AN APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR SEPARATING SALT FROM SEA WATER, AND THEREBY RENDERING' IT FRESH AND FIT FOR USE, WHICH INVENTION MAY BE APPLIED TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL
WHOM THESE PRESENT
WILLIAMS, Ironmonger and Ships' Hearth Manufacturer, and JOHN DOYLE,"
Mechanist, both of the Commercial Road, in the County of Middlesex, send'
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-six, in the seventh year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Williams and John Doyle, His'
especial licence that we, the said John Williams and John Doyle, our exors,'
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Williams and John'
Doyle, our exors, admors, or assigns, shall 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
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "AN APPARATUS
AND PROCESS FOR SEPARATING SALT FROM SEA WATER, AND THEREBY RENDERING'
IT FRESH AND FIT FOR USE, WHICH INVENTION MAY BE APPLIED TO OTHER USEFUL
PURPOSES;" in which. said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging us,
the said John Williams and John Doyle, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His

page_text: 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, we, the said
John Williams and John Doyle, do hereby declare this to be the Specification
of our Invention, and that for better understanding of the same, reference
must be had to the annexed Drawing, containing the apparatus by which we
effect the separation of salt from sea water, and thereby rendering it fresh
and fit for use.
Fig. 1 is a section of the apparatus; Fig. 2, a front view or elevation;
Fig. 3, a plan or bird's-eye view of the same (the same letters refer to similar
parts). This apparatus, which is shewn in section at Fig. 1, we find to be the
most convenient form for stowing in ships. A is a barrel or other vessel con-
taining salt water in the same state as taken from the sea. This water is then
allowed to pass down through the lead or other pipe D (fixed in the bottom of
the barrel A), and enters the lower part of the cistern or filter C, which is a
deep square stout wooden case or box, lined with lead in the usual manner of
common cisterns, shewn by D. At the bottom of the cistern is placed a stool
E, supported on five legs; three of them are seen in the section, and are s
marked by the small letters a, a, a. A plan of the stool is shewn in Fig. 4,
where the small circles marked a, a, a, a, a, shew the place of the legs.
This stool is covered with a perforated plate of copper, the edges of which
are turned down and fastened to the stool by the copper pins b, 6; the plan
of this plate is likewise shewn in Fig. 5; above this plate is placed a layer
of wool, wove horse-hair, or other material F, to filter the coarser impurities of
the water, and spread its surface uniformly under the sand or other filtering
substance that.may be most convenient,' and to prevent the sand from falling
into the lower compartment; this sand or other material is shewn in the'
section and marked G; it fills the inside of the cistern C, which has a square'
cover or board, and is pressed down by the screw I working in a female
screw bar K fixed to the sides of the cistern, and is shewn in the front eleva-
tion and plan, Figs. 2 and 3. The sea water in passing up through the sand or
other substance deposits its salt, and comes out fresh through the pipe C,
and may be retained in a barrel or other vessel L placed to receive it.. In order
that the water may not pass between the smooth lining of the cistern, and the
sand or other filtering substance without passing through it, we have introduced
a rough composition or cement as a lining, which is made to adhere to the
lead, and prevents the water from passing without filtering; the composition-or

page_text: cement may be the Roman cement or any other of a rough surface. In
Fig. 2, d, d, are two man-holes or openings having screw flanges, into which
are screwed the brass caps or covers by a key fitting the squares e, e. When
the sand and wool, or wove horse-hair is completely saturated with salt-and-im-
purities, the cock f placed at the bottom of the cistern is turned to allow all
the water that may be in the pipe B to run out; the filtering materials are
then taken out by raising the screw I, which allows the cover or board H.to be
taken out; and in order to facilitate the removal of these materials, the man-
holes d, d, are opened by unscrewing the caps ec, c; after the wool or wove
horse-hair has been washed; it is to be replaced and evenly spread over the
perforated copper plate; the caps, of the man-holes are then to be screwed in,
and the cistern is to be refilled with fresh sand or other filtering materials, and
the cover H is fastened down by the screw I or any other mechanical means,
as wedges, weights, &c. Lastly, the barrel A must then be filled with salt
water, and it is fit for use. Fig. 3 is a plan shewing the cover H and screw
bar K; the pipe B, is fastened to the cistern by iron straps g. Fig. 6 is an
elevation of another apparatus made of copper, and only differing from the
other in being cylindrical instead of square, as shewn by the plan, Fig. 7.
In the apparatus we have invented and find most convenient, which are
herein-before described, we do not claim any particular form, size, or material,
nor in the particular mode of filtering upwards, though we consider it to be
the best and simplest; for the separation would take place if we filtered down-
wards; or in some case we should find it advantages to filter both upwards and
downwards. But we do expressly declare that it is our Invention for separating
the salt from sea water by filtration, and thereby rendering it fresh, which we
absolutely claim, and is to the best of our belief entirely new and likely to be
very beneficial to shipping, and particularly to those parts of the British
dominions where there is either a scarcety of fresh water, or waters of a salt
nature.
The great advantage of this Invention is the simplicity of its application, the
cheapness of the filtering material, and which may be taken as ballast on board
ships, and after being used may be replaced as before; and the sand thus
uniformly saturated with salt becomes a good compost for manuring land.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Williams (party hereto), have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.
JN° WILLIAMS. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT. REMEMBERED, that, on the Third day of February, in the,
year of our Lord 1827, the aforesaid John. Williams came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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.
Inrolled the Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand:
eight hundred and twenty-seven..
Inrolled the Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand:
eight hundred and twenty-seven.