carried on, the
products preceding one stage in the process at the working off of each
charge of the still a, and by the same heat which is requisite under ordinary
circumstances for the mere purpose of distilling over the contents of the still a.
Having now described the manner of combining and using the apparatus
according to my Invention, I would have it understood that I lay no claim to
the various parts separately of which the apparatus is formed; and although
I have only mentioned distillation from wash in order to produce spirits highly
concentrated, yet it will be evident that other distillation may be carried on
with similar apparatus. And I would further observe, that I am aware that
stills have been heretofore heated by means of steam; and also the vapours
generated in one still has been caused to heat a second still; I do not, there-
fore, claim this as any part of my Invention. Nor do I confine myself to the
use of only four stills, but intend, sometimes to increase or decrease that
number according to the object to be accomplished. But I do hereby declare
that what I claim is the method or process as above described, whereby I am
enabled to carry on the process of re-distillation through a series of stills
working simultaneously, and by the same heat as is used to work the first still,
and whereby the product is advanced one stage of the necessary process at
cach changing of the said first still, and whereby the products are kept distinct,
as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Shee, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
JOSEPH (L.S.) SHEE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1834, the aforesaid Joseph Shee came beforo
our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion 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.