other Liquids, and in Preparing a Material therefor.
Year: 1886

page_text: other Liquids, and in Preparing a Material therefor.
We, MATTHEW FORSTER HEDDLE, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the
University of St Andrews in the County of Fife, North Britain, DAVID CORSE
GLEN, of 14 Annfield Place, Glasgow, in. the County of Lanark North Britain,
Engineer, and DUNCAN STEWART of London Road Iron Works, Glasgow, afore-
said, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows,
that is to say :-
Our said Invention has for its object to improve the process of filtering and
decolorising sugar syrups and other liquids; and it consists principally in applying
a material believed never to have been used for that purpose, and which when
suitably prepared has certain practical advantages.
The material which we use in carrying out our Invention is an earthy compound
of a class known by the various nanes, diatomite, desmid earth, white peat;
kieselghur, or bergmehl. All qualities of the substances known by these names or
by any of them are not equally suitable for the purpose in view; but a quality
found at Black Moss and Kinnordie in the County of Aberdeen, and at some
other places in Scotland is extremely suitable; and earthy compounds which may
be known by other names may also be advantageously used when of similar
composition.
In primarily preparing the material we place it in retorts and subject it to a heat
sufficient to drive off volatile constituents and to carbonise it. After having been
so prepared the material which we term Hedylglin or mineral char, may be used
like animal charcoal for filtering and decolorising sugar syrups and other liquids.
After the bedylglin has operated on considerable quantities of syrup or other
liquid, it may have its power revivified to a considerable degree by simple washing
with water or other suitable liquid, or by exposure to the air, or by the joint
action of water or other suitable liquid and air, or by blowing steam through it.
When the treatment with water and air or steam is not considered sufficient, the
hedylglin may be completely revivified by reheating it in retorts as in reburning
animal charcoal.
D

page_text: other Liquids, and in Preparing a Material therefor.
We MATTHEW FORSTER HEDDLE Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the
University of St Andrews in the County of Fife North Britain, DAVID CORSE
GLEN of 14 Annfield Place Glasgow in the County of Lanark North Britain,
Engineer, and DUNCAN STEWART of London Road Iron Works, Glasgow afore-
said, Engineer 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 that is to say :-
Our said Invention has for its object to improve the process of filtering and
decolorising sugar syrups and other liquids and it consists principally in applying
a material believed never to have been used for that purpose and which when
suitably prepared has certain practical advantages.
The material which we use in carrying out our Invention is an earthy compound
of a class known by the various names diatomite, desmid earth, white peat,
kieselghur, or bergmehl. All qualities of the substances known by these names or
by any of them are not equally suitable for the purpose in view; but a quality
found at Black Moss and Kiunordie in the County of Aberdeen, and at some other
places in Scotland, is extremely suitable; and earthy compounds which may be
known by other names may also be advantageously used when of similar com-
position.
In primarily preparing the material we place it in retorts and subject it to a heat
sufficient to drive off volatile constituents and to carbonise it. Various arrange-
ments of retorts and heating apparatus may be employed. Thus we can use
apparatus of the kind ordinarily employed in manufacturing animal charcoal or
bone black. A set of ordinary gas retorts might also be used; or even the iron
retorts ordinarily employed for reburning animal charcoal in sugar refineries. In
carbonising the material it is important to totally exclude air from the retorts, and
also to prevent access of air to the carbonised material until it has cooled down to
the ordinary atmospheric temperature or sufficiently to be handled.
After being so prepared the material, which we term Hedylglin, or mineral char,
may be used like animal charcoal for filtering and decolorising sugar syrups and
other liquids. In the application of the Hedylglin for decolorising syrups we find
it may be very advantageously employed by mixing it with the syrup in the
proportion of about one pound of the Hedylglin for every two pounds of sugar in
the syrup, in a vessel fitted with a mechanical stirrer, and by subsequently
separating the syrup by means of a centrifugal machine, or by means of filter bags
suspended in a vacuum chamber, or by means of filter presses. In some cases as
for example when operating on sugar-cane juice or a cold solution of sugar we
first use a quantity of the Hedylglin for the separation of vegetable albumin
and gummy ingredients as well as coloring matter; and after evaporation or
concentration if necessary treat again with Hedylglin for the removal of coloring

page_text: matter, the Hedylglin being in all cases well mixed and agitated with the liquid
and afterwards separated by any suitable filtering process.
'
After the Hedylglin has operated on considerable quantities of syrup, it may
have its power revivified to a considerable degree by simple washing with water or
other suitable liquid or by exposure to the air, or by the joint action of water or
other suitable liquid and air or by blowing steam through it. When the treatment
with water and air or steam is not considered sufficient the Hedylglin may be
completely revivified by reheating it in retorts as in reburning animal charcoal.
Or the reburning may be effected in pots placed in kilns as practised on the
continent of Europe and in America. It is of advantage for the Hedylglin to be
thoroughly washed before being reburned.
In treating liquids other than saccharine liquids we operate in the same way as
with these liquids using such proportions of the Hedylglin as may be found
suitable on trial.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is-
The application and use, for filtering and decolorising sugar syrups and other
liquids, of a material of the kind known as diatomite, or desmid earth, or white
peat, or kieselghur, or bergmehl, and prepared by being carbonised, substantially as
hereinbefore described.