IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING THE DECOLORIZATION OF SUGAR LIQUOR
Year: 1885

page_text: Sugar Liquor.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING
THE DECOLORIZATION OF SUGAR LIQUOR" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for effecting the decolori-
zation of sugar liquor by the process of upward filtration through bone-black as
described in the specification filed with my application for Letters Patent bearing
the same date as the present application and numbered 12871.
The apparatus described in the said specification has a horizontal rotating
supporting and discharging mechanism which serves to support a column of bone
black contained in a filtering chamber, and to gradually remove from the bottom
of the said column a stratum of bone black of prescribed uniform thickness. The
central portion of the said rotating supporting and discharging mechanism being
solid has no capacity for discharging the superincumbent bone-black in vertical
alignment with it. A part of the space immediately over the solid central portion
of the discharger is occupied by the vertical shaft by means of which the discharger
is rotated, but the remainder of such space is occupied by bone-black, which is but
slightly, if at all, disturbed by the rotation of the discharger, and is hence liable to
remain in the filtering chamber after its decolorizing power has been exhausted.
To avoid this difficulty is the object of the first part of my invention, which
consists in the erection of a columnar shield above the central solid portion of the
discharger, which shield extends upward through the mass of bone black contained
in the filtering chamber. As the solid rim of the discharger extends under the
lower end of the wall of the filtering chamber, and the cutting edges of the slots or
openings in the discharger act upon the entire bottom of the column of bone black
between the central columnar shield and the wall of the filtering chamber, it
follows that by my invention a vertical line drawn through any portion of the

page_text: column of bone black necessarily intersects at its lower end a part of the bottom
stratum of bone black which is supported directly upon the discharger and which
is subject to removal by the rotation of the discharger.
The second object which I have in view is to diminish the size of the receiving
chamber, beneath the filtering chamber, which receives the exhausted bone black
and collected impurities discharged from the filtering chamber, and into which the
sugar liquor which is to be decolorized is introduced under sufficient pressure or
head to enable it to make its way upward through the column of bone black to the
outlets through which it escapes from the upper part of the filtering chamber.
To this end the second part of the invention consists in the employment of a
flat bottomed receiving chamber of comparatively small height and in the employ-
ment, in connection therewith, of a rotating scraper or plough which is arranged
beneath the discharger and which operates to sweep the exhausted bone-black and
impurities which fall upon the floor of the receiving chamber. into the mouth of a
conduit which conducts them to a depository in connection with which suitable
means are provided for finally removing them without interrupting the continuity
of the filtering operation.
In the accompanying drawing is shewn apparatus for effecting the decolorization
of sugar liquor by the process of upward filtration through bone-black and con-
taining my improvements.
Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the filtering cylinder &c.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line X, X Figure 1, affording a top view
of the discharger.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line Y, Y Figure 1, shewing the sinuous
forms of the scraping blades.
The apparatus represented in the drawings consists of the vertical cylinder A for
containing a column B of bone black, which is supported at the bottom upon the
supporter and discharger C, by the rotation of which a stratum of bone-black of
prescribed uniform thickness is sheared or cut off from the lower end of the
column B and falls through openings in the discharger into the flat bottomed
receiving chamber D. The sugar liquor to be decolorized is introduced through
the service pipe E into the receiving chamber D, under sufficient pressure to
enable it to make its way upward through the openings in the discharger and.
through the bone-black supported thereon. to the outlets a by which it escapes to
the receptacle provided for it.
The portion of the cylinder A beneath the level of the outlets a and above the
The upper
supporter and discharger C constitutes the filtering chamber A¹.
portion A² of the cylinder A is a magazine for containing a supply of fresh bone
black which descends by its own gravity into the filtering chamber at a rate
corresponding to the rate of removal of the bone black from the bottom of the
column by the operation of the discharging mechanism. The supporter and dis-
charger is a disc or wheel which is provided between its rim Cand its hub C*
with radial slots or openings, the side walls of which are inclined and differ in
height, the higher wall sufficiently overlapping the lower to prevent the super-
incumbent bone-black from falling through the slots excepting during the rotatory
movement of the discharger, when the upper edge of the higher wall serves as a
cutter and cuts away from the bottom of the column of bone black a stratum
whose thickness is determined by the difference in level between the acute upper
edge on one side of the slot and the obtuse upper edge on the other side of
the slot.
The diameter of the supporter and discharger is greater than the diameter of the
cylinder A, so that the rim C¹ of the former may extend under the annular top d
of the outer portion of the receiving chamber D.
The field of action of the discharger extends from the lower end of the wall of
the filtering chamber to the unslotted central portion of hub of the discharger.
Immediately over the hub 0% of the discharger is the columnar shield F, which
extends upward through the centre of the column of bone black contained in the

page_text: filtering chamber.
The shield F may be the shaft to which the discharger is
keyed and by means of which the discharger is rotated, or it may be a tube
surrounding the said shaft; or, as represented in the drawing, it may be a tube
stepped at its lower end upon the hub of the discharger Ċ which is keyed to
the upper portion of the vertical shaft Gextending downward through the
receiving chamber D and the stuffing box G in the floor & of the receiving
chamber, and provided with a bevel gear G³ for engagement with the bevel spur
wheel mounted upon the horizontal driving shaft G. In either event the
diameter of all parts of the columnar shield must be as great as the diameter
of the unslotted central portion of the discharger, so that the area of the annular
stratum removed by the rotating discharger will be the same as the cross area of
the superincumbent bone black, and thus all parts of the column of bone black
contained in the filtering chamber will have a vertical path of downward movement
from the top to the bottom of the filtering chamber.
In carrying out the second part of my invention I provide immediately under
the discharger C the sweeper or plough H which is composed of several sinuously
curved blades h, h &c., which may either be fastened to the underside of the
discharger or be united to the hub O' or to a separate hub keyed to the shaft G.
The lower edges of the blades h, h &c just clear the floor of the receiving
chamber, and as the shaft G rotates the bone black and the impurities therein are
swept around and drop into the mouth of the conduit D¹, by which they may be
conducted either to the bottom of a well provided with a chain and bucket
elevator, or into the collecting chamber I, provided at the top with the shut off
valve which is closed when the collecting chamber is full of bone black and
impurities, and which is provided at the bottom with the discharge valve I' by
means of which, when necessary, its contents can be discharged.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
First. In apparatus for effecting the decolorization of sugar liquor by the process
of upward filtration through bone black, the combination, as herein set forth, of a
cylindrical filtering chamber; a rotating supporter, and discharger at the bottom
of, and of larger dimensions than, the filtering chamber; and a central vertical
columnar shield arranged within the filtering chamber immediately above the
central unslotted portion or hub of the supporter and discharger whereby a vertical
line drawn through any portion of the bone black contained within the filtering
chamber will, at its lower end necessarily intersect a part of the stratum of bone
black which is in contact with the discharger and which is subject to removal by
the rotation of the discharger.
Second. The combination of the flat bottomed receiving chamber D, and the
conduit D leading therefrom to a suitable depository, with the sweeper or
plough H, the filtering chamber A¹ for containing a column of bone black, and
neans for gradually discharging the exhausted bone black and collected impurities
from the bottom of said column into said receiving chamber.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.