Year: 1888

page_text: I AUGUSTE DE MÉRITENS of 44 Rue Boursault Paris in the Republic of France
Civil 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 :—
This Invention relates to tho treatment and rectification of alcohol by means of
an alternate electric current and to apparatus arranged and operating as hereinafter
described in which the alcohol can be advantageously exposed to the action of
the said current.
When an alternate current has been caused to pass through water by means of two
plates or electrodes of carbon or platinum the liquid according to theory should not
exhibit any traces of decomposition but in practice this is not strictly the case.
The recombination or reconstitution of the separated elements of water is incomplete.
This is proved by the gas bubbles which ascend to the surface of the liquid on the
two plates.
If two plates of iron be employed in place of the aforesaid two plates of carbon or
platinum the iron is oxidised at both plates and the water is quickly discoloured by the
oxide of iron which it holds in suspension. In this case the oxygen resulting from
the decomposition of the water has combined with the iron before the reconstitution of
the water had taken place and as sesquioxide of iron is not reduced by hydrogen under
these conditions this gas is set free. If the hydrogen in the liquid had met with a
hody for which it had such an affinity as the oxygen had for the iron a double
combination would have taken place and there would be no escape
of gas.
This action or effect is described here in order to show that if a alternate
electric current be caused to pass through a liquid containing water the oxygen and
the hydrogen pass to the bodies having affinity for them in preference to recombining
to form water.
The improved process for rectifying alcohol and the like by means of an alternate
current is based on this principle. According to my invention two plates of carbon
or of platinum or of some other metal (such as copper) less oxidisable than iron and
zinc are employed to cause an alternate current to pass through impure alcohol or

page_text: feints or backings for example. The oxygen resulting from the decomposition of the
water burns or consumes the hydrogenised bodies and combines therewith to form
water. The hydrogen also enters into combination and at the same time with the
other oxygenised bodies foreign to pure alcohol. The result is that no bubbles of gas
appear at the surface of the liquid. The essential oils the aldehydes and the like are
eliminated and the alcohol is purified from all impurities or objectionable matters.
The accompanying drawing illustrates in vertical section an apparatus which I
employ in carrying out this process.
This apparatus is provided with a column A B provided at its upper extremity with
a flanged union band at its lower part with a similar union b. Two metal rods t t'
are passed through the cover of the column and are supported at their lower
extremities in insulating sockets d d' on the bottom of the column. Each of the said
rods carries a series of tinned red copper dises or plates of a diameter somewhat
less than that of the interior of the column A. B. These plates marked 1. 2. 3 etc.
in the drawing are perforated with holes so arranged that the holes. in each plate
are opposite the unperforated parts of the adjacent plates above and below.
The plates are electrically connected to the rods and alternately so that in the
example illustrated all the plates or discs marked with odd numbers are in contact
with the rod t and insulated from the rod t and all the plates or discs marked with
even numbers are in contact with the rod t and insulated from the rod t. The two
rods and all the plates are insulated from columns A B.
The superficial area of the plates the distance between them, the number and
size of the perforations and the number of plates are regulated according to the
quantity of liquid to be treated in a given time.
The liquid to be treated enters the column through a pipe M N and is drawn off
after passing upwards through the column in contact with the plates 1, 2, 3 etc. through
a pipe M N at the upper part.
Any suitable number of these columns may be connected together according to the
time, ascertained before hand, during which it is necessary to expose the liquid to
the action of the electric current-The said current is also regulated according to
the nature and quantity of liquid to be treated. All the columns are coupled
together electrically in quantity and the current enters each column by one of the rods
and leaves it by the other. It is simply necessary to cause the liquid to flow from one
column to another in order to expose the whole of the liquid to be treated in a given
time to the action of the current under the requisite conditions. By means of this
treatment alcohols are effectually separated from objectionable matters and a
purifying effect is produced whereby the product is matured or ripened.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is.
The improved process for treating and rectifying alcohol by exposing the alcohol
to the action of an alternate electric current as herein before set forth and the
apparatus or combination of apparatus by means of which the said current is enabled
to act upon the said alcohol substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
Th: 1911.
Ch... 1000